Soviet Russia 1917-1953

44 Pages·2016·1.01 MB·English

by  Oliver Twentyman

Russia: From Tsarism to
Stalinism, 1914-1945
Extensive Revision Notes

The main topics in the Advanced Higher Russia course
condensed to help revise for the final exam.
Contents

The February Revolution ............................................................................................................................... 4
Types of Questions .................................................................................................................................... 4
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Expanded Points........................................................................................................................................ 4
Historical Schools ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Specific Quotes ......................................................................................................................................... 6
The October Revolution ................................................................................................................................ 8
Types of Questions .................................................................................................................................... 8
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................... 8
Expanded Points........................................................................................................................................ 8
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 11
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Bolshevik Consolidation of Power .............................................................................................................. 13
Types of Questions .................................................................................................................................. 13
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 13
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 16
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 16
The Civil War ............................................................................................................................................... 18
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................................... 18
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 18
Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 18
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 20
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 20
From War Communism to NEP ................................................................................................................... 22
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................................... 22
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 22
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Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 22
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 24
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Power Struggle ............................................................................................................................................ 26
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................................... 26
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 26
Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 26
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 28
Collectivisation ............................................................................................................................................ 31
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................................... 31
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 31
Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 31
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 33
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 34
The Five Year Plans ..................................................................................................................................... 35
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................................... 35
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 35
Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 35
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 38
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 39
The Purges ................................................................................................................................................... 40
Sample Questions ................................................................................................................................... 40
Main Points ............................................................................................................................................. 40
Expanded Points...................................................................................................................................... 40
Historical Schools .................................................................................................................................... 42
Specific Quotes ....................................................................................................................................... 43

3
The February Revolution

Types of Questions

 “To what extent was the collapse of Tsarist autocracy by February 1917 due to social and
economic, rather than military, factors?” (2009)
 “’A revolution that no-one expected, planned or controlled.’ How valid is this view of the
February Revolution?” (2008)
 “Why were so few Russians prepared to defend Tsarism in February 1917?” (2007)

Main Points

 Unrest Amongst Peasants
 Unrest Amongst Workers
 The 1905 Revolution
 The Russo-Japanese War

 Rationing
 Mass Grief
 The Tsar’s Poor Judgement
 Rasputin
 Weather
 The Petrograd Garrison

Expanded Points

 The peasants were demanding more land and had been since the Emancipation Edict of 1861
 Given that the peasantry made up the largest section of the army in WW1 promises of land from
revolutionary parties eroded their loyalty to the autocracy

 Urban workers faced long hours, sometimes as much as 60 per week, while receiving only
meagre wages
 The work was physically demanding and little attention was paid to the safety of workers
 Most factory workers were employed by large factories creating ideal striking conditions
 A lack of trade unions led many to revolutionary activity and the writings of Marx
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 The Tsar’s image was destroyed after Bloody Sunday
 The government failed to learn its lessons from the uprising and the war on Japan
 Bloody Sunday had shown that violently suppressing protestors is not always a sensible tactic
when trying to avoid a revolution
 The war with Japan had also demonstrated the fragility of autocracy and should have made the
Tsar more wary about entering WW1
 If nothing else it should have prompted the government to adopt modern technology and
tactics in order to avoid similar defeats in the future
 The governments unwillingness to accept change however made revolution on the outbreak of
WW1 a very likely scenario

 In the Battle of Tannerberg and the Battle of Masurian Lakes over 230,000 Russians were
captured, killed or wounded
 This slaughter led to a feeling of despondency with the old regime,
 People reacted either by losing faith in the Tsar or openly criticising him
 Again these defeats were avoidable, it was only the poor quality of Russia’s generals and their
antiquated battle tactics which led to such appalling casualties

 The Tsar’s decision in 1915 to take personal command of the army transferred the failure of
Russia’s armed forces from the armies generals onto him personally
 In February 1917 this caused some of his Generals, notably Alexeev, Ruzskii and Krymov, to try
and persuade the Tsar to abdicate possibly to save their own position
 It also left his wife Alexandra to rule in Petrograd who was already unpopular on account of her
German ancestry
 The influence of Rasputin was also to prove toxic and ministerial leapfrog which was to follow
cost the Tsar the support of the aristocracy previously staunch supporters of autocracy
 Furthermore it threw the already badly organised bureaucracy into chaos with illiterate
ministers appointed merely for their connections to Rasputin
 He was eventually killed by Prince Yusupov highlighting the hatred Rasputin aroused in the
aristocracy
 This anger amongst the aristocracy, military and Duma led to numerous discussions about a
palace coup, Prince Lvov was one conspirator, Guchkov who was later sent to receive the Tsar’s
abdication was another

 Another unlikely cause of the Revolution was the unseasonable weather in February
 In the months just before February temperatures in Petrograd had fallen to -14.5°C
 This prevented the trains from running and kept the peasants from leaving their homes and, as a
result, bread supplies began to run low
 This caused a build up in discontent however in the short term the freezing weather saw a
decline in the length and number of strikes
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 On the 23rd of February however, International Women’s Day, the temperature soared to 8°C
and remained this way until the Tsar’s abdication
 This led many out onto the streets to enjoy the warm weather providing greater numbers to the
strike and helping to maintain numbers throughout

 The Petrograd garrison’s decision to mutiny following the Tsar’s ill fated order to suppress the
uprising by force was crucial to the success of the revolution
 Housing 160,000 potentially revolutionary troops, in overcrowded conditions, in the nation’s
capital, was an unforgivable oversight by a regime who by this point must have lost all grasp of
common sense
Historical Schools

Traditional Soviet – The revolution was part of an inevitable process of historical change known as
dialectic and historical materialism. Traditional Soviet historians maintain that the revolution would
have occurred with or without the war and even if Russia had possessed a more competent Tsar. Long
term economic factors were the most important feature with war being simply, “The midwife of the
Revolution.” – Lenin

Liberal – Revolution was not inevitable and could have been avoided. The war was the most important
factor and it was this that led to the Revolution. Liberals also tend to view the revolution as a
spontaneous even and focus little on the long term factors. They argue that had war not broken out in
1914 Russia would likely have developed into a constitutional monarchy with greater wealth being
provided by Stolypin’s land reforms and the continued policy of industrialisation.

Revisionists – These historians tend to take a more balanced approach. They do however tend to
argue revolution was not inevitable claiming that there were many opportunities at which it could have
been avoided. The government’s unwillingness to take these chances however meant that the
Revolution was foreseeable and not entirely spontaneous. Revisionists tend to point out the influence of
the Petrograd garrison as a significant reason for the success of the Revolution.

Specific Quotes

“The collapse of Russian Autocracy was one of the most leaderless, spontaneous, anonymous
revolutions of all time.”
- W. H. Chamberlain

“Ostensibly the Russian state collapsed suddenly but its foundations had been eroded long before.”
- Dmitri Volkogonov

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“...joining the opposition now came to be seen, in the words of one official, as something ‘noble and
patriotic’.”
- Orlando Figes
(Referring to public criticism of the government’s handling of the Russo-Japanese War)

“People spoke of the Tsar and his government with open contempt. The word ‘revolution’ was on
everybody’s lips.”
- Orlando Figes

“There is no doubt that the instigators of the revolution were the workers and the reserve troops of the
capital...”
Beryl Williams
“Rebellions happen, revolutions are made.”
Richard Pipes

“The Great War acted as the spark which set the combustible of mass discontent alight”.
R. B. McKean

Richard Pipes notes the peasants were kept in check only by fear and that this enormous coercion could
not be imposed in wartime. He also compares the Petrograd garrison to a revolutionary time bomb.

Lionel Kochan claims that Bloody Sunday destroyed the image of the Tsar as the little father and
removed a moral objection many had to Revolution. The divine right of the autocrat was being
questioned for the first time.
7
The October Revolution

Types of Questions

 “To what extent was the October Revolution a “proletarian revolution” rather than a “coup
d’état”? “(2010)
 “To what extent was [Lenin, Trotsky, the failings of the Provisional Government] responsible for
the success of the October Revolution?”

Main Points

 Duel Authority
 Initial Problems
 The April Thesis
 The July Day Risings
 The Question of Land
 The Kornilov Affair
 Trotsky and the MRC

Expanded Points

 Initially the Provisional Government worked well with the new Petrograd Soviet
 Together they,
o Arrested ex-Tsarist ministers
o Disbanded the secret policy
o Granted an amnesty for political prisioners
o Established a free press and the right to free speach
o Outlawed religious and political discrimination
o Abolished the death penelty
o Promised to hold elections for the Constituent Assembly

 The Petrograd Soviet however eroded the legitimacy of the Provisional Government
 Soviet Order No. 1 gave them power over the armed forces
 They were unelected and hence lacked a mandate of the people
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 They could not easily end the war due to financial dependency on their western allies
 They did not feel that they had the authority to decide on long term issues such as granting
independence to national minorities

 Lenin returned on April 3rd in a sealed German train and promptly delivered his April Thesis
 In it he called for:
o An immediate end to the war
o An end to co-operation with the Provisional Government
o An end to co-operation with other political parties
o A transfer of power to the Soviet
o A transfer of land to the peasantry
 In summary “Peace, Bread, Land!” and “all power to the soviets!”
 Lenin’s April Thesis set the Bolshevik party apart from the other more moderate socialist parties
and, according to Beryl Williams, by July workers were beginning to see the Bolsheviks as a
separate political party with a unique political programme

 In May dissatisfaction with the Provisional Government and particularly the minister for war led
to a new Provisional Government
 Five socialist leaders joined the existing government and the Minister for War was forced to
resign
 Amongst the socialists elected was the Menshevik leader, Tsereteli, and the SR leader, Chernov
 Chris Corin and Terry Fiehn point out that their decision to join the Provisional Government
meant that their parties were associated with the success of the war and left them open to
attacks form the Bolshevik party claiming that they were conspiring with the bourgeoisie
 The Bolsheviks were now the only alternative to the rule of the Provisional Government

 In June the Provisional Government launched the a large scale attack on the German trenches in
what came to be known as the June Offensive
 The offensive failed miserably with casualties and desertion rates extremely high
 The offensive cost the Provisional Government a great deal of support

 The failure of the June offensive and the Ukrainian demands for independence led to the July
Day Risings
 The revolt however was poorly organised and far from united
 This disunity allowed Kerensky to rush loyal troops from the front to put down the rebellion
 Following the July Day Risings the Bolsheviks were nearly obliterated as a political force
 Kamenev and Trotsky were arrested, the party paper was shut down and Lenin was forced to
flee the country after Kerensky branded him a German spy

 The question of land however was a pervasive problem that the Provisional Government had
neglected to address
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 This failure provided the Bolsheviks with an opportunity to regain some of their popularity
 The peasants, who had expected a redistribution of land following the February Revolution were
become increasingly restless and began to seize land unlawfully
 The Provisional Government however would not legitimise these land seizure
 This was partly because it did not feel it had the authority and partly because many of its
members were land owners
 Chernov offered a compromise, allow the peasants to use the land and sort out ownership
latter, but this was rejected and so too was a crucial chance for the PG to regain support
 The Bolsheviks on the other hand promised land immediately and in so doing ensured that a
revolution on their part would be met, if not enthusiastically, then at least without hostility

 In terms of the inevitability of the October Revolution the PG certainly faced significant
challenges
 A number of key opportunities were missed however,
o Chernov’s land proposals
o The idea of a defensive war only
o A failure to intervene in the economy to secure price freezes

 In August Kerensky decided that order needed to be restored to the capital
 As such he entered into an agreement with General Kornilov (an avoidable mistake)
 Kornilov however was accused of wanting to create a military dictatorship and in a panic
Kerensky turned to the Soviet to help defend Petrograd
 The defence was organised largely by the Bolshevik trained Red Guards who Kerensky saw fit to
arm
 This provided the Bolsheviks with an unbelievable propaganda opportunity, destroyed the
credibility of Kerensky, prevented any generals from coming to the aid of the PG in future and
equipped the Bolsheviks with the tools necessary for revolution
 It also discredited the SR and Mensheviks who were associated with Kerensky

 The Bolshevik once again saw a huge rise in popularity allowing them seize overall control of the
Petrograd and Moscow Soviets and elect Trotsky as President
 Trotsky used this position to his advantage employing the Military Revolutionary Committee as
soldiers in the revolution

 When Kerensky found about the details of the planned revolution he attempted a pre-emptive
strike
 This however only played into the Bolsheviks hands as they claimed Kerensky was attacking the
Soviet giving legitimacy to the October Revolution and allowing them to justify the use of the
MRC

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