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USSR > RUSSIA Politics - Lenin (Version 2) > Flashcards

RUSSIA Politics - Lenin (Version 2) Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a Dictatorship of the Proletariat?

A

Government that rules on behalf of the working class

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2
Q

What did Marx believe the stages of historical change would be?

A

Primitive communism; feudalism; capitalism; socialism; communisim

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3
Q

When was Bolshevik Party established

A

1903

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4
Q

What did the Tsar have control over?

A

Military, Public services and appointment of ministers

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5
Q

When did the Tsarist regime collapse?

A

Feb-17

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6
Q

Why did the Tsarist regime collapse?

A

Strains of WW1

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7
Q

What was the 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

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8
Q

Who made up the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?

A

Members elected by local soviets, all those citizens engaged in ‘useful work’

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9
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

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10
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

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11
Q

Who made up the Politburo?

A

7-9 leading members of Boleshevik Party

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12
Q

What did the Politburo take over from?

A

Larger Central Committee, which quickly proved to be unmanageable when making important decisions

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13
Q

How regularly did the Politburo meet under Lenin?

A

Daily

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14
Q

What did the Politburo soon become more important than under Lenin?

A

Sovnarkom

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15
Q

What was the government system established by the Bolsheviks like?

A

Authoritarian; highly centralised; based on use of terror

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16
Q

Who did the Bolsheviks force from power in October 1917?

A

Provisional Government

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17
Q

How many Bolsheviks were there at the time of the October Revolution?

A

300,000

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18
Q

How did the Bolsheviks portray the October Revolution?

A

Mass uprising of the workers

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19
Q

Who were the only troops left to guard the Winter palace during the October Revolution?

A

Women’s Death Battalion

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20
Q

Why did the Bolsheviks face enormous difficulties in attempting to secure their hold on power?

A

Relatively small group

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21
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

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22
Q

What are some examples of the nationalist groups within the Russian Empire that threatened the Bolsheviks rule (3)?

A

Ukranians; Poles; Finns

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23
Q

What did the SRs and Mensheviks hope would give them a chance to regain power?

A

Constituent Assembly January 1918

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24
Q

Why would the Constituent Assembly January 1918 play to the strengths of the SRs?

A

It was to be democratically elected- SRs had mobilised their support among the peasantry

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25
Q

What were the results of the Constituent Assembly January 1918?

A

Bolsheviks gained 175 seats with over 9 million votes; SRs emerged as the largest single party with 410 seats and 21 million votes

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26
Q

How did Lenin react to the results of the Constituent Assembly January 1918?

A

Dissolved Assembly after only one meeting; condemned it as an instrument of the bourgeoisie

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27
Q

What did Lenin use in place of the Constituent Assembly as an instrument of popular support?

A

All-Russian Congress of Soviets

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28
Q

Why did Lenin introduce the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?

A

It was a body where the Bolsheviks had more influence

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29
Q

When did the Bolshevik party rename itself the Communist Party?

A

1918

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30
Q

When were all political parties other than the Communist Party banned?

A

1921

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31
Q

How many Mensheviks were arrested during the first 3 months of 1921?

A

Over 5,000

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32
Q

When were there further waves of arrests of Mensheviks and SR supporters?

A

1921; 1922

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33
Q

How did the Communist Party strip the opposition parties of their reservoir of support before they banned them?

A

Removed vote from the ‘bourgeois classes’, such as employers and priests

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34
Q

When did the left-wing SRs lose all influence?

A

When they walked out of the government in March 1918 in protest at the Bolshevik decision to pull out of WW1

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35
Q

How did the Bolsheviks show tolerance towards the SRs originally?

A

Gave them a role within the Bolshevik government in 1917-18

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36
Q

How did the Bolsheviks limit the power of the Mensheviks and SRs orginally?

A

Imposed restrictions which made it difficult for them to publish their newspapers

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37
Q

What had weakened the Mensheviks before the October Revolution 1917?

A

Their co-operation with the Provisional Government

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38
Q

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

A

1918

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39
Q

Where did the initial opposition to the Bolsheviks mainly come from?

A

Other socialist groups

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40
Q

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918

A

Took Russia out of the war at a great cost

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41
Q

Which areas did Russia lose control of as a result of the terms of the Treaty of B-L?

A

Baltic states; Finland; Ukraine; parts of the Caucasus region

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42
Q

Why were the conservatives so furious about the Treaty of B-L?

A

National humiliation for them, especially for military officers who had served in the Tsar’s army

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43
Q

Who was anxious to keep Russia in WW1?

A

Allied powers of Britain, France, the USA and Japan

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44
Q

Why did the Treaty of B-L provide a necessary spur to those who wished to fight against the Bolsheviks?

A

Offered promise of foreign help

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45
Q

Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of B-L? (3)

A

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

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46
Q

What issues did Lenin face when he got into power (5)?

A

Civil Servant Strike, only controlled central areas, riots, Menshevik uprising and supporter discontent

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47
Q

Why did the civil servants go on strike when Lenin took control?

A

Institutions didn’t accept the new government

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48
Q

What was the main issue with the strikes?

A

State bank wouldn’t pay bolsheviks so they couldn’t pay supporters

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49
Q

Where else was there strikes in 1917? (2)

A

Banks, post offices et

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50
Q

What was the immediate public reaction to the bolsheviks seizing power?

A

looting of the winter palace and killing

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51
Q

How did Lenin deal with rioting after the Bolsheviks took control?

A

Imposed martial law

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52
Q

What decrees did Lenin issue early on in his rule?

A

Decree on: Land, Peace & Workers Decree & Decree of workers control

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53
Q

When was the Decree on Land, Peace and the Workers Decrees?

A

1917

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54
Q

What did the Decree on Land say?

A

Gave peasants rights to seize land from nobility and church

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55
Q

What did the decree on Peace say?

A

committed to withdrawing from WWII

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56
Q

Why did the decrees have limited effect?

A

They were issued from Petrograd and in fringe regions Tsarist supporters were still in control and ignored them

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57
Q

When were the Banks nationalised?

A

December 1817

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58
Q

How did the Bolsheviks change the army after getting into power

A

Democratised it so officers were elected and ranks were abolished.

59
Q

When was the Russian civil war?

A

1918-21

60
Q

Who did the Whites receive help from?

A

Allies in WW1

61
Q

When did the Bolsheviks defeat the Whites and secure communist role over the country?

A

1920

62
Q

Why did the Bolsheviks emerge as the victors from the civil war(5)?

A

Battle of Polkovo Heights, Better organisation, Red tactics, Whites’ large front, popular support for Boleshviks

63
Q

Why did the situation look so bleak for the Bolsheviks at the start of the civil war?

A

Area directly under their control was limited to a central core based in Moscow, stretching to Petrograd in the north-west

64
Q

Why were the Whites much weaker than the Reds?

A

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

65
Q

Why did the Whites fail to put the aid from the Allies to good use?

A

Corruption; inefficiency

66
Q

When did Trostky become Commissar for War?

A

Early 1918

67
Q

How many Red Army soldiers were there by the end of the civil war?

A

Over 5 million

68
Q

Why was the Red Army so strong?

A

Military strategy; conscription; War Communism; support from peasantry due to the Land Decree of 1917

69
Q

What were the key results of the Russian civil war?

A

Highly centralised Bolshevik state; development of extensive use of terror; militaristic values reinforced in population

70
Q

Why did the peasants help the Bolsheviks in the Civil War?

A

Peasants didn’t really support them but they liked the decree on land

71
Q

How did Bolshevik membership change during the civil war?

A

Grew from 300,000 at the end of 1917 to over 730,000 by 1921

72
Q

Why was the huge growth in Bolshevik support during the civil war a problem?

A

Posed a threat to Party stability

73
Q

When was the Tenth Party Congress?

A

Mar-21

74
Q

What was the focus of the Tenth Party Congress 1921?

A

Divisions within the Bolshevik Party

75
Q

When was the ban on the formation of factions within the Party put forward by Lenin?

A

Tenth Party Congress 1921

76
Q

What was the ban on the formation of factions between the Party referred to as?

A

On Party Unity’

77
Q

What was the penalty for people ignoring ‘On Party Unity’?

A

Expulsion from the Party

78
Q

What did the ban on Party factions coincide with?

A

Tambov Rising 1920-21; Kronstadt Mutiny 1921

79
Q

When Lenin came to power, what happened to trade unions and factory committees?

A

Brought under Bolshevik control and then sidelined

80
Q

What replaced the trade unions and factory committees?

A

System based on representative bodies that in theory stemmed from the All-Russian Congress of Soviets; headed by the Sovnarkom

81
Q

Sovnarkom

A

Council of People’s Commissars; took role of a cabinet of top government ministers

82
Q

How many members did the Sovnarkom have?

A

About 20

83
Q

Who elected the members of the Sovnarkom?

A

Central Executive Committee

84
Q

How regularly did the Sovnarkom meet during the civil war?

A

Daily

85
Q

Central Executive Committee

A

Larger group elected by the Congress of Soviets; its task was to oversee the work of the government and its administration

86
Q

Who were the leading members of the Politburo besides Lenin? (4)

A

Zinoviev; Kamenev; Trotsky; Stalin

87
Q

What did the Politburo do?

A

Made key decisions affecting policy

88
Q

Central Committee

A

Group of 30-40 members chosen by the Party Congress to represent it; made key decisions on policy

89
Q

When was the power of the Central Committee increasingly delegated to the Politburo?

A

After 1919

90
Q

Why did power shift towards the party? (3)

A

Party organisation mirrored state, Bolsheviks controlled party so it was easier, nomenklatura meant party engine was more effective

91
Q

Party Congress

A

Body made up of representatives of local Party branches; discussed the general programme of the Party

92
Q

How regularly did the Party Congress meet from 1917-26?

A

Annually

93
Q

At which Party Congresses were there fierce debates?

A

Ninth and Tenth Party Congresses of 1920/1921

94
Q

When did the role of the Party Congress in influencing policy decline?

A

After the ruling of On Party Unity-stifled debate

95
Q

What were the different structures that made up Lenin’s government?

A

Sovnarkom; Central Executive Committee; All-Russian Congress of Soviets

96
Q

What were the different structures that made up Lenin’s Party?

A

Politburo; Central Committee; Party Congress; local Party branches

97
Q

What was below the level of congress?

A

Local Party branches

98
Q

Who was the Party secretary in Petrograd?

A

Kamenev

99
Q

Who was the Party secretary in Moscow?

A

Zinoviev

100
Q

Who headed the local Party branches?

A

A Party secretary

101
Q

Which decision in 1919 was a sign of the relative power of state and Party?

A

Secret police made directly responsible to the Politburo rather than the Sovnarkom

102
Q

What indicated the decline of the state?

A

Increasing infrequency of meetings of the Congress of Soviets, Central Executive Committee and the Sovnarkom

103
Q

Which principle did the Bolsheviks claim that their government was based upon?

A

Democratic Centralism

104
Q

What meant that the soviets were not involved in decision-making?

A

System of ruling by decree

105
Q

How were appointments to the Party Congress controlled?

A

By the General Secretary using the nomenklatura system

106
Q

By the later 1920s, what did all representatives at the All-Russian Congress of Soviets have to be?

A

Communist Party members

107
Q

Why did the highly centralised structures of government remain in place post-civil war?

A

System became entrenched as those with power were reluctant to give it up

108
Q

What were Lenin’s official positions in the government?

A

Chair of the Sovnarkom; Politburo member

109
Q

What type of leadership did Lenin prefer?

A

Collective leadership

110
Q

Which events did Lenin threaten to resign over to whip the Party into shape?

A

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918; New Economic Policy 1921

111
Q

When did Lenin’s power over the Party begin to decline?

A

1922

112
Q

When did Lenin lose the ability to speak?

A

After his third stroke, in March 1923

113
Q

Why were Lenin’s threats to resign effective?

A

Many Bolsheviks looked up to Lenin

114
Q

What did the Party develop to ensure the creation of a more committed communist bureaucracy?

A

Nomenklatura system

115
Q

When did the membership of the Communist Party reach one million?

A

1924

116
Q

Nomenklatura system

A

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

117
Q

When was the position of the Bolsheviks strong enough to extend their control over the outlying regions of the old Russian Empire?

A

By 1922

118
Q

How did the Bolsheviks extend their control over the outlying regions of the old Russian Empire?

A

Sent in Red Army forces; encouraged local Bolsheviks to stage unrest by organising mass demonstrations and street violence

119
Q

When was the Soviet Constitution established?

A

1924

120
Q

What does USSR stand for?

A

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

121
Q

What was an important step in the centralisation of power in the Soviet state?

A

Soviet Constitution of 1924

122
Q

What was the USSR in theory?

A

A federal state

123
Q

How much of the USSR’s population did the Russians make up?

A

72%

124
Q

How much of the Communist Party were Russians?

A

Nearly 3/4

125
Q

What did the Soviet Constitution of 1924 confirm?

A

Power of Communist Party in the state; gave some representation to Party members from each of the republics

126
Q

When were left-wing opponents of the Bolsheviks arrested?

A

Aug-18

127
Q

Why were left-wing opponents of the Bolsheviks arrested?

A

After an assassination attempt on Lenin

128
Q

How did the Cheka grow between 1918-21?

A

From 40,000 to 250,000 members

129
Q

How did terror change with the introduction of the OGPU?

A

Became more bureaucratic, discreet and inward-looking

130
Q

When were the Chistkas?

A

1918; early 1920s

131
Q

How much of the Party was purged under Lenin?

A

About 1/3

132
Q

How many killed by Cheka 1917-23?

A

200,000

133
Q

What happened to those who were ‘cleansed’ during a Chistka?

A

Party memberships were withdrawn

134
Q

What seemed to indicate that Lenin was developing his own personal agenda for the use of terror?

A

Showed a particular interest in the execution of priests

135
Q

What are examples of the limits of centralisation of power in Russia?

A

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

136
Q

When were the trade unions discussed?

A

Ninth and Tenth Party Congresses of 1920/1921

137
Q

What are examples of debate within the Party?

A

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

138
Q

When was Stalin appointed General Secretary of the Party?

A

1922

139
Q

Which political body was theoretically the most representative?

A

All-Russian Congress of Soviets

140
Q

Who elected the Politburo members?

A

Central Committee

141
Q

Why did the Party grow so significantly?

A

Civil war; authoritarianism; terror

142
Q

When were many Bolsheviks supporters becoming disillusioned at the lack of real gains for the proleteriat?

A

Mid-1920s

143
Q

What did Trotsky say to the SR’s and Mensheviks

A

‘You have played out your role. Go where you belong: to the dustbin of history.’

USSR (25 decks)

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