(7) Lenin + Bolsheviks centralise their control after Civil War + War communism
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A level Russia History ((6) Lenin) Mind Map on (7) Lenin + Bolsheviks centralise their control after Civil War + War communism, created by Marcus Danvers on 21/11/2014.
(7) Lenin + Bolsheviks
centralise their control after
Civil War + War communism
Political repression
during the period of the
New Economic Policy
Censorship
More Systematic
Spring 1922, oustanding Russia writers and
scholars were deported to convince the
intelligentsia not to critcise the government
Pre-publication
censorship intro.
Books, articles, poems and other writings had to be
submitted to the Main Administration for Affairs of Literature
+ Publishing House (Glavlit) before they could be published
Attacks on
political rivals
Political pressure on
the rival socialist parties
was intensified
Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries -
more popular in recent strikes and revolts
Arrested some 5000 Mensheviks in 1921
- counter-revolutionary activities
Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries
outlawed as political organisations
Show trials
Communists rounded up a large
number of SR and held a show trial
Former SR who had collaborated with
the Cheka accused SR's of heinous crimes
There was claim that the Central Committee of the
Socialist Revolutionaries had authorised assassination
attempts on Lenin or collaboration with Denikin
Many in jail when the crimes were
supposted to have been committed
34 SR leaders were condemned as
terrorists - 11 were executed
Crushing of
peasant revolts
Revolting Peasant
dealt with harshly
Tambov region was swamped by Red Army troops in 1922,
who had destroyed rebel villages in a brutal campaign
Villages support Red got salt (food preservation)
Manufactured good and propaganda (NEP benefits)
Attacks on
the church
Saw as rival to
there power
War against religion take form
of propaganda (before 1921)
The Union of Militant Godless
was established to challenge
the Church more directly
1922 churches were striped of there
precious items to help famine victims
Violent clashes when clergy
tried to protect there churches
Death penalties given to leaders
of Russian Orthodox Church +
1000's of priests were imprisoned
Establishment
of GPU
Cheka
renamed
the GUP
Secret Police grew in importance - Arbitrary imprisonment and the death
penalty continued to be applied after 1922 - instrument of social policy
The GUP periodically harassed + arrested Nepmen as speculators and class enemies - to
assure left communists and workers they were keeping capitalism tendenies under control
Tsarist autocracy
Ruled by a supreme leader, the Tsar, who made
major decisions and had power of life and death
over his subjects. Given divine status.
Tsar supported by an elite – the nobility.
Positions in government and society held
through the patronage of the Tsar.
Huge govt. bureaucracy – slow,
unwieldy and corrupt at lower levels.
Secret police (Okhrana) used to support the
state and deal with critics and opposition.
Internal passports, residence permits and visas
used to control movement of the population.
Lack of free speech – censorship of the press and
banning of political parties (except 1906-14)
No tradition of democratic
political institutions.
Tsar’s power underpinned by the
Russian Orthodox Church.
Sought to modernise the economy
through promotion of capitalist enterprise
Implemented land reform
(Emancipation and Stolypin’s reforms)
How did the centralised
state develop in Russia
between 1918 and 1924
By 1924
Politburo (7 to 9
Senior party leaders)
Industry, banking, transport,
and foreign trade were
controlled by the government
Early stages
In 1918 - Nationalisation
and state control were the
plan for the economy -
they had immediately
nationalised banking
Increasing Centralisation
Collapse of industry
The collapse in industrial output had
become critical by the summer of 1918.
It was essential to keep certain industries going to fight the
Civil War, so the govt nationalised industry and
brought it under the control of the Supreme Economic Council
(Vesenkha), which reported directly to the Sovnakom.
Worker's desperate to keep their factories
going and keep their jobs, literally begged
the govt to nationalise their workplace.
By the autumn of 1919,
it was estimated that
80% of all enterprises
were part of a centrally
directed economy
Railways
The railway system - essential for the war effort and to
maintain food supplies to cities - was collapsing, and the
railway union was dominated by Mensheviks who could not
be relied on. So transport was taken under direct control
Civil War
The Very nature of the Civil War meant that there was little
to carry out consultation with the soviets and other bodies.
Emergency decisions, by their very nature, needed to be
taken quickly. So decision-making became more centralised
Peasanst
The Peasants were obstinatley unwilling to supply the cities
with food. Since the market in food was not working, it
became necessary to set up a food supplies directorate to
organise the collection and distribution of food centrally
Trends taken
place during Civil War
The Communist
Party began to
dominate Govt
The Communist Party itself became
more centralsied, more bureaucratic
+ less democratic - Power at the top
How did the part come to
dominate Govt bodies
Party organisation grew at
expense of government bodies
At district and
local level
The local Communist Party
organisations took control
of soviets across Russia.
Party officals ran the
soviets and obeyed party
orders above all else.
So the soviets were
now effectively
subordinte to the party
In 1919 Politburo
was created
.The Politburo took precedence over the
Sovnarkom as the key deciston - making body.
Sovnarkom meeted less and less important
1919 onwards
The Central Committee of the party began to
appoint its own "trusted" nominees to key positions
in soviets. This was done to increase the centre's
control over local party apparatus + local govt
Centre did
not have any
real control
to start with
Nizhniny Novgorod -
controlled by mafia
Bolsheviks and black
marketeers - defied
Moscow.
How did the Party become more
centralsied and less democratic
between 1921 and 2924
The ban on
factions 1921
The splits in the party during 1920 - angered Lenin. The Workers' Opposition
and Democratic Centralists ( more democracy in party) - unnecessary distraction
given the crises they faced in 1921 (famine, revolt, Kronstadt mutiny)
In 1921, the 10th Party Congress agreed to pass a "ban on factions".
Once party policy had been agreed by the Central Committee then
everybody was expected to accept it and not form "factions" to challenge
the party line. The penalty for factionalism was expulsion from the party
The nomenklatura
system
This system was
established from
1923 onwards.
The Bolshevik leaders wanted Bolsheviks or pro-Bolshevik
workers in key positions. List of 5500 designated party and
government posts - the nomenklatura - was drawn up.
posts could only be appointed by the central party bodies. Overtly loyalty counted
for more than expertise - did what they were told. This tightened the one-party
state internally. The people in the nomenklatura (key posts) became an elite
By 1924, the result
A authoritarian and centralised Communist Party whose members, were less
likely to debate issues or challenge the leadership and more likely to carry out
instructions through habits of discipline or the change of promotion.
Decision-making was concentrated. The party - out of touch with proletarian base and began to see the
workers as "uncultured" (Lenin) because they did not have the origins, experiences or education of the
1917 revolutionary proletariat. The party began to reinterpret its role: it saw itself as having the exclusive
right to lead the people into the light of socialism - the party alone knew the right course to follow
The Government of
the Soviet Union
The Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic (RSPSR) had been proclaimed in
January 1918. It constitution, intro in july, defind the state as "a dictorship of the
urban and rural proletariat". Its job - ransition to a socialist society. The principle of
"he who does not work shall not eat". The "former people" had no right to vote.
During the Civil War, areas conquered by the Red Army were taken into the RSFSR - Ukraine, Belorussia
or Georgia , made into separate republic. The RSFSR was regared as "Russia" and was far larger and
more powerful than the other republics. The status of the smaller republics -debate between Lenin and
Stalin. Stalin wanted all republics to be more directly controlled by Moscow. Lenin wanted a federation
of soviet republic in which all were on a more or less equal footing. Lenin won the argument and at the
end of 1922 the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally established.
Despite Lenin's victory in the debate, the republics were never really free to govern
themselves. The Communist Party organisation Party and the commissariats (governments)
of the republics were regarded as regional branched of the Sovnarkom. Both
the Sovnarkom and the Central Commitee were controlled by the Politburo
The Commiunists - avoided the idea they controlled the republics similar to the tsarist empire,
beacuse led to national revolt. They were all part of a benign brotherhood of different ethnic groups.
They deliberately fostered national consciousness, setting up native language schools and
encouraging theatre and cultural events reflecting national traditions. Most members of the
Communist Party were Russians, so they tried to bring in people of different ethnic groups to train as
party officials and run their local party branches. This was called "the planting down of roots."
Similarity between the
Tsaries and Lenin's state
The General Secrearty ( Lenin) was
seen as a living revolution god
Lenin needes support
by the Party leaders
The govt bureaucracy grew and
was loyal to the Communists
GPU was the secret police
Lenin nationsied land
reintroduction of Internal passports
Censorship increasted - Main Administration for Affairs of Literature
Lenin wanted to industrialize the economy - NEP
The Soviet Govt was increasing Undemocratic and Centralised - One Party state
The Relationship of the
Government to The
Communist Party
Communist Party
Politburo
Role:
This was the leading decison-making
body of the Communist Party - the inner
cabinet. Set up in 1919, it took over from
the unwieldy Central Committee as the
most influential body of the Communist
Party. It increasingly took power from
the Sovnarkom. The key decisions were
made in the Politburo
Membership:
Around 7 to 9 members
chosen by the Central
Committee. It meet on an
almost daily basis
Central
Committee
Membership:
Around 30-40 members
Role:
It ran party affairs when
congresses were not sitting . It was
the main party body until 1919 and
continued to discuss and vote on
key party issues, although power
lay increasingly with the Politburo
Congress
Membership:
Representatives were chosen from
city and regional party organisations
Role:
It debated issues facing the Party and voted on
the main policies. In the 1920's under Lenin,
debates could be fierce and open, although the
"ban on factions" in 1921 mean that decisions
could not be questioned once a vote had been
taken. In practice, this gave more power to the
centre. It elected members of the Central
Committee and Politburo
City and provincial
parties
Party secretaries at this level were often very
powerful. Kamenev and Zinoviev derived much of
their support from their control of the Moscow and
Leningrad parties. Whoever was party secretary of
the Ukrainian Communist Party, for example, was
often just a step away from joining the Politburo.
The central party organisation took an interest in
appointing party members to key posts at this level,
especially after Stalin became the General Secretary.
Delegates to the party congress came from this level
Local parties
People often joined local parties for the
advantages they could get from being a party
member, such as election to the local or
district soviet or other govt jobs
Soviet Government
Council of People's
Commissars
(sovnarkom)
Membership:
Around 15 to 20 members under Lenin, who was chairman.
Members came from the Central Executive Committee.
Role:
Key decision-making body - it issued orders and decrees. It met daily
and decided important aspects of policy. It became less important in
the early 1920's as the Communist Party took more control.
Central Executive
Committee (former
executive of the Soviet)
Membership:
Elected by Congress of Soviets
Role:
It made laws and oversaw the administration of the govt when
the Congress was not meeting. Its functions overlapped with
those of the Sovnarkom. In practice, it had little power.
All-Russian
Congress of Soviets
Membership:
Delegates were elected by city and
provincial soviets, although membership
was weighted in favour of the cities. It
met twice (later only once) a year.
Role:
It was the supreme law-making authority
Provincil and
city soviets
Membership:
Members were elected from local and district soviets to the soviets to the
soviets representing regions or larger cities like Leningrad and Moscow
Role:
They oversaw administration of the cities and regions, and carried
out policy decisions made at the centre. They also fed back to the
centre the specific needs and problems of the regions and cities
Local and
district soviets
Membership:
This was the lowest level of soviet - made up of representatives
from a local area elected by local people. In the later 1920s, only
Communist Party members could be elected to soviets . Soviets
because less important in relation to the local Communist Party.
Role:
Local soviets were the point of contact for people who wanted to put their
needs and wishes forward to higher levels of authority, who could take action
on their behalf. They put policy decisions into action at district and local levels.
Key officials in the Govt were
members of the Communist Party.
Senior members of the Govt were
usually senior members of the party.
Increasingly, govt bodies became
simply the instruments for carrying
out the polices made in the Politburo
and higher levels of the party