Preview

How Did Lenin Contribute To The Rise Of The Bolsheviks

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2030 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did Lenin Contribute To The Rise Of The Bolsheviks
The Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split apart in 1903 after disagreements, forming Lenin's Bolsheviks and Martov's Mensheviks.
When Lenin arrived back from Siberia in 1917, he removed any possibilities of the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks forming as one Party again. Lenin's presence in the Bolsheviks party help them grow both politically and in popularity. Lenin made sure the Bolsheviks kept to their radical, anti-war ideals. Lenin's 'Peace, Bread and Land' campaign help gain the Bolsheviks more support and superiority over their opposition.
The Mensheviks couldn't formulate an answer and keep up with the Bolsheviks rise and eventually were annihilated by them in 1920's.
Factionalism was not allowed in the Bolshevik Party, however
…show more content…
The Allies didn't want the huge quantities of vital equipment and resources contained in the Russian ports to end up being exploited in the hands of the Germans, as well as the Bolsheviks. The Allies gained increasingly concerned about the situation in Russia and threat of Communism which the Bolsheviks represented. To avoid widespread ideas on Worldwide rebellion and communism, Britain and France sent troops to Russian to aid Military intervention. They had inadvertently given their support to the Anti Bolshevik Whites in the Civil War. The Allies convinced the USA to join the
The Red Army had enormous advantages in the War such as control over the factories, railroads and communications.
Admiral Kolchak was in control over the White Army during 1918. His troops were not serious about the war and indulged in other pleasures while still in the army. His advance towards Moscow was halted by The Red Army. He was captured and executed in 1920.
General Yudenich advanced to Petrograd in October 1918 and was extremely close to reaching the city but was overpowered by the Red

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    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.…

    • 1843 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Russian Communist Party first emerged under the Bolsheviks in 1905 when general strikes were organised in St. Petersburg and Moscow. At this time the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, were a minority group and increasingly divided from the Mensheviks over pace of reform and ideology. It was due to the Tsar’s ignorance throughout World War One that the Bolshevik saw an inadvertent increase in influence of opposing groups. Although, the Bolsheviks were not in power by 1917 their membership was increasing and it was Lenin’s simple slogans, such as ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ that attracted the Russian population, increasing Bolshevik influence. The fact that the Bolsheviks were the only party to promise an end to the war won the ‘hearts and minds’ of the Russian people, which could be argued that Lenin was the most significant individual in the changing influence of the Russian Communist Party. However, it was both the leadership from Lenin and military organisation from Trotsky that meant the October revolution of 1917 was, to a certain extent, a success. Darby argues that ‘Without [Lenin] it is unlikely that the Bolsheviks would have taken power in October’ whilst Figes claims ‘Trotsky became its principal source of public inspiration’. Post the October revolution, the Bolsheviks were a majority in the second All-Russian Congress of Soviets, proving that they had managed to exert a large amount of influence on the Russian population. After this it is more difficult to assess whether it was certain individuals that played a part in the changing influence of the Russian Communist Party as in the summer of 1918 Lenin set up a one-party state and ended the Constituent Assembly. The introduction of the NEP, in 1921, increased party influence as the peasants were allowed a little capitalism back, ending grain requisitioning and armed resistance in the countryside. It is hard to evaluate…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nonetheless, with the release of the “April Theses” by Lenin, the Bolsheviks support grew. The “April Theses” pushed what Lenin thought Russia needed most at that time: ‘Peace, Bread and Land.’ This vastly appealed to masses of the lower working class of Russia; they had been exhausting this for years; the mass famine across Russia, the land controversy’s that exploited the peasant populace, which approximately made up 80% of the Russian population, and the continuation of the war, which…

    • 883 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1978 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lenin was important to the Bolshevik seizure of power as he was able to manipulate public opinion using slogans and propaganda. This was also shown early in the year, before Lenin's return to Russia from Switzerland. The Bolsheviks in Russia had printed in 'Pravda' (their newspaper) that their members and followers should support the Provisional Government, and also that they had given serious thought to the idea of combining with the Mensheviks. This was all very contrary to what Lenin wrote in his 'April Theses' which clearly laid out his views and beliefs on the subject. A key point of his 'April Theses' was "No Support for the Provisional Government", yet without him his party were proposing just that. Lenin as an individual was able to force the Bolsheviks to follow his beliefs and goals and without him they may never have chosen this course of action at all. Through his April thesis, particularly the slogans “Peace, Bread, Land” and “All Power to the Soviets”, he was able to harness the support of the Russian people.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 836 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Provisional Government was becoming increasingly unpopular. They had failed to end the war and were blamed for food shortages and rising prices. Also, the Russian people were unable to choose their own government as the Provisional Government had not held elections which had displeased most people of Russia. The Bolsheviks took advantage of the unpopularity of the Provisional Government and increased its support. Its slogan “Bread, Land and Peace” was a really attractive offer to the Russian people. The "Bread" issue was not being solved by the government, but the Bolsheviks promised that they would deal with it. Lenin promised to provide the people with sufficient food, and the starving population turned to him for help. Furthermore, most peasants were furious with the government and the landowners for not giving the peasants a chance to earn their own money with their own land. Lenin, in accordance with the communist ideology, promised that the landowners' property would be split up and distributed equally, naturally attracting mass support from the majority of the population. In addition, the slogan ‘Peace’ was the most appealed out of the 3 by the Russian people. Almost everybody wanted the war to stop, as it continued for so long. The devastated economy and dwindling food supplies were all caused by the war, and people wished to return to their old lives. Lenin knew this and aptly used this as a slogan for his campaign. Being the only party which constantly opposed the continuation of the war, the Bolsheviks attracted many supporters.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    During World War I, Russia performed poorly. Although Russia had a large number of soldiers, they weren’t trained properly and they didn’t have enough weapons, ammo, or food for the entire army. The czar of Russia decided to keep fighting, instead of backing out of the war. Leading to the Russian Revolution, where Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ ideology, communism, heavily impacted the Russian Revolution, leading to Russia becoming the Soviet Union. World War I left a large amount of damage to Russia’s economy and society.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many reasons why the Bolsheviks gaining power in Russia, in 1917. Many were to do with how the Bolsheviks became popular in the years leading up to 1917. These long term causes started very early, this was mainly because the Russians disliked the Tsar very much because of many things, for example of the ongoing resentment and cruel treatment to peasants, and poor working conditions. The Russians were also disgruntled with the food shortages and military failures and the fact that they face humiliating losses in the Russo-Japanese war, then the Bloody Sunday and the Revolution of 1905. They were fed up of the poverty and economic crisis they were facing between themselves and their hatred was growing, and to top it off Tsarist troops fired on an unarmed troop, further dividing the Tsar from his people. At this time, Russians were waiting for their beacon of light, and there was Lenin promising ‘Peace, Bread and Land’, this was the perfect opportunity for the Bolsheviks to promote themselves. The Bolsheviks had been promoting themselves by producing, illegally, newspapers, leaflets and posters which would help support their cause. The Bolsheviks also supported the idea of communism, where everyone is treated equally including women. Many Bolsheviks also went to prison for these actions, which made them look…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Revolution resulted in a representative government. The Senate, House of Representatives, and the Office of the President were made up of elected officials, giving the people a way to influence change in government. However, a liberal provisional government took control of Russia after Nicholas II abdicated. Another body, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, wanted more radical change in Russia. Some members were socialists called Mensheviks, while another group of radical socialists were called the Bolsheviks. The socialists called for peace, while the provisional government continued to war. Lenin emerged as the leader of the Bolsheviks, and in 1917 he went to Russia calling for "peace, land and bread." Lenin was a Marxist and wanted to train the working class to become a revolutionary force. On November 7, 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government in what is called the October Revolution. In 1918, the Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communist Party. After the war with the Whites, the Communists renamed the lands they ruled to the Soviet Union.…

    • 1071 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Trotsky was important in organising and coordinating the actual take over Petrograd in November, but Lenin was even more important because he was a strong leader who guided the Central Committee of the Party and pushed to make the takeover happen. For example, he produced the April Theses, which gave the Bolsheviks clear goals and made them better focused and organized, which was vital if they were going to take over successfully. He also put together the slogan ‘Bread, Peace, Land, and All power to the Soviets!’ which was designed to appeal to a broad range of people and he gave speeches and led rallies to inspire people to join the party. This meant that the Bolsheviks grew in popularity because they were offering people what they wanted – in particular they were the only party who opposed the war and all the other parties were associated with the much-disliked Provisional Government, which seemed to be doing…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1914 Russia had entered in WWI, repairing the division between the tsar and his people. At the end of august 1914 Russia had sent two large armies to attack Germany. Russia had lost over one million people as casualties and POW’S.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After Lenin successfully withdrew Russia from the war another war broke out within Russia mainly focusing on removing the Bolsheviks. There were three groups The Reds( the Communist parties, Bolsheviks), the Whites(anti-communist) and the Greens who wanted to be free of rule and keep their land. The allies supported the whites because they didn’t want Russia being a communist land. Despite the support from the Allies the Reds emerged victorious allowing to expand his rule to the Rest of…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Kornilov affair was when Kerensky appointed Kornilov as general and Kornilov felt that it was time to deal with the revolutionaries and create a strong government, so he ordered his troop to go to Petrograd and the people of Petrograd panicked and so did Kerensky because he thought Kornilov would remove him from power so he seeked help from the Bolshevik Red Army and gave them rifles. The upside was that the troops never made it to Petrograd but the Red Army kept the rifles. This helped Lenin get into power because it armed the Bolsheviks with weapons to be able to storm the winter palace where the Provisional Government was…

    • 529 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bolshevik Takeover

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In March of 1917 in Russia, The Tsar, Nicholas II had little choice. The Great War (as it was known as at that time) had turned into a disaster, conditions at home were horrible, and the Menshevik government had forced Nicholas to abdicate He did this for himself and his son and gave the power to his brother. His brother gave up the power the next day because the country was in such disarray. After that, the Provisional Government took power. By November of 1917 in Russia, the Provisional Government was in complete collapse. In the meantime, the Bolshevik party, which was helped by German money, had built up an efficient party organisation, had a brilliant propaganda machine, and a powerful private army know as the Red Guards.…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays