Bolsheviks maintain their grip on power

Question 1

how much did the Bolsheviks control in November 1917

Answer 1

only a relatively small area of the country

Question 2

what government did Lenin set up + what did he began to issue

Answer 2

• Lenin set up the Sovnarkom
• he issued a number of decrees that seemed to be delivering on his earlier promises

Question 3

what were the aims of Lenin issuing these decrees

Answer 3

Lenin didn’t intend to stick to the courses of action proposed in his decrees
- he issued them to gain public support
- solidify the Bolshevik government’s position

Question 4

what did the decree in December 1917 establish

Answer 4

proclaimed worker’s committees would help run factories

Question 5

what did the land decree of November 1917 establish

Answer 5

land was to be taken away from the landlords and to be divided up between the peasants

Question 6

what’s important to note in regards to the land decree of November 1917

Answer 6

• land seizures were already taken place and the Bolshevik’s wouldn’t be able to stop them
• Lenin’s willingness to allow the peasants to take the land helped him convince some SRs to join his government

Question 7

what was the rights of the people of Russia decree in November 1917

Answer 7

gave self-determination to the national minorities (although this was purely just a paper measure as the Bolsheviks didn’t have control over these areas)

Question 8

what’s important to note about the free elections for a constituent assembly that were held in 1917

Answer 8

• Lenin didn’t believe in parliamentary democracy
• Lenin held the election because the railway wakers threatened to shut down the rail system if he refused

Question 9

what were some other popular policies that Lenin introduced in November 1917

Answer 9

• titles were abolished
• old judicial system was abolished
• bolsheviks repudiated all foreign debts

Question 10

what was signed with the Germans in December 1917

Answer 10

an armistice

Question 11

give some example of coercive policies established in December 1917

Answer 11

• kadets were banned
• church land was nationalised
• banks were nationalised
• Cheka was established

Question 12

what did the Cheka do

Answer 12

• harass and arrest political opponents
• used to break the strikes of white-collar servants
• after the attempted assassination of Lenin, the Cheka launched a Red terror

Question 13

when was the Red army established + what did it do

Answer 13

• established in January 1918 under the leadership of Trotsky
• Lenin emphasised the need to get food into cities and he Red Army would seize grain from the peasants if they refused to sell

Question 14

what was the result of the constituent assembly

Answer 14

• a triumph for the SRs who won 370 seats
• Bolsheviks came second, winning 175 seats
• when the Constituent Assembly met in Jan 1918, Lenin, in a stronger position, sent soldiers to shut it down

Question 15

what did Lenin try to pursue his colleagues to postpone after the October revolution + why

Answer 15

• tried to postpone the constituent assembly elections
• he knew that the Bolsheviks were unlikely to win a majority

Question 16

how did Lenin attack the constituent assembly after the Bolsheviks won less than a quarter of the votes

Answer 16

• claimed that the make-up of the CA didn’t reflect voters true preferences as the ballot papers didn’t offer them a choice between pro-bolshevik left SRs and anti-bolshevik rights SRs
• asserted that the soviets were a higher type of democratic institution than the CA
• Lenin dismissed the CA as an organ of bourgeois democracy

Question 17

what conditions did the Sovnarkom impose on the Constituent assembly before it met

Answer 17

• voters had the right to recall and replace ‘awkward’ representatives
• members of CA were to have their credentials checked by a bolshevik-controlled election commission
• CA could only meet if half of its members were present

Question 18

what happened on 5 January 1918, the day the CA was scheduled to open

Answer 18

• 50,000 anti-bolsheviks demonstrators gathered in Petrograd
• Bolshevik forces opened fire on them
• although the meeting of the CA went ahead, it was permitted to remain in session for one day only
• then it was forcibly disbanded

Question 19

why was Lenin desperate for a quick settlement with Germany

Answer 19

• absence of peace agreement meant that Russia was wide open to German invasion
• Lenin promised Russia’s workers and peasants peace, and he needed to deliver his promise
• he wanted to be free to concentrate on the Bolsheviks’ internal enemies

Question 20

why was Germany willing to negotiate with Russia

Answer 20

• the entry of the USA left Germany with fighting against three major powers
• so it aimed to shut down its eastern front and transfer its men and equipment to its Western front