The Decrees Flashcards
How did the Mensheviks and SRs respond when the Bolsheviks declared that they had seized power in the name of the Soviet, at the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets (26 October)?
They walked out and denounced the Bolshevik ‘criminal venture’
How did Trotsky respond to the Mensheviks and SRs who walked out of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
“Go where you belong - the rubbish bin of history!”
To whom was Sovnarkom accountable?
The Congress of Soviets
How many People’s Commissars were there in the first Sovnarkom?
15
Why did the Bolsheviks use the term “Commissar” instead of “Minister”?
“Minister” had bourgeois connotations with the Provisional Government
How did Russia’s civil servants respond at first to Sovnarkom?
Rejected its legitimacy and refused to work for it
What two reasons did other parties give to argue that an exclusively Bolshevik government was a bad idea?
1) Could not deal with the food supply shortages
2) Allied governments would not recognise it, so could not bring peace
Who controlled the Petrograd City Duma in the days after the October Revolution? How did it respond to the Bolsheviks?
Kadets and Mensheviks
Made flaming speeches against the “violent acts” of the Bolsheviks
Who did Kerensky team up with in the days after the October Revolution? What was the name of the counter-revolution it led?
The All-Russian Committee of Salvation
The Junker Mutiny
How successful was the Junker Mutiny against the Bolsheviks on 29 October 1917 and why?
Unsuccessful - one of the leaders (Aleksandr Bruderer) was caught carrying a plan of the mutiny
How many rebels were killed or wounded in the Junker Mutiny? What is the significance of this?
200 rebels
More casualties than in either the February or October Revolutions
Who was Vikzhel?
Union of railwaymen which controlled the entire Russian railway network
Why did Vikzhel oppose the Bolsheviks in October/November 1917?
Believed in a broadly based socialist government, including Mensheviks and SRs; plus the dissolution of the Military Revolutionary Committee and the disarming of the workers
The Bolshevik Central Committee voted on ending talks with Vikzhel on 1 November and 2 November. What was the outcome of each vote?
1 November: Lenin’s call to end talks outvoted by 10-4
2 November: Lenin’s call to end talks passed by just one vote
Who led the Bolsheviks’ negotiations with Vikzhel? What did he propose?
Kamenev
A broadly-based socialist government with Bolsheviks, but not Lenin or Trotsky
What happened to Kamenev after the Vikzhel talks? How significant was this?
Resigned from the Central Committee (8 November)
Not very - he returned on 12 December
How many Left SRs became Commissars in the first Sovnarkom?
4
Why did Lenin include Left SRs in Sovnarkom?
The Left SRs had the support of the peasants, so by including them in government the Bolsheviks could claim their support, too
Why did the Bolsheviks issue decrees so quickly? (Two key reasons)
To emphasise their strength and willingness to act (unlike the Provisional Government)
As a response to the opposition in the first few weeks of their rule
What were the weaknesses of the Decrees?
They were hastily drafted statements of principle that had no legal standing - they were not laws
When was the Decree on Land published? What did it state about the land question?
26 October 1917
Abolition of private land ownership without compensation for landowners - all estates, livestock, equipment and buildings were given to the peasants
Who was the Left SR who became People’s Commissar for Agriculture in the first Sovnarkom?
Andrei Kolegayev
When was the Decree on Peace published? What did it state about the war?
26 October
Called for a “just and democratic peace… without annexations or indemnities”
What was the weakness at the heart of the Decree on Peace?
It did not mean anything - Russia continued in the war for another five months, and the terms of its withdrawal were far worse than set out in the decree
