Notes for Consolidation and maintenance: Lenin's use of force - IB | RevisionDojo
Consolidation and maintenance: Lenin's use of force Notes
Lenin’s Use of Force in Consolidation and Maintenance of Power
After seizing power in October 1917, the Bolsheviks faced enemies on all sides: former elites, rival socialist parties, foreign interventionists, and peasant uprisings.
Lenin could not rely on decrees alone.
Violence, terror, and coercion became central to the regime’s survival and consolidation, alongside legal reforms.
Red Terror
Key Methods of Force
Cheka (Dec 1917):
Lenin created the secret police under Felix Dzerzhinsky.
Responsible for arrests, torture, and executions of “counterrevolutionaries.”
Operated outside of legal structures, making force immediate and arbitrary.
Red Terror (1918–1921):
Triggered by assassination attempts on Bolshevik leaders (incl. Lenin in Aug 1918).
Mass arrests, executions, and concentration camps targeted political enemies, former elites, clergy, and peasants resisting grain requisitioning.
Estimates: 100,000+ executed.
Terror was framed as “class justice” to eliminate enemies of the revolution.
Civil War (1918–1921):
Red Army, led by Trotsky, defeated White armies and foreign interventionists.
Harsh discipline enforced with executions for desertion.
Bolsheviks used forced conscription and grain requisitioning to sustain the war effort.
Victory gave regime military legitimacy and eliminated large-scale opposition.
War Communism (1918–1921):
Forced requisition of grain and nationalization of industry.
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Note
After the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917, they faced a complex web of enemies and challenges. The new regime was surrounded by hostile forces, including former elites, rival socialist parties, foreign interventionists, and peasant uprisings. Lenin understood that maintaining power required more than just revolutionary ideals - it demanded a strategic use of force and coercion.
The Bolsheviks inherited a country in chaos, with multiple factions vying for control
Economic collapse and social unrest threatened the stability of the new government
Lenin believed that revolutionary violence was necessary to defend the revolution
Analogy
Think of the Bolshevik situation like a ship surrounded by storms on all sides - they needed strong measures to keep from sinking.
Note
Lenin's approach combined both ideological conviction and pragmatic ruthlessness in using force.
