Russia 6 Flashcards
what did Lenin and the Bolsheviks believe was bound to happen to the state once communism had been acheived?
it would “wither away”
what was the name of the body tasked with reorganising the Russian state after the 1917 revolution? and what happened to it?
the constituent assembly and was dissolved in Jan 1918 by the Bolsheviks and their allies
how did Lenin deal with the threat of opposition with the soviets?
He was suspicious of them as they were multi-party organisations, not controlled by the Bolsheviks alone so wherever they could Bolsheviks set about organising new elections to ensure non- Bolshevik soviets were “Bolshevised”
what happened to the petrograd soviet after the rise of Lenin and the Bolsheviks?
it was side-lined
what did Lenin replace the petrograd soviet with?
Sovnarkom
why did the “commisars” in Sovnarkom initially struggle?
when they arrived at govt offices to issue instructions, govt employees who opposed the Bolsheviks refused to work with them. Many simply stayed at home until threatened with dismissal or replacement
what did the new constitution passed in 1918 do?
turned Russia into the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
who held all power in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic?
All-Russian congress of soviets
how was the all-russian congress of soviets appointed?
elected by Russia’s local soviets
who carried out the RSFSR’s decisions?
a central executive committee
how were elections to the Sovnarkom and the ruling system corrupted?
All-Russian congress of Soviets was supposed to elect Sovnarkom however it was actually chosen by the Communist Party Central Committee and the new system was closely controlled by the communists
how did Sovnarkom achieve a dominant position in ruling Russia?
Introduces a new constituitoon (RSFSR) where all power wwould be held by the All-Russian congress of Soviets
what was the Politburo?
new smaller body of the Communist party that took control of policy making from the central committee and even from Sovnarkom
what was the RSFSR replaced by and when?
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
what new position within the USSR was established?
general secretary
who became general secretary and what was their role?
Joseph Stalin, tasked with coordinating the party’s work and became the most powerful role in the govt
how did new communist party positions help control govt in the USSR?
new,smaller body- Politburo- took control of policy making and general secretary established and became most powerful role in govt
what system did the communist party introduce in 1923 in an attempt to increase their control?
the nomenklatura system
what was the nomenklatura?
a category of people in official govt positions who were appointed with the agreement of the Communist Party Central Committee and the idea was that only those trusted by the Communists could now hold positions of power in new state
what factor continued to limit the power of the communist party over the state?
couldnt rule without experienced members of the state like lawyers, administrators, food-supply specialists and military generals had to remain in place until a new generation of communist officials could be trained
what did the Bolsheviks split between?
Nikolai Bukharin had a group of “Left Communists” inside the Bolshevik party and Lenin at the other end whilst Trotsky was stuck in the middle
what did Nikolai Buhkarin and the “Left Communists” believe?
argued Germany and Austria were on the brink of revolution and Russia should fight a revolutionary war involving armed workers, peasants, and what was left of the Russian army until German govt was overthrown
what did Lenin believe about war in 1917?
realised that Russia couldnt fight on and urged Trotsky accept the Germans’ terms
what was Trotsky’s position on war and peace?
argued for “neither peace nor war”. He delayed making a decision for as long as possible until revolution finally broke out in Europe
when and how did the fighting between USSR and Germany stop?
on March 3rd 1918, Bolsheviks and Germans signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk accepting German terms in return for an end to fighting
what land and population did Russia lose after the war?
-In Ukraine and Baltic provinces, German troops arrived as an occupying force
-semi- independent govts set up in Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus
-Finland and Poland became their own independent countries
-Russia lost 1/6 of its population, 2 mill square km of land
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what did Russia lose in terms of agriculture and economy post war?
the loss of 2 million square km of land also meant Russia therefore lost almost 1/3 of its agricultural output, 1/4 railways and 3/4 of its iron and coal supplies
during the civil war, what was the name of the army mobilised by the Bolsheviks and what did it consist of?
Red Army, made of armed workers from the “Red Guards” and some soldiers
what group on the political right opposed the Bolshevik “Reds”?
the “Whites”
which former military commanders were in the “Whites”?
Admiral Kolchak, General Yudenich and General Denikin
what were the “White’s main plans”?
to march on Moscow and Petrograd and take power
who supported the “Whites” for a time?
Britain, France, and the USA, who provided weapons and very limited no. of men to help
By Spring 1918, what anti-Bolshevik organisation was created and with who’s help?
“volunteer army” had been created with German help
where did the bolsheviks move their capital from and to due to the growing threat?
from Petrograd to Moscow
who (in Siberia) cooperated with the “Whites” and under which commander?
no. of socialists revolutionaries, liberal kadets and Siberian regionalists cooperated with Admiral Kolchak’s whites
what orgnisation was formed in Ukrain and opposed the Red army ?
the “black army” led by Nestor Makhno
