The Bolshevik Consoldation of Power Flashcards
Problems with holding the elections for the Constituent Assembly:
Bolsheviks promised elections that the Provisional Govt. had failed to deliver. However, the SRs had more support among the peasants and would probably win more supports
However, if they didn’t hold elections, they would probably lose support. Some Bolsheviks thought it would be best if all revolutionary parties worked together in a new Constituent Assembly but Lenin didn’t agree
Problems with fulfilling the Bolsheviks’ promises:
Promise of peace: It was not possible for Lenin to simply drawback from the war and achieve peace. None of Russia’s former allies would agree to negotiate with the Bolsheviks. Since Germany knew the Bolsheviks were desperate to leave the war, a peace deal would be very costly for Russia.
Promise of land: The Bolsheviks had promised land, which the peasants took as taking all the lands for themselves. However, giving up all the land to the peasants risked weakening Bolshevik control. Instead, it was the SRs who would benefit from a stronger peasantry.
Promise of bread: The Bolsheviks believed that the state should be able to take food from the peasants to make sure the workers had everything they needed. This would be the easiest way to end food shortages but difficult if peasants had control of all the land.
Promise of all power to the soviets: To deliver on this promise would mean giving up control of Russia
Decree on Land:
Abolished private ownership of land. All the land belonged to the state and would be given to peasants. At first, it applied to land owned by private landlords and to lands owned by the tsar but by December 1917, it extended to all the land owned by the Church.
However, the peasants had already taken so much land from the landlords that in many places it didn’t change anything except making their takeovers legal
Decree on Peace:
A call for all nations involved in the war to start peace negotiations. Lenin’s decree called for an immediate armistice and ordered the government to agree to peace with Germany but without giving up any of Russia’s territory or making compensations to Germany
Lenin believed that workers in other European countries would soon lead revolutions against their own govt. Once these revolutions started, the govt. of countries like Germany would be keen to agree to peace terms with Russia. But Russian conservatives didn’t believe that Germany would agree to sign any peace treaty with Russia without getting Russian territory in exchange
Decree on Nationalities:
It was meant to assure all the different ethnic minorities within the old Russian empire that the Bolsheviks wouldn’t impose control on them; they could have their own choice of govt.
This showed how worried the Bolsheviks were at the thought of ethnic minorities using the opportunity of a weak Russian govt. to break away and become independent countries
Decree on Worker’s Rights:
A no. of decrees were aimed at improving conditions for industrial workers:
- The Decree on Work: 8-hour, overtime, and holidays
- The Decree on Unemployment: providing insurance
- The Decree on Workers’ Control: put all factories under the control of workers’ soviets
Other measures apart from the Decrees by the Bolsheviks:
Marriage and divorce were civil matters-not related to the Church.
Women were now equal to men and could own property
Ranks and saluting in the army were abolished; as were titles and class distinctions.
The opposition press was banned and a new secret police force, the Cheka, was set up
Results of the elections for the Constituent Assembly:
The SRs won with 53% of the votes. The Bolsheviks had under just one-quarter of the votes.
The Bolsheviks did well in major industrial cities, getting nearly half the votes in Moscow and Petrograd. They also did well among the ordinary soldiers but did very badly in the countryside despite the Decree on Land
The Bolsheviks response to the election results:
The other parties were hoping that the Bolsheviks would accept the results and join them in a socialist parliament but the Bolsheviks rejected the results of the elections and claimed that the Constituent Assembly was a threat to the revolution and soviets.
Closing the Constituent Assembly:
The CPC made a proposal for the Constituent Assembly to pass which summarised the key decrees of the Bolsheviks but it was rejected by a majority of 100 votes.
Lenin took the rejection as an opportunity to claim this proved that the Constituent Assembly didn’t represent the will of the people and was dominated by counter-revolutionaries. The Bolshevik delegates walked out of the Constituent Assembly in protest and Lenin announced that the Constituent Assembly would be dissolved. The next day, he brought Red Guards to prevent the assembly from opening. Later, all political parties were banned and their leaders were arrested
Terms of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty:
Russia lost its western territories
- 70% of its coal and iron resources
- 50% of its industry
- 25% of its railway network
- 25% of its farmland
- 26% of its population
As well as paying Germany 300 million gold roubles
Reaction to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk:
Many felt that it was a shameful way to achieve peace.
Half of the tsar’s empire had been lost and along with it many important resources. Russia was far weaker than it had been before the Bolshevik revolution. The loss of many productive farmlands meant that the treaty had worsened the food shortages in the city. Many moved from the starving cities to the countryside to grow their own food. 1 million people from Petrograd had moved to the countryside and the no. of working people had shrunken to 60%.
Front-line soldiers were happy that the war had ended and the Russian citizens were also happy that they no longer had to fear a German invasion. However, they were also devasted about their losses. The conservatives believed they would have to fight to stop the Bolsheviks and save Russia from further humiliation and destruction.
The treaty also split the Bolshevik Party: those who had wanted a socialist revolution felt that all the treaty did was make Germany an imperialist power but Lenin believed that the Bolsheviks had no choice.
