Russia Theme 1: Communist government in the USSR, 1917–85 Flashcards
What were the aims of the Bolsheviks prior to the revolution?
B party was one of several revolutionary groups in Russia. B’s main aim was to dismantle the upper and middle classes, along with the Tsarist regime that was outdated and backward (Russia essentially was still a feudal state). The B’s wanted to replace this system with socialism, and eventually communism, in line with Marxist ideas.
what was the October Revolution?
B’s seized power in October 1917 due to a well-coordinated and executed uprising. the B’s took power from the provisional government which had taken power following the fall of the Tsars in Feburary of the same year. the B’s were still a fairly small party so portrayed the revolution as an uprising with mass support - when in reality they were met with very little resistance, due to the weakness of the provisional government.
what were the main groups opposing the Bolsheviks?
there were several other marxist groups who were denied a share of power by the Bolsheviks, such as the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) or Mensheviks. There were also groups of the right such as the Tsarist Supporters who mainly served the interests of middle and upper classes. these groups feared that their property and polticial freedoms would be taken away by the Bs. Finally there were nationalist groups in the Russian empire who saw the fall of the Tsarist regime as an opportunity to assert their independence. these included Ukrainians, Poles and Finns.
How did the Bolsheviks deal with other left wing groups who had more support?
calls for a coalition from the SRs and Ms were swiftly denied by Lenin. However in January 1918 a Parliament was called in the Constituent assembly. this would see parties be democratically elected by the Russian public. the SRs got the most seats - 410 - and 21 million votes, while the Bs only got 175 seats and 9 million votes. using ths system clearly posed a threat to Bolshevik rule. as a result Lenin condemned the system as an instrument of the bourgeoise and dissolved the assembly. lenin instead used the all-russian congress of soviets in its place, where the Bs had much more influence. this removed the opportunity for effective opposition.
how did the Bolsheviks destroy other parties after consolidating their control?
-the vote was taken from “bourgeois classes” such as employers and priests; this stripped the opposition parties of formal support.
-Mensheviks and SRs struggled to publish newspapers due to the Bolsheviks placing restrictions on what could be published.
-SRs lost all influence when they walked out of government in 1918, in protest to the B decision of pulling out of the First World War.
-in march 1918 the bolshevik party renamed itself the communist party and all other parties were effectively banned.
-in april 1921 lenin declared “the place for the mensheviks and the SRs is in prison”.
around 5000 Mensheviks were arrested in the first 3 months of 1921, and further waves later on; but by this time the mensheviks and SRs had effectively ceased to exist as parties.
what was the treaty of brest-litovsk, and why did lenin consider it beneficial to sign?
this was an agreement signed in 1918 by the bolshevik party that ceased Russian involvement in WW1. however this came at a great cost - russia lost control over the baltic states, finland, ukraine, and parts of the caucasus region. lenin was inclined to sign BL because it ensured the bolsheviks could consilidate power within russia, and begin the much-needed process of industrialisation, rather than having to focus budgets on military power.
what were the consequences of the signing of brest-litovsk within russia?
conservatives in russia saw brest-litovsk as a national humiliation. this led to much more outspoken opposition to the Bs in conservative circles. the militant opposition group to the Bs became known as the whites. the whites were backed by Britain, france, the USA and Japan, as they were anxious to keep Russia in WW1. eventually this opposition to the bolshevik reds led to the russian civil war of 1918-1921.
what were the key features of the civil war?
Bolshevik Reds against Whites - this group incuded many opposition forces, including supporters of the tsar/provisional government, liberals, nationalists, etc. initially the area under bolshevik control was limited to moscow, being surrounded on all sides. however the Bs were still able to win the war, due to superior political, economic and military organisation. the whites on the other hand were only united by their desire to get rid of the Bs, and were divided on aspects such as military strategy, which led to failure. by the end of 1920 all White strongholds had been defeated by the Red Army.
what was the kronstadt mutiny?
1921 - the mutiny of sailors stationed at the kronstadt naval base, against the imposition of orders on the local soviet from the bolshevik government. the slogan of the mutineers was “soviets without bolsheviks”. the mutiny was brutally crushed by the RA, bu the affair was a severe shock to the regime because the sailors had previously been strong supporters of the Bolshevik Revolution.
what was the tambov rising?
1920/21 - a peasant uprising in the tambov region of central russia that was sparked by the arrival of bolshevik units to requisition grain for use in the cities and by the army. the uprising was largely spontaneous at first, but the peasants were able to build on their strength by forming a Green Army and establishing control over a large area. it took over 50,000 bolshevik troops to put down the revolt.
what were the key results/consequences of the civil war?
-the successes of war communism for the Bs during the civil war prompted them to adopt a more authoritarian and centrally controlled system of government. power was fully in the hands of the government (sovnarkom) and party leadership (politburo)
-extensive use of terror used against political opponents during civil war - tone was set for the future of the party
what was important about the tenth party congress?
1921 - at this point the civil war was all but won. over the course of the war Bolshevik membership had grown from 300,000 in 1918 to about 730,000 in 1921. this posed a threat to party stability - as a result lenin imposed a ban on factions within the party. this was also in part a response to the anxiety caused by the kronstadt mutiny and tambov rising.
what was the structure of soviet government under lenin?
-sovnarkom: the council of people’s commissars - took the role of a cabinet of top government ministers who were, in theory, responsible for making key decisions and giving government orders. its members, about 20 in total, were elected by the central executive committee. it was a small group that could make quick decisions, and it met on a daily basis during the civil war.
-central executive committee - was a larger group elected by the congress of soviets. its task was to oversee the work of the government and its administration.
-all-russian congress of soviets - was the supreme law-making body of the state. all laws issued by the sovnarkom had to be approved by the congress.
what was the structure of the communist party?
structure:
-politburo: group of 7-9 leading members of the bolshevik party, who were chosen by the party’s central committee to make the key decisions affecting policy. it took over from the larger central committee, which quickly proved to be unmanageable when making important decisions. the politburo met daily under lenin and became more important than the sovnarkom. besides lenin, leading members included leon trotsky and stalin.
-central committee - group of 30-40 members chosen by the party congress to represent its members. the CC was supposed to make key decisions on policy but after 1919, power was increasingly delegated to the politburo.
-party congress: was a body made up of representatives of local party branches. it discussed the general programme of the party and there were fierce debates at the ninth and tenth party congresses of 1920/21. the ban on factions under the ruling “on party unity”, which was passed in 1921, stifled debate, and the role of the congress in influencing policy subsequently declined. it met yearly under lenin from 1917 and this pattern continued until 1926.
-local party branches: below level of party congress. each branch was headed by a party secretary. these secretaries could be cery powerful, especially those who headed branches in key cities or provinces. Kamenev was head of party in Petrograd, Zinoviev was head in Moscow. both had significant power bases that allows them to play significant roles in the struggle to succeed Lenin.
how much power did the communist party have, compared to the wider soviet government?
by the early 1920s it became clear that the real power had shifted from the apparatus of state, towards the party itself. the party apparatus mirrored that of the state, in its subdivisions becoming larger and less powerful at more specific regional levels.
what was democratic centralism?
Bs claimed their government was based on the principle of democratic centralism. this was the idea that there were soviets at a local level that represented the interests of workers. their concerns would be expressed through a structure of representative organisations that would take the concerns to decision making bodies at higher levels of government. once decisions were made they could be passed back down to local or regional levels for implementation. however, the reality was that the local soviets had been undermined as soon as the Bs took power. while soviets continued to exist, they were merely rubber stamping bodies which accepted decisions made by decree from the highest level of the party.
how much personal power did lenin have and how did his health affect this?
Lenin’s offical positions in government were chair of the sovnarkom, and one of the politburo members. lenin preferred a collective leadership where issues would be discussed collectively before decisions were made. in 1919 he dismissed the idea he had a personal dictatorship as “utter nonsense”. however he was able to excersise a fairly strong degree of personal power - this was because other Bs looked up to him, so he could force decisions through government by threatening to resign from his positions. however from 1922 onwards his health severely deteriorated. he suffered 3 strokes; after the third in march 1923 he was only able to speak in monosyllables eg “vot vot” (“here here”). by this time other party members were preparing to try and succeed lenin as the next leader of the sovnarkom.
what was the nomenklatura system?
in order to ensure a truly communist party bureaucracy (civil service) the nomenklatura system was created. many around the country had joined the party to improve career prospects, but were not committedly communist. the nomenklatura tried to solve this by appointing people to jobs based on their perceived commitment to the party. lack of dedication would damage chances of promotion.
