This document is a brief note sheet on some of the points covered between the involvement of Russia in WW1 and its effects, to the power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky after Lenin's death. The contents is listed at the beginning of the document.
Contents:
- Power struggle after Lenin
- The Provisional Government and Bolsheviks
- Rasputin
- WW1
- The Tsar’s abdication
- The Red’s win in the Civil War
The Stalin/Trotsky power struggle:
- Trotsky had been a loyal bolshevik for a long time and had been crucial in helping Lenin
maintain power and leadership. He was the leader of the red army and the chairman of the
Petrograd Soviet, he had excellent public speaking skills as well as leadership
- However, Trotsky had initially been against the NEP plans and there were other factors that
people had against him
- Stalin had been made general secretary and was always strongly affiliated with the communist
views which put him in good stead with those who strongly supported Lenin’s views. He was
confident and charismatic, with plans for the future that people thought were good ideas and
wanted to support.
- Stalin had come from a lower class background which made him more relatable with a large
majority of the population.
Failure of the provisional government
- being a provisional government, they were temporary and failed to make any decisions that
affected citizens in the long term, especially on issues that had been raised such as land
control and owning. They planned to wait until after an election before they made any lasting
decisions, but this angered the population because they wanted decisions that would help
them sooner rather than later.
- This meant that when the Bolshevik ideas of peace, bread and land came to light, people
believed that the change the Bolsheviks wanted to bring about would be lasting and positive in
terms of the issues that they were currently facing. The Bolsheviks wanted to make peace with
the war and countries they were fighting, they wanted to make more bread and food for people
living in Russia and they wanted to shift the ownership and control of land so that it was fairer
for peanuts and farmers.
- The provisional government failed to make a decision on the war, which angered people
because not only was it going down hill and casing bad global reputation, but they were loosing
valuable men and resources. From this, they also lost support.
How the bolsheviks took over the provisional government
- After the failure of Kornilov’s attempt to gain power over the provisional government and
kerensky, the Bolsheviks refused to give back the artillery that Kerensky had given them to help
defeat kornilov, and refused to stand down.
- The Bolsheviks now had a chance to take over.
- Lenin was in hiding, but the 1917 revolution had started.
- Bolsheviks took over key monuments and buildings throughout Petrograd, like the post offices,
shops, police stations, army bases and even took control of a marine ship, which they pointed
all the guns of at the winter palace where the provisional government had fled to.
- Once they had the provisional government cornered, they stormed the palace and arrested
them all. Kerensky got away but all the others were taken.
- The next morning, Lenin came out of hiding and gave a public address to announce that the
Bolsheviks were now in power.
After the takeover of the Bolsheviks
- the bolshevik government had now set up elections for a new government, but their party did
not win.
- Instead the social revolutionaries won, and Lenin did not want this to carry on, so he shut it
down using force once the revolutionaries refused.
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