Lenin To Stalin Flashcards
1
Q
What were some of the problems when Lenin came to power?
A
Economy deteriorated rapidly - Lennie returned to labour discipline and one person management
Bankers civil servants and other managers disrupted the bolsheviks
2
Q
What did the bolsheviks believe would happen after the decree on peace?
A
Other countries in Europe would follow means and war collapse into a series of civil wars where working class would create social revolutions
3
Q
When was Trotsky dispatched to negotiate a peace settlement with Germany?
A
December 1917 - Brest-Litovsk
4
Q
What did Lenin believe about peace in the world war?
A
It was essential for survival of regime- no army to fight the Germans and feared the Germans would throw the bolsheviks out as they advanced
5
Q
Why were Bukharin and the left communists against peace?
A
Stick to their ideology and wanted to turn war into a revolutionary war to create European socialist revolution
6
Q
What was the vote in the Bolshevik central committee over the war issue?
A
9 to 7 to accept Trotsky policy of “neither war nor peace”
Lenin lacked support
7
Q
What did Lenin have to do to get the bolsheviks to agree to the peace treaty?
A
Threaten to resign
8
Q
When was the treaty of Brest-litovsk signed?
A
3 March 1918
9
Q
What was the treaty of Brest Litovsk seen as throughout Russia?
A
A shameful peace
No leading Bolshevik was prepared to put their name to it
Totally resigned as foreign commissar
10
Q
What was lost in the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
A
Half the human, industrial and agricultural resources of Nicholas 2s empire
-aggravated severe grain shortages in cities
11
Q
What did the treaty of Brest-Litovsk encourage?
A
Patriotic Russians to join anti-Bolshevik forces and make civil war
12
Q
How dd the Left SRs react to the treaty of Brest Litovksk?
A
Resigned from Sovnarkom in protest
13
Q
What was Mawdsleys view on the Brest Litovsk to Lenin?
A
Never again would such a major issue be fought out in public, never again would Lenin be so deeply challenged
14
Q
Give some figures the russia lost in the treaty of Brest-Litovsk
A
62 million people (1/6th pop)
27% farm land
26% railway
74% iron ore and coal resources
15
Q
In what countries did the Germans set up semi independent governments in as a result of the treaty of BL?
A
Belarus
Ukraine
Georgia
16
Q
What countries became independent republics as per the treaty of BL?
A
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
17
Q
What did the Germans do in Finland?
A
Finland been ruled by tsars since 1809
In 1918 Germans helped Finns defeat Bolshevik uprising and ensured Finland remained independent in treaty of BL
18
Q
How did the civil war break out?
A
In May 1918 after revolt by Czech former war prisoners
19
Q
What were the reds?
A
The bolsheviks - as it became clear white success meant restoration of ruling class and landowners reds gained more support Peasants hated landlords more than bolsheviks
20
Q
What were the whites?
A
Senior officers in tsarist army - divided and uncoordinated
Former tsarists and liberals as SRs
Only think in common all anti Bolshevik
Deeply divided
21
Q
What was uncommon within the white armies?
A
They would fight each other
Admiral Kolchak overthrew Komuch in Nov 1918 in military coup
22
Q
What were the greens?
A
Peasant armies made up of deserters from whites or reds. Some fought for bolsheviks some against
More concerned wit protecting own area from damage caused by armie s
23
Q
What was the most famous of the green armies?
A
Nestor Makhno
An anarchist in Ukraine - skilled guerilla leader who fought all but became ally of bolsheviks . Ukrainians were fighting for their independence
24
Q
Name three significant white armies
A
Denikins in South Russia
Kolchaks in Siberia
Yudenichs in North West
25
When was Petrograd and Moscow threatened by the white armies?
October 1919
| Trotsky exploited red control of railways to beat them back
26
What ended the civil war?
When Wrangel (successor of Denikin) the last surviving white general was defeated in Crimean in Nov 1920
27
What did Bolshevik propaganda portray them as in the civil war?
Defending the revolution against the whites
28
What was the whites most serious weakness?
Lack of political programme to appeal to the peasants
29
What were the advantages of the reds?
Held central area and conscript army outnumbered whites
Single unified command structure under Trotsky
Trotsky had charisma
Peasant support - Lenin had legitimised their right to land
Foreign intervention to help whites made bolsheviks the defenders of Russia
30
What were the whites disadvantages?
```
Scattered over Russia
Communications and co ordination bad
Made up of different groups unable to agreements
Indiscipline and corruption
Lacked political programme
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31
How many miles did trotskys special war train cover?
65000 miles from front to front
32
What did Lenin start to help save the economy in 1918?
War communism
33
What was set up in may 1918 to do with the economy?
Food supplies dictatorship - beginning of grain requisitioning - red guards and soldiers forcibly took grain
34
What were the sections of war communism?
```
Grain requisitioning
Labour discipline
Rationing
Nationalisation of industry
Banning of private trade
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35
What happened in labour discipline?
Fines for lateness and absenteeism
Internal passports introduced to prevent fleeing to countryside
Piece-work rates brought back and bonuses
36
When was the decree on nationalism?
June 1918
37
Did nationalisation of industry help increase production?
No
38
What developed as a result of the banning on private trade?
Black market
39
Describe the rationing system introduced during war communism
Class based
Red army soldiers and labour forces given priority
Burzhooi/middle classes got smalllest rations barely enough to live off
40
What was the economic situation in May 1918?
Acutely shortage of raw materials so industrial output shrank
Souring inflation- value of rouble collapsed
Paper money worthless and peasants refused to supply cities - nothing given in exchange
Food shortages and food riots
Workers fled from cities in search of food so workforce shortage
41
How much did urban workers spend on food in May 1918?
3/4 of income
42
What percentage of prostitutes in Moscow were from burzhooi classes in May 1918?
42%
43
What was war communism to lenin?
An extension of class warfare and the "internal front" of the revolution - way of wiping out bourgeois attitudes
44
What launched the Chekas red terror?
An assassination attempt on Lenin in 30 Aug 1918
45
Who was one f the most significant victims of the red terror?
Star Nicholas and his family and servants - shit 17 July 1918 in the Urals
46
What do official records put the figure of deaths at hands of Cheka 1918-20? And what is the estimated real figure?
13000
| 500 000
47
What wa are purpose of the terror?
Terrify all hostile social groups
48
What percentage of Moscow prisons did children make up 1920?
5%
49
By 1921 how many employees did the Cheka have?
143000
50
What was the problem with the red terror?
No one was sure who the counter revolutionaries were
51
What was set up to house troublesome peasants, dissident workers and bourgeoisie saboteurs?
Concentration and labour camps
52
According to Cheka sources how many desperate risings in Russia were ther in Feb 1921?
118
53
What was Russia like in 1921?
```
Economy in ruins
Transport system on point of collapse
Factories couldn't get materials needed and most industry had ceased production
Famine
Thousands died from disease - cholera
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54
What was the main threat to the communist government in 1921?
The peasants - now civil war over and whites defeated the focused efforts on fighting grain requisitioning
55
What was the most serious peasant revolt against grain requisitioning?
Tambov uprising august 1920 to June 1921 led by Antonov in
56
What did the red army use in the Tambov region to quell peasant revolts?
Poison gas
57
What brought respected strikes in cities in 1920-21
Sever winter
58
What was cut by one third in several cities including Moscow 22 Jan 1921?
The bread ration
59
What did the city to the bread ration cause?
Food demonstrations to be broken up by Cheka and special troops because ordinary soldiers refused to fire upon the crowds
60
What were urban workers angry about?
Food shortages
Militarised factories - workers could be imprisoned or shot if production targets not met
Unions no real power just instruments of control
61
What was imposed on Moscow and st P in 1921?
Martial law
62
Who mutinied against the bolsheviks in march 1921?
Kronstadt sailors
63
What did the Kronstadt sailors hop to achieve intbeir mutiny?
General revolt against bolsheviks
| End to terror dictatorship grain requisitioning and one party rule
64
What caused serious arguments within the party at end 1920?
Debate over decreasing power of trade unions
65
What was significant about the Kronstadt uprising?
The rebels were the same sailors who had fought for the revolution despite lenin condemning them as a "white plot"
66
What was established from 1923 onwards?
The nomenklatura system
67
What was the nomenklatura system?
List of 5500 designated party and government posts drawn up - holders of these posts only appointed by central party bodies - tightened one party state those who wanted promotion had to be loyal
68
What happened to Lenin from mid 1921?
His health declined and he suffered a huge stroke in May 1922 that limited his activity
69
What did Lenin accuse Stalin of?
Great Russian chauvinism and bullying tactics
70
What left Lenin without the power of speech?
Another stroke in march 1923
71
What was Lenin worried about towards the end of his life?
Extent of party bureaucracy and stalins increasing power
72
What was the bedrock of the soviet system right through to its demise?
Lenins key principles
73
What did Trotsky write to preobrazhensky in 1928?
You know better than I do that had lenin not managed to come to Petrograd in April 1917 the October revolution would not have taken place
74
When did the cult of Lenin begin?
Just after the attempt on his life in 1918
75
How did the cult of Lenin surface?
Eulogies appeared in Bolshevik press giving him Christ like qualitites as he was unafraid to sacrifice his life for the revolution
76
How many segments was Lenins brain sliced into after his death and why?
30000 so scientists in the future could discover the secrets of his genius
77
In the power struggle after lenins death how did all the contenders justify their positions?
Referencing Lenin and arguing that they diverged from Lenin
78
By 1922 what were the results of the NEP?
Food in the markets in cities and trade in shops, shops cafes and restuarants reopened
79
By 1923 how much had cereal production risen by since 1920?
23%
80
In the Autumn 1923 what happened to food prices?
they began to drop but price of industrial goods still rose as they were in short supply
81
What did Trotsky dub the industrial goods problem?
The Scissor Crisis - the imbalance between industrial goods and food made the peasants reluctant to supply food - ended April
82
How did the govt fix the Scissor Crisis?
started to take peasant tax in cash rather than in kind to encourage peasants to sell produce
83
How did Trotsky feel about the Scissors Crisis?
wanted to move to rapid industrialisation from NEP and favoured a permanent scissors crisis to squeeze more grain out of peasants to pay for it
84
What was the name of the private traders who began to appear in this revival?
Nepmen
85
How much of the retail trade did Nepmen handle by 1923?
3/4
86
What did Nepmen do?
Scoured villages buying up produce to sell in the markets in cities, also travelled round workshops picking up equipment to sell
87
When was the heyday for the Nepmen?
First 3 years of NEP - corruption rife and rewards high, it was a get rich quick society - prostitution and crime flourishes
88
What did the Moscow municipal govt make most of its income on in the first three years of the NEP?
taxes on gambling clubs
89
How does peasant production of grain in the NEP years compare with 1913 Russia?
1913- exported 13million tonnes
| Best years of NEP - never exceeded 3 million tonnes
90
In 1926-27 what percent of 1913 levels were imports and exports?
imports - 38%
| exports - 33%
91
How many Kronkstadt sailors were killed in the rebellion?
10 000 - in the following weeks 2500 shot by Cheka execution squads
92
What was clear to Lenin after the challenges of 1921?
Concessions to the peasants and some measure of economic liberalisation was essential for the regime to survive
War communism was not working
93
What was brought in to deal with the 1921 crisi?
NEP
94
What was the key element of the NEP?
Abolished grain requisitioning
95
What replaced grain requisitioning?
A "tax in kind" peasants had to give a fixed proportion of their grain to the state but this was much less than previously and they could sell surplus on the market
96
What else did the NEP do?
Small businesses and private trading back
Ban on private trade removed
Rationing abolished
State retained control of large scale heavy industries such as transport and banks - industry organised into trusts
97
How did the party view the NEP?
A betrayal and against Bolshevik ideology
| Especially lifting the ban on private trade
98
What persuaded the doubters that they had to follow the NEP?
The kronkstadt revolt - they realised splits in the party would result in ten losing power all together so they fell in line behind Lenin
99
What accompanied the economic concessions of the NEP?
Tightening of political control - ban on factions passed
100
When was the first cleansing to rid the unhealthy elements of the party?
May 1918 _ expulsion of idlers hooligans adventurers drunkards and thieves
101
By mid 1919 what happened to party meme era hip?
It was half the total claimed before due to cleansing
102
How many party members were purged or left the party in 1921?
220 000
103
How many Mensheviks were arrested in 1921 for counter revolutionary activities?
5000
104
In 1921 what was the show trial?
Socialist revolutionaries - 34 leaders condemned as terrorists and 11 executed
105
What was the Cheka renamed in 1922?
GPU (main political administration)
106
What continued to be applied after 1922 as an instrument of social policy?
Arbitrary imprisonment and the death penalty
107
What was evidence that there wasn't ideological backtracking in the NEP years?
GPU periodically harassed the Nepmen and the attack on religion
108
When was pre publication censorship introduced?
1922 - everything has to be submitted to Glavlit before publication
109
When did the communist dictatorship emerge?
1922
110
When was the politburo created?
1919
111
What is the politburo?
Inner ruling group of seven people at top of communist party
| Key decision making body
112
What was the reasons for the grain not reaching the market?
Agriculture backwards relying on isufficent methods
Peasant landholdings smaller than pre 1917 as large estates divided up - on small land plots people eat most of what they produce
Gap in prices between grain and peasant desired manufactured goods
Relationship between peasants and govt deteriorated
113
How many inefficient wooden ploughs were still in use in 1927?
Over 5 million
114
What did the government do to solve the grain problem?
Clamped down on private traders but peasants starting feedin grain to their animals as meat prices was higher than grain prices
115
What did the large state controlled trusts constantly do?
Cut their workforce to make a profit
116
How did the NEP affect urban workers?
Wages remain low
Unemployment rises steeply
Seemed like the peasants were doing well at their expense
Objected to power of single managers
117
What happened to real wages in 1928?
They only just passed their pre war levels
118
By 1926 what percent of the employed population was unemployed?
14% significantly higher than pre war
119
What remained a problem for workers during the NEP?
Housing - in Smolensk 1929 many workers with six or seven families lived in one room
120
What was a result of the turmoil of war and civil war?
Thousands of parentless and rootless young people formed gangs and roamed the streets
121
What pushed stain to act decisively over the grain?
Amount of grain procured by state at end of 1927 was 3/4 1926
122
What did Stalin do in Jan 1928?
Went to Urals and western Siberia on requisitioning campaign - substantial resistance to his actions
123
What was Stalin made after the October revolution?
From editor of Pravda to commissar of nationalities
124
What helped Stalin in his advancements through the Bolshevik party?
Sverdlov in march 1919 died of Spanish flu - he was organiser and now Stalin took his job and got closer to Lenin
125
What was Stalin out in charge of in May 1919?
The orgburo which controlled aspects of party organisation
126
When was Stalin appointed general secretary?
1922
127
What was a big advantage to Stalin?
He was the only person to be a member of all three of the party's executive bodies
128
What gave Trotsky an advantage?
His organisation and drive during the civil war led them to victory and gave him a strong base in the army
129
What worked against Trotsky?
His arrogance and aloofness which didn't win him any friends
From 1923 he suffered from attacks of an undiagnosed fever so he missed crucial votes and debates
130
Who is zinoviev?
Old Bolshevik active I te party as early as 1903
Initiated cult of lenin
Widely disliked and over ambitious
Opposed armed uprising in October and fell out with lenin
Made party secretary in Leningrad
1919 chairman of comintern
1921 full member of politburo
131
Who was kamenev?
```
Active Bolshevik since 1905
Close collaborator with lenin
Excellent editor of Pravda
Opposed April thesis
Opposed lenin with zinoviev
Party secretary in moscow
Comissar for foreign trade
Not a natural leader
```
132
Who was bukharin?
```
Younger generation of bolsheviks
Important theorist
No major leader had opposed lenin more often but his personal relations with l were very good
Editor of Pravda 1918-1929
Full member politburo 1922
Not good organiser but fierce arguer
```
133
Who was rykov?
Chairman of vesenkha 1918
Succeeded lenin as chairman of sovnarkom having been deputy since 1921
Authoritave and outspoken
Talented administrator but was a drinker
