How far do you agree that Trotsky’s leadership of the red army was responsible for the survival of the Bolshevik government? In October 1917 the Bolshevik’s took control of Russia after staging a revolution. However they faced many dangers/threats while in power from the years 1917-1924 such as a civil war and the economic crisis it caused. The leadership of the red army by Trotsky is a very important reason that the Bolsheviks got into power as his red army implanted the revolution but also to the survival of the Bolsheviks as the red army overcame the Bolsheviks biggest threat of the civil war. However there are other reason which just as or more important than Trotsky’s leadership such as the ideas and sacrifices made by Lenin during the year’s 1917-1924 such as signing the harsh treaty of Brest-Litovsk and enforcing the New Economic Policy or NEP, to create economic sacrifices rather than political ones which allowed the Bolsheviks to remain in power.
On the other hand, it can be argued that Trotsky’s leadership of the Red Army during the Civil War was just as, or even more important in the Bolsheviks’ seizure of power, as was the image of the Bolsheviks as being patriotic heroes fighting against Tsarist leaders and foreign invaders. Obviously, it was the October Revolution which brought the Bolshevik Party into power, giving them control of Russia. It can therefore be said that, had this not occurred, then it is incredibly unlikely that the Bolsheviks would ever have come into power. The Revolution was, of course, Lenin’s major goal (though in the end it was organised by Trotsky) for his party, and it was through his leadership and staunch dedication to the fall of the Provisional Government that the Bolsheviks eventually seized power in October 1917. Had it not been for Lenin, the Bolsheviks would never have taken power in the first place, as free elections were to be held in November 1917, with the Social Revolutionaries (SRs) being the most popular at the time.
Looking at repression, the problems they dealt with and how they solved them: the terrorist attacks and harsh punishments, reform groups and the black hundreds and finally the revolutionary ideas and closing of newspapers and trade unions. Then I will consider the reforms: poor, unhappy peasants and the abolishment of redemption payments and freeing of communes, underproductive agriculture and ‘The Peasant Land Bank’ and lastly the effect of the Duma. Overall I think that both the repressions and reforms had equal impact in stabilising Russia, but are also dependant on each other. Firstly, Repression, Russia had a terrorist problem during and following the 1905 revolution. In 1907, 1,200 government officials were murdered in political terrorist attacks by revolutionaries.
The main reason that Stalin was able to rise to power was his ingenious defeats of both the left and right wings of the Party. The key figure Stalin had to take down from the left wing was Leon Trotsky. Trotsky was important because in effect, it was his leadership of the Red Army during the Civil War that had won the war for the Reds. If it hadn’t been for Trotsky, the Bolsheviks may not have been in the position they were by 1924. The first step Stalin took towards removing the threat of Trotsky was to lie to him about the date of Lenin’s funeral.
A change in society occurred in June of 1918 with the introduction of War Communism. War Communism meant that all industry was nationalised, private sales were forbidden as personal profits became illegal, strict working rules were put in place, and a class based rationing system was introduced. War Communism brought about major changes to Russian society but in order to assess how successful it was in its changes, each aspect of its original goals must be looked at. As described by David Christian, one of the two pressures that lead to War communism was ‘the need to fight the civil war’. In this aspect the changes brought about by this policy were successful as it resulted in a Bolshevik victory in the war as it ‘...did the job of supplying towns and armies with just enough food and supplies to keep providing war material and to keep fighting.
How far do you agree that Trotsky’s leadership of red army was responsible for survival of the Bolshevik government? The Bolsheviks had some control of Russia, when tsar had been abdicated and when the provisional government was in charge for a short period. The Bolsheviks had then taking control of Russia from the Provisional Government, the Bolsheviks' next aim was to maintain their weak hold on the reins of power. But the only way Bolsheviks were to be in full power was to win the civil war in 1918 against the white army. Who were also looking to become in power.
Powaski argues that “That the Cold War was inevitable. From the Very Beginning of the Russian- American relationship, except for a brief period in 1917, the ideologies of the two nations were fundamentally incompatible. (1) For Powaski to verify his perceptive on the Cold war he provided an insight on American- Soviet relations in 1917. In 1917 Russia was in a revolution and a provisional government was formed and
Brutal Force Throughout the many years and before the start of the Russian Revolution, violence, coercion, terror and compromise played a big role in enforcing the government and in making the people and revolutionaries in Russia happy so there would be no overthrow of leading government officials. As we see in the October Manifesto, the tsar was compelled to sign the document to compromise with the people only so he would not be overthrown or executed, also in the Constitution of 1918 and 1924 which were written to establish the new state of Russia and to help keep the new state in tact. We also see acts of violence to help keep rule and enforce government through Bloody Sunday and State and Revolution written by Lenin. The use of compromise
During the First World War, Russia initially sided with the Allies until the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918. It was in this time that leader Vladimir Lenin established authority in Russia. He transformed the country into the communistic Soviet Union. Following the communistic revolution, the Allies looked down on the newly formed Soviet Union, and felt they had conflicting values. Later in WWII, Russia and Germany agreed on a non aggression act.
National support helped America win the war. France joined sides with the colonies on their quest to become independent. They helped the States in many ways. First, they sent over Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben to help train the army. It was a huge success.