RUSSIA UNDER THE BOLSHEVIKS 1917-1924

RUSSIA UNDER THE BOLSHEVIKS 1917-1924

RUSSIA UNDER THE BOLSHEVIKS 1917-1924 By 26 Oct 1917, Russia had a Bolshevik Government Enormous support from workers in Russian cities, esp Petrograd and Moscow Support also from ordinary soldiers However, events were to show that they did not have support from most of the Russian people

the Bolshevik dictatorship Bolsheviks had no intention of sharing power They believed they knew what was best for the Russians Dealt ruthlessly with anyone who thought otherwise Evidence : Elections in Nov 1917 Bolsheviks obtained only 25% of the votes Lenin allowed parliament to meet for one day and then closed it down It never met again

the Bolshevik dictatorship Bolsheviks tried to establish their rule wherever they could Set up the CHEKA, a secret police force Does this ring a bell? Dictatorship : Ruler or government has complete power and does not give people opportunities to decide if they want to ruled by other parties Russia was ruled by a dictatorship for most of the 20th century Communism only collapsed in the early 1990s

the Bolshevik dictatorship Lenin set up a Congress of Soviets to govern Russia Most members were Bolsheviks Mar 1918 : the party name was changed to the Communist Party 1924 : Country’s name was changed to the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) a union of four republics - Russia, the Ukraine, Byelorussia and Caucasus The old Tsarist regime had become the new communist Soviet Union

the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918 Lenin’s first act was to fulfill his promise of peace to the people In Mar 1918, he signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Russia was out of World War I The treaty gave away a huge amount of land in the west to Germany together with 1/3 of its population, 1/3 of its farmland, 4/5 of its coal mines, over half of its factories Lenin thought it was a price worth paying Lenin also issued other decrees official orders

the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918

Lenin’s decrees Land : took land from the Tsar, nobles and the landowners Redistributed it to the peasants Factories : Put under the control of elected committees of workers Press : All non-Bolshevik newspapers were banned Secret Police : The Cheka was set up to suppress opposition Peace : The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Russian Civil Wars, 1918-1921 Out of the frying pan, into the fire Out of WWI, into the Russian Civil Wars Bolsheviks (the Reds) vs the Whites a mixed group of Tsarists, Liberals, Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks The Whites were brought together only by their common hatred of the Bolsheviks Joined at various times by foreign powers Britain, France, US, Poland, Japan Different reasons for being involved Bring Russia back to WWI to play its part in trying to defeat Germany Taking over Russia’s land at a time when it was prr-occupied with its own problems Fear that communism might spread to their countries

Why the Whites lost Reasons Initially successful by eventually driven back by the Reds by 1921 Reasons 1. Reds control the centre and two main cities Whites had to fight around the edges Affected the movement of troops 2. Disunity among Whites Whites had different armies, each with their own leaders Set up their own “governments”; at one point, 20 govts co-existed Quarrelled among themselves, no strong leader 3. Whites were on the same side as foreign invaders Unpopular because of this

Why the Whites lost Reasons 4. Red Army was efficient Built up by Trotsky Trotsky’s leadership played a vital role Introduced conscription Boost morale and discipline outstanding military strategist 5. Offer of a united government Whites were linked to the old aristocracy Thus did not win the support of the peasants Peasants hated Whites more than the Bolsheviks Did not want to lose their lands or the control of factories

Why the Whites lost Reasons 6. Control of Resources Reds controlled factories, railways Thus had access to resources “War Communism” to ensure that the Red Army was well-kept and well-fed

Lenin’s Economic Policies, 1918 - 1924 Revolutions, wars and strife affected economic life Normal economic activities suffered fields uncared for railway lines pulled up factories burnt millions starved or died because of epidemics Natural disasters - Great Drought in southern Russia in 1921 - severe famine Russian economy was on the verge of collapse

War Communism A harsh economic policy designed to keep a tight state control on the economy An emergency measure to help Bolsheviks win the war 3 parts Nationalisation of all businesses employing more than 10 people businesses taken over by the state Banning of private trade goods can only be sold by the state Requisitioning (seizing) grain from peasants in order to supply the cities and the army WC helped Bolsheviks win the civil war

War Communism Peasant reaction some attacked govt collectors sent to seize their grains hid spare food some simply grew less one of the causes of famine Effect : Discontent in the countryside spread to the towns and the cities

War Communism Kronstadt Mutiny Mar 1921 : sailors at the naval base of Kronstadt who strongly supported the Bolsheviks in 1917 rebelled Rebellion was brutally crushed but Lenin learnt a lesson A limit to the suffering that the people were prepared to put up with the Bolshevik govt Put in place a New Economic Policy

Lenin’s New Economic Policy, 1921 WAR COMMUNISM State took over all factories and decided on the goods they made State took over the transport system Strikes were made illegal NEW ECONOMIC POLICY Factories with less than 20 workers could be privately owned State still controlled transport system and major industries

Lenin’s New Economic Policy, 1921 WAR COMMUNISM Private trade was banned NEW ECONOMIC POLICY Workers were offered extra food or money for extra work done Anyone could open a shop, or sell or hire out goods

Lenin’s New Economic Policy, 1921 WAR COMMUNISM Food rationing Food was taken from the peasants by force to feed the town workers and the army NEW ECONOMIC POLICY Peasants could sell off surplus food, paying a 10% tax on profits Peasants could take on more land and hire workers A group of rich farmers, called kulaks, soon sprang up

What do you think of the New Economic Policy? Lenin’s New Economic Policy, 1921 What do you think of the New Economic Policy? Possible Answer : A temporary compromise which signalled a return to a certain degree of private enterprise until recovery was certain.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy, 1921 The policy was soon successful Led to an increase in the amount of food and industrial goods produced However, the NEP did not mean that Lenin stopped believing in socialism NEP was just a short-term measure to overcome Russia’s economic problems The govt still controlled major industries such as coal and iron, banking, power supplies and others

Lenin’s death Lenin had a series of stroke in 1922-23 Died in 1924 Founder of the first modern communis state Tremendous impact on people all over the world First time that people could see for themselves what communism meant in practice Some tried to bring to their own countries While no one disagrees about Lenin’s importance, people have very different views on the values of communism What about you?