How did the Bolsheviks gain power and how did they consolidate their rule?

What was the role of the provisional government?

They took over rule of Russia after the Tsar abdicated in 1917.

They would run the country until elections could be held to choose a government and decide how Russia were to be ruled in the future - they were a temporary government.

What was the role of the Petrograd soviet?

It was a soviet in Petrograd made up of represantatives of of workers and soldiers

The first thing they did was issue order No1, gaining control of the Petrograd armed forces.

They operated in a system of duel power with the Provisional Government.

Describe the system of duel power

Provisional government accepted as government, but could only carry out decisions if the Soviet agreed.

Provisional government held nominal power, but Soviet held “real power” over people

Provisional government issued order no1 in March 1917, giving them control over the army in Petrograd.

Most people were initally happy with the Prov Gov as they freed political prisoners and announced various civil liberties like freedom of speech.

How did the war present an issue for the Prov Gov?

They decided to continue the war with the agreement of the Soviet - they didnt want to be defeated by the Germans and be forced into paying a heavy price. They also wanted to keep their allies on their side.

The war went badly - soldiers were killed (around 40,000) and soldiers deserted (around 42,000) in the the Kerensky Offensive in July 1917

Food and fuel were in short supply and the war drained recourses. - bread queues mayve even got bigger.

People wanted it to end.

How did land present an issue for the Prov Gov?

Peasants believed they could own their land with the Tsar gone

The Provisional government didnt give it to them as they thought it should be left for the elected government to do so.

They were also worried that soldiers would desert to claim their land.

Throughout 1917, more soldiers deserted and peasants took land for themselves in spite of the governments ruling.

Describe Lenins return.

In April 1917, Lenin returned to Russia from Switzerland.

He travelled in a sealed train across Germany

Upon arrival he made a speech demanding: No cooperation with Provisional government, no war, land for peasants, and power to the soviets.

This lead to the slogans “Peace, Land, Bread” and “All power to the Soviets”

What differentiated the Bolsheviks from the other political parties?

They opposed the war.

Describe the July days

In July 1917, following a failed attack on the Germans (Kerensky offensive), a huge protest began in Petrograd.

Soldiers, sailors and workers turned to the Bolsheviks to lead them - but the bolsheviks werent ready to seize power.

Rioting broke out and troops were sent in to break up the mobs.

Kerensky used the July days as an oppurtunity to persecute Lenin, who fled to Finland.

Describe the Kornilov affair

In Autumn 1917, General Kornilov (the head of the army) ordered his troops to march on Petrograd in an attempt to seize power.

Kerensky gave rifles to the Bolshevik Red guard to help them defend the city.

Kornilovs troops never arrived as their trains were stopped.

The red guard kept their rifles, giving them firepower to seize power with.

Why was October 1917 the right time for the Bolsheviks to seize power?

Bolsheviks were highly regarded after the Kornilov affair and held majority in the Soviet.

Peasants were angry and seizing more land in the countryside.

Food rations declined (450g of bread per day in March to 110g per day in October)

Soldiers were deserting from the army.

Why and when did Lenin return to Russia?

Lenin returbed to Russia on 23rd October 1917.

He argued overnight with leading Bolsheviks to seize power until they gave in.

Trotsky persuaded him to wait a week or so.

Describe the Bolshevik seizure of power.

Trotsky planned it from the Smonly institute and spread leaflets about it.

The Red Guard started moving early on the 7th November, and took control of the bridges, telgraph offices, bridges, and power stations.

They kept seizing more places the next day such as the state bank.

They reached the Winter Palace, and used the Aurora ship to fire shots at the palace.

The Red guard entered and found the provisional government, and the Bolsheviks took control.

Describe the Bolshevik actions in the first few months after their seizure of power

Decree passed on land, taking away land from Tsar and old landlords and giving land to peasants

Priority put on getting food to the cities, with Cheka being sent out to take food.

Various decrees made by Sovnakom in November and december e.g women declared equal to men and maximum eight hour work day put in place.

Cheka established in December to arrest people considered dangerous and those who might oppose the Bolsheviks.

What was the constituent assembly and describe the first elections?

The constituent assembly was a government idea where different parties had different seats.

Railway workers forced an election by threataning to close the railways if the elections were not held. (November 1917)

The Socialist Revolutionaries won a majority over the Bolsheviks.

Lenin sent soldiers in to shut it done

How did the war end for Russia?

In March 1918, Russia signed the Treaty of Brest - Litovsk with the Germans.

They lost 62 Million people, 27% of farmland, 74% of iron ore and coal.

They did this because the Bolsheviks could only stay in power if the war ended quickly.

What were the Reds, Whites, and Greens?

The Reds were the Bolsheviks and Communists

The whites were all the opponents of the Bolsheviks such as Tsarists and nobles, Mensheviks etc.

The green were independent groups of nationalists, peasants, or bandits. The most famous was Nestor Makno.

How did Geographical factors help the Reds win the civil war?

The Reds held cental Western Russia, which contained industrial centres for ammunition and supplies.

The Reds had control of railways so could transport troops and supplies quickly.

The whites were scattered across the edges of Russia so armies were seperated.

The Whites' best chance came in 1919 when Kolchak advanced from the east and Denikin pushed north from the south, but their vast geographical separation meant they could never synchronise their attacks — allowing Trotsky to shift Red Army troops along interior railway lines and defeat each threat separately.

Communications were difficult for the whites.

How did Aims help the Reds win the civil war?

The Reds had one unified aim of keeping the Bolsheviks in power

The whites had various aims - some wanted the Tsar back, some wanted a military dictator, some wanted consititutional government. This made coordination between groups difficult.

How did leadership and unity help the Reds win the civil war?

Trotsky was a very good leader for the reds - he built up the red army, and brought in almost 50,000 former Tsarist officers to help lead them.

Trotsky himself was very courageous, and had a special armoured train and elite strike force called the Red Sotnia who guarded it. It was made up of mostly latvians who were considered very reliable. It allowed Trotsky to travel from place to place (his train made 36 trips to the front) and be a very hands on leader.

The whites lacked good leaders - many drunk and took drugs.

White generals didnt trust eachother and wouldnt coordinate attacks together.

Within white armies, fights often broke out because groups had different aims and beliefs.

What was the role of foreign intervention in the civil war?

The Whites had support from Britain, France, Japan and the USA (who didnt want communism to grow).

They gave them supplies and armaments.

The communists used this as propaganda to portray the whites and foreign capitalists, and themselves as the defenders of Russia.

Describe the events of the civil War

The reds were losing by the end of 1918 and defeat seemed near.

In mid 1919 General Yudenich came within 30 miles of Petrograd

Trotsky organised the Red Army and attacked back ferociously

By 1920 the white threat was over.

What happened to the Tsar and his family?

In Summer 1918, it was decided for them to be killed as they could be used as propaganda for white forces.

They were woken in the night and taken downstairs.

The Tsar, Alexandra, his son and four daughters, and their staff, were fired upon and executed.

Yurovsy publicly announced their death.

Describe war communism in towns.

State took control of industry

Strict discipline was imposed on workers

Food was rationed - the bread ration was sometimes only 200g/day

Money became virtually worthless - the 1920 rouble was worth 1% of the 1917 rouble.

Describe war communism in the countryside

Lenin sent out the Cheka to seize food from the peasants who were unwilling to sell it for worthless money

Those found hording supplies were punished harshly

The peasants resisted and simply decided to produce less grain, so the situation worsened.

What were the results of war communism?

Grain output more than halved from 1913 - 1921

Industrial output plummeted (29 million tons of coal in 1913 to 9 in 1921)

Cities were in chaos and crime rates skyrocketed.

A horrendous famine in 1921, caused by war communism combined with a severe drought, killed 5 million people

Describe the Kronsdadt uprising

March 1921, sailors at Kronsdadt naval base staged an uprising.

They were frustrated and said that life under communist dictatorship has become worse than death.

This shocked the government as they were Bolshevik supporters in 1917.

Trotsky sent troops to crush them, 20,000 men were killed and wounded. Captured soldiers were executed or sent to labour camps.

What were the main features of the NEP?

Grain requisitioning was stopped.

Traders could buy and sell goods

Smaller factories, especially consumer good producers, were returned to their former owners.

Larger industries remained under state control.

How did the NEP align with communist principle?

It didnt - Nepmen appeared in cities and made high profits by buying and reselling goods and food. Many got rich through property and gambling. Many hardcore communists didnt like it because it represented a return to capitalism, but the majority agreed that it was neccesary.

Trotsky and the left opposition were critical of it at times.

Describe electrification in the NEP

Russia was electrified under the NEP - Lenin was very enthusiastic under technology, and dreamed of great networks of powerstations providing power for all and industry. He wanted to replace every oil lamp with an electric one. He said that “Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country”

The NEP stabilised the economy and allowed for investment in projects that GOLERO had planned like the building of power stations

By the late 1920s, soviet electrical output had grown significantly past pre-war levels.

Describe foreign trade in the NEP

The NEP encouraged foreign trade, which Russia didnt do before 1921.

An Anglo-Soviet agreement in 1921 began increaed trade with the West.

This boosted the Soviet economy.

There were large scale exchanges of Western industrial goods for Russian oil.

Was the NEP generally a success or failure?

Success: Russia became more prosperous through foreign trade and electrification (output increased, e.g over double average worker monthly wage in 1928 than 1921). USSR turned into a modern industrialised countru.

Failure: Stepped away from communism, NEPmen, peasants were still unwilling to sell grain sometimes, food supplies a problem again by the end of 1920s.

Failed to adress Scissors crisis - Industrial goods became much more expensive than grain due to free market and demand, so peasants who made up large proportion of the population couldnt afford basic goods. Industrial goods cost 276% of their pre-war price relative to agricultural goods.