They held the benefit of literally surrounding the Bolshevik region. Therefore, to what advantage were the Reds exactly in, holding only this central zone? It was actually this particular location that contained the largest industrial centers which provided munitions and war supplies throughout the course of the war. Additionally, this location provided the control of the railway lines which connected Petrograd and Moscow to the rest of the country. This meant that; they could send troops and munitions to any of the battle areas swiftly, they could easily distribute resources, and communication was significantly more effective.
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.
This was an advantage for the red army as it was easy to communicate which helped them in the battle fields and be much easier to be successful in the war without communication they weren’t able to come up with tactics and plan how they would attack the whites, also railway support would bring the army weapons and food supplies very quickly. But the disadvantage to the red army was they didn’t have many men fighting for them. Another Red army advantages during the war was Ruthlessness. Lenin's leadership, the Bolsheviks showed a load of ruthlessness making sure that don’t face rebellion and revolt in the areas they controlled like Petrograd and Moscow, Bolsheviks were smart to close newspapers which were against them so the public won’t go against them, also the Bolsheviks created a secret police which were called the Chaka’s,
There were many factors in the survival of Tsarist rule from 1881 – 1905. The divisions among it's opponents played a part, as it meant that Tsarist opposition had no common goals, and couldn't work together to achieve it. The October Manifesto is another factor, it split up Nicholas' opposition even further by dividing the Liberals into two groups. Pobedonostsev & his repressive policies played a large part in the Survival of Tsarist autocracy, as he was able to keep the people down, not giving them enough ground to start a successful revolution. Lastly, Russia's backward society is one of the main reasons Nicholas II survived after 1905.
To what extent was Lenin’s victory in the Civil War due to the weakness of his opposition? Lenin and the Bolsheviks’ victory in the Civil War cannot be given one main reason. A combination of the weakness of the whites and the strengths of the reds eventually led to the victory of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks were provided with strong leadership, ruthlessness, the Red Army fighting for them and most importantly: the geography of Russia. Whereas, the White army was faced with: a divided leadership, low moral, corruption and brutality within the army and the downside of the vast geography of Russia.
How Successful Were The Russian Governments In Promoting Economic Change And Modernisation Between 1881 and 1904? When Alexander III came into power, he made sure that industrialization was at the forefront of his plans. So under Vyshnedgradsky and Witte, various measures were imposed to help kick start industrialization, which led to significant economic change The improved transport system, which resulted from government investment in infrastructure like the railways, helped to vastly improve Russia’s economic situation. This is evident through the clear positive correlation between railway improvements and increases in Russia’s industrial output. The length of railway tracks in Russia increased form 31219 miles in 1891 to 58392 miles by 1904.
Explain and assess the reasons why the reds won the civil war (12) The first reason was that the whites were spread out all over Russia. This worked to the reds advantage as the whites could not support each other so the reds could just fight a white army one at a time with overwhelming superiority. The reds were also in a central position in Russia so they could control all of the transport links such as rail stations. This meant that the reds could quickly move troops and supplies very quickly to areas where they were needed. Another advantage the reds had was they had the support of the peasants.
Many historians have said Alexander II was considering the formation of a parliament in Russia. Furthermore, the assassination caused Alexander III to rule in reactionary nature in which many counter-reforms were created to limit the impact of the Great Reforms done by his father. This supports the view that the People’s Will were highly unsuccessful, even in the taking out of Alexander II. It can be said that the only example in this period of effective political opposition was the October 1917 revolution, where, unquestionably, the Bolsheviks took power and let their political vision be known. They were extremely successful in both the short term and the long term.
This was to prove a costly error as it was obvious that the other men could not trust what Trotsky had promised. The Czech Legion was made up of seasoned soldiers with plenty of fighting experience. They captured the strategic city of Simbirsk and between May 1918 and August 1918, captured so much territory that they controlled the Trans-Siberian railway from Simbirsk to Vladivostok. The Czechs were to prove a serious problem to Trotsky as the Communist military commander in the civil war. His task of defeating the Whites was made a great deal more difficult by the Czechs if he had kept his word and let them move freely out of Russia, this problem would not have occurred.
Militarism led to problems because every country had confidence that its new technological weaponry and troop count could defeat any other country, which led to a severe lack of negotiations. And the only way to find out whose military is better, is to fight. Another key factor that played a role in World War I was alliances. Alliances caused them to be more “cocky” towards each other because they knew if they went to war they had someone behind there back. This can be compared to as a domino effect.