Lenin’s consolidation of power Flashcards
Why were the Bolsheviks struggling after their consolidation of power
They had few plans in terms of organisation due to all the time spent preparing for revolution
What did Trotsky believe was a simple way of helping the government
Issuing a few decrees
What did Lenin claim the revolution to be
A taking of power by the Soviets
Who did Lenin persist the sovnarkom was set up by
The congress of Soviets
Why were the Bolsheviks in a position to make their own rules
Traditional forms of government had fallen with the tsar
Who provided the members of Lenin’s government
The central committee of the Bolshevik party
How did Lenin demand the Bolshevik party operate
According the the principle of democratic centralism
What is democratic centralism
A formula that guarantees that power is exercised from the top down
Who had Lenin written powerfully against before the revolution
Landlords and grasping capitalists
When would Lenin use existing structures until
A fully fledged socialist system could be adapted
Why couldn’t Lenin introduce a new revolutionary policy
Because their authority didn’t run much further than Petrograd and Moscow
Which 3 issues had war against Germany and Austria caused for Russia
Shortage of raw materials, fractured transport system and grain supplies were short
What was the decree on peace an appeal for
The warring nations to enter into talks
What was issued in the decree on land
Private land ownership demolished
What did decree on workers control do
Accepted workers takeover as long as they maintained order and discipline
What was the vesenkha
Set up in December 1917 to take charge of the regulation of economic life
What did the vesenkha preside over
Banks and railways were nationalised, foreign debts were cancelled and transport system was improved
What was the decree on nationalisation
Laid down a programme for the takeover by the state of larger industrial concerns
What did Lenin have no faith in
Democratic elections
Who gained majority in the constituent assembly
SRs
When was the constituency dissolved
After one days session
How was the constituent assembly dissolved
At gunpoint by red guards
Why were allies still able to intervene
Because Russia was still at war
How did Lenin excuse his brutal dissolution of the constituent assembly
By claiming that the soviet had already achieved assembly and that the results were rigged and didn’t represent the people of Russia
What did Maxim gorky compare the dissolution of the assembly to
Bloody Sunday
What did Rosa Luxembourg feel about Lenin’s behaviour
She disproved of him and condemned the elimination of democracy in Russia
Why was it impossible for Russia to fight a successful war
Because of its military exhaustion
What would Germany retain if it won the war
Russian territory on both sides
What had the German foreign office given to Lenin
Substantial amounts of money
Why was peace with Germany in Lenin’s interest
Because it was the best guarantee against drying up lucrative source of Bolshevik revenue
What was Trotsky determined to turn peace talks into
A protracted affair in hopes of the collapse of Germany on both fronts
What did Trotsky want to buy time for
The Bolshevik agitators to exploit mutinies in the Austro-Hungarian armies
What was Trotsky slogan
Neither peace nor war
What was Trotskys slogan intended to do
Confuse and infuriate German delegation
How did trostky behave in peace talks
He would yawn loudly and start private conversations
What did Trotsky say in his speeches during peace talks
He appealed to Germany to overthrow its corrupt bourgeois government
What was Lenin and Trotskys belief
That history and time was on their side
What was trostky and Lenin’s main concern
Spreading proletarian revolution, they had little loyalty to Russia
When were the soviet delegation willing to sign the peace treaty
When they realised they wanted to overthrow Lenin
What did nikov call peace treaty to be
A German diktat
How much land was lost in the treaty of brest-litovsk
1/3 if European Russia
How much of russias population was lost in the treaty of Brest-Litovsk
45 million
How much was Russia required to pay in war reparations
3 billion roubles
How did Lenin justify his signing of the treaty to the Bolsheviks
By stressing that his policy of military exhaustion was the only realistic one
Why did Lenin believe that he would have the ability to retake the land Germany took
Because he believed the aftermath of the war would soon develop into a capitalist conflict
In Lenin’s view, what had WWI been caused by
The rivalry between imperialist powers competing for markets to invest their surplus capital
How much did Lenin gain his way by
Just one vote
What persuaded left communists to accept the treaty
Lenin’s insistence on the need for loyalty at a time of crisis
Why could Lenin strengthen his hold over the party
Because of the German collapse on the western front and the almost complete withdrawal from Russia
