Key Points Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin

Chapter 1: What led up to the downfall of the Tsar?

Tsarist Russia was a huge country with a diverse population. Making it a very difficult country to govern. In 1900, an overwhelming majority of the population were peasants. Russia was an autocracy, ruled by Tsar who was head of the vast, unresponsive and inefficient bureaucracy. The Tsars used repressive measures to keep control but despite this a number of opposite parties developed. The last Tsar, Nicholas II, was an inefficient and weak leader, unable to cope with the pressures of modernizing Russia whilst trying to retain autocratic instructions. The task of modernizing Russia was one that even the most able leader would have found difficult. Nicholas received a warning in 1905 when the revolution broke out all over Russia. He survived the 1905 revolution by making concessions but was unwilling to make the move to a more democratic, representative form of government. The First World War put the Tsar and his regime under tremendous pressure and in February 1917 it collapsed.

Chapter 2: Who took control of Russia after the February Revolution? The downfall of the Tsar had been swift because there was very little support left for him in any section of society. The February Revolution seems to have been a spontaneous and popular revolution with a little involvement from
revolutionary leaders.

A Provisional Government was formed by liberal politicians to rule Russia during a transition period until a Constituent Assembly could set up a new system of government. A Provisional Government had a little power in Petrograd. The power lay with a rival body-the Soviet-which had been formed at the same time. The Soviet, led by socialist intellectuals, represented workers and soldiers. It controlled armed forces, industries and services in the capital. The Soviet could have taken control but had several reasons for not doing so and for co-operating with the Provisional Government. In particular, the Soviet leaders did not want a Civil War to break out. Things seem to start well, as the Provisional Government announced elections and civil rights for the Russian people. In the rest of Russia, all sorts of bodies were set up to run local government. The soviets were the most important of these bodies. They were simply councils or committees run by local people, non-party socialists, Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, pretty much outside of anybody elses control. Things did not immediately get better after the revolution. The war was still going on and food and fuel were still in short supply.

Chapter 3: Was the Provisional Government doomed from the beginning? Lenin offered a radically different programme from that of the Provisional Government and the moderate socialist
leaders of the other parties.

The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries were drawn into the Provisional Government and thereafter became associated with its weakness and failures. War was the source of many of its problems but the Provisional Government, for a number of reasons, was unwilling to make separate peace with Germany. The peasants were increasingly taking matters into their own hands after the Provisional Government refused to legitimize their right to redistribute land amongst themselves. There were splits in the Provisional Government between the liberals and the socialists over how to treat the national minorities. The workers became more radicalized as the summer turned into autumn, and class antagonists with employers became more acute. Solders, increasingly war weary, did not want to fight.

Key Points Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin

The Provisional Government could not meet the expectations of the people in such a short space of time. By the end of August the new socialists Prime Minister, Alexander Kerensky, faced a formidable range of problems.

Chapter 4: Was the Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 inevitable?

The Bolshevik Party and its programme became the focus for all opposition to the Provisional Government and support for them grew rapidly during the summer. The frustration of solders and workers exploded in July Days, partly engineered by middle-ranking Bolsheviks. But the Bolshevik leadership was not ready to take power and the uprising fizzled out. The Bolsheviks were not the tightly disciplined, unified body that some have supposed, although its organization was better than that of other parties. Kerensky tried to use Kornilov to gain control of Petrograd but Kornilov had his own agenda. The Kornilov affair was disastrous for right-wing forces and the Provisional Government but gave the Bolsheviks a boost. Lenin urged his party leadership to stage an immediate uprising but, initially, they were reluctant. Trotsky persuaded Lenin to put off the uprising until the All-Russian Congress of Soviets so that the Bolsheviks could claim to have taken power in the name of the soviets. Kerenskys inept attempts to ward off the Bolshevik coup played into their hands. During 24-26 October, the Bolshevik take-over was carried out successfully. Large numbers of ordinary people supported the idea of the soviets taking power, but not the idea of the Bolsheviks taking power in a one-party state.

Chapter 5: How did the Bolsheviks survive the first few months in power?
The Bolsheviks government was in a fragile condition in the first few months, facing strikes and protests from other socialists over one-party rule. There were divisions within the party over a proposed socialist coalition. Some leading Bolsheviks temporarily resigned in protest at Lenins failure to support the coalition idea. Lenin always intended to rule on his own and asserted this in his own party and in government. Lenins early policies had to be modified in response to pressures from the masses. The Bolsheviks crushed opposition and developed forces of terror and coercion, especially the Cheka. Lenin persuaded the Bolsheviks to sign the unfavorable Treaty of Breast-Litovsk. He knew he had to have peace for his government to survive.

Chapter 6: How did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War?

The Civil War was very complex with many forces operating over a large territory. It was a very confusing period during which sides were not clearly defined. White forces made substantial gains in late 1918 and up to autumn of 1919, putting the Bolsheviks in a crisis situation. By October 1919 the Bolsheviks had turned the tide, picking off White armies one by one, and thereafter pushed the Whites back until their final defeat at the end of 1920. The Reds were in a better position geographically, and had better organization, better communication and a clear line of command. However, the Red Army had problems, particularly the high desertion rate. Trotsky made a significant individual contribution to winning the war by his organization abilities (transforming the Red Army), his energy and his personal bravery. The Whites lacked good leadership, unity and co-ordination between armies during campaigns. They were driven by internal divisions and squabbles. The Whites lacked support from the peasants and national minorities because of their reactionary policies Lenin adopted War Communism to meet the needs of the army and to conduct a civil war on the internal front. Terror was an essential component of this interval civil war to defeat counter-revolution. Communists saw War Communism as the route to socialism. Most peoples experience of War Communism was that it was a terrible time of privation and chaos.

Key Points Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin

Chapter 7: How was the Bolshevik state consolidated between 1921 and 1924?
The Bolsheviks were in serious trouble in 1921, facing massive peasant revolts, strikes and opposition from workers, a rising at the Kronstadt naval base, economic distress and famine. The Bolshevik regime was in jeopardy. There were also factions inside the Communist Party, like the Workers Opposition, who wanted changes in policy. Lenin made economic concessions in the form of the New Economic Policy to ensure the survival of the regime. The NEP was accompanied by repressive measures at the Communists asserted their control. Between 1918 and 1924, the government of the Communist state became increasingly centralized. This was partly the result of pragmatic responses to the Civil War and coping with an economy in dire circumstances, and partly the result of party ideology. The Communist Party became increasingly important at the expense of government institutions. The Communist Party itself became more centralized and controlled by a smaller number of people at the top. It became more used to obeying orders, there was less open debate and discussion, and a ban on factions meant that party members were less likely to challenge the party leaders. By 1924, the Soviet Union was a highly centralized, one-party state.

Chapter 8: How significant is Lenins contribution to history?

At the end of his life, Lenins relationship with Stalin deteriorated. It is likely that Stalins power would have been curtailed if Lenin had lived just a little bit longer or if Stalin had read out his testament. Stalin used Lenins funeral to portray himself as the disciple of Lenin and he started the cult on Leninism . He tried to transfer Lenins prestige and status to himself as the person pledged to continue Lenins work. Lenin had many quantities that made him a successful leader. The soft image of Lenin has been destroyed by new archive material which shows him to have been hard and ruthless. There is a good case for saying that Lenin made a difference as an individual in history.

Chapter 9: How did Stalin Emerge as the sole leader of Russia?

The main protagonists in the power struggle were Stalin and Trotsky. Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin were also contenders. Key issues leadership, the NEP, policies were as important as the personalities involved. It was a struggle over power rather than a struggle for power. The contenders were anxious to prevent rivals from coming to power and pursuing policies with which they did not agree. On the whole, party members tended to support Stalins changes of policy line. They supported Socialism in One Country and his line on the peasants at the end of the 1920s. Stalins control of the party machine was a crucial factor in his success. Stalin was a skillful politician who outmaneuvered his opponents, but he was also lucky. Trotskys weakness and errors of judgment were important factors in his defeat. All Stalins opponents vastly underestimated him.