the emergence of communist dictatorship:

Question 1

what did lenin and trotsky believe would happen after their revolution?

Answer 1

assumed that it would spark similar revolutions across europe, they expected this in germany which seemed ripe for revolution however although they were ideologically committed to rousing the german workers and soldiers against their imperial government. the bolsheviks were simultaneously committed to peace with that government despite knwoing that peace would strengthen the imperial government they wished to destroy.

Question 2

what happened in the armistace of 1917?

Answer 2

trotsky began peace negotiations following an armistace, the german imperialistic government demanded large amounts of russian territory. this split the bolsheviks; Bukharin leads the revolutionary war group; protracted arguments followed in which practical necessity

Question 3

What was the treaty of brest-litovsk?

Answer 3

a treaty signed on the 3rd march 1918 and ratified by an emergency party congress. however this was only after lenin offered to resign twice, trotsky spoke of sacrificing his deepest convictions in the interest of bolshevik unity. most of russias western territory was lost, lost a 6th of its population,and 2m km of land.

Question 4

why was this decision important?

Answer 4

it was important for the future of the soviet state, it set a precedent for future action by established that ‘socialism at home’ would take priority over the spread of international revolution. this committment provided the intellectual foundation for stalins later ‘soviet first’ approach.

Question 5

what did lenins decree for workers support?

Answer 5

his decrees on land and workers control support his theorising however, it could be argued that he had little choice in this regard because peasants were already seizing land and taking over factories. furthermore, these decrees did not actually help to create the conditions necessary for socialism.

Question 6

what was the sovnarkom?

Answer 6

since the petrograd soviet contained non-bolshevik socialists, lenin sidelined it and formed the sovnarkom, showing that he had no intention of sharing power with other socialists, particularly the menshiviks and srs, depsite their shared marx heritage. sovnarkom ruled by decree without seeking the soviets approval and initiation of peace. soviet met less frequently, its power was undermined.

Question 7

why did the soviet union turn into a one party state?

Answer 7

lenin agrred to let some left wing srs into the sovnarkom following protests but he was so hostile to power sharing that zinoviev and kamenev temporarily resigned. shows a determination to remain the dominant voice. such determination meant they would become a one party state, again seen in his dispersal of the constituent assembly, in jan 1918

Question 8

what happened when lenin dispersed the constituent assembly?

Answer 8

in jan 1918, civilians demonstrated against his actions and they were fired on, 12 were killed. although such power appears to contradict marx, lenin had written the need of the strong for a strong party to provide for the dictatiorship of the proletariat and crush any bourgeois attitudes or values that remained after the revolution. ‘the dissolution of the constituent assembly means the complete and open repudiation of democracy in favour of dictatorship, this will be a valuable lesson’. lenin tried to claim that since bolsheviks were working with srs it represented the people a higher form of democracy

Question 9

what happened in march 1918?

Answer 9

the srs walked out of the sovnarkom in protest of brest litovsk and the bolsheviks formally adopted the name ‘communist party’. then on governed alone, all others were treated as enemies, thus a one party state was established. key to soviet communism

Question 10

why did the war have a big effect on the development of the party and state?

Answer 10

the communist state was firmly associated with terror, to eradicate opposition. the demand for obedience tightened. new central controls were brought in to manage the economy (war communism) and terror was systematically used to enforce the new measures.

central planning, nationalisation and state control justified by socialist principles but also shows his fear

Question 11

was lenin ideological or pragmatic?

Answer 11

pragmatic, his readiness to change courses and adopt capitalist principles, reinforced that pragmatism was more important than ideology. should it be perm. or temporary?

Question 12

what was the consequences of lenins change of heart?

Answer 12

he refused to admit any errors and thus the concept that the party could not admit by definition, be wrong was born. secondly, lenin successfully argued a ban on factions within the communist party, pointing out party unity was necessary. assumed much more importance under stalin.

Question 13

what other change did the civil war cause in ideological commitment?

Answer 13

earlier support for national self determination for ethnic communities was abandoned. and all independent movements were denounced, greater independence in georgia was brutally crushed.

Question 14

how and when did lenin die?

Answer 14

he was shot in the neck in 1918 and suffered 3 strokes in the following years. became largely distant from politics from the last year of his life.

Question 15

what were the early decrees of the bolshevik state?

Answer 15

oct 1917 - max 8 hour day for workers, ban on opposition press, decree in peace, decree on land,

nov 1917 - abolition and titles, class ranks, workers control of factories, abolition of old legal system, women given equality and the right to own property

dec 1917 - cheka established, banks nationalised, army placed under control of army soviet committees, ranks in army abolished. marriage and divorce no longer churchs control, church land nationalised.

jan 1918 - red army created, church and state separated

feb - nationalisation of industry, socialisation of land

Question 16

what was the 1918 constitution?

Answer 16

RSFSR proclaimed in 1918, stated that the supreme power rested with the all russian congress of soviets, which was made up of deputies from elected local soviets across russia. this central executive committee of that congress was to be the supreme organ of power - acting like a president. also made responsible for electing the sovnarkom for the purposes of general admin. on the surface it looked highly democratic. but this was limited

Question 17

why was the 1918 constitution limited?

Answer 17

• vote was reserved for the toiling masses, members of the former exploiting classes were excluded from voting
• the workers vote was weighted in the proportion of five to one to the peasants
• in practice it was chosen by the bolshevik central committee
• congress was only to meet at intervals, executive authority remained in the hands of sovnarkom
• the structure was centralised and the real focus of power was the party

Question 18

who were the whites

Answer 18

forces ranged against the bolsheviks (reds), left wing political groupings merged with the anger of the treaty of brest litovsk

Question 19

why did previous russian wartime allies give support to the whites?

Answer 19

• ideological - as capitalist nations they opposed the doctrine of communism
• the desire to force russia back into the fight against germany in ww1
• to defend their own interests in russia since bolsheviks refused to pay back tsarist loans

in opposition, the bolsheviks moved their capital from petrograd to moscow

Question 20

why did the civil war break out?

Answer 20

an outburst by the czech legion, joined with the whites and began to advance towards moscow

Question 21

how was the tsar killed and why?

Answer 21

murdered in jul 1918, extremely unlikely that lenin did not authorise these assassinations, their bodies were drenched in acid and thrown down a mine shaft

Question 22

how did bolsheviks deal with the civil war?

Answer 22

by the end of 1920, thanks primarily to the bolsheviks geographical advantages and superior organisation in the face of white division, most of the former russian empire was in communist hands. however, this was at the cost of 10 million deaths from hunger.

Question 23

what helped bolshevik victory in the civil war?

Answer 23

geographical = the reds commanded the hubs of communications, the armaments factories and the most densely populated regions of central russia, the whites were widely dispersed in less developed parts

unity and organisation = white generals operated independently and fought for different objectives. the reds had a unified command structure

leadership - red army became a well disciplined fighting force under trotskys leadership, few competent leaders

support - red land policies prevailed over the whites association

Question 24

how did the civil war become a nationalist struggle?

Answer 24

against polish armies, poles invaded the western ukraine, under direct orders from lenin, marshal tukhackevsky mounted a successful communist counter offensive against them. however lenin wrongly hoped that revolution was spread in europe. poles were defeated by the red army and the treaty of riga granted poland self rule. independence of estonia, latvia and lithuania was also confirmed. meant that lenins order to drive into poland were controversial and split bolshevik ranks.

Question 25

what did lenins ban on factions mean?

Answer 25

any decision taken by the central committee had to be accepted by the whole party, on pain of expulsion. this made it difficult to criticise party decisions anywhere within the government structure. the party grew in complexity and a new position of general secretary was created to coordinate its working which added complexity to the structure. the post was taken by stalin.

Question 26

what was the nomeklatura?

Answer 26

a catergory of people who held administrative positions in areas such as govt, industry, agri, education. granted with approval of the communist party. added to the partys domination. official lists were drawn up and the measure was intended to ensure people in key positions were trustworthy. thus a new party elite were create to impose party control. those who wished to advance were given special privileges to ensure central directives were obeyed without question.

Question 27

what did lenin believe about the economy?

Answer 27

soviets plus electrification equals communism - understood that russia had to modernise before the socialist ideal could be achieved. however in the early months there was differing opinions over how a socialist economy

Question 28

what did lenins decree on land do?

Answer 28

on oct 1917, lenins decree on land abolished private ownership of land, legitimising the peasant seizures and declared that all land belonged to the entire people.

Question 29

what did his decree in nov do for workers control?

Answer 29

his decree recognised workers control over their own factories, giving them the right to supervise management, through the establishment of factory committees.

Question 30

how were lenins early decrees ineffective?

Answer 30

only legitimised processes that were already well under and lenin spoke of the dangers moving too quickly. he seemed to envision a long transition where the first stage would be state capitalism

Question 31

what was state capitalism?

Answer 31

he envision the first stage of a long journey being state capitalism, during this stage, there would be a decree of state control but private markets would remain as an important feature of economic life. in dec, the veshenka was established to supervise and control economic development. however, lenin remained cautious of in the face of demands for the nationalisation of industry.

Question 32

why was state capitalism inefficient?

Answer 32

lenins fears concerning workers and peasants control proved well founded, workers failed to organise their factories efficiently and output shrank, gave themselves unsustainable pay rises. others helped themselves to stock etc and lacked skills for successful management high inflation as a result, this made peasants hoard grain produce rather than sell for worthless money. food shortages by ukraine loss, limited to 50 grams of bread a day

Question 33

what was war communism?

Answer 33

following a grain crisis in 1918, lenin took the further step of expanding the states right to grain by beginning a programme of food requisitioning. also encouraged the establishment of the collective farming hoping that they would farm more efficiently but only few complied. a food supplies policy was set up in may 1918 to ensure that grain was delivered to the state. peasants were paid a fixed rate but grain was brutally confiscated. leaving peasants with scarely enough to live on. kept a share of what they collected as a reward.

Question 34

how were peasants divided under war communism?

Answer 34

poor and moderately poor who were allies of the urban proleteriat kulaks labelled enemies of the people and entire stocks were seized brought misery, peasants resisted, hid their crops, murdered members of the requisition squads. the checka had to be used extensively to make the policy work at all

Question 35

what happened to nationalisation under lenin?

Answer 35

railway, banks, putilov iron works were all nationalised. with the increasing demands posed by the civil war, number of places nationalised multiplied. by 1920, it was extended to nearly all factories, workers lost the freedom they had formely enjoyed. professional managers imposed to reimpose discipline.

Question 36

how did this affect lenins policies of war communism?

Answer 36

specialists introduce to impose discipline. working hours extended and ration cards introduced instead of wages. internal passports introduced to stop employees drifting back to the countryside. all private trade was forbidden, some saw it as a socialist economy as money was futile in favour of a barter system

Question 37

how was war communism used to create a socialist economy?

Answer 37

money was futile in favour of a barter system, it was in some parts an extension of the class warfare to destroy bolshevik rule. however there is no evidence that radically, trotsky initially rejected it. it is easy to see that war communism existed to ensure that the red army was supplied with food etc.

Question 38

what problems did war communism create in practice?

Answer 38

as transport factories were disrupted by fighting, production declined. by 1921, fall by 20%, diseases such as cholera were rife. typhus epidemic caused the death of more than 3 mil. some workers went on strike. others ignored the passport system, braved the armed guards to flee the country. population of petrograd was 57.5% lower. the combination of grain requisitions and attack on kulaks reduced grain supplies, there was an acute food shortage by 1920. a third of land is abandoned. widespread famine with only 48% harvest of 1913. millions died from malnourishment and disease. fell from 170.9 to 130.9 million. even reports of cannabalism.

Question 39

what did the famine cause?

Answer 39

a new outbreak of peasant revolts espec in tambov province - tambov revolt - 70,000 people. some 100,000 red army had to be deployed to deal with the reprisal. poison gas had to be used to deal with those who hid in the forests, caused scattered outbreaks of cannibalism. reduction in rations further supported this

Question 40

how was martial law used?

Answer 40

declared in jan 1921 to enforce the law where normal liberites were suspended, however some regular soldiers refused to take action and the cheka had to be used to crush the demonstrations

Question 41

what was the most alarming revolt?

Answer 41

the kronstadt sailors had been most loyal to the october revolution, however in march 1921 they sent a manifesto to lenin demanding an end to one party communist rule. the red army was sent five miles across the ice to crush the rebels. they took 15,000 rebels prisoner and the leaders were shot. denounced them as white traitors but the incident had scared him. showed him a change in economic policy was necessary

Question 42

why did the kronstadt revolt cause problems in the bolshevik party?

Answer 42

these troubles also caused division with the bolshevik party itself, workers opposition was set up under Shiyapknikov and Kollontai and argued for greater control and the removal of managers. strongly opposed those in party who wanted to continue war communism.

Question 43

what was the gosplan?

Answer 43

a commission to help coordinate and advise on the NEP which lenin formally announced in 1921.

Question 44

how did the bolshevik party react to the NEP?

Answer 44

bukhrarin and zinoviev supported it but many saw it as an ideological betrayal.

Question 45

what did the NEP allow?

Answer 45

although state control of transport, baking and heavy industry such as coal and steel continued, however the nep allowed for the private ownership of smaller businesses and permitted private trade.

Question 46

how was the NEP effective?

Answer 46

rationing was ended, industries had to pay workers for profit. ensured the efficient use of resources. end to the requisitioning of grain and whilst they still had to give a proportion to the state as a form of tax, they were allowed to sell any surplus. this got the economy moving again, although peasants responded more quickly to industrial cooperatives.

Question 47

what was the scissors crisis?

Answer 47

a huge increase in grain supplies brought down food prices in towns, but a lack of industrial goods for peasants to buy in exchange encouraged them to hold back supplies. consequently, the government capped industrial prices and replaced quotas with money taxes. forced the peasants to sell.

Question 48

what happened to the economic crisis?

Answer 48

short lived and by 1936, the production levels of 1913 had been reached again. brought better living standards. end to revolts and disputes and trade agreements with britian and germany. a money economy returned, nepmen created selling industrial goods and kulaks reemerged

Question 49

who were the nepmen?

Answer 49

speculative traders who bought up produce from peasants to sell into the towns, and consumer items in the towns to sell in the peasant markets - making a profit on both transactions. controlled 75% of retail. they flourished.

Question 50

what happened to class titles in 1917?

Answer 50

the official class hierarchy was abolished, titles and privileges disappeared and everyone became a plain citizen, or a grazhdanin. those identified as former nobility or bourgeoisie were not allowed to work and and take menial tasks such as road sweeping. their houses were repossessed for a communal dwelling.

Question 51

how was the class warfare changed during the civil war?

Answer 51

was extended to rationing during the civil war, allocations depended on work value with soldiers and workers receiving the most, essential civil servants and professionals such as doctors had a lower rate and bourgeoise had barely enough to survive on. some managed to sell things but many girls had to turn to prostitution.

Question 52

what did the nep do for bourgeoise?

Answer 52

there was something of a reprise in the class battle when the NEP was brought in. this more capitalist policy showed that they still needed bourgeoise specialists interests of economic growth. it did not, however, halt the campaign against their way of life.

Question 53

what was proleterianisation?

Answer 53

turn the masses into urban workers; it was believed that the masses had to be proleterians in order to create a socialist and communist state. ridding society of selfish capitalist attitudes and developing a cooperative mentality.

Question 54

how did lenin go against his original freedom?

Answer 54

labour discipline was tightened and early freedom was never returned. internal passports introduced to stop workers from leaving, workers could be shot if they failed to meet targets etc. to keep workers under control. harsh living conditions persisted.

Question 55

what was the role of women before the revolution?

Answer 55

attend to household tasks and children although they had been expected to play their part for the economy, without legal privileges and inheritence rights

Question 56

how did womens position change under lenin?

Answer 56

decreed against sex discrimination and gave women the right to own property. further decrees followed: church influence was removed by only recognising civil marriages divorce was made easier and less expensive 1920 - abortion was legalised free contraceptive advice given women were given the right to work and were expected to, double burden

Question 57

what did lenin do for education?

Answer 57

education was seen as crucial in building a socialist economy and lenin set up the commissariat of the enlightenment which provided free education at all levels. the old secondary schools were abolished and replaced by new schools which combined vocational training which was combined with physical work. most textbooks abolished textbooks and examinations. physical punishment banned, amount of freedom permitted. textbooks did not fit with communist framework.

Question 58

what did lenin do for youth organisations?

Answer 58

a young communist russia league was formed in 1918 for those 14 - 21 and this was extended to become the communist division of the party. lenins wife took a big role in these advancements, organisation was renamed komsomol. only 6% had joined at this stage

Question 59

what did lenin do for religion?

Answer 59

marx had described religion as the ‘opium of the people’, used to justify upper class powers. however lenin did not see the church as a threat and allowed freedom. he accepted that bolshevik atheists were outnumbered by an orthodox christian majority and that toleration was the best policy.

Question 60

how was propoganda used by lenin about the church?

Answer 60

applaud secular society and changes took place in the position of the church within the state, church lands seized and education powers decreased, decree on civil marriages was followed by the official separation of the church and state. from then on, religious teachings were forbidden. monastries became state property and transferred to schools, hospitals etc. hundreds of priests lost their lives during war communism. little concern for them.

Question 61

how did the church suffer from desecration?

Answer 61

church bells were seized during the war, raise funds for famine relief while diligent communist officials had a field day in exposing the relics as fakes. the godless was founded to coordinate anti-religious propoganda, tested bible stories against scientific knowledge and spread atheist literature. govt preferred to weaken the hold of religion by less explicit means.

Question 62

what happened to christian holidays?

Answer 62

christian festival days disappeared and new years day replaced christmas, may day replaced easter.

Question 63

how were muslims treated under lenin?

Answer 63

leniently, however during and after the war, muslim property and institutions were confiscated, their sharia courts were abolished. produced a split in the islamic church

Question 64

how did national minorities help bolsheviks come to power?

Answer 64

they supported them to whom they had promised national self determination - a pledge fulfilled by their decree in 1917. however it encouraged separatist movements - finland opted to become an independent state. did not change policies but could not afford to lose ukraine or georgia

Question 65

how were jews treated under lenin?

Answer 65

given seperate representation within the communist party and were given a national homeland settlement where they could maintain their cultural heritage. promoted anti-semitic laws with the encouragement of national languages and with the abolition of all anti semitic laws in 1917. yiddish became an acceptable language but hebrew did not

Question 66

what was propoganda like under lenin?

Answer 66

lenin understood the value of propoganda and used it to during the civil war. posters, film and the arts were all employed to win converts to socialism. for barely literate peasants, the power of the striking representation or of the simply repeated message was understood as an effective way to create support.

Question 67

what happened to the cultural change under lenin?

Answer 67

in the early years of the october revolution, cultural enterprise flourished in the new, freer atmosphere that the bolsheviks brought. although lenin was a traditionalist, freedom of expression was encouraged, provided that the art was not used to express counter revolutionary activity. stimulated artistic creativity and innovation and the 1920s became known as the silver age of russian literature.

Question 68

what were the 3 types of opposition that the bolsheviks faced?

Answer 68

- from other political groups - from opponents in the empire, peasants and tsarist officials - from the ideological opposition i.e. bourgeoise

Question 69

where was the political opposition a concern?

Answer 69

opposition in petrograd itself, the menshivik and sr opposition destroyed itself, cheka helped to control opposition. combined with the extensive red army showed that the bolshevik state would do all in its power to destroy enemies. accompanied by class warfare which was intended to intimidate snd exact revenge on the middle and upper classes.

Question 70

what was the red terror?

Answer 70

the civil war of 1918 - 21 was the accumulation of the bolshevik terror against oppositional forces, it also brought a new wave of coercion against both real and assumed terror, creating the red terror.

Question 71

what happened to lenin that caused him to attack the bourgeoise?

Answer 71

an attempted assassination attempt on lenin. confessions and names of accomplices were obtained by torture which left no group untouched.

Question 72

what could the cheka do?

Answer 72

sovnarkom gave them the authority to find, question, arrest and destroy the families of suspected traitors. ‘merciless mass terror against all opponents of the revolution!’ all srs and menshiviks were branded as traitors and 500 were shot in petrograd alone. red terror escalated because local cheka agents were keen to show loyalty and often took matters into their own hands and discovered hidden opposition. i.e. the tsar. 8000 priests executed in 1921. 500,000 and 1 million killed. others tortured and sent to labour camps where many died as a result

Question 73

what did lenins ban on factions mean?

Answer 73

meant that all party members who had to accept decisions of the central committee, anyone who opposed could have been expelled from the party. thus a one party state emerged.