Lenin: communists government in the USSR Flashcards
1
Q
The february revolution
A
1917- an uprising in petrograd that overthrew the Tsars and set up a provisional government
2
Q
The provisional government
A
- Introduced a series of new reforms including, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. They promised democratic elections to appoint a new government. The Tsar’s despotism was replaced by a liberal system. However they chose to stay in the war.
- Lenin was a radical member of the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP). He encouraged a revolution against the provisional government, he wanted an end to Russian involvement in WWI and the redistribution of land to peasants. By October 1917, Lenins followers the Bolsheviks had enough support to organise a coup d’etat, which led to the end of the provisional government
3
Q
Political background to 1917 Russia
A
- Tsarism was oppressive (autocracy)
- Military defeat threatened the legitimacy of the Tsars
4
Q
Economic background to 1917 Russia
A
- 80% of the populations were serfs
- Russia’s economy was unable to provide food and equipment for WW1
5
Q
Social background to 1917 Russia
A
- The people of Russia were uniting against the Tsars
- Peasants being conscripted to the army caused food shortages
5
Q
A
6
Q
October revolution
A
- October 1917, Lenin seized control on behalf of the soviets
- The soviets were small democratic councils that had emerged in every town across Russia
- The local soviets would send representatives to the all Russian congress of Soviets, which met in June 1917 and again in October- Lenin and other senior Bolsheviks believed that the All Russian Congress of Soviets should become the new basis of Russian government
- As the congress was too large to meet regularly they elected the Sovnarkom to handle the day to day runnings of the country
7
Q
Sovnarkom: People’s commissars
A
- The Sovnarkom was made up of 13 People’s commissars
- Lenin was elected head of sovnarkom and other comissars included Leon Trotsky; head of People’s commissariat of foreign affairs and Stalin; Peoples commisariat of nationality affairs
- All of the commissars were revolutions and majority had supported Lenin since 1903
8
Q
Sovnarkom: decrees
A
- Decree on land (October 1917)- gave peasants the right to seize land from nobility
- Decree of Peace(October 1917)- withdrew Russia from WWI
- Workers Decree (November 1917)- set 8 hour maximum working days and a minimum wage
- Decree on workers control (April 1918) allowed workers to elect committees to run their factories
9
Q
Sovnarkom: control and power?
A
- It took a while after the October Revolution which seized control of Petrograd for Lenin to gain control of other major cities and the rural areas of Russia
- Senior figures from the former government still had power and refused to recognise Bolshevik authority. For example General Dukholnim, Chief of staff of the Russian army refused Lenin’s order to stop fighting and begin peace talks
- The State bank and treasury went on strike after the October revolution denying Lenin’s new government the funds they needed
- Sovnarkom was very disorganised overall.
10
Q
October revolution
A
- October 1917 Lenin seized control of Russia on behalf of the Soviets
- the soviets were democratic councils that had popped up in every town across Russia
- The local Soviets would elect representatives to the all Russian congress which met in June 1917 and again in October
- Lenin and other senior Bolsheviks agreed that the all Russian congress should be the basis of the new Russian government
- As the congress was too large to meet regularly they elected the Sovnarkom to handle the day to day runnings of the country
11
Q
Sovnarkom: people’s commissars
A
- Sovnarkom was made up of 13 peoples commissars
- Lenin was elected head of Sovnarkom, Trotsky; people’s commissar of foreign affairs, Stalin; people’s commissars of nationalities
- Most of the commissars were revolutionaries and had supported the Lenin from 1903
12
Q
Sovnarkom: decrees
A
- Decree on land (October 1917) - give peasant the right to seize land from landowners
- Decree on peace (October 1917) - declared Russias withdrawal from WW1
- workers decree (November 1917) - set 8 hour maximum work day
- Decree on control of workers ( April 1918) - allowed workers to elect a committee to run their factories
13
Q
Sovnarkom: power and control
A
- it took a while after the October revolution which only seize d control in Petrograd for Lenin to take control of other major cities and the rural areas of Russia
- Senior figures from the government refused to recognised the Bolsheviks rule, for example General Dulkhonim chief of the army refused Lenin’s order to stop fighting and begin peace talks
- The state bank treasury went on strike after the October revolution denying the Bolsheviks the funds they needed
- Sovnarkom was disorganised overall
14
Q
In what ways was Russia democratic when Lenin came to power in 1917
A
- Not a one party state - the Soviets represented different parties
- Some social revolutionaries supported the Bolsheviks and had junior roles in government
15
Q
In what ways was Russia not democratic when Lenin came to power in 1917
A
- decrees were set by Lenin rather than the people
- Lenin refused to recognise the results of the constituent assembly election in 1917 as the Bolsheviks were a minority party
- Lenin approved the Treaty of Brest Litovsk despite opposition- which gave a significant portion of Russian territory to the central powers in order to leave WW1
- From April Mensheviks and SRs were expelled from Soviets
- Lenin postponed elections after the outbreak of the civil war
16
Q
The civil war:
Who were the reds, what were their aims, their geography and their leadership?
A
- They were the Bolsheviks
- Their aims were united and to create a socialist state, maintain Bolshevik power
- They held the central area of Western Russia which contained industrial centres to produce war and munition supplies , also controlled railways which connected to Moscow Petrograd and other cities
- Trotsky was the military leader of the reds, he introduced conscription for 18+ and appointed 50,000 former Tsarist officers, who were knowledgeable in war. “Trotsky’s train” - armoured, boosted morale
17
Q
The civil war:
Who were the whites, what were their aims, their geography and their leadership?
A
- They were : landowners, factor owners, royalists, church members, opposers of Brest Litovsk, Mensheviks, SRs , national minorities seeking independence from Russia
- their aims were not united however they all agreed that they didn’t want the Bolsheviks in power
- They were scattered around Russia often with hundreds of miles between them, communication were hard and military leaders acted on their own either way
- no centralised leaders, commanders were often cruel which served as a reminder of WW1, military commanders didn’t trust each other as they had different goals
18
Q
Changes to government during the civil war
A
- government became increasingly centralised this was done through war communism
- ## communist party became increasing powerful, political centralism, nomenklatura; largely made up of former members of the educated middle classes not the Soviets
19
Q
The emergence of a party state during the civil war
A
- Decisions needed to be made quickly therefore Lenin relied on the politburo as it was smaller it contained his closest advisors, this led to Sovnarkom ceasin to function from 1920
- communist party dominance also emerged at local level, senior communists preferred to work through the party as they didn’t trust the soviet councils which had SRs and Mensheviks present in them
- Russia was no longer a soviet state
20
Q
Red terror and the red army during the civil war
A
- Lenin set up the Cheka in 1917, it was the political police set with the task of defeating any opposers of the Bolsheviks through torture and executions, for example they impaled church leaders on spikes
- Intially soldiers were allowed to elect their own officers however this rule was abolished and Trotsky elected former Tsarist officers which caused opposition however made the army more disciplined and succesful
21
Q
What year did the Bolsheviks win the civil war
A
1921
22
Q
Popular unrest as a result of the civil war
A
- the civil war ruined Russias economy this was made worse by a drought in 1920-21 which threatened famine
-Peasnants inTambov led by Aleksander Antonov revolted against Cheka brutality and grain requisitioning, by January 1921 he had gathered 50,000 anti communist supporters, their rebellion was harshly put down by the Cheka and in May the Cheka had deported 100,000 to Gulags - March 1921 peasants attacked grain stores across the Volga river
- outbreak of strikes in early 1921 which was put down by the red army opening fire on unarmed workers
- Sailors in Kronstadt were horrified and rebelled they wanted a return of soviet democracy
- Some communists a,so be levied Lenin had taken it too far
23
Q
How did Russia become a one party state after the civil war
A
- Lenin responded unrest by crushing political opposition
- in 1921 Lenin authorised the Cheka to destroy opposition political parties
- By February all the the Mensheviks and SRs had been imprisoned in theButyrka prison
24
The 1921 party congress
Lenin pushed through a series of reforms:
- the “new economic policy” - liberalised the economy
- ban on factions within the party
25
The Soviet Union
- created in 1922
- by 1940 there were 15 different republics including Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia
- Each had their own soviet system and communist party
26
Why was there a power struggle after Lenin’s death
- Lenin’s support within the party was based on respect rather than position
- Therefore the way that the next leader will have to win power was based on support within the party not position
- they had to prove they were a true Leninist
