Untitled Notes

Study Guide: The Regime of Stalin and Lenin

Key Overview: Vladimir Lenin led the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, establishing the first socialist state.
Main Events:
- October Revolution (1917): Overthrew the Provisional Government and established Bolshevik rule.
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918): Peace treaty with Germany that ended Russia's involvement in World War I, resulting in territorial losses.
- Russian Civil War (1917-1922): Conflict between the Red Army (Bolsheviks) and White Army (anti-Bolsheviks), resulting in Bolshevik consolidation of power.
Policies:
- War Communism: Economic policy during the Civil War that nationalized industry and requisitioned agricultural produce.
- New Economic Policy (NEP): Introduced in 1921, allowed some private enterprise to revitalize the economy after the Civil War.

Key Overview: Joseph Stalin succeeded Lenin and transformed the Soviet Union into a major world power through industrialization and collectivization.
Main Events:
- Rise to Power: Gradual consolidation of power after Lenin's death; defeated rivals in the Communist Party.
- Five-Year Plans: Introduced in 1928 to rapidly industrialize the Soviet economy, focusing on heavy industry and collectivization of agriculture.
- Great Purge (1936-1938): Campaign to eliminate dissent within the Communist Party, leading to widespread repression, including executions and imprisonments.
Policies:
- Collectivization: Forced consolidation of individual peasant farms into large, state-controlled enterprises, aimed at increasing agricultural productivity.
- State Control of Economy: Implemented strict control over all aspects of the economy and society, eliminating private enterprise.

Lenin: Established the framework for a single-party state and laid the foundations for Soviet communism.
Stalin: Transformed the USSR into an industrial superpower but at great human cost, characterized by oppression, famine, and terror.