InNo+annielo822+10.26.10

October 26, 2010
 * Lenin's Russia - Part Three **

**The Awesome Part**

**The first decrees of Sovnarkom**
- Lenin as chairman - Issued decrees/orders since day it was created - Made great changed to Russia and its people - 540 milllion acres of land taken away from Tsar, nobles, church, landlords - land is 6x the British Isles - given to peasants to divide - Sovnarkom wanted to make peace with Russia’s enemies - 8 hour day, 48 hour week for industrial workers - established rules on overtime and holidays - promised insurance for workers - injury, illness, unemployment - banned non-Bolshevik newspapers - banned Constitutional Democratic Pary, Russia’s main liberal party - arrested leaders - political police force, ‘All-Russian Extraordinary Commision to fight Counter-Revolution and Espionage’ - known was Cheka - dealt with opponents and enemies of Bolsheviks - factories under control of elected committees of workers - banks in Russia under Sovnakom’s control - allowed non-religious weddings - easier to divorce
 * 8 November 1917 – a decree on land**
 * 8 November – a decree on peace**
 * 12 November – a decree on work**
 * 14 November – a decree on unemployment insurance**
 * 1 December – a decree on the press**
 * 11 December**
 * 20 December**
 * 27 December – a decree on workers’ control**
 * 27 December – a decree on banking**
 * 31 December – a decree on marriage**

**The Constituent Assembly**
- Nov 1917, elections held ofr Russia’s new parliament: the Constituent Assembly - First free elections - Bolsheviks badly beaten in election - Socialist Revolutionaries > all other parties - 18 Jan 1918, met first time - < 24 hours later, Sovnarkom ordered to stop meeting - Bolshevik Red Guards used machine guns, killed and wounded 100+ people who demonstrated support for Assembly - Red Guards prevented elected Deputies to enter Assembly - Closed it down permanently

**The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk**
- Lenin believed Bolsheviks need quick end to war w/ Germany and Austria to stay in power - Would lose support of army otherwise - 3 Dec 1917, peace conference between Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary - held in Brest-Litovsk, town on border with Germany - Leon Trotsky – Russia’s Commissar/minister for Foreign Affairs - Stalled talks as long as he could at conferences - Hoped socialist revolution would begin in Germany - If Germany had socialist gov’t like Russia, two countries could make fair and democratic peace - Tortsky stalled for nine weeks, but no revolution in Germany - Feb 1918, German army advanced into Russia - Got close to Petrograd - Lenin decided to many peace at any price - One of harshest treaties oever made - Russia gave up all western lands - Richest areas of the country - Lost 62 mil people, 26% of population - 27% of farm land - 26% of railways - 74% of iron ore and coal - pay fine of 300 million gold roubles to Germany - Russia now at peace - Lenin said peace gave Bolsheviks ‘breathing space’ - Faced with civil war

__**Civil War and Foreign Intervention**__
- Lenin and Bolsheviks made peace w/ Germany - Enemies of Bolsheviks in Russia got ready to fight - May 1918, serious fighting began - Anti-Bolshevik soldiers took control of Trans-Siberian Railway: Russia’ crucial link between east and west

**The Czech Legion**
- May 1918, 45,000 Czech prisoners were taken across Russia on trains to Vladivostok - Would be put on ships and sent back to country by sea - One train of Czechs got in argument with Soviet of a town on railway - Became a fight, Czechs took control of town - Bolshevik troops came to restore order - More trans of Czech prisoners joined fight - In two weeks, Czechs taken over important towns in the area - End of 1918, Czechs controlled almost all Trans-Siberian Railway and town along the route - Enemies of Bolsheviks joined Czech Legion - Set up own gov’t under Czech protection, claimed to rule Russia - Most important of the new gov’t was Komuch - Committee of Members of Constituent Assembly - Organized enemies of Bolsheviks into People’s Army, advanced on Moscow - Captured 650 mil gold roubles in attack on gov’t gold reserve at Kazan - Bolshevik gov’t moved to Moscow, took desperate measures to protect itself - Introduced conscription - Men 18-40 had to serve in new Bolshevik army – the Red Army - Trotsky’s job was to organize it - 1st problem: finding officers to lead the Red Army - most troops were raw recruit - appointed former officers of Tsar’s army - if refused, sent to prison camps - officers who deserted to enemy had family taken hostage and kept in prison - Trotsky found 22,000 officers, commanding 330,000 men of Red Army

**Red and Whites**
- Red Army known as ‘Reds’ - Enemies known as ‘Whites’ - White was traditional color of Tsar - Not all were supporters of Tsar - Many were Socialist Revolutionaries, over democrats, landlords thrown off land, nobles - White Armies = anyone who opposed Bolsheviks - End of 1918, four White Armies attacked heartland of Russia held by Bolsheviks - Helped foreign armies send by the Allies – countries on the side Russia fought in Great War - Allies were angry at Russia’s withdrawal from war - Wanted to crush Bolshevik gov’t - Red Army faced foreign ‘armies of intervention’ from Britain, France, America, and Japan - Russian Civil war, between Reds and Whites, was very savage - Thousands killed, including civilians - Many casualties were ex-Tsar and his family - Prisoners of Bolsheviks in Ekaterinburg, tow in Ural mountains - July 1918, seemed town would be captured by Czech Legion - To avoid risk, local Bolsheviks shot Nicholas, his family, and servants dead - August 1918, Bolsheviks almost lost leader - Socialist Revolutionary, Fanya Kaplan, shot Lenin 3 times while getting in car - Bullets entered neck, but survived and recovered in weeks - Convinced Bolsheviks that ruthless methods were needed to deal with Whites - Week after shooting, Sovnarkom ordered Cheka to begin a ‘Red Terror’

**The Red Terror**
- Cheka led by Felix Dzerzhinsky, HQ in Lubyanka Street in Moscow - In cellars, Cheka agents tortured prisoners for confessions before executing - Unites in countryside hanged, beat, shot, or burned ones who helped Whites or fought of them - Name of Cheka aroused fear, even among loyal Bolsheviks - Trotsky carried out own form of terror in Red Army - 1918, issued: • retreat/desert/unfulfilled military order, shot • soldiers that voluntarily deserts his post, shot • throws away rifle or sells part of equipment, shot • guilty of harboring deserters, liable to be shot • houses deserters found in, liabel to be burned - meant what he said - Red Army battalion tried running away after order - One in ten of soldiers shot by firing squad - Not just a tyrant, good military leader - Spent a lot of Civil War travelling from areas of fighting - Directed movements of Red Army from war train, delivered supplies, gave encouragement, dealt with troubles - Made sure Red Army was effected, united fighting force - Began to win Civil War - 1919, foreign armies of intervention withdrawn from Russia - White Armies fought alone - Never came together as united force, Trotsky fought one at a time - End of 1919, only isolated groups of Whites still fighting - Bolshevik gov’t safe for now

__**'One step backwards...' War Communism and NEP**__
- Bolsheviks were strict to organize industry and food supplies in areas of their control - Two aims: keep Red Army supplied w/ food and weapons, introduce system of communism- equal sharing of wealth - Together known as War Communism

**War Communism**

 * Five aspects of War Communism**

1. factories with >10 workers were nationalized
- taken by gov’t - body called Vesenkha (The Supreme Council of National Economy) decided what each industry produced 2. all workers under gov’t control - military discipline in factories - death penalty for strikers - unemployed made to join ‘Labor Armies’, cut trees, build roads, etc. 3. banned private trading - peasant gave surplus of food to gov’t - could not sell for profit 4. allowed money to lose value through inflation - abolished rents, railway fares, postal charges, other money payments - people encouraged to barter in place of money 5. food was strictly rationed in cities - War Communism succeeded one aim: Red Army was supplied - Won Civil War in 1920 - Failed to share Russia’s Wealth - In countryside, many peasants didn’t grow more food than what they needed - Why bother if it would be taken away? - 1919, peasants sowed less grain and bred fewer animals - 1920, food shortage - 1921, terrible famine - starvation, cold weather, disease killed 7 mil Russians - Pravda, Communists’ newspaper, 25 mil Russian lived below subsistence level

**The New Economic Policy**
- March 1921, revolt of 10,000 sailors at Kronstadt, naval base near Petrograd - Loyal to Bolsheviks ever since Revolution - Sailors said War Communism wasn’t what they promised in 1917 - Ready to attack Petrograd - Trotsky and Red Army generals and 60,000 troops surrounded Kronstadt - Bombed naval base, attacked sailor’s HQ - Many sailors killed, rest captured and shot by Cheka - Kronstadt rising crushed - Lenin realized change of policy was needed to avoid more risings - March 1921, abandoned War Communism, introduced New Economic Policy, NEP - Said: could sell food for profit - increase food production = lower taxes - factories < 20 workers given back to owners - people could use money - Many Bolsheviks shocked by NEP - Step backwards towards old capitalist system - Lenin said one step backwards, later take two steps forward towards communism - 1925, NEP began - food production rose, industrial output increased

**The 1923 Constitution**
- start of 1923, Russia gained new Constitution - said Russia was ‘Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’ - country was union of four republics – Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine, and Caucasus - each had own gov’t that controlled matters such as public health, welfare, education - national gov’t in Moscow, Sovnarkom, retained control over national matters like armed forces, industry, communications, and secret police

**Lenin’s death**
- didn’t live to see USSR become great powers of 20th century world - 1922 and 1923, suffered strokes - Jan 1924, died at age 53 - Not buried or cremated - Body was embalmed and displayed in tomb in Red Square in Moscow - Ever since, visitors all over USSR and other countries came to see Lenin’s body - Regarded in USSR as one of the greatest leaders of 20th century

Summary
Part three began by explaining the government Lenin set up, Sovnarkom, and the decrees it created. The Bolsheviks tried to stay in power, closing down the new parliament and creating a harsh treaty with German to end the wars. When Czech prisoners escaped, they took over town in Russia and made new governments, joined by the enemies of the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks created the Red Army, and fought a civil war between the Reds and Whites, as well as foreign armies of intervention. The Cheka began a Red Terror, and the Red Army began to won the civil war, due to the lack of unity among the Whites. Lenin introduced the War Communism, with two aims and five main aspects. They succeeded in the aim to supply the Red Army, but not the other - to share wealth equally - so Lenin introduced the NEP. In 1923 a constiuttion was established giving Russia the name of USSR, a union of four republics, and Lenin died in 1924.

**Questions**
 * 1) Why did Sovnarkom order the Constituent Assembly to stop meeting, and later closing it down permanently?
 * 2) Why was the Trety of Brest-Litovsk one of the hashest treaties over made?
 * 3) Why were the Bolshevik's enemies known as 'Whites'?
 * 4) Why didn't the War Communism succeed?
 * 5) Why were Bolsheviks shocked by the NEP?