Russia Topic 2 - Development between February and October Revolution Flashcards
what is ideology?
a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theories and policy
what are the key principles of marxism?
- create a classless society
- abolish capitalism
- nationalize everything
what does capitalism mean?
an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately owned and operated for a profit
what does socialism mean?
viewed as a step between the country’s current state of capitalism and its move to complete communism (economic)
what does communism mean?
aim for a classless society and end of wage labour. every member of society should have an equal say (political)
who were the bourgeoisie?
upper middle class - own the means of production
who were the proletariat?
working class - those who sell labour
how did lenin return to russia?
on a train with the alleged help of germans
when did lenin return to russia?
3 April 1917
when did lenin write the April Theses
7-26 March 1917 while in exile
what was the April Theses?
a manifesto based on marxism that demanded for a revolution
why was the April Theses created?
lenin believed that the middle class was too weak to carry out through a full ‘bourgeois revolution’ and for them to maintain power was to hold the inevitable proletarian revolution back
how was the April Theses published?
Pravda - Bolshevik newspaper controlled by Stalin
when was the April Theses presented?
3 April 1917
what were the main slogans for the April Theses?
“Peace (end war), Land (land ownership to peasants) and Bread” (rectify food prices)
“All power to the soviets”
what was significant about lenin during the April Theses?
- Good orator to persuade
- Wore a workers cap to look more proletarian to show dedication for the working class to gain popularity
who was leon trotsky?
a key bolshevik
what was the MRC
Military Revolutionary Committee
when was the MRC established?
16 October 1917
how was the MRC established and why?
The petrograd soviet to protect petrograd from threats.
who was in the MRC
- it was controlled by Felix Dzerzhinsky and Leon Trotsky
- had 66 members - 48 were bolsheviks
- controlled 200,000 red guards, 60,000 baltic sailors and 150,000 soldiers
how did the MRC dissolve the Provisional Government
commissars were sent to all petrograd garrison units and 15 of 18 declared their allegiance to the soviet rather than the provisional government
who were the red guards?
- loyal, voluntary soldiers, mostly recruited from the factory workers. they were given basic training and compromised young and old alike. they created an efficient paramilitary unit
- consisted of 10,000 by october 1917
what other factors resulted in the collapse of the provisional government?
negatives of dual authority:
- contrasting political makeup of two bodies began to lead to disagreements
- the PG moved further to the Right Wing
- Soviet moved to the Left Wing
issues with dual authority:
- difficult circumstances
- 160 million people to please
- no immediate change, they wanted to wait for the constituent assembly
- removal of censorship
- not enough authority to pass laws without PS
attitude/commitment to war:
- both PG and PS agreed russia should not surrender and lose everything
when was the June Offensive?
16 - 19 June 1917
what was the purpose of the June Offensive?
- reassure the allies that russia was still in the war and ready to relieve the massive pressures on the western front
- to bring the soldiers to heel behind patriotic ideas and strict discipline
- against Austrians
who planned the June Offensive?
Kerensky, Minister of War
what was the outcome of the June Offensive?
300,000-400,000 men died
land was lost
when did the July Days take place?
3-5 July 1917
what was the July Days?
- 20,000 kronstadt sailors organised their own armed demonstration using bolshevik slogans.
- the protest also involved workers and soldiers
- workers demanded control on food prices
what was the result of the July Days?
- bolsheviks attempted to turn the protest into a peaceful procession but shorts were fired which threatened lenin’s credibility
- the bolshevik newspaper (Izvestia - news) denounced the roles of the leaders and the Pravda had been closed down.
- lenin and stalin fled the country (finland)
- trotsky was arrested
- 568 factories closed down
- 100,000 unemployed
who was blamed for the July Days?
Bolsheviks - believed it was their first attempt at a revolution
what mistakes did Kerensky make?
- poor judgment of situations
- continued the war
- underestimated lenin + bolsheviks
- addicted to morphine
- openly anti-bolshevik
who was General Lavr Kornilov?
- the commander-in-chief of the army, appointed by Kerensky on July 6, 1917
- disliked the bolsheviks
- representative of the right wing army officer
- didn’t accept the february revolution
what was the cause of the Kornilov Affair?
General Kornilov wanted to suppress the soviet and overthrow the government
what was the kornilov affair?
- kornilov ordered 6 regiments of troops to march on petrograd to crush the soviet and establish a military dictatorship.
- kerensky released imprisoned bolsheviks and provided them weapons to halt kornilov.
- kornilov was arrested
how were the bolsheviks viewed after the Kornilov Affaur?
“The saviours of Russia”
what was Kerensky’s impact after the Kornilov Affair?
- he lost a lot of support as people felt he had betrayed Kornilov and vowed not to fight against the Bolsheviks
- looked weak as he turned to the bolsheviks for help
what was the situation in summer 1917
- provisional government had little support
- food supplies were chaotic
- wages fell as prices increased (inflation)
- constituent assembly not fulfilled
- continuation of war
what was created while lenin was in finland?
Central Committee
how many people were in the Central Committee?
12
what did Lenin say September 12, 1917?
“history will not forgive us if we do not assume power now”
how did the central committee react to Lenin’s words?
disagreed:
- thought the economy wasn’t prepared
- needed a constituent assembly
- zinoviev and kamenev burned his letters = posted a newspaper ’Novdia’ (new life) which slaughtered lenin
agreed:
- trotsky supported
when did lenin convince the central committee that a revolution was important?
10 october 1917
what was the central committee vote ratio for a revolution?
10:2
what did trotsky believe about the petrograd soviet?
working with them was important because he believed they could win the support of all socialist parties for a soviet government
