Assignment 10.51 Background Information on the Russian Civil War Read pages 2-9 in: Fiehn, Terry. Russia and the USSR 1905-1941. Hodder Murray, 1996. 1. What features of Russia’s terrain made it difficult to govern? 2. How did Russia’s ethnic composition make it difficult to govern? 3. What percentage of the Russian population comprised each of the following classes in 1900? a. Peasants: b. Urban workers (AKA proletariat): c. Government officials: d. Nobility: 1.5 4. Why were the peasants so poor? Government bought land and gave to the village Each peasant given a small strip in different areas Divided and redivided every year with the number of adult peasants in the area – no longer adequate as the population grew - Always end up with slightly less land - Peasants tied to the land - Population increased by 50% - Didn’t have enough land 5. Describe conditions for the workers (AKA Proletariat) - City population growing Downward pressure on wages Upward pressure on all the prices Housing very bad Read page 26 6. What happened to populations of major cities between 1897 and 1914? What effect would this have on wages, prices and living conditions? Read pages 20-24 of: Corin, Chris and Terry Fiehn. Russia Under Tsarism and Communism 1881-1953.Hodder, 2011. 7. Describe the aims and the support for each of the following: a. Liberals - The members that formed the Constitutional Democratic party; most were situated in the middle class and were supported by the educated/middle classes (ex. Teachers, doctors, lawyers) and some of the gentry. They believed in constitutional democracy; also, didn’t want to ‘overthrow’ the Tsar, they still thought that they could keep the Tsar in place like a representative monarch like the queen of England (but he would have no administrative power). Duma has the main power Safeguard individual rights b. Socialist Revolutionaries - A group of people who believed that a large revolutionary force comprised of the majority would bring about the socialist revolution in Russia; they presumed that the peasants, and not the proletariat, would be the driving force. Frequently engaged in terrorism/assassination. Formed in 1901 There was a split between moderates and radicals – which persisted into the 1917 revolution Democratic republic Land would be taken from the landlords and redistributed to the peasants Most members were peasants but by 1905 50% of their membership was made up of industrial workers Most SR committees were run by students and intellectuals in town – bemoan lack of influence in rural towns c. Bolsheviks - A subgroup within the social democrats that believed that a small force of tightly packed professional revolutionaries would take power when the time was ripe; and believed that the possibility of infiltration undermined the value of the Menshevik method. Utilized elite task forces of two to three people (Lenin’s Democratic centralism: build a pyramid structure that would have a central group of administrators and the rest would have to follow those decisions without question). Differed from the socialist revolutionaries in that they prioritised the proletariat. The ‘scientific’ nature of Marxism was an appeal to intellectuals d. Mensheviks Another subgroup within the social democrats that believed that the party should be open to the general public, in order to create a mass organization that would overthrow the government through its power in number and influence. Was - for cooperation with other groups such as trade unions to improve living conditions. Wished to make decisions democratically; was looking at a long-term revolutionary strategy and looked to educate the public to culminate a major revolutionary force. Differed from the socialist revolutionaries in that they prioritised the proletariat. ‘minoritarians’ were actually the majority until the Bolshevik takeover Decisions should be made democratically Thought that the revolution was to be far away 8. Define a. Bourgeoisie - The middle class. Had jobs such as teachers, shopkeepers, lawyers, and the like. White-collar workers. This class was framed to be similar to leeches in terms of communist propaganda – whilst landlords were mostly comprised of Nobility, the bourgeoisie comprised most of the factory owners, corporate CEOs and managers – the people that were directly above the proletariat. As a result, the bourgeoisie often saw the brunt of socialist attacks. The bourgeoisie revolution: the growth of trade and industry saw that the middle classes grew larger and more powerful. (Marxist theory) b. Proletariat - The class that was considered to be ‘below’ the bourgeoisie. Blue-collar workers. These were the miners, the industrial workers, people who worked in factories, etc. They had miserable living conditions. Centred in cities – more concentrated, easy to organise Majority in the centres of power Much influenced by socialist campaigns 9. How did Lenin’s ideas about Socialist Revolution differ from Karl Marx’s? Karl Marx, in comparison to Lenin, gave middle-class revolutionaries an important role in that they saw what the true nature of history was. - Wing theory – Marx - Spread to industrial cities - Middle class would not be strong enough to carry out revolution - Thought working class could create government with Russia The Duma After a revolt in 1905, the Tsar made concessions to Russian Liberals, including the formation of a parliament, called a Duma. However, he did not give the Duma any real power and was not prepared to listen to it. Also, the voting was heavily weighted in favour of the upper classes, with one representative for every 2000 nobles and one representative for every 90,000 workers. The first two dumas were dissolved after only a few weeks. Then the Prime Minister changed the voting system to make it favour the upper classes even more. The third and fourth dumas were more moderate, but still clashed with the Tsar. When the Tsar ordered the fourth duma to dissolve in 1917, they formed a “Provisional Government”. This provisional government would try to run Russia from March 15 until elections for a proper parliament, called a “Constituent Assembly” could be held on November 25. Read pages 30-46 of Fiehn, Terry. Russia and the USSR 1905-1941. Hodder Murray, 1996 10. List the ways the First World War contributed to the March Revolution that overthrew the Tsar. - Low morale in soldiers The army turned against the government No way to stamp down on a revolution Food shortages: railways Dismal living conditions in cities Rasputin – social unrest – give rise to extremist parties Undermined the Tsar’s authority because he himself was losing at the front Showed off his incompetence Going against his own advisors (lose support) 11. Identify and explain the significance of: a. Provisional Government The provisional government was a temporary administration formed by the remaining members of the fourth duma after the 1917 March revolution. Unsure of what the future for Russia’s governmental processes would be, the Duma members, under a predominantly liberal position, proceeded to take control (in a way) of Russia until official elections could be held. They did gain a fair amount of public support due to the policies that they enacted; they gave Russian citizens the freedom of press, the freedom of speech, the right to strike, an end to social discrimination (I don’t know how they would have enforced this but yay for them I suppose), and an end to the death penalty. They also freed political prisoners. However, when compared to the Petrograd soviet, they barely held any power; they were unable to make official decisions without the Petrograd soviet’s consent. - First gathered at Tauride palace b. Petrograd Soviet This was a large-scale organization formed by the revolutionaries in the March revolution; workers and soldiers each sent representatives to form a soviet (a political organization) to cooperate with like-minded people and look after their interests. Although the creation of the Petrograd Soviet and the provisional government both took place inside the same building at (relatively) the same time, the initial influx of power was centred around the provisional government. This was largely because of the resources the Soviets had gained access to: such as the military (Order No. 10, railroads, the postal and telegraph service, etc. - Self-appointed, represented all the workers and soldiers in the world (have all the same interests) Order no. 1: army, conflict w interest, X All Russian Congress of Soviets – Bolsheviks chose to take power the night before this congress – so they could say that 12. List the reasons why the Provisional Government had little support by November 1918. - They continued ww1 Wasn’t giving land to the peasants July days Kornilov affair Just because the tsar was gone, X mean that all issues were solved – PG can’t solve all of this right away The Second All Russian Congress Of Soviets The Bolsheviks chose the night of November 7 to seize power in Petrograd because it was the night before the meeting of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets. This was a body of representatives of workers’ and soldiers’ councils from all over Russia, including Mensheviks, SRs and other socialists as well as Bolsheviks. When the Red Guards took control of railways and telegraph stations, they claimed to be doing it on behalf of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, which is one of the reasons they met little resistance. When Lenin announced the seizure of power to this Congress, the Mensheviks and most of the SRs walked out in protest, leaving the Bolsheviks and leftwing SRs in control. They then used this body to “rubber stamp” some of their law, but real power was held by Lenin’s cabinet, the Sovnarkom (short for Council of People’s Commissars). The Decree on Land Although the Bolsheviks had a lot of support among the Proletariat, most of the peasants, the largest class in Russia, supported the Socialist Revolutionaries. In order to get peasant support, the Bolsheviks immediately issued the Decree on Land, instructing peasants to take over landlords’ estates and divide the land among themselves. (Since they were already doing this without permission, the Bolsheviks had little choice in the matter.) In the long-term the Bolsheviks planned to convert to collective farms, but in the short term, they gave the peasants land as private property. The Constituent Assembly Elections November 25 The Provisional Government had spent months organizing elections for a Constituent Assembly. Every man and woman in Russia would have an equal vote and the Assembly would meet in January. One reason why the Bolsheviks encountered little resistance in November is that people didn’t really care who ran the country for the two months remaining before the Constituent Assembly would take over. The elections went ahead and the SRs got more than twice as many seats as the Bolsheviks. (see Fiehn page 51, source 2). The Constituent Assembly met for one day on January 5, 1918 before the Bolsheviks shut it down. Many historians argue that this was the real Bolshevik Revolution. Read pages 120-122 of: Corin, Chris and Terry Fiehn. Russia Under Tsarism and Communism 18811953.Hodder, 2011. 13. List the causes of the Russian Civil War. - - Treaty of Brest Litovsk (lots of people cross over to the other side) Lenin gave away 1/3rd of Russia’s land Angered a lot of people in the army Angered Russia’s allies Red Terror, Cheka Political instability Ethnic elements: polish, Ukrainian people fighting for independence The tsar still being alive Peasants don’t have land – just want to be left alone SRs were angry that they weren’t allowed to take power even though they had won the election Czech army wanted to get back into war: Lenin allowed them to go back home after going to Vladivostok – but some Bolsheviks tried to disarm them, and they decided to fight their way out b/c some part of the treaty of Brest Litovsk would include handing them over to the Germans and AH – who would shoot them for being traitors – then an army coalesced around them How important was foreign intervention to the outcome of the civil war?
