Lesson 4-How did Lenin and the Bolsheviks consolidate their power? Flashcards
Define sovnarkom ( the Council of People’s Commissars)
Government of Russia after the October Revolution.
It had a chairman (like our Prime Minister)
The All Russia Congress of Soviets answered to the Sovnarkom
Define Constituent Assembly
A body composed of for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution (a body of fundamental principles)
Who are the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)?
A group committed to democratic socialism who believed in the rights of groups to govern themselves.
Who were the Mensheviks?
A Communist group. More moderate than the Bolsheviks. They split from the Bolsheviks in 1903 over difference of policy.
In 1917 what was Russia provided with an opportunity to become?
A democratic society
What did the Bolsheviks claim?
They were going to be a party which would rule on behalf of the people for the people.
What Was the reality of the Bolshevik party?
They had established a one party state where other political parties were banned.
What Was Communist rule under the bolsheviks to be like?
Authoritarian
Highly centralised
Heavy use of terror
Who did the Bolsheviks face opposition from?
-other left wing groups e.g the SRs and the mensheviks
-nationalist groups
-groups on the right (Tsarist supporters) and Liberal groups who represented the interests of the Middle class and who now feared the Bolsheviks would take away their businesses and deny them political freedoms.
What did the SRs and the mensheviks want from the Bolsheviks?
Hoped that they would be given a share of power in the new government
What did Lenin say in response to other left wing groups asking for a share in power in the new government?
‘You have played out your role. Go where you belong: to the dustbin of history.’
What did the Provisional Government promise?
Elections and the opening g of a Constituent Assembly in January 1918 .
Why was the Constituent Assembly a good thing for the SRs?
The assembly was democratically elected and the SRs were able to mobilise their support amongst the peasantry.
What were the result of the elections of 1918?
Bolsheviks-175 seats and 9 million votes
SRs-410 seats and 21 million votes
Because the SRs won the elections what did Lenin do?
Dissolved the Assembly after just one meeting, at gun point.
What did Lenin replace the Constituent Assembly with?
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
Where the Bolsheviks had more influence despite though he ensured there was no forum (meeting) of opposition
How did Lenin strip the opposition parties of a possible reservoir of support?
There was a removal of vote from ‘bourgeois class’, such as employees and priests.
How did left wing SRs lose all influence in the government?
Walked out in protest at the Bolshevik decision to pull out of WW1
When did the Bolshevik party rename itself the Communist Party?
March 1918
By what year were all other parties banned?
1921
What did Lenin say in April 1921?
‘The place for the Mensheviks and the SRs is in prison.’
How many mensheviks were arrested in the first 3 months of 1921?
5000
By what year did mensheviks and SRs cease to exist?
1922
What did the Peace Decree do?
Emphasised that the Bolsheviks were seeking an immediate end to Russia’s role in WW1
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?
March 1918
What did the Germans demand from Russia as a part of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
-The Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia)
-Poland
-Finland
-The Ukraine
This meant that Russia would lose 32 percent of arable (land fertile good for farming) land, 26 percent of the railways system, 33 percent of factories, 75 percent of coal or iron ore mines, 60 million Russian Citizens
What did Lenin propose at the Tenth Party Congress 1921?
A ban on factions
What Was the ban on factions called?
‘One-Party Unity.’
Why did Lenin want one party unity?
It was an attempt to impose the views of the leadership on the party
What Was the punishment for breaking this rule of factions being banned?
Expulsion from the party
The ban on factions rule was brought in after a time of uncertainty following what?
Tambour Uprising and the Kronstadt Mutiny
Who was at the top of the new government that Lenin formed?
Sovnarkom, which was a Council of People’s Commissars
What Was Lenin in the sovnarkom?
The chairman and the overall leader of the new government
Who was below the Sovnarkom in hierarchy?
All-Russian Congress of Soviets which was dominated by the Bolsheviks
Who was at the bottom of the new government organisation?
Representative from cities, villages and local soviets
What Was the main of of the Decree on Land?
Redistribute Land to the peasant
Talk about how the Decree on land came to be
Written by Vladimir Lenin
Passed by the Second Congress of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies on 26 October 1917
It followed the success of the October Revolution
What did the Decree on land Decree?
An abolition of private property and the redistribution of the landed estates amongst the peasantry.
According the the Decree on land whose land had the peasantry seized?
The nobility
Monasteries
The Church
What Was the only day the elected Constituent Assembly met?
5 January 1918
Who was the largest party in the Constituent Assembly an dwith what percentage of the votes?
SRs with 40.4 percent of the votes
Who was the second largest party in the Constituent Assembly and with what percentage of the votes?
Bolsheviks with 24 percent of the votes.
On the 5th of Jan what did Lenin demand from the Constituent Assembly?
That they be subservient to the Sovnarkom and the Soviet but they were rejected the by 237 votes to 137.
What did Lenin do as a result of his rejected command from the Constituent Assembly?
The assembly was then dissolved at gun-point by the Red Guards
