Cheka

To a certain extent, Trotsky demonstrated throughout his life and career his ability to use opportunities provided by history to shine. His talents as an orator, writer, propagandist and military strategist earned him much success and established him as a capable leader. However, he was frequently unable to seize valuable opportunities to excel due to his use of terror, limited support base and inflexible ideology and was additionally largely overlooked for his moments of excellence in history during

The Impact of Lenin on Russia and the Russian People Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (a.k.a Lenin) was born in 1870, into a middle class family. In the year 1887 when Lenin was 17 his elder brother Alexandra was executed for conspiring to assassinate the tsar. Lenin who was already well educated and fond of reading and writing was encouraged to enter politics to make changes and to somehow avenge his brothers' death. The long term effects of this were that Lenin would later

The New Economic Policy (NEP) was a measure implemented in order to counter the arguably disastrous effects War Communism. The New Economic is controversial. Some historians argue it allowed the Soviet economy to solidify and begin to recover, and also allowed the Bolsheviks to retain control over Russia. Others, like Orlando Figes, state it was ultimately a failure, arguing that under the NEP the peasants grew away from the Bolshevik regime, inviting a future, and brutal, reassertion of central

The essay, ‘“Information Is the Alpha and Omega of Our Work”: Bolshevik Surveillance in Its Pan-European Context’ written by Peter Holoquist, discusses the topic of Surveillance in Russia and how it effected her people. During the time of Stalin – Holoquist believes that surveillance was used to manipulate people, bringing forward ‘the “new man”’ (Suny, 52) In this piece – Holoquist states that there was little trace of the belief in public opinion. Instead, the government did what they believed

The Success of the Bolsheviks in Gaining Power in Russia by 1922 In February 1917, the Bolshevik party was small and irrelevant. The leadership was abroad and there was little consistency of purpose among the party in Russia. However, by the summer of 1922, the Bolsheviks had become the dominant force, and a new communist state had emerged from their success. The purpose of this essay is to explain this transformation. The abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the

They originated from the Cheka, the All-Union Extraordinary committee to Combat Counterrevolution and Sabotage, yet the agency served the same functions of the czarist police force. Because of their similar functions, mass executions occurred to “protect the revolution” and to deal

coping with rebels and domestic terrorists, and gathering intelligence on both internal and external threats. One of the first official Russian Intelligence agencies created was the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counterrevolution and Sabotage (CHEKA) in 1918 (Pringle, 2011). This agency was responsible for foreign intelligence, domestic security, counterintelligence, and border control until 1921 when it was disbanded. In 1922, its functions were transferred to the State Political Directorate

The Meaning of the Term Totalitarianism Totalitarianism was a one-party political system that was based on dictatorship. It first started in Europe in the 1920s and 30s. It was an absolutism that emphasized the importance of the state at the expense of individual liberties. It displays the following features: One-party dictatorship and one-man rule were emphasized in a totalitarian state. Only one party ruled in a totalitarian state, for example, the Fascist

To What Extent was the NEP responsible for Bolshevik Consolidation of power After the Bolsheviks came to power in October 1917 it was a combination of factors which allowed them to establish a new government and consolidate their power throughout Russia. The Bolsheviks, lead by Lenin wanted to put into place a socialist society based on Marxist principles. The first six months proved to be a crucial time as they implemented various social and political reforms, aiming to establish a new government

Germany sent Lenin back to Russia, the Soviet Union was sent into chaos. Lenin ordered the assassination of both the Tsar and his family, and turned the country communist. 16. Lenin's control of Russia led to the creation of the secret police, or Cheka. The officers were known as chekists, and instilled terror in citizens. They were used to quell any sort of opposition to Lenin's rule. 17. In March of 1917, women in St. Petersburg went on strike due to the food shortage and small rations. Marches