Allon Posen

(IB) The Consolidation of the Bolshevik State 1917-1924

Pragmatic decisions to ensure survival

 They initially gave peasants and workers what they wanted, to get their support in the first
months after the October Revolution. They realized they were not able to control the
situation so they gave way to popular demands and aspirations. They passed a number of
other measures that were popular with workers, for example the abolition of titles and
ranks.
 They signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to bring Russia’s involvement into the First World
War to an end and to honor their peace pledge.
 They employed the though policy of War Communism to keep the regime afloat. They
seized grain from a peasantry reluctant to supply it and took strong measures to keep
workers in cities and towns so that they could continue to run industries essential to the
war effort.
 They introduced the NEP; this was an economic concession to achieve political survival.

Staying in control

 They refused to take part in a socialist coalition government and crushed the Constituent
Assembly, establishing one-party control.
 They exploited the weakness of the opposition, particularly the Socialist Revolutionaries and
Mensheviks, who underestimated them and would not get involved in violent anti-Bolshevik
protest.
 They defeated the Whites in the Civil war. People were more inclined to support the
Bolsheviks to keep the “grains of the revolution.”
 They developed a highly centralized state to make sure their policies were carried out.

Ruthless methods and terror

 They set up the Cheka (secret police) as an instrument of terror to deal with opposition.
They arrested first Kadets, and then Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik leaders. The
Checka was a formidable force that supported the Bolsheviks at every turn and helped them
win the war against “internal enemies”. Some historians see the Cheka as the key factor n
the survival of the Bolshevik regime.
 They used force to break the civil service strikes and deal with demonstrations against them.
 Class warfare was used to terrorize the middle classes and all hostile social groups. This
played well with workers and soldiers and made it difficult for people to criticize the new
government.
 They used repressive measures during the NEP to consolidate their political position.
 Allon Posen

How did the Bolsheviks survive the first few months in power?
1) The Bolshevik government was in a fragile condition in the first few months, facing
strikes and protests from other socialists over one-party rule.
2) There were divisions within the party over a proposed socialist coalition. Some
leading Bolsheviks temporarily resigned in protest at Lenin’s failure to support the
coalition idea.
3) Lenin always intended to rule on his own and asserted this in his own party and in
government.
4) Lenin’s early policies had to be modified in response to pressures from the masses.
5) The Bolsheviks crushed opposition and developed forces of terror and coercion,
especially the Cheka.
6) Lenin persuaded the Bolsheviks to sign the unfavorable Treaty of Brestlitovsk. He
knew he had to have peace for his government to survive.

How did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War?

1) The Civil war was very complex with many forces operating over a large territory. It
was a very confusing period during which the sides were not clearly defined.
2) White forces made substantial gains in late 1918 and up to the autumn of 1919,
putting the Bolsheviks in a crisis situation. By October 1919 the Bolsheviks had
turned the tide, picking off White armies one by one, and thereafter pushed the
whites back until their final defeat at the end of 1920.
3) The Reds were in a better position geographically, and had better organization,
better communications and a clear line of command. However, the Red Army had
problems, particularly the high desertion rate.
4) Trotsky made a significant individual contribution to winning the war by his
organizational abilities (transforming the Red Army), his energy and his personal
bravery.
5) The Whites lacked good leadership, unity and co-ordination between armies during
campaigns. They were riven by internal divisions and squabbles.
6) The Whites lacked support from the peasants and national minorities because of
their reactionary policies.
7) Lenin adopted War Communism to meet the needs of the army and to conduct a
civil war on the “internal front”.
8) Terror was an essential component of this internal civil war to defeat counter-
revolution.
9) Communists saw War Communism as the route to socialism.
10) Most people’s experience of War Communism was that it was a terrible tie of
privation and chaos.
 Allon Posen

How was the Bolshevik state Consolidated between 1921 and 1924?
1) The Bolsheviks were in serious trouble in 1921, facing massive peasant revolts,
strikes and opposition from workers, a rising at the Kronstadt naval base, economic
distress and famine. The Bolshevik regime was in jeopardy.
2) There were also factions inside the Communist Party, like the Workers’ Opposition,
who wanted changes in policy.
3) Lenin made economic concessions in the form of the New Economic Policy to ensure
the survival of the regime.
4) The NEP was accompanied by repressive measures as the Communists asserted
their contol.
5) Between 1918 and 1924, the government of the Communist state became
increasingly centralized. This was partly the result of pragmatic responses to
fighting the Civil War and coping with an economy in dire circumstances, and partly
the result of party ideology.
6) The Communist Party became increasingly important at the expense of government
institutions.
7) The Communist Party itself became more centralized and controlled by a smaller
number of people at the top. It became more used to obeying orders, there as less
open debate and discussion, and a “ban on factions” meant that party members
were less likely to challenge the party leaders.
8) By 1924, the Soviet Union was a highly centralized, one-party state.