Lenin's return and his April thesis

Question 1

how did Lenin’s attitudes towards the PG and other socialist groups differ from other leading Bolsheviks

Answer 1

rejected Kamenev’s view completely that the country was experiencing a ‘bourgeois revolution’

Question 2

upon Lenin’s arrival, what did he insist about the Bolsheviks and what did he call for

Answer 2

• Bolsheviks should launch a bid for power within a matter of months
• Lenin called for the outright opposition to the PG and dismissed the idea of collaboration with the Mensheviks
• he had a willingness to disregard the Marxist theory

Question 3

how did Lenin win the argument within the Bolshevik party

Answer 3

• much to the force of his personality
• due to the support from new entrants into the Bolshevik party, new bolsheviks were radical in outlook and mostly working class in origin and so preferred Lenin

Question 4

by how much did Bolshevik membership increase between February and April

Answer 4

rose from 25,000 in the February revolution to 75,000 in April

Question 5

how did Lenin aim to attract more support

Answer 5

through a series of policies designed to exploit the frustrations within the army, the peasantry and the industrial working class

Question 6

what were the main three elements of Lenin’s April thesis

Answer 6

• all power to the soviets
• all land to the peasantry
• peace

Question 7

what was the basis of ‘all power to the soviets’

Answer 7

Lenin believed that the soviets should become the basis of government in post-revolutionary Russia

Question 8

how was ‘all power to the soviets’ tactical thinking

Answer 8

• demand for soviet power appealed to the workers and soldiers who elected the Petrograd Soviet
• Lenin knew that the Bolsheviks had no real chance of winning a majority in nation-wide free elections, but the Petrograd and other soviets methods of election offered the bolsheviks the opportunity of winning control within a short space of time

Question 9

what was the basis of ‘all land to the peasantry’ and why were the peasants hungry for land

Answer 9

• population explosion in late 19th century
• only 1/3 of Russia’s arable land was transferred to the peasantry (land settlement) while the remainder remained in the hands of the church, nobility and the state

Question 10

what was the population increase between 1861-1917

Answer 10

by 180%

Question 11

why did the PG refuse to sanction land seizures and how did this differ from the Bolsheviks

Answer 11

• PG believed that land reform was a matter for the constituent assembly
• Bolsheviks encouraged land seizures with their policy of ‘all land to the peasantry’

Question 12

how did the policy of ‘all land to the peasantry’ help the Bolsheviks

Answer 12

helped them win support in Petrograd as the soldiers of the Petrograd Garrison were mostly of peasant origin and Petrograd factory workers retained close links with their home villages

Question 13

what was the basis of ‘peace’

Answer 13

• Lenin called for separate peace, negotiated directly with the central powers without the involvement of Russia’s allies
• Lenin aligned the Bolsheviks with the trend of opinions in Petrograd

Question 14

why did Lenin include ‘peace’ in his thesis

Answer 14

• strong current in 1917 Russia was the desire for peace
• anti-war feeling was strong in Petrograd which was badly hit by inflation
• peace was strong at the front lines with the soldiers wanting peace to go home and take land
• although ‘revolutionary defencism’ gave hope to the civilians, the other European powers were in no hurry to negotiate