Lenin Stalin

How did the Bolsheviks stay in power? (at the start)

A. Weak and divided opposition - power of the soviets declined, unable to keep workers united-there was no leader nor leadership-SR and Mensheviks underestimated the Bolshevik government-Tsar’s army collapsed at the front, no loyal troops -workers and peasants distracted by their own problems-political apathy widespread after the war

B. Terror -Cheka was a police force, known as ‘All Russian extraordinary commission for combating counter revolution and sabotage’-Dzerzhinsky was the head-given unlimited powers of arrest,trial and execution-prominent deaths were the Tsarist family-Cheka arrests were random, people were arrested on the basis of suspicion-In provinces, local cheka bosses acted as petty tyrants with no court of appeal-Cheka carried out grain requisitioning, quotas were filled although peasants were starving -instilled fear in everyone

C. Concessions to the people-Sovnarkom ruled be decree to please the people -Land Decree : Peasants could take over estates of the gentry without compensation, Land be-longed to the ‘entire people’-Workers Control Decree: factory committess were given the right to control production and finance, super-vise management-Rights of the People of Russia decree: Self determination given to the national minorities of former Russian Empire

How Stalin triumphed in the power struggle?A. B.

Lenin Stalin

How did the Bolsheviks consolidate their power by 1924?

A. Centralisation of power-sovnarkom entirely made up of bolsheviks-refused to take part in socialist coalition government and crushed the constituent assembly-exploited the weaknesses of the opposition e.g. closing down Kadets, newspa-pers -Ban on factions 1921 -winning the civil war against the Whites

B. Ruthless methods and Red Terror-Cheka -class warfare-execution of Tsar and his family-Political repression during the NEP (censorships, show trials, GPU)

C. Pragmatic decisions to ensure survival-Rule by Decrees-Treaty of Brest Litovsk (Bread,Land,Peace) -War communism-NEP

Why did the Bolsheviks win the civil war?

A. Incompetence of Whites-made up of different groups such as Tsarists, foreign troops and had no aim-no coherent leadership-hard to cooperate,no strategy-relied on foreign aid which was half-hearted-White leaders were cruel and treated their men with contempt, many soldiers de-serted-level of indiscipline high

B. Bolsheviks strength -Unity and organisation:

Terror under StalinCauses?A. B. C.

Impact of Terror?D. E.

Lenin Stalin

Single,unified command structure-Trotsky’s leadership turned the Red army into an effective fighting force -Trotsky disciplined the army with Tsarist officers, many inspired by his charisma-strength in numbers compared to the Whites

C. Other factors : -GeographicalBolsheviks held the central area(petrograd, Moscow). They moved their capital to Moscow, at the hub of railway network which made it easier to transport men. This area also contained armament factoris. Central area was heavily populated, en-abled widespread conscription.

-Propaganda against Whites-Present the Bolsheviks as the defenders of the revolution -Anyone who supported the Whites were traitors as they contained Tsarists -Used powerful images such as the Whites taking away lands from peasants, for-eign invaders supporting the whites and the Red offering a new society for workers and peasants-red were seen as patriotic fighters

-Support from peasants and nationalists-Lenin legitimised lands for peasants in his decree, while Whites promised to sieze land from peasants-Nationalists supported Reds as the Whites wanted to restore Russia with its pre-1917 borders,hence antagonising them

Lenin Stalin

Lenin or Trotsky more important in winning the Civil war?

A. Lenin more important-Provided overall leadership in the civil war, respected for dynamism-inspiration for everyone, even Trotsky due to pragmatism-It was Lenin who appointed Trotsky to his role in the war-trotsky needed Lenin’s final approval for all decisions eg. enlisting ex Tsarist offi-cers

B. Trotsky more important -single minded military strategist, loyal, dedicated to his profession-reorganised the Red Army from a ‘flabby mess’ to an effective task force-Ruthless in enacting discipline -To ensure soldiers’ loyalty, he held their family as hostage-Attached a political commissar to each army unit who was to watch and report on actions of the officers and make sure they were politically correct -soldiers’ committees and election of officers ended, thus Trotsky gained a stronger hold on the soldiers as there was no room for dissent

C. Neither more important, other factors need to be taken into consideration:-incompetence of whites-propaganda-geographical advantage-support of Reds

CollectivisationSuccess or failure?

Cause for collectivisation?

Lenin Stalin

War Communism (1918-1921), success or failure?

Purpose of War Communism : • (Economical) The Red Army needed to be supplied with food and weapons to

help it fight the Civil War against the Whites.• (Political) The Bolsheviks were Communists. They wanted to take control of in-

dustry and food production in Russia.

A. Success • Enabled Civil War Victory as the soldiers were thoroughly fed • Supplied food to the capital of Russia • Political success it allowed Bolsheviks to consolidate their power through the

Cheka, all revolutionary activity banned • Enabled the Bolsheviks to strengthen their Bolshevik ideology to the people

B. Failure• Created 3 year famine, as 100% of the produce was surrendered to the state• Many travelled to the countryside to barter for food• Horses disappeared from the streets to appear only as Civil War Sausage• Sanitary conditions were appalling, cannibalism rife• The middle classes were affected badly as they were the ‘enemies’ thus not al-

lowed to work, forced to sell their belongings for food • 1921, Kronsdat uprising wanted an end to war communism

C. Neither complete success nor failure, but extension of class warfare• Political success, but social failure• To lenin, War Communism was a way of expelling counter-revolutionary forces

whether they came from the left or right• Way of wiping out old bourgeoise attitudes and any lingering bourgeoise pow-

ers• Economic Terror was essential in creating class warfare• Lenin was supported by other Bolsheviks, especially radical leftists such as

Trotsky who wanted to see the ‘militarisation of labour’ • Through War Communism, they were able to wipe out any remnants of capital-

ism as they key features of war communism were nationalisation of banks, grain requisitioning, banning of private trade and rationing all of which allowed lenin to build his socialist society

• In 1918, he even changed the name of the Bolsheviks to the Communist Party

FYPSuccess or failure?

Lenin Stalin

New Economic Policy, success or failure?

A.Success-Production levels started to increase-Peasants were happy as grain requisitioning ceased and they could sell surplus goods for profit-Growth of trade led to the beneficiary of NEPMEN-Money flowed back into the economy-Small businesses sprouted

B. Failure-NEP only liberalised one sector of economic policy, not in general-Only benefitted NEPMEN and Kulaks -By an large, the state policies were still repressive such as the creation of GPU, show trials, tightening censorships -This meant that the policy was not for the people but for the state-70% of produce still had to be surrendered to the state-no political and social liberalisation-no social progress and freedom -crushing of peasant revolts-attack on churches

C. Neither complete success nor failure • Politically a failure, as the Bolsheviks saw this is a retreat to capitalism • created major conflict within the party between the lefts and the rights, hence

providing one of the basis' for the power struggle • Economically it was a success as it allowed for the rejuvenation of the Bolshe-

viks economy, after the implementation of War Communism that created famine

• Socially it was a success yet a failure, peasants were allowed to earn profits thus increasing standard of living however it was a failure as the state govern-ment clamped down on repressive measures and carried out random arrests through the GPU

How far had Stalin achieved his domestic aims?

Lenin Stalin

Significance of Lenin

A.Significant as a revolutionary leader-historical icon, his name was invoked to justify policies -magnificent theorist, adapted Marxism to suit the needs of the USSR-as a leader, created the concept of a one party state-initiated the October Revolution, won the Civil War-Trotsky condeded his primacy in his biography of Lenin-created the world’s first communist state

B. Insignificant as he was an absent revolutionary-Many regarded him as an absent revolutionary-When the revolution turned to defeat, he fled in 1905 and 1917-many say that he has no contact with the regular russian people-merely a ruthless dictator who acted out of his own interests and motives-trotsky was much more well known and revered compared to Lenin-trotsky was the one who won the civil war with his skills -Revisionist historians such as Fitzpatrick and Service downed his importance as a tyrant

C. Symbol of Russian Revolution-he planned his philosophy of revolution and was committed to achieving his way in success-his success laid in creating a Marxist-Leninist revolution in 1917-Although he was a committed to his ideals, he was also a pragmatist and oppor-tunist, seized the opportunity-Whether or not he was significant, many still regard him as the ultimate icon of the Russian Revolution

Lenin Stalin

T o what extent had Lenin created a totalitarian state in Russia by 1924?

A. Yes, created Totalitarian State-He created the cheka-He created show trials-He initiated WAR COMMUNISM-He initiated NEP repression -Ban on factions

B. No, he was already in a Totalitarian System-he did not create it as the Tsars had been ruling under totalitarianism -circumstances had forced Lenin into taking harsh measures-for example, to win the Civil war he had to implement War Communism -but yet Lenin was flexible and pragmatic, he implemented the NEP to appease the peasantry

C. Lenin created within a socialist framework only a partial totalitarian state-compared to his predecessors and successors, he was considered libertarian-social rules were much more relaxed, Gay marriages were legalised, divorce was allowed-under the NEP there was limited free trade

Totalitarian state created by Stalin?

Lenin Stalin

How far had Lenin established a Marxist State in Russia by 1924?

A. Marxist-ardent disciple of Karl Marx-objective was to set up the dictatorship of the proleteriat (All power to Soviets)-Marxism Socialism to replace Western Capitalism

B. Socialist-Strong bolshevik socialist, endorsed command economy that ensured that prop-erty was shared by the people-grain requisitioning-War communism

C. Marxist-Leninist state -NEP-War Communism-pragmatic, Lenin did not follow a particular blueprint nor mould as he altered the Marxist ideology for the USSR

Stalinist state NOT marxist state?

Lenin Stalin

How far had Lenin created a socialist state in Russia by 1924?

A.Yes, Socialist State-WAR Communism

B. Not socialist state but dual policy-NEP

c. He created a partial socialist state.-Lenin had moved partly towards creating a Socialist-style economy but had aban-doned a full-blown Socialist-style economy in March 1921 (NEP). -It also showed that Lenin and the Communists could not pursue an economic pol-icy purely down ideological lines and not take circumstances into consideration.