How did the Bolsheviks establish a one- party state between 1917- 1924?b

When was Lenin made leader of Soviet Russia?

After the success of the October revolution in 1917

When was the Soviet Union formed?

30th Dec 1922

What does the USSR stand for?

United Socialist Soviet Republic

Why did the Bolsheviks face difficulties in securing their power in 1917?

They remained a relatively small party

another reason

they seized power by force, not by popularity

Which 3 main groups did the Bolsheviks face the most opposition from?

• Other left- wing groups which were denied a share of power by the Bolsheviks, such as the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) and the Mensheviks, who were fellow Marxists

• Groups on the right (Tsarist supporters) and liberal groups who often represented the interests of the middle classes- the social order seemed to be under attack

• Nationalist groups within the Russian Empire, such as Ukrainians, Poles and Finns, who saw the collapse of the Tsarist regime as a chance to assert their independence

what did many left- wing groups hope would happen after the rev and why

hoped they would get a share of some of the power as they shared many of the same ideas

why did this not happen

lenin made it clear he was not going to share any of his power

what happened in jan 1918

the Constituent Assembly

What was the Constituent Assembly?

The assembly was meant to create a new constitution and form a government after the February Revolution but it was dominated by Socialist Revolutionaries rather than Bolsheviks, it was dissolved by Bolshevik-led forces

what did other political parties hope about this assembly

it would be a chance to regain initiative

what were the results of the election

how many seats and voters

not in the bolshevik’s favour

Bolsheviks= 175 seats and over 9 million voters

Socialist revolutionaries= 410 seats and 21 million votes

how did lenin react to this result

he condemned the constituent assembly as a tool of the bourgeoisie, and dissolved it after one 1 meeting

what did he then replace it with shortly after

All- Russian Congress of Soviets

5 methods used to destroy other political parties?

• The removal of the vote from specific people

• Media censorship and limitations on who could print and publish

• the stripping of influence from competing political groups

• Banning of opposition parties

• Arrests of Mensheviks and SRs supporters

who did lenin remove the vote from

why did he do this

• from ‘bourgeois class’, such as employers and Priests

• stripped the opposition parties of possible reservoir of support

which groups found it hard to publish their newspapers with the restrictions from the Bolsheviks

The Mensheviks and SRs

what did the left wing SRs do for them to lose their influence

• after they walked out of the government in March 1918 after the decision was made to pull out of WW1

What did the Bolsheviks effectively ban by 1921?

all of the other parties

When did the Bolshevik party rename itself to the Communist party?

March 1918

where did Lenin say the place for SRs and Mensheviks was

‘The place for the Mensheviks and the SRs is in prison’

How many arrests of Mensheviks were made in the first 3 months of 1921?

5000

What was the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk?

A treaty which withdrew Russia’s involvement in WW1- peace was therefore concluded

When was the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk made?

3rd March 1918

What are some things within Russia that were lost as a result of the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk?

• 27% of farmland

• 26% of railway lines

• 74% of iron ore and coal reserves

Which places did Russia lose control of due to the Brest- Litovsk Treaty?

• The Baltic States of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Ukraine and parts of the Caucus region

What was the reaction from the conservatives of the singing of the Brest- Litovsk Treaty?

What did they think was the only way to restore Russia’s pride?

• National humiliation especially for the military officers who has served in the Tsar’s army- a humiliation that couldn’t be tolerated

• To overthrow the Bolshevik regime and reject the treaty

Who else, apart from the conservatives, did the signing of the BL treaty provide necessary spur to fight against the Bolsheviks? Why?

The Whites (those who opposed the Bolsheviks in the Civil War)

it offered the promised of foreign help in the civil war

examples of the whites

a range of political groups- tsarists, liberals, supporters of the provisional government, military leaders unhappy with pulling out of WW1, members of left wing groups denied abillity to work in the provisional government

Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk?

• He was aware that a key factor in the bringing about of the collapse of the Tsarist regime and the Provisional Government was the pressure of fighting in WW1. This is because it sapped the energy and resources of the government, with little chance of military success

• He realised that he needed to pull out of the war to concentrate on the job at hand: consolidating his power and dealing with Russia’s internal enemies

which small battle was a prelude to the civil war

bolsheviks were attacked by forces of General Krasnov at Pulkovo Heights near Petrograd after the Oct revolution

What were the 3 decrees that Lenin implemented in 1917?

Peace

workers control

land

When was the decree on peace made?

October 1917

What was the Decree on Peace?

It demanded immediate peace negotiations between all countries fighting in the First World War- it stated that Russia wanted an immediate ceasefire and to start peace talks with Germany.

When was the Decree on Land?

November 1917

What was the Decree on Land?

• Abolished private ownership of land- it now belonged to peasants

• All mineral wealth belongs to the state

• natural resources belong to communes.

When was the Decree on Workers’ Control made?

November 1917

What was the Decree of Workers’ control?

All factories are now legally owned by the workers, but must "maintain the strictest order of discipline"