The emergence of Communist dictatorship, 1917-1964

Debate surrounding the Russian civil war

Historians cannot pinpoint exactly where the civil war began and ended

Rough dates of Russian civil war

Jan 1918-21

Civil war

War within a country

Who were the opposing forces in the Russian civil war?

Red and white armies

Red Army

Bolsheviks and left SRs

White Army

Reactionaries, monarchists, landowners- anyone who wasn’t a Bolshevik

Groups opposed to the bolsheviks: Social

Social groups dispossessed by the bolsheviks

Groups opposed to the bolsheviks: CA victims

SRs and Mensheviks after the CA was shut down

Groups opposed to the bolsheviks: Cossacks

Cossacks who wanted to preserve their privileges

Groups opposed to the bolsheviks: Allies

Allied powers wanting allies against Germany

Groups opposed to the bolsheviks: Army

Former army officers

Groups opposed to the bolsheviks: National

National groups seeking independence, e.g. poles

What made the civil war inevitable?

The dissolution of the constituent assembly

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

March 1918, Russia yielded large portions of territory to Germany to leave the war

Effect of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Caused a breach between the Bolsheviks and left SRs, who left the coalition

What was surrendered in the Treaty?

40% of agricultural land and 50% of mining and industrial capacity

Significance of treaty terms

Tougher conditions than that of the Treaty of Versailles

What did Lenin believe about the treaty?

Once strengthened, Russia could reclaim the land by expanding the revolution, but it was necessary to fight the whites

Peasant Brest-Litovsk

Reinstating private property and enterprise

Significance of the ‘peasant Brest-Litovsk‘

It was a compromise, a way to buy time

Why were the SRs majorly against the treaty?

It betrayed the revolution by handing over revolutionaries to the enemy

What did the SRs attempt to do in September 1918?

Assassinate Lenin and lead an uprising in Petrograd

When did the Red Terror begin?

1918

Red Terror

The Cheka arrested and executed at least 100,000 class enemies

‘Former people’

Privileged groups in Russian society who automatically became enemies

What did the Bolsheviks do to religion?

Separated church from state

Why did the Bolsheviks separate church and state?

Strong links between the church and tsarist authorities made them huge enemies

Evidence of attack on religion

70,000 priests were executed by the Bolsheviks in the civil war

What was the significance of Russia pulling out of the war?

They were no longer fighting the war on two fronts, thus why the allies sent weapons to the whites

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the civil war: Lack of unity

The whites were heavily divided on aims, contrasting from the united Bolsheviks

Examples of opposing white forces: SRs

SRs vs ex tsarist army officers

Examples of opposing white forces: Czech Legion

40,000 Czech and Slovak prisoners from the Austro-Hungarian army

What had previous Russian governments allowed?

These prisoners to form their own units that wanted to return to Western Europe to fight for independence

What did the Bolsheviks allow?

The units to leave Russia by the far east

What happened with the units in may?

Violent incidents took place, which eventually led to them taking over part of the trans-Siberian railway

Examples of opposing white forces: Cossacks

Lived on the edge of the empire, protecting the borders, with special status underneath the tsar

Cossacks beliefs

Fiercely anti Bolshevik

What were the Cossacks interested in?

Protecting their land

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the civil war: Critical white contradictions

Arguing for great Russia vs independent states, accepting aid from foreign countries undermined their status as Russian nationalists

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the civil war: Geography

Bolsheviks had control of cities, industry and a block of territory with international communications

How did geography disadvantage the whites?

Whites were dispersed thus their armies found it impossible to coordinate, and they had to move equipment over large distances

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the civil war: Leadership

Lenin was willing to make sacrifices, like giving away land to get out of the war

How was Trotsky an efficient leader?

He was foreign affairs commissar and then commissar for the war, showing ruthless and pragmatic thinking

Overcoming bolshevik ideology

When ideology got in the way, they ditched it

What did the Bolsheviks need for their army?

Trained officers, but most of them were from the imperial Russian army

How did the Bolsheviks convince the officers to defect?

Kidnapped family members and held them hostage

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the civil war: Supply

War communism allowed the Bolsheviks to keep their own army supplied

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory in the civil war: Immigration

Between 1917-21, 1-2 million Russian whites immigrated

Decree on Land

October 1917, abolished private ownership of land to legitimise the peasant seizures

Further decrees on factory ownership

November 1917, gave workers ‘control’ of their own factories

What did these decrees only really legitimise?

Processes that were already well underway, so Lenin spoke out about the dangers of moving towards socialism too quickly

What did Lenin envisage for the economy?

A long transition, in which the first stage would be state capitalism

What was established for this in December 1917?

Veshenka, the council of the national economy to supervise and control economic development

What did some in the party demand?

Nationalisation of industry, but Lenin was cautious about this

Were Lenin’s qualms about the peasantry and workers well founded?

Yes, workers failed to organise factories efficiently so output shrank, and others awarded themselves unsustainable pay rises

What did the excess of money over goods create?

High inflation, which made peasants hoard produce rather than sell for worthless money

Petrograd rations

By February 1918, Petrograd citizens were living on rations of 50g of bread a day

War Communism

A way for the bolsheviks to retain power by bolstering their armed forces

Reasons for war communism: Economy

Collapse of economy 1917-18

Reasons for war communism: Food

Insufficient food supply

Reasons for war communism: Workers

Workers factory committees were inefficient

Reasons for war communism: Peasants

Land decree of November 1917 gave land to the peasants, which needed to be reclaimed

How were the peasants separated?

Into the poor and moderately poor, seen as allies of the modern proletariat, and the kulaks who were labelled as enemies

What happened to Kulaks?

They had their stocks seized, bringing misery to rural areas

How did the peasantry begin to react?

They hid crops, grew less, and murdered requisitioners so the Cheka had to be used to make the process work

How did the Bolsheviks obtain supplies for the red army?

Took control of factories, mines, workshops and railways

Which areas in particular were nationalised?

Railways, banks, merchant fleet, power companies and the Putilov Iron Works

By November 1920, how had nationalisation spread?

Almost all factories and businesses were nationalised

What did Lenin encourage in the countryside?

Grain requisitioning and the establishment of collective farming, but only a minority of households complied

What were the officials guidelines for grain requisitioning?

Peasants were officially paid a fixed price, but grain, livestock carts and firewood were often brutally confiscated

How else did the bolsheviks maximise production?

Imposed military discipline on factory workers- not turning up to work could be punishable by death

What happened to working hours and rationing?

Hours were extended and ration card workbooks replaced wages

What were issued to try and maintain the system?

Internal passports to stop employees from returning to the countryside

What happened to private trade under war communism?

It was forbidden

What did some onlookers view war communism as?

A transition to a socialist economy as money was no longer the main agency of exchange

How did political commissars indoctrinate Red Army soldiers?

They imbued them with Marxist theories that justified the harsher economic measures

Had Lenin planned to radicalise the economy so quickly?

No, there is no evidence for this

How did Trotsky feel about war communism?

He initially opposed it, but when his own ideas of a mixed capitalist economy were rejected he accepted it

What production problems did war communism create?

Transport was disrupted by the fighting, so factories struggled to be efficient and production declined

By 1921, what had total industrial output fallen to?

Around 20% of its pre war levels, so rations had to be cut

What diseases spread through cities?

Cholera, dysentery, and a typhus epidemic in 1920 that killed more than 3m

How did some workers rebel against the system?

They ignored the passport system and fled to the country to find food

Evidence of workers fleeing cities

In 1920 the population of Petrograd was 57.5% lower than in 1917

What was Russia’s population in 1913?

170 million

What was Russia’s population in 1921?

130 million

Irony of military discipline in factories

It goes against everything that the Bolsheviks initially fought against

Classes of rationing in cities:

Key workers and red army soldiers, civil servants and key workers, middle classes

When was the Cheka established?

November 1917

Significance of early establishment of the Cheka

The intention was always to repress and control

What happened to prisoners in cities?

They were shot out of hand

Which hostile social groups were attacked?

Priests, princes, merchants, traders and peasants/workers

Did the Cheka always rely on concrete evidence?

No, some could be arrested simply for links to class enemies or for neighbour vendettas

How would grain requisitioning work in the countryside?

Local Cheka bosses controlled their own patches and strove to complete quotas and beyond

How did many peasants resist?

Murdered the requisitioners in retaliation

Who did Lenin want the peasantry to attack?

Kulaks, which he failed to do

What were set up for those in opposition?

Concentration and labour camps

Significance of grain requisitioning and rationing

An attempt to polarise the countryside

What did the famines of the countryside bring?

New peasant revolts, the worst being in the Tambov province

Who were deployed to the Tambov region?

Some 100,000 Red Army troops

What did the food crisis in cities bring?

Riots and strikes, as workers rebelled against factory discipline