Defending the Bolshevik Revolution last Flashcards
(51 cards)
1
Q
What were 4 problems that Lenin inherited?
A
- Continuing the war with Germany
- Limited support in the countryside
- Major food shortages in the cities
- Strikes
2
Q
What was Lenin’s biggest issue?
A
- The SRs winning the November Constituent Assembly elections
3
Q
What happened on the 5th January 1918?
A
- Lenin ordered the Constituent Assembly to become subservient to Sovnarkom, they refused, so the Red Guard closed the Assembly.
4
Q
How did workers respond to the closure of the Constituent Assembly?
A
- Workers believed that Lenin cared about their rights so didn’t mind too much.
5
Q
How did the Sovnarkom help workers after taking power?
A
- Issued the Decree on Workers’ control which gave them the right to control all aspects of production.
- Introduced the 8 hour maximum day.
6
Q
Why did Lenin want to end the war?
A
- Ending the war would give the economy a chance to recover and have breathing space
- Lenin also predicted civil war, and ending the war would allow easier consolidation of power.
7
Q
What did the Germans demand from the Treaty of Brest Litovsk?
A
- German demanded:
- Baltic states
- Poland
- Ukraine
8
Q
What would Russia lose from Brest Litovsk (4 statistics)
A
- 75% of iron and coal ore mines
- 32% of arable land
- 26% of railway
- 33% of factories
9
Q
What were the 2 perspectives over a peace deal?
A
- Bukhrain argued in favour of revolutionary guerilla warfare campaigns, where Russians wouuld stir up the German working class to turning against their Government
- Trotsky argued for neither war, nor peace which meant having a de facto peace deal/
10
Q
How did the left SRs react to Brest Litovsk?
A
- Left SRs stormed out of Government in protest.
11
Q
What was the Cheka?
A
- Lenin’s political police force
12
Q
How did the Cheka initially attack the right wing and then the left wing?
A
- November 1917 - Kadets outlawed
- December 1917 - Lenin arrested the right SRs and Mensheviks such as Tsereteli.
- April 1918 - SRs were expelled and the Mensheviks were outlawed (claimed to be counter revolutionaries)
13
Q
How did the Cheka help the Red Army?
A
- Helped the Red Army requisition grain from the peasants as part of War Communism.
- Executed socialist opponents
- Used extreme violence against the enemies of the Communist Part
- Ran concentration camps that house the Communists’ enemies
14
Q
Why did the Cheka unleash the Red Terror?
A
- Assassination attempt on Lenin failed.
15
Q
How many were killed by the Cheka in September 1918?
A
- 15,000
16
Q
How did Lenin’s economic ambitions change over time?
A
- To begin with, Lenin wanted to stabilise the economy and generate growth.
- During 1918, his sole ambition was to adapt the economy to ensure the Civil War was won.
- By 1921, Lenin needed to rebuild and stabilise the regime.
17
Q
What were the 3 economic directions that Lenin took the Bolsheviks in?
A
- State Capitalism
- War communism
- New Economic Policy
18
Q
How did State Capitalism work?
A
- Nationalisation ended capitalism by passing the ownership of industry from capitalists to a new state.
19
Q
How did nationalised industries get controlled?
A
- Controlled by the Vesenkha whihc:
- re-estabilshed worker discipline
- ensured that factories were properly managed
- co-ordinated economic production to meet the needs of the new society.
20
Q
What were the consequences of state capitalism?
A
- Extremely unpopular as it ended workers’ control.
- Wages were kept low
- Life was very similar to before
21
Q
What was the purpose of War Communism?
A
- mid-1918, Lenin introduced emergency economic measures.
22
Q
What was Grain Requisitioning and Rationing?
A
- Grain Requisitioning saw the Red Army forcably steal grain off peasants without payment to provide a rationing system for industrial workers.
- Rationing saw the workers recieve the most grain and bourgeoise members recieve the least amount of grain.
23
Q
What were 3 measures of labour discipline during War Communism?
A
- Working day was extended to 11 hours
- Workers were punished for being late or being lazy
- Working was made compulsory for people between 16 years old and 50 years old.
24
Q
How did Lenin’s Government abolish the market?
A
- The Government abolished money and printed endless amounts of money as part of hyperinflation.
- Ended trade by making private trading illegal
- Imposed complete nationalisation where all businessed were taken over by the state.
25
What were the consequences of War Communism?
- War Communism destroyed incentives to work and consequently there was an economic catastrophe
- By 1920, there was a famine in the countryside
26
What was the statistic showing the decline of the idnustrial workforced from 1917 to 1921?
- 2.7 million workrs in 1917 to 1.2 million by 1921.
27
What was the Tambov Uprising?
- Peasants in Tambov, led by Aleksandr Antonov began a rebellion against Communist grain requisitioning and Cheka brutality.
- Antonov had a force of 50,000 anti-Communist fighters.
28
Why did the Kronstadt naval base mutiny?
- They demanded a series of measures such as immediate free and fair elections of new Soviet and the abolition of War Communism and thw Cheka.
29
How did Lenin respond to both Tambov and Kromnstadt?
- It worried Lenin and his governers.
- The Red Army crushed the the Kronstadt Mutiny under Mikhail Tukhachevski.
- Tukhacevski was also involved in deporting 100,000 Tambov residents to labour camps and using posion gas against villages.
30
How did the NEP differ to War Communism?
- Re-establishing free market where peasants could buy, sell and produce freely.
- Small factories and workshops were denationalised and allowed to trade freely.
- Reintroduction of money
- Large factories remained nationalised.
31
How did the NEP help farming?
- Famine was ended as farmers could recieve grain
32
How did the NEP benefit industry?
- Industrial growth emerged, surged by Lenin's electrification programme but this happened slowly.
33
What was the ban on factions?
- It meant that open discussion in the Communist Party was ended.
- Communists had to soleyl agree with Lenin.
34
What were 3 red strengths in the Civil War?
- They controlled the most densely populated areas, containing around 70 million people, allowing the recruitment of soldiers and workers.
- The reds could produce the weapons and equipment necessary to win victory.
- The reds controlled railway routes meaning that they could transport goods and equipment to support the army.
35
What were thw weaknesses of the Whites?
- They controlled the least densely populated areas, containing just 20 million people, which meant less recruitment of soldiers and workers.
- The whites therefore couldn't produce the weapons and equipment to win.
- Sparsely organisaed which meant un-coordinated.
36
How did Lenin reorganise the army?
- Lenin put Tsarists back in control of the army under dual command to prevent any sabotage.
- As a result, the red army became a disciplined force/
37
How did Trostky help the Civil War?`
- Loyal to Lenin
- Effective leader by reinforcing Petrograd against Yudenich.
- Used his armoured train to spread propaganda and visit areas under threat.
38
Who were 4 white army officials and where were they located?
- Kolchak (Siberia)
- Denikin (South)
- Yudenich (North-east)
- Wrangel (South)
39
Why did the white army officials fail?
- They often failed to coordinatr attacks because of how separated they were in Russia.
40
Why were the whites not politically suported?
- Ties with Tsarism which had been abolished.
- Unpatriotic as they worked with foreign enemies
- They promised to crack down on peasantry which upset the countryside
- Did not have the support of the local non-Russian populations.
41
How did the Tsar's execution impact the Whites?
- They had no incentive to restore Tsarism and circle around their leader.
42
What was Komuch and how was it defeated?
- Komuch was the SR Government that had split off in 1919 from the Bolsheviks.
- They were backed by the 50,000 Czech Legion soliders
- They were attacked and ultimately failed
- They were put on trial for treason but executed a decade later/
43
How did Lenin contradict himself regarding national minorities?
- Lenin promised self-determination for non-Russian people
- However, he never fufilled this promise by imposing measures to defend countries from separating.
- Despite this, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania gained their independence from Russia with German help.
44
Why did foreign countries invade Russia and help the whites?
- To estabilsh a Government that would re enter Russia into the war effort
- To prevent the Germans from gaining access to allied weaponary.
45
Why did France and Britain invade?
- Britain invaded for ideological reasons with Chruchill hoping to end communism spread.
- France wanted their money back from Russia during the Munitions Crisis.
46
How many foreign troops by 1918?
- 200,000 foreign troops in Russia
47
How much did the Brits send to the Whites?
- 100 million pounds worth of supplies
48
How much did the US give to the Whites?
- £50 million of interest-free loans
- 250,000 rifles, clothing and food
49
Why was the foreign intervention halted?
- After WW1, war weariness happened
- Some troops who were working class sympathised with the Whites.
- There was no need to install a new government which would fight against Germany.
50
How did the Communists respond to foreign intervention?
- They claimed that the whites were unpatriotic for relying on Russia's enemies
- They also claimed that the foreign countries were targetting the motherland of Russia.
51
What was Lenin's legacy?
- His promised to provide bread, peace and land came at a cost.
- Russia wa splunged into Civil War and a famine.
- Despite this, Lenin did succeed in communist control and retain of power.
