The Bolshevik Revolution

Question 1

When was the Bolshevik revolution?

Answer 1

October 1917

Question 2

What did the Bolsheviks do once they had seized power?

Answer 2

• Freed political prisoners
• Ended press censorship
• Advanced personal freedom e.g. Women had access to birth control and divorce

Question 3

In 1917 how much if Russia did the Bolsheviks control?

Answer 3

Petrograd and Moscow

Question 4

How long did the Russian Civil War last?

Answer 4

3 years

Question 5

What year did the Russian Civil War start?

Answer 5

1918

Question 6

What year did the Russian Civil War end?

Answer 6

1921

Question 7

How was the October revolution not Marxist?

Answer 7

It was carried out by a small group of revolutionary elite, whereas Marx had believed that all revolutions would occur naturally.

Question 8

When was the Cheka formed?

Answer 8

December 1917

Question 9

How many tsarist officers did Lenin incorporate into the Red Army?

Answer 9

48,000

Question 10

How did Lenin ensure the loyalty of the tsarist officers in the Red Army?

Answer 10

He held their families hostage

Question 11

How did Lenin install discipline into the Red Army?

Answer 11

If soldiers deserted he had every tenth member of their unit shot

Question 12

What happened in January 1918?

Answer 12

The Bolsheviks failed to win a majority in the Constituent Assembly (elections for the new Russian parliament) so Lenin sent in the Ref Army to dissolve the assembly

Question 13

When did the last non-Bolsheviks leave the government?

Answer 13

March 1918

Question 14

What was the NEP?

Answer 14

The New Economic Policy

Question 15

When and where was the Decree Against Factionalism introduced

Answer 15

The 10th Party Congress in 1921.

Question 16

What did the Decree Against Factionalism do?

Answer 16

It meant that once a decision had been made within the party, it would be no longer acceptable to argue against it, it must be accepted and defended.

Question 17

What was War Communism?

Answer 17

The Bolshevik Sate took over all industry and seized the peasants surplus grain, or the grain they needed to feed themselves if there was no surplus.

Question 18

How many people died as a result of the famine caused by War Communism?

Answer 18

5 million

Question 19

When was War Communism ended and the NEP introduced?

Answer 19

February 1921

Question 20

What did the New Economic Policy do?

Answer 20

It allowed private ownership of industry if there were less than 10 people employed, and the state only took a percentage if the surplus grain the peasants produced.

Question 21

Why was the New Economic Policy introduced?

Answer 21

To restore economic stability - although at the expense if Communism so it was intended to be temporary