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Rise of Communism in Russia - Coggle Diagram
Rise of Communism in Russia
The Bolshevik Revolution
Causes:
Europe was transforming itself based on democratic and nationalist principles and the Industrial Revolution shattered the old feudal system of Europe. However, Russia remain unchanged in its medieval, feudal and autocratic ways.
The Czars ruled by terror and suppressed all attempts at reformation. Russian patriots who agitated were sent to jail. Nicholas' minster - Count Plivy was a menace. He censored freedom of speech, and freedom of thought and let loose his secret police on the reformers. Such blind autocracy prevented change by gradual reform.
Nicholas II faced immense pressure from the reformers and progressive officials for reforms.
Russian youth was inspired by revolutionary underground movement
Herzen preached the doctrine that land should go to the tillers and the government should voice the democratic opinion of the people.
Chernishevskay preached that the exploiting of Russian leaders should be ended by a peasant revolt and installation of socialism.
The Narodniks joined the communists to pull down the Czarist autocracy and bring in democracy and socialism
The Russo-Japanese War 1904-05 and the Russian Revolt 1905 made a great impact on the Czarist autocracy. In fact the upheaval of 1905 was called the morning star of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The defeat of the Czars at the hands of a small Asiatic power ruined Russia's prestige at home. The Russian peasants rose in revolt in 1905, burnt the firms of landlords, and workers of St. Petersburg marched to submit a petition to the Czar. The Royal Guards fired mercilessly on them and this revolt was suppressed by a blood bath.
Political weaknesses
Nicholas II summoned a Duma or Russian Assembly but its members were not elected and it had no legislative power. The Czar's command still prevailed in all matters.
The bureaucracy was oppressive, tyrannical, and whip-handed.
The Czarina Allexandrova was rumoured to have an affair with a Georgian pretender called Rasputin. This ruined the prestige of the Romanov dynasty
There were many racial minorities including Slavs, Poles, Finns, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Turks, etc. that were russian by birth but the Czar let loose a policy of Russofication of these minorities.
There was a lack of liberal, representative government.
Russia deciding to join the Allies in World War I was an unfortunate and shortsighted decision.
They underestimated the strength of the Germans and joined the war. They believed that they would defeat the enemy, not knowing that Germans were armed with modern weapons that could destroy Russia's manpower. The army was sent without prep or training and within two years their line cracked. They were chased back into their own land and 1/3rd of Russia was occupied by Germans.
The economic impact of this decision was devastating. Providing food, clothing and weapons to so many soldiers was a huge task. The treasury was emptied and the Czar was left dependent on Allied loans. Further, the fertile land was captured by the allies, the men were sent to fight wars and this caused a food shortage.
There was a tremendous shortage of fuel and coal. The wagons were being used to carry war supplies and now there weren't any left for civilians to carry coal on. Large factories and farms were closed down and people began to die because of the cold.
The Great Land Reform of 1869 abolished serfdom in Russia but it burdened the peasants with huge compensation money. The peasants were granted the right to own land but they sold their land to give money to Kulaks. The Kulaks exploited the peasants and augmented their poverty. The Narodniki and 1905 movements demanded 'Land to the Tillers.'
The urban workers of Russia were also disgruntled - they were poorly paid, lived in unhygienic conditions and were overworked. Their trade union rights and right to strike were denied. Their lives were made intolerable and the inflated food prices were beyond their reach.
Events
First stage of the Revolution
Petrograd workers organised a strike in February, 1917. There was a bread riot in February 23rd, 1917.
The Czar dissolved the Duma, angering the people. These people joined the workers and attacked rich capitalists and shop-keepers.
The Czarist soldiers sent to restraint them also joined them and the government lost control over the city.
The Czar called the Fourth Duma for advice and the Duma demanded his abdication. He obliged.
A provisional government - A committee of Ten members was formed with Lvov as Prime Minister and Kerensky as Minister of Justice
The Bolsheviks took advantage of this and organised a coup, taking over the Petrograd
The Second stage of the Revolution was a lot more decisive. Who would the power belong to? The Provisional Republic, the Bolsheviks, or the Social Democrats?
Agatha Ramm pointed out
The provisional govt was lawful but it did not have roots in the country and could not consolidate its position. They wanted to continue fighting the war and it hence lost popularity.
The Social Democrats and the Mensheviks were popular because they drew their strength from the middle class. They held that proper time for a Proletariat revolution had not come yet.
The Bolsheviks were radicals and they became more so under Lenin when he returned from exile. He gave the Bolshevik party order and discipline an he published the April Thesis. Then he wrote a journal called Iskara in which he wrote 'What is to be done?':
Bolsheviks deserved the power to rule the country
The Provisional government was an ad-hoc government and was not elected by the people's vote.
The proletariat movement should overtake the bourgeois revolution according to the laws of history
Lenin ordered that the Russian soldiers were required to take order from the Petrograd Soviet alone
Lenin asked the Bolsheviks to form councils of workers and soldiers in every town. He promised them 'Peace, Land and Bread.'
He called a meeting with the delegates - the Central Congress of Russian Soviets on June 1917. They declared the Petrograd Soviets as the central govt of Russia. They gave the call 'All power to the Soviets.' This was the end of the second stage.
Third stage of the Revolution
Continued from September to November 1917. The Bolsheviks captured the offices of the Central government at Petrograd mostly unopposed. They arrested the social democrats and the men of the provisional govt. The army was told to obey the Bolshevik mandate on fear of execution.
The Fourth Duma was hence overthrown. They tried to resist but were defeated by the Red Army.
Lenin
After the fall of the Czar, there was a state of uncertainty. During this, Lenin returned from his exile. He gave directions and leadership to the revolution. He wrote the April Thesis and the journal Iskara where he wrote an article called 'What is to be done.'
He said that the Bolsheviks were the rightful inheritors from the February Revolution. He also said the Petrograd Soviets were the real govt of the country and if they were allowed to become the govt they would give everyone land and bread.
In the Thesis of Peace of Jan 1918, he said that everyone had to work together to bring an end to the Civil War because Russia could not handle both internal and external war at the same time.
Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany where they agreed to pay compensation in land and money to the Germans. They hence resigned from World War I.
Lenin's army wanted to return to their villages but Lenin threatened to take away their land if they did so. He built the Red Army under Trotsky, and secret Police Cheka under Stalin.
The drastic enforcement of war communism made the old order of Russia perish. A general election was held in 1917 to form a Constituent Assembly but when the Bolsheviks did not get majority votes, the Constituent Assembly was dissovled.
Soviets were formed - the members of the Soviets elected the Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Soviet elected 300 member executives and the executives elected 10 member Presidium. Lenin was the head of the Presidium. This - the Communist Party of Soviet Union (CPSU) became the only party recognised by the government.
Lenin declared the need for was communism was over after armed insurrections started breaking out. He said there would only be as much comminsm as necessary:
Small private shops and industries were restored to their owners.
Lower middle class got their property back
Large farms remained confiscated for the cause of socialism
90% of industries were released from nationalism
80% of workers worked under the big industries and were hence put under state control and protection. 20% worked under private control. This was known as Mixed Economy.
Peasants got the right to sell their farm product in the open market at competitive prices.
The peasants were asked to pay their rents in kind and not in cash. Later on cash payments were introduced.
Poor peasants were released of State taxes.
The Kulaks lost their properties or were over-taxed so that large scale private farming became unprofitable.
A central board was started to control economic policy and planning. It was called the Vasenka.
His new socialist order was pragmatic and practical. However there were several limitations to it:
2 more items...
Stalin
Lenin's death led to a power struggle within the CPSU between Trotsky and Stalin. This duel was fought on ideological differences but underneath these differences, there was a personal power rivalry. Stalin preached that communism should focus on the state of Russia and not on liberating the whole world. It has to first flourish in Russia for it to become global. Trotsky on the other hand preached the doctrine of world revolution as a goal of the Russian Revolution. Stalin silenced Trotsky and his supporters and he purged and exiled them subsequently.
He then proceeded with his own plan - Stalinism. He wanted to increase the supply of capital in the nation and to turn the peasants into a wage-earning class. If the land was collectivised and the peasants worked on it they would earn wages and then the product of the land could be sold to increase capital. So he discarded Lenin's NEP and started the Gosplan or the Five-Year Plans.
Laid heavy emphasis on capital industrial production like iron, steel, weapons, railways, oil, at the cost of the production of consumer goods.
The target of the annual output was fixed and the party workers worked towards this target.
The factory managers and party officials incharge of production were punished for any lapse.
Free compulsory primary education was implemented. Stress was given to scientific and technological studies. The Marxian philosophy was spread through education at a young age.
Collectivisation of agricultural farms started
The Kulaks were opposed to this and they were ruthlessly treated by the Secret Police
These (25 million) farms were to be tilled and administered under the Kolkhoj. Scientific methods of farming were to be used in these farms.
If there was a surplus of farm labour, they were to be sent to factories to work as workers.
The cost of food output was to be reduced through use of machines
Stalin built up his totalitarian state and called it the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. In reality, it was the dictatorship of Stalin.
Estimate of Stalin's contribution
Early life - he was the right hand man of Lenin and the head of the Cheka or the secret police. After Lenin's death he established his dominance over CPSU and expelled his rival Trotsky.
He brought Russian industrialisation under state planning and did not let it grow in a scattered way. All heavy industries were owned by him and forced to produce according to the govt's targets. Everyone was motivated to reach this target
He conducted purges and executed most of his colleagues out of mistrust.
He criticised the Treaty of Versailles for depriving Russia of its pre-war possessions.
With the emergence of Nazi Germany it tried to collaborate with the Anglo-French Powers. When that failed, he made the Russo-German pact and remained neutral through most of the war. But with the Nazi invasion of Russia, he resisted and buried the German forces at Stalingrad. Russia emerged as a victorious power from WWII and Anglo-American powers had to pay their due respect to Stalin. In the Cold War, he was unrelenting to pressure from America. He raised Russia to the status of a superpower.