UNIT 3 THE CIVIL WAR AND LENIN Flashcards
(14 cards)
THE CONSTUTUENT ASSEMBLEY
The primary objective of the Provisional Government was to lay the foundations for a
Constituent Assembly, this they achieved. The draft for the Statute of Elections to the
All-Russian Constituent assembly allowed for:
- The right to vote for all citizens over 20, and all servicemen over 18
- Proportional representation (one deputy elected from an electoral district for every
200,000 citizens.
When the Bolsheviks arrived in power, they claimed they would honour the full creation
and setup of the CA. Thus, elections went ahead in Nov 1917. The results:
Bolsheviks- 175 seats
SRs 370 seats
Left SRs 40 seats
Kadets, 17 seat
Mensheviks 16 seats
National minorities 99 seats
Jan 1918 therefore marked the first and last meeting of the Constituent Assembly, as after
the results it was declared unlawful and unrepresentative by Lenin. A crowd of
demonstrators in favour of the Assemble were fired on by soldiers loyal to the Sovnarkom.
The Bolsheviks also claimed that the politicians (Octobrists and Kadets) were rigging
democracy beforehand.
LENIN DECREES
The right of the peoples of Russia to free self-determination
The abolition of any and all religious privileges/disabilities
Free development of national minorities and ethnic groups inhabiting
Russia
Under State Capitalism:
Nov 1917: Decree on Land- seizure and division of private landholdings then
handed to the peasants
Dec 1917: Formation of Supreme Economic Council (SEC), formed to manage
key industries nationalised by the Bolsheviks
CIVIL WAR
caused by
national minorities
political opposition
impact of WW1
WHITE FORCES
An umbrella term used for opposition to the
Bolsheviks. They were not united in their aims due to the
plethora of beliefs encompassed i.e. some wanted
reinstatement of the monarchy, others wanted democracy.
Only united in their hatred of the Bolsheviks
FORIEGN INTERVENTION
Initially involved in the Civil War as a means
to draw Russia back into WW1. However, role was limited
due to the demands of the war itself, and dissipated further
once WW1 ended in 1918.
RED ARMY
in civil war- The Bolsheviks and their supporters – fighting
to maintain the new Bolshevik Government formed
following the October Revolution
WAR COMMUNISM
beauraucracy ballooned- 5.4 million govt workers by 1920
4-3-2-1 food rationing system
state control of production became law in 1918
REASONS FOR BOLSHEVIK VICTORY/white defeat
the role of leadership
white/ red terror
political differences
Munitions, manpower and resources
red terror
Peasants who tried to resist grain requisitioning were executed. Many civilians and would-be opponents were offered the choice between joining the Red Army or execution.
Executions became common. 1918-1920-: 13, 000 deaths but real figures around 300,000
HOWEVER, 500,000 people fell at the hands of white terror. with 100,000- 250,000 jews from 2000 pogroms being killed.
kronstadt rising
This sense of calamity continued. In Petrograd, workers crossed over to the naval base at Kronstadt. Here, sailors were mutinying against the food shortages of War Communism and these Petrograd workers joined the sailors to demand more freedom. This was done by the very people who had supported the Bolsheviks in 1917. Trotsky ordered 50,000 troops to recapture
Kronstadt, leading to 10,000 Red casualties. All resistance was eventually defeated and Lenin was able to win the Civil War. He could blame the
hardships of War Communism on the Whites.
NEP
ended the policy of grain requisitioning and introduced elements of capitalism and free trade into the Soviet economy. It was introduced in the Tenth Party Congress in March 1921.
consequences :
impact on opposition
foriegn powers though communism had flopped so theyd come back to capitalism- got into trade agreements to encourage this - germany 1922, britain 1924.
in the party, bukharin became right wing opposition leader, having moved from the far left of the party to now the right because of his strong support for theNEP.
HOWEVER lenin had to ban factionlism
impact on POPULATION
lowered working day to 8 hours, now average goes from 9.9 in 1913 o 7.8 in 1928. 1914- women have greater insentive to work and under ne wlegislation paid fairly to men if the same work.
shops and city life reopened. However targettted kulak class as the GPU became more important,
impact on ECONOMY:
Peasants cultivating more land, the area of land under cultivation rising by half between 1921 &1927.
From 1920 to 1923, factory output rose by almost 200 per cent
Scissors Crisis - grain prices decreased due to supply and industrial good prices increased due to shortages, this led to inflation and peasants were had to pay more for industrial good at a time when they were making less money, this led to peasant hoarding.
constitution and government- Russia
centralisation of authority
Role of Lenin and the Cult of Personality
Suppression of opposition
Economic stability
strengths of lenin as leader
weaknesses of lenin as leader
