National Study: Russia 1917-41 Flashcards
What was the origin of the Bolshevik Party?
In 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two factions - the more orthodox Mensheviks and the more radical Bolsheviks
What were three key beliefs of the Bolsheviks?
Lenin held that the bourgeois domination would be brief and followed by a second stage of the revolution - the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’
Lenin argued that ‘permanent revolution’ would be best achieved by a party of tightly disciplined and professional revolutionaries
Lenin also acknowledged the rural nature of much of Russian society and said that the proletariat needed to enlist poorer peasants’ support to complete the revolution
What were two Bolshevik slogans?
All Power to the Soviets! (passing power to the workers)
Peace, Bread & Land! (withdrawal from the war and land redistribution)
Why did the Provisional Government fail?
Led by Lyov then Alexander Kerensky, the provisional government tried to bring moderate reform whilst keeping Russia in the war
Successive provisional governments were unable to resolve issues of peasants seizing land, regional independence movements and anti-war sentiment
Why were the Bolsheviks seen as a viable alternative to the Provisional Government?
Lenin opposed this provisional government and urged the Bolsheviks to stage a second revolution on behalf of the workers and peasants
The Bolsheviks gained popular support through their involvement in ending the September Kornilov coup
What occurred during the October Coup?
Kerensky’s decision to close the Bolshevik printing press provided an impetus
On 7 November, the Red Guards, led by Trotsky, seized control of key government buildings and arrested the leaders of the provisional government
Lenin formed a governing coalition with the support of the Socialist Revolutionaries
What are the three competing perspectives on the nature of the October Coup? (include quotes)
“The October Revolution in Petrograd was in a large measure a valid expression of widespread disenchantment with the results of the February Revolution and of popular aspirations for a brighter, more just future” - Alexander Rabinowitch
“October was a classic coup d’etat, the capture of governmental authority carried out with a show of mass participation but with hardly any mass involvement” - R. Pipes
“The Bolsheviks did not seize power, the picked it up” - Adam Ulam
What were some significant reforms that the Bolsheviks passed during their first two years in power?
The two most important early reforms were the Land Decree (which distributed land to the peasants) and the Peace Decree (which ended Russia’s involvement in WW1)
In July 1918, the Congress of Soviets adopted a new constitution that included nationalising land & banks, separating the church and state and giving equal rights to women and minorities
In January 1919, the Communist Party was divided into two subcommittees:
- The Politburo decided major policy - The Orgburo oversaw internal administration
What occurred during the 1917 elections?
Russia’s first ever democratic election for the Constituent Assembly was held in December 1917 and resulted in a victory for the Socialist Revolutionaries
When the new government refused to pass Bolshevik legislation, Lenin had it closed after only 12 hours
What were the three competing perspectives on the Bolshevik involvement in WW1?
Lenin called for peace at any cost
Bukharin urged turning the war into a broader Communist revolution across Europe
Trotsky stalled in the hope that a German popular uprising would take place - this never materialised and the Germans resumed their offensive in February
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed and what were its conditions?
On March 3, Lenin signed the Treaty and ended Russian involvement in WW1
Under the Treaty, Russia had to:
- pay 600 million marks
- give up 30% of its population and
- surrender 89% of its coal territories
Who were the Bolsheviks fighting against in the Civil War?
In early 1918, civil war broke out between the Bolsheviks and an army of liberals, monarchists and ex-officers known as the ‘Whites’
The Whites received foreign support from Britain and France, who hoped that the defeat of the Bolsheviks would restore financial normalcy in Europe
Why were the Bolsheviks successful in the Civil War?
Trotsky, as Minister for War, helped to create a disciplined and highly trained Red Army that repelled the White forces
By 1920, most major counter-revolutionary groups had been exposed and defeated
The war was at an enormous cost - approximately 1.5 million combatants and 8 million civilians died following armed attacks, famines and disease
Why did Lenin feel the need to impose war communism?
During early Bolshevik rule, Lenin was happy to let much of the existing industrial system continue under state supervision - ‘state capitalism’
The ceasefire with Germany worsened the economic situation - over 70% of Russia’s industrial capacity was geared for war, and many areas couldn’t adjust
Petrograd had lost 60% of its workforce by 1918, and poor harvests led to peasants hoarding grain whilst the urban population starved
What was the nature and impacts of war communism?
Lenin imposed ‘war communism’ - all industry and foreign trade fell under the state, strict discipline was imposed in factories and armed squads requisitioned grain
7000 grain requisitioners were murdered in 1918, and by 1921, it is estimated that there were up to 7 million homeless or orphaned children in the USSR
The strict conditions led to famine, disease and peasant uprisings, with the most influential being the mutiny at Kronstadt naval base in 1921
What was the New Economic Policy?
At the Tenth Party Congress in 1921, Lenin replaced War Communism with the less severe New Economic Policy
While key economy sectors remained state-owned, small businesses were permitted
Bukharin encouraged the peasants to “enrich themselves” and trade food for goods
What were the conflicting Bolshevik perspectives on the NEP?
“We are making economic concessions in order to avoid political ones” - Bukharin
Trotsky decried the NEP as a “retreat to capitalism” and claimed that it represented “the first sign of the degeneration of Bolshevism”
What was the process of creating the USSR?
Soon after taking power, Lenin guaranteed that ethnic nationalities - such as Ukraine and Georgia - would be given rights of self-determination and even independence
Lenin later amended this to a federal structure, based on a system of seemingly democratic soviets (which covered for the power of the Communist Party)
In 1922, the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republics joined together to create the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Hirsch Quote on the Formation of the USSR
“A policy of dividing the peoples of the former Russian Empire into official nationalities turned out to be an effective means of consolidating the USSR”
What were the Bolshevik policies towards women?
The Bolsheviks believed that women suffered under class & family oppression
The Zhenotdel was established as the women’s section of the Central Committee, with the aim of organising and informing women as to the Party’s goals
Political equality was expanded, women gained the right to ‘no-fault’ divorce and in 1920 Russia became the first modern nation to legalise abortion
What were the Bolshevik policies on education?
The Bolsheviks made education for children free and compulsory
Under War Communism, between 1918-20, there was an open education policy that sought to encourage debate and develop children’s personalities
After 1921, education policy became more restricted and propagandised
What were the Bolshevik policies with relation to culture?
The People’s Commissariat of Enlightenment controlled culture & propaganda
They looked favourably on the Proletarian Culture (Proletkult) movement which sought to reject the bourgeois and create a new culture of and for the proletariat
There was a “nationalisation” of culture to create a Soviet national identity
What were the Bolshevik policies towards religion?
Communists saw religion as a superstitious barrier to creating a modern society
Monasteries and churches were stripped of their valuables and converted for everyday uses, while clergy were tried, imprisoned and executed
Religious teachings were banned in schools and secular holidays came into force
What were the Bolshevik’s policies towards the peasants?
The NEP’s main goal was to address the critical shortage of grain due to the civil war
The Bolsheviks sought to rebuild the economy via primitive socialist accumulation, a theory stating that modernisation could be achieved by harnessing the peasantry
However, the growth of a kulak class (wealthy capitalist peasants) threatened the political and social basis of the new socialist state
Kingston-Mann Quote on why the Bolsheviks were so focussed on the peasants
“The spectre of a resurgent peasantry aroused fears that a primitive, consumption-hungry rural populace might dictate its own terms in the disposal of agricultural output”
What was the significance of Lenin’s testaments?
Although Lenin had originally valued Stalin’s practical nature, he began to fear the power that he had gathered in the position of General Secretary
In 1922, Lenin wrote a testament in which he denounced Stalin and praised Trotsky, but the stroke which eventually resulted in his death meant he could not present it
“Stalin is intolerable in the position of General Secretary” - Lenin
The Central Committee ultimately determined that the testaments should not be released, as they attacked many of the Politburo members
McCauley quote on Stalin’s death
“Had not Lenin died, Stalin would probably have been sent to the provinces… Stalin had luck on his side”
What was the significance of the ‘Scissors Crisis’ to the power struggle?
After Lenin’s death, Stalin, Kamenev & Zinoviev formed a troika opposing Trotsky
Their first clash came during the ‘Scissors Crisis’ of 1923, when a fall in agricultural prices coincided with a rise in the price of manufactured goods
At the 1923 Party Congress, the troika successfully advocated giving priority to the recovery of the peasant sector over Trotsky’s call to support proletariat interests
What were Trotsky and Stalin’s competing visions for the USSR’s future?
Trotsky argued that the party was becoming anti-democratic and that the USSR needed to embrace ‘permanent revolution’ and spreading communism globally
Stalin advocated ‘Socialism in One Country’ - strengthening communism in the USSR, while engaging in normative state relations with other countries
What occurred at the 1925 Party Congress?
Trotsky was accused of factionalism, and when the Fourteenth Party Congress of 1925 supported Stalin’s vision, Trotsky was forced to resign as Commissar for War
“Little by little, he is aiming to switch the Party from a Leninist course to that of Trotskyism.” - Stalin, 1925
