STATS KEY GROUPS/PEOPLE KEY TERMS KEY DATES AKA TIMELINE
LENIN 1.1 [ STYLE OF LEADERSHIP STUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT + TERROR = factors for an essay]
1913 – 2.4mil/140 Karl Marx Outlined the The Party will be the vanguard of the 1903 Bolshevik party established
mil worked in key ideology which Revolution 1914 Russia entered WW1
factories inspired Communism - Dictatorship of the proletariat on - Economy was too weak to provide food and equipment and Tsar was
and the Bolsheviks behalf of the proletariat to speed up incompetent as a political leader
Oct 1917 – The - Although the socialism - Led to the Feb rev
Bolsheviks had Bolsheviks
350,000 supporters bypassed Elections to the Constitute assembly Feb 1917 February Revolution; not a worker’s rev, soldiers didn’t obey
= small party which Capitalism on - A parliament elected by the People of - Provisional Gov set up, replacing Tsars despotism with freedom of
lacked majority his 5 stages to Russia, effectively true democracy expression, religion + assembly
support in Russia; Communism - Kerensky delayed its implementation - Continued WW1 fighting
faced a lot of - Assembly dissolved after the
opposition, Terror + General Dukhanin Bolsheviks lost + replaced with all April 1917 Lenin’s April thesis
Centralisation and - Leading Russian Congress of Soviets - Argued for a Second Revolution on his return from exile
authoritarian opposition to Soviets - Promised Peace [no more participation in the war], Land [redistribution] and
control thereby the Bolsheviks - Small democratic councils which were bread
essential to - Was the chief important in gov feb-oct
sustaining the of staff in the - Lenin threw all power to the Soviets Oct 1917- October revolution
regime Russian Army upon the seizure of the winter Palace - Portrayed in Communist mythology as a heroic storming of the winter
and refused a - Side-lined by the Bolsheviks in the palace; in reality the gates were open, and Kerensky had fled
= 1921 this figure direct order centralisation of power during War - Lenin seized power on behalf of the soviets
almost doubled to from Lenin to Communism as they could not tolerate Decree on Land
730,000 members stop fighting un-cooperative Soviets in the need to - Sees the distribution of Land promised in the April thesis as a means of
[POSTED A THREAT after the March Marshall their resources consolidating control + gaining support from peasantry [but it was
TO STABILITY VIA 1918 Treaty of - Installed Bolshevik Chairmen and an something they were already doing]
FACTIONALISM] Brest Litovsk executive committee to run Soviets - Gave them a motive to support reds over whites in the looming Civil War –
New member whites stood for restoration
joined to advance Petrograd Trade Union All Russian Congress of Soviets - But nevertheless, did not create ideologically committed peasantry
their positions Council and Female - Bolsheviks sent delegates to this state Decree on Peace
socially rather than Factory workers body, indicative of their early - Committed new gov to leaving WW1
out of ideological = examples of genuine participation in democracy - Extremely unpopular; General Dukhanin refused to stop fighting
commitment Bolshevik supporters - Had Left wing SRs and Mensheviks - National Humiliation
[shows that it was still not a one-party - France, Britain and the US get involved in the Civil War
= 1924 = about a SR’s, Mensheviks, state in 1918] Worker’s decree
million creating a Kadets - Too big to meet regularly; elected - Implemented 8-hour max workday, minimal wage, and social insurance
new class of self- - Other Socialists Sovnarkom [Democratic Centralism] - Bolsheviks can’t actually afford to increase living standard, so this was a
serving elites; no groups: they - This became the ‘Supreme Law Making compromise
longer however were body; all laws passed by the
representative of too pacificist Sovnarkom had to be approved by the Nov 1917 Elections to the constitute Assembly
,the working class and weak in Soviets - After the Bolsheviks lost, Lenin closed this assembly down in Jan 1917 after
their only one day of them meeting
organisation to SOVNARKOM [20 MEMBERS]
Elections to the go against both The new state body created by Lenin to Dec 1917 Cheka Formed to deal with counterrevolutionaries
Constituent the Tsar and centralise political organisation which would aid - As a way to consolidate the regime
Assembly Nov the Bolsheviks in the dictatorship of the Proletariat
1917 - Wanted a - Competed with the Menshevik led 1918 Decree on Workers control
- Bolsheviks shared socialist gov at the Petrograd Soviet who - Gives power to the workers in running their factories, class conflict
gain 175 government refused to hand over funds
Seats [9 but after Lenin - Lenin threw power to the Soviets who March 1918 Treaty of Brest Litovsk
million let them in to began ruling by decree without - Lost the Baltic states [Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia] Finland, Ukraine and part of
votes] the All-Russian approval to gain support the Caucus region
- SRs gain Congress of - Bolsheviks controlled positions within - Accelerates the dissatisfaction with the Bolsheviks and stimulates the
410 Seats Soviets; they the Sovnarkom and congress of establishment of the whites in the Civil War
[21 Million were side-lined Soviets = rubber stamping body - Also sees the Bolshevik’s change their name to the Communist party which
votes] as the - Lenin = Leader entrenches the connection between party and ideology; establishes a party
Sovnarkom had - Trotsky = Peoples Commissariat for line which cannot be undermined
Over 5 million in the real power affairs - LENIN THREATENED TO REIGN AS A MEANS TO IMPLEMENT IT
the Red Army after = Democratic - Stalin = Commissariat for nationalities
the War as a result Centralism - IN THEORY THIS BECAME THE BODY May 1918
of conscription RESPOSIBLE FOR ALL KEY DECISIONS; - Banned all non-communist newspapers and in the 1920s this was extended
Trotsky but increasingly progressed to having to any publication which wasn’t Bolshevik
- Commissar for limited power; dominated by 13
1918-20 Chistka
War, taking Bolshevik Commissars
purged 1/3 of the Aug 1918 Fanya Kaplan’s attempted assassination of Lenin
credit for
party successes of the - Led to a wave of arrests of SRs
Party Congress
Civil War
Russia dominated [TURNED THE - The people elected to the Party 1918 Soviet Constitution
the federalist ARMY INTO AN Congress who elected the central - Said the SOVNARKOM was responsible for the Congress of Soviets which
republic of the AUTHORITARIAN committee contained SRs + Mensheviks
USSR FORCE, - Debated the general programme of the
- 90% of CONSCRIPTION, party; debate stifled in 1921
HARSH 1918-21 Civil War/War Communism
land mass - Removal and democratisation of party ranks was reversed to create an
PUNISHMENT]
- 72% of the Central Committee
- Gave him effective army; caused an outrage amongst idealists by abolishing
population - Made up of delegates from the Party
massive democracy paid off = Red Army became a disciplined fighting force
- Communis Congress [30-40 people]
popularity - The demands of the Civil War meant the Bolsheviks had to centralise to
t Party ¾ amongst the - Voted for the Politburo [7-9] implement effective decision making quickly to allocate resources and
Russian; so Military [not so organise the party
Communis much politically] Central Executive Committee - Centralises the political and economic control of the Bolsheviks;
ts - Trotsky disliked - Supposedly the Central Committee Nomenklatura establishes Party loyalty + Vesenka co-ordinates control
controlled Political infighting made key decisions; in reality after
- Made him - NEVERTHLESS THIS ALSO MEANT A BREWING CRISIS AS THESE POLICIES
the USSR 1919 these decisions were increasingly WERE EXTREMELY UNPOPULAR
underestimate
Tambov Uprising delegated to the Politburo - Terror entrenched in party rule
,took 50,000 Stalin
Bolshevik troops to - Rivalled Lenin in Politburo 1918-20 Party purged undesirables during the Chistka [1/3] + 1920-22 the people
supress the unrest Charisma and
- Head of Party; made up of 7-9 that joined had little knowledge of Marx
intellect
- Attacked members - The party also lost its proletarian base = 39%
- His right hand
peasant - Lenin = Party leader
mans
villages - Arrogant and - Trotsky, Tomsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev, 1920-1921 Tambov Uprising of workers and peasants
with aloof; made him Kamenev, Stalin
poison gas disliked in the - They met daily 1921 Uprising of the Kronstadt sailors who had previously been key supporters of
party [although - Ruled by decree = prevented people the Bolsheviks “Soviets without the Bolsheviks”
From 1918-1921 he was popular from vetoing decisions - Wanted a real democracy via free elections + end to War Communism + the
The Secret Police with the young]
abolition of the Cheka and release of political prisoners
grew from 4,000 to - Member of the
Nomenklatura system - Red army crushed it and deported 100,000 people to labour camps
intelligentsia
250,000 - A system which saw the party establish - Led to anxiety amongst the leadership
[had little
support amongst a list where from people were
In the first three working class appointed 1921 10th party congress Other parties are banned; one party state established as a
months of 1921 members of the - Evidence of commitment to the regime result of the Civil War and strikes against the party
- 5000 party] was required Feb: Cheka given authority to attack other parties; end of Feb all the Mensheviks in
Menshevik - Originally was a - Often Educated members of the Petrograd and Moscow was arrested
s arrested; Menshevik, middle class [economists + engineers]; - Culmination of the consolidation of power
formally Joined the undermining Workers Revolution
Bolsheviks in
disbanding - Promoted Corruption + encouraged 1921 The 10th Party Congress
1917
organised loyalty via patronage [Administered by - After fierce debate in the party congress over the implementation of the
political the General Secretary] NEP, Lenin published ‘On Party Unity’, a directive which introduced the ban
Kamenev = Regional
opposition on factions, that if broken led to removal from the party [BAN ON FACTIONS
Party secretary in
- 1921-22 Bodies genuinely representative of the SERVED TO SILENCE KOLLONTAI AND HER ALLIES WHO FAVOURED A
Petrograd
more proletariat [Trade Unions, Soviets, and Factory GREATER ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS WITHIN THE REGIME]
arrests but Committees] - LENIN THREATENED TO REIGN IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THE NEP
this was Zinoviev = Regional
- All taken over by the Bolsheviks and - Recognised the unrest of Tambov and Kronstadt showed dissatisfaction in
directed Party secretary in
side-lined; minimised Worker influence the regime
towards Moscow
and pressure - Allowed Lenin and the Politburo to implement decisions with little
individuals pushback; CENTRALISATION AT THE TOP = required over their unstable hold
Leading members of the
World Revolution “Workers of the World on Russia [Tambov and Kronstadt = evidence]
gov that had positions
Unite” - Also established the one-party state and authorised the Cheka to destroy
in both the Politburo
- Indicative of the Bolshevik view that opposing political parties
and the Sovnarkom sent
they were the Russian detachment of a
their deputies to the
worldwide proletariat April Lenin declared that all Mensheviks and SRs belonged in prison = RED TERROR
latter [which also had
- Believed nationalism was an ideology - Consequently, All Mensheviks in Petrograd and Moscow were arrested
less meetings]
of the bourgeois serving to protect indicative of the end of the consolidation of power
- Lenin = Chair of
assets and business
the Sovnarkom
and member of 1922 Lenin’s personal power lessoned after several strokes which saw his health
Democratic Centralism The term used by the deteriorate
the Politburo
Bolsheviks to claim they had achieved - 1923 March; lost his ability to speak this limited his influence over the party
, democracy; Soviets had represented workers at
local levels and their wishes could be expressed 1922 Cheka is replaced by the OCPU introducing ‘Socialist Legality’
through the Soviet and carried to higher levels - Reduces the anarchy seen under the Cheka; becomes more systematic
of the party who would make decisions based - Attention turns internally to the party = ‘Chistka’ as a means of streamlining
on the people the party
Indigenization the term which refers to placing 1924 Soviet Constitution
local people in local administrative roles - Democratic centralism
deliberately forced a national consciousness via
native language schools + national traditions = 1924 The leadership of the Communist party delt successfully with all opposition
PRETENCE OF FEDERAL STATE and dissent without sacrificing unity
- Dictatorship
- Vast system of terror
- Bureaucratic party
- Lack of real gains for the proletariat
STATS KEY GROUPS/PEOPLE KEY TERMS KEY DATES AKA TIMELINE
STALIN 1.1
1923 1/3 of Stalin [‘The grey blur’, ‘comrade Lenin Testament [1922-23] 1920s Party had an increased role in administering and implementing decisions of the Politburo
delegates in the card index] - A handwritten note + leadership: becoming an apparatchik
party congress were - Big part of the Politburo criticising all - Through Nomenklatura party become a privileged class of elites = killed rev and
from 1923
selected by Stalin’s members of the ensured Stalin’s personal dictatorship
- ; known for taking over not
Nomenklatura list highly regarded politburo, suggesting
administrative tasks [lacked that all members of 1921-22 Lenin’s health began to decline after a series of strokes and his last one in 1923 made it
1933 Everyone who charisma and power which his politburo had clear he wouldn’t return; lost his ability to speak
allowed him to build up
read Ryutin’s weaknesses - Stalin exploited his role as general secretary during this period; promoted Molotov,
power in a way which was
Platform was un-noticed] - Kamenev and Kalinin, Vashilov [eventually side-lined in the 1930s]
purged - Claimed to be a Leninist but Zinoviev opposed Oct
- As many as played little role in rev rev 1922-23 Lenin creates the Lenin testament
- Peasant Georgian - Bukharin too young
800,000 - The new collective leadership decided against publishing it at a secret meeting of the
Background, helped him
party gain support amongst WC
- Trotsky Arrogant central committee - wasting the main opportunity for a blow against Stalin
members within the party - Stalin = worst
- General Secretary 1921 criticism Jan 1924 Lenin Dies leaving a power vacuum and a struggle for power
- Commissariat of
Feb 1934 17 th
nationalities 1917 - During his funeral 3.5 million filed past his coffin and Stalin co-ordinated it;
Peoples congress - Began to be disloyal to Lenin The Lenin enrolment [1923- discouraging Trotsky from attending [building Lenin’s cult + undermining Trotsky =
‘the congress of 1922 25]; Stalin = first secretary Lenin’s disciple
victors’ - Played a supporting role in - A mass enrolment of
the Duumvirate and the
= Saw Stalin get 927 industrial workers 1924 Stalin publishes the foundations of Leninism, an official directive to Party members that
Triumvirate
votes compared to into the party as a presented the case for removing the NEP
Kirov who got 1225 means of diluting the - Short and easy to read ensuring support from new less intellectually inclined WC
Stalin’s opposition
bourgeois elements members of the party [Grew support for Stalin’s policies]
The Left of the party [Trotsky,
