National Study Russia - Lenin

Question 1

Bolshevik ideology: Marxism is born

Answer 1

Lenin’s work
→1902: ‘What is to be Done?’: Lenin asserted the case that it would be a disciplined party that would lead the working class towards revolution
→1916: “Imperialism” Capitalism would destroy itself in a series of wars that would spark revolution even in backward countries like Russia, which would spread to developed countries

Question 2

Lenin and the April Thesis written in

Answer 2

1917
‘Peace, land and bread’

Peasants in the countryside wanted land reform, the population want an end to the war, and workers wanted food.

Question 3

The two revolutions in …

Answer 3

1917
→ 1st one, February Revolution (Julian Calendar) they were protesting about the lack of bread due to rationing = Tsar’s abdication, collapse of autocracy, formation of Provisional Government
→ July onwards- Provisional government had been led by PM Alexander Kerensky by October his government was in obvious decline because they decided to remain in the war and failed to give land to the peasants

Launched a coup d’etat against the P.G. Stormed the Winter Palace

Question 4

World War 1 discontent of civilians that led to Bolshevik popularity

Answer 4

German attacks continued during WW1
→ The working class and the peasants make up the Russian Army
→ Not well equipped or trained for battles
→ 1917: Millions of Russians have been killed or wounded = Angry at Tsar

Question 5

A … emerged due to the abdication of the tsar on … ending Romanov rule and was sparked by …

Answer 5

political vacuum
March 1915
mass demonstrations in the capital, Petrograd due to fuel and food shortages on International Women’s Day

Question 6

After the abdication of the Tsar, two bodies filled the gap

Answer 6

The Provisional Government was formed by members of the Duma and the Soviet was a Workers and Soldiers Council.

Lenin called for opposition against the Provisional Government, “all power to the Soviets”

Question 7

Provisional Government

The leader’s error was that he …

Resistance

Answer 7

Alexander Kerensky had become leader of the Provisional Government; he was also a member of the Soviet.

Continue the war with Germany.

The sailors of the Kronstad base revolted and there was an attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government.
- Murder of 1500 sailors and capture of 2500 sailors.

Question 8

October Coup

Answer 8

Trotsky coordinated the Red Guard units to take control of Petrograd’s key installations such as bridges and the railway station

Trotsky sent Red Guard units to the Winter Palace to arrest members of the Provisional Government

After Lenin announced that power had been taken in the name of the Soviets, many non-Bolshevik deputies walked out

Question 9

New government following collapse of the Provisional Government

Provisional Government political issues leading to the collapse

Answer 9

The new government was called ‘The Council of People’s Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) and had 16 members in 1917

Political issues at the time including:
→ The Provisional Government’s lack of authority
→ The land question
→ Urban discontent
→ The war

Question 10

According to historian … in June’s demonstration by the Soviet poster …

Answer 10

Orlando Figes, most posters carried the Bolshevik slogan ‘All power to the Soviets’.

Question 11

July Days

Answer 11

Supported by sailors from Kronstadt, the nearby naval base.

Demonstrators chanted the Bolshevik slogans
→ ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ and ‘All power to the Soviets’.

Lenin escaped to Finland but 800 leading Bolsheviks were imprisoned.

Government exploited the Bolshevik deal with the Germans – discrediting Bolshevik leaders as traitors and spies.

Question 12

Bolshevik consolidation - Economic
- Statistics

Answer 12

War Communism, while ideologically successful was practically unsuccessful with it causing economic slowdown, famine and resentment

Heavy Industry output at just 20% 1913 levels, 8-10 million die as a result of famine and 344 peasant revolts in 1919

The New Economic Policy allowed peasants to sell surplus grain in contrast was ideologically unsuccessful but mostly successful practically.

Question 13

Scissor crisis

Answer 13

In 1921 agricultural production was now 75% prewar levels, but Party Member Victor Serge “for many of us this prosperity was distasteful”

Question 14

Bolshevik consolidation - Political
- Statistics

Answer 14

Land + Workers Decree reduced to 8 hours.
Party structure - Democratic centralism vs. bureaucratic centralisation

Show trials and purging of party membership also allows consolidation of power
- 11 SRs executed in first trial in 1921
1921-1923: Purges of party membership carried out by the bureaucracy led to expulsion of 25% of the members

USSR allowed for ideological internationalism to take place with multiple nationalities in it’s borders

Question 15

Bolshevik Consolidation - Military

Answer 15

Treaty of BL
Major setback for Lenin but he had no choice as Trotsky’s ‘nor peace nor war’ was unsustainable
- ⅓ of Russian troops had no guns
Lost significant territory: aprox 34% of Russia’s total population;32% arable land

Question 16

Historian quote on political consolidation

Answer 16

Overy “As a multi-national polity Stalin was able to claim Soviet Union was genuinely internationalist

Question 17

Historian quote on civil war in contributing to consolidation

Answer 17

Historian Issac Deutscher “Recruitment Growth reflects Party’s genuine pull on working class”

Question 18

Social changes - Women

Answer 18

Zhentodel, while limited by mostly focusing on practical welfare issues still had a large impact on Soviet society
Advance women’s rights such as divorce liberalisation detrimented them since men used these to abandon their obligations (70% of divorces initiated by men)
The 1918 Marriage Code gave women legal equality with their husbands

Question 19

Historian quote on the impact of women under Lenin

Answer 19

Overy: Zhentodel made an enormous impact on Soviet society, particularly in the cities

Question 20

Social changes - Education

Answer 20

Universal reforms for all children up to 9 years old

However, economic hardship under NEP meant these reforms were not always implemented
- 1923 number of schools and students halved from that of two previous years

Question 21

Social changes - Culture

Answer 21

Prolekult and movement for a ‘proletarian culture’ limited in it’s impact
Church lands were confiscated
Civil marriage was introduced
In January 1918 church and state were formally separated

Question 22

Historian quote in the impact of culture under Lenin

Answer 22

Historian Fitzpatrick: “For must conscious workers proletarian culture was an unknown entity”

Question 23

Cheka

Answer 23

Formed in December 1917

Cheka had only 23 members.
→ By the end of the Civil War in the early 1921, it had overgrown to a force of more than 100 000
→ By end of 1930s employed millions

The brutality of the Cheka far exceeded that of the tsarist Okhrana.

Question 24

Cheka - Red terror practices

Answer 24

Ranged from scalping and skinning prisoners to boiling White officers to crucifying priests to serving bodies with a saw

Question 25

Key Bodies within the Communist Party (Bolsheviks)

Answer 25

Politburo
5 members could make decisions on urgent matters.
All members of the Politburo had to be elected by the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Question 26

Cause of civil war

Answer 26

Against the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Economic and social hardship: food shortages

Bolshevik reforms (decree on land – land was seized from nobles, landlords, Church)

Question 27

Opponents of the Bolsheviks

Answer 27

Whites:
Former tsarists, nationalists, nobles, landowners and wealthy industrialists who wanted the restoration of the tsar

Greens:
Georgians, who saw an opportunity to establish their independence from Russia.

Foreign Powers:
Russia’s ex-allies; Britain, France, the USA and Japan
- The Bolsheviks cancelled payments of all loans given by the Allies to Russia
- Britain, France and the USA feared the spread of communism to their own countries

Question 28

Effects of the Civil War

Answer 28

Grain production had fallen to very low levels.

Not enough food for the towns and some peasants began to hide any surpluses for their own benefit

Hundreds of thousands died from diseases such as typhus, cholera and dysentery. There was growing and increasingly widespread opposition to War Communism

Question 29

Bolshevik victory

Answer 29

Ruthless and strategic: introduction of War Communism and increased use of Cheka

WC and Cheka: strict food rationing, large rations to Red Army, Cheka terrorized Russians and enemies of Bolsheviks
- 100k-150k executions by 1922

Question 30

Bolshevik victory Trotsky contribution

Answer 30

Reintroduced conscription > 5 million

Reintroduced officer structure and brought back former tsarist officers

Promoted talented soldiers despite their background

Support from the peasantry – more included to support Bolsheviks over the Whites (Land Decree)

Propaganda and a unified cause – fighting for a common cause (unlike their opponents)

Question 31

Impact of War Communism

Answer 31

Long term = victory

Peasants chose to destroy their grain and livestock rather than give them up

Refused to sow future crops
→ even more brutality from Food Detachments (responsible for grain requisitioning) and Cheka

Starvation spread and millions died

Inequality in another form: Leading Bolshevik officials were able to live the good life during War Communism while millions starved

Question 32

New Economic Policy

Answer 32

Restore peace and stability

“Tactical retreat aimed at creating breathing space rather than permanent economic plan for Russia’s future” = Captialism

Sovnarkom retained control of ‘commanding heights of the economy’ – banks (control flow of credit, money); heavy industry (employed 4/5 industrial workers) & foreign trade

Forced grain requisitioning replaced with a tax (peasants could retain surplus goods → incentive to grow more.

Question 33

New Economic Policy impact

Answer 33

Grain harvest increased from 37.6 million tonnes (1921) to 51.4 million tonnes (1924)

Operation of the free market with small private businesses able to operate (degree of private ownership). 1923, 80% of small businesses were privately owned.

The authoritarian nature of the regime reinforces

By 1924 agriculture rebounded; reached 75% of its pre-war output

Question 34

Creation of the USSR

Answer 34

Came into existence due to the ‘Treaty on the Creation of the USSR’ in December 1922

Initially comprised of 4 republics
-Russian SFSR (Soviet Federative Socialist Republic)
-Transcaucasian SFSR
-Ukrainian SSR
-Byelorussian SSR

By 1940, the Soviet Union comprised of 15 republics

Question 35

SOVIET GOVERNMENT’S PROBLEMATIC EMANCIPATION LAWS

Answer 35

1919: USSR had the highest marriage rate, by mid-1920s, the highest divorce rate in Europe (25 times higher than Britain)

Growth of urban unemployment= women forced from skilled to unskilled work- mainly in textiles and domestic service or unemployment

Women who were employed often worked an 8 hr day outside the home plus an extra 5 hrs in domestic duties (men didn’t help in the home)

1917: Women formed 10% of party membership
1928: Increased to 12%

Question 36

Youth organisations set up

Answer 36

The Pioneers: children under 15, like Boy Scouts with activities, trips and camping

Komsomol: youth from 15 to early 20s, more serious and used to take propaganda into the towns and villages by Communists through its activities. Membership seen as preparation for entry into the Communist Party.

Question 37

The leadership contest the different sides
Left side individuals

Answer 37

Left side of the CP = Trotsky
- Charismatic, intelligent and admired by Lenin and largely responsible for the viroty during the Civil War.

Zinoviev
- Opposed Lenin’s call for seizure of power in 1917 and had not distinguished himself in the Civil War

Kamenev
- He had the Moscow party machine behind him, had been with Lenin from the start and had been Lenin’s depity for a while

Question 38

The leadership contest the different sides
Right side individuals

Answer 38

Bukharin
- One of the younger party leaders and was very popular with the party members
- Lenin had admired Bukharin as a Marxist theorist

Rykov

Tomsky

Question 39

The leadership contest the different sides
Left side ideology

Answer 39

Critical of NEP

Pro industrialisation push

Concerned over kulaks and Nepmen

Opposed to capitalistic elements

NB: Zinoviev and Kamenev not fans of Trotsky

Question 40

The leadership contest the different sides
Right side ideology

Answer 40

Wanted to go easy on peasants

Pro NEP for near future

Believed in peasant power for building Russia (not industry)

Opposed to War communism and Red Terror side ideology

Question 41

The leadership contest

Answer 41

January 1924
- In Lenin’s Testament, Lenin showed his dislike for Stalin.
- Lenin’s funeral, Trotsky failed to attend

Many viewed Trotsky as the real threat
- Stalin was a ‘grey blur’, a bureaucratic back-room party hack doing essential but inciting work for the party

Stalin theorised that strengthening the USSR economy would intimidate other capitalist countries into attacking them.

Question 42

Stalin’s platform
- His role

Answer 42

By 1922 Stalin had become
- Commissar of Nationalities
- Commissar of Worker’s and Peasants’ Inspectorate
- Member of the ruling Politburo
- General Secretary of the Communist Party

Question 43

Stalin during the leadership contest
- Allies

Answer 43

The Troika alliance (Zinoviev and Kamenev) = LEFT
1925 – Trotsky was forced to resign from Red Army. Still in Politburo. No power

Troika collapsed. Stalin changes sides – allies with Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky = RIGHT
- Attack Zinoviev and Kamenev

Stalin had been heavily underestimated as a ‘junior’ member of the Politburo

Question 44

Stakin during the leadership contest
- Trotsky
- Right side

Answer 44

Trotsky expelled from CP in 1927 + Trotsky exiled from USSR in 1929

Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky were removed from Politburo

End of 1929 – Stalin was unchallenged leader of Politburo

Question 45

Stalin’s cult

Answer 45

Stalin superimposed his own image in depictions he was not actually part of.

Stalin rewrote the history of the Bolsheviks in accordance with his own idealised views.

In the coming years, Stalin began to commission paintings highlighting and glorifying his place in history
- Painting depicted emphasised the image of Stalin during Bolshevik Revolution

Question 46

Historian quote about the Provisional Government

Answer 46

Alexander Guchkov, Minister of War

→ “The Provisional Government does not possess any real power”

Question 47

Historian quote about the declining support of the P.G

Answer 47

Historian Orlando Figes

→ Claims that Kerensky became even more unpopular for his role in this as he was condemned ‘by the Right for betraying Kornilov’ and by the Left for his counter ‘revolutionary action.’

Question 48

Historians’ views on Lenin and the October Coup:

Answer 48

Adam Ulam says that the April Theses were attacked as anti-Marxist but soon after this initial protest Lenin was able to bend the party organization to his will
→ “He now dominated his Party morally and intellectually. Bolshevism without him was unimaginable”

Question 49

Historian quote about Red Army’s success during the civil war

Answer 49

Soviet historian, Y. Kukushkin, History of the USSR, 1981

“By the end of 1918, the Red Army was over 1 700 000 strong. Even so, on every battlefront Red Army units had to fight against an enemy who was better equipped, better trained and numerically superior.”

Question 50

Quotes about Civil War and Lenin’s success

Answer 50

David Christian, Power and Privilege, 1986.
He quotes Lenin who even admitted that Bolshevik food detachments not only took hoarded food but also the peasants’ own supplies. However, for all its brutality and crudeness, Christian says it:
“… Did the job of supplying towns and armies with just enough food and supplies to keep providing war material and to keep fighting. In this sense, it was a success.”

Question 51

Quotes about tragic results of the War Communism policy

Answer 51

Gordon Greenwood, The Modern World, 1964

“The outcome was the disastrous famine of 1921, rendered worse by the general drought which immediately preceded it… in the area of the Lower Volga, there was an almost total failure of the crop… Some five million are estimated to have died from starvation.”

Question 52

Historian that argues that War Communism had been a leap into the world of socialism but that the NEP was a leap out of it.

Answer 52

Martin McCauley, The Soviet Union since 1917, 1981
Highlights how the party leadership accepted the NEP as a necessary evil while the lower levels of the party were unhappy with this ideological retreat. McCauley says the capitalist nature of the NEP could not be masked:

“At first the peasants paid a tax in kind but with the stabilisation of the currency in 1923, this could be paid in money – Soviet Russia was back to a money economy.”

Question 53

Lenin on Stalin in his Testament - Quote

Answer 53

Comrade Stalin, having become General Secretary of the Communist Party has unlimited authority… and I am not sure if he will be able to use that authority with sufficient caution.

Question 54

Joseph Stalin in “The Bolshevik Revolution Turns 70” - Quote about Lenin

Answer 54

We are those who form the army of the great proletarian strategist, the army of Comrade Lenin… There is nothing higher than the title of member of the party whose founder and leader was Comrade Lenin.

Question 55

Bolshevik + Menshevik

Answer 55

1903 when the Bolsheviks (headed by Lenin) and the Mensheviks (led by Julius Martov) parted ways over an ideological disagreement.

Bolshevik
- Democratic

Menshevik
- Hierarchical

Question 56

Fo Po Lenin Russia

Answer 56

100 communist parties were developed in Europe between 1919 and 1923

Russo-Polish War (1919-20), as despite the USSR being unsuccessful, the country was driven by their expansionist agenda and ideology.

Lenin’s Peace Decree (1917) and subsequent signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, which removed Russia’s involvement in WWI to preserve its international security and consolidate Bolshevik control internally.

Historian David Christian’s writing, which explains that the main priority of the Bolsheviks at this time was “the preservation of the revolution.”