This document is the detailed summary of edexcel's AS level History unit: WHI02 Russia, 1917-91: From Lenin to Yeltsin. The document only covers the first theme; nature of communist governments
Theme 1: Communist Government
1917-24: Lenin
1928-53: Stalin
1956-64: Khrushchev
1964-76: Brezhnev
1982-84: Andropov
1984: Chernenko
1a: Establishing Communist Party Control 1917-24
Lenin’s ‘’Peace, Land and Bread’’
-He demanded an immediate end to WW1 and the redistribution of land
to peasants which were summarised in this slogan. As the Provisional
Gov continued to fight and the economy grew worse, his message grew
increasingly popular.
By Oct 1917--> He (and his followers, the bolsheviks) had enough
power to overthrow the Provisional gov. So they organised a coup
d’etat with Trotsky which allowed the Bolsheviks to take power.
He seized power because he believed that (based on the Marxist view)
a global revolution was necessary to replace capitalism and imperialism
with SOCIALISM. (a system that would allow all to be free and equal.)
Lenin’s association with Marx
Marx Lenin
Capitalism would eventually come Chaos produced by WW1 was an
to an end following a workers’ opportunity for a worker’s
revolution. Socialism could replace revolution and overthrowing
Europe’s most advanced capitalism accross Europe
economies
-revolutionary gov. Would be more domecratic than a capitalist one
-capitalist power would be ruthlessly destroyed by the power of
‘’dictatorship of the proletariat’’
The soviets played a key role in governing
Local soviets sent representatives to All-Russian Congress of Soviets
which met to discuss Russia’s future.
Oct Rev. handed the power to All-Russian Congress, they became the
basis of the new government.
As the ARC was too big to meet regularly, Sovnarkom was elected to
govern Russia on a day-to-day basis.
Sovnarkom: the new Russian cabinet
All the new elected commisxxars were revolutionaries and vast majority
was Lenin’s supporters. All supported the Bolshevik seizure of power.
Decrees passed that were popular:
1. Land Decree: gave peasants the right to seize land
2. Peace Decree: committed the new gov to withdrawing from WW1
and seeking peace.
3. Workers’ Decree: 8-hour max working day + min. wage
4. Workers’ Control Decree: allowed workers to elect committees to
run factories
How did these allow Lenin to establish control?
1. Decrees won popular support for the regime from workers,
peasants and soldiers.
2. Ending WW1 gave the rev. ‘’breathing space’’ which helped rebuild
the economy and construct the new gov.
Problems of Sovnarkom
1-Had little real power: It didn’t give Lenin control of Russia’s other
major cities or the vast rural areas that made up the majority of territory.
Senior powers such as Chief of Staff of Russian Army still had great
deal of power and refused to recognise Bolshevik authority. (ex.
Refused the orders of Lenin to begin peace negotiations)
2-Extremely disorganised: Lenin’s appointment of commisars gives it
away. Stalin’s commisariat was just a desk in the corner of a room at
the Smolny Institute.
, How democratic?
Very.
New state was based on committees of working people who
participated in government on a day-to-day basis.
The commitment to people power was reflected in the title of People’s
Commisars. The title demonstrated the new revolutionary nature of the
gov.
The soviet-state was even more democratic than the systems in Britain
or USA.
Evidence--> Broad-based support
The decrees were genuinely popular and reflected what the majority of
the workers, peasants and soldiers wanted.
Sovnarkom contained representatives of many political parties including
the Bolsheviks’ main rivals (Mensheviks and SRs.)
One of the reasons for this support was the belief that the new gov
would become a coalition gov. representing all Russia’s main socialist
parties
Lenin turning against Democracy
A. The Constituent Assembly
He refused to recognise the results of a nationwide election that
created a Constituent Assembly with a Bolshevik minority.
-->Lenin took it down by force after one day, caliming it posed a threat
to the power of soviets.
B. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The approval gave away a significant proportion of Russian territory to
the Central Powers to end Russian involvement in WW1. Treaty was
extremely unpopular and led to Bolsheviks losing the following soviet
elections across Russia.
-->Lenin refused to recognise the results to retain power nd claimed
they were unfair
As a result of these Lenin was able to consolidate Bolshevik power but
the government grew less and less democratic.
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