The bolsheviks seize power, 1917–21 Section 5: The Bolsheviks seize power, 1917–21 Lenin’s return and the April Theses Lenin
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Section 5: The Bolsheviks seize power, 1917–21 Lenin’s return and the April Theses Lenin was the leader of a group of revolutionaries called the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks wanted the working class to take over power as soon as possible. Lenin was in Switzerland during the February Revolution. The Germans helped Lenin and his followers to get back to Russia because Lenin wanted Russia to leave the First World War. Lenin returned to Russia in April 1917.
Most people had no idea who Lenin was so they did not listen to him. Even so, Lenin wrote down his instructions in a document called the April Thesis. Source A is from Lenin’s April Theses We must not support the Provisional Government. The Petrograd Soviet is the real government of Russia. The Bolsheviks must gain control of the Soviet. All land must belong to the government. There must be food for the workers in the cities. Russia must leave the war. Neatly score out the wrong sentences below OR shade in the correct ones with a marker pen:
In the April Theses Lenin said:
The July Days Lenin and the Bolsheviks set about persuading the workers, peasants and soldiers to support them. They wanted the people to vote for them in the Soviet. Lenin promised the people what they wanted. Soon Bolshevik banners and posters with these slogans began to appear: P  eace, Bread, Land
A ll Power to the Soviets
Lenin and the Bolsheviks wanted food for the workers. Lenin promised the people what they wanted. ‘Peace’ in the banner meant land to the peasants. ‘Land’ in the banner meant an end to the war. ‘Bread’ in the banner meant the people to support them. Power was to go to the Soviet. Kerensky, leader of the Provisional Government, continued in the First World War but most Russians wanted the war to end. By July 1917 it was clear that the Russian army had failed and people started to listen to Lenin.
This attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government came to be known as the July Days.
Source B shows women soldiers who were loyal to the Provisional Government. 
© Getty Images The Kornilov Revolt General Kornilov was made Commander-in-Chief of the army. He wanted to make sure Russia stayed in the First World War. Kornilov said the Provisional Government was weak and that the Petrograd Soviet needed to be shut down. He wanted to bring the tsar back to power. Kornilov wanted to bring his army to Petrograd to take over and he even threatened to hang Lenin who kept calling for Russia to pull out of the war. Kornilov disliked Lenin and the Bolsheviks and said they were working for the Germans. The Provisional Government ordered that Petrograd was to be defended against Kornilov. Some soldiers stayed loyal to the Provisional Government and the railway workers stopped Kornilov’s trains from getting to Petrograd. Kerensky ordered that the Bolsheviks who had been put in prison in July were to be released and given rifles to fight Kornilov. The Bolsheviks now formed their supporters into their own army called the Red Guard. The Red Guard never had to fight because Kornilov’s soldiers did not get to Petrograd. But many people thought that the Bolsheviks should be thanked for saving the city and so support for Lenin increased.
The Bolshevik Revolution In October 1917 Lenin thought that the time was right to overthrow the Provisional Government. He wanted to put Russia under the control of the Bolshevik Party. He had wanted to do this since he returned to Russia in April. Why did Lenin think he could take power in October 1917?
Lenin ordered a top Bolshevik, Leon Trotsky, to make up a plan to take over Petrograd as soon as possible.
Source C is what Lenin announced on the morning of 25 October 1917. The Provisional Government is gone. All power belongs to the Soviet. The people have fought for an end to the war, to take land away from the landlords and for workers to control the factories. All these things will now come true. There will be elections for a new parliament. Long live the revolution of Workers, Soldiers and Peasants! Many people were not happy with the Bolshevik take-over. The Socialist Revolutionaries (the SRs for short) had much more support among the peasants but they did not have their own army. The SRs did not like what the Bolsheviks had done and spoke out against them. Source D is from the Socialist Revolutionary declaration of 26 October 1917. Lenin is determined to start a bloody civil war. The Bolsheviks seized power with the use of guns. They know that they can only hold on to power by using force. Neatly score out the five wrong sentences below OR shade in the six correct ones with a marker pen:
The Bolshevik Government Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, was now the leader of Russia as well. The Bolsheviks changed their name to the Communist Party. Lenin was going to make sure that no one would oppose him. The first thing Lenin wanted to do was to get Russia out of the First World War. He hoped this would make him more popular.
– 25% voted for the Communists – 58% voted for the Socialist Revolutionaries – 17% voted for other parties.
Most Russians did not support the Communist Party.
Growing violence In December 1917 a new police force was created. It was called the CHEKA and its job was to find and arrest people who spoke out against Lenin.
Trotsky, who had organised the October Revolution, was told to create an army. The Red Guard was turned into a much bigger army known as the Red Army. Trotsky was in command of the Red Army. Lenin knew that he had many enemies. He had taken power by force and was using a great deal of violence to stay in control. Lenin knew that there would be a civil war in Russia between the Communists (the ‘Reds’) and their enemies. A civil war is where two sides fight each other in the same country. The enemies of the Communists were called the ‘Whites’. The Whites were all those who did not like the Lenin and the Communists. The Whites included Socialist Revolutionaries, soldiers of the tsar’s army and some national minorities. The Whites were helped by Britain, the USA and Japan. These countries sent troops and weapons to help defeat the Communists. Britain, USA and Japan wanted to get rid of the Communist government so that Russia could re-join the war against Germany.
The Civil War 1918–21 The Russian civil war lasted from 1918 to 1921. The fighting was bitter and millions of people died. The Whites got help from Britain, the USA and Japan. Source E shows White soldiers being trained by the British army 
© Getty Images The Reds won the Civil War even though help was given to the Whites.
S  ource F shows the Red area and the White armies. It helps explain why the Reds won. Many factory workers were willing to fight for the Reds. Many workers and peasants did not wish a return to the Tsarist days. The peasants did not like the Reds because they stole their food. But they liked the Whites even less because many Whites were landlords who wanted the land back from the peasants. Many people were forced to fight for the Reds. The CHEKA threatened to shoot them and their families if they did not. After the First World War ended in November 1918, most foreign troops left Russia. The Whites lost some of their military strength. By 1921 they had lost the war.
P__________________ and M___________________
War Communism Because of the war, food was short. During the civil war, Lenin’s government came up with a policy called ‘War Communism’. This meant that the Communist government could control people’s lives even more.
Source F shows what War Communism meant to the peasants. 
Source G is about War Communism. It is from orders to the CHEKA in August 1918. E very food-gathering squad should have at least 75 men and two machine guns.
All weapons must be taken from the peasants. Any crops that are hidden must be taken without payment and given to the workers and the poorest peasants.
The peasants were not allowed to keep their crops and animals. But they refused to hand them over to the government. Many peasants destroyed their crops and killed their animals. What was left was taken away from them by force. War Communism caused a terrible famine in Russia. Five million people starved to death. Source H is a picture taken in a peasant village in 1920. It shows carts taking away dead bodies. 
© Getty Images
Source I shows peasant children during the civil war 
© Getty Images 5. Enter the letters of the six correct statements in the boxes below. A War Communism gave the government more control of people’s lives. B Workers were given identity cards to get food and fuel. C Workers were given identity cards to get work. D Peasants could sell their food for any price they wanted. E Peasants had to give their food to the government. F The CHEKA took the peasants’ crops by force. G The CHEKA paid the peasants a fair price for their crops. H The peasants were happy to give their food to the CHEKA. I The peasants destroyed their food so that the CHEKA could not get it. K Sources D and E show that peasant villages were good places to live. L Sources D and E show that many people suffered during the famine. 
The New Economic Policy By 1921 Lenin and the Communist government had complete control of Russia. They had won the civil war against the Whites. Millions had died. The Communist government kept a firm grip on the country. No one was allowed to oppose them and the CHEKA could kill or imprison anyone they did not like. The peasants were unhappy and still starving in large numbers. Lenin knew that this was a dangerous situation and that it was time to make a change. I  n 1921 Lenin announced the end of War Communism. It was to be replaced with the New Economic Policy.
The years 1894 to 1921 had been a hard period for Russia. Of all people, the peasants had suffered most. Yet many Russians believed that they had built a new society. They believed that they had made a better world. But the ordinary people had no more power under Lenin’s rule than under the tsar. They still had to do as they were told. Democracy in Russia had to wait until 1991, when the system of Communism collapsed. Lenin’s red flag had flown over Russia for over 70 years. To prepare for the Access 3 assessment, you should study the short history on pages 5–20. To prepare for Intermediate 1 assessments (NABs, the Prelim and the SQA Exam), you should study all of these notes. THE RED FLAG: LENIN AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 1894–1921 (ACCESS 3, HISTORY) © Learning and Teaching Scotland 2007 |