Russia Topic 4 and 5 Flashcards
What were the 1917 Decrees:
Land, Peace, Worker’s Rights, Unemployment, Nationalities
Decree on Land
Land was taken from the landowners and given to the peasants
Church land was nationalised Church power decreased
Decree on Peace
All countries that were involved in war should find peace
Armistice for Russian troops
Declared they would introduce peace with other countries
Decree on Workers’ Rights (Nov 11)
Decree on Unemployment
Unemployment insurance for those who are unable to work.
Decree on Work
8 hour days
Decree on Workers’ Control
Workers’ committees now were able to run their own factories
Decree ofNationalities
Everyone in the old Russian empire were given permission to have their own governments
However, these governments remained under Bolshevik control.
Allowed elections to take place
Addressed the lack of legitimacy
Allowed the constituent assembly to meet
Less censorship
Why did Lenin close the Constituent Assembly?
Wanted sole power for the Bolsheviks
Lost heavily in the elections: The Bolsheviks did not do too well, they only won 24% of votes. SR’s gained 52%
Reasons:
The Bolsheviks were too radical
Their ideas were quite bizarre
The Social Revolutionaries were much more popular in the countryside where they had long campaigned for land reform
How did Lenin close the Constituent Assembly?
Bolsheviks walked out of the Constituent Assembly meeting in protest after they rejected the 1917 Decrees.
Closed the constituent assembly after a day as Lenin viewed it as a threat to the revolution and to the Soviets. Used the Red Guards to prevent the opening of the CA.
Banned opposition parties and leaders of these parties were arrested as enemies of the people
The Cheka
- replaced the old Tsarist secret police
What was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
It was a peace treaty between the new Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central Powers that ended in Russia’s participation in World War I
Signed March 3, 1918 in Brest-Litovsk (which was then an area in Poland; now is a part of Belarus)
Because the Germans knew the Russians were desperate to leave the war, they set extremely harsh terms for peace between the two countries
Russia had to give up a huge area of its former western territories, which included Ukraine and the Baltic provinces
Russia also lost Georgia
Russia had to pay the Germans 300 million gold roubles
Consequences of the Treaty of B-L 5
Throughout Russia, it was seen as a shameful way to achieve peace
Half of the Tsar Nicholas’s empire had been lost, along with much of its most important resources
Russia was a far weaker country than it had been before the Bolshevik Revolution
The loss of some of Russia’s most productive farmland means the food shortage situation was worsened
By June 1918, 1 million people had left Petrograd and the number of people working there had shrunk by 60%
people who opposed the bolsheviks (4)
There were many groups within Russia who opposed the Bolsheviks:
Monarchists who wanted to put the Tsar back into power
Upper-class and middle-class people who were in danger of losing everything under the Bolsheviks They would lose a lot under the Bolsheviks ideological plan (Marxism)
Supporters of the Constituent Assembly who hated the way the Bolsheviks had turned Russia into a dictatorship. By shutting down the constitution the Bolsheviks made many enemies.
Other nationalities within the old Russia empire who wanted independence from Russia control. The poles are a particularly good example of a nationality who wanted to fight for their freedom as they knew that the Bolsheviks wouldn’t give this. Even though they may have agreed with their policies national independence was more important.
who were the red and whites
There were any different groups fighting in the Civil War, but the two main sides were known as the Reds and the Whites. The Reds were the Bolsheviks and the Whites were a collection of different groups who wanted to get rid of the
bolshevik strengths in civil war (5)
Bolshevik Strength
Geological factors Leadership Unity and organisation Support Propaganda
white strengths (3)
They attacked from all fronts (they had the Bolsheviks surrounded:
In Siberia (army led by admiral Kolchak)
From Estonia (army led by general Yudenich)
In the south (general Denikin led a force of ex-army officers and liberals)
In samara, south-central Russia (the people’s army of komuch)
This made it harder for the reds to defend against them as they were attacking on all fronts.
They were led by some of Russia’s most experienced military generals and admirals
Significant foreign support
Britain, France, USA
bolshevik strength (trotsky, ruthless, control)
A very organised and disciplined group
They made different alliances at different times so they never had to fight all their opponents at once.
They controlled most of Russia’s industries (for weapons) and railways.
Ruthless attitude
The red terror: any real or imagined opposition to the Bolsheviks faced arrest, torture and execution.
Led by Trotsky who devoted himself entirely to winning the war
He boosted army morale
His leadership was centered on organisation, motivation and discipline.
bolsheik strength discipline
Discipline was extremely harsh
Trotsky needed a traditional army with trained soldiers obeying orders from experienced officers so he recruited officers from the tsar’s army who each was supervised by a Bolshevik political commissar
The officers were also told that their families would suffer if they betrayed the Red Army
Political commissars often executed any soldier who did not attack when ordered do
The strictness meant they were very loyal
bolshevik strength conscription
Conscription meant the army grew massively
It had over 3 million men by 1920 and over 5 million by 1921
The size was vital for success because the Reds were being attacked from all different directions
In 1920, the Red Army was fighting on 16 different fronts
bolshevik strength propaganda
Propaganda was an important reason for the red’s success. While the white leaders had no time for propaganda, the reds used extremely striking images and powerful slogans to convince people to support them.
E.g according to red propaganda
the whites would take away peasant land.
the foreigners helping the whites were Russia’s enemies, who wanted to invade Russia.
The constant message was that the Bolsheviks would look after ordinary Russians.
bolshevik strength geographical
The Reds had the advantage of a central location and control of central Russia
Central Russia also contained most of Russia’s population- who could be conscripted into the red army.
Allowed easy access to Russia’s industries and railway network
Made transportation of supplies and people easier
This meant shorter distances to supply their armies.
Easier to recruit soldiers
Had to travel short distances
bolshevik strength war communism
War communism- introduced by Lenin to tackle the economic crisis.