russia key topic 2

Question 1

what the the government Lenin set up called and what challenges did they initially face?

Answer 1

the sovnarkom
the soviet’s in the countryside being controlled by the SR’s
the constituent assembly being in the SR’s favour

Question 2

what were the decrees made by Lenin?

Answer 2

in December 1917 there were 11 decrees which fulfilled the promises in the April thesis

Question 3

why did Lenin dissolve the constituent assembly?

Answer 3

the Bolsheviks only gained a quarter of the votes and the proposal for the Assembly’s power to be limited was denied it was dissolved. this lead to the red guard killing and wounding 100 demonstrators

Question 4

when was the Tsar executed?

Answer 4

in 1918 where a local Cheka killed the Tsar and his family due to the Lenin being warned the Czech legion were surrounding the city the Tsar was in. this was necessary because if the whites got the Tsar they would provide and even larger focal point for the opposition to the Bolsheviks

Question 5

what was the treaty of Brest-Livosk?

Answer 5

in 1918 the Bolsheviks signed a treaty with the germans ending Russias involvement in WW1. Russia had to surrender tracts of land and pay 3 billion roubles in reparations

Question 6

why did the civil war happen?

Answer 6

in 1918-20
due to economic and social hardships - the bolsheviks failing to deal with food shortages and starvation
due to the bolshevik reforms - opposition from people who were negatively affected by the reforms
the constituent assembly - the decision to dissolve the assembly caused people to accuse the Bolsheviks of seizing power by force

Question 7

who were the opposition to the Bolsheviks?

Answer 7

the whites - former tsarists, nationalists, landowners and wealthy industrialists who wanted restoration of the tsar. liberals and moderate socialists who wanted the Bolsheviks defeated. social revolutionaries who wanted the constituent assembly restored
the greens - national minorities who saw an opportunity to seize independence from Russia
foreign powers - France, Britain, USA and japan

Question 8

why was Lenin was one of the reasons for the Bolshevik victory

Answer 8

the leadership of Lenin - he provided central leadership and direction and was also ruthless in conducting the war as shown by his use of war Communism and the Cheka
war communism meant that ruthless discipline was enforced in factories and rationing was introduced. all the necessary resources went into the red guard

Question 9

why the role of Trotsky was one of the reasons for the Bolsheviks victory

Answer 9

Trotsky was appointed commissar of war in 1918 and was key to the success of the reds. he was able to inspire and rally men and restore discipline into the red army

Question 10

why control of the railways was one of the reasons for Bolshevik victory

Answer 10

it made territory easier to control and ensured that they had to travel shorter distances. they moved the capital to Moscow which was the hub of railway networks. the Reds made better use of the railways than the whites. the control of central areas allowed the reds to continue to produce war materials.

Question 11

why the support of the peasants was one of the reasons for the Bolshevik victory

Answer 11

the peasants supplied the main body of the soldiers on both sides. they had little love for both sides but were more inclined to support the Bolsheviks due to the decree on land and the whites brutality such as their ‘ethnic cleansing’

Question 12

how did Lenin maintain the dictatorship from 1918-24?

Answer 12

by using the Cheka to remove opponents of the Bolshevik regime and to shoot army deserter. members of other main political parties were arrested and relieved from political activities. the Red Terror was introduced where those suspected of working against the revolution were arrested, tortured and executed

Question 13

what was the Politburo?

Answer 13

the leading decision making body of the communist party set up in 1919 and made all key decisions. it made day to day decisions which were too urgent for the Comitee debate

Question 14

what was war communism?

Answer 14

introduced in 1918 as a method of controlling the economy
the features of war communism were:
-rationing of food in cities
-private trading was banned. peasants could no longer sell surplus food for profit they had to give it to the government. if they refused requisition squads forcefully took it.
-factories with more than 10 workers were nationalised meaning they were under control of the state. it was estimated that 80% of enterprises were controlled by the government
-rapid inflation led to money becoming valueless. meaning people had to barter

Question 15

why was the Krondstat mutiny important?

Answer 15

in 1921 the mutiny of thousands of sailors against war communism. their demands were: new elections to be held. freedom of speech. freedom of assembly and trade unions and peasants associations. all political prisoners of socialist parties to be set free

Question 16

how did the government react to the Krondstat mutiny?

Answer 16

Lenin ordered for 60,000 men to shut down the protests. this did lead Lenin to realise he had to change his policy - for him Krondstat was the “flash that lit up reality”

Question 17

when did Lenin abandon War communism?

Answer 17

1921

Question 18

what was the NEP?

Answer 18

the new economic policy that replaced war communism in 1921. the key features were:
-peasants would still have to give a fixed amount of grain to the government but could sell the surplus for profit
-peasants who increased their food production paid less tax
-factories with less than 20 workers weren’t nationalised
- industries such as coal and steel remained under state control
-the electrification of Russia. a network of power stations were introduced