Preview

How Far Was Lenin Responsible For The Bolsheviks Growing Hold On Power In The Years 1917

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
836 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Far Was Lenin Responsible For The Bolsheviks Growing Hold On Power In The Years 1917
How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolsheviks’ growing hold on power in the years 1917-1924?

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.

Vladimir Lenin was responsible for the Bolsheviks growing hold on power in the years 1917-1924. One reason for this was his ability to be a pragmatic leader. During the Russian Civil War of 1918-1921, Lenin created War Communism. War Communism steered Russia into the direction of military production and aimed to create a social equality. Private property and money were abolished and military service and work became compulsory. In order to fulfill rationing; food was requisitioned from the peasants but were given nothing in return. As of this, it led to the Bolsheviks becoming increasingly unpopular with the people and in 1921 Sailors of the Kronstadt threatened military action against the communists unless war communism was ended and democracy restored. Lenin abruptly responded and ordered the Red Army to go to the Kronstadt naval base and kill the sailors. 10,000 were killed. Despite having just killed off the opposition, Lenin took into account what the sailors had said and realized that war communism could not continue. As a result of this, the New Economic Policy was issued which embraced a limited form of capitalism. The NEP legalised private trade, replaced grain requisitioning with tax-in-kin and reintroduced money. Although Lenin had already compromised by reintroducing money in 1922, the money that was minted did not have the Romanov emblem and so the Russian

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    (a) How significant was Lenin’s leadership in the Bolshevik consolidation of power in the period to 1924?…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most important individual in bringing about the change in influence is Vladimir Lenin, who brought about a sudden sharp rise in the party’s popularity. Following the 1917 October Revolution, Lenin became the leader of the Communist Party and greatly increased the party’s political influence with his ‘one party state’. Lenin’s creation of the Politburo in 1919, which was a group of eight high profile party members who influenced any decision being made, demonstrates the party’s increased political influence by showing their domination of governmental bodies. Public support of the party is obvious in the increase of RCP membership, March 1919 to March 1920, from 250,000 to 612,000. This may have been due mainly to Lenin retaining his power through the 1918 civil war. In 1921, Lenin introduced his New Economic Policy, aimed at gaining peace with the peasant class, which resulted in the ending of armed resistance to the communists. This support increased the Russian Communist Party’s (RCP) public influence greatly, backed in rural areas as well as urban working class districts. Due to all these factors, Lenin is the most important individual in changing the influence of the Russian communist party between 1905 and 1945.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1917 through to 1924. Lenin was a natural born leader and his leadership skills along…

    • 877 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    He fuelled a period of massive industrialisation which ultimately lead to the emergence of a new social group; the urban proletariat. This group, who had little status in Russian society in the period 1854-1894, now played a major role in Russia, meaning a change in an average workers status. By 1914, there were 2.9 million workers employed in Russia working in 24,900 factories. However, this period comes with a degree of continuity in the level of status of workers; in 1910 only half of Russia’s national productivity was industrial. This points in the general direction that, as with the reigns of Alexander the II and III, the peasants were the social class with more power. The provisional government of February 1917 marked a change for the status of workers in Russia. It was formed with the Petrograd soviet, a council of workers and soldiers. They controlled the railway, postal and telegraph services; a level of status in which workers had previously never held. During Lenin’s rule, there were varying degrees of workers status: ‘While the peasantry suffered between 1918 and 1921, the urban workers became better off…The NEP clearly benefited the peasantry at the expense of urban workers’1. This quote from Lee can be challenged, as during war communism 1918 the populations of Moscow dropped by half. This shows that workers…

    • 2033 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Bolshevik Revolution Dbq

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There were many consequences from the Bolshevik revolution. Farmland was distributed among farmers, and factories are given to workers. The banks were nationalized and a national council was assembled to run the economy. Russia pulled out of World War I, signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, conceding lots of land to Germany. Civil war, between Bolshevik (“red”) and anti-Bolshevik (“white”) forces, sweeps Russia from 1918 to 1920. Around 15 million die in conflict and the famine. The Russian economy is in shambles. Industrial production drops, trade all but ceases, and skilled workers flee the country. Despite the…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • 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

    During the turbulent years in which Lenin had passed, his significance still continued to dominate Russian politics. One clear example of this was his funeral as party members were afraid to read his testimony as it would make themselves look unpopular. This showed that even in death, Lenin’s words still held weight making him extremely significant. Furthermore, many of Lenin’s early policies such as his feminist policies continued to persist through Stalin’s administration as the USSR was the first country to have female pilots and female snipers. Lastly, we can see similarities in both Lenin and Stalin’s policies. For example, Stalin had copied some of Lenin’s “War Communism” as Stalin’s “Collectivization” advocated requisitioning of grain.…

    • 143 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A revolution earlier on in 1917 would have been near impossible; the Bolsheviks lacked support. The party was in the minority within the Petrograd Soviet, leaving them at a political disadvantage instantly. In addition to this, the Bolsheviks gathered only 25% of the votes during the elections in March. As a result, the Bolsheviks could not even think about attempting to takeover; they lacked political support and influence.…

    • 883 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good 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
  • Better Essays

    War Communism (WC) was of substantial importance to the Bolshevik consolidation of power. WC played a major role in the Bolshevik victory in the Civil War and thus allowed them to maintain power and control in Russia. However, from the Bolsheviks initial seizure of power in 1917 through to 1924, a number of other factors were of importance in enabling the Bolsheviks to consolidate this power. These factors included the Early Decrees, implemented Lenin, their victory in the civil war and the New Economic Policy (NEP).…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are two main reasons why the Bolsheviks were able to take over power in Russia in November 1917. They are the strengths of Bolsheviks themselves and factors in their favour, and the weaknesses and mistakes of the Provisional Government.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During 1917 the political system of Russia, and the political opinions of its public, began to change. The First World War was deeply taking its toll, with the casualties running into millions, and food shortages were reaching crisis levels across Russia. Presided over by the Provisional Government, who had little support and even less real power, the people of Russia became restless. In October, the animosity between Government and populace came to a head, and a revolution put Lenin’s socialist Bolshevik party in power. This essay will show that, while the Bolshevik party was dedicated and driven in the values they believed in, it was only the seizing of opportunity, and a lot of luck, that they succeeded in taking power.…

    • 1594 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better 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
  • Good Essays

    The strong leadership of Lenin and his ability to read the publics collective mind brought the Bolsheviks support, leading them on their way to power.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays