theme 1: government 1917-85 Flashcards
by what year was Russia a communist one part state?
1922
how did Bolsheviks prevent other political parties gaining influence?
banned bourgeois from voting (did not agree with Bolsheviks seeing as they were redistributing bourgeois possessions)
did not allow other parties to publish their own newspapers
april 1921 stated SRs’ and mensheviks belonged in prison
1921 other parties banned
why and whenwas treaty of brest litovsk signed and what were its consequences
1918
lenin needed troops out of WW1 so they can fight in civil war
Russia lost control over Baltic states and lots of land and industry. was humiliating and created enemies
constituent assembly January 1918?
socialist revolutionaries gained more votes than bolsheviks, lenin shut down assembly and condemned it an instrument of the bourgeoisie
how did the civil war consolidate bolshevik power
they had won over the whites.
Power moved from the sovnarkom to the nomenklatura
how did stalin undermine trotsky
stopped lenins testament being read out stating preference for Trotsky
supposedly caused him to miss lenins funeral
trotsky wanted nep discontinued, used this to make him seem against lenin and expel him from the party
how did stlain undermine bukharin
stressed bukharins disagreements with lenin from early 1920s
accused him of Trotskyism as he criticised the increasing bureaucracy of the party
accused him of forming factions after he had a secret meeting with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1928
how did stalin use his position as general secretary?
had access to files of everyone
controlled all the jobs so most people owed their positions to stalin
following the civil war what was power like under lenin
highly centralised due to need for quick decisions in civil war.
organisations that genuinely represented the people (trade unions and soviets) were bought under control of the party
political opponents removed but debate was allowed
what happened in the tenth party congress
- banned factions in “one party unity” as growth in membership posed threat to party stability
what was the role of the sovnarkom
also known as the council of peoples commissars. in theory in charge of making key decisions and passing gov orders. 20 members
what was the role of the central executive committee
coordinated admin and law making process. in practice rubber stamped orders from sovnarkom
what was the role of the all Russian congress of soviets
members were elected by local soviets. supposed to approve laws from sovnarkom.
late 1920s all congress representatives had to be communist party members
what was the role of the politburo
7-9 members met daily. filled in for slower central committee and made all key decisions
what was the role of the central committee
power delegated o politburo. didn’t really do anything
what was the role of the party congress?
discussed general programme of the party but didn’t do much. little discussion
what was democratic centralism and what was the reality
all decisions were made in the interest of the people and those decisions were passed onto regional and local levels and implemented. in reality Bolsheviks rules by decree where soviets were not involved in decision making
what was the nomenklatura system
list of names of approved party members. jobs and promotions allocated via this list. encouraged loyalty
when was the soviet state renamed the union of soviet socialist republics (USSR)
- this confirmed the power of the communist party
where did power lie under stalin
- shifted from party to state. -1938 politburo most powerful
- 1942 the state defence committee
how did stalin deflect competition away from himself
encouraged rivalry between party and state by placing rivals in similar positions either side.
Politburo meetings 1920s vs 1930s
1920s met weekly. mid 1930s met 9 times a year
what was the 1936 soviet constitution
named Russia “the most democratic system in the world”. said as bourgeois class had been removed every citizen now had the right to vote and all civil right were given. it was a fraud.
what kept communists in powerful positions under stalin
only communist party members could stand for elections
removal of left and right sides meant the government was full of stalin supporters.
