Political theme - Lenin

Revolution 1917

- Feb 1917 led to downfall of the Tsar and creation of the Provisional Government

- Oct Revolution led to creation of Sovnarkom

- Lenin wanted to replace capitalism with socialism

- Oct Rev formally handed power to All-Russian Congress of Soviets which met in Petrograd 1917 and created Sovnarkom

Decrees 1917

- Decree on land: gave peasants the right to seize land from the nobility and the church

- Decree of Peace: committed new gov to withdrawing from WW1 and seeking peace

- Workers' Decrees (Nov 1917) established 8 hour max working day and a minimum wage

Authoritarian State

- Lenin and Comms promised radically democratic regime

- In reality used terror and repression against their opponents

- Feb 1921 Lenin authorised the Cheka to destroy the remaining opposition political parties

Closure of Constituent Assembly 1918

Established one party state

- Banned other parties in the country

- 1921 On party unity banned factions within the party

- Lenin and Communists promised radical democratic government in which workers, soldiers and peasants governed themselves through soviets

- By 1922 Lenin created Communist dictatorship of a one-party state

Democratic Centralism

- The Leninist organizational structure that concentrates power in the hands of the party elite.

Tolerated discussions within the party

- Lenin allowed some degree of debate and discussion within the party

- However, when discussions got too heated he did threaten to resign

Centralisation of power (Polituburo)

- Lenin's prime method of ensuring victory

- During the civil war power passed from Sovnarkom to the Politburo (the most powerful committee of the highly centralised party)

Nomenklatura/Bureaucracy

- Loyalty was rewarded and you were selected for a promotion via dedication to the Bolshevik cause

- Gov relied on the skills of administrators to run the economy and army during civil war

- Communist nomenklatura were educated members of the former middle class, economists, statisticians and engineers, who had worked for the Tsar's gov

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1918

- Ended Bolshevik Russia's participation in World War I

- Negotiated by Lenin because he was unwilling to risk Bolshevik gains by continuing a war that could no longer be won

- Nullified following Germany's defeat by the Allies

Trotsky's Red Army

- Leon Trotsky was head of the red army

- United group

- Fighting for the same cause

- Militarily, economically and politically organised

- 5 million soldiers by 1920

Civil War 1918-21

- The Reds: communist forces

- The Whites: liberals, Tsarists or those who wanted a military dictatorship

- The Greens: associated with the Left SRs or anarchist groups; fought for autonomy of local groups of peasants

- For the first few months Sovnarkom had little real power outside Petrograd and Moscow

- Allowed Lenin to establish communist control over the whole of Russia

- Led to emergence of an authoritarian, centralised and bureaucratic regime

War Communism 1918

- Forced grain requisitioning

- All private trade and manufacturing forbidden

- Food rationed by supply commisariat

Red Terror

- Led to 50,000 deaths

Cheka/Dzherzhinsky 1917

OGPU 1922

Banning of opposition parties

Tambov Uprising 1920-21

Kronstadt Mutiny 1921

On Party Unity 1921

- Ban on factions

- Lenin was facing opposition from the Worker's Opposition who wanted to reintroduce workers' control of industry and the Democratic Centralists who wanted to make the Communist Party more democratic

- Party members found guilty of forming factions could be expelled from the Party as punishment

- Helped strengthen Lenin's position within the party by making it difficult to organise opposition to his policies

- Was still debate on key issues like economic policy

Lenin unwell 1922-24

- Lenin became sick and started people bidding for his position

- Led to a 5 year leadership struggle