(30 marks) January 2010 To what extent did Russia undergo economic and political reform in the years 1906-14? (30 marks) OR How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolsheviks’ growing hold on power in the years 1917-24? (30 marks) How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-29? (30 marks) OR How far did Stalin’s social policies change the lives of children and women in the years to 1945? (30 marks) May 2010 How far do you agree that the use of repression was the main reason for the weakness of opposition to Tsarism in the years 1881-1914?
How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolshevik’s growing hold on power in the years 1917-24? In October 1917 the Bolshevik seizure of power had been successful and a ‘new new page was opened in the book of world history’ (‘What is the Soviet Union’). The Bolsheviks were able to remain in power from 1917-24 because of the leadership of founding member and visionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. However there were a number of other factors which contributing to the growing hold on power of the Bolsheviks, namely; The weaknesses of their opponents, the Treaty of Brest Livotsk and the role of Trotsky; Commissar for war. Vladimir Lenin was one of the leading political figures of the 20th century, he was the visionary that founded the Bolsheviks and masterminded the Communist take-over of power in Russia in 1917.
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 successful were Stalin’s economics policies from 1928-1941? In the late 1920’s Stalin succeeded in the power struggle. He wanted to speed up the economy; he wanted to bring about a complete economic revolution through collectivisation and industrialisation. To achieve this the Russian state would take over in order to run the economy. This was sometimes called ‘Revolution from above.
One of the main aims of the communist regime was to industrialise the country, they wanted to change Russia from a ‘backward peasant-based country’ to a modern more industry based society. Stalin is quick to undertake this, and the five year plans are designed to break away from the New Economic Policy(NEP) and bring about rapid industrialisation. The five year plans were a set of plans to last for five years, set by the government. The first five year plan was based on heavy industry in a state-owned and directed economy, which resulted in private businesses and trade being swept away. This in itself suggests totalitarian control, the government established full control of the economy and business, it also fits in with communist plans, to industrialise the country.
Sergei Witte and The Industrialization of Russia During the last decade of the 19th century, the autocracy of Russia was weakening considerably, and at the same time their economy was becoming industrialized. This process of industrialization was put forth by the government in an effort to modernize. The autocracy began to realize that their economy was falling behind the other industrialized nations. Rapid industrialization would prove to be very draining on the country, and would also establish an industrial working class, which would contribute to the revolutions of 1905 and 1917. The imperial government clearly did not foresee industrialization as an eventual catalyst to their demise.
How far did the priorities of the three Five-Year Plans change in the year 1929-41? By Seb Monson The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia took form in the way of 3 Five Year Plans (FYP) which aimed for heavy industry throughout Russia to help aid the country in catching up with the ‘advanced countries’ and preparing Russia for war otherwise they would ‘perish’ as said by Lenin on the eve of the October revolution. Great Britian was in fact influential on Stalin as it was seen as a powerful Capitalist state after its Industrial Revolution a century earlier. This helped Stalin gauge what needed to occur, to enable Russia and its Socialist state to become a superpower. Stalin recognised that the industrial revolutions which, had made Western Europe and Northern America so strong, had been based on iron and steel production.
This was terribly inconsiderate of the military as the other 82% of the nation was left to starve as the military was the government’s top priority. This led to extreme cases of hunger across Russia which soon became famine. Food shortages were at their worst in the towns and cities, Petrograd suffered particularly badly due to the remoteness from the food-producing regions. Secondly, transportation was a key pre- existing war condition; it was the disruption of the transport system rather than the decline in food production that was the major cause Russia’s wartime shortages. The attempt to transport millions of troops and masses of supplies to the war fronts created unbearable pressure on the Russian transport system, and it bucked under the pressure.
“The Bolsheviks were able to overthrow the Provisional Government because they had the support of the Russian people and armed forces.” Do you agree with this view? On the 7th of November in 1917, the Bolsheviks, who were led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government, which was led by Alexander Kerensky, after the long revolt against them. The Provisional Government initially came to power after the February revolution; after the Russian monarchy was overthrown in March of 1917. There are many different interpretations and opinions from historians; many suggest that the Bolsheviks were hugely supported by the ordinary people and citizens of Russia. Others indicate that their rise to power and the overthrow of the Provisional Government was more influenced by the faults and failures of the Provisional Government.
History essay EVALUATE THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF ONE RULER OF A SINGLE- PARTY STATE Bolsheviks came to power in November 1917 with Lenin as a party leader. His leadership was strong and determined, which he previously showed by publishing his April theses that gave serious of directives that enabled Bolsheviks to come to power after November Revolution. He was a memorable leader whose policies and decisions shaped Russia from 1917-24. In this essay I am going to evaluate and analyse how effective were his revolutionary transformations in economic, political and social context. When Lenin and Bolsheviks came to power Russia was in tremendous economic and administrative problems.