1918-1941 Flashcards
(43 cards)
between what dates was the Russian civil war?
1918-1921
who was the civil war fought between?
the Reds (pro-bolshevik) and the Whites (anti-bolshevik)
why did the civil war start?
•there was opposition to the creation of a bolshevik state, including from Kerensky
•the SR’s won the majority in the constituent assembly elections, Lenin shut it down
•in march 1918 Lenin and the Bolsheviks agreed to pull out of WW1
•they signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans
what was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
•it marked russia’s withdrawal from WW1
•it set a president for future action by establishing that ‘socialism at home’ would take priority over the spread of international revolution
•it provided the intellectual foundation for stalin’s later ‘soviet first’ approach
•most of the territory on Russia’s western boarder was lost
what were the consequences of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
•aggravated grain shortages in the city
•the treaty encouraged patriotic Russians to join anti-Bolshevik forces, making a civil war almost inevitable
an overview of what the civil war was
•the Reds vs the Whites
•opposition to the bolsheviks merged to create the whites
•russias previous allies (britain, france and the USA) gave support to the whites
•the whites had no common goal or ideology
•the reds consisted of the Bolshevik party and their supporters
•the reds were united by a common ideology and goal, they also consistently held moscow
what were the consequences of the war on the bolshevik party organisation?
•there was greater centralisation and party control
•a local party was created in order to impose party control
•lenin banned factions in 1921 meaning that any decision taken by the central committee had to be accepted by the whole party
what were the consequences of the war on national minorities?
•independence movements were denounced as ‘counter- revolutionary’ and brutally crushed (eg Georgia)
what was Russia’s economic situation at the start of 1918?
•the economy was facing collapse
•too little grain was reaching the cities so the workers were going hungry (due to land seizing and wartime transport disruptions)
•as food shortages worsened, food riots erupted in 1918 and workers began to flee from the cities in search of food
•this led to a shortage of labour in the factories
what were 4 key elements of war communism?
•grain requisitioning: red guards and soldiers took grain from the peasants by force
•all industry was placed under state control, with workers’ committed replaced by managers reporting to the government
•factory discipline was imposed, with fines for lateness and absence from work
•food rationing was introduced, with highest priority given to workers and red army soldiers and lowest to the bourgeoisie
was war communism a result of ideology or circumstance?
necessity may have dictated this policy but it also ensembles the bolsheviks to exert class warfare and deal with ‘class enemies’. the bolsheviks saw centralised control as the way to develop socialism.
what was war communism?
the economic and political system that existed in soviet russia during the russian civil war
what was the red terror?
a 4 year campaign (1918-21) to eradicate all political and cultural opposition to the bolshevik party
which group orchestrated the red terror?
the cheka
what triggered the red terror?
a failed attempt on Lenin’s life
who was targeted in the red terror?
•the bourgeois, opponents of the revolution, social revolutionaries, mensheviks, the tsar and his family
•anyone Lenin deemed as a ‘class enemy’
what kind of punishments and torture were inflicted and how many died?
•executions, labour camps, putting victims into boiling water, making rats eat through people
•500,000- a million people died
how did Lenin neutralise opposition within the Bolshevik party?
•they were threatened with expulsion from the party
•he introduced a ban on factions
who were the main target of the red terror?
the peasantry
they were forced to hand over grain to feed the soldiers and workers
reasons why the red terror was motivated by lenin’s ideology
•believed the bourgeois stage towards communism should be skipped (and that happened through increased violence)
•was inspired by the terror in the french revolution
•the formation of the cheka and the army are used to pave way for his ideology
•meticulously planned out suggests it is not a reaction to circumstances
what suggests that the red terror was motivated by circumstances?
•the large amount of opposition meant that the red terror was necessary to maintain control (the assassination attempt urged him to take drastic measures)
•the level of torture that was permitted goes beyond what would have been needed to just implement his ideology
•it was a reactionary measure
what were the three reasons why Lenin thought increased state intervention was necessary?
•the workers did not have the skill or experience to run the factories and production fell
•with fewer industrial goods for sale, the peasants hoarded their grain as there was little to buy if they sold it
•it was necessary to feed the workers and soldiers and thus win the war
by 1921, industrial output was only what percentage of what it had been in 1914?
20%
when did lenin announce the new economic policy?
1921
