Moves Towards Totalitarianism

Question 1

What happened to individual freedom after the Bolsheviks took power?

Answer 1

It was steadily removed by the Bolsheviks.

Question 2

What kind of regime did the Bolsheviks create?

Answer 2

A dictatorship — the Bolshevik state quickly became a totalitarian regime.

Question 3

What happened in October 1917?

Answer 3

The Bolsheviks gained power in the October Revolution.

Question 4

What happened in November 1917 to the legal system?

Answer 4

Revolutionary Tribunals were introduced, replacing traditional courts and lawyers.

Question 5

What major events happened in December 1917?

Answer 5

• Liberal leaders were arrested
• Non-Bolshevik newspapers were banned
• The Cheka (secret police) was established

Question 6

What decree was introduced in February 1918?

Answer 6

The “Socialist Fatherland is in Danger” decree, allowing forced labour and executions for anyone who resisted the Bolsheviks.

Question 7

What happened in January 1918?

Answer 7

The Constituent Assembly was shut down by the Bolsheviks.

Question 8

What did the Bolsheviks do in June 1918?

Answer 8

Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) and Mensheviks were arrested.

Question 9

What significant event occurred in August 1918?

Answer 9

Fanya Kaplan, an SR, tried to assassinate Lenin—he survived being shot.

Question 10

What marked the beginning of the Red Terror in September 1918

Answer 10

The start of the Red Terror, a campaign of mass repression and violence.

Question 11

What political development happened in 1921?

Answer 11

All other political parties were banned by the Bolsheviks.

Question 12

What major rebellion occurred in March 1921?

Answer 12

The Kronstadt Mutiny, where sailors rebelled against Bolshevik rule.

Question 13

What happened to the SRs in 1922?

Answer 13

• A show trial of leading SRs was held
• They were deported as a warning to others

Question 14

How many employees did the Cheka have by 1919?

Answer 14

100,000 employees.

Question 15

What powers did the Cheka have?

Answer 15

• Arrest

• Imprison

• Torture

• Execute without trial

Question 16

What were Revolutionary Tribunals?

Answer 16

Courts where the Cheka could punish people without a fair trial.

Question 17

How many people were estimated to be executed by the Cheka between 1918–1920?

Answer 17

Around 12,000.

Question 18

What event triggered the Red Terror?

Answer 18

The failed assassination attempt on Lenin by an SR (Fanya Kaplan).

Question 19

What were workers encouraged to do during the Terror?

Answer 19

Report anyone making remarks against the Bolsheviks, Soviets, or government.

Question 20

What happened to reported ‘class enemies’?

Answer 20

They were imprisoned or executed, and often sent to labour camps.

Question 21

What happened in areas retaken from White control?

Answer 21

The Cheka was sent to arrest and kill anyone suspected of helping the Whites.

Question 22

How was the Red Terror used in the army?

Answer 22

The Cheka shot deserters to maintain discipline.

Question 23

How long did the Red Terror officially last?

Answer 23

From September 1918 to February 1919, but its methods continued after. Where was the Kronstadt naval base located?

Question 24

Where was the Kronstadt naval base located?

Answer 24

It guarded Petrograd.

Question 25

Why were the Kronstadt sailors important to the Bolsheviks?

Answer 25

They had supported the Bolsheviks in the February Revolution, July Days, and October Revolution.

Question 26

What happened on 28 February 1921?

Answer 26

The Kronstadt sailors rebelled against the Soviet government.

Question 27

Why did the Kronstadt sailors rebel?

Answer 27

• Angry about War Communism • Food requisitioning • The Red Terror • Lack of political freedom

Question 28

What slogan summarised the sailors’ demands?

Answer 28

“Soviets without Bolsheviks.”

Question 29

What did Trotsky do in response to the mutiny?

Answer 29

He sent 50,000 Red Army soldiers to retake the base.

Question 30

When did the fighting end?

Answer 30

After fierce battles, the sailors were defeated on 17 March 1921.

Question 31

What happened to the sailors after the rebellion?

Answer 31

Over 500 were executed by the Cheka.

Question 32

Why was the Kronstadt Mutiny such a shock?

Answer 32

The sailors had been loyal Bolshevik supporters — their rebellion showed even supporters had lost faith.

Question 33

What new name did the Bolsheviks adopt for their party in 1918?

Answer 33

The Communist Party.

Question 34

What did the Communist Party believe about the role of the state?

Answer 34

It should control the economy, society, and culture of the USSR from the centre.

Question 35

Who were the only people allowed to stand in elections?

Answer 35

Communist Party members.

Question 36

What did the Communist Party structure look like?

Answer 36

• Party Congress decided policies • Central Committee ran party departments • Politburo made the big decisions

Question 37

What was the Politburo and when was it created?

Answer 37

A five-man leadership group formed in 1919, including Lenin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Stalin.

Question 38

How did the Party structure mirror the government?

Answer 38

The Communist Party worked in parallel with the government, but in reality, the Party controlled everything.

Question 39

What was the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?

Answer 39

It became a rubber stamp that simply approved what the Communist Party decided. - it was supposed to make national laws

Question 40

What was the Council of People’s Commissars (Sovnarkom)?

Answer 40

The executive government, which ran departments but followed the Communist Party’s decisions.

Question 41

What type of political system did this create in Russia?

Answer 41

A centralised dictatorship with no political choice — only Communist candidates were allowed in elections.

Question 42

What republics initially formed the USSR?

Answer 42

• RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic) • Ukrainian SSR • Belorussian SSR • Transcaucasian SFSR

Question 43

What name was given to the overall state?

Answer 43

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

Question 44

What happened to the communist parties in the republics?

Answer 44

They all followed the orders of the All-Union Communist Party (of Bolsheviks).

Question 45

When was the Communist Party renamed the All-Union Communist Party (of Bolsheviks)?

Answer 45

In 1925.

Question 46

Where was the Communist Party based?

Answer 46

In Moscow, where the parliament met, but all decisions were controlled by the party.