Deconstructed Bolshevik Consolidation of Power Essay PDF

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Account for the success of the Bolshevik Consolidation of Power The success of the process towards the establishment of a one-party state by 1924, was dependent on Lenin’s leadership. The Bolshevik consolidation of power was stimulated by the reforms and policies aided by Lenin, which allowed them to gain greater authority and legitimacy as a ruling party. Lenin’s ability to gauge public opinion, encompassed within his clear goals and motivations, enabled him to take initiative and a decisive stance in moments of crisis, developing him into a key figure in ensuring Bolshevik regime continued to survive. This was supported by his ideologically driven nature, as a pragmatist willing to cast aside Marxist theory for political expediency, enabling him to develop solutions that would appeal to the most influential sectors of Russian society: the peasantry, working class and soldiers. In doing so, the Social and Political Reforms, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, The Civil War and War Communism and the NEP are all evident of Lenin’s inherent ability to account for the state of Russia within his aim of consolidating power, which allowed the Bolsheviks to eliminate all political opposition and increased their authority as an authoritative regime. Thus, whilst the policies the Bolsheviks enacted ensured the process continued, the ultimate success of the Bolshevik consolidation of power towards the establishment of a one-party state was contingent on Lenin’s leadership.

Social and Political Reforms ❖ The success of the social and political reforms from October 1917 lay in Lenin’s ability to recognise the importance of gaining popular support as an arising regime. o Therefore, these reforms laid the foundations for the establishment of a one-party state by increasing Bolsheviks legitimacy through Lenin’s implementation of populist decrees whilst the elimination of political opponents allowed them to gain authority and control. ❖ At the time of takeover in 1917, the Bolsheviks had little support with no more than 25,000 people in a country of 150,000,000, thereby lacking coercive power and authority. ❖ Consequently, Lenin laid the foundations for centralised power in the hands of the Bolsheviks through the establishment of the SOVNARKOM in 1917, with Lenin as the Chairman, thus bestowing the Bolsheviks control over all government institutions and finances. ❖ This was reinforced through Lenin’s Closing Down of the Constituent Assembly in January 1918, which was the first example of the use of force in consolidation, thus destroying any formal avenue for political opposition and marked the end of democracy in Russia for eighty years. ❖ In response to the Bolsheviks lack of a centralised instrument of control, the Bolsheviks established the CHEKA in December 1917, which was the most effective tool in eliminating opposition since any opposition could be arrested, sent to labour camps or executed through the administration of terror. o Consequently, the CHEKA who reported directly to Lenin became “indispensable” in the Bolsheviks ability to consolidate power with 50,000 people arrested in 1918 alone. ❖ However, Lenin recognised the necessity of gaining popular support across all sections of Russian society, since the peasantry, although an insignificant part of Marxist theory, had the potential to destroy the Bolshevik Regime.

❖ These conditions were embodied within Lenin’s April Thesis on ‘Peace, Bread and Land’ which aroused the Decrees of Land and Peace on October 26, 1917. o The Land Decrees aimed to gain the popular support of the peasantry by nationalising the land and eliminating the aristocratic land owning class who had the potential to threaten the new Bolshevik regime. o Whilst the Peace Decrees, wherein Lenin recognised the previous failures of the Provisional Government, decreed the removal of Russia from the straining WW1 to gain the support of the soldiers and their families. This would ultimately lead to Lenin’s implementation of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. ❖ This is supported by Martin McCauley who describes the workers and peasantry as “the backbone of Bolshevik Support”, thus emphasising their support as essential towards the Bolshevik consolidation of power. ❖ Thus, the social and political reforms were essential in gaining populous support and eliminating political opponents, however the success towards the Bolshevik consolidation of power laid in Lenin’s leadership and ability to take initiative.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ❖ The success of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed on 3rd March 1918, was contingent on Lenin’s foresight in understanding the present conditions of Russia. o This enabled the Bolsheviks to eliminate the existential threat of German invasion, to thus focus on domestic issues and obtain the support of the soldiers. ❖ With the Russian army in disarray, due to war weariness and a lack of supplies, the threat of German invasion was imminent, shown by the Bolsheviks moving their capital inland from Petrograd to Moscow at the beginning of 1918. ❖ Thereby, the signing of the treaty is an example of Lenin’s pragmatism, despite negotiating with a capitalist and imperialist power. Lenin understood the economic and physical strain of the war which threatened his regime and failure to make peace would lead to German domination. ❖ As Lenin and Trotsky were international revolutionaries, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is evident of their willingness to sacrifice national interests in the cause of proletarian revolution worldwide. ❖ Thus, Lenin’s strength as a leader is shown through the vote in the Politburo, in which Lenin’s threat to resign was met with Trotsky’s abstinence from voting, rather than defying his leader. ❖ Consequently, the signing of the treaty alleviated the war strains from the Russian population, endowing the Bolsheviks with “crucial breathing space” (David Christian). This allowed the Bolsheviks to address domestic issues with the peasantry, and obtain support from the war-weary soldiers, who would be detrimental in fighting the Civil War. ❖ However, this would also produce a threat of Civil War through opponents who opposed the treaty such as the Left Communists, believing that more than 300 years of Russian empire building has been destroyed with a stroke of a pen. ❖ Despite this, Lenin foresight is evident in his recognition that the conditions of the treaty were only temporary such as losing 1/3 of their European land, with Russia receiving most of its losses following Germany’s defeat in WW1. ❖ Thus, through Lenin’s pragmatism and determination towards the domestic interests of the Russian population, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk eliminated German threat and the strains of

war, allowing them to focus on domestic issues. However, this would become a cause of the Civil War through opposition, threating the Bolsheviks successful consolidation.

Civil War and War Communism ❖ Despite leaving much of the Russian population disillusioned and resentful, the success of the Civil War and War Communism of 1918 lay in Lenin’s incisive decision making and ruthless implementation, to ensure the continued survival of his regime. o Therefore, the Civil War eliminated all formal military and political opposition whilst War Communism providing centralising control over all aspects of the economy, enabling the Bolsheviks to expand their authority as a one-party state and consolidate power. ❖ Richard Pipes argues that the Civil War was a deliberate and necessary part to the Bolshevik programme since the leaders of the Party were convinced it was impossible to achieve and maintain power without a period of Civil War. ❖ Therefore, through the defeat of the White Resistance in March 1921, compromising of Anti-Communist Forces, this led to the dismantling of formal opposition. ❖ Hence, the reintroduction of conscription led to the establishment of the Red Army which endowed the Bolsheviks with a formal central army force to implement authority and control over the Russian population through terror. ❖ Whilst this was mostly Trotsky’s initiative as the Commissar of War, it was Lenin’s resilience and belief in Trotsky’s ideas such as the introduction of ex-Tsarist officers which allowed the Red Army to become a much stronger force in implementing Bolshevik authority. ❖ This coincided with Lenin’s effective use of propaganda to secure the support of the peasantry against the Whites. ❖ Thereby to ensure the continued survival of the Bolshevik war effort, Lenin introduced War Communism in 1918 to manage the disastrous economic and military strains from the Civil War. ❖ This led to an installation of a period of wholesale terror, the ‘Red Terror’, in which the CHEKA were appointed full powers to pursue and deal with the enemies of the revolution to ensure suppressed compliance with the Bolshevik regime. o This is supported by Service’s assessment, “Lenin…believed that overkilling was better than running the risk of being overthrown”, exemplifying Lenin’s unwavering belief in the use of Terror towards maintaining power and the success of their regime. ❖ War Communism allowed for the imposition of state control over economic production through grain requisitioning with the establishment of a Food-Supplies Dictatorship in May 1918. o However, this further alienated the peasantry as they were forced to surrender their crops, with Committees of the Poor established to ensure no acts of hoarding food on the black market. o This corresponded with the nationalisation of industry, administered by the Supreme Council of the National Economy (Vesenkha), which meant all heavy industrial goods were allocated and distributed by the state. ❖ However, practises of rationing and requisitioning coupled with drought led to a national famine in 1921, in which 1/5 of the population were starving. This led to strikes and open rebellion from the Workers’ Opposition Forces.

❖ Thus, whilst the Civil War and War Communism left the Bolsheviks as the only political party standing, in the short term the Bolsheviks still faced a crisis in their leadership from public distrust, meaning the process of consolidation was not complete. NEP ❖ The success of the NEP of 1921 lay in Lenin’s ability to account for the mood of the population and his willingness to sacrifice ideological principles to secure his rule within a one-party state. o Therefore, the NEP’s period of peace and stability, in the final stage of consolidation, enabled the Bolsheviks to regain the support of the peasantry and recover the economy to consolidate all the power they had accumulated up until that point. ❖ After continuous fighting for seven years with two revolutions, Russia was in a state of collapse with a need for stability and economic recovery. ❖ Thus, the extent of the disillusionment of the Russian people after the brutality of the Civil War and War Communism was reflected in the Kronstadt Rebellion of 1921, in which Lenin described as “the flash that lit up reality better than anything else”. ❖ Thus, Lenin introduced the NEP as a ‘tactical retreat’ regain the support of the Russian population and appease the peasants after the brutality of conflict and allow the Bolsheviks to finally consolidate power (David Christian). o This was achieved through an end to grain requisitioning, the provision of private trade whilst the government continued to have state control over the commanding heights of the economy such as banking and heavy industry. ❖ Since the NEP was essentially a capitalist style policy, it is evident of Lenin’s pragmatism and willingness to sacrifice his Marxist ideology to ensure the continued survival of his regime. o Lenin justified the move by saying one must go through capitalist to achieve communism in which the ‘state will wither away’. ❖ However, this induced a period of dictatorship in which social practices were repressed. o This led to a ban on factionism in 1921 in which political discussion was prohibited, direct action taken against the Church to diminish their power through the creation of Union of the Militant Godless in 1921, and the CHEKA becoming the GPU as it continued to embed itself as a central institution in the running of the country. ❖ Thus, the NEP is reflective of Lenin’s pragmatism in understanding the importance of regaining the support of the Russian population in the final step of consolidation, to allow for the successful imposition of a one-party state by 1924.

Thus, the Bolshevik Consolidation of power was only made successful through Lenin’s incisive leadership as a pragmatist, willing to sacrifice his ideological mentalities to ensure the continued success of his regime. This is evident within the process of the social and political reforms, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Civil War and War Communism and the NEP. As Russel Tarr asserts, “Between 1917 and 1924, the Bolshevik Party went through a baptism of fire which transformed it from a revolutionary splinter group into a party of government”. Thereby, the Bolsheviks had established a one-party state by 1924, evidently succeeding in their consolidating power....