Lenin - Government Flashcards
What was the government like directly before Lenin?
before the Oct Revolution there had been a February revolution in which the provisional government and the Soviet had seized power and ran Russia as a democracy - ‘Dual Power’
who was head of the provisional government?
Kerensky
what happened to Kerensky before Oct?
there was an attempted coup by Kornilov, which Kerensky defeated but due to the ongoing issues with WWI as well he was left isolated.
why did the Bolsheviks act in October?
the knew they needed to seize power before the provisional government legitimized itself with elections.
when did the Bolsheviks seize power?
in Oct 1917, as they were gaining in popularity.
what was Lenin’s thesis and how did it help in 1917?
it was a speech issued in April that helped to gain the Bolshevik party popularity. it featured his famous slogan Peace! Bread! Land! - appealing to almost every subgroup of Russia at the time.
what was Sovnarkom?
a new cabinet created by Lenin in 1917, Lenin was it’s head - Stalin and Trotsky were also members.
what was the structure of the communist party?
party members voted for local parties, some members of which were then elected to a party congress. the party congress was answerable to the central committee (same level as the secretariat) which was controlled by the Politburo.
what was the structure of the soviet state?
the Russian people elected candidates to local soviets. some members of local soviets were promoted to the all Russian congress of soviets, controlled by the Sovnarkom.
what were some of the 1917 decrees?
- Oct decree on land
- Oct decree on peace - promised to withdraw from WWI
- Nov decree on workers - 8 hour working day and established a minimum wage.
what were some of the 1918 decrees?
- decree of workers control - workers elected committees to run factories
- 1918 constitution declared the Sovnarkom responsible to the congress of soviets (which contained SR’s and mensheviks)
when and why was the Cheka created?
Dec 1917 to defend the revolution
what did Lenin do about the constituent assembly?
in Nov 1917 he allowed the elections to take place but disbanded it the day after it met for the first time in Jan 1918.
what steps led to Russia becoming a one party state?
- Bolsheviks won the 1918 April/May elections after the Brest-Litovsk treaty made progress in ending the war.
- in May 1918 Lenin ignores the election results and expels Mensheviks and SR’s from the party.
- Civil War breaks out in summer 1918
- from 1920 onwards the Politburo had power after the Sovnarkom was sidelined.
what was the Tambov revolution?
Jan 1921 - Peasants revolted over grain requisitioning. Cheka agents were killed by peasants uprising in the Tambov region. in March 1921 peasants attacked government grain stores along the Volga river.
