13 abr 2025
1.1 - Lenin
April-July 1917
• Lenin had been in exile in Zurich: April 1917 German gov allowed him to move
back (wanted to de-stabilise Russia), he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds
• ‘April Theses’ : Lenin’s ideas published in Pravda, he had criticised PG & states
that bourgeois revolution (Feb 1917) could directly lead to socialist revolution
(Oct 1917)
• Powerful slogans that appealed to peasants; ‘Peace, Land & Bread’
• April-July, Bolsheviks constantly organised anti-PG rallies and tried to
overthrow it unsuccessfully
• Mid-July 1917: PG sent troops to restore order in Petrograd, all Bolshevik
leaders arrested / exiled, Lenin accused of being a traitor -> Rev. Seemed
impossible
October 1917 - Bolshevik Seizure of Control
- Political Vacuum: no compromise between Mensheviks, Bolsheviks & PG. Lenin
wanted Party to seize power on behalf of proletariat -> ‘All power to the Soviet’
Strengths of Bolsheviks Opposition & probems
Strong political & economic centre in Petrograd Still a small political group, didn’t have enough
soviet support for Revolution
Own armed forces - ‘Red Guards’ Opposed by other left-wing groups
(Mensheviks, SRs...), nationalist groups within
Russia, conservatives (Tsarists, middle class...)
Realistic, practical, organised, clear strategies... Econ: shortage of resources (industrial
production 2/3 of 1914 value in 1917) (grain
supplies 13M tonnes short
PG was weak and ine cient: people wanted Political opposition in Constituent assembly
change
Inspiring leaders e.g Lenin & Trotsky Russia still in WW1
September 1917
October 1917
1. Kornilov a air**: Bolsheviks free
1.Military Revolutionary Committee
2. Major cities under Bolshevik in PG to control Mutiny
control
2. Lenin returns & takes control of
3. Mutiny against Keresnky when ordered Bolsheviks
to WW1 frontline
1
ff ffi
, November 1917
1. MRC takes control of Mutiny
2. Kerensky ees city, PG lock themselves in Winter Palace
3. 6-7th Nov: Red Guards occupy government buildings
4. Night 6-7th Nov: guns open re against Winter Palace, Bolsheviks enter & arrest
ministers
5. Evening 7th: All-Russian Congress meets. Opposition leaves hall and Bolsheviks
left with a majority
6. Lenin arrives & announces Bolshevik Government, immediate moves to end war
and redistribute land
Lenin’s One-Party State
- Dictatorship of Bureaucracy during CW: decisions taken by state o cials
instead of through democracy, all real power laid in the Party
- By 1920, Party had 5.4 Million members, twice as many o cers than workers
- 1917-1920: membership increased by 1.4 Million (35%)
- Increase of peasants’ political awareness
All-Russian Congress of Soviets: supreme law making body of
government (in theory), elected by other soviets
Sovnarkom: top tier of gov, 15-20 members who issued decrees
Politburo: top tier of Communist Party, 7-9 members who met daily
& directed Party policy
Nomenklatura (Bureaucracy): administrative apparatus of
government from local to national level to act on policies
Orgburo: supervised work of local party committees, 1919
- Constituent Assembly: shut down January 1918 after non-Bolshevik majority
was elected
- 47 million out of 80M electorate voted, most representative body up tp
date (but peasant farmers alienated, di cult for them to go and vote)
2
fl fi ffi ffi ffi
1.1 - Lenin
April-July 1917
• Lenin had been in exile in Zurich: April 1917 German gov allowed him to move
back (wanted to de-stabilise Russia), he was greeted by enthusiastic crowds
• ‘April Theses’ : Lenin’s ideas published in Pravda, he had criticised PG & states
that bourgeois revolution (Feb 1917) could directly lead to socialist revolution
(Oct 1917)
• Powerful slogans that appealed to peasants; ‘Peace, Land & Bread’
• April-July, Bolsheviks constantly organised anti-PG rallies and tried to
overthrow it unsuccessfully
• Mid-July 1917: PG sent troops to restore order in Petrograd, all Bolshevik
leaders arrested / exiled, Lenin accused of being a traitor -> Rev. Seemed
impossible
October 1917 - Bolshevik Seizure of Control
- Political Vacuum: no compromise between Mensheviks, Bolsheviks & PG. Lenin
wanted Party to seize power on behalf of proletariat -> ‘All power to the Soviet’
Strengths of Bolsheviks Opposition & probems
Strong political & economic centre in Petrograd Still a small political group, didn’t have enough
soviet support for Revolution
Own armed forces - ‘Red Guards’ Opposed by other left-wing groups
(Mensheviks, SRs...), nationalist groups within
Russia, conservatives (Tsarists, middle class...)
Realistic, practical, organised, clear strategies... Econ: shortage of resources (industrial
production 2/3 of 1914 value in 1917) (grain
supplies 13M tonnes short
PG was weak and ine cient: people wanted Political opposition in Constituent assembly
change
Inspiring leaders e.g Lenin & Trotsky Russia still in WW1
September 1917
October 1917
1. Kornilov a air**: Bolsheviks free
1.Military Revolutionary Committee
2. Major cities under Bolshevik in PG to control Mutiny
control
2. Lenin returns & takes control of
3. Mutiny against Keresnky when ordered Bolsheviks
to WW1 frontline
1
ff ffi
, November 1917
1. MRC takes control of Mutiny
2. Kerensky ees city, PG lock themselves in Winter Palace
3. 6-7th Nov: Red Guards occupy government buildings
4. Night 6-7th Nov: guns open re against Winter Palace, Bolsheviks enter & arrest
ministers
5. Evening 7th: All-Russian Congress meets. Opposition leaves hall and Bolsheviks
left with a majority
6. Lenin arrives & announces Bolshevik Government, immediate moves to end war
and redistribute land
Lenin’s One-Party State
- Dictatorship of Bureaucracy during CW: decisions taken by state o cials
instead of through democracy, all real power laid in the Party
- By 1920, Party had 5.4 Million members, twice as many o cers than workers
- 1917-1920: membership increased by 1.4 Million (35%)
- Increase of peasants’ political awareness
All-Russian Congress of Soviets: supreme law making body of
government (in theory), elected by other soviets
Sovnarkom: top tier of gov, 15-20 members who issued decrees
Politburo: top tier of Communist Party, 7-9 members who met daily
& directed Party policy
Nomenklatura (Bureaucracy): administrative apparatus of
government from local to national level to act on policies
Orgburo: supervised work of local party committees, 1919
- Constituent Assembly: shut down January 1918 after non-Bolshevik majority
was elected
- 47 million out of 80M electorate voted, most representative body up tp
date (but peasant farmers alienated, di cult for them to go and vote)
2
fl fi ffi ffi ffi
