Lenin In Power - October 1917 Flashcards
What were the main problems facing the Bolsheviks in October 1917?
. A shortage of raw materials . Rocketing inflation . A fractured transport network . Lack of food . The loss of Ukraine to Germany via Brest li tosk worsened the food crisis
How did Lenin deal with the problem of peasants seizing land in the countryside?
. Lenin decreed that private ownership of land will be abolished forever.
. Land will not be sold, purchased, leased, mortgaged or alienated.
. All materials will pass into state ownership
. Farms will not be divided/ turned into farm models.
. Moves like this ensured that Lenin controlled agriculture and it essentially ensured that peasants had no say in how land was distributed, sold etc. He reduced the power of the peasants.
How did Lenin solve the problem of a fall in industrial output, high inflation and a shortage of raw materials?
. A decree was passed which passed the ownership of the factory’s back to the Bolsheviks.
. As a result industrial output increased, providing jobs and income for urban workers.
How did Lenin deal with the problem of a faltering economy?
. Lenin formed the Vesenkha which was a group which would take charge of economic institutions and would regulate economic life
. Banks and railways were to be nationalised
. Foreign debts were to be cancelled - freed up a large amount of money set aside for debt payments.
. The transport system was improved - allowed raw materials to be shipped faster and in bigger quantities to the factories.
How did Lenin deal with the fact that many Russians still did not support the Bolsheviks?
. Lenin created the Cheka which was essentially a better organised form of the Okhrana.
. It’s primary purpose was to eliminate counter revolutionary threats and sabotage threats of other kinds.
How did Lenin deal with the problem of not having an overall majority in the Constituent assembly?
. Lenin decided to abolish the assembly in order to ensure the Bolsheviks had no real opposition.
. Now the Bolsheviks controlled the government they had no real need of an assembly
. The assembly was also heavily non Bolshevik so abolishing it made sense.
How did Lenin deal with the problem of the war?
. Lenin realised that Russia’s military was exhausted that by continuing the way he would be sealing both his and Russia’s fate.
. The treaty of Brest - Litovsk ceded large amounts of territory including Ukraine to Germany as a means of ending the war
. Russia was also forced to pay three billion roubles in compensation to the Germans.
. The main reason to why Lenin agreed to this was that he knew that Germany would lose the war and when the war ended he would get back all the territory and money he had lost at Brest - Litovsk.
