Unit 4

Q-what were the changes brought about by the Bolsheviks after the October revolution of 1917

1. Bolsheviks opposed private property and nationalized industry and banks in

November 1917. Land declared social property and peasants allowed to seize noble
land. Partition of large houses in cities and ban on aristocratic titles.New uniforms
designed for army and officials.
2. Bolshevik Party renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)
3. Failed to gain majority support in elections to the Constituent Assembly in November
1917
4. Assembly rejected Bolshevik measures and Lenin dismissed it in January 1918
5. Made peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk in March 1918, despite opposition from
political allies
6. Became the only party to participate in elections to the All Russian Congress of
Soviets
7. One-party state established in Russia.Trade unions kept under party control.
8. Secret police (Cheka, later OGPU and NKVD) punished critics of the Bolsheviks
9. Many young artists and writers supported the Party for its socialist ideals and
experimentation in the arts and architecture
10. Disillusionment grew due to censorship enforced by the Party.

Q-Discuss the civil war that took place in Russia after the October revolution of 1917

1. Bolsheviks ordered land redistribution, leading to the desertion of peasant soldiers

from the Russian army.
2. Non-Bolshevik socialists, liberals, and supporters of autocracy condemned the
Bolshevik uprising and organized troops to fight against them.
3. The 'greens' (Socialist Revolutionaries) and 'whites' (pro-Tsarists) controlled most of
the Russian empire, backed by foreign troops.
4. Looting, banditry, and famine became common during the civil war.
5. Harsh actions by 'whites' against peasants who seized land led to the loss of popular
support.
6. By January 1920, the Bolsheviks controlled most of the former Russian empire.
7. The Bolshevik government represented confusion for many, leading to political
autonomy for non-Russian nationalities in the Soviet Union.
8. Attempts to win over different nationalities were only partly successful.
Q-discuss the important steps taken by lenin to improve the economic state of Russia

1. Industries and banks were nationalized by the Bolsheviks during the civil war.
2. Peasants were allowed to cultivate the socialized land.
3. Confiscated land was used to demonstrate collective work.
4. Centralized planning was introduced to assess and target economic growth.
5. The government fixed all prices to promote industrial growth during the first two Five
Year Plans.
6. Centralized planning led to increased industrial production.
7. Industrial production of oil, coal, and steel increased by 100% between 1929 and
1933.
8. New factory cities were established.

Q-what steps were taken to improve condition of factory workers after the civil war?

1. Construction of a steel plant was achieved in three years

2. Poor working conditions led to 550 stoppages of work in the first year
3. Workers had to endure harsh living conditions, including extreme cold temperatures
and limited toilet facilities
4. An extended schooling system was developed for factory workers and peasants
5. Arrangements were made for factory workers and peasants to enter universities
6. Crèches were established in factories for the children of women workers
7. Cheap public health care was provided
8. Model living quarters were set up for workers, although resources were limited

Q-critically examine Stalin’s collectivization

1. Soviet towns faced grain shortages and peasants refused to sell at government-fixed
prices
2. Stalin who headed the party after Lenin introduced emergency measures to stop
speculation and confiscate supplies. He believed rich peasants in countryside were
holding stocks in hope of higher prices
3. Party members toured grain-producing areas, enforced grain collections, and raided
well-to-do peasants (Kulaks)
4. Collectivisation of farms was initiated to develop modern and larger farms. After
1917 land had been given to peasants.
5. these small farms could not be modernised and to develop modern farms and run
them with machinery it was necessary to eliminate kulaks and take land from
peasants establishing state controller farms.
6. From 1929, all peasants were forced to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz)
 7. Peasants resisted collectivisation, destroyed livestock, and faced severe punishment.
Many were deported and exiled. (number of cattle fell by 1/3)
8. Independent cultivation was allowed but treated unsympathetically
9. Production did not immediately increase after collectivisation. bad harvests led to a
devastating famine in 1930-1933 when over 4 million died.
10. Critics of the Planned Economy and collectivisation were accused of conspiracy
against socialism
11. Over 2 million people were imprisoned or sent to labour camps by 1939
12. Many of the accused were innocent, but no one defended them
13. False confessions were obtained through torture
14. Talented professionals were among those executed.

Q-Explain the global influence of the Russian revolution and the USSR.

1. Existing socialist parties disapproved of the Bolsheviks' seizure and retention of

power.
2. The possibility of worker's state fired people’s imagination across the world and
Communist parties formed in countries like Great Britain
3. Bolsheviks encouraged colonial peoples to follow their example
4. Non-Russians participated in conference of the people of the east (1920) and the
Comintern (international union of pro-Bolshevik parties)
5. Some received education at the Communist University of the Workers of the East
6. By the outbreak of WWII, the USSR had become a global symbol of socialism
7. Yet by 1950s it was acknowledged within the country that Soviet government did not
align with the ideals of the Russian Revolution.
8. Recognition within the world socialist movement that all was not well in the USSR
9. USSR had become a great power with developed industries and agriculture
10. Poor were being fed, but essential freedoms were denied to citizens
11. International reputation of the USSR as a socialist country declined
12. Socialist ideals still respected among the people
13. Socialism was rethought in different ways in each country.