Key Figures in Russia 1900's Flashcards
Who was Leon Trotsky?
A famous figure in the Bolshevik movement - the son of a prosperous Jewish farmer
What happened to Trotsky in 1898?
He and his commune of potential revolutionary workers and students were betrayed by Tsarist police and was imprisoned in Moscow and then exiled to Siberia
What did Trotsky do when he escaped from the prison camp he was being held in in 1902?
Left his daughter and wife behind and fled in Europe using a prison guards passport - met Lenin in Paris 1502
What did Trotsky not agree with?
Lenin’s ruthless authoritarian methods that had led to division of social democrats between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks - remained part of both groups
When did Trotsky return to Russia and why?
1905 to take part in the 1905 revolution
What was Trotsky known as for his brilliance as a writer?
‘The Pen’ including his contribution to the revolutionary paper ‘Iskra’
What did Trotsky found when he returned to Russia?
The first workers council or soviet (became the Bolshevik stronghold in Russia) he was appointed chairman and wrote three papers including The Russian Gazette
What happened shortly after he founded the soviets?
He was arrested again with other members of the Soviet and spent the next 15 months in prison before escaping in 1907 and left Russia for foreign exile
In 1908 what did Trotsky begin?
The publication of Pravda in Vienna, which was smuggled into Russia by members of the underground sea-men’s union
What happened to Trotsky in 1916?
He was deported from France and travelled to New York where he met Bukharin
Where was Trotsky on his way to by 27th March 1917?
Having heard news of revolution - on way to Russia but on request of PG they were held at a camp in Canada for a month
When did Trotsky finally arrive in Russia and what happened?
May - he was briefly imprisoned following the ‘July Days’ but when released he was made chairman of the Petrograd soviet (as he had been 12 years earlier)
When did Trotsky’s group join with the Bolsheviks and what was happening with numbers?
July 1917 - despite imprisoned Bolsheviks their numbers were increasing and increased by the threat of right wing coup headed by Kornilov
What did Trotsky famously say at the Congress of Soviets on the night of the October revolution as he was urged by Martov to form a coalition government?
“your party is over. Go to the place where you belong from now on - in the trash bin of history”
What was Trotsky’s role in October?
He was the main practical coordinator of the Bolshevik seizure of power
At the first meeting of the Party Central Committee what did Trotsky suggest and what role did he decline?
Suggested ministries should be called People’s Commissars and the government the ‘soviet of people’s commissaries’
Turned down chairman and Commissariat of Interior because of his Jewish origins
What post did he accept and what did this result in him getting involved with?
Foreign Affairs - (much to the fury of the western allies) became involved in separate armistice talks with the Germans and their allies at Brest-Litovsk
What happened on the 7th of Feb and on the 6th of March surrounding Treaty?
7th - Trotsky announced to Germans and allies that the Russian armies had been demolished - expression of his ‘neither peace nor war’ policy
6th - Treaty was signed under threat of Lenin’s resignation
When Trotsky moved to Moscow with Lenin and the rest of the Government what was he appointed?
Commissar of War and chairman of the Supreme War Council
What did Trotsky then reorganise and how?
The Red Army - by 1920 numbered 55,00,000 (48,000 former Tsarist officers and 214,000 non-commissioned officers)
How do we know the Trotsky Red Army was successful?
He defeated both the Poles and the Whites
Where did Trotsky spend the next two and a half years?
On his armoured train - included a squad of troops with machine guns and their own transport for deployment in the civil war
How do we know Trotsky’s arrogance made him unpopular with other Bolshevik leaders?
They prevented him from succeeding Lenin in 1924 and he was expelled from the Party in 1929 and murdered by a Stalinist in Mexico 1940
When did Bukharin become a Bolshevik?
In 1906 when he joined the Social Democrats and was forced to live abroad in Western Europe from 1911 where he met Lenin and Stalin
Where did Bukharin join the October revolution and what did he believe?
In Moscow - saw it as the beginning of World Revolution and called for ‘holy war in the name of the proletariat’ - was on the extreme left of the party and opposed any divergence from what he considered true Marxism
What did Bukharin write?
An easy guide ‘The ABC of Communism’ and was editor of Pravda in 1917
What did Lenin regard Bukharin as?
‘The greatest and most valuable thinker in the party’
What policies did Bukharin accept?
Lenin’s policy of ‘War Communism’ - saw it as a natural step to socialism but subsequently accepted the new economic policy and later became a supporter of Stalin’s ‘socialism in one country’
Who was Felix Dzerzhinsky and when did he join the Social Democrats?
Son of a rich Polish-Lithuanian landowner and joined in 1895 and in 1897 was exiled to Siberia - spent the next 20 years escaping and being recaptured
What did Lenin make Dzerzhinsky responsible for under the new regime and how many members did it have?
The Cheka (became the GPU in 1922) - 100 operatives in 1917 to 30,000 in 1921 - responsible for Red Terror
What other roles did Dzerzhinsky have?
Commissar for Transport in 1921
Director of the Economic Council from 1924 until his death in 1926
What did Dzerzhinsky’s strong left views lead him to oppose/support?
Opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and the principle of self-determination
Led him to support Stalin’s policy of russifying and occupying Georgia
Who was Kamenev and when did he join the Social Democrats?
Son of a Jewish railway engineer - joined in 1901
What did Lenin ask Kamenev to do in 1908?
Join him in Geneva to edit the Bolshevik paper , Proletary
When was Kamenev arrested/ deported and who did he meet?
Became a leading propagandist over seas until 1914 war - arrested and deported to Siberia where he met Stalin
When Kamenev returned in 1917 what did he take over?
Editorship of Pravda in which he opposed Lenin’s April theses
What did Kamenev vote against in October 1917 and who with?
An armed uprising - Zinoviev also voted against -demanding a coalition with socialists
Why did Lenin overlook Kamenev’s opposition?
He needed support - he was appointed a member of Lenin’s Politburo
During Lenin’s illness in 1922 what was Kamenev one of three people to do?
Opposed Trotsky (Zinoviev and Stalin)
How did Kamenev’s political career end?
1927 Stalin took over the party and eased him out of power and was expelled from the party in 1932 and was eventually executed in 1936 after Stain’s Shows Trials
Who was Stalin?
A Georgian - son of a peasant turned cobbler and washer-woman mother - spent his early years training for the priesthood in the Greek Orthodox Church
Why did Georgia become a breeding ground for radical ideas and movements?
It was socially backwards and a centre for deported revolutionaries
When did Stalin join a social democratic group?
In 1898 but was expelled from his seminary in 1899 for his activities
Became actively involved in the Social Democratic movement and in years before 1917 revolution was arrested, exiled to Siberia and escaped several times - didn’t prevent him continuing revolutionary activities
When did Stalin support Lenin but what did he disagree with?
Supported him when the party divided but disagreed with him over the issue of nationalisation of land
What did Stalin play a key role in organising?
The party’s ‘fighting squads’ who raised money by robbing banks and hijacking treasury vans
When did Stalin become a member of the central committee?
1912 - before being arrested again and exiled to Siberia where he remained throughout the war
What did Stalin do when he returned to Petrograd in 1917?
Took over editorship of Pravda and presided over the All-Russian-Conference of Bolsheviks
What was Stalin’s role in the new government?
Commissar for nationalities and opposed the inclusion of other parties into the government
Responsible for drafting the new Constitution for a Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
What did Stalin do after Lenin’s death?
Rose to become the dictator of Russia
Who was Zinoviev and when did he join the social democrats?
Of Jewish origin - joined in 1901
When did Zinoviev become a member of the Bolshevik Central Committee?
1907-1927
When was Zinoviev close to Lenin and when did he oppose him?
Close during exile in 1907 and returned with him in 1917
Supported Kamenev in opposition to Lenin’s call for revolution
What was Zinoviev’s role?
Head of the party’s Petrograd organisation 1918-1926
Head of third international , the Comintern 1919-1926
What did Zinoviev do after Lenin’s death?
Joined with Kamenev and Stalin to exclude Trotsky from the leadership but then became the leader of the United Left Opposition against Stalin 1926-1927
What was Zinoviev’s downfall?
He was expelled from the party but readmitted in 1928 before finally being expelled again in 1932
He was arrested in 1934 and sentenced to death in 1936 after Stalin’s Shows Trials
