A Level History - Russia chapter 4

When was the Bolshevik Revolution?

25th October 1917

When was the abdication of the Tsar?

March 1917

When did Kerensky order the printers of Pravda and izvestia to stop printing?

23 October 1917

Who ordered Pravda and izvestia to stop printing?

Kerensky

What did Kerensky do on 23 October 1917 to try to stop the Bolsheviks? (3)

order Pravda and izvestia to stop printing, try to restrict the power of the MRC, send troops to raise the bridges linking the working class area of Petrograd to the city centre

What was the working class area of Petrograd called?

the Vyborg district

Why did Kerensky send troops to raise the bridges linking the working class area of Petrograd to the city centre?

because the Vyborg district (working class area) was a Bolshevik stronghold and a potential threat

Why did Kerensky's troops say about his actions in October 1917? (2)

that they were a betrayal of the Soviet and an abandonment of the principles of the February revolution

When did 5,000 soldiers and sailors from Kronstadt move into the city?

24 October 1917

How many soldiers and sailors from Kronstadt moved into the city on 24 October 1917?

5,000

When did Lenin travel to the Smolny to take charge of the insurrection?

evening of 24 October 1917

What was the signal for the beginning of the Bolshevik attack on 25 October?

a blank shot was fired from the battleship aurora (at 9:40pm)

When did the second congress of soviets convene?

25 October 1917 (at 10:40pm)

When did the second session of the second congress of soviets open?

26 October 1917 (at 9:00am)

When was Lenin's decree on peace agreed?

26 October 1917 (during the congress of soviets)

When was Lenin's decree on land agreed?

27 October 1917

When was a second "All-Russian Central Executive Committee" elected?

27 October 1917

How many members were there in the second "All-Russian Central Executive Committee"?

101

How many members of the second "All-Russian Central Executive Committee" were Bolsheviks and how many were left-wing SRs?

62 were Bolsheviks, 29 were left-wing SRs

Members from which groups made up the second "All-Russian Central Executive Committee"? (2)

Bolsheviks and left-wing SRs

When was Sovnarkom created?

27 October 1917

What was Sovnarkom also known as?

a "soviet of people's commissars"

Who was elected chairman of Sovnarkom?

Lenin

Why was sovnarkom only comprised of Bolsheviks?

left-wing SRs refused to join

Which resolutions were adopted on 27 October 1917? (excluding sovnarkom, decree on land and All-Russian Central Executive Committee) (4)

transfer of power in provinces to local soviets, freeing of people arrested for political action by PG, abolition of death penalty at the front, arrest of Kerensky

How many people did Trotsky claim were actively involved in the October revolution?

25,000 to 30,000

According to Trotsky, what percentage of workers and soldiers in the city were actively involved in the October revolution?

5%

How many days did it take for the Bolsheviks to assume control of the city?

3 (25-27 October)

Which historians believe that the Bolshevik revolution was a popular revolution? (2)

Ponomarev and Berkman

Which historians believe that the Bolshevik revolution was a coup d'état? (2)

Orlando Figes and Richard Pipes

Which historians believe that the Bolshevik revolution was somewhere between popular revolution and coup d'état?

Acton and Williams

Which Bolsheviks spoke out against the revolution? (2)

Zinoviev and Kamenev

Who was the Menshevik leader at the time of the Bolshevik revolution?

Tsereteli

How was the SR faction split over the Bolshevik revolution?

the left wing SRs congratulated Lenin, whilst the right wing SRs accused him of using violence to seize power illegally

Which groups walked out of the first session of the second "All-Russian Congress of soviets"? (2)

Mensheviks and right-wing SRs

What did Trotsky shout at the Mensheviks and right-wing SRs who walked out of the Congress?

"you're finished, you pitiful bunch of bankrupts. Get out of here to where you belong - in the dustbin of history"

What was Trotsky commissar for in Sovnarkom?

Commissar for foreign affairs

What was Stalin commissar for in Sovnarkom?

commissar for nationalities

What was Kollontai commissar for in Sovnarkom?

commissar for social welfare

Who was commissar for nationalities in Sovnarkom?

Stalin

Who was commissar for social welfare in Sovnarkom?

Kollontai

Who was the only female commissar in Sovnarkom?

Aleksandra Kollontai

Why did Lenin sideline the Petrograd Soviet after Sovnarkom was created?

because there were people in the PS who opposed him

How frequently did Sovnarkom meet?

once or twice a day

How long did it take the Bolsheviks to persuade the state bank to hand over its reserves?

10 days

How did the Bolsheviks get the state bank to hand over its reserves?

with the threat of armed intervention

When were Kerensky's opposition forces defeated?

2 November 1917

When was the Kremlin in Moscow taken?

3 November 1917

Which Bolsheviks left the new government? (3)

Kamenev, Zinoviev, Rykov

Who replaced Kamenev as Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee?

Sverdlov

When did Lenin proclaim the victory of the revolution?

5 November 1917

How many left-wing SRs did Lenin allow into Sovnarkom in November?

7

When did Lenin allow left-wing SRs into Sovnarkom?

November 1917

Why did Lenin allow left-wing SRs into Sovnarkom?

amid protests about the establishment of a purely Bolshevik state

When was the workers decree?

October 1917

What did the workers decree do?

established a maximum 8 hour day

When was the press decree?

October 1917

What did the press decree do?

banned the opposition press

What did the decree on peace do?

promised an end to war without annexation and indemnities

What did the decree on land do? (2)

abolished private ownership of land and legitimised peasant seizures without compensation to landlords

What did the rights of the people of Russia decree do?

abolished titles and class ranks

When was the rights of the people of Russia decree?

November 1917

When was the nationality decree?

November 1917

What did the nationality decree do?

promised self-determination of the peoples of the former Russian empire

When was the decree on workers' control of factories?

November 1917

What did the decree on workers control of factories do?

gave workers the right to supervise management

When was the judicial decree?

November 1917

What did the judicial decree do?

established a new legal system of elected people's courts

When was the decree to outlaw sex discrimination?

November 1917

What did the decree to outlaw sex discrimination do? (2)

gave women equality with men and right to own property

When was the decree to establish the "All-Russian Commission for the Suppression of Counter-Revolution, Sabotage and Speculation"?

December 1917

What did the decree to establish the "All-Russian Commission for the Suppression of Counter-Revolution, Sabotage and Speculation" do?

created a secret police force to root out opposition

What was the Bolshevik secret police force called?

the Cheka

When was the bank decree?

December 1917

What did the bank decree do?

nationalised banks and ended the private flow of capital

When was the military decree?

December 1917

What did the military decree do? (2)

removed class ranks , saluting and military decorations from the army and placed the army under the control of soldiers' soviets, which would elect officers

When was the decree on the church?

December 1917

What did the decree on the church do? (3)

nationalised church land, removed marriage and divorce from church control, gave women the right to initiate divorce

When was Veshenka established?

December 1917

What did Veshenka's purpose?

was established to supervise and control economic development

What steps did Lenin take too combat opposition? (5)

a propaganda campaign was mounted against political and 'class' enemies; anti-Bolshevik newspapers were closed down; there was a purge of the civil service; cheka established; leading kadets, right-wing SRs and Mensheviks were imprisoned