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Lenin to Yeltsin | USSR > Lenin, 1917-1924 | Establishment of USSR > Flashcards

Lenin, 1917-1924 | Establishment of USSR Flashcards

1
Q

When was the Bolshevik Party established?

A

In 1903, it evolved from the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

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2
Q

What caused the October Revolution?

A

Russia was suffering from a huge economic and social crisis such as hyperinflation and food shortages

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3
Q

When did the Russian Revolution begin?

A

It began with the October Revolution of 1917, when the industrial workers revolted against the Provisional Government

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4
Q

When did the Russian Revolution end?

A

In 1923 with the Bolshevik establishment of the Soviet Union at the end of the Civil War

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5
Q

When did the October Revolution begin?

A

In 1917, riots and strikes over the scarcity of food began in Petrograd and quickly spread all over the country

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6
Q

What was the impact of the October Revolution?

A

It led to the establishment of the world’s first communist state and marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution

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7
Q

How was the October Revolution portrayed?

A

Bolshevik propaganda portrayed the revolution as a heroic storming of the Winter Palace, but it was relatively bloodless and members of the Provisional Government were arrested

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8
Q

What was Communist rule to become under the Bolsheviks?

A

Authoritarian, highly centralised and supplemented my heavy use of terror

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9
Q

At first, why did the Bolsheviks face difficulties in attempting to secure their hold on power?

A

The Bolsheviks was a relatively small group despite growth in support since the start of 1917.

They had seized power by force, despite claiming to be working in the interest of the peasantry and working class.

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10
Q

Which groups did the Bolsheviks face opposition from?

A

Fellow Marxists who were denied a share of power e.g. Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks

Right-wing groups like Tsarists, military leaders who contested the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk (1918), etc

Nationalist groups within the Russian Empire, like the Ukrainians, Poles & Finns, who saw the collapse of the Tsar regime as a chance to assert their independence

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11
Q

How did the Bolshevik deal with the other left-wing groups?

A

The Constituency Assembly (parliament) was called in January 1918

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12
Q

What groups and individual called for a socialist coalition?

A

Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and leading Bolsheviks like Lev Kamenev

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13
Q

How did Lenin respond to calls for a socialist coalition?

A

He swiftly and firmly rejected it

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14
Q

What did Leon Trotsky, Lenin’s closest associate, have to say about the Socialist Revolutionaries & Mensheviks?

A

“You have played out your role. Go where you belong: to the dustbin of history.”

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15
Q

What was the Constituency Assembly?

A

A Russian parliament that was to be democratically elected

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16
Q

How did the Constituency Assembly favour the Socialist Revolutionaries?

A

As the Assembly was to be democratically elected, the Socialist Revolutionaries were able to mobilise support among the peasantry

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17
Q

What was the results of the Constituency Assembly?

A

The Bolsheviks gained 175 seats in the Assembly with over 9 million votes, whereas the Socialist Revolutionaries gained 410 seats with 21 million votes.

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18
Q

How did Lenin respond to the results of the Constituency Assembly?

A

He dissolved the Assembly after one meeting and condemned it as an instrument of the bourgeoisie

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19
Q

What was the Constituency Assembly replaced with?

A

The All-Russian Congress of Soviets, it was a body where the Bolsheviks had more influence

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20
Q

How were other political parties destroyed?

A

The stripping of suffrage from “bourgeois class” such as employers, priests - opposition parties lost potential support

The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries struggled with publishing their newspapers due to Bolshevik restrictions

March 1918, the Bolshevik renamed itself the Communist Party & by 1921, all other parties were banned

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21
Q

What did Lenin declare about the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries in April 1921?

A

“The place for the Mensheviks and SRs is in prison.”

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22
Q

How many Mensheviks were arrested?

A

During the first three months of 1921, 5000 Mensheviks were arrested

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23
Q

What led to a wave of arrests of Socialist Revolutionaries members?

A

They were implicated in an assassination attempt on Lenin on 30 August by Fanya Kaplan

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24
Q

Who were the Socialist Revolutionaries?

A

A group committed to democratic socialism who believed in the right of groups to govern themselves

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25
Q

Who were the Mensheviks?

A

A, moderate communist group that split from the Bolsheviks in 1903 and were prepared to work with the bourgeoisie to bring about gradual reform.

26
Q

What was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

A

A peace treaty signed between the new Russian government & the Central Powers, which would put an end to Russia’s involved in WW1

27
Q

Who were the Central Powers?

A

An alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire

28
Q

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?

A

In 1918

29
Q

What were the consequences of signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

A

Russia lost 1 million sq km of land populated with about 50 million people

Russia lost Ukraine, where most of the grain came from

Russia lost 27% of farming land

Russia had to pay 3 billion roubles

30
Q

What major event did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk trigger?

A

A civil war. Humiliated military leaders who had served in WW1 believed the only way to restore Russia’s pride was to overthrow the Bolshevik regime and reject the Treaty

31
Q

How did the Allied powers of Britain, France, USA and Japan react?

A

They offered support to the Whites by providing money and resources to those who would ensure Russia rejoined the war

32
Q

Who were the Whites and it’s leaders?

A

The Whites were those who opposed the Bolsheviks during the civil war. They were led generals and military leaders from the Tsar’s armed forces.

33
Q

Who were the Whites and it’s leaders?

A

The Whites were those who opposed the Bolsheviks during the civil war. They were led by generals and military leaders from the Tsar’s armed forces.

34
Q

Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

A

He recognised that a key factor in the collapse of the Tsarist regime and Provisional Government was the pressure of fighting WW1, which drained resources with little chances of success.

35
Q

How long did the Russian civil war last?

A

From 1918-1921

36
Q

Who were the Reds?

A

The Bolsheviks and their supporters, made up largely of the industrial workers and peasants

37
Q

Why did the Bolsheviks win the civil war?

A

The Reds held industrialised area of Western Russia, so were able to produce war supplies

The Reds had one coherent aim: to build a new, Socialist society.

Enforcement of War Communism policy, which ensured adequate supplies for the Red Army

38
Q

Why did the Whites loose the civil war?

A

The support the Whites had from the Allied troops was half-hearted, they were tired of war and some sympathised with the Bolshevik cause

The Whites had different aims and were geographically scattered

The Whites lacked good leadership: commanders were often cruel and there often fights within the armies

39
Q

How important was Trotsky’s role in the Russian civil war?

A

The Reds had a great leader in Trotsky. He built a powerful, Red Army introducing conscription and bringing in experience officers to give strong leadership to each unit

40
Q

What was War Communism?

A

An economic policy that led to the nationalisation of industry throughout the USSR and the forced requisition of surplus grain from the peasantry by the state

41
Q

What were the results of the Russian civil war?

A

The Bolshevik state had become highly centralised due to the demands of the civil war.

The civil war had resulted in the Bolsheviks making use of terror against their political opponents

Supporters of the Bolsheviks had been through a formative experience, this experience reinforced materialistic values

Increase in Bolshevik Party membership

42
Q

Why did the Bolshevik state become highly centralised?

A

Fighting a war required quick decision-making by the government. Power was now in the hands of the Sovnarkom and Politburo

43
Q

When was the Tenth Party Congress held?

A

In 1921

44
Q

How did Bolshevik Party membership increase?

A

300,000 at the end of 1917 to 730,000 by 1921, this posed a threat to the stability of the Party

45
Q

What measure was taken to ensure conformity within the Party in 1921?

A

A ban on the creation of factions within the Party was put forward by Lenin at the 1921 Congress - “On Party Unity” policy

46
Q

What was the significance of the “On Party Unity” rule?

A

It was an attempt to impose the view of the leadership on the party. The penalty of breaking this rule was expulsion.

47
Q

Which revolt by sailors previously loyal to the Bolsheviks took place?

A

The Kronstadt Munity of 1921.

48
Q

What were the sailors in the Kronstadt Mutiny of 1921 mutinying against?

A

The imposition of orders on the local soviet from the Bolshevik government

49
Q

What was the slogan of the mutineers of the Kronstadt Mutiny?

A

“Soviets without Bolsheviks.”

50
Q

How did the Bolsheviks treat the Kronstadt Mutiny?

A

They mutiny was crushed by the Red Army, but was a shock to the regime as the sailors had previously been strong supporters of the Bolshevik Revolution

51
Q

What was the Tambov uprising?

A

A peasant uprising in the Tambov region of central Russia

52
Q

What sparked the Tambov uprising?

A

The arrival of Bolshevik units to requisition grain for use in the cities and the army

53
Q

How long did the Tambov Uprising last?

A

From 1920-1921, it took 50,000 Bolshevik troops to put down the revolt

54
Q

What was the nature of the government like under Lenin?

A

A system was devised based on representative bodies that in theory stemmed from the All-Russian Congress of Soviets and was headed by the Sovnarkom

55
Q

How did the Bolshevik government treat organisations that represented the proletariat?

A

Organisations that represented the proletariat like trade unions and factory committees were brought under Bolshevik control and sidelined.

56
Q

What was Democratic Centralism?

A

Lenin’s organisational system in which political decisions reached by voting processes are binding upon all members of the political party. All members are expected to uphold that decision.

57
Q

How did Lenin describe Democratic Centralism?

A

“Freedom of discussion, unity of action.”

58
Q

What was Democratic Centralism used as proof of?

A

The highly democratic nature of the Bolsheviks

59
Q

How was the principle of Democratic Socialism flawed?

A

Soviets were dominated by the Bolsheviks who ensured they were no longer responsive to pressure from workers they were supposed to represent

Local soviets were firmly in the hands of the local Party bosses who gave the orders

60
Q

What did the system of Democratic Centralism do in reality?

A

It turned representative bodies into rubber-stamping bodies that merely carried out orders given by the centre

61
Q

How did the civil war cause power to be concentrated at the Politburo?

A

Power was transferred to the Politburo to aid decison-making, this ensured raping responses to dynamic circumstances

The system became entrenched as those with power were reluctant to give it up after war

62
Q

Which features contributed to the growing centralisation of power in

A

The personal power of Lenin
The nomenklatura system
Soviet constitution of 1924
Use of terror

Lenin to Yeltsin | USSR (2 decks)

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