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National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Imperial Russia – Government and People Page | 1 The Russian Empire in 1894 Land and Climate The Russian Empire was vast; it spanned two continents and was so big you could fit the British Isle into Russia ninety times. However, despite its large size most of the land was useless because of the climate. High mountains to the south stopped warm air from spreading into Russia keeping the temperatures low and arts of Russia were covered in huge pine forests. This meant that there was only a little land (5%) which could be used for farming. The cold climate affected Russia’s industry as well as farming. This is because it was difficult to transport goods across Russia as the rivers froze making it difficult for ships to get through. The trans-Siberian railway was built after 1890 and helped to improve communications with the eastern regions of Russia, but no national roads stretched right across the country. This map shows the size of Russia in 1914. It is curved to match the curve of the earth National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 People In 1894 the Russian Empire was ruled by a Tsar or Emperor called Nicholas II. Around 125 million people lived in the Russian Empire. Not everyone was Russian. The table Page | 2 below, which has been taken from the 1897 census, shows the different Nationalities who lived in the Russian Empire. Russians Ukrainians Poles Byelorussians Jews Kirghiz Tartars Finns Germans Lithuanians Letts Georgians Armenians Romanians Caucasians Iranians Other Asiatic peoples Mongols Others 55,650,000 22,400,000 7,900,000 5,900,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,700,000 2,500,000 1,800,000 1,650,000 1,400,000 1,350,000 1,150,000 1,110,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 5,750,000 500,000 200,000 Having so many nationalities living together caused some problems. There were many different languages so it could be difficult for people from different nationalities to communicate. Some nationalities had distinct cultures and customs which could potentially clash. Complete Questions 1-3 on Page 7 National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 The Tsarist Government Page | 3 Tsar Nicholas II was an autocrat which means he does not have to share power with a parliament. This meant Tsar Nicholas II could pass any law or change taxes (in short, do anything he liked) without consulting anyone. The Tsar was extremely powerful but he was not a very good leader. To help Nicholas run the huge Russian Empire he relied on the three “pillars” which supported his position: the bureaucracy, the army and the church. There were many civil servants in the Russian bureaucracy like government ministers, teachers and inspectors whose job it was to ensure that the country ran smoothly. Corruption was common in the bureaucracy with officials being bribed by people so they could get what they want. The Tsar’s secret police the Okhrana who ensured people followed the rules of Tsar’s regime and exiled opponents was part of this bureaucracy. The army was the second pillar which supported the Tsar. People outside Russia referred to the Russian army as “Steamroller” because the huge population made it the biggest in the world. Officers who were in charged came from the nobility while the ordinary soldiers came from the peasantry. Despite its large size the army was not very efficient as it lacked essential equipment and training. This meant that even though it was the biggest army in the world, it was not the strongest. The Russian Orthodox Church was the official church of the Empire. The Tsar was the head of this church and the priests told the people of Russia that the Tsar was appointed by God to rule over them. This helped ensure the people respected Nicholas’ reign and did not rebel. The Church actively persecuted people of other religions under a programme of Russification which tried to make every person in the Empire follow the faith of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Jews in Complete Questions 4-6 on Page 7 National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 particular suffered under Russification by a series of pogroms (planned campaign against a group of people which are planned by the government). Page | 4 Tsar Nicholas The Autocrat Bureaucracy Army Government “Steamroller” ministers Teachers Officials Inspectors Noble Officers Russian Orthodox Church Tsar appointed Peasant soldiers by God Poorly equipped Wealthy Under trained Persecute other The Okhrana religions (Jews) Russian Society Not only was Russia divided by the number of nationalities, it was also deeply divided socially. The nobility were the wealthiest people in Russia who owned most of the land and therefore controlled the peasants who worked the land. Nobles made up less than 2% of the population and the peasants made up 80%. This means the vast majority of the people in Russia were uneducated and lived in poverty. The peasants were given land to farm from the Mir (village commune) which was paid for each year for forty-nine years and only then did the peasants actually own the land. The size of the land given depended on the size of the family, as population increased the plots of land grew smaller and smaller which made it difficult for the peasants to support their families. As it became more difficult to sustain families on small plots of land, many peasants went to the cities to work in the factories. Nearly a million people went to the capital of Russia St. Petersburg to search for work. Life in the towns was National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 just as difficult as in the country as conditions were poor and wages were low and if you complained you could easily be replaced. Trade Unions were illegal making it difficult for improvements to be made. Page | 5 Rapid industrialisation created a new class of factory owners and bankers called the Capitalists who earned their riches from Russia’s industry. Another, very small middle class was emerging which included doctors and lawyers who were educated and knew about democratic ideas from Western Europe. Tsar Bureaucracy Church Army Nobility Industrial (Factory) workers Peasants Agricultural (Farm) workers Complete Questions 7-8 on Page 7 National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Agriculture and Industry We know that the cold climate made it difficult to grow crops and sustain the people of Page | 6 the Russian Empire. Despite this, Russia’s economy was largely based on agriculture (farming) and it relied on the peasants working hard to get a harvest from the little suitable land there was. This meant the Tsar had to keep the peasants on his side. From 1880 the Tsars had begun to encourage more industries to develop in Russia so they could compete with the European powers Germany and Britain. The result of this was rapid growth of cites in European (Western) Russia. For example the capital of Russia, St Petersburg grew from 900,000 to 1.5 million between 1880-1900. To pay for this industrialization Russia relied on investment from European countries like France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain. As well as using Western money to pay for the growth of industry, Russia also used Western technicians and engineers so that Russia would have the best designs and would get maximum profit. Peasants saw the opportunities available to work in the cities and moved in to work in the factories. In the cities overcrowded living conditions, low pay, twelve hour shifts, accidents in the work place created a tense atmosphere with very discontent workers. Workers’ diet consisted of black bread, cabbage soup and porridge and they were forced to live in cramped cheap lodgings with no privacy. With more people living in cities and working closely together sharing their problems, it was feared that these ideas could grow and could result in revolution. Ideas like democracy threatened the Tsar’s power and control over his Empire; it was for discussing such ideas that the Okhrana arrested people. Complete Questions 9-10 on Page 7 National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Tasks Page | 7 Answer the following questions in your jotter in full sentences. 1. Describe the problems Russia’s climate caused in terms of farming and industry 2. If the total population of the Russian Empire was 125 million people, how many people in the Empire were NOT Russian? (Use the table on page 2) 3. What problems would the people of Russia face with so many different nationalities living together? 4. What is an autocrat? 5. Name and describe the function of each of the 3 “pillars” which supported Tsar Nicholas. 6. Russification was designed to unite all people in the Russian Empire under the Russian Orthodox Church. Why do you think this was so important? 7. Why did some peasants move to the cities? Was life any better there? 8. Source A is from a book written in 1905 by Father Geogrei Gapon a priest in St Petersburg. They receive miserable wages and generally live in an overcrowded state... the normal working day is eleven and a half hours of work, exclusive of meal times...I often watch crowds of poorly clad and emaciated (very thin) figures of men and girls returning from the mills. a) Is source A a primary or secondary source? b) Who wrote the source? Are they likely to be biased? c) What information about conditions for factory workers can we find in this source? 9. Why was Russia so keen to industrialize in the late 19th century? How did they achieve this? 10. How did the middle class and workers threaten the Tsar’s control of the Russian Empire? National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 The 1905 Revolution War against Japan Page | 8 In 1904 Russia went to war with Japan over Korea and Manchuria. Tsar Nicholas thought Russia would win the war quickly and that this would make him more popular with the people. From the beginning of the war Russia suffered defeat after defeat and this weakened his position. The war had caused conditions for the working people to get worse as food supplies to the cities stopped and factories ran out of materials and were forced to close. The result was angry, hungry and unemployed workers out on the streets were they could share their anger. Bloody Sunday As conditions became worse for the Russian people more began to demand a change. On Sunday 22nd January 1905 a crowd of 200,000 workers led by a priest called Father Gapon marched through St Petersburg to the Winter Palace. This was a peaceful protest with the workers dressed in their best clothes, carrying a petition addressed to the Tsar. The petition asked for better working and living conditions, a shorter working day, an end to the war with Japan and other reforms. When they reached the palace the guards opened fire killing 96 people and National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 wounding 333 (approx). The massacre became known as “Bloody Sunday” and as news of the events spread riots and strikes erupted. Page | 9 Causes of the 1905 revolution The 1905 Revolution Complete Questions 1-2 on page 11 In June 1905 the crew of the Potemkin battleship mutinied. This showed that Tsar Nicholas could not trust his military to stay loyal to him. Furthermore after National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Bloody Sunday the peasants in the countryside rebelled against their landlords and nonRussians in the Empire declared their independence. By September the situation had gotten worse and a general strike began with shops, factories, railways, hospitals and Page | 10 schools closing. To help run the cities in the chaos of the strike, Soviets were established and they soon gained the respect of the workers. The October Manifesto Tsar Nicholas was forced to address the problems of his people. In October he issued document which said Russia would have an elected government called the Duma to help run the country. This document became known as the October Manifesto and it was important as it promised the Russian people basic freedoms (e.g. freedom of speech and to form political parties) and the opportunity to elect representatives to the Duma. By December Tsar Nicholas had gone back on his word and arrested members of the St Petersburg Soviet along with sending the army to Moscow to crush its Soviet. To fully end the revolution thugs known as the “Black Hundreds” organised massacres of revolutionaries which the police and army did not prevent. When the Duma met for the first time in May Tsar Nicholas issued a set of Fundamental Laws. The first law stated “To the Emperor of all the Russias belongs the supreme autocratic power”. This meant that although the Duma existed, Nicholas was still the one with the power and as such little had changed for the Russian people. Complete Questions 3-5 on page 11 Tasks Answer the following questions in your jotter in full sentences. 1. Why did the war with Japan make the Tsar unpopular? 2. Do you think the decision to open fire on protestors during Bloody Sunday a sensible one? National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 3. Create a timeline of the events of the 1905 Revolution 4. What did the October Manifesto promise? Page | 11 5. How successful was the 1905 Revolution? 6. How fully does Source A describe the reasons for the 1905 Revolution? (6) Source A is an extract from the petition that Father George Gapon hoped to present to Nicholas II on 22nd January, 1905. We workers, our children, our wives and our old, helpless parents have come, Lord, to seek truth and protection from you. We are impoverished and oppressed, unbearable work is imposed on us, we are despised and not recognized as human beings. We are treated as slaves, who must bear their fate and be silent. We have suffered terrible things, but we are pressed ever deeper into the abyss of poverty, ignorance and lack of rights. Remember! To answer this question you must: Make a judgment on how fully the source explains/ describes the historical event Provide 3 points from the source in your own words Provide 4 pieces of recalled knowledge You can only get 2 marks if you do not make a judgment Aftermath of 1905 Revolution The Dumas The Fundamental laws had made it clear that Tsar Nicholas controlled the Duma. The first Duma met in May 1906 and was dominated by Liberals but had 200 peasant representatives. It only lasted seventy-five days before Tsar Nicholas surrounded it with troops and broke it up. The second Duma was elected in 1907and contained liberals, social Revolutionaries and Social Democrats. It liked even less by Nicholas and was broken up after three months. Nicholas changed the voting system National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 and the 1907 which resulted in the final Duma lasting five years as it was mainly made up of conservatives who did not threaten Nicholas’ power greatly. Stolypin’s Reforms Page | 12 In 1906 Nicholas appointed a new Prime Minister, Peter Stolypin, to make sure there were no further outbreaks of revolution. Stolypin clamped down on terrorism by arresting and executing revolutionaries to the extent that Russian’s gave the gallows the nickname “Stolypin’s necktie”. To control the peasants Stolypin introduced land reform like abolishing redemption payments for the peasants and the Mirs. The idea was hard working peasants would own their own farms so increase production. This would make them rich and they would want peace. By 1914 over two million peasants owned their land. Industrial reform under Stolypin increased production of coal, iron, steel and cotton. However only the richer peasants (Kulaks) could afford to buy enough land to support their family and Russia’s industrial input was still behind that of other Cartoon showing the idea of “carrot and stick” European countries Stolypin’s policies can be described as “carrot and stick” as it is both harsh and fair and designed to keep people placated by reform and scared to rebel. Complete Questions 1-2 on page 15 Opponents of the Tsar Constitutional Democrats (Kadets) The most moderate party was the Constitutional Democrats (Kadets for short). They were a middle class party that wanted political reform. In Meeting of the Kadets National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 particular they w anted the Duma to be given greater power at the expense of the Tsar. Because their support came from the better off section of the population they rejected violence in favour of peaceful protest. Page | 13 Social Revolutionaries The largest opposition group was the Social Revolutionaries. They had the support of the peasants because they demanded more land for those that worked the land, and they wanted that land to come from those who owned it and grew rich from the sweat of the peasants. They had developed the use of terror as a political weapon and still employed it when necessary. Social Democrats The smallest opposition group was the most radical, the Social Democrats. They were a Socialist party that wanted the wealth of the few to be redistributed amongst the povertystricken masses of Russia. They followed the teaching of the German Communist thinker, Karl Marx who believed that history was the story of class struggle. Karl Marx in 1875 In the late 19th century, according to Marx, the classes contesting for power were the Bourgeoisie (middle class) and the Proletariat (working class). Revolution, Marx taught, was inevitable because of the behaviour of the middle class Capitalists (those with money to invest). They exploited their workers mercilessly. This was bound to make them revolt. The tasks of the Party were to prepare for the revolution and to educate the workers so that they could take part in it. Once the revolution occurred, the Means of Production (factories, mines, land, and banks) would be taken over by the state and run for the benefit of the people. There would be no more rich and poor; everyone would be equal. Bolsheviks and Mensheviks National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Most Social Democrat leaders lived abroad because they risked arrest by the Okhrana for their views. The Party had split in two in 1903 at a Party Congress in London and had remained split ever since. One wing of Page | 14 the party, the Bolsheviks (the majority) was led by Vladimir Ulyanov, son of a school inspector, better known as Lenin. The other wing was called the Mensheviks (minority). Lenin had wanted the party kept small and secret, with only dedicated Marxists allowed to join. In that way it A painting of Lenin would be hard to infiltrate by the Okhrana, easier to control and its political views could be kept pure and uncorrupted. The Mensheviks disagreed. They wanted a mass party to compete for votes at elections. They also wanted to campaign for reforms now and not just wait like the Bolsheviks for the revolution which might be decades away. Since 1903, despite their name, the Menshevik group had grown to considerable size, while the Bolsheviks had remained as Lenin wanted them, a small tightly knit group under his authoritarian leadership. Complete Questions 3-5 on page 15 Tasks 1. How successful were the Dumas in introducing democracy? 2. Describe Stolypin’s time as Prime Minister. Remember! To answer the question you must: DESCRIBE a historical event You need to make at least 5 relevant points which describe the event National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 3. Create a table which shows the differences and similarities between the different opponents to the Tsar. Page | 15 Include information on: Tactics (e.g. use of violence) Beliefs Supporters Famous members 4. Why did Karl Marx think revolution was inevitable? 5. a) What does the word “Bolshevik” mean? b) What does the word “Menshevik” mean? c) In 1903 which group had the largest membership and why? Russia and the First World War Russia Goes to War In 1914 Nicholas II made his greatest mistake: he took Russia into the First World War to honour a promise made to the small Slav state of Serbia years earlier that Russia would come to her aid if she was threatened by AustriaHungary. In June of that year a Serb terrorist had killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary accused the Serb government of complicity in the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austro-Hungarian throne National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 assassination and, after getting a promise of support from her ally Germany, declared war on Serbia in late July. Nicholas II, hoping that military success would restore his regime's popularity, ordered Page | 16 his armies to begin mobilisation. When he rejected a German demand to cease mobilisation, that country declared war on Russia. Like most countries in that summer of 1914, Russia was swept by a huge wave of patriotic fervour, and young men clamoured to enlist in their hundreds of thousands. The Tsar must have thought that at last the country was united behind him. Campaigns of 1914 The early campaigns on the Eastern Front set the pattern for the rest of the war. Despite numerical superiority, the Russians were crushed by German forces in East Prussia at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in September 1914. Better equipment, better training and better generalship gave the Germans a decisive edge in battles against Russia's poorly equipped hordes. Further south in Galicia the Russians did better against Germany's weak ally, Austria-Hungary. Many of her soldiers were Slavs, only too keen to desert to their Russian brothers. The morale of the Austro-Hungarian armies never recovered from the defeats they suffered at the hands of the Russians in 1914. Campaigns of 1915-16 The Germans and Austrians made a major push on the Eastern Front throughout the summer of 1915. The result was a catastrophic defeat for Russia. Her armies were pushed back 300 miles all along the front and lost 2,500,000 men in the process as well as a great deal of fertile land and industrial resources. This grave setback also created a refugee problem in the cities as millions fled the advancing Central Powers armies. One consequence was the Tsar's decision, despite his having no military experience, to take personal command of his armies at Tsar Nicholas rallying the troops with a religious icon National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 the front. If the defeats continued he would take the blame. However 1916 saw a Russian revival, though predictably it was at the expense of the Austro-Hungarian army. General Brusilov prepared a well-planned offensive which Page | 17 regained some of the ground lost the previous year, though at the cost of another million casualties. In part this revival was due to the production of more weapons as Russia's industry adapted to wartime measures. Unfortunately this came too late. By the start of 1917 it is estimated that of the 15 million men conscripted into the armed forces since 1914, one half were either killed, wounded or missing and an increasing proportion of the missing were in fact deserters who saw no point in continuing a war already lost. Russia's long-suffering soldiers had reached the limit of their endurance by the winter of 1916-17. War-weariness ran like a contagious virus through the army. The desire for peace, any peace, became overwhelming. Complete Questions 1-6 on page 18 Tasks 1. Why did Russia go to war in 1914? 2. Explain the term “patriotic fervour”. Use a dictionary to look up the meaning. 3. Why was Russia suffering defeat even though it had a larger army? 4. Was Tsar Nicholas’ decision to take personal command of the army a wise one? Explain your answer. 5. Why did the soldiers want peace by the winter of 1916-1917? 6. Evaluate the usefulness of Source A as evidence of the Russian army during WW1. Source A is by Arthur Ransome who made several visits to the Eastern Front in 1916 and 1917. National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 I saw a great deal of that long-drawn out front and of the men who, ill-armed, ill-supplied, were holding it against an enemy who, even in his anxiety to fight was no greater than the Russian's, was infinitely better equipped. I came back Page | 18 to Petrograd full of admiration for the Russian soldiers who were holding the front without enough weapons to go round. Origin Purpose Content Recall Russia and the First World War– Problems at Home Supply Problems The First World War was a total war in which civilians at home were affected by military events too. In Russia, as in other countries, prices, especially of food and fuel, rose faster than wages. This was caused mainly by the fact that the army had taken over most of the railway network in order to supply its troops. This left too few trains to carry supplies to the cities. Throughout the war there was no real shortage of food in Russia, but most of the food could not get into the cities. So the people went hungry while much of the harvest rotted in railway sidings. This problem was aggravated by the refugees from the conquered territories. Another effect of their arrival was to increase overcrowding in Russia's already overcrowded cities. National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 By 1916 unemployment was increasing, which was unusual in wartime. This too was linked to the transport problem. Not enough fuel was available for the factories and so some shut down, while others laid workers off. This was very hard for families to bear Page | 19 at a time of steadily rising prices. The shortage of fuel made the winters even harder to bear than usual. In Petrograd in the winter of 1916-17, with both food and fuel in short supply and expensive, frustration mounted, as did the wish to end the war. However those in high places seemed oblivious to the gathering storm. Alexandra and Rasputin The Tsar had left his German wife, Alexandra, to take charge of government meetings when he went to the front in 1915. This was a disastrous mistake. She had never been popular with the people, who saw her as an aloof and arrogant foreigner. With the outbreak of war, there were even some who accused her of being a German spy. To make matters worse Alexandra had fallen under the influence of a so-called holy man and miracle worker, Gregory Rasputin. Her only son, Alexei, the heir to the throne, suffered from the rare blood disease, haemophilia. This meant that his blood did not clot when he was cut or bruised. There was no cure for this ailment. Rasputin had appeared in 1904 at St Petersburg and, on being introduced to the royal family, seemed to be able to shorten the length and decrease the severity of the disease's attacks. From then on Alexandra, who was a carrier of the disease, like her grandmother Queen National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Victoria, was sure that Rasputin had been sent by God. She trusted him implicitly, and refused to believe the police reports that his behaviour outside the royal palace was anything but saintly. Page | 20 By 1915-16 many people believed that Rasputin exerted great influence over government appointments because Alexandra consulted him and deferred to his views. All of this had a dreadful effect on the reputation of the royal family: some even claimed that Alexandra and Rasputin were lovers. The people of Russia found it more and more difficult to feel any loyalty to the Romanov dynasty. In December 1916 a group of Russian nobles killed Rasputin in the hope that his death would revive the fortunes of the royal family. But his death made no difference. The winter of 1916-17 was even fiercer than usual. Breaking point had been reached: although it did not realise it, the Romanov dynasty had reached the end of the line. Complete Questions 1-4 on page 21 Tasks 1. How did the First World War affect the Russian people? 2. Why was leaving the Tsarina in charge of governing Russia a mistake? 3. Explain why the Romanov dynasty was approaching the end of its reign in 1917. 4. How fully does Source A describe the impact of the First World War on the Russian people? National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Source A is by Louise Bryant, from her book Six Months in Russia (1918) One of the things that strikes coldness to one's heart are the long Page | 21 lines of scantily clad people standing in the bitter cold waiting to buy bread, milk, sugar or tobacco. From four o'clock in the morning they begin to stand there. Remember! To answer this question you must: Make a judgment on how fully the source explains/ describes the historical event Provide 3 points from the source in your own words Provide 4 pieces of recalled knowledge You can only get 2 marks if you do not make a judgment The (February) March Revolution 1917 The Overthrow of the Tsar It started with bread riots in Petrograd. Demonstrations and strikes followed. Within days the city was paralysed, but Alexandra refused to take the disturbances seriously. Members of the Duma informed the Tsar who was still at the front, that the situation was grave. They asked him to make concessions towards democratic government. Out National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 of touch and in any case unwilling to compromise, Nicholas rejected these proposals. His wife advised him to stand firm. Troops sent out into the streets to crush protesters, instead befriended them. Some even shot their officers. It was clear to Page | 22 all but the blind that the government had lost control. The army would not rescue him as it had done in 1905: the war had seen to that. The Duma, afraid that control of events would pass to more radical groups, asserted itself and declared that it was transforming itself into a Provisional Government. The generals informed the Tsar that they could not guarantee the loyalty of their troops. As if in a daze, Nicholas recognised the game was up. On 1st March the Tsar’s train was diverted to Pskov 160km away from Petrograd. The next day Duma politicians’ and generals persuaded Nicholas that he had to choice but to abdicate. Provisional Government and Soviet But there was to be no simple transfer of power from the Tsar to the Provisional Government. Government The was Provisional faced almost immediately with a potential rival: the Petrograd Soviet. Soviet is the Russian word for a council and this council was brought into existence by those very radical elements that the members of the Duma feared so much. Whereas the Duma, and hence the Provisional Government, had a moderate middle class outlook, the Soviet reflected Social Revolutionary, Menshevik and to a lesser extent Bolshevik views. It also claimed to be more representative of the Russian people insofar as its members were elected by workers and soldiers. Every factory and army regiment in the city had a delegate in the Soviet, while the members of the Duma had been elected by a limited number of voters as long ago as 1912.The Soviet was suspicious of the Provisional Government from the start. It feared that it would not deliver what the people wanted: peace with Germany, an end to the shortages and genuine democratic government. For the National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 meantime, however, the Soviet was prepared, in the interests of stable government, to give the provisional Government time to see what it could do. Nevertheless it took precautions. One of its first measures was to introduce Soviet Order No 1. This was Page | 23 an instruction to the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison that they were to obey the Soviet if ever there was a disagreement between it and the Provisional Government. Events took an even more serious turn for the Provisional Government when radicals all over the country quickly copied what had happened in Petrograd and set up their own Soviets. Soon there were hundreds of them, and they all looked to the Petrograd Soviet for guidance and leadership. It was clear that the Provisional Government would find it very difficult to rule Russia without the consent of the Soviets. Complete Question 1 on page 26 The Provisional Government in Power The War Continues Like most new governments, the Provisional Government was popular at the start and its early reforms were welcomed. It opened the prisons and freed the Tsar's political prisoners. newspapers. It closed down the hated Okhrana. And it ended censorship of the National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 However, its other policies were received with less enthusiasm. The Provisional Government made it clear that it intended to keep Russia in the war. This turned out to be a terrible mistake, but its reasons made some Page | 24 sense in early 1917. In April the USA entered the war on the Allies' side. Victory was now all but certain if Russia could just hang on. Moreover there was some hope that the troops' morale would improve now that the Tsar was WW1 USA propaganda poster gone. There was also concern that if Russia made peace the Allies would cut off their subsidies. Despite all this, the people wanted peace, and with the Tsar gone, they expected to get it sooner rather than later. Any government that failed to make peace would not last long. No Land Reform The new government also promised land reform, but did nothing about it claiming that the peasants would have to wait until proper elections had been held to set up a truly democratic government. This too made sense, but it was not what the peasants wanted to hear. Their expectations had also been raised by the overthrow of the Tsar and they soon Map showing the Eastern Front of WW1 became disillusioned when their early hopes failed to materialise. During 1917 desertions from the largely peasant army increased to epidemic proportions because men wanted to get home to claim their share of the new land they believed would be made available. This of course made it more difficult for the government to keep an effective army in the field National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Growing Criticism Even its liberalising policies backfired on the Provisional Government. From out of the prisons, Page | 25 and from abroad, poured thousands of radicals who now, like the press, had the freedom to say what they wanted. What they wanted was more than the Provisional Government would give them. Soon the government was being criticised from all sides. Complete Question 2 on page 26 Tasks 1. Read Sources A and B and answer the following questions a) Who are the authors of the sources? b) Is it likely that the authors will agree on how serious the situation in Petrograd was in March 1917? Explain your answer. National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 c) What do the sources agree on? d) What do the sources disagree on? Page | 26 e) Whose opinion do you agree with? Explain your answer Source A is from a letter written by the Tsarina to Nicholas II (26thMarch, 1917) The whole trouble comes from these idlers, well-dressed people, wounded soldiers, high-school girls, etc. who are inciting others. Lily spoke to some cabdrivers to find out things. They told her that the students came to them and told them if they appeared in the streets in the morning, they should be shot to death. What corrupt minds! Of course the cabdrivers and the motormen are now on strike. But they say that it is all different from 1905, because they all worship you and only want bread. Source B is part of a speech made by Alexander Kerensky, in the Duma (13th March, 1917) There are people who assert that the Ministers are at fault. Not so. The country now realizes that the Ministers are but fleeting shadows. The country can clearly see who sends them here. To prevent a catastrophe the Tsar himself must be removed, by force if there is no other way. 2. Explain why many Russians were still discontent after the abdication of the Tsar (6) Lenin and the Bolsheviks Lenin Returns to Russia One of its fiercest critics was the leader of the Bolsheviks. Lenin had been in Zurich when the revolution occurred. He wanted to return at once. Germany provided him National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 with money and a train, despite being at war with Russia. The reason was that Lenin had made clear his opposition to the war as early as 1914. If he gained power in Russia, he would make peace and Germany would have to fight on only one front. In April Lenin Page | 27 arrived in Petrograd via Germany, Sweden and Finland. Up to this point the Bolshevik leaders in Russia had gone along with the Soviet's policy of co-operation with the Provisional Government. Lenin changed all that in one speech, later encapsulated in his April Theses. The Bolsheviks, he declared, wanted an immediate end to the war, a government takeover of factories and banks, the handing over of land to the peasants, the transformation of the Soviets into the real government of Russia and no cooperation of any sort with the Provisional Government. Lenin also made it clear that the Bolshevik Party, despite its small size, intended to seize power in order to make Russia into the world's first Communist state. Lenin's Aims Moreover Lenin took steps to turn this dream into a reality. He galvanised the party instructing its members to get themselves elected to the soviets since that was where the real power in Russia lay. The party that controlled the soviets controlled Russia. He set up a Bolshevik private army, the Red Guards which would, when ready, topple the middle class Provisional Government which had no real interest in the working class. He made sure that the Party boosted its support through the use of simple but effective slogans such as "All Power to the Soviets" and "Peace, Land, Bread". He continued to accept financial help from the Germans and used it unashamedly to further undermine morale in the army. More than anything else Lenin gave the Bolsheviks purpose and direction. He recognised that the Provisional Government was weak and that the opportunity existed for a determined group to overthrow it and grab the reins of history. National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Complete Question 1 and 2 on page 30 Page | 28 Attacks on the Provisional Government The July Days Some Bolshevik supporters thought that their rendezvous with destiny had come in early July. Alexander Kerensky, who had emerged as the regime's most dynamic leader had, as Minister of War, launched a new offensive after months of inaction. It was an embarrassing fiasco which proved, if proof were needed, that the Russian soldier was no longer prepared to sacrifice himself for a lost cause. Thousands of disaffected soldiers poured into the capital and joined in anti-government demonstrations. There were cries for the Bolsheviks to throw their support behind these protests and turn them into an uprising. disagreed: Lenin he knew that the Bolsheviks were not strong enough yet and the government was not weak enough yet for success to be assured. However he could not desert the people for they would never forgive him. The Bolsheviks backed the rebellion. But Lenin was right. It was too soon. Kerensky used loyal regiments to sweep the streets clear of protesters. It was all over very quickly, the July Days rising was smashed. Then came the reckoning. The Provisional Government banned the Bolshevik Party and arrested all its leaders, except for Lenin who escaped in disguise to Finland and remained there until October. Bolshevik newspapers were closed down and the National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Party headquarters were ransacked where evidence was found and of course published, which proved Lenin's links with Germany. It looked as if the miscalculation of supporting the July Days had destroyed any hopes the Bolsheviks had of gaining power. Page | 29 The Kornilov Uprising However fate came to the rescue of the Bolsheviks in the unlikely shape of General Kornilov, the reactionary Commander-in-Chief. Like many professional soldiers he was appalled at the collapse of discipline in the army typified by the enormous desertion rate. He blamed the Soviets and the Bolsheviks for undermining army morale and he wanted the Provisional Government, which he Kerensky thought too soft by half, to give him extra powers to restore discipline and hang "traitors" like Lenin. In September there was a showdown between Kornilov and Kerensky, who was now Prime Minister. Kerensky rejected the general's demands fearing that he might use his new powers to overthrow the government and set up a right-wing dictatorship or possibly even restore the Tsar. Kornilov immediately decided to do just that. He began to march on Petrograd, accompanied by his most loyal troops including his notorious Cossack bodyguard, the Savage Division. Kerensky called on all parties to rally to the defence of the government. The Soviet responded by ordering railway workers to block the tracks. The Bolsheviks reacted too. The Kornilov Red Guards were mobilised and sent off to stop the general's advance. In reality however, there was little need for fighting. Kornilov's men had no stomach for killing Russians. They began to desert, and Kornilov's march petered out long before it got near the capital. Kornilov himself fled south to avoid arrest. Once again the Provisional Government had been saved. But this time the praise went not to Kerensky but to the Bolsheviks. Their Red Guards were given much of the credit National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 for turning back Kornilov's troops. Support for the Party, so low after the July Days, now soared, and this was reflected in the large numbers of Bolsheviks elected to key positions in the Soviets. Lenin sensed that the time to strike was imminent. Page | 30 Complete Questions 3 and 4 Tasks 1. What were Lenin’s aims and how did he plan to make them happen? 2. “Lenin’s return and April Theses was the turning point for the revolution” How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. 3. What were the “July Days”? 4. Why did the Kornilov uprising fail? The (October) November Revolution Petrograd Seized By October 1917 the Bolsheviks had gained control of the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets. The Provisional popularity was at rock Government's bottom. Its persistent failure to introduce land reforms National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 and to end the war had alienated it from the mass of the people. Although others in the Party were more cautious, Lenin decided that it was now or never. The planning for the takeover was put in the hands of a former Menshevik, Leon Trotsky. Page | 31 On the night of the 6 / 7 November the Red Guards went into action. The main bridges across the River Neva were seized as were the telegraph Office, the State Bank, the Post Office and the railway stations. The soldiers in the Peter and Paul Fortress in the heart of the city were pro-Bolshevik, as were the sailors of the Kronstadt naval base who sent the cruiser Aurora to the city to assist the revolution. The Fall of the Winter Palace By morning most of the city was in Bolshevik hands. There had been little opposition. During the day the Winter Palace, the headquarters of the Provisional Government was gradually surrounded. Kerensky had left the city earlier in an unsuccessful bid to rally support. He never returned and ended up spending the rest of his life in exile in the Complete Questions 1 and 2 USA. In the evening the Aurora fired a couple of shots at the Winter Palace, which was defended by a few officer cadets and a women's battalion. The Red Guards then moved in. Again there was virtually no resistance. By the morning of 8 November Petrograd was firmly in the hands of the Bolsheviks. Lenin declared that the revolution was an accomplished fact. It remained to be seen, however, if the Bolsheviks could extend their authority throughout the whole country. Petrograd may have fallen to them with surprising ease, but it would be much more difficult to bring the entire country under their control Tasks Source A is from Year One of the Russian Revolution by Victor Serge (1930) In the last days of September the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks (Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin etc.) met in Petrograd, in the apartment of Sukhanov. Even the principle of the insurrection was in dispute. Kamenev and Zinoviev …stated their view that the insurrection might perhaps itself be successful, but that it would be almost impossible to maintain power afterwards owing to the economic pressures National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 and crisis in the food supply. The majority voted for the insurrection, and actually fixed the date for 15 October. *Insurrection = violent uprising against government or authority Page | 32 1. Evaluate the usefulness of Source A as evidence of the October/November revolution. (6) 2. Compare Sources B and C overall and in detail. (4) National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Lenin in Power Page | 33 Communist Reforms Communist theory declared that a new socialist government would need to start its rule with a period of dictatorship in order to force reluctant capitalists to accept its radical changes. This was known as the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. However this was only to last a short time. Once socialism was in place true democracy would be established. Lenin spent his first weeks in power issuing a series of decrees, some of which were designed to fulfil promises he had made earlier, while others were meant to secure the Bolsheviks' control of Russia. The early decrees granted land to the peasants, handed the factories over to the workers, set up the eight hour working day, introduced unemployment and sickness benefit, established equality between men and women and, most important of all, announced the new government's intention to make peace at the first opportunity. Communist Dictatorship More ominously, another set of decrees introduced press censorship, banned all nonsocialist political parties, and created a secret police force known as the Cheka. At the same time the long awaited elections which the Provisional Government had promised were scheduled for December. Lenin let them go ahead anticipating a Communist victory. Unfortunately the Social Revolutionaries won most seats, with the Communists a poor second. The Constituent Assembly, so-called because its original task had been to devise a new constitution or set of rules for governing Russia now that she was a National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 democratic state, met for one day before being closed down by Red Guards. Lenin had no intention of making the same mistake as the Provisional Government in tolerating a rival for power. Page | 34 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Lenin needed to consolidate the Communists position. Closing down the Constituent Assembly was one step in that direction. Making peace with Germany was another. Talks began almost immediately, but dragged on longer than expected because German demands were so severe. When negotiations broke down, the German armies in Russia began to advance again. This forced the Communists to make peace on German terms. Peace was signed at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. Russian losses were huge: the Ukraine, the Baltic States, Finland and Poland. These were some of the richest areas of the country which meant that Russia was deprived of much of her farmland, industry, population and transport network. She also had to pay 6 billion German marks to Germany. Some of the Russian negotiators, including Trotsky, were so incensed by the German demands that they wanted to restart the war. Lenin prevailed upon them to accept the harsh terms because he knew that the Communists must have peace, even this brutal peace, if they were to stand a realistic chance of holding on to power. Both the Tsar and the Provisional Government had fallen precisely because they had kept Russia in the war. Complete Questions 1-5 on page 35 National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Tasks Page | 35 1. What improvements were made to the lives of the Russian people when Lenin came into power? 2. Why did the introduction of the Cheka and the closure of the Constituent Assembly seem like a step backwards? 3. a) Summarise the terms of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk. b) Which term do you think was worst for Russia? 4. Why was it important that Lenin ended the war? 5. Source A is from soldier Herbert Sulzbach’s, diary entry (3rd March, 1918) The final peace treaty has been signed with Russia. Our conditions are hard and severe, but our quite exceptional victories entitle us to demand these, since our troops are nearly in Petersburg, and further over on the southern front, Kiev has been occupied, while in the last week we have captured the following men and items of equipment: 6,800 officers, 54,000 men, 2,400 guns, 5,000 machine-guns, 8,000 railway trucks, 8,000 locomotives, 128,000 rifles and 2 million rounds of artillery ammunition. Yes, there is still some justice left, and the state which was first to start mass murder in 1914 has now, with all its missions, been finally overthrown. a) What country do you think the author is from? Explain your answer b) What is the “justice” that the author refers to? c) Who does the author blame for the start of the war? National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 The Civil War Page | 36 The Whites As the election for the Constituent Assembly had shown, there were still many non communists in Russia, some of them implacably hostile to Lenin and his party. Within weeks of the November Revolution it was clear that controlling Petrograd did not mean controlling Russia. The Communists were going to have to fight to establish themselves as the unchallenged rulers of the country. The anti-communists groups (known collectively as Whites) were a motley collection who often hated each other as much as they hated the communists (or Reds as they became known in the Civil War). There were unashamed monarchists who wanted the Tsar back, there were Social Revolutionaries angry at having the Constituent Assembly closed down, there were nationalists who wanted to break free of Russian control, there were army officers bitter at Russia's surrender to Germany, there were former members of the Provisional Government determined to reverse the November Revolution, and there were Mensheviks who Civil War Poster were disillusioned with the totalitarian aspects of Communist rule. The Whites began setting up their rival governments on the peripheries of Russia: Siberia (Admiral Kolchak), the Caucasus (General Deniken), the Baltic (General Yudenitch) and the far north (General Miller) while the Communists controlled the region round Moscow and Petrograd. National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Complete Question 1 on page 40 Page | 37 Foreign Involvement The situation was further complicated by the existence or arrival of foreign armies in Russia during the war. Czech Legion, originally from The recruited Austrian prisoners to fight against the Central Powers and numbering 50,000, seized control of the Trans-Siberian railway in 1918 in order to travel to Vladivostok in the Far East from where they eventually embarked for the Western Front. Russia was also involved in the Russo-Polish War. In 1920 the new Polish state attacked the Reds hoping to win territory from them. The Poles were driven back after early successes. However the Reds were halted themselves at Warsaw, after which the war petered out. There were also the Foreign Armies of Intervention: mainly French, British, American and Japanese troops sent to Russia in 1918 - 19 to help the Whites because they wanted to keep Russia in the First World War, and to try to make sure that the vast supplies of military equipment sent by them to Russia did not fall into the hands of the National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Reds. These forces, although small in number, exerted control over large areas in the Arctic, the Black Sea region, the Far East and round the Caspian Sea where they cooperated with the local Whites. Page | 38 Why the Whites Lost On the map the Communist area looked small in 1918 compared to the vast regions where the Whites ruled. But appearances were deceptive. Because of their political differences, the Whites failed to coordinate their attacks on the Reds. If they had launched simultaneous offensives from different directions, they might have won the war. Furthermore the regions controlled by the Whites had little in the way of economic or industrial resources. They depended too much on supplies from their foreign allies. This weakness became crucial when the foreign forces were withdrawn after the end of the First World War and the Whites were left to their own devices. The Whites also found it difficult to recruit soldiers, especially among the peasants who feared that a White victory would lead to the loss of the land they had just acquired. Moreover White rule in many areas was characterised by brutality and oppression which alienated many people. Why the Reds Won The Reds on the other hand had some powerful advantages. They controlled the important industrial regions round Moscow and Petrograd, so military supplies were always available. Most of Russia's population too was in their area and many of them, Trotsky making a speech to his soldiers especially in the cities Communist supporters. controlled the rail network. This was very important. were already The Reds also The Russian railway system centred on Moscow, with lines radiating out from that city in all directions. This made Complete Question 2 on page 40 National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 it relatively easy for the Communists to switch troops from east to west or north to south if necessary to beat back White offensives or reinforce their own attacks. The Page | 39 Communists had another advantage: they were better led. Lenin had a talent for recognising ability in others. He gave Trotsky, who had organised the November Revolution, the task of creating the Red Army and making it into a force capable of defeating the Whites. Trotsky lived up to Lenin's expectation of him. The civil war was his finest hour, and to him goes much of the credit for the eventual Red victory. As War Commissar, Trotsky needed experienced officers for his new army. Against advice from some party members, he conscripted 50,000 ex-tsarist officers into the Red Army. To guarantee their loyalty, he appointed reliable Communists as Political Commissars to each regiment. General conscription was implemented too so that by 1920 the Red Army numbered 5 million men. This made it vastly superior to all the White armies combined. Trotsky also reversed the casual attitudes to military discipline which had eaten away the morale of the old Russian army. Severe punishments were introduced for disobedience. The Cheka was employed to execute deserters and to make sure that attacks were pushed home with determination. Throughout the whole period of the war Trotsky was always on the move. He had a special armoured train kitted out as a mobile headquarters. In it he travelled from one danger spot to another. Not only did he often bring much needed reinforcements and supplies to hard pressed troops, he also encouraged them to fight on by his inspiring oratory and by his personal involvement at the front. By 1921 the Reds had won the war. They had defeated all the White attacks in a series of decisive National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 battles in 1919-20 and the foreign armies had gone home. It had been, like most civil wars, a particularly brutal conflict. Both sides had committed unspeakable atrocities and no-one will ever know how many died. The Reds won because of their superior Page | 40 discipline and morale, because of their geographical situation, because of the inability or unwillingness of the Whites to cooperate with each other and because of Trotsky's leadership. Almost unnoticed during the maelstrom of war, the former Tsar and his family had been executed in July 1918 at Ekaterinburg in Siberia where the Reds had held taken them prisoner. They had been shot because, at that time, the Whites were advancing on the city and the Reds were afraid the royal family might fall into their hands and become a rallying point for the White cause. Few Russians noticed or cared about what had happened to the royal family. After seven years of almost continuous war, Russia was in a dreadful state. Lenin's task now was to restore her shattered industry and agriculture and try to convince the people that all the sacrifices they had been asked to make had been worthwhile. Complete Questions 3 and 4 Tasks 1. Why was there a Civil War in Russia? 2. Describe the weaknesses of the Whites in the Civil War (5) 3. How fully does Source C explain the reasons why the Reds were victorious in the Civil War? (6) National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 4. Why had the Tsar and his family been murdered? War Communism Page | 41 The Aims of War Communism Communists' fundamental belief was that it was wrong that wealth should create inequalities between people. The basic reason for inequality was private ownership of the Means of Production. If people could be stopped from owning and buying possessions, they would become truly equal. Therefore it was the duty of a Communist government to enforce equality and this would be done by bringing the Means of Production under the control of the state. The set of policies known as War Communism, introduced during the Civil War, was an attempt to transform the Russia into a genuine socialist state, though it was also an effort to mobilise Russia's human and economic resources in order to win the war. The Effects of War Communism Insofar as they helped the Communists to win the civil war, these measures were a success. But in the medium term they caused serious problems. Workers' committees in factories often had no experience of management and many of them quickly ran into trouble so that production fell and soon there were severe shortages in the shops. This combined with the ban on private trading only led to a Black Market appearing, which was of course entirely against Communist principles. Most serious of all was the effect War agriculture. Communism Since the had on price the government set for their produce was very low, the peasants began to produce less. When the Cheka and Red Army were sent into the countryside to requisition food, the peasants fought National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 back. They also destroyed their harvests and killed their livestock rather than see them stolen. The result was predictable: famine. Probably more people died of hunger during the civil war than due to the fighting. Page | 42 The Red Terror These problems led to a hardening of attitudes inside the government: disobedience was not to be tolerated. The earliest decrees issued by Lenin had shown that he intended to establish a totalitarian regime where dissenting voices were not heard. This aspect of his rule grew worse during the civil war and it is known as the Red Terror. There were mass executions of Whites by the Cheka. Socialist parties such as the Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were banned, leaving only the Communist Party legal. Concentration camps were set up and soon filled by thousands of people the state judged unreliable or hostile. Soon a fully fledged police state had come into being. In some ways this was inevitable. Communists believed that Marx's writings had given them the answer to mankind's problems. All other 'solutions' were wrong and so people advocating them had to be stopped for the good of everyone. Tasks Complete Questions 3 and 4 1. What was War Communism meant to achieve? 2. What problems did War Communism cause? 3. Describe the Red Terror. (5) 4. Evaluate the usefulness of Source A as evidence of the effects of War Communism Source A is by B. Williams from his book The Russian Revolution 1917-21, 1987 “By the end of 1920 the proletariat, the class the revolution was all about, had shrunk to only half its pre-revolutionary size. Petrograd lost 60 per cent of its workforce by April 1918 and one million people had left the city by that June. In Russia as a whole the urban proletariat decreased from 3.6 million in January 1917 to 1.4 million two years later. Starving and unemployed workers left the towns to National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 return to the villages, to join the Red Army, or to enter the ever-growing ranks of the bureaucracy. The New Economic Policy Page | 43 The Need for Change Lenin had always been a realist. By 1921 he could see that War Communism was no longer working. However, many high ranking Communists did not want it changed because that would mean admitting that Communism had failed and that Marx had been wrong. Then in March of that year the sailors at the Kronstadt naval base near Petrograd, who had been loyal Communists for many years, rose in rebellion. Their main grievance was that it was time, with the war won, for the government to relax its harsh dictatorship and give the people some reward for their sacrifices. They wanted the concentration camps closed, free trade unions set up, free speech, uncensored newspapers and the legalising of different political parties. They felt betrayed by the direction the revolution had been allowed to take. The great promises of a better, fairer world had not materialised. Lenin did not hesitate. The Red Army was sent in to crush the rebels. Once again Lenin showed his ruthless streak when opposed. In fierce fighting the sailors were defeated. Those who were not killed were sent to the camps. N. E. P: Return to Capitalism? Nevertheless Lenin used this incident to persuade his fellow Communists that some changes were necessary or there would be more trouble. These changes, however would not be political, the dictatorship would remain, but economic. The New Economic Policy was designed to get the economy moving again by reintroducing some elements of capitalism. National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 The reforms allowed peasants to sell their surplus food for profit and if they increased food production they would pay less tax. Also factories with fewer that 20 employees would be handed back to their owners. However key industries of coal, electricity, Page | 44 railways, steel and oil were kept under state control. By 1925 there were signs that these reforms were working. Production figures were rising again and food shortages were only a memory. The peasants had been given the incentive they needed to get back to work and the workers in small factories were producing goods which filled the shelves in the shops. However Lenin did not live to see these improvements. He had suffered a serious stroke in 1922. Although he recovered, this was followed by a second from which he did not recover fully. Finally in January 1924 a third stroke killed him. He was only 53 years of age. Tasks 1. How fully does Source A explain the demands of the Kronstadt Sailors? Source A is part of an official statement from the Kronstadt sailors. “After carrying out the October Revolution, the working classes hoped for freedom. But the result has been greater slavery. The bayonets, bullets and harsh commands of the Cheka – these are what the working man of Soviet Russia has won. The glorious emblem of the workers’ state – the hammer and sickle – has been replaced by the Communist authorities with the bayonet and the barred window. Here in Kronstadt we are making a third revolution which will free the workers and the Soviets from the Communists”. 2. What was the NEP supposed to achieve? 3. How successful was the NEP? (6) National 4/5 History: Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921 Lenin's Achievements Page | 45 It is difficult to exaggerate the contribution Lenin made to the success of the Communist Party in Russia. Without Lenin at its head, the Party would never have won control of the country. He was one of the few men in the 20th Century who have almost singlehandedly changed the shape of history. His rock-like self-discipline and patience kept the party together in the long years of exile before 1917 when it must have seemed that their chance would never come. After the Tsar fell Lenin, despite being the leader of a very small party, knew what he wanted and pressed on regardless of setbacks. He was ready to use anyone to help him and he stopped at nothing to achieve his goal. His ruthless single mindedness kept the party united and made it strong enough not just to seize power, but to hold on to it in the years that followed. It is easy to understand why, after Lenin's death, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad and why his body was embalmed and put on display in a specially built mausoleum in Red Square in Moscow. It was the least the Party could do to acknowledge its debt to him. Discussion Question Had the events of 1894-1921 improved life greatly for the Russian people? Use this question to help you frame your own revision notes. You might like to: Briefly explain each the causes of each key event Describe what happened during each key event Comment on the consequences each key event had on the Russian people You could record this information in different ways… National 4/5 History: Page | 46 Fish bone diagram Red Flag: Lenin and the Russian Revolution, 1894-1921