The Bolshevik Consolidation of Power

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The Bolshevik Consolidation of Power

• How did the Bolsheviks survive the first few
  months in power?

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Some reactions to Bolshevik power

• The insane attempt of the Bolsheviks is on the
  eve of collapsethe Bolsheviks are alone
  (soldier section of SR party, October 1917).
• The Bolshevik party will last no more than a few
  days (SR leader November 1917)
• A revolution is a rising of the people.. But
  what have we here? Nothing but a handful of poor
  fools deceived by Lenin and TrotskyTheir decrees
  and their appeals will simply add to the museum
  of historical curiosities. (Petrograd Newspaper,
  October 1917).
• Trotsky was greeted with ironic laughter when he
  arrived at the Ministry of foreign affairs and
  introduced himself as the new minister when he
  ordered them back to work, they left the building
  in protest. (Orlando Figes, A Peoples Tragedy,
  1997)

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Lenins decisions
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Problem 1 Forming a government

• Background
• Lenin had proclaimed power through the Soviet.
  The October Revolution was presented to the
  Russian people as a rising of the Petrograd
  Soviet in which many parties were represented,
  including Mensheviks and Socialist
  Revolutionaries.
• In addition, there were also upcoming elections
  to the Constituent Assembly. The Bolsheviks had
  criticized the Provisional Government for
  delaying elections to a Constituent Assembly.
  However, would the election results be favourable
  to the Bolshevik party?

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Lenins decision
A

• Instead of exercising power through the Soviet,
  Lenin formed a new body the SOVNARKOM. It was
  exclusively made up of Bolsheviks.
• Lenin allowed the elections to the Constituent
  Assembly to go ahead in November 1917. However,
  the Bolsheviks won only 175 seats against 410 for
  the Socialist Revolutionaries.
• Lenin declared that his form of government
  represented a higher stage of democracy than an
  elected assembly.
• The Assembly was allowed to meet for one day 5
  January 1918 then it was closed down and the
  deputies told to go home.

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Problem 2 Press
Background Lenin and the Bolsheviks were aware
of how important political press was. The
Bolsheviks had pumped enormous amounts of money
into their own papers and periodicals before and
during 1917. By banning other opposition papers,
they may prompt significant protests especially
from other Socialist parties. However, they may
face an even greater threat by allowing it to
continue.
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Lenins decision
A

• Lenin decided that he could not allow opposition
  press to continue to be published.
• It was banned in October 1917, firstly the
  newspapers of the centre and right, and later the
  socialist press.

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Problem 3 Political parties

• Background
• Lenin and the Bolsheviks were aware that other
  political parties enjoyed considerable support,
  especially the Kadet party and the Socialist
  Revolutionary Party (both of whom had done well
  in the elections to the Constituent Assembly).
• By banning other political parties, the
  Bolsheviks risked sparking a civil war. However,
  if they remained, they posed a continued threat
  to the newly formed Sovnarkom.

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Lenins decision
C

• The Kadet party was outlawed. Leading Kadets were
  arrested and two were brutally put to death by
  Bolshevik sailors.
• They were soon followed into prison by leading
  right-wing Socialist Revolutionaries and
  Mensheviks all this before the end of 1917.
• At this stage, however, other socialist parties
  were not banned outright although their future
  was very uncertain.

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Problem 4 Role of other socialist parties in
government

• Background
• there was enormous pressure on the Bolsheviks to
  form a democratic government representing all the
  socialist parties. Hundreds of petitions flooded
  in from factory committees and army units
  demanding that there be cooperation between
  parties to avoid civil war.
• The railwaymens union, backed by the post and
  telegraph union, threatened to cut off
  communications if the party did not hold talks
  with other parties.
• Quite a few of the leading Bolsheviks, including
  Kamenev and Zinoviev were in favour of a
  coalition with other socialist parties.

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Lenins decision
A/C
Lenin had no intention of seriously including
other parties. He was not prepared to see his
vision diluted by other socialist parties. Also
he feared that he may be sidelined in a coalition
government. So, he deliberately made sure that
talks with other socialist parties collapsed. He
wanted the Bolsheviks to rule alone. However,
he did make an alliance with the left Socialist
Revolutionaries and brought them in as junior
partners in the Sovnarkom. He saw this as
useful because, with them on board, he could
claim to represent the interests of the peasantry.
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Problem 5 Land Ownership

• Background
• Lenin had built up Bolshevik support by promising
  land to the peasants.
• He was aware of the tide of popular opposition
  that had undermined Kerensky and the Provisional
  Government.
• But handing land over to the peasants immediately
  could lead to an economic crisis, violence and
  lawlessness in the countryside. How would Lenin
  square his socialist vision with economic reality?

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Lenins decision
B

• In October 1917, the Sovnarkom passed the decree
  on land. This gave peasants the right to take
  over the estates of the gentry, without
  compensation, and to decide for themselves the
  best way to divide it up.
• Land could no longer be bought, sold or rented,
  it belonged to the entire people. Privately
  owned land was not part of the Bolsheviks
  socialist vision.

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Problem 6 running industry

• Lenin and the Bolsheviks believed firmly in the
  principle of power being passed to the workers
  of the world. But they ran the risk of
  inefficient production, disputes and violence and
  economic disaster.
• There had been a great deal of unrest in the
  factories with factory committees demanding an
  eight-hour day, better working conditions and
  better pay.

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Lenins decision
B

• In November 1917, the Bolsheviks passed the
  Workers Control Decree. Factory committees were
  given the right to control production and to
  supervise management.
• In October 1917, the Bolsheviks also agreed to a
  maximum eight-hour day for workers as well as
  social insurance (unemployment and sickness
  benefits).

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Problem 7 Nationalities question

• Background The collapse of the Romanov dynasty
  had prompted many national groups to present
  demands for more self government (independence).
  The Finns and the Ukrainians were the first to do
  this.
• Was the future of the empire at stake?

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Lenins decision
A

• The Rights of the People of Russia decree gave
  the right of self-determination to the national
  minorities in the former Russian Empire.
• Of course, the Bolsheviks did not have control of
  the areas in which most of the people lived, so
  this was nothing more than a paper measure.

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Problem 8 War and Peace

• Background
• The promise that had brought so many people to
  the Bolshevik banner was the pledge to end war.
  Lenin was convinced that revolutions in Europe
  would ensure that equal peace settlements would
  be reached. But the reality proved more
  problematic.
• At the peace-negotiations held at Brest-Litovsk,
  the German demands were excessive. Any peace
  treaty would result in the loss of a quarter of
  Russias farm land and three-quarters of her iron
  and coal reserves as well as 62 million people
  within its population. Trotsky refused to even
  consider such a cost. What should Lenin do?

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Lenins decision
B

• Lenin adopted a position of peace at any price
  and so accepted the terms of Brest-Litovsk in
  March 1918.
• Russia pulled out of World War I. But the
  consequences of the treaty caused deep discontent
  amongst those who saw it as a shameful peace.

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Summary What methods did Lenin use to retain
control?
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Legal system abolished and replaced with
revolutionary justice.
Terror use of Cheka, secret police
Central political control - Sovnarkom
Opposition parties banned
Incentives for Russian workers and peasants
peace, bread and land in order to build up
support
class warfare state sanctioned violence
against the burzhui (bourgeoisie or middle class).