Bolshevik Consolidation 1918-1924

Question 1

Why did Lenin want to establish one-party control ?

Answer 1

Lenin believed he was working for the interests of the proletariat. He believed in a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat ‘ and didn’t believe in democracy. He believed in the active repression of counter revolutionary elements.

Question 2

When did elections of the Constituent Assembly take place ?

Answer 2

November 1917

Question 3

What were the results of the Constituent Assembly ?

Answer 3

SR’s received 53% of the votes and Bolsheviks only received 24%.

Question 4

What were the consequences of the Constituent Assembly ?

Answer 4

As Bolsheviks didn’t receive the most amount of votes. Lenin stated that ‘ we must not be deceived by the election figures’. He then moved on to dissolve the constituent assembly. He made it difficult for other political parties such as Mensheviks and SR’s to exist at all, such as through the decree on press in Nov 1917 making it illegal to publish their own newspapers. By 1921 all political parties were banned.

Question 5

Why did Lenin want to establish peace with Germany amidst disagreement from other such as Trotsky ?

Answer 5

• From an ideological perspective, Lenin was convinced that the revolution would soon spread to Germany and that German troops would join Russia in creating a new world.
• Lenin also knew that the Russian army could not defeat the Germans and that a compromise was the only option to preserve Bolshevism

Question 6

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk signed ?

Answer 6

3rd March 1918

Question 7

What were the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ?

Answer 7

• Russia lost Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, Belarus and Ukraine. Amounting to a loss of 2 million square kilometres of land.
• lost 26% of their railway lines
• lost 74% of its iron ore/ coal supplies
• had to pay Germany 3 billion roubles in war reparations

Question 8

What were the causes of the Civil War in 1918 ?

Answer 8

• removal of the constituent assembly
• opposition to the withdrawal of war with Germany. Some wanted the Tsarists regime back
• national minorities such as Georgians saw the chaos of the Civil War to fight for their independence
• some Russians were angry at the Bolsheviks inability to resolve their economic problems . The treaty of Brest Litvosk added to the food shortages, leading to rationing problems.

Question 9

What was the role of Trotsky during the Civil War ?

Answer 9

• a skill full organiser who was in charge of the Red Army
• boosted the morale of other Bolshevik leaders that the reds could win
• he recruited 50,000 army former tsarists officers for their experiences and to train new recruits
• he installed harsh discipline and professionalism

Question 10

Why was the murder of the Tsar a significant event during the Civil War ?

Answer 10

it removed a potential figurehead for the whites

Question 11

What were the reasons for the reds victory ?

Answer 11

• Geography: the Bolsheviks occupied central Russia, further having access to armament factories and having better means of communication
• Unity and organisation: the Bolsheviks were ideologically committed, they developed a ‘do-or die mentality ‘. Whereas whites were less organised and fought for different objectives
• Leadership: the red army became a well disciplined fighting force under Lenin. Whites had only a few competent commanders and and corruption was common
• Support: red policies were more popular than white policies therefore gaining more peasant support

Question 12

What was established in 1919 ?

Answer 12

the politburo

Question 13

What was the politburo ?

Answer 13

this was a sub-committee of the central committee and the first members were Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin. Politburo controlled state affairs.

Question 14

How was the Bolshevik Communist party structured after and during the civil war ?

Answer 14

it initially seemed quite democratic with an annual congress, elected by the mass membership. However actual policies and deciisons were shaped by the party’s central committee.

Question 15

What does the term state capitalism mean ?

Answer 15

an economy based on private wealth and free market competition

Question 16

Why did Lenin believe in state capitalism ?

Answer 16

he believed that Russia could only become a socialist economy if their society became more industrialised and he believed this could be achieved through state capitalism and after Russia became industrialised Russia could become a true socialist country.

Question 17

What were some of the measures during state capitalism ?

Answer 17

• nationalisation of banks, of external trade, and of the railways
• the establishment of Vesenkha, took over existing institutions in order to regulate the economy
• the establishment of GOELERO, which was responsible for organising production and distribution of electricity throughout Russia

Question 18

What were the problems with state capitalism ?

Answer 18

• workers and peasants lacked the skills needed for successful management
• workers offered themselves unsustainable pay rises
• Civil War brought shortage of raw materials and

Question 19

What were conditions like in the country side and the city during the civil war ?

Answer 19

• industrial production fell massively due to a shortage of raw materials, workers going to serve in the army, leading to rapid inflation
• shortage of food
• disease was common ( typhus epidemic )

Question 20

What was the black market during the Civil War ?

Answer 20

it was the illegal trading of goods, it worked through exchanging items without the use of money

Question 21

What were sack men during the Civil War ?

Answer 21

these were peasants with sacks of goods to sell

Question 22

What was the main aim of war communism ?

Answer 22

to ensure that the red arm was supplied with munitions and food by the towns.

Question 23

What was the ideology behind war communism

Answer 23

war communism was based on centralised planning and treating Russia as one big factory and focusing on the economic needs rather then the self-interest of individuals.

Question 24

What were the key features of War Communism ?

Answer 24

• requisitioning
• nationalisation
• labour discipline and rationing

Question 25

What was requisition as a key feature of War Communism

Answer 25

this was where peasants grain was seized to distribute it to the cities to feed the workers and a food supplies dictatorship was set up. The peasants were paid a fixed price for their grain however the workers and cheka often took more and offered inadequate vouchers. This led to peasants hiding supplies or growing less and murdering people of the requisitioning squads.

Question 26

What was nationalisation as a key feature of War Communism ?

Answer 26

the nationalisation of foreign trade and all industries were carried out. By November 1920 all industries and business were nationalised. Private trade was banned and the workers decree of 1917 was abolished therefore workers lost their freedoms they had previously enjoyed.

Question 27

What was labour discipline and rationing as a key feature of War Communism ?

Answer 27

* strikes were forbidden * working hours were extended * fines for lateness * internal passports were introduced to prevent workers going back to the countryside * rationing was based on social class

Question 28

What were the effects of War communism ?

Answer 28

* industrial output had declined to 20% of its pre-war levels * disease was common * workers going on strike, wanting the constituent assembly to be recalled * people fled to the countryside regardless of the internal passports looking for more food * hard requisitioning and the dissolution of kulaks led to food shortages

Question 29

What led to the Red Terror ?

Answer 29

assassination attempts at Lenin

Question 30

What happened during the Red Terror

Answer 30

the cheka were responsible for executing anyone opposing the regime or posing a threat to it such as Mensheviks and SR's. They were also responsible for introducing class warfare mainly targeting the bourgeoisie for being responsible for counter-revolutionary acts. The Bolsheviks also set up a system of concentration and labour camps

Question 31

When did the Tambov Revolt occur ?

Answer 31

1920-1921

Question 32

What happened during the Tambov Revolt ?

Answer 32

this was where a 70,000 peasant man army led by Alexander Antov rose up against government forces when grain requisitioning squads arrived demanding grain. 100,00 red army troops had to be deployed to deal with the attack and by 1922 the Tambov province was brutally destroyed.

Question 33

When did the Kronsdat rising occur ?

Answer 33

1921

Question 34

What was the Kronsdat rising ?

Answer 34

this was were Kronsdat sailors, previous supporters of the Bolsheviks, sent a manifesto demanding an end to one party control and they wanted democracy using the slogan 'soviets without the Bolsheviks'. However the red army crushed the rebels with 15,000 rebels were taken prisoner.

Question 35

What was gosplan ?

Answer 35

it was a state general planning commission which created targets to be met by factories and business during the NEP

Question 36

When was the NEP introduced ?

Answer 36

1921

Question 37

What were some of the measures introduced during the NEP ?

Answer 37

* requisitioning of grain came to a stop * private trading resumed, peasants could work for their own profit, expectation was that production would be increased * the state would still keep control of large-scale heavy industry but small-scale industry was returned back to private hands. * rationing came to an end and workers were to be paid based off the profit made by the industry

Question 38

What was the economic impact of the NEP ?

Answer 38

* industrial production began to recover * Agriculture production began to increase * However a 'scissor crisis' was caused as agricultural production was producing quicker than industrial production, therefore peasants couldn't exchange their goods for industrial goods leading them to hold back their goods * Nepmen became prominent within private traders, however hated by the Bolsheviks as they represented capitalism

Question 39

What was the political impact of the NEP ?

Answer 39

* many Bolsheviks saw it as a form of capitalism and were worried about the slow transition to socialism, however Lenin ensured it was just a temporary process * ban on factions was introduced in 1921, making it difficult to express views about policy in public * Mensheviks and SR organisations were banned and many were arrested or put in show trials * Cheka renamed GPU had increased power and could arrest anyone for any reason * rigorous censorship, criticisms of the government were forbidden * in 1923 the nomenklatura system was introduced were influential posts in government and industry were filled by party appointees only those in the central party could approve the new post holder. The system emphases loyalty and their loyalty was exchanged for rewards

Question 40

What were the reasons for foreign intervention during the Civil War ?

Answer 40

* to keep Russia fighting in the first world war, to delay the mass transfer of German forces to the eastern front to the west * protect the armaments' and war materials in Russia sent by the allies * some wanted to support anti-Bolshevik forces

Question 41

What was the impact of foreign intervention ?

Answer 41

it had very minimal impact and didn't affect the Bolshevik regime, this is largely due to foreign forces having little accurate and out of date knowledge of what was happening, only received snippets of information which were largely misleading

Question 42

What was the aim of the comintern ?

Answer 42

it was an international socialist organisation promoting Marxism from Russia to the world.

Question 43

What was the first comintern congress about ?

Answer 43

occurring in 1919 there was a great sense of optimism for the prospect of world revolution, even though the spartacist uprising was brutally supressed, many still believed that world revolution was inevitable

Question 44

What was the second comintern congress about ?

Answer 44

this occurred during the Russo-polish war, where when Russia took a big hit to the progress of world revolution because Poland were seen as a springboard to spread world revolution across Europe.

Question 45

What was the third comintern congress about ?

Answer 45

optimism was at a all time low, all communist regimes and uprising were crushed leading to the comintern being Russia dominated

Question 46

When was the Russo-polish war ?

Answer 46

1919

Question 47

Why did the Russo-polish war occur ?

Answer 47

Newly independent Poland contained territories lost by the former tsarist empire and essentially wanted it back

Question 48

What was the Miracle of the Vistula ?

Answer 48

this was where Poland were on the brink of defeat with the Russians about to conquer Warszawa however Pilsudski mounted a desperate defence which conquered the Russians and saved Warszawa.

Question 49

When was the Treaty of Rapallo introduced ?

Answer 49

1922

Question 50

What was the Treaty of Rapallo ?

Answer 50

this was established peace between the USSR and Germany.

Question 51

What were some of the measures in the Treaty of Rapallo ?

Answer 51

* diplomatic relations were re-established between Russia and Germany * develop economic and trade relations * a secret clause was included were Germany could carry out training and military exercises in the USSR

Question 52

When did the Zinoviev letter occur ?

Answer 52

1924

Question 53

What was the Zinoviev letter ?

Answer 53

it was a forgery concocted by ' Ace of Spies' who were a right wing view active in Russia and wanted to influence public opinion about the labour party in the run up to the British general elections

Question 54

What were the repercussions of the Zinoviev letter

Answer 54

it negatively affected diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia, strengthening Russia's diplomatic isolation