Russian Revolution: From Tsarist Rule to the Rise of Stalin
The First Republican Government
A Western-style regime of “full amnesty” was established, promising political and social freedoms. However, the ongoing war significantly impacted the political landscape. Constituent Assembly elections were called. The months following the dislocation were marked by elections, with participation in the war being the main focus. Liberals faced pressure from France and Britain. All except the Liberals left, and Kerensky’s prestige and authority were weakened. The Soviets often disregarded their decisions and mandates, creating a second power. Further demonstrations and protests led to Lenin’s deportation.
The Second Republican Government
This government was chaired by Kerensky but predominantly consisted of SR ministers. It lacked concrete action, failing to address the land issue or withdraw from the war. This led to widespread discredit, with the Bolsheviks gaining support, growing from 40,000-50,000 to 240,000 members.
The October Revolution
Lenin returned in secret and began publishing his “April Theses” in newspapers, advocating for peace and transferring power to the Soviets. Severe demonstrations arose, forcing Lenin to flee back to Finland and go into hiding. He later returned in secret and convinced the Bolshevik Party Central Committee to launch an immediate armed insurrection, believing that Kerensky had lost the support of the army, which demanded a crackdown. Trotsky, president of the Soviet, organized the coup in the capital. Kerensky fled before Trotsky could apprehend him. The SRs and Mensheviks denounced the coup, leaving the Duma.
A board of people’s commissioners was elected, with Lenin as council president. The Bolsheviks held the majority of ministerial positions. The seizure of power was orchestrated by Lenin, Trotsky, and the strategy of the Soviets, the most organized body, primarily composed of Bolsheviks. On March 7, 1918, they adopted the name of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and created a secret police force. Along with the Red Army, it served to eliminate all opposition.
The First Government of Lenin
This government relied on the board of people’s commissioners, Trotsky, and Stalin. It approved a series of decrees:
- Decrees on Peace: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
- Decrees on Land: Giving legitimacy to the occupation that had been ongoing for several months.
- Decrees on Companies and Industries: Transferring them to Soviet power.
- Decrees on Equality of Nationalities and Sovereignty: Granting all peoples of Russia rights to independence until 1922.
Due to the civil war, Lenin postponed socialization. In 1924, Lenin died, and after a power struggle, Stalin took control in 1927, instituting a grueling regime that included five-year plans.
Key Terms and Events
- Gulag: An acronym for the General Directorate of Labor Camps. The political police sent prisoners to forced labor camps. Later, the term was used for the entire Soviet system of forced labor, which included not only political prisoners but also criminals of all kinds.
- Bloody Sunday: A demonstration on January 22, led by Father Gapon, requested economic and political reforms from the Tsar, considered the father of the Russians. However, the army brutally dispersed the demonstration, causing around 250 casualties.
- Soviet: Organizing committees formed during labor strikes and by trade unions, but also by soldiers and peasants.
- Autarky: An economic system by which a state relies exclusively on its own resources.
- Kolkhoz: An agricultural cooperative based on collective ownership of the goods produced, characteristic of the Soviet Union.
- Sovkhoz: A mode of farming in which the network of media and production belongs to the state, and farmers are paid employees.
- Kulaks: Farmers and peasants of the USSR who owned property and hired workers. Later, the term was used for all those convicted and deported to the collectives as opponents.
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: A peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, in the Polish city of Brest-Litovsk between the German Empire, Bulgaria, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and Soviet Russia. In the treaty, Russia renounced Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, and Ukraine, which subsequently came under the domination and economic exploitation of the Central Powers. Additionally, Ardahan, Kars, and Batumi were given to Ottoman rule. This treaty allowed Germany to reinforce its Western Front with troops from the Eastern Front. Germany’s defeat in World War I annulled the treaty, and Russia had recovered all its losses by 1940, except for the territories received by Finland and Turkey in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.