The Bolsheviks in Power (1917-24) Flashcards
What happened in the short time period after the Bolshevik takeover?
Sovnarkom =
- short for Council of People’s Commissars
- government set up by Lenin in November 1917
- Lenin = chairman
In weeks following Bolshevik takeover:
- soviets throughout Russia joined the Revolution & took control of most towns and cities (by end of 1917, had control of nearly all of Russia)
HOWEVER
- not all soviets = Bolsheviks (most peasants in countryside supported the SR’s so Bolsheviks didn’t have total control of Russia)
PG set up elections for Constituent Assembly & SRs = likely to win more votes than Bolsheviks = Bolsheviks must hand over control of Sovnarkom to rivals (#awkwardforlenin)
- Lenin also had to keep promises of April Thesis (eg. give land to peasants) SO Sovnarkom issued a series of decrees in Nov & Dec
What were the decrees?
Decree on:
- Land
- Unemployment insurance
- Peace
- Work
- Titles
- The press
- Workers’ control
- to set up the political police
- Political parties
- Banking
- Marriage
What was the decree on land?
- 540 million acres of land taken from the Tsar, nobles, Church and other landlords
- Peasants able to set up committees to divide land fairly
What was the decree on unemployment insurance?
Employment insurance to be introduced for all workers against:
- injury
- illness
- unemployment
What was the decree on peace?
Sovnarkom intended to make peace immediately with Russia’s opponents in the Great War
What was the decree on work?
- 8hr work day for all industrial workers
- 40hr work week for all industrial workers
- restrictions on overtime
- holiday entitlement for workers
What was the decree on titles?
- all titles and class distinctions abolished
- women declared equal to men
What was the decree on the press?
All non-Bolshevik newspapers banned
What was the decree on workers’ control?
All factories to be placed under the control of elected committees of workers
What was the decree to set up the political police?
Cheka formed
Cheka = All Russian Extraordinary Commission to fight Counter-Revolution and Espionage
What was the decree on political parties?
Constitutional Democratic Party banned (Russia’s main liberal party)
What was the decree on banking?
All banks in Russia came under Sovnarkom’s control
What was the decree on marriage?
- Couples could have non-religious weddings
- divorce made easier
What happened with the Constituent Assembly?
- elections held for CA in Nov 1917 (first free elections in Russia’s history)
- SRs gained more seats in assembly than all the other parties put together
- Bolsheviks only gained 1/4 of vote (mainly from cities’ working classes) = Lenin concerned
- Some of subject nationalities trying to break away = Lenin concerned (wanted to avoid the disintegration of Russia)
Lenin wrote an article in Pravda - there were soviets in Russia so CA = unneeded
NEVERTHELESS
- CA met 18th Jan 1918 (responsible for drawing up a new constitution)
- Bolsheviks & left-wing SRs proposed that CA power be limited
- Proposal defeated so Lenin dissolved CA (less than 24hrs later)
Bolshevik Red Guards:
- killed/wounded >100 people who demonstrated (outside Tauride Palace) in support of CA (2 leaders of Cadets killed in hospital)
- prevented elected deputies for entering the CA & closed it down permanently
Describe the execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family?
- after Feb abdication, Tsar & family allowed to live in Royal Palace at Tsarkoye Selo (close to Petrograd & PG afraid that local people would attack royal family bc of deep unpopularity)
- Tsar & family moved to Tobolsk, Siberia
April 1918
- White armies gained control of Siberia in Civil War
- SO Bolsheviks moved Tsar & family to Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains
- Tsar & family met at station by an angry mob & imprisoned in a retired businessman’s house
4th July
- local Cheka (led by Yakov Yurovsky) took over responsibility of guarding Romanovs & carrying out exocution
17th July
- Tsar & family led into basement @ 2am (unaware of what was going to happen - told there was a shooting in the street & it was safer for them to stay in the basement)
- Yurovsky & murder squad (7 hungarians) enter
- Yurovsky reads out order to shoot the Romanovs
- After murder, bodies were driven off in a lorry, had sulphuric acid poured on their faces (to hide the corpses’ identities should they be discovered) and buried in the ground
18th July
- News of execution reached Lenin
19th July 1918 = a Bolshevik newspaper announced:
- death of Tsar Nicholas II
- that the wife and son of Tsar had been sent to a safe place
INFACT entire royal family = murdered
Bolsheviks afraid to reveal this so as not to:
- lose public sympathy
- upset the Germans (Tsarina = German)
Why was the Tsar and his family executed?
- Goloshchekin (a leading Bolshevik) advises Lenin, who makes decision on 1st week of July 1918
- Goloshchekin sent to Ekaterinburg to organise the execution & sent a coded telegram to Lenin on 16th July 1918, saying that execution had to take place because Czech Legion was surrounding the city (city fell to Czech Legion on 25th July 1918)
- Local Bolsheviks didn’t enough Red Guards to safety evacuate the Romanovs (if Royal Family handed over to Whites, could provide a greater focal point for opponents of Bolsheviks)
What were the reasons for the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
- Lenin opposed war against Germany from beginning
- much of Bolshevik support came from opposing the war (to hold onto power, an immediate peace settlement must be made)
- Lenin concerned that any prolongation of the war would = no more army support
- Peace talks w/ Germany begin on 3rd December 1917
- Lenin sent Trotsky (Commissar for Foreign Affairs)
as Russia’s representative - Trotsky & his negotiating teams tried to prolong talks as long as possible bc they believed that workers in Central Europe were on brink of revolution
- revolution = war would end = Russia & Germany could make fair peace
What were the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
- German army advanced in Russia in Feb 1918 = Lenin forced to make peace (harsh terms)
Russia had to:
- surrender huge tracts of land from the Black Sea to the Baltic
- pay reparations (3 billion roubles) = huge impact on Russia’s economy
What were the reactions to the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
- Patriotic Russian = horrified
- Many Russians joined anti-Bolshevik groups
- Lenin criticised by many Bolsheviks for accepting Treaty
Russians objected to treaty because of: - the dictated nature of the peace
- the way Lenin & Trotsky were prepared to sacrifice national interest to secure peace and almost any price
- the amount of land and population lost
- the amount of reparations
What was the significance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
- Lenin took a huge gamble (made peace on the assumption that Germany would ultimately suffer defeat in the war, which wasn’t certain in March 1918)
- When war was over, the Treat of Brest-Litovsk became meaningless (no legality)
Significant
- peace gave Lenin and Sovnarkom the room to consolidate itself
- HOWEVER, as German threat was defeated, Lenin had to face serious internal threats
- by Spring 1918, Russia = Civil War
What were the reasons for the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- food shortages & starvation (especially in towns and cities)
- March 1918 = bread ration in Petrograd reached lowest every allocation (50 grams per day)
- by June 1918, workforce in Petrograd = shrunk by 60%
- by June 1918, population declined by 2 million
Decree on Land
- land seized from nobles, landlords and the Church
- lead them to support Whites
Decree on Peace
- alienated nationalists who wanted to continue the war & objected to losing land to the Germans
Decree on Banking
- bankers and industrialists lost wealth and businesses
Constituent Assembly
- dissolution by Bolsheviks
- SRs and Cadets accused Bolsheviks of seizing power by force and demanded the recalling of the assembly
- SRs and Cadets supported Whites
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- encouraged many Russians to join anti-Bolshevik groups
What broadly happened during the Russian Civil War (1918-21)
- started in early summer of 1918
- events escalated in May 1918 when Czech Legion (40,000 soldiers who fought for Russia during WW1) revolted
Czech Legion revolted because:
- the Allies convinced the Bolsheviks to transport them across Russia to re-join the Allies on the Western Front
- Presence of foreign army moving across Russia angered local soviets (fighting across the rout)
- Led to Czech troops rebelling & taking control of Trans-Siberian Railway
Whites =
- formers Tsarists, nationalists, nobles, landowners & wealthy industrialists who wanted restoration of Tsar
- liberals and moderate socialists who wanted Bolsheviks defeated and law and order re-established
- SRs who wanted restoration of CA
- military support from ex-Tsarist generals
- support from Czech Legion
Greens = national minorities (wanted independence)
Foreign Powers = Russia’s ex-allies (Britain, France USA & Japan)
- support Whites
- Lenin had withdrawn from WW1 & signed Treaty of Brest Litovsk
- Bolsheviks cancelled payments of all loans given by Allies to Russia
- Britain, France & USA feared spread of Communism to own countries
- Anti-Bolsheviks (left and right wing - nothing in common)
- Czech Slovakia = part of Austria-Hungary (German ally):
- Some Czechs fought for Russia
- Treaty of Brest Litovsk w/ Germany → Czechs afraid they would be handed over to the Germans & Austro-Hungarians & tried as traitors and executed
What were key events of the Russian Civil War (1918-21)
- in 1918 and early 1919, Reds suffered defeat after defeat (attacked from all sides by White armies lead by experienced commanders and supported by foreign powers)
General Yudenich, with British support, attacked from the north-west and threatened Petrograd
General Deniken, with French support, threatened the south
Admiral Kolchak, with British support, attacked from the East
What were the reasons for Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
Strengths of the Bolsheviks
- Leadership of Lenin
- War Communism & the Cheka
- The role of Trotsky
- Control of interior lines
- Support from Peasantry
- Propaganda and a cause
Weaknesses of the Whites
- Lack of unity
- Poor leadership
- Geographical spread
- Foreign intervention
How did leadership of Lenin help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- Centralised and unified leadership of Lenin & Trotsky
- Lenin = inspirational figure who provided central political leadership and direction
- Lenin = ruthless in conducting the war (i.e. War communism and use of Cheka)
How did War Communism and the Cheka help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
War Communism
- ruthless discipline enforced in factories
- strict food rationing introduced (largest rations going to Red Army
- all necessary resources went to Red Army (even if this meant peasants and workers went hungry)
Cheka
- terrified ordinary Russians (conspirators could expect no mercy)
How did the role of Trotsky help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- appointed Commissar of War in March 1918
- 1 army (Red Army) & 1 commander
- inspired and rallied men
- restored discipline and professionalism into ‘Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army’, making it an effective fighting force
- restored conscription
- reintroduced traditional officer structure
- reinstated 1000s of former Tsarist officers (poor and unemployed and experienced) - kept their families hostage to ensure loyalty
- promoted talented soldiers to generals (who never made officers in the nobility-dominated tsarist army)
- appointed a Bolshevik political commissars to each army unit to ensure the officers were following the party line
- restored strict military discipline (restoring death penalty for a range of offences)
- decided overall strategy of the Bolsheviks (to defend internal lines of communication and to deny the Whites the opportunity to concentrate large forces into one location)
How did control of the interior lines and railways help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- used railways to transport men and munitions to battlefront
- most of population lived in central areas (easier to conscript more people as they were needed) - Red armies often vastly outnumbers Whites
- contained main armaments factories in Russia (produce war materials) - raw materials and finished goods transported easily by train
- control of Tsarist arms stores
How did support from the peasantry help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- inclined to support Bolsheviks (but didn’t really want to support whites or reds)
- Decree on land gave peasants right to land (Whites made clear that they would restore land to its former owners - Kolchak even gave estates to landlords who had not owned them before the revolution)
- Brutality of White armies (Cossacks = ethnic cleasing of non-cossack peasants)
How did propaganda and cause help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- whites would take land away from the peasants
- foreign invaders were supporting the Whites and would control Russia
- the Reds offered a wonderful new society for workers and peasants
How did lack of unity between the Whites help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- impossible to develop a common political aim
- no co-ordinated military strategy (White generals didn’t trust/like each other so they didn’t work together) SO Trotsky could deal with each White army in turn rather than a joint, simultaneous attack on all fronts
- lost support of nationalist groups (wanted to restore Russian Empire which antagonised separatist groups who were looking for greater self-government, if not independence)
How did poor leadership from the White help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- Some generals were cruel so soldiers were disloyal (many deserted)
- high levels of corruption and indiscipline (officers lived in brothels / were often under the influence of vodka or cocaine / uniforms and munitions supplied by foreign allies were sold on black market)
How did the geographical spread of the Whites help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- communications = difficult (esp. men and weapons)
- co-ordination of attacks = difficult
- many of White-controlled areas were underpopulated (difficult to conscript)
- no control of railways & no telephone links
How did foreign intervention help the Bolsheviks win the Russian Civil War (1918-21)?
- British government and public didn’t really support the Whites
- French soldiers were unkeen to fight (led to mutinies in the Black Sea)
- Japanese focused on seizing territory than fighting Bolsheviks
- gave Bolsheviks a propaganda opportunity
How did Lenin use the Red Terror and Cheka to establish a dictatorship between 1918-24?
Cheka
= 100 in 1917 but 30,000 by 1921
- used to remove political opposition
- shoot army deserters
Red Terror
- after an assassination attempt on Lenin
- all those suspected of working against the revolution were arrested, tortured and executed (even children)
- Cheka were random (could be arrested for being an acquaintance of a suspect)
- opponents imprisoned in concentration and labour camps
- by end of 1918, more than 50,000 killed
- created a climate of fear, making it difficult to criticise the government
How did Lenin use Bolshevik centralisation to establish a dictatorship between 1918-24?
- Central control through the Politburo, and economic centralisation
Politburo
- leading decision making body of the Bolshevik Party
- consisted of 5 members chosen by the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party
- intended to make day-to-day decisions which were too urgent to wait for a Central Committee debate
- however, under Lenin’s leadership, all major decisions were made by the Politburo (due to nature of decision making during civil war)
War Communism
When did Lenin die?
25th May 1922 = stroke leaving partially paralysed and temporarily unable to speak
SO during summer of 1922, Russia was ruled by Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev
In December 1922, he wrote a Testament, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the main leaders; in January 1923, worried by some of Stalin’s actions, he added a Postscript, recommending Stalin be dismissed.
15th December 1922 = 2nd stroke
9th March = 3rd stroke resulting in almost complete loss of speech
January 1924 = DEATH
When was the USSR set up?
1922
What was War communism?
- introduced in 1918
- method of controlling the economy to ensure every area of economic life was focused on supplying the needs of the Red Army and winning the Civil War
- strict rationing in cities during food shortages
- private trading banned (peasants could no longer sell surplus for profit & had to give it to government - requisition squads to seize food if peasants resisted)
- factories with more than 10 workers were nationalised (by 1919, 80% of enterprises were controlled by government)
- rapid inflation = money became valueless (people exchanged goods rather than using money
War communism = unpopular
- Kulaks (peasants who gave their surplus) turned against other peasants
- Bolsheviks even took grain needed for sowing the next crop, resulting in terrible famine 1920-21 (7 million peasants and workers died)
- Led to Kronstadt Mutiny
- 37.6 million tonnes of grain harvested in 1921
What was the Kronstadt Mutiny?
- March 1921
- rebellion of sailors at naval base of Kronstadt against the Bolshevik government
Led to the demands:
- The present soviets don’t express the will of the workers and peasants so new elections should be held
- Freedom of speech and press to be granted to workers and peasants
- Freedom of assemble and of trade unions and peasants’ associations
- All political prisoners belonging to Socialist parties to be set free
Mutiny = put down by Red Army (20,000 killed over 3 weeks, and surviving rebels were executed by Cheka or put in a gulag.
Lenin introduced NEP in response to mutiny
New Economic Policy
- set up in 1921
- intended primarily to fulfil Russia’s urgent need for food
- because the civil war was effectively over
- Food in markets in cities and growing trade in other goods
- Shops, cafes and restaurants reopened
- Rapid growth in industrial activity
- Nepmen - private traders (handled about ¾ of the retail trade) - around 25,000 Nepmen in Moscow
- Peasants = produce and hand-crafted goods + side trade in cities via Nepmen
- Peasants able to farm their land without government interference
- Flourishing crime and prostitution
- Peasants could sell surplus grain for profit again
- Factories w/ under 20 workers privatised
- Grain production increases
72. 5 million tonnes of grain harvest in 1925
Social change under Lenin
- Women formed 10% of party membership.
- Highest marriage rate in Europe
- Abortion on demand made legal in all state hospitals → 1st country to legalise abortion
- Communist Party Programme education provided each child with 9 years of free universal education schooling.
- 2/3 of Moscow marriages ended in divorce, 40% of which were initiated by men
- State-controlled youth organisations set up
- Curriculum included history of the the revolution & communism
- More practical education (technical subjects + industrial training) + visits to factories & state farms & power stations
- Authorities of teachers (bourgeoise) reduced
- ‘School workers’ forbidden to set homework or disciple students
- Pressure on NEP = universal schooling abandoned
- Pioneers children for <15 (activities include trips & camping)
Komsomol = 15-20 (more serious, propaganda in activities + preparation for entry into communist party)
Art under Lenin
Social Realism
