Key Topic 2: Bolshevik takeover and consolidation 1917-1924

The provisional government
1. Weaknesses and failures of prov. gov.
  1. Not a true elected body
  2. Thought that because they were a temporary body, it should not make any big changes/reforms
    1. Refused to end the war
      1. Thought they could not desert allies
    2. People had big expectations of reform and pulling out of the war. People were disappointed.
  3. There were defeats in the war
  4. The Petrograd Soviet had order number one
  5. It didn't have full control of the country
    1. Only controlled Petrograd and some cities in Northern Russia
      1. Almost no control of countryside
  6. In June 1917, it organised an attack against Austria. The attack failed and 60,000 were killed. More soldiers deserted and the prov. gov. became increasingly unpopular especially as there was free speech.
    1. Many people turned to Lenin and his slogan: "Peace, bread, land"
2. Prime minister was Prince Lvov
3. Growth of the Bolshevik party
  1. April Theses
    1. Lenin was sent by Nazis and arrived in Russia on 3 April 1917
    2. War had to end
    3. Power had to be pass from middle class to working class
    4. All land to be given to peasants
      1. "Peace, bread, land"
    5. Police, army & bureaucracy to be abolished
    6. Banks, factories and transport to be nationalised
    7. Bolsheviks to takeover all soviets
      1. "All power to the Soviets"
  2. The Bolsheviks gained a lot of support because they were the only revolutionaries who wanted to end the war.
    1. By June, there were 41 Bolshevik newspapers in major cities criticising the Prov. gov.
      1. Eventually, the Bolsheviks built up their own army, the red guard, and by July, it had 10,000 armed workers in Petrograd
4. The 'July Days'
  1. In July 1917, there was an unplanned rising in Petrograd.
    1. For 3 days, there was chaos. Soldiers and some Bolsheviks tried to overthrow the government chanting the Bolshevik slogans: "Peace, bread, land" and "More power to the Soviets"
      1. Consequences of July days
        Following the July days, the prov. gov. was reformed and Kerensky became Prime Minister and appointed Kornilov Supreme Commander-in Chief of the armed forces
        This government set out reforms in industry and land ownership before the November elections which slowed discontent among the workers, but made Landowners and businesses unhappy
        However, in the countryside, the peasants began to rise and takeover land and food supplies from the Landowners
        About 400 people were killed as Kerensky, then Minister of War, quashed the rebellion
        Several Bolshevik leaders were arrested including Trotsky. Lenin fled the country.
        Kerensky denounced the Bolsheviks as German spies and there newspaper, Pravda, was closed down
5. the Kornilov Revolt Sep 1917
  1. Kornilov was disturbed by the growing unrest in towns and risings in the countryside.
    1. Kerensky asked Kornilov to advance on Petrograd in order to save the Prov. gov.
      1. However, Kerensky changed his mind and armed the Bolshevik red guards and sent them to stop him.
        Bolsheviks persuaded Kornilov's troops to desert
        Kerensky also released imprisoned Bolsheviks
        The attempted coup failed and Kornilov and his army were arrested
        What were the results of the Kornilov revolt
        Kerensky's gov. looks weak
        Bolsheviks had now secured the Petrograd Soviet where Trotsky was chairman on 8 October
        Red army armed
        Bolshevik leaders released from prison
        Without the supreme commander in chief, soldier morale for the war sank even lower and officers continued to be murdered.
  2. By September, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow soviet and dominated the Petrograd Soviet
The October Revolution
1. Lenin was still in exile in Finland, but had returned on the 10 October
  1. On 21 October 1917, Most army units in Petrograd promise loyalty to Trotsky and the MRC.
    1. On 23 October 1917, Soldiers from the Petrograd fort join the MRC
      1. On 24 October 1917, following a plan worked out by Trotsky, the MRC take over the offices, main river and canal bridges, the army headquarters and the telegraph station in Petrograd.
        On 25 October, the Congress of Soviets was in meeting, and those who objected walked out. The remaining people in the meeting approved so, to the rest of the country, it seemed as if all of the Congress had approved of the Bolsheviks
        On 26 October, the Winter Palace is captured and the Prov. gov. is arrested. A new, Bolshevik, government is announced
        Reasons for Bolshevik victory
        Lenin pressed that the revolution had to be purely Bolshevik and set in October, before the elections
        The prov. gov. had armed the red army to deal with the Kornilov revolt. They failed to disarm or disband the red army
        The Prov. gov. failed to recognise the threat. Rumours of revolution had been in the air ever since the 'July Days'. They thought the threat was no more real than before
        Trotsky planned and organised the takeover well. He organised the red guard and volunteers from the army, navy and the factories to work together.
        The Bolsheviks took over telephone and telegraph offices and railway stations which made it difficult for the provisional government to call for help.
        The prov. gov. had little support anyway. When they tried to gather troops in the city at the last moment, most of the soldiers had sided with the Bolsheviks or refused to help the government.
        Council of People's Commissars (CPC) was set up and this body would rule Russia until the election by decree
2. Trotsky was now chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. This meant he also ran the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) which was a military organisation created in preparation for the revolt.
3. There was still chaos on the streets,
Imposing Bolshevik control
1. Early decrees the CPC annouced
  1. The peace decree
    1. Negotiations started to end the war
  2. The land decree
    1. 540 million acres of land from the Tsar, the nobles and the church were given to the peasants. The peasants set up committees to divide the land fairly.
  3. The workers decree
    1. 8 hour day introduced and there was holiday entitlement
2. the Dissolution of the Constituent assembley
  1. After the elections in November, the Bolsheviks only won a quarter of the seats at 175 while the Socialist Revolutionaries had gained 370
    1. Lenin stated that because there were soviets, there was no need for a constituent assembly. Nevertheless, the assembly met in Jan 1918.
      1. Less than 24 hrs after the meeting, Lenin gave the order to dissolve it. Bolshevik red guards killed more than 100 people outside supporting the assembly and killed 2 leaders of the cadets
3. The treaty of Brest-Litovosk
  1. Talks about ending the war started in December. However, in Feb 1918, the German army advanced into Russia, and Lenin was forced the make the treaty. Russia lost...
    1. 80% of coal mines
    2. 50% of industry
    3. 26% of railways
    4. 27% of arable land
    5. However, after US reinforcements Germany had lost the war and the treaty no longer had any legality
4. The red terror
  1. In September 1918, the CPC issued the 'decree concerning red terror'
    1. This meant the Cheka (secret police) could send dissidents to prison camps and shoot those involved in revolution. This was similar to the role of the Okhrana. People criticised how harsh it was but Lenin and Trotsky said it was essential for Bolshevik survival
The civil war 1918-1921
1. Reasons
  1. Gained a lot of opposition
    1. The Whites
      1. Collective name for those who opposed the Bolsheviks (reds)
        Consisted of some ex-Tsarist officers and badly trained troops
        Also western allies who wanted to prevent a communist gov. being established
        Other white groups
        Kerensky wanted to restore the prov. gov.
        Kornilov and Deninkin
        Kolchak
    2. Czech legion
      1. Supported each other
      2. 40,000 Czech soldiers.
        Took control of Trans-Siberian railroad
    3. To win the war, the red guard needed more troops. Trotsky began conscripting soldiers and used ex-tsarist officers. He held families hostage to ensure loyalty. He ensured there was no disloyalty.
2. Events
  1. In early March, the Bolsheviks changed the capital from Petrograd to Moscow which was more central, safer from attack and had better communications.
    1. Between 1918 and 1919, the Whites advanced onto Moscow and seemed certain to win. Deninkin was 300km from Petrograd and by 22 Oct 1919, white armies were on the outskirts of Petrograd
      1. Trotsky ordered a counter attack and drove them back
        In Nov 1919, the allies pulled out as they new they could not win
        Whites were spread thinly over a large area with fewer men (as they deserted for the reds) and diminshing supplies
        By 1921, the Bolsheviks had won
3. Effects
  1. Damaged land, property, road, rail and telegraph links
  2. Civilian castualities
  3. Skilled workers and professionals left the country to live somewhere safer
  4. Peasants reacted to having their produce taken away by hiding animals and planting less crops
  5. Reasons for Bolshevik victory
    1. War Communism
    2. Red Terror
    3. Leadership of Trotsky
    4. Interior Lines
      1. Means because they were concentrated in such a small area, communication and transportation was faster
    5. Weaknesses of whites
Creating a new society
1. War communsim
  1. Key features
    1. Rationing food in cities
      1. there was a lack of food and cannibalism broke out in certain areas
    2. Private trading banned
      1. Peasants could no longer sell there surplus of food but had to give it to the government. Peasants thus produced less
    3. Factories with more than 10 workers were nationalised
      1. Workers were under gov. control and could be told where to work
    4. Diverted resources to red army has priority
      1. Led to shortages in the city
    5. Rapid inflation
      1. Prices rose due to shortages. People started bartering
2. Kronstadt Mutiny
  1. Thousands of sailors at the naval base Kronstadt mutinied in response to the situation in the cities
    1. Trotsky used the red army to put down the rebellion and there were 20,000 casualties in the fighting
      1. Lenin realised he had to change his policy. In Mar 1921, he abandoned war communism and introduced the NEP mainly to solve the food shortages
3. The NEP
  1. Peasants still had to give a set amount of grain to the government, but could sell any surplus
  2. Factories under 20 workers would be given back to their owners and consumer goods could be sold for profit
  3. Money was re-introduced with a new rouble
    1. New state bank
  4. The state brought in 'experts' from different countries such as 20,000 from North America to run the factories. They were paid more but got the factories running
  5. People could sell or hire goods for profit. They were known as NEPmen

Media attachments

dae94971-423c-4b33-8adc-f9a3c999ee51 (image/jpg)

Next up

Key Topic 2: Bolshevik takeover and consolidation 1917-1924

Description

Resource summary

Media attachments

Similar

	Created by Matt Phan about 10 years ago