political and economic developments 1917-41

Question 1

germans (ww1)

Answer 1

-to feel secure they needed a weak russia, best way to achieve this was to break up the empire
-germans refused to withdraw from provinces around the southern baltic
-worry that if soviet governments came to power, revolution would spread to germany too

Question 2

lenins alternative to peace terms of germans and austrians (ww1)

Answer 2

-only after lenin threatened to resign did trotsky support this
-lenin wanted to accept harsh proposals of the germans believing the army was capable of organising a retreat

Question 3

results of treaty of brest-litovsk

Answer 3

-russia lost most of its non-russian territory in europe
-ukraine invaded by germans and government replaced by german puppet regime
-taken areas contained 34% of population, 32% agricultural land,54% heavy industry,89% coal mines
-economic recovery post-war was to be even more difficult
-loss of ukraine made famine inevitable

Question 4

start of cheka

Answer 4

-first 6 months of existence only 22 executed

Question 5

cheka in 1918

Answer 5

-supressed no fewer than 245 peasant uprisings against food detachments resulting in 3057 peasant deaths

Question 6

stalin’s rise to power (stage 1)

Answer 6

-1922-24
-dec 1922: alliance of zinoviev,kamenev and stalin formed,seeking to block trotsky, feared because of army support, arrogance and uncompromising attitude
-april 1923: 12th party congress (lenin not attended) new central committee (40 members) elected, stalin uses his power to build up local support
-jan 1924: lenin dies, stalin gives trotsky wrong date for lenins funeral and dismisses supporters of left oppositon

Question 7

stalin’s rise to power (stage 2)

Answer 7

-1924-26-may 1924:lenin’s wife releases lenin’s testament to central committee,trotsky not involved aiding Stalin
-nov 1924:trotsky’s speeches favour democracy,does not appeal against votes
-jan 1925:trotsky is forced from his position as Commissar of War
-dec 1925:14th party congress, Stalin supports Bukharin, vote of no confidence against Stalin failed
-july 1926:new central committee and politburo elected with Stalinist-Buhkarin majority
-nov 1926:zinoviev and trotsky expelled from communist party and kamenev removed from central committees

Question 8

stalin’s rise to power (stage 3)

Answer 8

-1927-29
-jan 1928: trotsky deported to a spot near chinese border, stalin announces new left wing eco policy
-sept 1928: some of trotsky’s supporters favour this and join Stalin
-feb 1929: Stalin has Trotsky deported to Constaninople
-april 1929: Bukharin removed as editor of Pravda
-nov 1929: Bukharin and supporters removed from politburo

Question 9

1918 constitution

Answer 9

-supreme power rested with all russian congress of soviets
-central executive committee of congress acted like a president
-workers vote weighted 5 to 1 against peasants
-structure centralised real focus of power was on party

Question 10

1922 constitution

Answer 10

-USSR formally established dec 1922, government of republics regarded as regional branches of Sovnarkom could be coerced from centre
-new post of general secretary (centralisation after war) Stalin
-1923 nomenklatura (increase in bureacracy), intended to ensure people in key positions were trustworthy, new loyal party elite

Question 11

1936 constitution

Answer 11

-height of purges
-Bukharin drafted this, claimed Stalin to be ‘most democratic in the world’
-all russian congress of soviets replaced by supreme soviet (only met a few days a year), made up of union and nationalities, each republic had its own supreme soviet
-local autonomy to ethnic groups and support for national cultures and languages, attempt to look more democratic
-in practice promised rights ignored and central control exercised

Question 12

ideological principle of lenin (national self determination for minorities)

Answer 12

ways carried out: creation of Commissar for Nationalities (Stalin), Finland and Poland promised independence
ways abandoned/changed: independence movements seen as counter-revolutionary during war

Question 13

ideological principle of lenin (no capitalism)

Answer 13

ways carried out:nationalisation of banks and industry 1918
ways abandoned/changed:NEP (1921) allowed private trading and was a general move to a mixed economy

Question 14

ideological principle of lenin (collective leadership)

Answer 14

ways carried out: 3 left SRs allowed to join Sovnarkom
ways abandoned/changed: ban on factions 1922,Sovnarkom ruled by decree, Bolsheviks rid of other parties in petrograd soviet

Question 15

ideological principle of lenin (decentralisation)

Answer 15

ways carried out:Constituent Assembly elected by the people November 1917, land decrees (oct.) and workers decrees (nov.)
ways abandoned/changed:constituent assembly dissolved at gunpoint, civil war caused adoption of more centralised government

Question 16

ideological principle of lenin (international revolution)

Answer 16

ways carried out: during peace talks to end WW1, bolsheviks committed to getting Germans to overthrow imperial government
ways abandoned or changed:signing of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk made ‘socialism at home’ priority

Question 17

bolshevik power sharing

Answer 17

-second all-russia congress of soviets under impression that regime was soviet not purely bolshevik, mensheviks and SRs hoped for coalition
-some believed the bolsheviks could only survive as part of a coalition
-Lenin believed if he allowed them a share of power they would prevent him carrying out a full bolshevik programme

Question 18

constituent assembly results (1918)

Answer 18

-SRs 16 mil votes, Bolsheviks 10 mil votes
-lenin ignored such results and decided to get rid of the assembly as soon as possible
-assembly dissolved soon after

Question 19

cheka

Answer 19

-created december 1917
-not subject to ordinary legal procedures
-Dzerzhinksy leader, function was to offer state security
-members instructed to take whatever action was deemed necessary to protect revolution, turned into campaign of mass terror

Question 20

socialist revolutionary support

Answer 20

-support from peasants and railway workers union who wanted a coalition and threatened to strike if one was not formed, could have serious consequences for supplies

Question 21

protest against bolshevik power

Answer 21

-strike of civil servants
-state bank refused to release funds, detachment of troops used to take control of bank and forcibly remove necessary funds
-teachers and pharmacists went on strike

Question 22

actions by the sovnarkom

Answer 22

-national self determination offered to non-russians of the empire
-finland and poland promised indpendence
-decree on workers control, maximum eight hour working day, free education, full civil and religious rights for citizens
-all banks nationalised

Question 23

civil war (red-green phase)

Answer 23

-1917-18 (Bolsheviks and SRs)
-bolsheviks provoked other parties by refusing to share power
-early 1918, Yuroslav soviets elected menshevik majorities
-widespread resistance to bolsheviks in volga region, posed a real threat to new uncertain regime

Question 24

civil war (red-white phase)

Answer 24

-1918-20
-military coups (treaty of brest litovsk) linked these together
-whites had no real political base, so failed to appeal to the masses
-peasants viewed bolsheviks as lesser of two evils
-trotsky’s reorganisation of army allowed allowed for number of troops available to increase from 550,000 to 5.5 million
-white troops outnumbered 10 to 1

Question 25

civil war (second red-green phase)

Answer 25

-1920-22
-upheaval in 36 provinces
-by april 1921, 165 peasant armies in Russia
-widespread military threat, ideological infrastructure broken down
-peasant rebellions crushed by grain requisitioning and NEP