Russia: Bolsheviks, Bolshevism, Civil War Flashcards
In April 1917 Lenin returned to Petrograd, Into what were his speeches collated?
The April Theses.
Give two key Bolshevik slogans from 1917.
Peace, Bread and Land; All Power to the Soviets.
What is a soviet?
A workers’ co-operative - basically a trade union.
June 1917: first elections to the Congress of Soviets. How do the Bolsheviks do?
105 seats; half that of the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries.
What occurred on July 16-17 1917?
The July Days. Afterwards, Lenin fled and Kerensky took over the Provisional Government.
Who launched a coup in September 1917, and who did the Provisional Government ask for help against it?
The Cossack General Kornilov; the Red Guard.
In September 1917 the Bolsheviks won what, and what happened to Trotsky?
They won a majority in elections to the Petrograd Soviet, and Trotsky became its leader.
When did Lenin return from post-July Days exile?
October 1917.
7 November 1917:
The Russian Revolution begins.
What did Lenin’s November Decrees promise?
Peace with Germany, 8 hour day and 48 hour week for workers, land given to peasants, non-Bolshevik newspapers banned.
What happened in new elections to the Constituent Assembly, November 1917?
Bolsheviks came a distant second: 175 deputies to the SRs’ 370.
What did Lenin’s December Decrees do?
The Cadets were banned, factories were placed under control of workers’ committees, church land was confiscated by the state.
In January 1918 the Constituent Assembly met for the first time. What did Lenin do?
Shut it down for good within 24 hours.
What was signed in March 1918, what was its main aim and what were its key terms?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Russia and Germany, which took Russia out of the war. Russia lost 27% of its arable land, 26% of its railways, 74% of its iron and coal; 50 million Russians displaced; reparations of 3bn roubles.
When did Russian Civil War begin?
Spring 1918
