Attacks on Opponents of the Government

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The Cheka

The Cheka was the first version of the secret police under the Soviets.

Name

Full name: All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage under the Council of People's Commissars of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
The Cheka was formed in December 1917.

Role of the Cheka

The Bolsheviks used the Cheka to root out any enemies in Russia to the regime.
The Cheka also ran the Gulags (concentration camps), forced labour camps and requisitioned food from peasants under war communism.

Felix Dzerzhinsky

The first director of the Cheka was Felix Dzerzhinsky.
He was an aristocrat who had become a communist.
- He had been imprisoned many times under the tsarist regime.

Despite being reluctant to hold elections, the Bolsheviks knew that this was necessary in order to avoid the same criticisms which had undermined the Provisional Government so they started the Constituent Assembly. This was quickly shut down.

'Parliamentary democracy'

Although the Bolsheviks never wanted to create a parliamentary democracy they held an election in November 1917 in which 41.7 million people voted. The Bolsheviks won 168 seats, compared to the SRs’ 370.
This meant that Lenin’s party had only secured 25% of the vote, and the various factions of the SRs received 40% of the vote.
More moderate parties, including the Mensheviks, Kadets, as well as anarchists, made up the rest of the Constituent Assembly.

Shutting down the Constituent Assembly

After just one day of its first session in January 1918, the Bolsheviks and the Red Guards shut down the Constituent Assembly.
Without control of enough seats, they were unwilling to allow the assembly to continue.
- The Mensheviks were already speaking of a country “enveloped in the flames of civil war”.

The Railway and Sovnarkom

The Bolsheviks set about consolidating their control over the country as a one-party state. As they controlled the railways, they used this network to reach and control the main cities.
This struggle is often referred to as the ‘Railway War’ by historians.
Lenin’s government was called the Sovnarkom (‘Council of People’s Commissars’). At first it included Left SRs as well as Bolsheviks, but broke down when the Left SRs refused to follow the Bolshevik decision to sign a peace treaty to take Russia out of the war.

The tsar

The former tsar and his family were housed in Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. None of the tsar’s former allies would allow him and his family to move to their country.
Britain and France were embarrassed by the former tsar, who had continued to lead a backward and autocratic society whilst they were building and improving their own democracies.

Civil war and execution of the tsar

Civil War had broken out by the spring of 1918. There was suspicion that ‘white’ (monarchist) armies in the Urals might try to release the tsar and his family.
Lenin ordered the entire family, as well as their doctor and remaining servants, to be executed on 17 July 1918.

1Communist Government in the USSR, 1917-85

1.1Establishing Communist Party Control, 1917-24

1.1.1The Creation of a One-Party State

1.1.2Government under Lenin

1.1.3Centralisation of Power

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Establishing Control

1.1.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Establishing Control

1.2Stalin in Power, 1928-53

1.2.1The Elimination of Opponents

1.2.2The Purges of the 1930s

1.2.3End of Topic Test - The Elimination of Opponents

1.2.4Stalin's Power Over the Communist Party

1.2.5Stalin's Power During & After the Communist Party

1.2.6End of Topic Test - Power Over the Communist Party

1.2.7A-A* (AO3/4) - Stalin in Power

1.3Government, 1953-85

1.3.1Changes in Leaders' Control of the State

1.3.2Khrushchev's Attempts to Reform Government

1.3.3End of Topic Test - Government 1953-85

1.3.4Stability & Stagnation, 1964-85

1.3.5End of Topic Test - Stability & Stagnation

1.3.6A-A* (AO3/4) - Government 1953 - 85

2Industrial & Agricultural Changes

2.1Towards a Command Economy

2.1.1Nationalisation of Industry, Communism & the NEP

2.1.2End of Topic Test - Towards a Command Economy

2.2Industry & Agriculture in the Stalin Era

2.2.1Five Year Plans & Industrial Change

2.2.2Five Year Plans & Industrial Change 2

2.2.3End of Topic Test - Five Year Plans

2.2.4Agricultural Collectivisation & its Impact

2.2.5Recovery from War after 1945

2.2.6End of Topic Test - Collectivisation & Recovery

2.3Changes in Industry & Agriculture, 1953-85

2.3.1Light Industry, Chemicals & Consumer Goods

2.3.2Investment in Agriculture & Virgin Lands

2.3.3Attempts at Reform after 1964

2.3.4End of Topic Test - Industry & Agriculture

2.3.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Industry & Agriculture

3Control of the People, 1917-85

3.1Media, Propaganda & Religion

3.1.1State Control of Mass Media & Propaganda

3.1.2Attacks on Religious Beliefs & Practices

3.1.3Attacks on Religious Beliefs & Practices 2

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Media, Propaganda & Religion

3.1.5Cults: Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev

3.1.6A-A*/ - Media, Propaganda & Religion

3.2The Secret Police

3.2.1Attacks on Opponents of the Government

3.2.2The Roles of Yagoda, Yezhov & Beria

3.2.3Andropov & Late Opposition to Soviet Rule

3.2.4End of Topic Test - Secret Police

3.3The State & Cultural Change

3.3.1Proletkult, Avant-Garde & Socialist Realism

3.3.2Nonconformity from the 1950s

3.3.3End of Topic Test - State & Cultural Change

3.3.4A-A* (AO3/4) - Control of the People

4Social Developments, 1917-35

4.1Social Security

4.1.1Full Employment Benefits

4.1.2Housing & Social Benefits

4.1.3Khrushchev, Brezhnev & Stable Society

4.1.4End of Topic Test - Social Security

4.2Women & Family

4.2.1Changing Status of Different Groups

4.2.2Changing Attitudes to Family

4.2.3Changing Attitudes to Family 2

4.2.4End of Topic Test - Women & Family

4.3Education & Young People

4.3.1Growth of Primary, Secondary & Higher Education

4.3.2Reduction of Illiteracy

4.3.3State Control of the Curriculum

4.3.4End of Topic Test - Education & Young People

4.3.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Social Developments

5Historical Interpretations

5.1What Explains the Fall of the USSR, 1985-91?

5.1.1Economic Weakness

5.1.2Attempts at Economic Reform

5.1.3Failure To Reform The Communist Party & Soviet Gov

5.1.4Impact of Reforms

5.1.5End of Topic Test - Economic Reform

5.1.6Impact of the Nationalist Resurgence

5.1.7Impact of the Nationalist Resurgence 2

5.1.8End of the USSR

5.1.9Gorbachev & Yeltsin's Responsibility

5.1.10End of Topic Test - Nationalist Resurgence

5.1.11A-A* (AO3/4) - Explaining the Fall of the USSR

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