Russia Topic 2 - Development between February and October Revolution

Question 1

what is ideology?

Answer 1

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theories and policy

Question 2

what are the key principles of marxism?

Answer 2

• create a classless society
• abolish capitalism
• nationalize everything

Question 3

what does capitalism mean?

Answer 3

an economic system in which the means of production are all or mostly privately owned and operated for a profit

Question 4

what does socialism mean?

Answer 4

viewed as a step between the country’s current state of capitalism and its move to complete communism (economic)

Question 5

what does communism mean?

Answer 5

aim for a classless society and end of wage labour. every member of society should have an equal say (political)

Question 6

who were the bourgeoisie?

Answer 6

upper middle class - own the means of production

Question 7

who were the proletariat?

Answer 7

working class - those who sell labour

Question 8

how did lenin return to russia?

Answer 8

on a train with the alleged help of germans

Question 9

when did lenin return to russia?

Answer 9

3 April 1917

Question 10

when did lenin write the April Theses

Answer 10

7-26 March 1917 while in exile

Question 11

what was the April Theses?

Answer 11

a manifesto based on marxism that demanded for a revolution

Question 12

why was the April Theses created?

Answer 12

lenin believed that the middle class was too weak to carry out through a full ‘bourgeois revolution’ and for them to maintain power was to hold the inevitable proletarian revolution back

Question 13

how was the April Theses published?

Answer 13

Pravda - Bolshevik newspaper controlled by Stalin

Question 14

when was the April Theses presented?

Answer 14

3 April 1917

Question 15

what were the main slogans for the April Theses?

Answer 15

“Peace (end war), Land (land ownership to peasants) and Bread” (rectify food prices)

“All power to the soviets”

Question 16

what was significant about lenin during the April Theses?

Answer 16

• Good orator to persuade
• Wore a workers cap to look more proletarian to show dedication for the working class to gain popularity

Question 17

who was leon trotsky?

Answer 17

a key bolshevik

Question 18

what was the MRC

Answer 18

Military Revolutionary Committee

Question 19

when was the MRC established?

Answer 19

16 October 1917

Question 20

how was the MRC established and why?

Answer 20

The petrograd soviet to protect petrograd from threats.

Question 21

who was in the MRC

Answer 21

• it was controlled by Felix Dzerzhinsky and Leon Trotsky
• had 66 members - 48 were bolsheviks
• controlled 200,000 red guards, 60,000 baltic sailors and 150,000 soldiers

Question 22

how did the MRC dissolve the Provisional Government

Answer 22

commissars were sent to all petrograd garrison units and 15 of 18 declared their allegiance to the soviet rather than the provisional government

Question 23

who were the red guards?

Answer 23

• loyal, voluntary soldiers, mostly recruited from the factory workers. they were given basic training and compromised young and old alike. they created an efficient paramilitary unit
• consisted of 10,000 by october 1917

Question 24

what other factors resulted in the collapse of the provisional government?

Answer 24

negatives of dual authority:
- contrasting political makeup of two bodies began to lead to disagreements
- the PG moved further to the Right Wing
- Soviet moved to the Left Wing

issues with dual authority:
- difficult circumstances
- 160 million people to please
- no immediate change, they wanted to wait for the constituent assembly
- removal of censorship
- not enough authority to pass laws without PS

attitude/commitment to war:
- both PG and PS agreed russia should not surrender and lose everything

Question 25

when was the June Offensive?

Answer 25

16 - 19 June 1917

Question 26

what was the purpose of the June Offensive?

Answer 26

- reassure the allies that russia was still in the war and ready to relieve the massive pressures on the western front - to bring the soldiers to heel behind patriotic ideas and strict discipline - against Austrians

Question 27

who planned the June Offensive?

Answer 27

Kerensky, Minister of War

Question 28

what was the outcome of the June Offensive?

Answer 28

300,000-400,000 men died land was lost

Question 29

when did the July Days take place?

Answer 29

3-5 July 1917

Question 30

what was the July Days?

Answer 30

- 20,000 kronstadt sailors organised their own armed demonstration using bolshevik slogans. - the protest also involved workers and soldiers - workers demanded control on food prices

Question 31

what was the result of the July Days?

Answer 31

- bolsheviks attempted to turn the protest into a peaceful procession but shorts were fired which threatened lenin’s credibility - the bolshevik newspaper (Izvestia - news) denounced the roles of the leaders and the Pravda had been closed down. - lenin and stalin fled the country (finland) - trotsky was arrested - 568 factories closed down - 100,000 unemployed

Question 32

who was blamed for the July Days?

Answer 32

Bolsheviks - believed it was their first attempt at a revolution

Question 33

what mistakes did Kerensky make?

Answer 33

- poor judgment of situations - continued the war - underestimated lenin + bolsheviks - addicted to morphine - openly anti-bolshevik

Question 34

who was General Lavr Kornilov?

Answer 34

- the commander-in-chief of the army, appointed by Kerensky on July 6, 1917 - disliked the bolsheviks - representative of the right wing army officer - didn’t accept the february revolution

Question 35

what was the cause of the Kornilov Affair?

Answer 35

General Kornilov wanted to suppress the soviet and overthrow the government

Question 36

what was the kornilov affair?

Answer 36

- kornilov ordered 6 regiments of troops to march on petrograd to crush the soviet and establish a military dictatorship. - kerensky released imprisoned bolsheviks and provided them weapons to halt kornilov. - kornilov was arrested

Question 37

how were the bolsheviks viewed after the Kornilov Affaur?

Answer 37

“The saviours of Russia”

Question 38

what was Kerensky’s impact after the Kornilov Affair?

Answer 38

- he lost a lot of support as people felt he had betrayed Kornilov and vowed not to fight against the Bolsheviks - looked weak as he turned to the bolsheviks for help

Question 39

what was the situation in summer 1917

Answer 39

- provisional government had little support - food supplies were chaotic - wages fell as prices increased (inflation) - constituent assembly not fulfilled - continuation of war

Question 40

what was created while lenin was in finland?

Answer 40

Central Committee

Question 41

how many people were in the Central Committee?

Answer 41

12

Question 42

what did Lenin say September 12, 1917?

Answer 42

“history will not forgive us if we do not assume power now”

Question 43

how did the central committee react to Lenin’s words?

Answer 43

disagreed: - thought the economy wasn’t prepared - needed a constituent assembly - zinoviev and kamenev burned his letters = posted a newspaper ’Novdia’ (new life) which slaughtered lenin agreed: - trotsky supported

Question 44

when did lenin convince the central committee that a revolution was important?

Answer 44

10 october 1917

Question 45

what was the central committee vote ratio for a revolution?

Answer 45

10:2

Question 46

what did trotsky believe about the petrograd soviet?

Answer 46

working with them was important because he believed they could win the support of all socialist parties for a soviet government