The Early Years of the Bolshevik Government

The Civil War

Questions Why didn’t traditional Marxism apply

to Russia? What was Sovnarkom? List five reforms made by the

Bolshevik government. What measures did the Bolshevik

Government take to increase women’s equality?

Consolidation of Bolshevik Power

After October Revolution, the Bolsheviks only controlled Petrograd

By January 1918, control of other major cities

By 1921 control over most of Russia Taking power was easy – challenge

was to keep it

Attacks on political Opponents

To stop opposition, Kadet Party banned and leaders arrested

Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries also arrested

Attacks on bourgeoisie were called ‘warfare’ and encouraged

People in civil service were Bolsheviks

Attacks on political Opponents

Opposition was weak and disorganised

Didn’t think Bolsheviks would last long, so would not cooperate with them

This gave Bolsheviks more power Both groups also had divisions in

their parties – to cooperate or not to cooperate

The Constituent Assembly

When came to power, agreed to hold elections

Bolsheviks didn’t win enough seats Lenin shut it down

Quitting World War 1 Signing the Treaty of Brest-

Litovsk with Germany

To fulfil the promise of peace to a war weary public and army, and rebuild a shattered economy, the Bolsheviks needed the war over no matter what.

This meant signing a very unappealing treaty with Germany which ended the conflict on the Eastern Front.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The treaty was not good for Russia, with

the signing of it they lost:

¼ of their population

¼ of their land

½ their industry

¾ of their coal and iron reserves

Lenin was a realist who foresaw a civil war, in which he needed all the military and economic resources he could rebuild.

Russia’s Western Border pre-WW1

Europe Today

Why did Russia accept a harsh treaty?

Bolsheviks had to fulfil promise of peace, as war had wrecked havoc on the economy

Some believed that more revolutions would begin across Europe, and when this happened, land would be returned to Russia

Russian army in no state to continue fighting

Lenin realised the Bolsheviks would face a civil war – army couldn’t fight both

Opposition to the new Bolshevik Government

Political: Bolsheviks were not willing to share power with other left wing socialist parties, like the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries, seen with the closing of the Constituent Assembly

Local & Regional Interests: Some saw the Bolshevik grab for power just as bad as the Tsar’s hold over Russia. Some minorities were interested in independence.

Economic Problems: Lost the wheat fields of the Ukraine from the treaty. The Bolsheviks lacked the power to bring about any sweeping changes and had to resort to State Capitalism.Foreign Opposition: The WW1 Allies of France, Britain, USA and Japan sent aid to the anti-Bolshevik forces (the ‘Whites’) to get Russia back in the war against Germany. The Allies were also capitalist and were opposed to communism.

Opposition to the new Bolshevik Government

Questions What parts of Russia did the Bolsheviks

control when they came to power? What happened to the Constituent

assembly? What was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk? What did Russia lose under this treaty? Which groups opposed the Bolshevik Gov? What was the Bolshevik Gov’s first

economic policy?

The Civil War Begins Bolshevik support outside of European

Russia was very weak.

This lead to the ‘White’ forces taking control under different ex-Army leaders surrounding the Bolshevik forces around Moscow and Petrograd.

Local opposition included the Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, Kadets, tsarists and Ukrainian and Georgian Nationalists.

Trotsky the Fighter

Leon Trotsky was the Bolshevik Commissar for War who followed a strategy of defending all lines of transport and communication, moving Red troops quickly by rail.

The Whites were unable to maintain consistent supplies and concentrate their forces in a single location.

1918 Bolshevik propaganda poster depicting Trotsky as Saint George slaying the reactionary dragon of counterrevolution (Trotsky was People's Commissar of War & organizer of the Red Army).

Note the dragon is wearing a top hat, which the Soviets associated with capitalism.

White Army propaganda poster depicting Trotsky as a "Red devil" that attempts to appeal to anti-Semitism.

The text above the picture reads, "Peace and Liberty in Sovdepiya"

Timeline of the War May 1918: Czech Legions capture the Trans-Siberian

Railway.

1919: Commander of the White Forces, Admiral Kolchak pushes the Red Army back close to Moscow, before being defeated.

October 1919: General Denikin captures Kiev before being defeated.

April 1920: Poland invades Russia.

October 1920: White armies admit defeat and are evacuated by the British Navy.

1921: Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijan Nationalists are defeated, ending the war for good.

Clockwise from top:

Soldiers of the Don Army in 1919;

A White Russian infantry division in March 1920;

Soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Army;

Leon Trotsky in 1918; Hanging of Bolsheviks

by the Czechoslovak Corps.

Soldiers pose over the Bolsheviks killed at Vladivostok

Why the Communists Won the War

Geography: Red control of railways White army being scattered Most of the Russian population living in the

Red area and conscription of men into the Red army.

Red Control of industry and arsenal

Leadership: Trotsky as a brilliant military leader White generals mistrusted each other

Why the Communists Won the War

Military and political unity and organisation: White forces were divided along political

lines Communists (or Reds) were a united political

force

Support: Poor foreign support for the Whites Good propaganda for the Reds The peasants didn’t want landlords to return War Communism to control the economy

Questions Who were the ‘Whites’? Which other groups fought the

Bolsheviks? What was Trotsky’s strategy in the

Civil War? Summarise the reasons why the Reds

won the Civil War.

The use of Terror to Win the War

Lenin and the Bolsheviks had to consolidate power by means of repression through the Cheka (secret police) and the Red Army.

Lenin and the Cheka Commander Dzerzhinsky believed the survival of the revolution depended on stopping a counter revolution.

‘War Communism’ Economy

The desperate situation created by the Civil War led to state capitalism being abandoned with every aspect of economic, political and social life directed towards the war effort.

Included a series of harsh economic restrictions which gave full Bolshevik of all trade and industry like the nationalism of industry, strikes illegal and food supplies reserved for workers.

‘War Communism’ economyIndustry: The Decree of Nationalisation in 1918 put Industry under govt control. Didn’t improve or increase production because of the lack of manpower due to food shortages and war.

Agriculture: The main aim of ‘War Communism’ was to produce more food. The peasants resisted Bolshevik terror and produced less food causing a huge famine in 1920 and 1921, killing 5 million!

The Kronstadt Rebellion 1921

The failure of war communism lead to open rebellion.

Workers left the cities went on strike.

Peasant rebellions broke out killing 250,000 Red Army soldiers.

Sailors at the Kronstadt Naval Base felt betrayed by the Bolshevik Govt and mutinied, but were crushed by 6000 Red army troops in March 1921.

Lenin learns his lesson

Lenin saw the rebellion as a reality wake up call and knew he had to get rid of war communism to retain the party power.

He needed an economic policy that wouldn’t cause famine and open rebellion!

Questions

What was the Red Terror? Why was terror used to consolidate

Bolshevik power? What was the Cheka? What was war communism? What were the effects of war

communism?