Early Bolshevik Rule

Question 1

When was the provisional government formed?

Answer 1

12th March 1917

Question 2

When did Kerensky become prime minister?

Answer 2

July 1917

Question 3

Who was Kerensky?

Answer 3

Key member of the provincial government (became prime minister) and also member of the Petrograd soviet
Acted as a bridge between the two powers

Question 4

What did the provisional government do when it came to power?

Answer 4

1) granted religious freedom
2) abolished the secret police
3) introduces an 8 hour day
4) recognised the trade unions

Question 5

What did the provisional government not do when it came to power?

Answer 5

1) end the war

2) introduce land reforms

Question 6

How did the Petrograd Soviet weaken the provisional government?

Answer 6

The provisional government could only carry out decisions if the Petrograd Soviet agreed, making it subservient to the soldiers and workers

Question 7

Why did the provisional government continue the war?

Answer 7

1) They knew they would have to pay a heavy price if they wanted peace with Germany
2) they wanted to keep their allies (France and Britain) on their side

Question 8

When was the battle of Jugla?

Answer 8

September 1917

Question 9

How much did the Russians outnumber the Germans at the Battle of Jugla?

Answer 9

3 to 1

Question 10

How many times more casualties did the Russians suffer than the Germans at the Battle of Jugla?

Answer 10

5 times more (25,000 compared to 5,000)

Question 11

What did the peasants do when the provisional government refused to implement land reforms?

Answer 11

Took matters into their own hands and began to seize land illegally (thousands of soldiers deserted to get their share)

Question 12

Why did the provisional government refuse to grant land reforms?

Answer 12

It felt that such an important action should be taken by a properly elected government

Question 13

When did the Provisional government promise to hold elections?

Answer 13

November 1917

Question 14

When did Lenin return to Russia from Switzerland?

Answer 14

April 1917

Question 15

What were Lenin’s April Theses?

Answer 15

1) no cooperation with the Provisional Government
2) end the war
3) soviets should take power
4) land should be redistributed to the peasants

Question 16

What were the ‘July Days’?

Answer 16

Massive demonstrations in Petrograd on the 16th and 17th July

Question 17

What triggered the ‘July Days’?

Answer 17

The massive defeat which resulted from Kerensky deciding to launch a major attack on the Germans

Question 18

How did Kerensky put down the ‘July Days’ protest?

Answer 18

1) sent troops to break up the mob
2) produced letters showing that Lenin was in the pay of the Germans
3) arrested leading Bolsheviks

Question 19

Describe events in August 1917

Answer 19

1) Kerensky appointed Kornilov as head of the army
2) Kornilov ordered the Cossacks to march on Petrograd in order to crush the revolutionaries
3) Kerensky panicked and armed the Bolshevik Red Guard in order to defend the city
4) Kornilov’s troops never arrived as railway workers had stopped their carriage and persuaded them not to fight their fellow Russians
5) the red guard kept their weapons

Question 20

How did the Bolsheviks’ popularity increase after events in August 1917?

Answer 20

1) now viewed as the saviours of Petrograd
2) won an overall majority in the Petrograd Soviet elections
3) Trotsky was elected as chairman of the Petrograd Soviet

Question 21

When did the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd?

Answer 21

7th November 1917

Question 22

Where did Trotsky organise the takeover of Petrograd from?

Answer 22

The Smolney institue

Question 23

What happened on the 8th November 1917?

Answer 23

1) red guard seized more places such as the central bank

2) Kerensky fled Petrograd in a car borrowed from the US embassy

Question 24

Describe the Bolsheviks storming of the Winter Palace

Answer 24

1) most troops fled leaving only some military cadets and the women’s death battalion
2) the aurora fired a blank to start the attack
3) the women’s death battalion and cadets offered no resistance to the red guard
4) the provisional government gave up when faced with the red guard

Question 25

What were the November Decrees?

Answer 25

1) all land taken from the Tsar and old landlords and given to the peasants 2) maximum 8 hour day and 48 hour week for industrial workers 3) insurance introduced for workers for injuries, illness and unemployment 4) all titles and class distinctions abolished 5) women declared equal to men 6) all non-Bolshevik newspapers abolished 7) end the war

Question 26

What were the December Decrees?

Answer 26

1) the cadets were banned 2) secret police (Cheka) reestablished 3) all factories came under control of the workers’ committees 4) all banks taken over by the government 5) army became more democratic (officers elected) 6) church land confiscated by the state 7) marriages don’t have to be in churches

Question 27

When did Lenin hold elections to the new Constituent Assembly?

Answer 27

November 1917

Question 28

How many seats did the Socialist Revolutionaries secure in the 1917 elections to the Constituent Assembly?

Answer 28

370

Question 29

How many seats did the Bolsheviks secure in the 1917 elections to the Constituent Assembly?

Answer 29

175

Question 30

When did the constituent assembly meet for the first time?

Answer 30

January 1918

Question 31

When did Lenin shut down the Constituent Assembly?

Answer 31

January 1918

Question 32

When did the Russian Civil War start?

Answer 32

1918

Question 33

Who were the Reds?

Answer 33

The Bolsheviks

Question 34

Who were the Whites?

Answer 34

All opponents of the Bolsheviks (Tsarists, Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries)

Question 35

Who were the three white generals?

Answer 35

Yudenich, Kolchak and Denikin

Question 36

Which foreign powers supported the Whites?

Answer 36

Britain, France, the USA and Japan

Question 37

Who were the Greens?

Answer 37

Independent nationalist groups who wanted independence from Russia

Question 38

What was the red terror?

Answer 38

People opposing the government are shot without trial or sent to labour camps

Question 39

What did War communism involve in towns?

Answer 39

Brought factories under government control and rationed food

Question 40

How many enterprises were under soviet control by 1920?

Answer 40

37,000

Question 41

How many soldiers were in the red army during the civil war?

Answer 41

5 million

Question 42

What did War Communism mean in the countryside?

Answer 42

Grain requisition squads were sent into the countryside to seize surplus grain and those found hoarding were severely punished

Question 43

When was the famine which was caused by grain requisitioning?

Answer 43

1921

Question 44

How many people died in the 1921 famine?

Answer 44

5 million

Question 45

What did Trotsky do when he became commissar for war?

Answer 45

1) brought in nearly 50,000 experiences former Tsarist Officers 2) reintroduced harsh military discipline 3) reintroduced conscription for men over the age of 18

Question 46

What did Trotsky’s special train do?

Answer 46

Visited areas were the fighting was hardest, bringing supplies and boosting morale

Question 47

What did Trotsky do when Lenin was reluctant to sacrifice the last of his forces to defend Petrograd in 1919?

Answer 47

Rushed in on his special train and fought off General Yudenich’s forces

Question 48

How was the geographical location of the reds advantageous to them?

Answer 48

Located in the central western area of Russia, giving them control of the Railways and main industrial centres

Question 49

Why was having control of the railways useful for the Reds?

Answer 49

Allowed them to rush soldiers quickly to any place in the battle area

Question 50

Why was having control of the main industrial centres in Russia advantageous to the Reds?

Answer 50

Able to produce munitions and war supplies

Question 51

Why were red armies coordinated?

Answer 51

They were united under one aim (to stay in power)

Question 52

Why was foreign intervention not actually advantageous to the Whites?

Answer 52

1) they only sent supplies, not any troops | 2) allowed the Reds to portray the Whites as foreign invaders making them the defenders of Russia

Question 53

Why was the location of the Whites not advantageous to them?

Answer 53

Scattered around the central area of West Russia with large distances separating each army This made communications difficult meaning the Whites could not act as a cohesive fighting force

Question 54

How far apart were Kolchak and Yudenich’s armies?

Answer 54

5,000 km

Question 55

What happened to Kolchak’s army in 1919?

Answer 55

Disintegrated as different groups, particularly the Socialist Revolutionaries, refuses to cooperate and Kolchak was shot

Question 56

Why did Denkin’s advance on Moscow in 1919 fail?

Answer 56

Denkin came within 200 miles of Moscow but was relying on Kolchak’s forces to complete the attack’s but Kolchak’s army fell apart

Question 57

Why were the White officers poor leaders?

Answer 57

set a poor example by drinking and taking drugs

Question 58

Compare grain production in 1913 and 1921

Answer 58

1913: 80 million grains 1921: 38 million grains

Question 59

What was the rouble worth in 1920 due to war communism?

Answer 59

1% of it’s worth in 1913

Question 60

What was industrial production like in 1921 as a result of War Communism?

Answer 60

20% of its 1913 level

Question 61

How much did coal production decrease from 1913 to 1921?

Answer 61

1913: 29 million tonnes 1921: 9 million tonnes (meaning more people didn’t have central heating and froze)

Question 62

Who were the Workers’ opposition?

Answer 62

A group who demanded higher wages, better conditions, more food and workers’ control of the industry

Question 63

Who was Alexandra Kollontai?

Answer 63

A founding Bolshevik who joined the Workers’ Opposition as she objected to the use of the Cheka to scare people into submission

Question 64

When was the Kronstadt Mutiny?

Answer 64

March 1921

Question 65

What did the Kronstadters demand?

Answer 65

1) new elections 2) freedom of speech 3) equal rations 4) the scrapping of militia units which were responsible for grain requisitioning

Question 66

Why was the Kronstadt Mutiny so shocking?

Answer 66

Trotsky had previously heralded them as the ‘pride and glory of the Revolution’ ( they used to be fanatic-Bolsheviks)

Question 67

How many men were killed and wounded in the crushing of the Kronstadt Mutiny?

Answer 67

20,000

Question 68

What did Lenin say about the Kronstadt Mutiny?

Answer 68

‘It lit up reality like a flash of lightning’

Question 69

When did Lenin implement the NEP?

Answer 69

1921

Question 70

What were the main features of the NEP?

Answer 70

1) grain requisitioning was stopped 2) now legal for traders to buy and sell goods 3) smaller factories returned to their owners 4) larger industries remained under state control

Question 71

How did the government collect grain under the NEP?

Answer 71

Peasants had to give a fixed amount of grain to the government each year as tax but could sell any surplus they produced on the open market

Question 72

Compare the average monthly wage of an urban worker in 1921 and 1928

Answer 72

1921: 10 roubles 1928: 25 roubles

Question 73

Compare grain production in 1921 and 1928

Answer 73

1921: 38 million tonnes 1928: 73 million tonnes

Question 74

Compare steel production in 1921 and 1928

Answer 74

1921: 0.2 million tonnes 1928: 4 million tonnes

Question 75

Who were the Nepmen?

Answer 75

A group of people who became very wealthy under the NEP