Russia 1890-1924 Cascade

Russia 1894-1924 [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list. And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.

1. Russia at the start of the 20th century
- a. Russia was huge
  - Russia encompassed 125 million people, 21 nationalities spread across 2500 miles. The Trans-Siberian Railway did not solve Russia’s communication problems; instead poor migrants flocked to the towns
- b. Economy
  - The economy was backward, especially agriculture, which was unable to feed the growing population, leading to famine (the harvest failure of 1891-2 claimed 400,000 lives) and poverty.
- c. Government
  - The Tsar was an autocrat. There was a Council of Ministers – but these were nobles that he chose. Opposition was illegal, and the Tsar used the Okhrana (secret police) to arrest and exile thousands of opponents. Nicholas was overwhelmed by the volume of work
- d. Gregorian calendar
  - A sign of Russia’s backwardness was that it still used the Gregorian calendar, which ran 13 days late – so February in Russia was March in the rest of the world .
- e. Violence
  - Riots, uprising and assassinations were endemic, particularly in rural areas

2. Russian society at the start of the 20th century
- a. Peasants
  - Three quarters of the people were impoverished peasants. The abolition from erfdom had worsened their position.
- b. Workers
  - No rights, long hours and low pay; appalling living conditions. As a result, socialism, communism, and anarchism progressively gained popularity in Russia
- c. Aristocracy
  - Just 700 nobles owned a quarter of the land and lived a life of luxury, waited on by lots of servants – but a sense of decline
- d. Bourgeois
  - A small but growing number of the middle class, including the intelligentsia – they were impatient for a say in the government. .
- e. Church
  - Most people were members of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its priests told people it was a sin to oppose the Tsar. The Church owned a lot of land, and the head of the Church was one of the Tsar’s ministers.

3. Nicholas II's government
- a. Coronation catastrophe
  - Nicholas’s reign began with an accidental catastrophe on the Khodynka army training field
- b. Autocratic
  - The Tsar was an autocrat; unable to cope with the huge detail of government
- c. Weak, indecisive and stubborn
  - Nicholas II was weak, indecisive and stubborn; he regarded any change as a threat
- d. Okhrana, cossacks and censorship
  - The Okhrana (secret police), a system of informers, censorship and regular torture/imprisonment/execution. Increasingly, the government used the army, notably the Cossacks, to put down rebellions .
- e. Alexei’s haemophilia
  - The haemophilia of the heir to the throne fatally weakened the monarchy

4. The 1905 revolution
- a. Defeat by Japan, 1904–1905
  - In 1905 – after Russia lost a war with Japan – there was a revolution
- b. Bloody Sunday, 9 Jan 1905
  - A peaceful march of workers (led by Father Gapon to ask the Tsar to improve their conditions) was attacked by the Cossacks
- c. Battleship Potemkin, Jun 1905
  - Sailors on the battleship Potemkin mutinied; workers and soldiers set up ‘Soviets’
- d. August Manifesto, Aug 1905
  - The Tsar a (powerless) Duma (parliament)- not enough, this provoked a railway and electricity strike which paralysed the economy.
- e. October Manifesto, Oct 1905
  - The Tsar published the October Manifesto promising a Duma.

5. How did the Tsar survive the 1905 Revolution?
- a. The army stayed loyal
  - The army remained loyal; it bloodily repressed the Moscow Soviet, using artillery to shell strikers' houses; other groups – the nobles, the Church, the peasants – also stayed loyal
- b. The Tsar borrowed 900million roubles
  - This strengthened the government's finances after the 1904-5 war with Japan
- c. October Manifesto, Oct 1905
  - The Tsar published the October Manifesto promising a Duma (parliament)
- d. Stolypin appointed Prime Minister, 1906
  - Introduced reforms which helped the peasants and health insurance for workers, but also imposed a strict repression .
- e. Stolypin's repression
  - By April 1906, more than 14,000 people had been executed and 75,000 imprisoned

6. Stolypin’s repression after 1905
- a. Moscow Soviet suppressed
  - The army suppressed the Moscow Soviet
- b. ‘Stolypin’s necktie'
  - Revolutionaries were tortured and executed; the noose was nicknamed ‘Stolypin’s necktie’
- c. Dumas dissolved
  - The Tsar dissolved the first two Dumas when they questioned his authority
- d. Fundamental Laws
  - The Fundamental Laws (1906) restored many of the Tsar’s powers .
- e. Stolypin’s reforms blocked
  - Further Stolypin reforms (especially to taxes) were blocked by the Tsar

7. Traditional loyalties to the Tsar
- a. The nobility
  - The nobility supported the Tsar – some even wanted to go back to autocracy
- b. The Octobrists
  - The ‘Octobrists’ were happy with the Tsar’s reforms in his 1905 October Manifesto
- c. The Church
  - The Church told the peasants that the Tsar had been appointed by God
- d. The peasants
  - Many peasants loved and worshipped the Tsar .
- e. Romanov tercentenary
  - The 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty saw a wave of popular support

8. Why did the Tsar's rule collapse?
- a. Personal weakness of Nicholas II
  - Nicholas II was weak, indecisive and stubborn, unable to cope with the huge detail of government
- b. Oppressive government
  - e.g. the Okhrana (secret police), informers, torture/imprisonment/execution, censorship, the Cossacks and Bloody Sunday (1905)
- c. World War One
  - The Tsar took personal control of the army; so people blamed him for the defeats
- d. Rasputin
  - Rumours about his behaviour and death discredited the royal family .
- e. The March Revolution
  - In March 1917 there were riots and strikes; the army refused to put them down, and the Duma set up a ‘provisional government’

9. Opposition groups
- a. The Kadets
  - Liberals (the ‘Kadets’) were middle class and wanted to reform the Tsar’s government to become like Britain’s
- b. Social Revolutionaries
  - Wanted to overthrow the Tsar and establish a peasant government
- c. Communists
  - Wanted to overthrow the Tsar and establish rule by the proletariat (industrial workers)
- d. Bolshevik Communists
  - The Communists were split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (Lenin and Stalin were Bolsheviks) .
- e. Menshevik communists
  - The Communists were split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (one example of a Menshevik was Julius Martov)

10. Russia in the First World War
- a. Initial patriotism
  - The war was greeted with enthusiasm; St Petersburg was renamed Petrograd because it was more ‘Russian’
- b. Poorly equipped and led
  - A third of soldiers did not have rifles; the army used radio, but did not encode their messages – so the Germans knew their every move
- c. Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes
  - The Russians suffered heavy defeats at Tannenberg (August 1914) and the Masurian Lakes (Sep 1914)
- d. Brusilov offensive
  - The Brusilov offensive in Galicia (June 1916) was quite successful, but costly in casualties .
- e. Death and desertion
  - By 1917, nine million Russian soldiers had been killed or captured, and soldiers were deserting, or refusing to follow orders

11. First World War: consequences
- a. Railways requisitioned
  - The railways were jammed with soldiers, which disrupted the supply of food to the towns
- b. Runaway inflation
  - The move to military production (from consumer goods) created runaway inflation
- c. Starvation in the towns
  - Conscripting peasants into the army led to failed harvests; people in the towns starved in the winter of 1916–1917
- d. Rasputin ruined the Tsar's reputation
  - Whilst he was away with the army, the Tsar left the Tsarina Alexandra in control of the government; her domination by Rasputin utterly discredited the government .
- e. Tsar blamed for defeat
  - In 1915, the Tsar took personal control of the army; so people blamed him for the defeats

12. The role of Rasputin
- a. Rasputin dominated the Tsarina Alexandra
  - While he was away with the army, Nicholas left the Tsarina and Rasputin in charge
- b. Alexei’s haemophilia
  - The Tsar could not let people know the truth that his heir had haemophilia
- c. Rasputin’s appointments
  - Rasputin (a drunkard) ruined the government by appointing his friends as ministers
- d. Rumours about Rasputin and Alexandra
  - Rumours that Rasputin was the Tsarina’s lover further discredited the royal family .
- e. Rasputin’s murder by Yusupov, 1916
  - Rasputin’s murder (1916) – by Prince Yusupov – also discredited the royal family

13. The Tsar’s fall and abdication
- a. Putilov strike, 4 Mar 1917
  - There were strikes (notably at the Putilov steelworks)
- b. Women’s bread march, 8 Mar 1917
  - A women’s hunger march led to riots
- c. Petrograd Soviet’s Order No.#1, 12 Mar 1917
  - The soldiers refused orders to put down the riots and formed soviets; the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No.1 – soldiers must obey only the Soviet
- d. Provisional Government, 14 Mar 1917
  - When the Tsar refused to make decisions or reforms, the Duma took control and set up a ‘provisional government’ .
- e. Tsar’s abdication, 15 Mar 1917
  - The Tsar had been trying to return to Petrograd, but soldiers hijacked his train; he abdicated and was arrested

14. Why was the March 1917 revolution successful?
- a. Winter, 1916–17
  - The harsh winter, food shortages and galloping inflation fuelled anger
- b. A popular uprising
  - There was a wave of strikes (notably at the Putilov steelworks); the revolution was started by the Women’s Day bread riot
- c. The government was in chaos
  - The government was so weakened by the war, the Tsar's absence, the Tsarina and Rasputin that it was unable to respond adequately
- d. The army deserted the Tsar
  - The soldiers refused orders to put down the riots and formed soviets; the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No.1 – soldiers must obey only the Soviet .
- e. The Duma deserted the Tsar
  - When the Tsar refused to make decisions or reforms, the Duma took control and set up a ‘provisional government’

15. The Provisional Government: weaknesses
- a. Huge problems
  - The problems facing it – the war, economy, land, opposition – were immense
- b. Political freedom
  - Political freedoms (e.g. freedom of the press, release of political prisoners, right to strike) helped their opponents
- c. Splits between Kadets and Mensheviks
  - It was divided: there were splits between Kadets and Mensheviks; in July 1917, Lvov resigned and Kerensky took over
- d. Dual Government
  - It was forced to share power with the Soviets – the Petrograd Soviet acted as a parallel government (Petrograd Soviet issued Order No.1) .
- e. Lack of Army support
  - The Provisional Government never had full control of the armed forces (e.g. Kronstadt Mutiny of May 1917, Petrograd Mutiny of 3 Nov 1917)

16. The Provisional Government: problems
- a. Dual Government
  - It was forced to share power with the Petrograd Soviet (Order No.1)
- b. Poor harvests and inflation
  - It inherited a disastrous economic situation from the Tsar’s government – harvest failures, a weak industrial economy, inflation, food shortages in the towns
- c. Peasant demands for land
  - In the countryside the peasants were demanding to own their own land, but the government needed to keep the support of the landowners
- d. Communists and Social Revolutionaries
  - Political opposition from the Communists and the Social Revolutionaries .
- e. The June Offensive failed
  - The War was the biggest problem; in 1917 the ‘June Offensive’ failed disastrously

17. The Provisional Government: failures
- a. Dual Government
  - Order No.1 meant the government was only obeyed if the Soviet agreed
- b. Poor harvests and inflation
  - Rationing failed to end the food shortages, made the government unpopular, and there was looting and crime
- c. Peasant demands for land
  - The government deferred the land question to the Constituent Assembly, and gave the land back to the nobles – causing riots in the countryside
- d. Growing opposition
  - Freedom of speech and the press allowed opposition groups such as the Bolsheviks and the Social Revolutionaries to grow stronger .
- e. The June Offensive failed
  - The government tried to continue the war, so the soldiers and people turned increasingly against the government

18. The Provisional Government’s failure: effects
- a. Dual Government
  - Order No.1 meant the government was only obeyed if the Soviet agreed
- b. Poor harvests caused looting
  - Rationing failed to end the food shortages, made the government unpopular, and there was looting and crime
- c. Anarchy in the countryside
  - Deferring the land question and giving the land back to the nobles caused riots; the peasants took the land and killed the nobles
- d. Growing opposition
  - Freedom of speech and the press allowed opposition groups such as the Bolsheviks and the Social Revolutionaries to grow stronger .
- e. Petrograd Mutiny, 3 Nov 1917
  - The government tried to continue the war, so the soldiers deserted and mutinied

19. Growing Bolshevik influence: events
- a. Red Guards, Mar 1917
  - An efficient party organisation was set up, including 2 million members, a propaganda newspaper (Pravda) and a private army (the Red Guards)
- b. Lenin’s April Theses, Apr 1917
  - The Germans smuggled Lenin back to Russia, and he published his April Theses promising ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ and ‘All power to the Soviets’
- c. July Days, Jul 1917
  - An attempted Bolshevik Revolution failed
- d. Kornilov rebellion, Aug 1917
  - A revolution by a right-wing general named Kornilov almost succeeded; Kerensky had to ask the Red Guards for help – this made them popular .
- e. Petrograd Soviet, Sep 1917
  - The Bolsheviks gained control of the Petrograd Soviet

20. The Kornilov Affair: events
- a. Kornilov's plan, July 1917
  - After the July Days riots, Kerensky discussed setting up a strong military government with Kornilov and the Army; Kornilov moved the an army division near to Petrograd
- b. Kornilov dismissed, 27 Aug 1917
  - On 26 Aug, Kerensky was told that Kornilov wanted to set up a military dictatorship led by himself; next day he dismissed Kornilov
- c. Kornilov advanced, 29 Aug 1917
  - Kornilov sent the Third Cavalry Corps, led by General Krymov, to advanced on Petrograd
- d. The Red Guards defended Petrograd, 30 Aug 1917
  - Kerensky called on the Red Guards and the Kronstadt sailors to defend Petrograd; in the face of 25,000 armed Bolsheviks, the 7,000 soldiers retreated – the coup had failed .
- e. Kornilov imprisoned, 1 Sep 1917
  - Some historians think that Kerensky tricked Kornilov into attacking so he could remove him, or that he encouraged him at first but changed his mind when he realised he would lose power

21. The Kornilov Affair: significance
- a. Kornilov imprisoned
  - Kornilov was imprisoned; when the Civil War broke out, he escaped and joined the White army
- b. Army discipline collapsed
  - The failure of the coup destroyed the soldiers' last respect for their officers; discipline in the army collapsed – soldiers deserted and mutinied (e.g. the Petrograd Mutiny, 21 Oct 1917)
- c. Kerensky abandoned
  - Kerensky lost his one chance to establish a strong government with the support of the Army
- d. Bolshevik popularity
  - The Bolsheviks became the people's heroes; in Sep 1917 they gained control of the Petrograd Soviet .
- e. October Revolution
  - Kerensky lost the support of the army; on 21 Oct the Petrograd garrison mutinied, and when the Bolsheviks attacked the Army did not support the Provisional Government

22. Bolshevik seizure of power: events
- a. Petrograd Mutiny, 3 Nov 1917
  - Kerensky ordered the Petrograd garrison to the front; they refused
- b. Red Guards took key positions, 6 Nov 1917
  - Red Guards took over key buildings (bridges, telephone exchange)
- c. Winter Palace, 7 Nov 1917
  - After a bombardment from the battleship Aurora, the Red Guards took the Winter Palace (the government HQ)
- d. Congress of Soviets, 7–8 Nov 1917
  - The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries walked out in protest at the Bolshevik takeover .
- e. Lenin announced the new government, 8 Nov 1917
  - Lenin announced the Bolshevik regime and ‘the construction of the socialist order’

23. Why could the Bolsheviks seize power in November 1917?
- a. Lenin and Trotsky
  - Lenin provided a figure-head and ruthless, flexible leadership. Trotsky brilliantly organised the October coup, propaganda and formation of the CHEKA and Red Army
- b. Failure of the Provisional Government
  - It failed a solve a single one of its problems (Economic and land problems, splits, the Petrograd Soviet and lack of army support), leading to riots, mutinies and anarchy
- c. German support
  - The Germans smuggled Lenin into Russia and financed the Bolsheviks
- d. Bolshevik organisation
  - An efficient party organisation included 2 million members, Pravda, the Red Guards and a slogan (‘Peace Bread Land’) .
- e. The October Revolution
  - An almost bloodless coup d’etat

24. Lenin's new society
- a. Land Decree, 8 Nov 1917
  - Took land from the landlords and gave it to the peasants
- b. Peace Decree published, 9 Nov 1917
  - Proposed immediate withdrawal from the First World War
- c. Workers Decrees, 12 Nov 1917
  - Workers were given an 8-hour day, paid holiday and sick leave, old-age pensions were introduced; the Bolsheviks allowed free love, divorce and abortion
- d. Women’s equality, Jul 1918
  - Article 22 of the Russian Constitution gave women equal rights – they could be journalists, doctors, teachers and soldiers .
- e. Decree to Eradicate Illiteracy, Dec 1919
  - There was a campaign to teach everyone to read

25. Establishment of Bolshevik rule
- a. Constituent Assembly dismissed, 6 Jan 1918
  - Lenin dismissed the Constituent Assembly (6 January 1918) because 370 deputies were Social Revolutionaries (and only 175 Bolsheviks)
- b. Dictatorship of the Proletariat
  - He declared the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ and ruled by decree
- c. CHEKA
  - The CHEKA (secret police) pursued opponents; anti-Bolshevik publications were banned
- d. Red Terror, Sep 1918
  - After an attempt to assassinate him, Lenin launched the ‘Red Terror’ – 50,000 opponents were arrested, tortured or executed .
- e. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Set up the USSR; the government was run by a ‘Council of Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) controlled by the Communist Party’s cabinet (Politburo)

26. Russia quits the First World War
- a. Peace Decree published, 9 Nov 1917
  - Proposed immediate withdrawal from the First World War
- b. Armistice, Dec 1917
  - Armistice signed between Russia and the Central Powers
- c. German invasion, Feb 1918
  - Peace negotiations stalled because Russia refused to give up land, so the Germans invaded; Lenin agreed peace at any price
- d. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Mar 1918
  - Russia lost Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine – a third of its farmland, three-quarters of its coal and iron mines .
- e. Compensation, Aug 1918
  - Russia paid Germany compensation of 6 billion marks

27. Russian Civil War, 1918: causes
- a. White Russians
  - Supporters of the Tsar – nobles, generals, landowners – wanted to restore Nicholas
- b. Britain, France and the USA
  - Britain, France and the USA wanted to keep Russia in the First World War, and were motivated by fear of world communism
- c. Japan and Poland
  - Japan and Poland invaded to try to conquer Russian land
- d. Ukrainians and Georgians
  - The Ukrainians and Georgians wanted independence .
- e. Czech prisoners-of-war
  - Czech prisoners-of-war escaped, took over the Trans-Siberian Railway, and robbed and looted

28. The Civil War: events
- a. Japan and Poland
  - Japan and Poland invaded to try to conquer Russian land
- b. Admiral Kolchak
  - Kolchak set up a ‘White’ government in Siberia and marched on Moscow; he was defeated in 1919
- c. General Denikin
  - Denikin (with French support) advanced from southern Russia; his army was defeated in 1920
- d. General Yudenich
  - Yudenich (with British money) attacked from Estonia and got to within 12 miles of Petrograd; he was defeated in 1920 .
- e. Czech prisoners-of-war
  - They advanced to Kazan, just 450 miles from Moscow, then bought safe passage home by handing over Admiral Kolchak and the White Army’s gold

29. Bolsheviks victory: causes
- a. Bolshevik zeal
  - The Bolshevik soldiers were motivated and fighting for a Communist state; the Whites were politically disunited and geographically split
- b. Agit trains
  - Propaganda – agit trains took mobile cinemas, speakers and leaflets round the country
- c. 'War Communism'
  - 'War Communism' provided the Red Army with the supplies it needed
- d. The Red Terror
  - The Red Terror murdered 750,000 Whites; Red generals’ families were kidnapped to keep them loyal; the royal family was executed in July 1918 .
- e. The Red Army
  - Red Army – Trotsky brilliantly organised an army of 300,000; it was well disciplined and well equipped

30. Bolshevik victory: consequences
- a. Bolshevik government
  - The Bolsheviks survived as the government of Russia
- b. Famine
  - Famine – 5 million died
- c. Inflation
  - Inflation – money became worthless; people reverted to barter
- d. Atrocities
  - Atrocities – massacres, tortures committed by both sides in the war .
- e. The Red Terror
  - Some historians think that the brutality of the Civil War made the Bolshevik government particularly ruthless in power

31. Creation of the USSR
- a. Creation of the USSR, 1922
  - Stalin announced the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, which was agreed by the Soviet Socialist Republics of Russia, Transcaucasia, Ukraine and Byelorussia
- b. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Set up the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
- c. Sovnarkom
  - The government was run by a ‘Council of People’s Commissars’
- d. Politburo
  - The government was controlled by the Communist Party’s ruling cabinet .
- e. Russification
  - Russia dominated the USSR, and tried to destroy the language and customs of other nationalities

32. 'War Communism': causes
- a. Communist ideology, Jun 1918
  - The Decree on the Nationalisation of Industry abolished capitalism
- b. Economic crisis
  - During the Civil War, a quarter of all firms failed, production fell catastrophically, with large-scale unemployment and food shortages
- c. Bolshevik towns needed food
  - Supplies had been disrupted by the Civil War
- d. The Red Army needed supplies
  - Industry needed to be put on a war footing .
- e. Inflation
  - Money was losing value, people were reverting to barter

33. 'War Communism': features
- a. The Council of People’s Economy
  - The government directed production; the Council of National Economy (VSNKh) told each factory what and how much to produce
- b. Military discipline of workers
  - Military discipline was imposed in factories and strikers were shot
- c. Nationalisation of industry
  - Large factories and banks were taken over by the government
- d. Prodrazvyorstka
  - Peasants had to give all surplus food to the government; CHEKA units seized grain and killed any peasants trying to hide food .
- e. Ration cards replaced money
  - Food was rationed, with most food going first to manual workers, and professional people getting least

34. 'War Communism': consequences
- a. Economy ruined
  - Industrial output had fallen to 13% of the 1913 level, iron and steel production to 4%
- b. Food production declined
  - When all your surplus production was confiscated, there was no point in producing any more than subsistence
- c. Village riots
  - After 1920, there were riots in many villages when the CHEKA tried to confiscate grain
- d. Food procurements
  - Increased six-fold 1918–1921 .
- e. Red Terror
  - The CHEKA, strikers were shot, peasants hiding grain were executed

35. The Kronstadt rebellion, 1921: events
- a. Workers' Opposition, 1920
  - The Trade Unions united to oppose ''War Communism'' and the Bolshevik rules; in the countryside, peasants prevented the collection of the Prodrazvyorstka
- b. Petropavlovsk mutiny, 28 Feb 1921
  - The crew of the ship Petropavlovsk declared their support for Petrograd workers who were striking against ''War Communism'', and called for elections and freedom
- c. Kronstadt Soviet, 1 Mar 1921
  - A demonstration of 15,000 soldiers elected a new Kronstadt Soviet and abolished Bolshevik rules
- d. Trotsky's attack, 7–17 Mar 1921
  - Trotsky attacked and defeated the Kronstadt fortress; 10,000 Red Guards were killed .
- e. Executions, 18 Mar 1921
  - 500 captured sailors were executed without trial; over the next few months 2000 more were put to death

36. The Kronstadt rebellion, 1921: results
- a. Arrest of opponents
  - In all, some 2,500 sailors were executed; Lenin used the Kronstadt rebellion as an excuse to crush the Workers' Opposition, and to arrest many other opponents (e.g. the Mensheviks)
- b. Solovki concentration camp
  - Solovki concentration camp, set up for the sailors and other opponents, was the first Soviet camp, and the start of the gulag
- c. 10th Party Congress: the Ban on Factions
  - The 10th Party Congress (Mar 1921) also banned all factions (disagreements within the Bolshevik Party); Stalin would later use this to eliminate his opponents
- d. 10% Prodnalog
  - At the 10th Party Congress (Mar 1921) Lenin replaced the Prodrazvyorstka with the Prodnalog (a tax in kind of 10% of produce) – much lighter, and the start of the New Economic Policy .
- e. NEP, 1923
  - Although Lenin intended the tax in kind to be temporary, he never managed to reinstate 'War Communism', and instead had to introduce the New Economic Policy in 1923

37. New Economic Policy: causes
- a. The Civil War was over
  - So the extreme measures of 'War Communism' were no longer needed
- b. Economy ruined
  - Industrial output had fallen to 13% of the 1913 level, iron and steel production to 4%
- c. Food production declined
  - Grain confiscation had reduced agriculture to subsistence farming
- d. Village riots
  - There were riots in many villages; this showed how much 'War Communism' was hated .
- e. Kronstadt rebellion, Mar 1921
  - The Kronstadt sailors rebelled; although Trotsky brutally crushed the rebellion, Lenin realised he had to change his policy

38. New Economic Policy: features
- a. Prodnalog
  - A food tax (Prodnalog) replaced Prodrazvyorstka (confiscation of surplus produce)
- b. Kulaks
  - Farmers were allowed to sell their surplus produce for profit; kulak farmers prospered
- c. Nepmen
  - Private businesses were allowed; small factories were given back to their owners and ‘Nepmen’ set up private enterprises
- d. Nationalities
  - Nationalities (e.g. Ukrainians) were allowed their own language and customs .
- e. Freedom of Religion
  - Freedom of religion was allowed to Christians and Muslims

39. New Economic Policy: consequences
- a. Production increased to 1914 levels
  - Grain production doubled; coal tripled; electricity increased five-fold
- b. Kulaks
  - Farmers were allowed to sell their surplus produce for profit; kulak farmers prospered
- c. Nepmen
  - ‘Nepmen’ set up private enterprises; some were resented for charging high prices
- d. Old Bolsheviks resigned
  - Many old Bolsheviks resigned, saying it was a return to capitalism .
- e. Russia remained economically backward
  - Russia remained economically backward compared to the West

40. Communist rule in the 1920s: facts
- a. Vozhd
  - Lenin was the undisputed vozhd (leader)
- b. Dictatorship of the proletariat, Jan 1918
  - Lenin dismissed the Constituent Assembly, declared the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ and ruled by decree
- c. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Lenin set up the USSR and ensured the ‘Council of People’s Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) – was controlled by the Communist Party’s ruling cabinet (the Politburo)
- d. OGPU and Gulag
  - Opponents – both outside and inside the Communist Party – were arrested by the OGPU (secret police) and sent to the ‘Gulag’ (the system of labour camps) .
- e. Agitprop, 1920
  - The Politburo set up an Agitprop Department to organise censorship and propaganda; ‘agit-trains’ took newsreels round the country

41. Lenin: roles and achievements
- a. Vozhd
  - Lenin was the figurehead and accepted leader (vozhd) – important in a party of revolutionaries
- b. German support
  - Lenin persuaded the Germans to smuggle him back to Russia and to finance the Bolsheviks in 1917
- c. April Theses
  - The April Theses provided the ideas and attracted support in 1917; Lenin brought in the new communist society
- d. Dictatorship of the proletariat
  - Lenin ruthlessly seized power in January 1918 and established Bolshevik rule by announcing the Red Terror .
- e. 'War Communism'
  - Lenin introduced the system of 'War Communism' which gave the Bolsheviks unity and victory in the Russian Civil War