How the Bolsheviks Rose to Power Flashcards
Who founded the Bolshevik party?
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)
What happened in June 1917?
The coalition government launched a military effort to end the war and bolster Russia’s power but instead caused 200,000 deaths and was a military disaster. Soldiers deserted - this brought support for Bolsheviks.
What happened to the Bolshevik and Soviet leading figures after the July Days?
Trotsky and Kamenev were arrested and Lenin fled.
When did Lenin become leader of the Bolsheviks?
1903
How did the Bolsheviks’s involvement in the July Days affect their reputation
It made them heroes of the resistance. They gained support and outnumbered the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks.
When did Trotsky become the chairman of the soviet?
25th September 1917
What is the October Revolution?
When the Bolsheviks seized power from the PG.
What caused a power vaccum that enabled the October Revolution?
The incapability of the PG.
By how much did the number of Bolshevik members increase between April and (the end of) July?
It doubled. 100,000 in April, 200,000 by the end of July, 350,000 by October. Most were workers.
When did the Bolsheviks gain a majority in the Petrograd Soviet?
September 1917
Who were the MRC?
Military Revolutionary Committee that was set up by the Petrograd Soviet to organise the defence of the capital.
Who headed the MRC?
Trotsky
Who joined the Bolsheviks in July?
Trotsky
When did Trotsky join the Bolsheviks?
July 1917
Who took over the garrison of the capital and effectively secured control in October?
The MRC - headed by Trotsky.
What happened at the second All-Russia Congress of Soviets? What did this mean for the Bolsheviks?
Menshevik and Social Revolutionary (SR) party members walked out, leaving the door wide open for Bolsheviks takeover/dictatorship.
What factor would make the rise of the Bolsheviks not-so-inevitable?
The failure of the July Days
What did Lenin’s return to Russia mean for the Bolsheviks?
A new radical journey, they would take nothing less than sole control of the Russian state.
What did Lenin do that revamped the Bolsheviks’ revolutionary stregnth?
He galvanised them and radicalised them more.
What desires and actions of Lenin made him the right guy for many groups of people?
His opposition to the war, calls for land reform, favourable attitude towards peasantry and refusal to accept roles in government - he was a man of the people.
