The Communist Dictatorship

Question 1

State some of the early decrees brought in by Lenin (1917)

Answer 1

1. Max. 8 hour days, decree on peace, decree on Land
2. Abolition of tithes and class ranks, equality for women
3. Cheka established, banks nationalized
4. Nationalization of industry

Question 2

When was the 1918 Constitution?

Answer 2

July 1918

Question 3

What were the terms of the 1918 Constitution?

Answer 3

1. Vote reserved for toiling masses
2. Workers’ vote seen as more important than peasants
3. Sovnarkom elected by congress (really by Bolsheviks)
4. Centralized, Party had power

Question 4

What were the key reasons for Civil War in 1918?

Answer 4

Dissolution of the constituent assembly. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Conflict with the Czech Legion.

Question 5

What why were people unhappy with the dissolution of the constituent assembly?

Answer 5

Enraged SRs and liberals. People wanted a democratic system

Question 6

What was the issue with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer 6

High cost for Russia. Lost lots of land. Lost population and resources.

Question 7

What was the conflict with Czech Legion?

Answer 7

Traveled east to continue fighting. Seized part of the Trans-Siberian railway. Offered to support those opposing Bolsheviks.

Question 8

What was the opposition to the Bolsheviks called? And who were they supported by?

Answer 8

The Whites. Supported by Britain, France and the USA - opposed communism, force Russia back into the war.

Question 9

Who won the war?

Answer 9

The Reds (the Bolsheviks)

Question 10

What were the weaknesses of the Whites?

Answer 10

Widely dispersed. Difficult to communicate and transport. Less men. Were different groups with different aims. Unorganized. Poor leadership and ill discipline. Not a lot of support.

Question 11

What were the strengths of the Reds?

Answer 11

Controlled central areas with industry. Used the railway. More support. Unified command structure. Trotsky organised the army into an effective fighting force. Used propaganda against the Whites.

Question 12

What was the impact of the Civil War?

Answer 12

Brought centralization. Greater Party control. 1922 - introduced position of General Secretary (filled by Stalin. Nomenklatura System (1923). Create fairer society.

Question 13

What were the negative impacts of the Civil War?

Answer 13

People poor and hungry. Brought back the death penalty. Destroyed democracy. Set up the Cheka - the Red Terror. Huge famine.

Question 14

What was the Nomenklatura system?

Answer 14

Official list of Party posts where appointments were to be agreed by the Party Central Committee.

Question 15

How did Stalin keep control politically?

Answer 15

Purges - killed and arrested political enemies (1934)

Question 16

How did Stalin keep control economically?

Answer 16

Collective farms. Kulak class destroyed. Exported grain. Rapid industrialisation.

Question 17

How did Stalin keep control socially?

Answer 17

People sent to gulags. Used terror and propaganda. Cult of Personality.

Question 18

What position did Stalin hold? How did this help him?

Answer 18

General Secretary. Could appoint supporters into positions and gain power. Controlled the Nomenklatura. Controlled appointments to the Party ‘apparat’. Called congresses less frequently.

Question 19

What were the terms of the 1936 Constitution?

Answer 19

1. Claimed to be the most democratic
2. USSR to be a federation of 11 Soviet Republics
3. Creation of ‘Supreme Soviet’ - made from the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalists
4. Promised local autonomy to ethnic groups
5. Promised 4 yearly elections
6. Civil rights granted

Question 20

What was the 1936 Constitution like in reality?

Answer 20

Promised rights largely ignored. When Georgia’s leaders planned secession in 1951 they were purged. Elections not contested.

Question 21

What were some of the changes between the 1918 and the 1936 Constitution?

Answer 21

1918 - voting for toiling masses. 1936 - voting for anyone over 18. 1918 - Sovnarkom appointed by Congress. 1936 - 4 yearly elections. Promised local authority (1936)

Question 22

What was the cult of Stalin?

Answer 22

From 1926 developed his own cult. Promoting an image of himself that inspired confidence. Used propaganda.

Question 23

How was the cult of Stalin used?

Answer 23

To put out positive messages. Control information and cover up problems. Identify enemies of the regime. Stop factionalism.

Question 24

How was Stalin portrayed by the cult?

Answer 24

As Lenin’s disciple bring enlightenment to Russia. Posters of Stalin with Lenin and Marx. ‘Father of the nation’.

Question 25

What was the History of the All - Union Communist Party (1938)?

Answer 25

Stalin assumed a major role in the October Revolution. Trotsky taken out, photos doctored.

Question 26

When was the height of the cult? What were the features?

Answer 26

Post 1945. Stalin’s image everywhere. Victorious in war. Solitude God like figure. Referred to as the Red Tsar.