Russia Topic 4 Flashcards
In October 1917 what areas of Russia did the Bolsheviks control
Petrograd, Moscow and the areas inbetween
What were the early decrees
- Decree on Peace
- Decree on Nationalities
- Decree on Land
- Decree on Workers rights
What was the Decree on peace
- Said all countries involved in the war should seek peace
- Armistice for Russian Troops
What was the Decree on nationalities
- All different people of the old Russian empire could have their own governments
- These governments though were still under Bolshevik power
What was the Decree on land
- Land taken from wealthy landowners now belonged to the peasants
- Church land was also nationalisedW
What was the Decree on Workers’ rights
- 8 hour day
- Unemployment insurance for those unable to work
- Workers committees now ran their own factories
What other decrees were set up
- Women were equal to men
- Ranks and saluting in the army abolished
- New secret police force, Cheka
- Title and class distinctions were abolished, ‘comrades’
Why was carrying out the promises of ‘peace, bread, land’ ‘all power to the soviets’ difficult
Peace - A peace deal for Russia would be very costly as Germany knew they were desperate
Bread - if the peasants took land it would be even more difficult to get
Land - giving peasants land went against Bolsheviks beliefs in state control
Power to soviets - Giving power to the soviets would mean the Bolsheviks giving up control
What two actions did the Bolsheviks make in 1918 which brought them enemies
- Their reaction to the new Constituent assembly
- Signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
What were the results of the Constituent assembly elections
The SR’s won by a lot
Then the Bolsheviks
What happened the first time the Constituent assembly met
- They rejected all decrees
- Would not give all power to the Soviets
- Lenin used this as a chance to claim it did not represent the will of the people, so he walked out
- Lenin brought the red guard to prevent it from opening
- they killed and wounded people who protested in support for the CA
- Shortly after opposition parties were banned
How did Trotsky deal with the peace negotiation between Germany
- He kept them going for 2 months, as he refused to give the Germans land or reparations
- in response Germany continued on their invasion into Russia
What did Lenin demand of Trotsky for the peace negotiation
‘at any price’
Consequences of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- War ended
- Territories such as, Ukraine, Finland, Estonia lost
- Worse food shortages
- Russia look humiliated and weak
- Tsarist supporters lost their empire
Why did food shortages become worse after the treaty of Brest Litovsk, how much land was lost
27% of Russian farmland
What % of Russian industry was lost due to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
50% of industry
How much did Russia have to pay Germany due to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
300 million roubles
Who was fighting the Bolsheviks in the Civil War (The whites)
- Tsarist supporters and upper class
- Middle class, duma, provisional Gov
- Supporters of Constituent assembly, SR’s
- Those angry at Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- Former allies, Britain, France, USA
What were the Red’s made up of in the civil war
- Trotsky was the commander of the Red army
How many men were in the red army and why
5.4 million due to conscription
Why did the Reds win the Civil war
- Unity
- Leadership
- Discipline
- Manpower
- Popularity
- War communism
How did unity cause the reds to win
REDS:
- All had the same aim
- Had interior lines so better communication
WHITES:
- All had different aims on how to govern Russia
- Divided geographically
How did leadership cause the Reds to win
REDS:
- Trotsky excellent leader who motivated and disciplined his army
WHITES:
- had lots of different leaders
How did discipline cause the Reds to win
REDS:
- Red terror meant that any opposition or disloyalty was stamped out
- Officers were told their families would be killed if they did not stay loyal
- Trotsky formed specialised squads known as blocking units tasked with shooting deserters
How did manpower cause the reds to win
REDS:
- Reds had 5 million men
WHITES:
- Had 250,000
How did popularity cause the reds to win
REDS:
- Reds used effective propaganda
- They highlighted that the Whites were foreign invaders who would take land from peasants
WHITES:
- were not popular with workers and peasants
How did War communism cause the reds to win
REDS:
- The whole economy was geared to feeding and supplying the Red Army
