Russia Extra info Flashcards
What was the St Petersburg Soviet? 5
Started after Bloody Sunday
Later became Petrograd Soviet
Lead by Trotsky
purpose was to coordinate Worker’s trikes
Shut down by government in same year
What was the Lena Goldfield Massacre? 3
Army shot goldfield workers who were onstrike.
The goldfield workers went onstriketo protest against poor and harsh working conditions.
The gold fields were located by the River Lena in Siberia.
What was the June/July Offensive? 4
Russianattack to push back the Austro-Hungarians and Germans to win the war.
It was a disaster.
Organised by Kerensky
Prov Govt. & Kerensy blamed
What were the July Days in Russia? 5
period of social,economicand political upheaval inRussiawhile theProv Govt.was inpower.
Happened because of Bread rationing, Jun offensive, and Bolshevik anti-prov govt propaganda
Prov govt. cracked down on protests
Trotsk & other Bolshevik Leaders arrested
Lenin Fled to Finland
What was the Kornilov Revolt? 2
unsuccessful coup by part of the army against the Russian Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet.
Led by Kornilov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army
Why did Kornilov revolt happen? 2
Kerensky aimed to improve army discipline so Russia could win WW1 and appointed General Kornilov as the commander-in-chief of the army for this
Kornilov sent troops to Petrograd after Kerensky refused to declare martial law banning Sovets & sacked Kornilov
What happened during the Kornilov Revolt?
Kerensky called on the Petrograd Soviet to defend city & allowed them to arm Red Guard and in return he freed the Bolshevik prisoners arrested in the July Days uprising.
General Kornilov’s route into the city was blocked by railway workers.
The Bolsheviks stopped General Kornilov and he was arrested
What were the results of the Kornilov Revolt? 5
weakened position of the Provisional Government. They lost support from right bc they gave weapons to Bolsheviks. Lost support from left bc Kerensky tried to compromise with Kornilov at first.
Bolsheviks had more support & weapons from defending Petrgrad
Bolsevik membership increasedby 100 000 by Oct
Bolshevik abl to gain contrl of Petrorad Soviet with their new strength
Moraleand discipline in the army decreased even more.
What was the October Revolution? 1
It was the Bolshevik-led revolution to remove the Provisional Government from power.
Led by Lenin & Trotsky
Why did the October Revolution happen? 5
shift in power from the Provisional Government to the Petrograd Soviet after the Kornilov Revolt.
Lenin returned to Russia and persuaded leading Bolsheviks that the party should plan an armed uprising against the Provisional Government.
Trotsky, as the leader of the Petrograd Soviet, created the Military Revolutionary Committee & gained support from military
Kerensky tried to limit the power of the Bolsheviks by ordering their arrest and stopping their newspapers. Trotsky used the Military Revolutionary Committee to take over key bridges and the telephone exchange.
Lenin needed to act before the elections to the Constituent Assembly which were scheduled for November 1917.
What happened during the October Revolution? 3
in the morning of 24th-25th October, Red Guards took control of banks, government buildings and the railway stations.
In the evening of 25th October, Red Guards entered the Winter Palace & arrested members of the Provisional Government that were there.
On 26th October, Lenin announced a new communist government called the Council of the People’s Commissars.
Why were the Bolsheviks successful during the October Revolution? 5
Trotsky used position to gain military & general support
Prov govt weak bc they lost all support, Army weak from WW1, peasant issues weren’t addressed
Lenin’s Apri Thesis appealed to ppl & persuaded other Bolsh to boycott prov govt
Funded by Germany bc revolution would pull Russia out of WW1
Had support of the majorindustrialcities.
What was the Decree on Peace? 3
The Decree on Peace demanded immediate peace negotiations between all countries fighting in the First World War.
It stated that Russia wanted an immediate ceasefire and to start peace talks with Germany.
Passed by Bolsh
Why was the Decree on Peace issued? 1
Lenin needed to pull out of the First World War so the Bolsheviks could concentrate on gaining control of Russia.
What was the impact of the Decree on Peace? 3
led to the Bolsheviks negotiating the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, which was signed on 3rd March, 1918.
The Treaty involved making huge concessions to the Germans, giving them large areas of land and promising to pay themreparations.
The Treaty was so hated it became one of the causes of the Russian Civil War.
What was Cheka?
Bolshevik secret Police
What was the Constituent Assembly? 4
an elected body organised by the Provisional Government
for the purpose of establishing a new government after the collapse of the tsarist government.
It would write a new constitution outlining how Russia would be governed.
Lenin closed the Constituent Assembly with the Red Guard. It was done at gunpoint.
Why was the Constituent Assembly closed down? 2
The results for the Constituent Assembly were not in the Bolsheviks’ favour as the Socialist Revolutionaries gained 57%-58% of the vote.
The Constituent Assembly rejected a proposal from the Sovnarkom which included all their decrees on land, peace and workers’ rights, and a statement which gave all power to the Soviets.
What was the Red Terror? 2
The Bolshevik-led repression of their opposition during the Russian Civil War.
The Red Terror was implemented by the Cheka
Why was the Red Terror carried out? 2
Fanya Kaplan, a Socialist Revolutionary, attempted to assassinate Lenin because he shut down the Constituent Assembly in January 1918.
There was an attemptedrebellionby the Socialist Revolutionaries in Moscow in July 1918.
What was the Kronstadt Naval Mutiny? 2
a revolt by sailors at the Kronstadt Naval base against the Bolsheviks which was crushed by the Red Army.
The sailors from the Kronstadt Naval base. Initially, sailors on the battleship Petropavlovsk mutinied. This spread to the whole naval base and about 15,000 sailors were involved.
What did the sailors demand in the Kronstadt Naval Mutiny? 4
New elections.
Freedom of speech.
Equal rations.
The scrapping of themilitiaunits which were taking grain from thepeasants.
Why did the Kronstadt Naval Mutiny happen? 5
War Communism was causing terrible suffering. The Bolsheviks cut the bread ration by a third on 22nd January, 1921
February, the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries organised a strike supported by workers from the local factories and shipyards.
The Kronstadt sailors hated how Bolshevik party leaders got special privileges, such as extra food.
They objected to the Red Terror as people were being arrested and executed without a fair trial.
February, the crew of the ship Petropavlovsk mutinied because they felt the Bolsheviks had drifted away from true communism.
What were the results of the Kronstadt Naval Mutiny?
thousands Red Army soldiers and sailors were killed.
Lenin was very worried that previously loyal sailors hadmutinied.
As a result, he realised he needed to change his economic policy. He ended War Communism and brought in the New Economic Policy (NEP).
Lenin banned factions at the 10th Party Congress. He issued a decree, ‘One Party Unity’.
