RUSSIA Politics - Lenin (Version 2) Flashcards
Git Gud
What is a Dictatorship of the Proletariat?
Government that rules on behalf of the working class
What did Marx believe the stages of historical change would be?
Primitive communism; feudalism; capitalism; socialism; communisim
When was Bolshevik Party established
1903
What did the Tsar have control over?
Military, Public services and appointment of ministers
When did the Tsarist regime collapse?
Feb-17
Why did the Tsarist regime collapse?
Strains of WW1
What was the All-Russian Congress of Soviets
Supreme law-making body of the state; all laws issued by the Sovnarkom had to be approved by the Congress
Who made up the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
Members elected by local soviets, all those citizens engaged in ‘useful work’
During the civil war, how did the Bolsheviks take advantage of their ‘democratic’ political structure?
Used control over positions in the Sovnarkom to issue orders that were merely rubber-stamped by the Congress of Soviets
What became clear about Party control over the state by the early 1920s?
Real power had shifted from the ‘democratic’ apparatus of the state towards the Party itself
Who made up the Politburo?
7-9 leading members of Boleshevik Party
What did the Politburo take over from?
Larger Central Committee, which quickly proved to be unmanageable when making important decisions
How regularly did the Politburo meet under Lenin?
Daily
What did the Politburo soon become more important than under Lenin?
Sovnarkom
What was the government system established by the Bolsheviks like?
Authoritarian; highly centralised; based on use of terror
Who did the Bolsheviks force from power in October 1917?
Provisional Government
How many Bolsheviks were there at the time of the October Revolution?
300,000
How did the Bolsheviks portray the October Revolution?
Mass uprising of the workers
Who were the only troops left to guard the Winter palace during the October Revolution?
Women’s Death Battalion
Why did the Bolsheviks face enormous difficulties in attempting to secure their hold on power?
Relatively small group
Who did the Bolsheviks face opposition to their rule from?
Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks; Tsarist supporters and pro-middle class liberal groups; nationalist groups
What are some examples of the nationalist groups within the Russian Empire that threatened the Bolsheviks rule (3)?
Ukranians; Poles; Finns
What did the SRs and Mensheviks hope would give them a chance to regain power?
Constituent Assembly January 1918
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
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
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
What did Lenin use in place of the Constituent Assembly as an instrument of popular support?
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
Why did Lenin introduce the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
It was a body where the Bolsheviks had more influence
When did the Bolshevik party rename itself the Communist Party?
1918
When were all political parties other than the Communist Party banned?
1921
How many Mensheviks were arrested during the first 3 months of 1921?
Over 5,000
When were there further waves of arrests of Mensheviks and SR supporters?
1921; 1922
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
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
How did the Bolsheviks show tolerance towards the SRs originally?
Gave them a role within the Bolshevik government in 1917-18
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
What had weakened the Mensheviks before the October Revolution 1917?
Their co-operation with the Provisional Government
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
1918
Where did the initial opposition to the Bolsheviks mainly come from?
Other socialist groups
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918
Took Russia out of the war at a great cost
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
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
Who was anxious to keep Russia in WW1?
Allied powers of Britain, France, the USA and Japan
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
Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of B-L? (3)
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
What issues did Lenin face when he got into power (5)?
Civil Servant Strike, only controlled central areas, riots, Menshevik uprising and supporter discontent
Why did the civil servants go on strike when Lenin took control?
Institutions didn’t accept the new government
What was the main issue with the strikes?
State bank wouldn’t pay bolsheviks so they couldn’t pay supporters
Where else was there strikes in 1917? (2)
Banks, post offices et
What was the immediate public reaction to the bolsheviks seizing power?
looting of the winter palace and killing
How did Lenin deal with rioting after the Bolsheviks took control?
Imposed martial law
What decrees did Lenin issue early on in his rule?
Decree on: Land, Peace & Workers Decree & Decree of workers control
When was the Decree on Land, Peace and the Workers Decrees?
1917
What did the Decree on Land say?
Gave peasants rights to seize land from nobility and church
What did the decree on Peace say?
committed to withdrawing from WWII
Why did the decrees have limited effect?
They were issued from Petrograd and in fringe regions Tsarist supporters were still in control and ignored them
When were the Banks nationalised?
December 1817
How did the Bolsheviks change the army after getting into power
Democratised it so officers were elected and ranks were abolished.
When was the Russian civil war?
1918-21
Who did the Whites receive help from?
Allies in WW1
When did the Bolsheviks defeat the Whites and secure communist role over the country?
1920
Why did the Bolsheviks emerge as the victors from the civil war(5)?
Battle of Polkovo Heights, Better organisation, Red tactics, Whites’ large front, popular support for Boleshviks
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
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
Why did the Whites fail to put the aid from the Allies to good use?
Corruption; inefficiency
When did Trostky become Commissar for War?
Early 1918
How many Red Army soldiers were there by the end of the civil war?
Over 5 million
Why was the Red Army so strong?
Military strategy; conscription; War Communism; support from peasantry due to the Land Decree of 1917
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
Why did the peasants help the Bolsheviks in the Civil War?
Peasants didn’t really support them but they liked the decree on land
How did Bolshevik membership change during the civil war?
Grew from 300,000 at the end of 1917 to over 730,000 by 1921
Why was the huge growth in Bolshevik support during the civil war a problem?
Posed a threat to Party stability
When was the Tenth Party Congress?
Mar-21
What was the focus of the Tenth Party Congress 1921?
Divisions within the Bolshevik Party
When was the ban on the formation of factions within the Party put forward by Lenin?
Tenth Party Congress 1921
What was the ban on the formation of factions between the Party referred to as?
On Party Unity’
What was the penalty for people ignoring ‘On Party Unity’?
Expulsion from the Party
What did the ban on Party factions coincide with?
Tambov Rising 1920-21; Kronstadt Mutiny 1921
When Lenin came to power, what happened to trade unions and factory committees?
Brought under Bolshevik control and then sidelined
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
Sovnarkom
Council of People’s Commissars; took role of a cabinet of top government ministers
How many members did the Sovnarkom have?
About 20
Who elected the members of the Sovnarkom?
Central Executive Committee
How regularly did the Sovnarkom meet during the civil war?
Daily
Central Executive Committee
Larger group elected by the Congress of Soviets; its task was to oversee the work of the government and its administration
Who were the leading members of the Politburo besides Lenin? (4)
Zinoviev; Kamenev; Trotsky; Stalin
What did the Politburo do?
Made key decisions affecting policy
Central Committee
Group of 30-40 members chosen by the Party Congress to represent it; made key decisions on policy
When was the power of the Central Committee increasingly delegated to the Politburo?
After 1919
Why did power shift towards the party? (3)
Party organisation mirrored state, Bolsheviks controlled party so it was easier, nomenklatura meant party engine was more effective
Party Congress
Body made up of representatives of local Party branches; discussed the general programme of the Party
How regularly did the Party Congress meet from 1917-26?
Annually
At which Party Congresses were there fierce debates?
Ninth and Tenth Party Congresses of 1920/1921
When did the role of the Party Congress in influencing policy decline?
After the ruling of On Party Unity-stifled debate
What were the different structures that made up Lenin’s government?
Sovnarkom; Central Executive Committee; All-Russian Congress of Soviets
What were the different structures that made up Lenin’s Party?
Politburo; Central Committee; Party Congress; local Party branches
What was below the level of congress?
Local Party branches
Who was the Party secretary in Petrograd?
Kamenev
Who was the Party secretary in Moscow?
Zinoviev
Who headed the local Party branches?
A Party secretary
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
What indicated the decline of the state?
Increasing infrequency of meetings of the Congress of Soviets, Central Executive Committee and the Sovnarkom
Which principle did the Bolsheviks claim that their government was based upon?
Democratic Centralism
What meant that the soviets were not involved in decision-making?
System of ruling by decree
How were appointments to the Party Congress controlled?
By the General Secretary using the nomenklatura system
By the later 1920s, what did all representatives at the All-Russian Congress of Soviets have to be?
Communist Party members
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
What were Lenin’s official positions in the government?
Chair of the Sovnarkom; Politburo member
What type of leadership did Lenin prefer?
Collective leadership
Which events did Lenin threaten to resign over to whip the Party into shape?
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918; New Economic Policy 1921
When did Lenin’s power over the Party begin to decline?
1922
When did Lenin lose the ability to speak?
After his third stroke, in March 1923
Why were Lenin’s threats to resign effective?
Many Bolsheviks looked up to Lenin
What did the Party develop to ensure the creation of a more committed communist bureaucracy?
Nomenklatura system
When did the membership of the Communist Party reach one million?
1924
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
When was the position of the Bolsheviks strong enough to extend their control over the outlying regions of the old Russian Empire?
By 1922
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
When was the Soviet Constitution established?
1924
What does USSR stand for?
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
What was an important step in the centralisation of power in the Soviet state?
Soviet Constitution of 1924
What was the USSR in theory?
A federal state
How much of the USSR’s population did the Russians make up?
72%
How much of the Communist Party were Russians?
Nearly 3/4
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
When were left-wing opponents of the Bolsheviks arrested?
Aug-18
Why were left-wing opponents of the Bolsheviks arrested?
After an assassination attempt on Lenin
How did the Cheka grow between 1918-21?
From 40,000 to 250,000 members
How did terror change with the introduction of the OGPU?
Became more bureaucratic, discreet and inward-looking
When were the Chistkas?
1918; early 1920s
How much of the Party was purged under Lenin?
About 1/3
How many killed by Cheka 1917-23?
200,000
What happened to those who were ‘cleansed’ during a Chistka?
Party memberships were withdrawn
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
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
When were the trade unions discussed?
Ninth and Tenth Party Congresses of 1920/1921
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
When was Stalin appointed General Secretary of the Party?
1922
Which political body was theoretically the most representative?
All-Russian Congress of Soviets
Who elected the Politburo members?
Central Committee
Why did the Party grow so significantly?
Civil war; authoritarianism; terror
When were many Bolsheviks supporters becoming disillusioned at the lack of real gains for the proleteriat?
Mid-1920s
What did Trotsky say to the SR’s and Mensheviks
‘You have played out your role. Go where you belong: to the dustbin of history.’
