Bolshevik Consolidation of Power 19-17-1924 free essay sample

The victory in the Civil War was extremely pivotal for the Bolshevik consolidation of power as it brought control and power but more importantly it eliminated the possibility of Bolshevik collapse in Russia. The Civil war was the most essential and crucial aspect for the Bolshevik consolidation of power as it potentially provided major control over most of Russian territories in victory but also the ability to eradicate the Bolshevik government from Russia in defeat. The Civil war lasted three years from 1918-1921. It divided Russia up into factions each fighting for survival or for their own agenda. The Bolsheviks were confronted with a number of enemies externally and internally as well. Opposition to the Bolsheviks included political groups (mainly Social Revolutionaries), monarchists, liberals, Czech legions and Allied intervention force who were collectively known as the whites. The Bolshevik known as the reds were faced with absolute danger as they were surrounded and outnumbered by the whites. The whites initially had an army size of approximately 2. 4 million with an extra 250,000 Allied forces whereas the newly created red army had only 300,000. The Bolsheviks won the war which ultimately granted them absolute power and control in most Russian territories as there was no longer opposition left to challenge their authority. Although the victory brought power and control it had a devastating effect on Russia. E Goldman states that Russia was like a graveyard country and that desertions in the army were common. The Civil war was devastating for Russia economically and socially, the Bolsheviks consolidated their power and there was no more military threat from their opposition. The Civil war was vital to the consolidation of power however it was only possible through the execution of War communism. War communism was an economic policy the Bolsheviks had created to meet the demands of war from 1918-1921. It forced manpower to either be directed to the Red Army or to the industry. It also confiscated all grain and food and allocated it to where it would be most productivity towards the war effort. The implementation of War Communism enabled the Red Army to be supplied with both food and weaponry and industrial workers to be fed. This was effective in allowing the Bolsheviks to maintain and effectively fight the civil war without the lack raw materials. David Christian believes that War Communism was essential as it ‘supplied towns and armies with enough food and supplies to keep providing war material to keep fighting’. Although War communism was effective towards the war effort it also significantly damaged the economy. The economy of Russia was shattered, there was a food shortage, fuel shortage and money had absolutely no value. The rouble was only worth 1% of its value in 1918, 10million died of starvation and agricultural output was 60% of pre war levels. War Communism enabled the logistics of war to be met which enabled the victory however it was extremely devastating on the economy and the Russian people. The implementation of War Communism could only be accomplished with the generation of Red Terror. The Cheka formed in 1917 was responsible for the role of inflicting carnage and intimidation into the minds of those who opposed the Bolsheviks. Their prolonged campaign of coercion was used to eliminate opposition but more importantly to allow the process of War Communism to take place efficiently without disruptions. This was vital as it made way for raw materials to be acquired for the war effort. Dzerzhinsky (head of CHEKA) states that it was necessary to make the foe feel as if everything done wrongly against the Soviet government will not go unpunished. The brutality of the CHEKA can be seen clearly in the deaths of almost 250,000 Russians during the civil war period. Pipes bluntly regards the ruthlessness as ‘a measure designed to destroy any thoughts and resistance to a dictatorship’. The Red Terror campaign was crucial to War communism as it provided the necessary force to meet the raw material demands of the Civil war although it was violent and relentless in destroying what it thought to be the opposition. Before the Civil was initiated, the Bolsheviks had to satisfy and meet the demands of the people through the Land Decree, Peace Decree, Workers Control Decree and providing an answer to the food shortages. The slogan used by the Bolsheviks in particular Lenin was ‘Bread, Peace and land! ’. These promises then had to be fulfilled in order to win over the people. Peasants at the time had already taken land into their own hands and the land Decree was only a formality signalling the approval of their actions. The Workers Control Decree was implemented to give workers (the Bolsheviks main supporters’ the impression that indeed the Bolsheviks were representing the proletariat. These reforms allowed the Bolsheviks to illustrate to the people that they were a legitimate and a genuine government working for the people and thus giving them control and stability. Adam Ulam states that the initial reforms did not make Civil War imminent as it pleased the people. The initial reforms however were unpopular with socialist political groups but also brought chaos to industries as well as rural areas. The implementation of these reforms could only satisfy the people for a short period and therefore did not sustain the power and stability for the Bolsheviks. In addition, the Treaty of Brest Litovsk was a direct result of Lenin’s promise in the peace decree. The treaty of Brest Litovsk signed on march 3rd 1918 was an non aggressive agreement between Russia and Germany which enabled Russia to leave World War I. The treaty eliminated the external threat of Germany who had made attempts to invade all the way to Petrograd. Russia was safe from the direct threat of the Germans however the price they had to pay to sign the treaty was tremendously harsh. Russia lost 33% of its agricultural land, 45million its population (30%), 54% of its industrial base and 3 billion roubles in compensation. The harsh nature of the Treaty meant that although the Bolsheviks were relieved of immediate danger they would come under heavy opposition. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk became the catalyst for the civil war as it provoked the socialist Revolutionaries to abandon the Bolsheviks. Leonard Schapiro supports this by stating that the treaty of Brest Litovsk ultimately cause the civil war by breaking the trust between the left Social Revolutionaries and the Bolsheviks. Overall the treaty of Brest Litovsk was important for the Bolsheviks as it provided peace for the people and gained trust and support from them, however it brought the imminent Civil war that was going to be waged against the Bolsheviks. Finally, the NEP was also another political reform which the Bolsheviks implemented to consolidate their power after the civil war had destroyed the economy and created unrest in the people. The Kronstadt revolt had taken place a couple of weeks earlier and as result Lenin had to propose the NEP as measures that would fix the economy and satisfy the people. The Kronstadt Revolt was a rebellion by the Bolsheviks most loyal sailors due to their disapproval of the actions of the Bolsheviks. Trotsky and his red Army of 60,000 annihilated the revolt killing up to 15,000 men. The willingness to kill their own supporters shows the absolutely control the civil war had brought to the Bolsheviks. The NEP itself was introduced in 1921 and brought an end to War Communism. The NEP provided a fix to the economy as well as satisfaction the peasants by allowing them to keep some of their grain after tax. The NEP was successful in rebuilding the economy, by 1924 grain harvest had doubled and the wage of industrial workers rose by 150%. Ronald Segal states that the NEP was extremely successful as in provided consumer with goods and encouraged private trade. The NEP was successful in rebuilding the economy and satisfying the people, however it was condemn by others who thought that it was not socialist principles. The NEP was very important to Bolshevik consolidation of power however it would not have taken place at all if the Bolsheviks had not won the civil war. In the period of 1917-1924 Russia was faced with numerous crises internally and externally. War Communism, Red Terror, the NEP, Initial reforms and the treaty of Brest-Litovsk were all measures that the Bolsheviks undertook to solve their crises and consolidate their power. The Civil War however was the most prominent and extremely significant towards the Bolshevik consolidation of power as it posed the greatest danger to the regime but also brought the most power to the Bolshevik in that time period.