The Oppression Of Opposition To The B’vik Gov, Oct-Dec 1917 Flashcards
What did taking power in the name of the confess of Soviets allow
-taking power in name of congress of Soviets allowed the B’viks o pose as chosen reps of peasants + workers
-but in reality their position was precarious + support still limited
Why was their position + support precarious
-civil servants refused to serve under them
-bankers refused to provide finance
-took 10 days to persuade the state bank to hand over its reserves + then only under threat of armed intervention
What was a major threat to the B’viks early in their power
-Kerensky set up HQ + rallied army of 18 Cossack regiments c small force of SR cadets + officers
-against this threat B’viks looked weak - many of Petrograd garrison returned home + Lenin no contact with forces on the front
What did kerensky’s threat lead to
-10 days of fighting in Moscow between those loyal to prov gov + B’vik revs
-heavy fighting around Kremlin + many muscovites frightened to leave their home
-in Kiev + Kazan string resistance to imposition of B’vik control with railway + communications workers in strike in protest against one party rule
What did these threats lead Lenin to do
-forced Lenin to agree to inter-party talks
-thanks to B’vik agitators persuading some of Kerensky troops defect the B’vik rev was saved
What happened by the end of 1917
-the B’viks dominated major towns + railways
-while larger areas of countryside still outside control it would take 4 more years of bitter civil war before communists could claim full victory + military control of country
What happened to the SR coalition
-Lenin’s promises to consider coalition with other socialist parties barest fulfilled
-only went as far as allowing SR join sovnarkom dec as long as followed B’vik lead
What methods did Lenin use to ensure B’vik control
-propaganda campaign against political + ‘class’ enemies - mainly Burzhui
-closure of anti-B’vik newspapers
-purge of civil service
-est of ‘all Russian commission for the suppression of counter-rev, sabotage + speculation’ in dec 1917 - checks
-leading kadets, right wing SRs + Mensheviks imprisoned dec
What were the results of his consolidation of control
-so efficient that opponents could only pin their hopes on his promise of a constituent assembly with elections beginning Nov
-these produced 41.7m turnout but the SRs won most seats
How did Lenin respond to this outcome
-mist votes cast without full understanding of political situation in Petrograd
-Lenin appalled + declared ‘must not be deceived by election figures. Elections prove nothing’
-argued constituent assembly a mere remnant burzhui parl democracy + to accept its rulings would be to take a step back in Russias historical development
What happened with the constituent assembly
-met for only one day 5 Jan 1918 and then Lenin dissolved it
-beloved the B’viks understood needs of proletariat better then they did themselves - a ‘ruthless contempt worthy of an aristocrat
-Luxembourg called it ‘the dictatorship of the communist party over the working classes’ and not the dictatorship of the proletariat
