Topic 3 facts

Question 1

when was the Cheka established?

Answer 1

7th December 1917

Question 2

when were opposition newspapers banned?

Answer 2

October 1917

Question 3

what was the workers decree?

Answer 3

a maximum 8 hour day for workers and social insurance were introduced

Question 4

by when were all other political parties banned?

Answer 4

1921

Question 5

what else did the Bolsheviks do to consolidate power?

Answer 5

closed down opposition press, banned liberal parties and removed the right to vote from the middle class

Question 6

why did Lenin think it was not a problem to surrender in the war?

Answer 6

he believed that the revolution would soon take over Germany and therefore it was not a problem to surrender in the war.
- he also knew Russia could no longer keep fighting

Question 7

when was the treaty of brest-litovsk signed?

Answer 7

March 3rd 1918

Question 8

how many reparations did Russia have to pay to Germany?

Answer 8

3 bn roubles

Question 9

what did Russia lose as a result of BL?

Answer 9

• 1/6th of population
• 26% of railway
• 74% of iron ore and coal supplies

Question 10

how much were workers’ votes worth in the election to the All-Russian congress of soviets?

Answer 10

workers votes were worth 5 peasant votes

Question 11

how many votes did the Bolsheviks gain in the November 1917 constituent assembly elections?

Answer 11

24%

Question 12

how many votes did the SRs receive in November 1917 constituent assembly elections?

Answer 12

53%

Question 13

when did fighting break out in Russia?

Answer 13

summer of 1918- but no declaration of civil war yet

Question 14

who were the greens?

Answer 14

Russian peasant armies who had no affiliation to either the Reds or the Whites. They included Ukranians and Georgians who wanted independence from Russia and peasants protecting their own land

Question 15

who were ‘the Whites’?

Answer 15

liberals, former tsarists, nationalists and separatists, SRs and other socialists. The Whites were deeply divided and it was not uncommon for them to fight each other. Only anti-bolshevik in common

Question 16

how many people were killed as a result of civil war?

Answer 16

9.5 million (famine too)

Question 17

why did the Whites lose?

Answer 17

• divided aims- very little aims in common apart from hatred of Bolsheviks
• poor leadership- no single leader for white army
• geography- widely dispersed
• smaller armies (Yudenich’s only had 15k)
• foreign support was unpopular in Russia and gave reds a propaganda platform

Question 18

when did the Bolsheviks kill the royal family?

Answer 18

July 1918

Question 19

how much did the workforce of Petrograd shrink by the summer of 1918?

Answer 19

60%

Question 20

what did Trotsky do to ensure loyalty of the red army?

Answer 20

reintroduced ranks and the death penalty for desertion/disloyalty

Question 21

who were the three white army leaders?

Answer 21

Kolchak, Denikin and Yudenich

Question 22

how much did Britain give the white army worth in supplies?

Answer 22

100mil gbp

Question 23

when was the Red Army established?

Answer 23

January 1918- 5 million men when conscription was introduced

Question 24

how did Trotsky direct the war?

Answer 24

from a special train that covered 65k miles

he recruited 50k former tsarist officers and used them to train troops

Question 25

what were the reasons for Bolshevik success in the civil war?

Answer 25

• geography- reds commanded communications, factories and densely populated regions. Whites were widely dispersed
• unity and organisation- united to survive; white generals operated independently
• leadership- well-disciplined under Trotsky. Corruption in whites as competent commanders
• support- red army land policies were more popular than whites to the peasants
• hostility to foreign involvement gave reds a propaganda platform

Question 26

what happened during the civil war in 1921?

Answer 26

Polish invaded western Ukraine but were driven back by General Tuckachevsky.

Question 27

what was the treaty of Riga and when was it signed?

Answer 27

signed in March 1921- granted Poland self rule along with other eastern European countries

Question 28

when was the USSR formally established?

Answer 28

at the end of 1922