Russia and The Soviet Union (Chapters 4 and 5)

Question 1

What were the problems that the Bolsheviks immediately faced regarding the future Constituent Assembly?

Answer 1

• Lenin had promised that immediately once he was in power he could hold elections for the Constituent Assembly which was something Kerensky failed to deliver on
• However, the Bolsheviks only had control over Petrograd and Moscow in 1917 and in the countryside the majority supported the Social Revolutionaries so elections might not turn out his way
• But if he did not hold elections, people would stop supporting the Bolsheviks

Despite this, he had promised to hold them on the 12 November 1917 and stuck to his promise

Question 2

What were the names of the early decrees (1917)?

These decrees were passed by the CPC (Council of People’s Commisar), which was a body formed by Lenin to govern Russia becuase the Petrograd Soviet still had non-Bolshevik supporting members

Answer 2

• Decree on peace
• Decree on land
• Decree on workers rights
• Decree on nationalities

Question 3

What did the Decree on land do and what was the problem with it for the Bolsheviks?

Answer 3

• It abolished private ownership of land from landlords, the Tsar and the church
• This meant all land would be state owned and would be given to peasants, although much of this had already happened so in some areas no much changed
• While it did increase support from the peasants for the Bolsheviks, the problem was that it weakened Bolshevik control as many peasants supported the Social Revolutionaries who would benefit from a stronger peasantry in Russia

Question 4

What did the Decree on peace mean and what was the problem with it for the Bolsheviks?

Answer 4

• It called for an armistice with Germany
• Lenin believed he could do this without giving anything up to Germany because he was confident there would be a workers revolution in Germany
• However this did not happen and Germany would only sign a peace treaty with lots of compensation

Question 5

What did the Decree on nationalities do?

Answer 5

• It assured all the different ethnic minorities within the old Russian empire that still belonged to Russia that the Russians would not impose control onto them and they could elect their own governments
• This was so that they would not take the opportunity to break away and become independent
• It was only in 1922 that they merged all of the states into the USSR

Question 6

What did the Decree on workers rights do?

Answer 6

In an attempt to increase support from workers, the Bolsheviks introduced three decrees:
* Decree on work - 8 hour working day, maximum 48 hours per week, new laws on holidays
* Decree on unemployment - Money is to be provided to people who are unemployed and cannot work
* Decree on workers control - All factories to be controlled by workers soviets (though this was already happening)

Question 7

What were the results of the November 1917 Constituent Assembly elections?

Answer 7

• The Socialist Revolutionaries had won with 53 percent of the votes, while the Bolsheviks received under a quarter of the votes
• The Bolsheviks had done well in the cities, but despite the Decree on land, they did very poorly in the countryside

Question 8

How did the Bolsheviks respond to the results of the November 1917 Constituent Assembly elections?

Answer 8

• The Bolsheviks rejected the result and refused to share power with the other parties, with Lenin saying that the Constituent Assembly was a threat to the revolution and the soviets
• After the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly where they had rejected the CPCs proposal which summarised all of the early Decrees, Lenin claimed that they Constituent Assembly did not represent the will of the people and were counter revolutionaries
• Therefore, Lenin announced that the Constituent Assembly was to be dissolved, with the Red Guards preventing any future meetings, and all opposing political parties such as the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks were banned

They rejected the early Decrees because all power to the soviets would mean that the Constituent Assembly would hold no power

Question 9

What were the causes of the signing of the treaty of Brest Litovsk?

Answer 9

• Following the Decree on Peace, there was a ceasefire between Russia and Germany while they alone negotiated peace
• Lenin and Trotsky were certain a revolution in Germany would occur, but no such thing happened. Trotsky said Russia were not willing to give up any land in the hopes that the German army were exhausted, but their response to that was to keep fighting
• However Lenin firmly believed Russia could not afford to keep fighting and that the Bolsheviks would lose power if Germany beat them. Since the Germans knew they were desperate, the terms of the treaty were harsh

Question 10

What were the terms of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer 10

• Russia had to give up huge areas of its Western territories, including: Ukraine, Baltic Provinces, Finland, Parts of Poland, Georgia
• This meant they lost 75% of its coal and iron mines, 50% of its industry and 25% of its population
• Russia also had to pay 300 million roubles

Question 11

What were the effects in Russia of the treaty of Brest Litovsk?

Answer 11

• Throughout Russia it was seen as shameful
• Support for the Bolsheviks plummuted as Russia was now weaker than it was before the Bolsheviks came into power
• The loss of farmland led to starvation and people moving out of the cities, and the loss of industry led to economic problems
• Many people felt they needed to fight to stop the Bolsheviks from causing further humilitation

Question 12

What Bolshevik actions were the causes of the civil war (1917-1920)?

Answer 12

• Tsar overthrown
• Constituent Assembly shut down and Russia turned into a dictatorship
• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• Policy of all power to the soviets
• Imposing control on other nationalities (despite the decree on nationalities)

Question 13

Which groups within Russia opposed the Bolsheviks during the civil war (1918-1920)?

Answer 13

• Monarchists who wanted to see the Tsar back into power
• Upper and middle-class citizenry who were in danger of losing everything under the Bolsheviks
• Supporters of the past Constituent Assembly (people from other parties such as the social revolutionaries) who hated the Bolshevik’s dictatorship
• Other nationalities within the old Russian Empire who wanted independence from Russian control
• Army officers and anyone else angered by the treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Together, these people were known as the Whites

Question 14

Which foreign countries had involvement in the Russian civil war and why?

Answer 14

• Britain, France and other allied powers sent supplies and troops to assist the Whites as they wanted Russia to be back in the war so Germany would have to fight on two fronts again
• Japan took adavantage of the unrest to try to take land, though were stopped by the USA
• 50000 men from the Czech Republic Legion look large stretches of the Trans-Siberian Railway in opposition to the Bolsheviks after being asked to give up their weapons

Question 15

What were the causes of the execution of the royal family (July 1918)?

Answer 15

• The Reds did not want the Whites capturing the royal family as there were still some that wanted to see him back in power and he could bring support to the Whites
• In the short term, they did it because the Whites, alongside the Czech Legion, were approaching where they were holding him

Question 16

What were the Red strengths in the Russian civil war which helped them win the war?

Answer 16

• Conscription and the large population within their controlled area meant the Red army was very large (5 million by 1920)
• Role of Trotsky
• Central area meant troops and supplies could easily travel from front to front by railway. They also had access to lots of industry to produce weapons
• Propoganda and Red Terror meant everybody loyally supported the reds
• War Communism introduced by Lenin

Question 17

What things did Trotsky organise which helped the Reds win the Russian civil war?

Trotsky had been made the Commisar for War

Answer 17

• He devoted himself to winning the war, and organised and disciplined the Reds very well
• Trotsky created the red army, which was at first an extension of the Red Guard, but he soon started recruiting ex-Tsarist officers who trained and led proper soldiers
• These officers were supervised by a Bolshevik political commissar and were threatened into staying loyal to the Reds
• Discipline throughout the entire Red Army was extremely harsh too
• Conscription was introduced in May 1918 in Red controlled areas, with the promise of more food

Question 18

What was Red Terror and how was it effective (during the civil war)?

Answer 18

• Red Terror, introduced after the assasination attempt on Lenin, was where the Bolsheviks used the secret police to spy on any opponents within Bolshevik controlled areas
• They killed around 300000 people between 1918 and 1920 for being disloyal to the Bolsheviks. They induced fear into everyone, forcing them to support the Reds

Question 19

What were the White weaknesses during the Russian civil war which helped the Reds win?

Answer 19

• They had no overall leader, so were not unified or organised. This is because they were all fighting for different causes
• They had little support from the peasants because many of them wanted to reverse the revolution which would mean taking land away from the peasants
• The Whites were spread out in outer areas of Russia away from industry, railways and population which meant they had fewer resources. This also made it hard to co-ordinate troops and attacks as well as communicate
• They had trouble finding recruits because they needed to ask peasants to leave their land and march into Red territory while the Reds just had to ask peasants to defend their land - as a result they had MANY less men

Question 20

What were the reasons for Lenin introducing War Communism during the Russian civil war?

Answer 20

• The Red Army needed more food, weapons, clothes and general supplies to win the civil war. The food situation was intensified by agricultural land being lost to the Whites and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• The peasants did not sell their crops because there was nothing to buy due to low industrial production. This created the necessity for forceful requisitioning
• The economy was in bad shape and needed to be able to support the civil war
• Ideologically, they believed that that it was how the country should be run and they used the war as an excuse to move more towards communism

The economy was in bad shape due to the revolution and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The problems were intensified by the war.

Question 21

What were the features of War Communism to do with food?

Answer 21

• Peasants were not allowed to sell crops, instead it all was to be state requisitioned and given to soldiers
• Food rationing began in cities, with soldiers and workers receiving the most food

Question 22

What were the features of War Communism to do with factories, businesses and workers?

Answer 22

• A central planning organisation called the Supreme Economic Council was introduced which took all power away from the soviets and had full control of factories and banks
• Factories with more than 10 people were to be nationalised and given production targets. Their inflow of raw materials was controlled too
• Workers were put under government control, with strikes being banned and labour conscription. They faced harsh discipline

Question 23

What were the effects of War Communism on peasants?

Answer 23

• Requisitioning caused the peasants to lose support for the Bolsheviks
• They had no incentive to grow as they received nothing, so production faltered. There was mass famine in the countryside
• They requisitoning brigades used violence, which caused revolts in the countryside and cities
• However, to maintain some support, the Bolsheviks blamed the unrest in the countryside on rich peasants hiding their grain (kulaks) who were seen as counter-revolutionary capatalists

Is it still true that the peasants supported the Reds more than some of the Whites as the Whites would have taken back all of their land

Question 24

What were the effects of War Communism on workers?

Answer 24

• Large numbers of workers left the city due to famine to return home to the countryside as all of it was going to the soldiers (Across the country, one half of all factory workers had left)
• In order to survive, workers had to use the illegal black market to get the food and other items they wanted, though prices were high
• Workers who stayed generally faced harsh discipline and poor conditions, so although the Whites were being blamed for the problems, support waned especially once the war ended

War Communism was not successful in increasing production and is seen as an economic disaster. However, the grain requisitioning and the focus on sending supplies to the soldiers did help them win the civil war

Question 25

What were the sailors of the Kronstadt naval base like and what did they do prior to their mutiny?

Answer 25

• In the February revolution, they rioted and killed many of their Tsarist officers and set up a Kronstadt soviet
• The members of this soviet were very strong supporters of the Bolshevik revolution - they aided defense against the Kornilov revolt and helped seize power from the Provisional Government and the Constituent Assembly
• Trotsky called them the ‘Reddest of the Red’

Question 26

What were the causes of the Kronstadt naval mutiny (1921)?

Answer 26

• War Communism meant food was scarce amongst workers and they faced harsh discipline, so many workers went on strikes and protests. They were especially angry that rich Bolsheviks lived comfortably. The Krondstadt sailors shared this anger
• They were also angry that the Bolsheviks had betrayed the socialist revolution by becoming authoritarian, taking power from the soviets and arresting people who they faced any political opposition from without trial

Question 27

What were the events of the Krondstadt naval mutiny (1921)?

Answer 27

• In February 1921, there was a naval mutiny on a battleship, which spread to the whole naval base with over 15,000 sailors mutinying
• Trotsky organised a huge force of 50,000 Red Army soldiers to storm the naval base across the ice. It took until March for them to take control of the base
• Around 8000 sailors escaped across the ice to Finland, with 500 of the captured sailors being executed by the Cheka

Question 28

What were the political reasons for Lenin’s introduction of the New Economic Policy?

Answer 28

• Because of War Communism, workers protests and strikes were becoming uncontrollable due to the harsh discipline and lack of food they faced
• Peasants unrest was also getting out of control due to the requisitioning
• The occurence of the Kronstadt naval mutiny was the ‘flash which lit up reality’ for Lenin which showed him that he was losing control of the country due to War Communism and needed to make changes

Question 29

What were the economic reasons for Lenin’s introduction of the New Economic Policy?

Answer 29

• Russia was facing an economic crisis - industrial production was so low due to striking workers, or workers absence from factories due to them returning to the countryside to find food
• This meant the economy was barely functioning, and Lenin needed to make changes to fix this

Question 30

What were the features of the New Economic Policy?

Answer 30

It reversed some of the changes of War Communism and took a step towards capitalism by:
* Reintroducing the free market, meaning peasants could sell their produce wherever they wanted and profit from it
* Ending grain requisitioning
* Allowing businesses, factories and banks with fewer than 20 workers to be privately owned, though keeping control of big factories
* Allowing any Russian to start a shop and sell goods or services (these people became known as ‘Nepmen’)

Question 31

What were the economic effects of the New Economic Policy?

Answer 31

• Agricultural production increased rapidly - This is because peasants had incentive to produce grain as they could sell any extra they produced above their necessary amount to the government for cash
• As food supply increased, rationing was abolished and people had to buy food with their own money - this meant people were eager to earn more money
• Industrial growth increased rapidly - This is because there were now many more small businesses that had been started and had incentive to earn money as they was high demand for products in the countryside
• Foreign governments such as Britain welcomed Russia’s encouraging return to Capitalism, so began to invest and trade which boosted Russia’s economy

Question 32

What was the ‘Scissors crisis’ (1923)?

Answer 32

• An economic effect of the NEP, whereby food prices plummeted due to high production, but production for industrial products took longer to catch up so their prices remained high and increasing
• This meant the peasants were less eager to produce food because they would have to spend a bigger share of that money on industrial products, and the government worried food production would fall below satisfactory
• The government resolved this by taking steps to lower industrial prices, such as boost production which slowly resolved the problem

Question 33

What were the positive social effects of the New Economic Policy?

Answer 33

• The peasants supported it, especially the ones with more land, as they made more money and did not have their produce taken, so the revolts and unrest in the countryside slowly stopped
• The cities started to recover, with shops, restuarants and theatres opening up

Question 34

Why was there opposition to the New Economic Policy?

Answer 34

• War Communism, although painful, was in line with communist theory and to see it go had opposition
• The NEP looked like a clear return to capitalism, which is exactly what every revolutionary did not want
• The NEP favoured peasants, allowing them to charge the highest price for their crops leaving workers struggling to buy food and not making much money of their own
• Importantly, the NEP started to create inequality. Some peasants were far richer than others. Some workers still lived in horrible conditions, while some people who had started their own businesses flourished.

Question 35

What were the events of Lenin’s death?

Answer 35

• In 1924, at age 53, Lenin died from a stroke after being ill for the past few years
• While he was alive he had a ‘cult following’ and after he died this increased, and everything he said was seen as sacred and he continued to guide the Communist Party in Russia for years to come