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Russia in revolution > Russia in Revolution-Totalitarian state > Flashcards

Russia in Revolution-Totalitarian state Flashcards

0
Q

Why did Lenin go ahead with the constitutional elections on 12th november?

A

Lenin felt he was too vulnerable at the end of october 1917 to cancel the elections

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1
Q

Name some of the problems faced by Lenin when the bolsheviks came into power

A
  • peasants had seized land
  • industrial production slumped
  • unemployment rising as a well as inflation
  • bolsheviks didnt have mass support outside of major cities
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2
Q

How much support did the bolsheviks have in the constitutional assembly elections? Who had the most support?

A

The bolsheviks had 24% whilst the socialist revolutionaries had the most support with 40%

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3
Q

What problems did Lenin have forming a government?

A

The bolsheviks had no experience
Government officials and employees went on strike
State bank refused to release any funds to new government

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4
Q

What was Lenin’s first decree?

A

The decree on land: confiscated all private land and placed it in the hands of the peasants
It showed that the bolsheviks were willing to compromise on keeping hold of power

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5
Q

What was Lenin’s second decree?

A

The peace decree: took immediate steps to end the war with Germany and Austria-Hungary

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6
Q

What was Lenin’s third decree?

A

To set up the organisation of the new government:

  • at the top was the council of people’s commissars (Sovnrkom) with lenin as chairman=PM
  • under them, the All-russian congress of soviets with a bolshevik majority
  • then, representatives from village, city and district soviets
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7
Q

What did the new government do on 4th november?

A

Closing down newspapers which were critical of the bolsheviks

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8
Q

What did the new government agree in december 1917?

A

An armistice (ceasefire)

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9
Q

When did negotiations for the treaty of Brest-litovsk begin?

A

22nd december

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10
Q

What did the Germans demand in the treaty of brest-litovsk?

A

The baltic states of latvia, lithuainia and estonia, plus poland and ukraine+ 6 million marks in reparations
= loss of one third of russian population
=loss of one third of agricultural land
=loss of over half its industry

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11
Q

What was signed on 27th january 1918 and between whom?

A

Trotsky signed a peace treaty with Ukraine

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12
Q

When was the treaty of Brest-litovsk signed, officially ending the war with Germany?

A

3rd march 1918

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13
Q

What was Lenin’s main concern with the constituent assembly?

A

That they might challenge the newly found bolshevik rule

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14
Q

When and where did the assembly meet for the first (and only) time?

A

5th january 1918, in the Tauride palace

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15
Q

What did the bolsheviks demand at the first meeting of the constituent assembly? How many votes did it lose by?

A

They demanded that the assembly be subservient to decrees passed by the soviet and sovnarkom
This was rejected 237 votes to 137

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16
Q

What happened after the bolshevik demand was rejected?

A

The bolsheviks and the left wing socialist revolutionaries walked out
The remaining delegates were dispersed by the Red guard (loyal to Lenin)

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17
Q

How were the SRs split?

A

The left-wing SRs formed a coalition government with the bolsheviks

The majority moderate SR leader, viktor chernov, called for peaceful demonstration which was easily dispersed by red guard

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18
Q

How were the mensheviks split?

A

They were split between the followers of Fedor Dan and Julius martov

They united in may 1918 but by this time lenin was firmly in control

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19
Q

What did the white forces believe?

A

Either return russia to rule by a monarchy or establish democratic rule

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20
Q

What did the allied forces believe?

A

To overthrow the communists and get russia back in WW1

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21
Q

What did the green armies believe?

A

They wanted to create a society based on local organisations of peasants
Disagreed with the red and white forces

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22
Q

What did the left SR forces believe?

A

They wanted to create a more open society with major social and economic change to aid peasants, they also opposed the treaty of Brest-litovsk

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23
Q

What did the nationalist movements believe?

A

They wanted to gain independence from russian rule. Includes Finns, poles, Ukrainians and people of the Caucasus region

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24
Q

What was the czech legion? When was it formed?

A

Formed 1917 from austro-hungarian prisoners of war of czech and slovak origin

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25
Q

How many members did the czech legion have in 1918?

A

40,000

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26
Q

Which countries were involved in the allied forces?

A

Britain, France and Japan

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27
Q

Who were the white generals?

A
  • general Deniken, who took over from kornilov in april 1918 (with 19,000 troops)
  • general Yedenich
  • general Kolckak
  • general wrangel
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28
Q

Why did Lenin move his capital to moscow?

A

Fear of white and german attack

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29
Q

When was tsar Nicholas II and his family executed?

A

17th july 1918

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30
Q

Why did the communist forces execute the Tsar and his family?

A

Because the czech legion neared the town where they were being held and the communists didn’t want the Tsar falling into the hands of the czech legion

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31
Q

How successful was kolchaks campaign in the east?

A

Initially successful , in april his forces (including 30,000 foreign troops) had advanced 200 miles and captured some important cities

  • end of april, Reds launched a counterattack
  • by july, kolchaks army had been pushed back and had lost most of their men
32
Q

How successful was denikens campaign in the south east?

A

Went to Dombass region to fight Red army

  • initially successful, many desrted red army as it retreated
  • eventually it failed as he didnt have enough troops to fight over such a large front
33
Q

How successful was Yudenich’s camaign on petrograd in october 1919?

A

Yudenich’s attack lacked forces (foreign forces had dried up after kolchaks defeat and the Finns refused to fight since they weren’t being granted independence) but it started well

Trotsky intervened, rounding up troops in petrograd, leading the Reds to a victory

34
Q

How successful was Wrangel’s campaign in southern Russia in 1920?

A

Defeated in crimea and destroyed by a communist offensive by the middle of 1920. Wrangel organised the evacuation of the last white forces in crimea after his defeat

35
Q

What happened in the Russo-polish war of 1920-1921?

A

1919- polish forces captured the ukrainian capital (kiev) but are forced to retreat by communist attacks

  • Lenin orders invasion of poland hoping polish workers would join the red army and stage a revolution against the government
  • polish saw russians as a foreign aggressor and fought against them

By 1920 the red army had reached the gates of warsaw but were defeated

36
Q

What did the treaty of Riga in 1921 do? What did it signify for the communists?

A

It gave poland a large part of western belorussia

It also highlighted how the war was the biggest communist defeat in the civil war and ended any attempt by lenin to extend the revolution beyond russia.

37
Q

Who formed the green armies?

A

Nester Makhno

38
Q

Which area of russia did the communists dominate?

A

The heartland of russia (an area between petrograd, moscow and tsaritsyn) with a population of 60 million approx.

39
Q

How did the Communists coordinate war production?

A

Conscripted people to work in factories in factories
Used fear of imprisonment to make workers produce more weapons
They used grain requisitioning (taking grain from peasants) to feed cities

40
Q

Who were the Cheka?

A

A political police force engaging in fear tactics, established by lenin on 6th december 1917

  • they arrested, imprisoned and executed political opponents
  • they also set up gulags, a concentration camp system
41
Q

When was the red army founded? How many members did they have by 1921?

A

1918

By 1921 they had around 5million members

42
Q

How did trotsky control the red army?

A

He recruited former officers of the tsarist army with military experience
He assigned political officers to ensure they complied with his orders and he regularly toured every front to check up on his units

43
Q

What was created 2nd december 1917?

A

The supreme council of national economy (the vesenkha)

44
Q

What happened on 14th december 1917?

A

Lenin used the army to take over all the banks and then declared them owned by the communist government

45
Q

What did Lenin do on the 21st january 1918?

A

Lenin declared all foreign debts incurred by the tsar and the Prov gov illegal and wouldn’t be paid

46
Q

Which phase of communism did Russia experience between december 1917 and june 1918?

A

December 1917 - june 1918 Russia experienced state capitalism
-state capitalism recognised workers control of factories

47
Q

What problems did Russia face during the “state capitalism” stage?

A
  • industrial production slumped
  • the black market flourished
  • the economy mainly operated on a bartering system
48
Q

What policy did Lenin establish during the civil war from june 1918 to 1921?

A

War communism

49
Q

What did war communism establish?

A

Form a supreme economic council
Nationalised industry- made all business liable to nationalisation without compensation, by 1920 around 37000 businesses had been nationalised
Private trade was banned
Grain surpluses seized from peasants
Use of money replaced with rationing organised by state
Use of terror, slave labour and seizure of goods and grain

50
Q

What was wrong with the rationing system under war communism?

A

Rations were completely inadequate: the commissariat of supplies (Narkomprod) gave out rations according to output and importance of work
-Towns and cities fed by “Ural-siberian method” of grain requisitioning where groups of communists requisitioned grain from peasants

51
Q

What impact did war communism have on Russia?

A

Lenin won the civil war
BUT
1917-1920: over half the urban working population disappeared
1921: major famine, resulting in death of 1-2 million people
Peasant uprisings eg 1920-1921 uprising in Tambov province
Fall in industrial production

52
Q

When did war communism end?

A

1921 at the Tenth party congress of the communist party

53
Q

What was Trotskys “solution” to the economic crisis?

A

Extend compulsory service beyond the red army to include civilian work

54
Q

How was opposition against the communist government increasing?

A

At the end of 1920 the Mensheviks began increasing their support in local soviets

A workers’ opposition movement was developing, based on disapproval of the governments control of the trade unions

55
Q

What blow was there to the communist leadership in march 1921?

A

The Kronstadt rebellion

56
Q

In march 1921 who mostly made up the kronstadt sailors?

A

Conscirpted ukrainians instead of the men who’d assisted Lenin to power in 1917

57
Q

What did the kronstadt sailors demand?

A
  • An end to the special position of the communist government
  • Relaxation of economic policy
  • Restoration of freedom of speech
58
Q

When the Kronstadt rebellion took place in march 1921, how was it put down?

A

It was put down by red army troops under Trotskys command. Over 3 weeks the rebellion was put down and rebels who weren’t killed were sent to the gulags (forced labour camps)

59
Q

Which policy replaced war communism at the end of march 1921?

A

The new economic policy

60
Q

When was the NEP announced?

A

March 1921

61
Q

What happened under the new economic policy?

A

Peasants only had to give part of their produce to the government, the rest could be sold on the open market
Peasants had to pay a tax
Private trading was allowed
New currency introduced to end high inflation

62
Q

What did the government retain control over in the new economic policy?

A

Banking, heavy industry, transportation and foreign trade

63
Q

Who were the Nepmen?

A

Private traders who were able to buy and sell goods

By 1922, three quarters of all trade was conducted by this new group

64
Q

How did the communists feel about the NEP?

A

They felt it was a betrayal of their ideals and encouraged greed, independence and self-interest

65
Q

How did the NEP affect Russia?

A

Markets returned to russian towns and cities
More goods became avaliable, food shortages disappeared, the 1921 famine ended
-by 1923, 85% of firms were once again in private hands

Peasants were cultivating more land (rising by half 1921-1927) and numbers of livestock incresed
Coal and textile production increased

66
Q

What was the ‘Scissor crisis’?

A

The ever-widening gap between agricultural and industrial prices:
As agricultural production rose, prices fell
Meanwhile industrial prices rose due to shortages

Therefore peasants were paying more for manufactured goods and getting less for their produce

67
Q

What was democratic centralism?

A

The idea that decisions made by Lenin and the Politburo (main decision making committee of the communist party) would be binding to all other communists
Other political parties were banned under democratic centralism

68
Q

Why did Lenin introduce democratic centralism?

A

To prevent the communist party splitting from the controversy of the NEP
Under democratic centralism, factions within the communist party were banned so they were no longer allowed to form independent groups

69
Q

Why had Lenin given up on worldwide communist revolution by 1922?

A

Defeat at Russo-polish war

Introducing NEP=tactical retreat

70
Q

What was formed on 29th december 1922?

A

The USSR ( the union of soviet socialist republics)

71
Q

What were the main republics in the USSR?

A

The RSFSR (Russian soviet federative socialist republic)
The Belorussian SSR
The Transcaucasian SSR (comprised of the modern day states of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan)
The Ukrainian social republic

72
Q

Which areas of land did Russia lose under WW1 peace treaties?

A

Finland,Poland and the baltic states

73
Q

How did the USSR as a multi-nationalist communist state work?

A

Each republic would possess its own government as part of a federal structure

The individual republics would send representatives to a congress of republics which, with the congress of soviets, formed the national parliament of the USSR

74
Q

What was the most senior committee of the USSR?

A

The sovnarkom: the council of people’s commissars

75
Q

How did Lenin control the media?

A

Only communist newspapers were allowed eg Pravda

The Cheka were used to prevent any opposition

76
Q

What happened to the Cheka in 1922?

A

They were dissolved and replaced with the GPU ( state political administration), another political police force

By the time of Lenin’s death in 1924, the gulags had imprisoned tens of thousands of victims

77
Q

Why was the OGPU nicknamed the ‘dry guillotine’?

A

They didn’t use physical methods against communists

Russia in revolution (4 decks)

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