What was war communism?
A temporary form of communism introduced during the civil war to prioritise the army (and then workers) being fed
Factors of war communism
- Grain requisitioning
- All businesses owned by the state
- Army > workers > middle classes
- Supported by Bolsheviks as it was ideological
What was the result of war communism?
- Food production dropped (and prices increased) as there was no incentive for the peasants
- Kronstadt revolt
- Tambov revolt
When was the Kronstadt revolt?
1921
What was the Kronstadt revolt?
When some of the Bolsheviks most loyal supporters turned against war communism. Lenin said this was like ‘a flash of lightning’ showing him the reality/danger of him losing his closest supporters
When was the Tambov revolt?
1920
What happened in the Tambov revolution?
- There was uprising in the Tambov province
- Peasants started hoarding grain as they were starving
- Grain requisitioning got worse with the Cheka violently taking it
When was NEP?
1921
What was introduced with NEP?
- A tax in kind (take some grain and the rest can be kept for profit)
- Small business privately owned but the state still owned bigger businesses and banks
- Peasants stopped resistance
Negatives to NEP?
- Scissor crisis
- NEPmen
- Bolsheviks hated it and it divided opinion (caused ban on factions)
What were NEPmen?
Men who made profits and benefited from NEP. This caused corruption such as gambling and prostitution problems
(Also had Kulaks which were rich peasants)
What was the Scissor crisis (1923)
The price of food went down lowering incentive
The price of goods went up so less people were spending money (bad for economy)
Build up of Feb revolution:
- President of the Duma warned Tsar of “very serious unrest imminent”
- Putilov Steel Works had a full scale strike
- Tsar leaves his people and goes back to the front line
- International women’s day saw 100,000+ added to the strikes
- General strike takes over Petrograd (300,00+ now on strike)
Who was organising the Feb revolution strikes?
No political party directly associated but Bolsheviks actively spreading protest
What turned the strikes into revolution?
The Petrograd garrison mutinied, the army now rebelling was a turning point, there was no longer control of the people
What happened when the Tsar called for the Duma to be dissolved?
12 disobeyed and formed the “Provisional Committee”
What three things happened on the 27th Feb 1917?
- Petrograd Soviet of soldiers, sailors and workers formed
- Political prisoners released
- Okrana were overrun
How was the Feb revolution ended?
Winter palace occupied and looted
Tsars train was intercepted by mutinied troops
What did the provisional government do about the peasants/ their land?
- Wanted a voted assembly
- Chernov elected and tried a scheme where peasants would be able to use private land and ownership sorted later
- They were very out of touch with the peasants and didn’t communicate well with them
What did the prov gov do about the national minorities?
Kadets wanted to keep all minorities together and controlled under Russia but socialists wanted the minorities to be able to govern themselves and be free
What happened to the peasants land after the revolution?
Attacks on land owners and armed robbery became more frequent. They decided to have a free for all and took any land/ tools they could get
What happened to the national minorities after the revolution? + consequences
Ukrainians demanded self governance
- The socialists gave them concessions
- The liberals saw this as the break up of Russia (very angry)
- The kadets resigned
What did the prov gov decide to do about the war?
Fight a defensive war
What was the July offensive?
- Planned a large attack on the Germans
- The attack failed and resulted in more lost land and many soldiers died
- Caused the July days uprising
