Lenin and the Bolsheviks 1917 Flashcards
What did Lenin do on hearing of the Tsar’s abdication?
- help of the German government returned to Russia from Switzerland
- Germans wanted him to hinder the war effort so he went on a train with no passport or luggage inspection carried out
Why did Lenin’s return in April 1917 mark a turning point in attitudes towards the PG and what was his arrival like?
- When Lenin returned, he argued revolution was essential, wanting soviets to take over government
- Apart from 6 months 1905-06 Lenin had been in exile for 17 years so wasn’t sure what to expect - he was greeted by cheering crowds at Finland station in Petrograd where he gave a speech
What did the abolition of the political police and the guarantee of political rights by the PG mean?
- Radical leaders were allowed to return to Russia- in the first few months, key Bolshevik leaders returned
When did the key Bolshevik leaders return?
Joseph Stalin - arrived in Petrograd March 1917
Lenin- returned in April with Zinoviev and Kamenev
Bukharin - came back to Moscow in May
When Lenin arrived in Petrograd what did he demand and what did he bring?
- Demanded an immediate Social Revolution
- Brought ‘April Theses’
What did the April Theses promise and why?
‘Peace, bread and Land’
Declared ‘All power to the soviets’
Designed to gain Bolshevik support - these slogans appealed to majority of Russians
What were Lenin’s promises of Peace, Bread and Land?
Peace - his promise to end Russia’s involvement in the war (appealed to war-weary soldiers + workers and peasants who had suffered due to war
Bread- his promise to end the hardship of the war (starvation)
Land - promise to redistribute land (appealed to peasants who wanted revolution to lead to land reform and were frustrated at PG’s unwillingness to redistribute land
By claiming ‘all power to the soviets’ what did Lenin believe?
February revolution = first step to social revolution (Mensheviks disagreed) - soviets could be new government of Russia
Why did Lenin initially have little impact?
Marxists such as Tsereteli who had been in Petrograd since March believed he was out of touch with Russia’s situation
Initially his Theses didn’t win popular support
What is an example of Lenin’s original lack of impact?
On 21st of April Lenin sent Bolsheviks into factories to gain support for strikes (attempt to remove PG from power) however it had little impact and there were no mass strikes
In what ways did Lenin’s leadership skills remain a threat to the PG?
He persuaded the majority of Bolsheviks to oppose PG
His radical alternative became increasingly popular as PG policies failed to address concerns of Russian workers
His April Theses attracted support of revolutionaries who previously opposed Lenin and the Bolsheviks
What did Lenin promise upon hid arrival - April Theses?
Worldwide socialist revolution End to war End to cooperation with PG Soviets to be given power Land to the peasants
How did Lenin justify his April Theses?
Claimed the Bourgeois were too weak in Russia to carry through the democratic revolution and that the proletariat had already taken power of the Soviets and were driving the revolution
At the time of the Feb/March Rev how big were the Bolsheviks?
- Still only a small party of 23,000 members, had only 40 representatives in the Soviet of 1500 and all their major leaders were in exile.
- Kamenev and Stalin (arrived mid march) took control of party newspaper
- When Lenin returned they began to take their own path
What were Lenin’s letters from afar?
Written between 7th and 26th on March in which he made clear that the party’s job was to lead the people forwards to a second revolution