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Peace At Any Price

The First Decrees Of Sovnarkom

Sovnarknom was a council that was set up as the new government and Lenin was the chairman of the group. The Sovnarknom began issuing decrees, or orders, on the day the council was set up.

November 8th 1917 · The decree of land was issued and 540 million acres of land was taken from the rich such as Tsar, nobles, and other landlords. The land was given to the peasants for them to share. · The decree of peace was issued and it was stated that the Sovnarknom would try to make peace with Russia’s enemies.

November 12th · The decree of work was issued and this was to establish an eight hour day and forty-eight hour week for all industrial workers, and it also states rules for over-time and holidays.

November 14th · The decree of unemployment insurance was issued and it had promised to give insurance to all workers against injury, illness, and unemployment.

December 1st · The decree of the press and this was done so that any non-Bolshevik newspapers were banned.

December 11th · A decree was not issued, but instead the Sovnarknom banned Russia’s main liberal party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, and also arrested the leaders of the party.

December 20th · No decree was issued on this day, but Lenin had set up a political police force, known as the “All-Russian Extraordinary Commission to fight Counter-Revolution and Espionage” and also known as the Cheka. It was made to oppose any opponents or enemies of the Bolsheviks.

December 27th · The decree on workers control was issued and it put all factories under the control of elected committees of workers. · The decree on banking was issued and all banks were to be under Sovnarknom’s control.

December 31st · The decree on marriage was issued and it allowed couples to have non-religious weddings and if two couples want to divorce it would be way easier with the decree.

The Constituent Assembly · In November 1917 elections were held for Russia’s new parliament, the constituent Assembly. · It was the first free election in Russian history. · The Bolsheviks were badly beaten in the vote and the Socialist Revolutionaries gain more seats in the assembly than all other parties combined. · The Constituent Assembly first met on January 18th 1918 but only after twnty-four hours the Sovnorkom ordered it the assembly to stop meeting and used the red guards once again to take down those who supported the assembly as well as those who demonstrated.

The Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk · On December 3rd 1917 Russia held a peace conference with all it’s enemies and Leon Trotsky was the Russian Commissar, who was trying to drag the talks so that a socialist revolution will happen in Germany. · The Germans did not comply with the peace treaty and the German army marched close to Petrograd that Lenin decided to make peace at any price. · The Treaty of Brest-Lotivsk was harsh and Russia lost sixty-two million people, 27 percent of the farmland, 26 percent of the railways, and 74 percent of the iron ore and coal to Germany and Russia had to pay a fine of 300 million gold roubles.

Civil War And Foreign Intervention

The Czech Legion · 45,000 Czech prisoners took over a town when a fight took place. When more Bolsheviks came even more Czech prisoners were entered through trains meant to head for Vladivostok. · Enemies of the Bolsheviks quickly joined the Czech legion and they made their own government together and claimed to rule Russia. · And important government called Komuch was set up and it made a people’s army to advance into Moscow. · The Bolshevik government made conscription where men aged eighteen to forty had to serve in the new Bolshevik army, the red army. Trotsky was to organize it.

Reds And Whites · The White army was anyone who opposed the Bolsheviks. · The fightings were very savage and killed lots of people on both sides. · The Bolsheviks killed Nicholas and his entire family because it was feared they would support the whites. · In August 1918 a socialist revolutionary called Fanya Kaplan shot Lenin three times at point blank range while he was getting into a car to Moscow. · Lenin survived and the red terror was ordered. · The White army started losing and Lenin and Trotsky gained the upper hand.