- Consolidation of power (1917–18): After the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks banned opposition newspapers, shut down the Constituent Assembly in 1918, and used the Cheka (secret police) to silence critics.
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1918): To end World War I, Lenin signed a harsh peace with Germany. Russia lost huge areas of land and resources, but Lenin saw peace as necessary to keep Bolsheviks in power.
- Civil War (1918–21): Reds (Bolsheviks) fought the Whites (tsarists, liberals, foreign-backed armies) and Greens (peasants). The war devastated Russia, killing millions through fighting, famine, and disease.
- Red victory: The Reds won because Trotsky organized the Red Army well, they controlled key cities like Moscow and Petrograd, and they used propaganda to rally support. The Whites were divided and poorly coordinated.
- War Communism (1918–21): To supply the army, the Bolsheviks seized grain from peasants, nationalized factories, and banned private trade. This led to hunger, strikes, and peasant uprisings.
- Terror and coercion: The Cheka arrested and executed thousands of “enemies of the people.” Censorship, forced labor camps, and the “Red Terror” kept opposition down.
- Kronstadt Rebellion (1921): Sailors who had once supported the Bolsheviks rebelled against harsh conditions and lack of freedoms. The revolt was crushed, shocking Lenin into changing policy.
- New Economic Policy (NEP, 1921): Lenin replaced War Communism with the NEP. Peasants could sell extra grain for profit, small businesses reopened, and the economy began to recover.
- Criticism of NEP: Some Bolsheviks disliked it, calling it a retreat to capitalism, but Lenin argued it was only temporary to save the revolution.
- Foreign policy: Lenin hoped revolutions would spread to Europe, but after failed uprisings in Germany and Hungary, he created the Comintern (1919) to encourage world revolution. By the 1920s, the USSR also sought trade and recognition from other countries.
Case study
The New Economic Policy (NEP, 1921)
Background
- By 1921, Russia was devastated by World War I, the Civil War, and War Communism.
- Industry had collapsed, peasants resisted grain seizures, and millions faced famine.
- Strikes, peasant uprisings, and the Kronstadt Rebellion showed that the Bolsheviks risked losing control.
Key Features of the NEP
- Agriculture: Grain requisitioning (seizures) was ended. Peasants paid a tax in kind but could sell extra grain for profit.
- Industry: Small businesses were allowed to reopen privately, but heavy industry (like coal, steel, transport) stayed under state control.
- Trade: Private trade was legalized, and markets returned, bringing food and goods into cities.
- Foreign investment: The Bolsheviks encouraged limited foreign investment to rebuild the economy.
Results
- Economic recovery: Food production rose, trade revived, and cities began to recover. By the mid-1920s, production levels were rising.
- Peasants: They were happier, since they could keep and sell surplus grain. A new group, the Nepmen, made profits through trade.
- Workers: Living standards improved slowly, but unemployment rose in some areas as state factories reduced staff.
Criticism
- Many Bolsheviks disliked the NEP, calling it a betrayal of socialism because it reintroduced capitalism.
- Lenin defended it as a “temporary retreat” to save the revolution and stabilize the country.
Significance
- The NEP helped the Bolsheviks stay in power during a time of crisis.
- It showed Lenin’s flexibility: he was willing to change policy to protect Bolshevik control.
- However, it also created debate inside the party, paving the way for future power struggles after Lenin’s death.
Common Mistake
- Only focusing on economics: Students often forget the role of terror and coercion in helping the Bolsheviks keep power.
- Overstating NEP success: It improved the economy, but it did not solve deeper political tensions or opposition to Bolshevik rule.
Exam technique
- Contrast policies: Show how War Communism and NEP were very different, and explain why Lenin shifted between them.
- Link to consolidation: Always connect economic and political policies to how they helped the Bolsheviks stay in power.
Self review
- To what extent was War Communism successful in helping the Bolsheviks win the Civil War?
- Evaluate the relative importance of terror, coercion, and economic policies in consolidating Bolshevik power between 1917 and 1924.
- How far was the New Economic Policy a betrayal of Bolshevik principles?
