Leninism Flashcards
How did Lenin maintain power politically ?
-Lenin had promised free elections to the new contituent assembly. Elections were held in late 1917. As lenin had feared, the bolsheviks did not gain a majority in the elections. There rivals, the peasant based Socialist Revolutionaries, were the biggest party when the Assembly opened 18th of January 1918.
Lenin solved this by sending the red guards to close down the assembly. After a brief protest the assembly was forgotton. Lenin instead used the congress of Soviets to pass his laws as it contained a bolshevik majority.
Treaty of Brest Litovsk 1918
How did Lenin maintain power economically
Realised changes were necessary and created the NEP. The NEP brought back capitalism for some sections of Russian society. Peasants were allowed to sell surplus gain for profit and would pay tax on what they produced rather than giving most of it up to the goverment.
