Lenin’s Russia, part 1



Lenin’s Government: Starter

This poster was created by Lenin’s government. The caption says: ‘Lenin cleans the earth of evil spirits’.

What is this poster suggesting about Lenin’s government? (Remember to link your ideas to the details of the source)

Because this cartoon was produced by Lenin’s own government, it should show what Lenin stands for. However, is there any reason to doubt the reliability of this evidence?

Finally, when you have completed this unit on Lenin’s government, add below 2 or 3 sentences of CONTEXTUAL KNOWLEDGE to support or contradict the interpretation of Lenin’s government in the poster.

Lenin’s Government: Starter – TEACHER COPY

This poster was created by Lenin’s government. The caption says: ‘Lenin cleans the earth of evil spirits’.

What is this poster suggesting about Lenin’s government? (Remember to link your ideas to the details of the source)

That Lenin is a fresh start for Russia; shown by the broom sweeping away the old order. Those swept away are royalty, the church and the fat-cat industrialists. All of these people had exploited the workers.

That Lenin is an ordinary man of the people, as shown by his ordinary black suit and hat. This suggests that he will rule Russia for ordinary people rather than in the interests of the elites, as was traditional.

The fact that he is shown standing on a globe, rather than just a map of Russia, may suggest that Lenin’s intent was to spread communism to other countries.

Because this cartoon was produced by Lenin’s own government, it should show what Lenin stands for. However, is there any reason to doubt the reliability of this evidence?

Yes, because it is a propaganda poster and therefore it’s purpose was to make people believe this was what Lenin stood for, rather than necessarily reflect the truth of his intentions.

Finally, when you have completed this unit on Lenin’s government, add below 2 or 3 sentences of CONTEXTUAL KNOWLEDGE to support or contradict the interpretation of Lenin’s government in the poster.

At this point they may say that Lenin actually ruled very like a dictator when he abolished the Duma and made the Bolsheviks the only party. This was very like the Tsar’s authoritarian rule and so wasn’t a fresh start as suggested by the poster.

As soon as he took power, he also took grain from the peasants in the countryside to feed the workers in towns, which was good for the towns, but was terrible for the agricultural peasants. He did the same in the Russian civil war, taking grain to feed the soldiers. Both of these instances suggest he wasn’t really a man who looked after ordinary Russian people.

On the other hand, he did form the Comintern to spread communism to other countries

Evaluating the early days of Lenin’s Government

|Problem |Action taken |Comment – who would be pleased/displeased? What are the IMPLICATIONS? |

|Food shortages |Soldiers were sent into the countryside to seize grain to feed the towns | |

|(Lenin had promised ‘bread’) | | |

|On-going Russian involvement in the war (Lenin |March 1918, Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. Germany lost 1/6 of | |

|had promised ‘peace’) |its population, ¼ of its farmland, ¼ railways and ¾ heavy industry, and had to pay | |

| |300million gold roubles to Germany (sound familiar?!) | |

|Elections to the Constituent Assembly were |Lenin held the promised elections late in 1917. The Bolsheviks only won 175 seats out | |

|overdue, which had been one of the reasons for |of 707. The Social Revolutionaries won 370 seats! | |

|dissatisfaction with the Provisional Government |Lenin used Trotsky’s Red Guard to close down the Assembly when it first met on 18 | |

| |January 1918. Instead, he used the Congress of Soviets to pass his laws. | |

| |The Bolshevik party was declared the only lawful party in Russia. | |

| |On 1 December, all non-Bolshevik newspapers were banned. | |

| |On 20 December, the Checka (secret police) was established to deal with ‘spies and | |

| |counter-revolutionaries’. | |

| |27 December, banks were put under Bolshevik control. | |

| |Government moves from St Petersburg to Moscow. | |

|Although some Bolsheviks wanted the solve |The Comintern was formed under Zinoviev to promote revolution abroad and to encourage | |

|Russian’s problems as a priority (socialism in |Bolsheviks in other countries to act | |

|one country), many wanted the revolution to | | |

|spread internationally | | |

|Lenin had promised land reform |From 8 November 1917, land belonging to the Tsar, Church and nobles was handed over to | |

| |the peasants | |

|Lenin’s support base was the industrial workers |12 November, working day was limited to 8 hours, the working week was limited to 48 | |

|and he needed to keep them happy |hours | |

| |Rules were made about overtime and holidays | |

| |Factories were put under control of worker’s committees | |

Evaluating the early days of Lenin’s Government – TEACHER NOTES

|Problem |Action taken |Evaluation |

|Food shortages |Soldiers were sent into the countryside to seize grain to feed the towns |Peasants in the countryside will be furious although workers in the towns will be |

|(Lenin had promised ‘bread’) | |happier |

| | | |

| | |(the implication is that Lenin’s support base is concentrated in the towns) |

|On-going Russian involvement in the war (Lenin |March 1918, Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. Germany |The army officers will be upset. Many of them were tsarists and will now be turning |

|had promised ‘peace’) |lost 1/6 of its population, ¼ of its farmland, ¼ railways and ¾ heavy |their anger on the communists |

| |industry, and had to pay 300million gold roubles to Germany (sound | |

| |familiar?!) |Ordinary people would be happy at end of war, although may suffer job shortages at the|

| | |loss of so much industry |

| | | |

| | |Wider implication (scene setting for Stalin’s government) Loss of so much industry |

| | |will be severe problem for Russian development, as its industry was limited anyway |

| | | |

| | |Britain and France will be worried at Russia pulling out of the war against Germany, |

| | |because it meant all German forces would be concentrated on the western front, making |

| | |them harder to defeat |

|Elections to the Constituent Assembly were |Lenin held the promised elections late in 1917. The Bolsheviks only won 175 | |

|overdue, which had been one of the reasons for |seats out of 707. The Social Revolutionaries won 370 seats! |Is ruling as a dictator – seems like no progress from Nicholas II. Many people will |

|dissatisfaction with the Provisional Government |Lenin used Trotsky’s Red Guard to close down the Assembly when it first met |object to the Cheka who seem just like the Okrana, crushing freedom of speech |

| |on 18 January 1918. Instead, he used the Congress of Soviets to pass his | |

| |laws. |Social Revolutionaries (kerenskyists) will be furious, as will Mensheviks |

| |The Bolshevik party was declared the only lawful party in Russia. | |

| |On 1 December, all non-Bolshevik newspapers were banned. |Middle-class liberals will be furious – no Duma |

| |On 20 December, the Cheka (secret police) was established to deal with | |

| |‘spies and counter-revolutionaries’. | |

| |27 December, banks were put under Bolshevik control. | |

| |Government moves from St Petersburg to Moscow. | |

|Although some Bolsheviks wanted the solve |The Comintern was formed under Zinoviev to promote revolution abroad and to |This will upset countries such as Britain and France, who are also suffering as a |

|Russian’s problems as a priority (socialism in |encourage Bolsheviks in other countries to act |result of involvement in WWI, and don’t want their struggling populations to turn to |

|one country), many wanted the revolution to | |communism |

|spread internationally | | |

|Lenin had promised land reform |From 8 November 1917, land belonging to the Tsar, Church and nobles was |Tsarists will be furious |

| |handed over to the peasants | |

| | |Agricultural peasants will be pretty pleased, although it isn’t really reform of the |

| | |way land is distributed and farmed, which was really the issue. Is a short-term |

| | |solution. |

|Lenin’s support base was the industrial workers |12 November, working day was limited to 8 hours, the working week was |Industrial workers, the Bolsheviks core supporters, will be happy |

|and he needed to keep them happy |limited to 48 hours | |

| |Rules were made about overtime and holidays |Industrialists will not! |

| |Factories were put under control of worker’s committees | |

Lenin’s Government: War

In 1918, shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, war broke out in Russia. The two sides were called the ‘Reds’ and the ‘Whites’. Shade the grid below to show who you think would have been ‘Red’ and who would have been ‘White’. Add into the boxes a note to suggest the reason for the side they took. One of them you should find very tricky!!! [TIP: LOOK UP KERENSKY AND KORNILOV IF YOU CAN’T REMEMBER WHO THEY WERE]

|Industrialists |Agricultural peasants |National minority groups, such as Cossacks in the |Landowners |

| | |Ukraine | |

|Lenin |Tsarists/ Monarchists |Britain |Middle-class liberals |

|Army generals such as Yudenich, Kolchak, Denikin and |Social Revolutionaries (sometimes called |Bolshevik Party |Japan |

|Kornilov |Kerenskyists) | | |

|France |Industrial workers |11 other foreign countries |Trotsky |

|Czech Legion - 45000 Czech POW who being transported back home in 1918. On the way, they quarrelled with one of the local soviets and then seized control of the trans-siberian railway; a vital link between east and|

|west Russia |

This war is usually called the Russian Civil War. Is that title entirely appropriate?

Which side would you expect to win and why?

Lenin’s Government: War – TEACHER NOTES

In 1918, shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, war broke out in Russia. The two sides were called the ‘Reds’ and the ‘Whites’. Shade the grid below to show who you think would have been ‘Red’ and who would have been ‘White’. Add into the boxes a note to suggest the reason for the side they took. One of them you should find very tricky!!! [TIP: LOOK UP KERENSKY AND KORNILOV IF YOU CAN’T REMEMBER WHO THEY WERE]

|Industrialists |Agricultural peasants |National minority groups, such as Cossacks in the |Landowners |

|Angry at loss of industry in treaty of B-L |This is the tricky one! They will probably say white |Ukraine |Furious at confiscation of land |

|Angry at concessions made to workers by Bolshevik |because of food confiscation. Agree, but then uses |Using the opportunity to get rid of Bolsheviks to | |

|govt |sources to clarify change in position during war |establish independence | |

|Lenin |Tsarists/ Monarchists |Britain |Middle-class liberals |

| |Want to re-establish Tsar |Angry at Russia’s withdrawal from WW1 – wants to draw|Angry at Lenin’s dismissal of Duma |

| | |Russia back into fighting Germany. Nervous about | |

| | |spread of communism | |

|Army generals such as Yudenich, Kolchak, Denikin and |Social Revolutionaries (sometimes called |Bolshevik Party |Japan |

|Kornilov |Kerenskyists) | |Restoration of old hostilities (Russo-Japanese war of|

|Angry about treaty of B-L which they saw as shameful |Furious that Lenin had denied them power through the | |1905) |

| |Duma | | |

|France |Industrial workers |11 other foreign countries |Trotsky |

|Angry at Russia’s withdrawal from WW1 – wants to draw| | | |

|Russia back into fighting Germany. Nervous about | | | |

|spread of communism | | | |

|Czech Legion - 45000 Czech POW who being transported back home in 1918. On the way, they quarrelled with one of the local soviets and then seized control of the trans-siberian railway; a vital link between east and|

|west Russia |

|?? |

|This provided the pretext for foreign involvement – because the Bolsheviks were attacking foreign nationals |

This war is usually called the Russian Civil War. Is that title entirely appropriate?

No, because a civil war is exclusively between two groups within one country but this involved foreign powers also

Which side would you expect to win and why?

Whites because:

• Foreign support from powerful nations such as Britain and France

• Bolshevik support centered in the towns, mainly Moscow and Petrograd and they couldn’t be sure of the support of the agricultural peasants in the countryside

• The Czech legion had control of the trans-siberian railway, making it difficult for the Bolsheviks to control west Russia

• The Whites have experienced Tsarists Generals to coordinate their attack

• The Whites have several possible alternative governments that they could establish in place of the Bolsheviks – they could restore the monarchy or establish a liberal democracy or allow the social revolutionaries to dominate a Duma. This gave them a range of options which appealed to a lot of people in Russia

Lenin’s Government: War and the attitude of the agricultural peasants

The issue of the attitude of peasants in the countryside is a difficult one. Study the following evidence to find out what they thought about the two sides in the civil war:

Source 1

In the villages the peasant will not give grain to the Bolsheviks because he hates them. Armed companies are sent to take grain from the peasant and every day, all over Russia, fights for grain are fought to a finish. In Petrograd, hundreds of people are dying from hunger. People are arrested daily [for criticizing] and kept in prison for months without trial

The actions of the Bolshevik government, observed by a British businessman in Russia in 1918

Source 2

Having surrounded the village they (the white armies)...fired a couple of volleys in the direction of the village and everyone took cover. Then the mounted soldiers entered the village, met the Bolshevik committee and put the members to death. After the execution the houses of the culprits were burned and the male population under forty-five whipped. Then the population was ordered to deliver without pay the best cattle, pigs, fowl, forage and bread for the soldiers as well as the best horses.

Diary of Colonel Drozdovsky, 1923. He was a White Commander

Source 3

For the first time in history the working people have got control of their country. The workers of all countries are striving to achieve this objective. We in Russia have succeeded. We have thrown off the rule of the Tsar, of landlords and of capitalists. But we still have tremendous difficulties to overcome. We cannot build a new society in a day. We ask you, are you going to crush us? To help give Russia back to the landlords, the capitalists and the Tsar?

Red Propaganda Leaflet “Why have you come to Murmansk?”

Source 4

The Civil War, 1918-1920, was a time of great chaos and estimates of Cheka executions vary from 12 to 50 thousand. But even the highest figure does not compare to the ferocity of the White Terror...for instance, in Finland alone, the number of workers executed by the Whites approaches 100,000.

R Appignanesi, Lenin for Beginners, 1977

Source 5

The Russian people suffered terribly in the civil war. The economy collapsed, money became almost worthless. In 1920 industrial production was less than 20% of the 1913 level and the harvest produced only 60% of the normal amount of grain. Food supplies were [made worse by the fact that] Lenin sent the Cheka into the countryside to seize grain from the peasants for the army.

OCR Modern World History textbook

Option A: Short Task

Identify two reasons why the peasants in the countryside.

a) hated the Bolsheviks

Remember to include a quote from a clearly referenced source to support your assertion. [You do not need to write the whole quote, just the first couple of words…last couple of words].

b) finally chose to support the Reds rather than the Whites

Option B: Longer Task

“Most Russian peasants supported the Bolsheviks reluctantly, because they seemed the lesser of two evils”

With reference to all sources, explain whether or not you agree with this statement

Lenin’s Government: War and the attitude of the agricultural peasants – TEACHER NOTES

Option A: Short Task

Identify two reasons why the peasants in the countryside.

c) hated the Bolsheviks

Remember to include a quote from a clearly referenced source to support your assertion. [You do not need to write the whole quote, just the first couple of words…last couple of words].

1- Economic hardship

“Armed companies are sent to take grain from the peasant “ (1) or

“the harvest produced only 60% of the normal amount of grain” (5)

2 - Cruelty of the checka

“People are arrested daily and kept in prison for months without trial” (1) or

“estimates of Cheka executions vary from 12 to 50 thousand” (4)

d) finally chose to support the Reds rather than the Whites

1- The whites were more cruel even than the reds (sources 2 & 4)

The actions of the Cheka “does not compare to the ferocity of the White Terror” (4)

Echoed in all of Source 2 really

2 - The peasants feared the gains of the revolution would be lost if the whites regained power

“For the first time in history the working people have got control of their country” (3)

Students might also suggest that foreign involvement with the Whites was a reason why the peasants eventually supported the Bolsheviks. This is a valid point – although not one that is made in the sources

Option B: Longer Task

“Most Russian peasants supported the Bolsheviks reluctantly, because they seemed the lesser of two evils”

With reference to all sources, explain whether or not you agree with this statement

Lenin’s Government: The Russian Civil War

Using the following information, annotate the map below to show when each campaign ended.

|Events of the Civil War 1918–1921 |

|White armies led by Generals Yudenich and Denikin attacked Russia from the west, Admiral Kolchak from the east. |

|The Czech legion seized control of a large section of the Trans-Siberian Railway in March 1918 |

|The Tsar and his family were put to death at Ekaterinberg in 1918 |

|November 1918, Germany was defeated in WWI |

|The Bolsheviks defeated Kolchak in 1919 |

|The British, American and French armies went home. |

|The Cheka were used to ensure no-one in the Bolshevik territories cooperated with the White armies |

|The Cheka held hostage the families of the Tsarist generals, to ensure their loyalty |

|The civil war caused shortages, famine and disease - millions died. |

|The last White army in Russia was defeated in the Crimea in 1920. |

|The Red Army invaded Poland in 1921, but was defeated and driven back.   |

|In 1922 The Tenth Party Congress declared the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. |

| |

When did the war start? (look back at your previous notes if you can’t remember)

When did the war end?

When did foreign involvement end?

Why did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War?

ACTIVITY:

1. Use pages 195-197 of the OCR textbook, pages 93-97 of Walsh, pages 37-40 of Kelly to add in the appropriate supporting evidence for the following paragraphs.

You COULD also amend the explanation to be ANALYTICAL – see the example in the paragraph on War Communism. You are showing the limitations of this factor before explaining how it did ultimately help the Bolsheviks to victory.

2. Now decide on the order of your paragraphs, if you were writing an essay to answer the above question. Write in linking sentences, following the example in the paragraph on War Communism. If you can’t EXPLAIN the link, use an appropriate connective phrase instead. This makes for a weaker argument, but is better than no link at all.

3. Finally, write a conclusion. Remember that good conclusions explain why one reason is most important, but the best conclusions analyse (compare and contrast) reasons to prove priority.

Basic connectives reminder:

|SEQUENCING |ADDING SIMILAR IDEAS TOGETHER |CAUSE AND EFFECT |CONTRAST / COMPARISON |

|FIRSTLY, SECONDLY ETC |IN ADDITION |THEREFORE |HOWEVER |

|THEN |ALSO |THIS MEANT THAT |ON THE OTHER HAND |

|NEXT |AND |AS A RESULT |NEVERTHELESS |

|AFTERWARDS | |BECAUSE |ALTHOUGH |

|LATER | |THIS LED TO | |

|DESCRIPTION |EXPLANATION |ANALYSIS |

|Assertion: |Lenin introduced War Communism. |

|Evidence: | |

|Explanation: |EVEN THOUGH industrial production by 1920 was less than 20% of the 1913 level and led to widespread starvation amongst ordinary Russians, |

| |War Communism did help to ensure that the army had sufficient supplies to continue the war effort. |

|Link: |Many peasants refused to cooperate with the Bolsheviks, so the Cheka were used to overcome resistance. Such oppression was known as the ‘Red|

| |Terror’. |

|Assertion: |The leader of the Cheka, Feliz Dzerhinsky, began the ‘Red Terror’ in 1918, and increased it after an attempted assassination of Lenin in |

| |August. |

|Evidence: | |

|Explanation: |The ‘Red Terror’ ensured that opposition to the Bolsheviks was kept to a minimum during the instability of civil war. |

|Link: | |

|Assertion: |The White forces were not a united fighting force. |

|Evidence: | |

|Explanation: |This made it fairly straightforward for Trotsky to defeat the White armies one by one. |

|Link: | |

|Assertion: |In July 1918 the Bolsheviks destroyed the focus of the White campaign. |

| | |

|Evidence: | |

|Explanation: |Without a figurehead there was a reduced risk of the Whites coordinating their campaign. |

|Link: | |

|Assertion: |Trotsky established the Red Army which was a formidable fighting force. |

|Evidence: | |

|Explanation: |The White army couldn’t compete with this level of discipline and coordination. |

|Link: | |

Why did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War? – TEACHER NOTES

ACTIVITY:

1. Use pages 195-197 of the OCR textbook, pages 93-97 of Walsh, pages 37-40 of Kelly to add in the appropriate supporting evidence for the following paragraphs.

You COULD also amend the explanation to be ANALYTICAL – see the example in the paragraph on War Communism. You are showing the limitations of this factor before explaining how it did ultimately help the Bolsheviks to victory.

2. Now decide on the order of your paragraphs, if you were writing an essay to answer the above question. Write in linking sentences, following the example in the paragraph on War Communism. If you can’t EXPLAIN the link, use an appropriate connective phrase instead. This makes for a weaker argument, but is better than no link at all. NO LINKS ARE GIVEN FOR TEACHER AS IT DEPENDS ON THE ORDER THE STUDENTS CHOOSE FOR THEIR PARAGRAPHS

3. Finally, write a conclusion. Remember that good conclusions explain why one reason is most important, but the best conclusions analyse (compare and contrast) reasons to prove priority.

Basic connectives reminder:

|SEQUENCING |ADDING SIMILAR IDEAS TOGETHER |CAUSE AND EFFECT |CONTRAST / COMPARISON |

|FIRSTLY, SECONDLY ETC |IN ADDITION |THEREFORE |HOWEVER |

|THEN |ALSO |THIS MEANT THAT |ON THE OTHER HAND |

|NEXT |AND |AS A RESULT |NEVERTHELESS |

|AFTERWARDS | |BECAUSE |ALTHOUGH |

|LATER | |THIS LED TO | |

|DESCRIPTION |EXPLANATION |ANALYSIS |

|Assertion: |Lenin introduced War Communism. |

|Evidence: |Factories with more than 10 workers in Moscow and Petrograd were taken over by the government. Production was planned and organised by the |

| |government. Strikers could be shot. Food was rationed and peasants had to hand over surplus food to the government. Free enterprise was made|

| |illegal. |

|Explanation: |EVEN THOUGH industrial production by 1920 was less than 20% of the 1913 level and led to widespread starvation amongst ordinary Russians, |

| |War Communism did help to ensure that the army had sufficient supplies to continue the war effort. |

|Possible Link: |Many peasants refused to cooperate with the Bolsheviks, so the Cheka were used to overcome resistance. Such oppression was known as the ‘Red|

| |Terror’. |

|Assertion: |The leader of the Cheka, Feliz Dzerhinsky, began the ‘Red Terror’ in 1918, and increased it after an attempted assassination of Lenin in |

| |August. |

|Evidence: |Mass executions were used to intimidate and eliminate opponents. Middle- and upper-classes were automatically suspected of dissent. |

| |Historians don’t agree on exactly how many were killed (OCR page 196 says ¾ million, Kelly page 38 says estimated 200,000, Walsh page 93 |

| |suggests 7068 executions took place in1918-19) but they do agree that many thousands of people may have been murdered by the Cheka during |

| |the 3 years of Civil War. |

|Explanation: |The ‘Red Terror’ ensured that opposition to the Bolsheviks was kept to a minimum during the instability of civil war. |

|Link: | |

|Assertion: |The White forces were not a united fighting force. |

|Evidence: |The White forces had no common aim to unite them |

| | |

| |They were also attacking the Bolsheviks over a wide area, which meant their attack wasn’t coordinated whereas the Bolshevik defence was |

| |united. Physical separation of White troops also made supplying the soldiers difficult. |

| | |

| |After Germany’s defeat in November 1918 Britain and France had no reason to continue their involvement and left Russia within a year. |

|Explanation: |This made it fairly straightforward for Trotsky to defeat the White armies one by one. |

|Link: | |

|Assertion: |In July 1918 the Bolsheviks destroyed the focus of the White campaign. |

| | |

|Evidence: |As the White forces approached Ekaterineberg the Bolsheviks were nervous that the Tsar and his family would be freed and would become a |

| |figurehead for the White campaign. So the Bolsheviks shot the Tsar and his family on 16-17 July 1918 and buried their bodies in the forest. |

|Explanation: |Without a figurehead there was a reduced risk of the Whites coordinating their campaign. |

|Link: | |

|Assertion: |Trotsky established the Red Army which was a formidable fighting force. |

|Evidence: |In March 1918 Trotsky became Chairman of the Supreme War Council. He introduced conscription for men 18-40yrs. To ensure he had experienced |

| |leadership, Trotsky appointed ex-Tsarist army officers. Their families were taken hostage to ensure that they were loyal to Trotsky! He also|

| |appointed Commissars to manage the troops. The Commissars were all Bolshevik party members whose loyalty was unquestionable. The Commissars |

| |used harsh discipline, for example summary execution for deserters, but did win the respect and loyalty of the men. |

|Explanation: |The White army couldn’t compete with this level of discipline and coordination. |

|Link: | |

Lenin’s Government: The Kronstadt Mutiny

TEACHER INSTRUCTION:

Tell the students you are going to read some information to them which they must try to remember. Discuss strategies for remembering, such as repetition to self and visualization

Then read the following information out.

In March 1921 sailors at Kronstadt naval base mutinied. The sailors were sick of the shortages created by war communism. This mutiny was serious because these sailors had been supporters of the November Revolution and because there were so many of them. Trotsky had to send 50,000 Red Army soldiers to storm the Kronstadt base. 10,000 Red Army soldiers died in the attack. 2000 sailors were executed without trial and another 8000 fled to Finland. Thousands more were sent to labour camps. As a result of this mutiny, Lenin realized he had to act fast to correct the shortages faced by Russian people. He ended War Communism and introduced the New Economic Policy.

Now ask the students to complete the following set of questions

Only when they have completed the questions tell them that the title for their notes is:

Lenin’s Government: The Kronstadt Mutiny

Lenin’s Government: Memory exercise

Which group of people mutinied against the Bolsheviks in March 1921?

Why was this mutiny more serious than any of the unrest that had occurred during the Civil War?

How many soldiers did Trotsky send to defeat the rebels?

How many soldiers died in the rebellion?

What happened to the rebels? (3 possibilities)

What did Lenin decide and do, as a result of this mutiny?

Lenin’s Government: The New Economic Policy

Read the following information carefully and answer the questions which follow:

The NEP stated that:

The requisition of grain was ended. Peasants who grew surplus food could sell the surplus for a profit and pay 10% tax to the government on any profit made.

Factories with fewer than 20 workers were returned to private ownership to be run for profit.

Private enterprise was allowed. Anyone could set up a shop or business for profit.

Vital industries such as coal, iron, steel, railways, shipping and finance stayed in State hands. But experts were brought in on higher salaries, and extra wages were paid for efficiency.

Questions for discussion:

1. Does the NEP reflect communist ideology?

2. Why do you think Lenin introduced the NEP? (this is Lenin’s aim, against which you can measure success)

Lenin’s Government: How successful was the New Economic Policy?

Read and cut up the following slips. Re-order them into an ANALYTICAL answer to the above question. Remember that the argument you consider strongest should be explained last, to leave that memory in the reader’s mind.

You can structure your argument into EITHER two clear interpretations, or into contrasting individual points.

On one hand…..

On the other hand….

Statements for students:

|Many new businesses and stalls grew up once people realized they could make a profit. |

|Grain production increased from 37 million tons to 77 million tons between 1921 and 1926. |

|Many Bolsheviks felt that the NEP was a betrayal of communist principles and criticized the regime. |

|Coal production increased from 9 million tons to 27 millions tons between 1921 and 1926. |

|Peasant unrest declined immediately. |

|In 1925, the Soviet Commissar for Finance admitted that the pay of miners, metal workers and engine drivers was still lower than it had been before 1914. This meant |

|that workers’ housing and food were poor. |

|Electricity production more than quadrupled between 1921 and 1926. |

|Farms in Russia remained small and inefficient as peasants were only interested in their own profits rather than reforming the system of land ownership. |

|A middle-class of peasants, called the Kulaks, emerged, who made money from selling their surplus grain. This contradicted communist principles of equality. |

|One third of the Bolshevik party had to be expelled in a ‘purge’ in 1921 for disagreeing with Lenin over the NEP. |

Lenin’s Death

Lenin died in January 1924 after a series of strokes.

However, before he died he had created the USSR – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This consisted of 4 republics: Russia, the Ukraine, The Caucasus and Byelorussia. Each republic controlled matters like education locally. But central government controlled foreign policy and the armed forces. Central control was maintained by the politburo – the Bolshevik Cabinet.

Who do you think would be the obvious successor to Lenin?

Lenin’s Last Will and Testament:

“Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary General, has unlimited authority in his hands and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution. Comrade Trotsky, on the other hand, is distinguished not only by his outstanding ability. He is personally probably the most capable man in the present Central Committee but he has displayed excessive self-assurance and preoccupation with the purely administrative side of the work”

A post-script to this document, written ten days after the original:

“Stalin is too rude, and this fault is intolerable in the office of Secretary. Therefore I propose to comrades that they find a way of removing Stalin from his post and appointing another man who is more patient, more loyal, more polite and is considerate to his comprades.

According to this document, who did Lenin think should lead Russia after his death?

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