Theme 1 - Lenin Flashcards
What was the October Revolution, 1917
The Bolsheviks seized power by storming the Winter Palace using a well-executed and well-planned uprising.
How did the Bolsheviks justify the October Revolution?
The revolution was portrayed as a mass uprising of the workers and also within the interests of the workers.
How did the nature of the October Revolution determine what the Bolsheviks done next?
They had seized power with a very limited base of support. Force would be required to ensure the Bolsheviks, a minority party at the time (300,000 members), held onto power.
What were the Bolsheviks aims?
To get rid of the upper and middle classes which exploited the workers and peasants under the capitalist system which had developed under the industrial revolution.
How was Lenin influenced by Karl Marx?
According to Marx, a process of historical change from capitalism to communism was inevitable. Lenin however believed he could speed up the process where possible.
How did Lenin believe communism would come about under the Bolsheviks?
A highly disciplined and centralised party should seize power on behalf of the proletariat. Power would then be taken away from the bourgeoise who would act as a dictatorship to the proletariat.
Proletariat
A term used by Karl Marx to denote the industrial workers, a new class which had developed under the industrial revolution.
What difficulties did the Bolsheviks face in their early reign? (2 bullet points)
- They were already a relatively small group
- Did not have enough support to lead a proper revolution as they had seized power through force
What groups did they face opposition from? (3 bullet points)
- Other left wing groups, SR and Mensheviks, who were denied a share of power from the Bolsheviks.
- Groups on the right, tsarist and liberal, who feared for their businesses and political freedom
- Nationalist groups within the Russian empire, such as Ukrainians, poles and Finns, who saw the collapse of the tsarist regime as a chance to fight for independence.
How did they deal with these groups?
Lenin’s removal of the constituent assembly 1918 meant that other political groups could not be democratically elected into parliament
Why did Lenin remove the constituent assembly?
The result of the first meeting following the October Revolution was not in the Bolsheviks favour. Gaining 175 seats with 9 million votes compared to the SRs who had 410 seats with 21 million votes. Lenin claimed that the assembly was an instrument of the bourgeoisie and removed it. In reality it was a humiliation for the Bolsheviks.
The destruction of other political parties. ( 5 bullet points)
- The removal of the vote from ‘bourgeoisie classes’ meant that opposition parties could not rally up support
-SRs and Mensheviks could not publish newspapers due to the restrictions imposed - SRs walked out the government following the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- March 1918, Bolshevik party renamed themselves the Communist party and all other parties were effectively banned
- April 1921, Lenin declared ‘ THE PLACE FOR THE MENSHEVIKS AND SRs IS IN PRISON’ following this 5000 Mensheviks arrested and further prosecution followed.
What stemmed a new outrage from demoralised conservatives?
The treaty of Brest-Litovsk
How did the treaty of Brest-Litovsk lead to outrage?
The treaty took Russia out of the war at a great cost. Russia lost control of the Baltic states. It was a national humiliation especially for those who served in the war
How did the treaty speed up the process of the civil war?
It provided a necessary spur to those who wished to fight the Bolsheviks as there was promise of foreign aid from the UK, France, USA and japan who were willing to provide arms and money to get Russia to re-join the war.
Why did Lenin sign the treaty of Brest-Litovsk if it increased opposition and the likelihood of civil war?
Lenin was aware, from the collapse of tsarist and provisional government, the pressure of fighting WW1. It sapped the energy and resources out of the the government with little chance of military success. To Consolidate its power it needed to rid of internal enemies and focus on the hand at job.
When was the Russian Civil War?
1918-1921
How did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War? ( 5 bullet points)
- Better organisation in military ,economic and political terms.
- The whites were an amalgam of different groups meaning co-operation was limited
- The aid received was through corruption and inefficiencies so it did not get put into good use.
- Leon Trotsky used conscription and turned the Red army into an unwreckable force. - soldiers increased to 5 million.
- War communism meant that resources were deployed and organised efficiently.
What were the key results of the Civil War?
- Became highly centralised due to the demands of the civil war. Fighting a war required quick decision-making Power was now in the hands of the Sovnarkom and Politburo.
- The civil war had meant that the Bolsheviks used extensive use of terror against political opponents. This set the tone for the rest of the party after the civil war
- The supporters of the the Bolsheviks had been through a formative experience, it seemed to reinforce the militaristic values in the population.
How much had the party grown since the civil war?How did it pose a threat?
From 300,000 in 1917 to over 730,000 in 1921. This posed a threat to party stability, to ensure conformity a hard line was taken against dissent.
What happened at the 10th party congress 1921
Lenin put forward a ban on factions within the party. This measure known as ‘on party unity’ meant expulsion from the party.
Why did Lenin introduce a ban on factions?
Despite victory in the Civil war, this political tightening of power came at a time continuing Bolshevik anxiety over the hold of Russia. The Kronstadt uprising who were previous loyal to Bolsheviks and the peasantry Tambov uprising.
What was Lenin’s system of government apparatus like?
In principle, very democratic but the reality was different. The Bolsheviks used their control of the Sovnarkom to issue orders that were merely rubber-stamped by the congress of Soviets and therefore imposed on the country.
How did the party shift in the early 1920s? ( 2 bullet points)
-It came apparent that the politburo were the body in making decisions as meetings of the Congress of Soviets, Central executive committee and Sovnarkom had less and less meetings.
- Decision in 1919 to make secret police directly responsible to the politburo rather than the Sovnarkom
