Russia under Lenin
Warm Up
• What are the “Means of Production”?
• What is Communism?
• How is it different than capitalism?
• What is the goal of communism?
Review
• What were the some causes of the Russian Revolution?
• What was the name of the 1st government that took over
power from the Tsar?
• Who was the leader of the Provisional government?
• Why were people unhappy with the provisional govt.?
• What did the communists promise the people?
• Who was the leader of the communists?
• Name the two sides that fought in the Russian civil war.
USSR
• Once the Communist (Reds) won the
Russian civil war, they called their country
the USSR.
• USSR = Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
• Also called Soviet Union
New Government
The only political party that was allowed to
exist was the Communist Party.
• You could not vote for the leader so it was
a dictatorship.
The “Red” Terror
Secret Police = Cheka
Spy on people
Put people in jail (and killed many).
Anybody who disagreed with the communists was
branded a counterrevolutionary or “enemy of the
people.”
Much like the Reign of Terror during the French Rev.
Lenin’s Economic Policies
• War Communism—During the Russian Civil
War, the communists took over all of the banks,
mines, factories, and railroads.
• Peasants were forced to give all their crops to
the govt. to feed people in the city.
• Peasants were also forced to be in the army or
to work in factories.
The NEP
• NEP = New Economic Policy
• War Communism had brought the country to near
collapse.
• The peasants had stopped producing food because
it was all being taken away.
• The NEP allowed for some private business.
• Larger businesses such as mines and factories
remained under government control.
• Peasants were allowed to keep some of what
they grew.
• This was a compromise between capitalism and
communism—the state controlled some things
but there was also some private ownership.
• Lenin thought that this would only be temporary.
• Things improved.
Wrap Up
•
What was the new name for Russia when the communists took over?
•
A = USSR (Soviet Union)
•
What was the name of the Soviet secret police?
•
A = Checka
•
Why was War Communism a failure?
•
A = production went down and farmers stopped farming.
•
How did Lenin respond to the failure of War Communism?
•
A= He came up with the New Economic Plan which allowed for some
private ownership of small businesses and for farmers to keep some of what
they grew.