A key factor that allowed Lenin and his party to dominate Russia was how the power was distributed throughout the government. The Bolsheviks created a system that took the form of a ‘pyramid of power’ this meant that the decisions and power sifted through all the political parties involved in the government finally leading up to the central committee; which was subjugated by the Bolsheviks. This meant that no matter what anyone else wanted if the Bolsheviks didn’t want to pass or agree with something, they didn’t have to; resulting in an extremely de facto government. The reason the Bolsheviks created this system how it was, is down to Lenin’s avid disbelief in democracy, Lenin favoured his ideal of democratic centralism, which invariable meant that he was in command and this ‘pyramid of power’ system suited Lenin’s desires. The fact that nobody else had such control of the government would have made it difficult for any change as they couldn’t get any alternative in the public domain as the Bolshevik system wouldn’t allow it, therefore any opposition that did exist wouldn’t be able to express their opinions and so the Bolsheviks were in a pretty secure position, thus able to survive the early days.…
Russia was torn between the world war and the population was threatened as levels of starvation rose whilst industry fell. The provisional government could not do much to stop Russia plummeting as they did not have much power and the people of Russia failed to support them (1). The citizens of Russia were desperately looking for help and the Bolshevik party, created with the help of Lenin and Trotsky in the year 1917, had the answer. Slowly, they had managed to become one of the most powerful parties ever created, but many factors were to cause the consolidation of power. In this essay I will be comparing the significance of Vladimir Lenin in the Bolshevik consolidation of power with another important factor; Leon Trotsky.…
The October 1917 Revolution is undoubtedly a momentous and extremely important event in Russia’s history, one that ousted the centuries-old Tsardom that ruled over the empire, in favour of the radical communist movement in the form of the Bolsheviks, headed by one Vladimir Iliych Lenin. However, did this sudden move from autocracy to a supposedly more progressive democracy actually bring about the modernisation of Russia industrially, agriculturally and culturally, or was it simply a rebranding of a totalitarian state that would continue to oppress the Russian citizen? There are other key individuals, whose ascendancy to the head of the regime must also be considered as possible turning points in the development of a modern Russia. Was it Stalin and the Five Year Plans that turned Russia from an agrarian backwater in the world order, in to a country capable of competing with the western powers, with its crowning glory being the victory over a modern and extremely capable Germany, or did the forced Collectivisation and the persecution of the Kulaks, coupled with the eradication of any political opponents in the Great Purge outweigh the economic progression? It was Krushchev who inherited Stalin’s Russia, a monument to the man himself that discouraged any form of opposition with force and therefore a country where the populace was petrified from acting for themselves, so then, is it possible that Khrushchev’s denouncement of Stalin and the increased freedom of the countries’ artists and his success in preventing war with the USA that led to Russia becoming the culturally modern country it was in 1964?…
The Bolsheviks consolidated their power after October 1917 however they faced many severe problems which made keeping their power complex. For Lenin and the Bolsheviks winning political power was relatively easy compared with retaining it. The Bolsheviks may have had a temporary majority in the All-Russia soviet in October 1917, but they did not have a majority following in the country as a whole . Russia was in chaos, politically and economically, and normal government had broken down in large areas. . yet lenin was able to overcome these problems and hold ontopower to create the world first communist state. The Bolsheviks overcame these problems by use of violence in the form of repression, and violence in war communism and the red army during the civil war however violence against their opponents was not their only strategy, Lenin also put forward policies of reform which showed that they were willing to compromise their principles to keep hold of power when faced with early problems and after the outbreak of the civil war the disunity of the opposition and the geographical and organisational factors were key factors which helped the Bolsheviks consolidate their grip on power.…
In 1917, Russia was crumbling into pieces. The World War I was draining all of Russia’s resources. There was shortage of food throughout the country, which left people starving. At the battlefront, millions of Russian soldiers were dying, they did not possess many of the powerful weapons that their opponents had. The government under Czar Nicholas II was disintegrating, and a provisional government had been set up. In November of 1917, Lenin and his communist followers known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and set a communist government in Russia. However, in 1924, Lenin died and Josef Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union, which was the name for the communist Russia. Stalin was a ruthless leader who brought many changes to the Soviet Union. Stalin’s goal was to transform the Soviet Union into a modern superpower and spread communism throughout the world, and he was determined to sabotage anyone who stood in his way. He used many methods such as collectivization, totalitarianism and five year plan’s to achieve his goals. Stalin’s rule brought both harmful and beneficial consequences to the Soviet Union; however, the negative factors were so terrible, that they overwhelm the positive factors.…
On 24th October 1917 the Lenin and the Bolsheviks led a revolution in Russia. The Bolshevik Red Guards led a revolution against the Provisional Government by seizing control of stations, telephone exchanges, post offices, the national bank and the Winter Palace in Petrograd. Now Lenin set about creating the world’s first communist state. Although he was a strong influence, he was not solely responsible for the outbreak of revolution. There are other important causes of the Bolshevik seizure of power, such as the weakness of the Provisional government and Kerensky’s mistakes. Also other important factor was the actions of Trotsky and the timing and luck of the Bolsheviks. However, Lenin was, to a large extent, crucial to the Bolshevik seizure of power because he presented his April thesis, which gave the people of Russia an awakening to the communist aim.…
In 1917, the Bolsheviks gained power of Russia and were able to hold onto this growing power until 1924 and later. There are several factors that could be considered to be the reason as to why they were able to seize control. It could be said that Lenin was a significant factor due to his pragmatism and his use of terror, however it also could be said that other members of the Bolshevik party such as Leon Trotsky were responsible and perhaps even the Civil War for the Bolsheviks’ hold on power.…
Between 1800 and 1939 Russia underwent through a severe regime change. The people of Russia were in a state of great economic disparity, and the lower class faced hunger, poverty, etc. The lower class had very little of the grain, land, and fiscal control that was available in Russia, such pretext of large income disparity gaps and unbalanced control of GDP were the pre-requisites se in place for the takeover of socialism. And such is what happened. Within this time period Russia went through a proletariat revolution of communism aiming have the workers of the world unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by and for the working class. However even though they underwent this major social-economic change, conditions in Russia stayed around the same. We still saw that Russia was under leadership of a Totalitarian authority. And maintained the same economic conditions where the consumer-based market never developed and the population was largely rural and the economy was agricultural based.…
The Russian Revolution of 1917, also known as the October Revolution, was a product of the teachings of Karl Marx and his book. This was the first major happening in terms of communism. Communism's birth. This book actually predicted a revolution between the lower class (proletariat) and the upper class (bourgeoisie). Vladimir Lenin was one of the driving forces of the communistic movement. The other, was Joseph Stalin, who took over for Lenin when he died. Stalin used Marx's concepts to make his points and lead the Soviet Union after the revolution. Stalin based a lot of his practices off of Marx's teachings and incorporated them into what is now called Stalinism. It is crucial for this book to be a part of the teaching of history because of its powerful impact it had on the Russian Revolution, but most especially, the people of Russia.…
Karl Marx and his developed theory of Marxism played a vital role in influencing Lenin’s efforts to overthrow the Provisional Government eventually leading to the Russian Revolution of 1917.…
Lenin’s contribution to the Bolshevik Party was an essential factor in their consolidation of power during 1917-1924, however; Lenin’s role was not the only factor contributing to their success. The Bolsheviks were regarded as a “minor feature of Russian political life” and it was not until Lenin’s return to Russia that the party became a key player. It can be seen that Lenin played a pivotal role in the consolidation of power due to his background which allowed Lenin to be influenced by a revolutionary upbringing . Through his upbringing, Lenin was able to develop a strong leadership, political insight and determination allowing the Bolsheviks to be lead into power. Whilst the Bolsheviks were in power, Lenin’s role in dealing with uprisings and anti-communist groups was significant as it allowed the Bolsheviks to remain in power. During the November Revolution, Lenin’s role in the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was substantial as it allowed and ensured that the revolution lasted and guaranteed continuation of Bolshevik power. Due to the introduction of decrees, Lenin was able to gain support mainly through the workers which proved a major factor in Russian society as they made up one third of the population. However, it is argued that Lenin was not the only reason why the Bolsheviks were able to consume power. The continual social unrest following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas, saw an opportunity for a new rise in power. Trotsky’s contributions to the Bolshevik Party were equal to Lenin’s and it was Trotsky’s role in the Civil War which allowed the Bolsheviks to remain in power. In fact, Lenin became a detrimental factor within the Bolsheviks due to his decision to implement War Communism, which resulted in the death of five million people.…
Under the governance of Joseph Stalin since 1928 saw the Soviet Union governing a large territory especially in the Eastern Europe and raising its importance as a world wide power throughout the Cold War. The Stalin system revolutionized the Soviet Union and turned out to be the foundation for the expansion of communist persuasion into the bordering regions and territories. The Stalinist system was distinct in that; it was a solitary party system governing political assignations, monetary policies, edifying activities, and offshore relations. It was crammed with totalitarianism, Stalin as the supreme head and it was an insidious system of police force reins, compulsory labor, and brutal oppression that saw millions of people killed and of…
REFORMS OF 1917-1918:The Bolshevik’s attempted to implement the promised they had made to their supporters. Socially, women were given more rights and free education was extended to everyone. Economically, land was handed out to peasants, working conditions were improved and hours were shortened as well as improved wages. Militarily, peace was made with Germany (the treaty of Brest-Litrovsk of March 1918) which took Russia out of the war. The Bolshevik’s expected these policies would win them considerable support and legitimise their coup. This proved short sites as a wave of strikes and protests broke out once people realised Lenin and his party did not intend to share power with other political forces.…
The Russian revolution of 1917 saw the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy in February and the seizure of power by the Bolshevik party in October.The Bolsheviks proceeded to establish the world’s first Communist state on a territory covering one-sixth of the globe. A series of events and ideas led to the October revolution, each significant in its own capacity.…
In the modern age, part of the reason we study history is to prevent ourselves from making the same mistakes as the people of the past and to see what worked for them that might work other places in the modern age. By studying countries as vast and as culturally rich as Russia, we can learn much, both from success and failures. This can be clearly seen in Russia due to its many leaders, who have made decisions that have impacted not only the country, but the world for years to come. From the Czarist Period, the beginning of Russia as we know it, to the present, where tensions are high and investigations are ongoing, Russia’s leaders have made decisions that have impacted the world, even years after the decision. Russia’s history as a country…