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Summary Revision Notes: OCR A Level History, Russia, Chapter 5 - Lenin's Government of Russia 1917-24 £4.99
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Summary Revision Notes: OCR A Level History, Russia, Chapter 5 - Lenin's Government of Russia 1917-24
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These revision notes provide a detailed summary of the fifth chapter of Michael Lynch's 'Access to History, Russia ' - the OCR recommended textbook for the Russia - paper. I used these notes to achieve a grade A in my history A Level.

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  • June 27, 2024
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  • 2021/2022
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Lenin’s Government of Russia, 1917-24
The Bolsheviks in Power
Introduction
 When they came to power, the Bolsheviks were not prepared for government, as
they had previously been an underground party.
 Before 1917, they had spent all their time preparing for revolution, and no thought
had gone to what came after.

The Distribution of Power
 Lenin insisted that the October Revolution had been the taking of power by the
soviets, rather than the Bolshevik party.
 This was because this way it looked more like an actual revolution and not just a
coup.
 As such, it also meant that the Sovnarkom (cabinet) had been appointed by the
congress of soviets.
 In this view, the government as appointed like this:
Local soviets all-Russian congress of soviets Sovnarkom
 The reality was much different, as traditional forms of government had broken down
in 1917 with the fall of tsardom and the overthrown of the provisional government.
 So, the Bolsheviks made up their own rules.
 The notion that it was the soviets who had taken power and now ruled was simply a
convenient cover.
 The key body of government was the Bolshevik party’s central committee, who then
formed the Sovnarkom under Lenin’s direction.
 The central committee derived its authority from the all-Russian congress of the
party, and they were elected by local representatives.
 However, they all just did as they were told, in accordance with democratic
centralism.

Lenin’s Decrees
 He argued that the change from a bourgeois to a proletariat economy could not
happen overnight.
 He also said that the government would continue to use the existing structures until
the transition had been completed and a socialist system could be adopted.
 This was called ‘state capitalism’.
 He was also aware that there were many Bolsheviks who wanted the immediate
introduction of a sweeping revolutionary policy, but he pointed out that the new
government simply didn’t have the power to impose this.

,  They weren’t helped by the fact that the Bolsheviks didn’t have any control outside
of Petrograd and Moscow, so it was difficult to introduce any sort of widespread
reform.
 The war had also caused Russia huge problems, such as:
o A shortage of raw materials
o Inflation
o A fractured transport system
o Food shortages (especially when Ukraine was ceded to Germany).
 To tackle these problems, several decrees were issued.
The Decree on Peace, October 1917
 It was an appeal to the warring nations to enter into talks for a ‘democratic peace
without annexation’.
 This was Lenin’s first attempt towards ending the war with Germany – something he
needed to do if the Bolshevik party was to survive.
The Decree on Land, November 1917
 This decree abolished private ownership of land, and the land went to ‘the whole
people’ to be used by ‘those who cultivate it’.
 Mineral ore, oil, coal, salt, forests, rivers, etc of state importance all passed into the
exclusive use of the state.
 This essentially legitimised all the land the peasants had already taken over in 1917.
The Decree on Workers’ Control, November 1917
 During 1917, many factories had been taken over by the workers.
 However, the workers’ committees didn’t run the factories efficiently.
 This decree recognised the workers’ takeover but ordered the committees to
maintain behaviour and discipline.
Vesenkha (gosplan), December 1917
 This established the supreme council of the national economy, which took charge of
state direction of the economy.
 It took charge of all existing institutions for the regulation of economic life.
 At first, it couldn’t exercise its full authority.
 Vesenkha oversaw:
o The nationalisation of banks and railways.
o The cancellation of foreign debts.
o The improvement of the transport system.

Decree on Nationalisation, June 1918
 It laid down the programme for the takeover by the state of larger industries.
 Within 2 years, it had brought practically all the major industrial enterprises in Russia
under central government.

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