The Decrees Flashcards
How did the Mensheviks and SRs respond when the Bolsheviks declared that they had seized power in the name of the Soviet, at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets (26 October)?
They walked out and denounced the Bolshevik ‘criminal venture’
How did Trotsky respond to the Mensheviks and SRs who walked out of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
“Go where you belong - the rubbish bin of history!”
To whom was Sovnarkom accountable?
The Congress of Soviets
How many People’s Commissars were there in the first Sovnarkom?
15
Why did the Bolsheviks use the term “Commissar” instead of “Minister”?
“Minister” had bourgeois connotations with the Provisional Government
How did Russia’s civil servants respond at first to Sovnarkom?
Rejected its legitimacy and refused to work for it
What two reasons did other parties give to argue that an exclusively Bolshevik government was a bad idea?
1) Could not deal with the food supply shortages
2) Allied governments would not recognise it, so could not bring peace
Who controlled the Petrograd City Duma in the days after the October Revolution? How did it respond to the Bolsheviks?
Kadets and Mensheviks
Made flaming speeches against the “violent acts” of the Bolsheviks
Who did Kerensky team up with in the days after the October Revolution? What was the name of the counter-revolution it led?
The All-Russian Committee of Salvation
The Junker Mutiny
How successful was the Junker Mutiny against the Bolsheviks on 29 October 1917 and why?
Unsuccessful - one of the leaders (Aleksandr Bruderer) was caught carrying a plan of the mutiny
How many rebels were killed or wounded in the Junker Mutiny? What is the significance of this?
200 rebels
More casualties than in either the February or October Revolutions
Who was Vikzhel?
Union of railwaymen which controlled the entire Russian railway network
Why did Vikzhel oppose the Bolsheviks in October/November 1917?
Believed in a broadly based socialist government, including Mensheviks and SRs; plus the dissolution of the Military Revolutionary Committee and the disarming of the workers
The Bolshevik Central Committee voted on ending talks with Vikzhel on 1 November and 2 November. What was the outcome of each vote?
1 November: Lenin’s call to end talks outvoted by 10-4
2 November: Lenin’s call to end talks passed by just one vote
Who led the Bolsheviks’ negotiations with Vikzhel? What did he propose?
Kamenev
A broadly-based socialist government with Bolsheviks, but not Lenin or Trotsky
What happened to Kamenev after the Vikzhel talks? How significant was this?
Resigned from the Central Committee (8 November)
Not very - he returned on 12 December
How many Left SRs became Commissars in the first Sovnarkom?
4
Why did Lenin include Left SRs in Sovnarkom?
The Left SRs had the support of the peasants, so by including them in government the Bolsheviks could claim their support, too
Why did the Bolsheviks issue decrees so quickly? (Two key reasons)
To emphasise their strength and willingness to act (unlike the Provisional Government)
As a response to the opposition in the first few weeks of their rule
What were the weaknesses of the Decrees?
They were hastily drafted statements of principle that had no legal standing - they were not laws
When was the Decree on Land published? What did it state about the land question?
26 October 1917
Abolition of private land ownership without compensation for landowners - all estates, livestock, equipment and buildings were given to the peasants
Who was the Left SR who became People’s Commissar for Agriculture in the first Sovnarkom?
Andrei Kolegayev
When was the Decree on Peace published? What did it state about the war?
26 October
Called for a “just and democratic peace… without annexations or indemnities”
What was the weakness at the heart of the Decree on Peace?
It did not mean anything - Russia continued in the war for another five months, and the terms of its withdrawal were far worse than set out in the decree
What was the name of the treaty that took Russia out of WWI?
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
How many people did Russia lose from its empire after signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
55 million
How much of the following did Russia lose after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk:
- Agricultural land
- Coalmines
- Heavy industry (iron and steel)
1/3 of agricultural land
2/3 of coalmines
1/2 of heavy industry
How did the Left SRs react to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
Resigned from Sovnarkom in protest
In what month and year was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?
March 1918
When was the Decree on the Press introduced? What did it state?
27 October 1917
Reintroduction of censorship
Why was Lenin so keen to censor the press?
He saw it as a powerful weapon, especially as the Junker Mutiny was supported by a majority of Petrograd newspapers
For how long did the ‘temporary’ Decree on the Press last?
74 years!
How many decrees did Sovnarkom issue in its first six months? Why?
190 decrees
Wanted to be seen as acting on the issues that mattered to people (to contrast with the Provisional Government’s inaction)
What did the Decree on the Rights of the People of Russia (2 November) accept?
Equality and sovereignty of all national minorities - including the right to self-determination and independence
What did the Decree Abolishing Classes and Civil Ranks (11 November) introduce?
Legal equality of Russian citizens
What did the Decree on Workers’ Control (14 November) state?
Workers’ Committees had more power to run factories
What two key measures were introduced by the Decree on the Army (16 November)?
Election of officers
Abolition of ranks within the military
How did officers respond to the Bolsheviks’ Decree on the Army?
Formed anti-Bolshevik opposition that would fight the Bolsheviks in the Civil War
What did the Decree on Courts (24 November) introduce, and what was the significance of this?
New revolutionary tribunals
The new judges had no legal training but were elected by local soviets - so usually sided with the Bolsheviks
What was State Capitalism, introduced in November 1917?
The state would take complete control of the economy until it could be ‘safely’ handed over to the proletariat
What three measures did the Supreme Economic Council (formed under State Capitalism) introduce?
Nationalisation of banks and railways
Cancellation of foreign debts
Improvements to the transport system
What impact did two further decrees on nationalisation (June 1918 and spring 1919) have on Russia?
Resulted in the nationalisation (without compensation) of all enterprises employing more than 10 workers
Led to 30,000 nationalised economic entities by 1920
What was disbanded on 5 December 1917?
The MRC (Military Revolutionary Committee)
What replaced the MRC on 7 December 1917?
Cheka
What does ‘Cheka’ stand for?
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for the Struggle with Counter-Revolution and Sabotage
Who led Cheka?
Felix Dzerzhinsky (Iron Felix)
What did Cheka answer to?
The Bolshevik Party (not Sovnarkom)
How did the Left SR Commissar for Justice (Isaak Shteinberg) respond to Cheka? How did the Bolsheviks respond to this?
Issued a Decree on Terrorist Acts (15 December) calling for all political prisoners arrested by Cheka to be put on trial or freed within 24 hours
The Bolsheviks ignored it
