Edexcel A Level Russia notes -- Topic 1 condensed

Constituent Assembly January 1918 -- SRs 410 seats 21 million votes, 175 seats and 9 million votes for the Bolsheviks. Dissolved, restirctions on opposition newspapers, March 1918 SRs walk out over Brest-Livotsk, 1921 othe parties damned, January-March 1921 5,000 Mensheviks elected.

Bres-Litovsk: land in Estonia, Lativa, Lithuania, Finland, Ukraine and parts of the Caucasus given up. For nationalists and tsarists unacceptable -- White Arym formed from them, liberals, left opposition and others (eg Czech Legion). Bolsheviks surrounded but subject to strict discipline by Trotsky (e.g. 1 in 10 deserters in August 1918 shot by Trotsky himself). Support from peasants and from large-scale nationalisation of industry.

Bolshevik state as a result centralised, civil war resulted in extensive use of terror, miliarism extended across the populatio. By 1921 over 730,000 Party members: at 10th Congress "ON Party Unity" introduced in response to Kronstadt ("SOviets without Bolsheviks, sailors) and Tambov (Green Party over grain requisitioning, 50,000 needed to put down revolt). 

New structure for politics and society: so-called "Democratic Centralism"> Politburo, Central Committee (30-40 members), Party Congress. Government: Sovnarkom, Central Executive Committee (coordinating lawmaking) and the All-Russian Congress of Soviets (by 1920s all members Communist Party members).

Lenin was not an absolute dictator but exerted much influence and often threatneed to resign to get his way on issues. March 1923 thrid stroke -- could only say "vot, vot", incapicitated.

"Nomenklatura" -- top jobs only given to those on party lists. 1924 1,000,000 Communist Party members.

Constitutionof 1924 -- in theory federal but Russians 90% of land-area, 72% of population and three-quarters of the Party itself.

Dzerzhinsky -- Cheka. 1917-23 up to 200,000 executed. By 1921 250,000 secre police members. Eventually replaced by OGPU in 1922 -- more inward-looking, Chistkas, up to third of party purged.

Debate over Treaty of B-L, Kamenev and Zinoviev opposed launching of revolution, debate over NEP and over Workr's Opposition (Shliapnikov and Kollontai). 

Stalin gained control in 1928. General Secretary -- access to 26,000 personal files, the "Lenin Enrollent" (1923-25( of 500,000 workers, largly politically inactive and uneducated. Promoted cronies like Kalinin, Voroshilov and Molotov. Kirov head of party in Leningrad in1 926, replaced Zinoviev. Sukhanov "grey blur", "COmrade Card-Index". Left delt with in 1926, dismissed from party, Stalin issued "Foundations of Leninism" against NEP< undermined Bukharin and accused him of Trotskyism over views of the…