Lenin Flashcards
Who was running Russia after the revolution?
ww-The new government created by the Dumas was called the provisional government
-The new Prime Minister of the Provisional Government was Prince Lvov (He was popular and a good democrat)
What was dual power?
-The provisional Government was popularly `accepted but the real power lay in the soviet
The socialist leaders of the Soviets decided to allow the PG to govern while it kept a close eye on what it was doing
-They did not want to provide an excuse for counter-revolution
-The socialists leaders had little idea on how to run a government
How did the war challenge the provisional government?
The Kadets wanted to continue the war
-They didn’t want to surrender to the Germans due to the national shame they would suffer
-They also didn’t want to lose the support of their allies Britain and France
Socialists were divided on the war
-The moderate socialists were prepared to support the war as they didn’t want Russia to be humiliated
-Factions in the Mensheviks and SRs wanted to negotiate
When was the June offensive?
16th June 1917
How did the July offensive challenge the provisional government?
-At the beginning of 1917 the PG decided to launch an offensive against the Germans
-The attack lasted 3 days and then it began to fall apart, thousands of soldiers were killed and even more land was lost
-Moderate socialists leaders in the gov lost their credibility with the soldiers and workers
How did the land and peasants challenge the provisional government?
How did the National minorities challenge the provisional government?
How did social reform challenge the provisional government?
How did the deteriorating economic situation challenge the provisional government?
Why was Kerensky a key player in 1917?
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Why was Lenin a key player in 1917?
What led to the July days?
The failed summer offensive in the war caused mounting frustration among the workers and soldiers, which led to uncontrolled rioting for several days
What were the events of the July days?
-July 3 Sukhanov
-On July 4 20,000 armed sailors from the Kronstadt naval base arrived in the Petrograd
-The sailors marched to the palace where they demanded that society take power
-Chernov the SR leader was sent out to calm them down but was seized
What was the Kornilov affair?
What were the consequences of the Kornilov affair?
What was the october revolution
What was Kerenskys response to the October revolution
How did the Bolsheviks seize control during the October revolution
How did the Bolsheviks hold onto power?
What were the Bolsheviks first measures?
-Lenin gave the workers what they wanted to survive the first few months
Sovnarkom passed a number of decrees to keep the support of the people:
-The decree on peace
-The decree on land
-The decree on workers control
-The decree on the rights of the people of Russia
What was the decree on peace?
Called for an immediate truce and aimed to pull Russia out of the war
What was the decree on land?
Gave peasants the right to take over the estates of the gentry without compensation
What was he decree on workers control?
Factory committees were given the right to control production and finance in workplaces and to supervise management
What was the decree on the rights of the people of Russia?
Gave the right of self determination to the national minorities in the former Russian empire
Out of control
How did the Bolsheviks deal with threats and opposition in 1917?
-Closed down opposition press
-Turned on opposition political parties
-On 7th December Lenin set up the Cheka
-Civil service was purged (replaced with bolshevik supporters and officials)
How did the Bolsheviks use class warfare in 1917?
-Lenin utilized class warfare to intimidate the middle classes and maintain control.
-The Bolshevik press targeted the bourgeois as ‘enemies of the people,’ labelling them as ‘parasites’ and ‘bloodsuckers.’
-The legal system was replaced by arbitrary revolutionary justice, leading to arrests and violence against those accused of being bourgeois.
The constituent assembly in 1917?
-The Constituent Assembly posed a threat to the Bolsheviks as it had a significant mandate from free elections.
-Lenin deemed the Assembly redundant, asserting that Soviet government represented a higher form of democracy.
The Bolsheviks and peace in 1917
-The Bolsheviks promised to end the war with a decree on peace, but faced challenges as the Russian army disintegrated.
-Western allies ignored the decree, leaving Lenin with the dilemma of facing the German army’s advance.
What are the interpretations of the October revolution?
-Debate between whether it was a popular revolution or a coup d’état.
-Soviet historians viewed it as a popular uprising led by the working class, while Western historians often saw it as a coup imposed by a small group of revolutionaries.
-Revisionist historians challenge the totalitarian view, emphasising the active role of workers, soldiers, and peasants in creating the circumstances for the Bolsheviks’ rise to power.
Who opposed Lenin’s pleas for a separate peace with Germany during the October Revolution?
Bukharin and the Left Communists, adhering to their ideological position, wanted to turn the war into a revolutionary conflict to encourage a European socialist revolution.
When was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?
3 March 1918