Defending the Bolshevik revolution, October 1917-24

When was the Constituent Assembly due to meet, and how many anti-Bolshevik protesters gathered in Petrograd that day

5th Jan 1918, 50,000

how much of the popular vote for the CA did the Bolsheviks win and what did Lenin call it

less than a quater; Lenin called it ‘unrepresentative’ and ‘illegitimate’

what Lenin quote best epitomises his desire to be free to defeat the Bolsheviks’ internal enemies

‘we need both hands free to throttle the bourgeoisie’

what % of Russia’s population, arable land and coal and iron ore was ceded under Brest-Litovsk

population - 26%; arable land - 27%; coal and iron ore - 74%

what did Left-wings Bolsheviks want in retaliation to Brest-Litovsk

a ‘revolutionary war’ against Germany; they were left by Bukharin, who was nearly 20 years younger than Lenin

what decree created the Cheka, when?

Sovnarkom Decree, December 1917

how many members of the Cheka was there, 1917 vs 1921

1917 - 23 vs 1921 - 150,000

what did one provincial Cheka leader brag about his powers

‘my powers are such that I can shoot anybody’

who led the Cheka, and what did he want the Cheka’s role of the revolution to be?

Felix Dzerzhinsky (‘Iron Felix’), wanted them to be the ‘sword and shield’ of the revolution

when, and under what, did the Bolsheviks shut down hostile newspapers

October 1917 - Decree on the Press

when did the Bolsheviks outlaw Kadets, under what justification

November 1917, calling them ‘enemies of the people’. Its leaders were arrested and imprisoned

what did Zinoviev say about Russia being a one-party state, when

‘our party has for some years been the only legal party in the country’ - Zinoviev, 1921

when were Mensheviks and all SRs expelled from all soviets, and where were they sent

mid-1918, to Siberian prisons and labour camps (note: they were never formally outlawed but many leaders self-exiled themselves)

how many people were killed by the Cheka in 1918 alone

10,000

how many people are thought to have been killed by the Cheka, 1917-23

200,000

when was NII and his family killed by Chekists

17th July, 1918

what 2 decrees did Lenin pass under state capitalism

Decree on Land and Decree on Workers’ Control (both November 1917)

what did Zinoviev say about rationing under War Communism

the middle classes were given ‘just enough bread so as not to forget the smell of it’

when was Veshenka created

December 1917

what was created to enforce grain requisitioning in may 1918, and what was it called in Russian

Food Supplies Dictatorship, prodrazverstka

how many people rebelled in the Tambov uprising and who were they led by

40,000 peasants, Alexander Antonov

how many uprisings did the Cheka report in February 1921 alone

155

how many soldiers mutinied during the Kronstadt mutiny? Who stopped them and how many died?

10,000 sailors, repressed by 50,000 Red Army troops and 10,000 died

what did Lenin call the NEP

‘retreat’ and ‘peasant Brest-Litovsk’

how many people were affected by the famine, summer 1921? How many died?

25 million affected and 5 million died

what % of 1913 rates was industrial production in 1925 and 1926

1925 - 76% and 1926 - 108%

what % of 1913 rates was electricity production in 1924 and 1925

1924 - 80% and 1925 - 150%

how were SRs and Mensheviks repressed, post-NEP

1921 - 5,000 Mensheviks arrested; 1922 - 34 SRs put on trial with 11 condemned to death

how many people were part of the Bolsheviks party, 1921 vs 1923

1921 - 730,000 vs 1923 - 500,000

how many people were in Kolchak’s army and when was he defeated

15,000 soldiers, captured in January 1920 and executed in February

how many people were in Denikin’s army and when was he defeated

150,000 soldiers, defeated in Crimea in November 1920

how many people were in Yudenich’s army and when was he defeated

140,000 soldiers and defeated November 1919

how many soldiers did France, Britain and USA send to Russia

France - 10,000; Britain - 12,000; USA - 17,000

how many people did Japan and Czech Legion send to Russia

Japan - 65,000 and Czech Legion - 55,000

what did Churchill say about communism

‘communism is not a creed. It is a pestilence’

name 2 examples of resistance to Allied involvement in the RCW

1919 - ‘Hands off Russia campaign created by left-wing Brits and Royal Marines refused to fight
1920 - some London dockers refused to load ships going to Russia

what did the Russo-Polish war end with (treaty and what was ceded)

Treaty of Riga (1921), with 30,000+ miles of Russian land ceded to Poland

what did the Russo-Polish war start with (treaty and what was the trigger)

1919 Paris Peace Conference, creation of the Curzon Line (created Poland as an independent state)