RUSSIA politics- LENIN Flashcards
1
Q
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
A
Supreme law-making body of the state; all laws issued by the Sovnarkom had to be approved by the Congress
2
Q
Who made up the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
A
Members elected by local soviets, all those citizens engaged in ‘useful work’
3
Q
During the civil war, how did the Bolsheviks take advantage of their ‘democratic’ political structure?
A
Used control over positions in the Sovnarkom to issue orders that were merely rubber-stamped by the Congress of Soviets
4
Q
What became clear about Party control over the state by the early 1920s?
A
Real power had shifted from the ‘democratic’ apparatus of the state towards the Party itself
5
Q
Who made up the Politburo?
A
7-9 leading members of Boleshevik Party
6
Q
What did the Politburo take over from?
A
Larger Central Committee, which quickly proved to be unmanageable when making important decisions
7
Q
How regularly did the Politburo meet under Lenin?
A
Daily
8
Q
What did the Politburo soon become more important than under Lenin?
A
Sovnarkom
9
Q
When was the establishment of the world’s first communist state?
A
October Revolution of 1917
10
Q
What was the government system established by the Bolsheviks like?
A
Authoritarian; highly centralised; based on use of terror
11
Q
When did the nature of Soviet government become more stable?
A
Under Brezhnev’s leadership
12
Q
When was the Bolshevik Party established?
A
1903
13
Q
When did the Tsarist regime collapse?
A
February 1917
14
Q
Why did the Tsarist regime collapse?
A
Strains of WW1
15
Q
What did Marx believe the stages of historical change would be?
A
Primitive communism; feudalism; capitalism; socialism; communisim
16
Q
Dictatorship of the Proletariat
A
Government that rules on behalf of the working class
17
Q
Who did the Bolsheviks force from power in October 1917?
A
Provisional Government
18
Q
How many Bolsheviks were there at the time of the October Revolution?
A
300,000
19
Q
How did the Bolsheviks portray the October Revolution?
A
Mass uprising of the workers
20
Q
Who were the only troops left to guard the Winter palace during the October Revolution?
A
Women’s Death Battalion
21
Q
Why did the Bolsheviks face enormous difficulties in attempting to secure their hold on power?
A
Relatively small group
22
Q
Who did the Bolsheviks face opposition to their rule from?
A
Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks; Tsarist supporters and pro-middle class liberal groups; nationalist groups
23
Q
What are some examples of the nationalist groups within the Russian Empire that threatened the Bolsheviks rule?
A
Ukranians; Poles; Finns
24
Q
What did the SRs and Mensheviks hope would give them a chance to regain power?
A
Constituent Assembly January 1918
25
Why would the Constituent Assembly January 1918 play to the strengths of the SRs?
It was to be democratically elected- SRs had mobilised their support among the peasantry
26
What were the results of the Constituent Assembly January 1918?
Bolsheviks gained 175 seats with over 9 million votes; SRs emerged as the largest single party with 410 seats and 21 million votes
27
How did Lenin react to the results of the Constituent Assembly January 1918?
Dissolved Assembly after only one meeting; condemned it as an instrument of the bourgeoisie
28
What did Lenin use in place of the Constituent Assembly as an instrument of popular support?
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
29
Why did Lenin introduce the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
It was a body where the Bolsheviks had more influence
30
When did the Bolshevik party rename itself the Communist Party?
March 1918
31
When were all political parties other than the Communist Party banned?
1921
32
How many Mensheviks were arrested during the first 3 months of 1921?
Over 5,000
33
When were there further waves of arrests of Mensheviks and SR supporters?
1921; 1922
34
How did the Communist Party strip the opposition parties of their reservoir of support before they banned them?
Removed vote from the 'bourgeois classes', such as employers and priests
35
When did the left-wing SRs lose all influence?
When they walked out of the government in March 1918 in protest at the Bolshevik decision to pull out of WW1
36
How did the Bolsheviks show tolerance towards the SRs originally?
Gave them a role within the Bolshevik government in 1917-18
37
How did the Bolsheviks limit the power of the Mensheviks and SRs orginally?
Imposed restrictions which made it difficult for them to publish their newspapers
38
What had weakened the Mensheviks before the October Revolution 1917?
Their co-operation with the Provisional Government
39
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
1918
40
Where did the initial opposition to the Bolsheviks mainly come from?
Other socialist groups
41
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918
Took Russia out of the war at a great cost
42
Which areas did Russia lose control of as a result of the terms of the Treaty of B-L?
Baltic states; Finland; Ukraine; parts of the Caucasus region
43
Why were the conservatives so furious about the Treaty of B-L?
National humiliation for them, especially for military officers who had served in the Tsar's army
44
Who was anxious to keep Russia in WW1?
Allied powers of Britain, France, the USA and Japan
45
Why did the Treaty of B-L provide a necessary spur to those who wished to fight against the Bolsheviks?
Offered promise of foreign help
46
Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of B-L?
War sapped energy and resources of the government, with little chance of military success; WW1 had led to the collapse of Tsarism and the Provisional Government
47
When was the Russian civil war?
1918-21
48
Who did the Whites receive help from?
Allies in WW1
49
When did the Bolsheviks defeat the Whites and secure communist role over the country?
1920
50
How did the situation look for the Boleshviks at the beginning of the civil war?
Bleak
51
Why did the Bolsheviks emerge as the victors from the civil war?
Better military, economic and poltical organisation
52
Why did the situation look so bleak for the Bolsheviks at the start of the civil war?
Area directly under their control was limited to a central core based in Moscow, stretching to Petrograd in the north-west
53
Why were the Whites much weaker than the Reds?
Amalgam of different groups united only by their desire to get rid of the Bolsheviks; co-operation was limited and not helped by the long front on which they fought
54
Why did the Whites fail to put the aid from the Allies to good use?
Corruption; inefficiency
55
When did Trostky become Commissar for War?
Early 1918
56
Who must receive much of the credit for the Bolsheviks' coherent military strategy?
Leon Trostky
57
How many Red Army soldiers were there by the end of the civil war?
Over 5 million
58
Why was the Red Army so strong?
Military strategy; conscription; War Communism; support from peasantry due to the Land Decree of 1917
59
What were the key results of the Russian civil war?
Highly centralised Bolshevik state; development of extensive use of terror; militaristic values reinforced in population
60
When was the Tenth Party Congress?
March 1921
61
How did Bolshevik membership change during the civil war?
Grew from 300,000 at the end of 1917 to over 730,000 by 1921
62
Why was the huge growth in Bolshevik support during the civil war a problem?
Posed a threat to Party stability
63
What was the focus of the Tenth Party Congress 1921?
Divisions within the Bolshevik Party
64
When was the ban on the formation of factions within the Party put forward by Lenin?
Tenth Party Congress 1921
65
What was the ban on the formation of factions between the Party referred to as?
'On Party Unity'
66
What was the penalty for people ignoring 'On Party Unity'?
Expulsion from the Party
67
What did the ban on Party factions coincide with?
Tambov Rising 1920-21; Kronstadt Mutiny 1921
68
When Lenin came to power, what happened to trade unions and factory committees?
Brought under Bolshevik control and then sidelined
69
What replaced the trade unions and factory committees?
System based on representative bodies that in theory stemmed from the All-Russian Congress of Soviets; headed by the Sovnarkom
70
Sovnarkom
Council of People's Commissars; took role of a cabinet of top government ministers
71
How many members did the Sovnarkom have?
About 20
72
Who elected the members of the Sovnarkom?
Central Executive Committee
73
How regularly did the Sovnarkom meet during the civil war?
Daily
74
Central Executive Committee
Larger group elected by the Congress of Soviets; its task was to oversee the work of the government and its administration
75
Who were the leading members of the Politburo besides Lenin?
Zinoviev; Kamenev; Trotsky; Stalin
76
What did the Politburo do?
Made key decisions affecting policy
77
Central Committee
Group of 30-40 members chosen by the Party Congress to represent it; made key decisions on policy
78
When was the power of the Central Committee increasingly delegated to the Politburo?
After 1919
79
Party Congress
Body made up of representatives of local Party branches; discussed the general programme of the Party
80
How regularly did the Party Congress meet from 1917-26?
Annually
81
At which Party Congresses were there fierce debates?
Ninth and Tenth Party Congresses of 1920/1921
82
When did the role of the Party Congress in influencing policy decline?
After the ruling of On Party Unity-stifled debate
83
What were the different structures that made up Lenin's government?
Sovnarkom; Central Executive Committee; All-Russian Congress of Soviets
84
What were the different structures that made up Lenin's Party?
Politburo; Central Committee; Party Congress; local Party branches
85
What was below the level of congress?
Local Party branches
86
Who was the Party secretary in Petrograd?
Kamenev
87
Who was the Party secretary in Moscow?
Zinoviev
88
Who headed the local Party branches?
A Party secretary
89
Which decision in 1919 was a sign of the relative power of state and Party?
Secret police made directly responsible to the Politburo rather than the Sovnarkom
90
What indicated the decline of the state?
Increasing infrequency of meetings of the Congress of Soviets, Central Executive Committee and the Sovnarkom
91
Which principle did the Bolsheviks claim that their government was based upon?
Democratic Centralism
92
What meant that the soviets were not involved in decision-making?
System of ruling by decree
93
How were appointments to the Party Congress controlled?
By the General Secretary using the nomenklatura system
94
By the later 1920s, what did all representatives at the All-Russian Congress of Soviets have to be?
Communist Party members
95
Why did the highly centralised structures of government remain in place post-civil war?
System became entrenched as those with power were reluctant to give it up
96
What were Lenin's official positions in the government?
Chair of the Sovnarkom; Politburo member
97
What type of leadership did Lenin prefer?
Collective leadership
98
Which events did Lenin threaten to resign over to whip the Party into shape?
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918; New Economic Policy 1921
99
When did Lenin's power over the Party begin to decline?
1922
100
When did Lenin lose the ability to speak?
After his third stroke, in March 1923
101
Why were Lenin's threats to resign effective?
Many Bolsheviks looked up to Lenin
102
What did the Party develop to ensure the creation of a more committed communist bureaucracy?
Nomenklatura system
103
When did the membership of the Communist Party reach one million?
1924
104
Nomenklatura system
System of appointing people to jobs from a list approved by the Party leadership; evidence of commitment to the Party cause was necessary to remain on the list
105
When was the position of the Bolsheviks strong enough to extend their control over the outlying regions of the old Russian Empire?
By 1922
106
How did the Bolsheviks extend their control over the outlying regions of the old Russian Empire?
Sent in Red Army forces; encouraged local Bolsheviks to stage unrest by organising mass demonstrations and street violence
107
When was the Soviet Constitution established?
1924
108
What does USSR stand for?
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
109
What was an important step in the centralisation of power in the Soviet state?
Soviet Constitution of 1924
110
What was the USSR in theory?
A federal state
111
How much of the USSR's population did the Russians make up?
72%
112
How much of the Communist Party were Russians?
Nearly 3/4
113
What did the Soviet Constitution of 1924 confirm?
Power of Communist Party in the state; gave some representation to Party members from each of the republics
114
When were left-wing opponents of the Bolsheviks arrested?
August 1918
115
Why were left-wing opponents of the Bolsheviks arrested?
After an assassination attempt on Lenin
116
How did the Cheka grow between 1918-21?
From 40,000 to 250,000 members
117
How did terror change with the introduction of the OGPU?
Became more bureaucratic, discreet and inward-looking
118
When were the Chistkas?
1918; early 1920s
119
How much of the Party was purged under Lenin?
About 1/3
120
What happened to those who were 'cleansed' during a Chistka?
Party memberships were withdrawn
121
What seemed to indicate that Lenin was developing his own personal agenda for the use of terror?
Showed a particular interest in the execution of priests
122
What are examples of the limits of centralisation of power in Russia?
Didn't always extend to remote areas; chaotic government led to a local mafia of Bolsheviks and black marketeers; not all debate within the Party was stifled
123
When were the trade unions discussed?
Ninth and Tenth Party Congresses of 1920/1921
124
What are examples of debate within the Party?
Kamenev and Zinoviev had opposed Lenin's decision to launch the 1917 Revolution; Treaty of B-L; right- and left-wing factions within the Party with NEP; trade unions
125
When was Stalin appointed General Secretary of the Party?
1922
126
Which political body was theoretically the most representative?
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
127
Who elected the Politburo members?
Central Committee
128
Why did the Party grow so significantly?
Civil war; authoritarianism; terror
129
When were many Bolsheviks supporters becoming disillusioned at the lack of real gains for the proleteriat?
Mid-1920s
