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The Measures of the Bolsheviks to Maintain Power and Address the Problems of Russia Before the Outbreak of Civil War

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The Measures of the Bolsheviks to Maintain Power and Address the Problems of Russia Before the Outbreak of Civil War

After the Bolsheviks seizure of power in November 1917, Lenin needed to ensure all previously made promises were kept and that Russia's increasing problems were resolved. The Bolsheviks were a relatively small party with big plans for Russia - a communist state. Is this were to be possible Lenin would need to gain greater support.

Lenin made several crucial decisions in the early days of ‘peace, bread, land and all power to the soviet’. One his first major changes was the Decree on Land, by making decrees Lenin was being hugely hypocritical as he was ruling in a very similar way to …show more content…

This, however, did not have the desired effect as workers began to flee, as food shortages increased, to the countryside in search of bread. ‘Bag-men’, or town traders, took machinery, scrap machinery and timber from their workplaces to trade for grain in the country. The population of Petrograd fell by a third in the build up to the civil war. The workers did not want to stay in towns and cities when money was slowly becoming worthless. Bolshevism was more or less unknown outside of Petrograd, Moscow and the other main towns and cities, ad so Lenin needed as much support here as possible.

Lenin finally pulled out of World War 1 in March 1918, signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The treaty lost Russia 26% of its population, 27% of its arable land as well as significant chunks of the iron and coal industry, national minorities’ etc. Despite meeting the promises of the Bolsheviks for peace, the treaty created yet more opposition within Russia.

Lenin’s methods for dealing with opposition were ruthless, repression and dictatorship. As Russia moved closer to a civil war, Lenin became increasingly like the Tsar in his way of rule. Non-Bolshevik

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