Early Bolshevik decrees + Civil war + War communism

SovNarKom

Council of People’s Commissars- new gov after Oct Rev, 16 members

Governed through Soviet in the name of which they had seized power- executive authorities. Chairman was Lenin

Lenin wanted order and control, but also wanted people to experience revolution- wave of violence following Oct Rev had official sanction- workers allowed to deal with class enemies, lack of law enforcement- little Lenin could do

WW1

Difficulty facing SovNarKom- still at war with Germany, German troops occupying much of the country- fears that they might march on Petrograd

Lack of bureaucracy

Breakdown of services, bureaucracy refused to cooperate with new gov- state bank refused to hand over its money, whole gov departments walked out, some workers unions threatened to strike + cut off supplies to Petrograd

Lack of support

Much of country not yet under Bolshevik control, no proper army, many Soviets across country dominated by non-Bolsheviks

Lack of experience in dealing with- revolutionaries, no experience on how to run a nation

Early Bolshevik decrees

Series of popular measures to hold on to power- understanding of need to win over Russian people + the ideas that had been promoted by their propaganda

116

Number of decrees passed in the first few months

Peace Decree

Lenin sought an immediate end to the war- it was imperialist so his regime should have nothing to do with it, consolidation of power had no chance if Russia kept fighting

Land decree 26 Oct

Lenin knew he had to satisfy people’s yearning for land to hold on to power- gave peasants the right to seize land with no compensation required

Vesenkha

Set up in late 1917, government department that planned + organised state control of major sectors of economy- banks, finance, mines and heavy industry

Other reforms

8 hour working day, welfare benefits eg old age pensions

Worker’s control decree- right to control production + finance + to ‘supervise’ management, for factory workers

Nationalised banks, cancelled foreign debt

Church lands confiscated, civil marriage introduced, link between church and state severed

1918 marriage code

Women gained legal equality with their husbands

Divorce made easier, access to abortion easier

Kollontai championed women’s rights, in 1921 she created the women’s department- ‘Zhenotdel’

Rights of the people of Russia decree 2 November

Promised Russia’s various national groups right of self-determination/ To rule themselves- Finland declared itself independent 17th November, other areas followed

5th January 1918

Constituent assembly first session at Tauride Palace, Bolsheviks placed troops on the streets, debated until 5am when chairman Chernov called for another session at 5pm

Before second session could resume Bolsheviks locked down the palace, Sovnarkom decree dissolved the C.A.

Coercive measures

C.A. dissolved after only 1 day, by end of 1917 various political parties banned inc. Cadets, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, opposition newspapers closed down, purge of civil service, new legal system with ‘revolutionary justice’- untrained judges, quick arbitrary justice

Cheka

Lenin established in December 1917, ‘Extraordinary Commission Against Counter Revolution, Sabotage and Speculation’

Originally intended as a ‘temporary’ organisation to deal with opposition issue, first had 23 members with leader Felix Dzerzhinsky, by June 1918 had 10,000 members

Treaty of Brest Litovsk

Lenin demanded peace with Germany at ‘whatever the cost’

Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine became independent

Had to hand over vast territories and 62 million people

In August Russia forced to sign agreement granting Germany 3 million roubles in reparations

Was the stimulus for outbreak of civil war- Bolshevik enemies began to gather for sake of nation

Western front offensive by Germany made possible by eastern disengagement- Allies sent troops to Russia to force back into war, many remained after end of WW1-wanted to bring down regime

White army

Leading White generals mobilised forces- purpose of bringing down regime, reversing treaty of Brest-Litovsk, establishing military style gov

Elements who sought to restore monarchy, opposing political groups eg Mensheviks

Green armies

Local groupings who favoured neither reds nor whites but fought opportunistically to ensure their local power

Red army

Led by Trotsky- victory was result of his organisational skill, charisma, ruthlessness

Introduced conscription in May 1918

Under Trotsky became a disciplined, effective, and obedient military force- ranks, saluting, uniforms and strict discipline reintroduced, former Tsarist officers reinstated, loyalty ensured as accompanied by ‘political commissars’/party officials

Strategically aimed to hold on to the Russian heartland

Reds overall led by Lenin, always had his way with policy

White forces

Had advantages at the beginning of the war, controlled more territory-coastline, more men, greater resources, support of several Western Allied powers

No unified leadership- long term political aims differed, SRs wanted peasant socialism while liberals wanted Western-style parliamentary system after war

Military divisions

Leading generals Kolchak, Denikin, Kornilov, Yudenich and Wrangel each believed that ‘he’ was the saviour of Russia

3 main white armies- Yudenich whose reached outskirts of Petrograd in 1919 but was eventually repelled

Southern Volunteer Army under Kornilov and Alekseev, both died in 1918 and taken over by Denikin

Kolchak led 140,000 men in north-east Moscow, forces linked up with Czech legion- advanced westward late 1918 to 600km from Moscow

August 1918

British-Australlan forces attempted to establIsh an anti-Bolshevik government at Archangel in the north, Stalin successfully led the defence of Tsaritsynon against white forces

Oct 1919

Denikin’s forces were 320km from Moscow, only stopped by determined Red counter attack

Denikin gradually forced towards Crimean Peninsula- later replaced by General Wrangel. White troops were evacuated by British +French ships

Retreat

April 1919- lack of enthusiasm for the war evident within Allied forces

September 1919-allied forces left Archangel

November 1920 - only remaining white general (Wrangel) was defeated and his forces evacuated

Russo-Polish war

Began May 1920 after Poland invaded Ukraine in April and captured Kiev on 6th May

Ended March 1921-Treaty of Rigna signed, remaining pockets of white resistance were defeated by red forces, reds were victorious

Czech legion

Mid 1918, Czech nationalists who wanted Czech state freed from Austria rule+ had fought with Russia in WWI were to be shipped to Western front after transport east- Bolsheviks tried to disarm them, open fighting broke out- supported Whites but pulled out in late 1918

16th July 1918

The Tsar and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks- Lenin didn't want the Tsar to become a unifying force for the Whites

Allied intervention

Offered supplies and money to whites, British troops in north around Murmansk + Archangel, French in south from Odessa to the Crimea, US+ Japanese in far East

efforts had little impact- enabled Reds to play the ‘nationalist card’ and claim to defend mother Russia from foreign influence

Half-hearted- many supplies stolen and sold on black market

White disunity

Forces had widely varied objectives, difficult to develop a coherent political strategy, differed in their views on national minorities

Generals distrusted each other, fought occasionally- in contrast to unified Red structure

Geography

Red area of control was small → Easier to coordinated, Moscow in their control was the railway hub- easier for Reds to move supplies/men to the front. Factories in the Russian heartland controlled by them could maintain adequate supplies and arms to forces, Red controlled central area was the most densely populated- enabled Trotsky to conscript large numbers

Leadership

Trotsky was a dynamic leader- able to raise morale, organise, ruthless, while White leaders were self-seeking and got little loyalty from troops

Red army tightly disciplined while Whites were unmotivated with high desertion rates

Propaganda and popular support

Reds offered hope of a bright future for workers and peasants- eg Agitprop trains that went around the country with images on the sides

Urban workers + soldiers wanted to protect gains of 1917, nationalist groups knew white victory meant a return to Tsarist empire, peasants didn't like either side but Lenin promised land while Whites promised restoration of former landlords

Cult of Lenin began 1918- Christ-like figure

War communism

Introduced in 1918, maintained throughout civil war. Five key elements:

1. All industrial enterprises nationalised+placed under the control of the Supreme Council of National Economy (Vesenkha)

2. Imposition of strict labour discipline

3. ‘Class-based’ strict rationing system

4. End to market economy

5. Grain requisitioning

Nationalisation of enterprises

End of workers committees, running of factories returned to former bourgeois managers/specialists

By end of 1919 Vesenkha controlled 3300 enterprises + employee 1.3 million

Strict labour discipline

Internal passport system introduced to stop workers moving to countryside, fines for lateness/absenteeism, ration book could only be accessed by those who had a job

Class based ration system

Workers and soldiers received the most along with essential workers eg doctors, lowest rations went to former bourgeois/aristocrats

End to market economy

Normal trade ended and was replaced with barter, black market developed as state trading organisation was chaotic, industry not producing enough consumer goods

Prodrazverstka

System of grain requisitioning, land was ‘socialised’. peasants forced to hand over grain to squads who roamed the country, seeking out secret stores of grain hidden by peasants, Cheka increasingly involved, as war intensified Lenin demanded that no mercy be shown to uncooperative peasants → violence, grain detachments were rewarded with a share of what they collected

War communism success

Keeping workers fed through prodrazverstka, made it possible for army to operate effectively → Made victory possible

War communism negatives

Peasants resisted in any way they could- burned or hoarded crops, killed their livestock, gorged on any food they had refused to sow new crops

Violent reprisals intensified as a result by the Cheka- it became acceptable to attack anyone who was declared a class enemy- person who behaved like a bourgeois- first soviet labour camps appeared during the civil war

5 to 8 million died of famine

By 1921 agricultural output had plummeted, large-scale starvation in many areas

Result of war communism, war for 7 years, drought

“masters of propaganda”

Figes 2022 on Bolsheviks

“Every solder who deserts his post will be shot"

Trotsky 1918

motley bunch without a clear or unifying ideology

Figes 2022 on White armies