Lenin & Trotsky

The Role of Vladimir Lenin

The Bolshevik rise to power was fast but not predictable. There were lots of revolutionary parties, and the Bolsheviks had fewer members (23,000) than the Mensheviks (their main rivals on the left) at the start of the year.

Vladimir Lenin's return

Vladimir Lenin was in exile in Switzerland, as were some other leaders. This meant that they did not have any role in the February Revolution.
In April 1917, the Germans helped Lenin, a Bolshevik leader and skilled political operative, to return to Russia. The Germans wanted to cause unrest in Russia, and thought Lenin’s return would cause this.
Lenin arrived with his wife Krupskaya and a small group of his followers at the Finland Station in Petrograd on 3 April.

Russia’s readiness for revolution

Other Bolsheviks were sceptical that Russia was ready for a revolution.
After all, most of the population were peasants and not workers. Russia’s industrial growth was slower than other western powers like Britain.
But Bolshevik membership grew to 75,000 by April 1917.

The ‘April Theses’

Lenin’s manifesto, his ‘April Theses’, demanded an abandonment of the Provisional Government in favour of a radical turn towards the Soviets as the legitimate holders of power in Russia.
He also demanded that Russia pull out of the war.
Lenin wanted land to be given to the peasants and wanted to end the social hierarchies that had existed under the tsar.
The slogan ‘Bread, Peace, Land’ was associated with this message.

Popularity of the Bolsheviks

At the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in June 1917, other factions were still more popular than the Bolsheviks.
The Bolsheviks had 105 representatives. The Socialist Revolutionaries had 285 representatives and the Mensheviks had 284.
- Lenin claimed that his party was ready to overthrow the government, but most saw this suggestion as far-fetched.

Leon Trotsky

Alongside Lenin, Leon Trotsky was one of the most significant Russian revolutionaries in the early years of the Soviet Union.

Leon Trotsky's Return

Trotsky had been in the USA.
In May 1917, he returned to Russia (after the February Revolution).

Petrograd Soviet

He chaired the Petrograd Soviet (workers' council) through to the October Revolution.
This gave him a great deal of power in the battle between the Bolsheviks and the Provisional Government.

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Trotsky was responsible for foreign affairs when Russia withdrew from the war.
He negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the agreement which brought Russia out of the war.

The Red Army

Trotsky's main role in the revolution and the Civil War was as Commissar for War.
In this role, he was responsible for the Red Army.

'Permanent Revolution'

Trotsky believed in 'permanent revolution'.
He thought the Bolsheviks should use instability around the world to spark revolutions elsewhere.
This brought him into conflict with Stalin.
Stalin believed in 'Socialism in One Country'.
- This meant securing the Bolsheviks position in Russia first.

1The End of Tsardom

1.1Russia's Economy & Society

1.1.1Industrialisation

1.1.2Living & Working Conditions

1.2Nicholas II's Autocracy & the Court

1.2.1Growth of Revolutionary Opposition

1.2.2The 1905 Revolution & the October Manifesto

1.2.3Reforming Russia Before 1914 - Stolypin

1.2.4The Duma & Political Stalemate

1.3The First World War

1.3.1The Impact of Military Defeats

1.3.2Social & Economic Effects of WW1

1.3.3Romanov Unpopularity

1.3.4The Tsar's Abdication

1.3.5Top Grade AO2/3 - The End of Tsardom

2Lenin's New Society

2.1The Provisional Government

2.1.1The Failure of the Government

2.1.2Social & Economic Problems

2.1.3Lenin & Trotsky

2.1.4The Growth of the Bolsheviks

2.1.5The October / November Revolution

2.1.6Top Grade AO2/3 - The Provisional Government

2.2The Impact of Lenin's Dictatorship

2.2.1The End of the First World War

2.2.2The Cheka

2.2.3Red Terror & Centralisation

2.2.4The Civil War & The Red Army

2.2.5Propaganda

2.2.6Top Grade AO2/3 - Early Bolshevism & the Civil War

2.3Social & Economic Developments

2.3.1War Communism

2.3.2The Kronstadt Rising

2.3.3The New Economic Policy (NEP)

2.3.4The Achievements of Lenin & Trotsky

2.3.5Top Grade AO2/3 - Social & Economic Developments

3Stalin's USSR

3.1Stalin the Dictator

3.1.1The Power Struggle to Succeed Lenin

3.1.2The Communist Party & Government

3.1.3The Terror & the Purges

3.1.4The Secret Police

3.1.5Cult of Personality

3.1.6Propaganda & Censorship under Stalin

3.1.7Top Grade AO2/3 - Stalin's Dictatorship

3.2Stalin's Modernisation of the USSR

3.2.1Collectivisation

3.2.2Five Year Plans

3.2.3Social & Economic Consequences

3.2.4Social & Economic Consequences 2

3.2.5The Extent of Modernisation

3.3Impact of the Second World War

3.3.1Stalin's Wartime Leadership

3.3.2Political, Economic & Social Consequences of War

3.3.3Top Grade AO2/3 - Modernisation of the USSR

Jump to other topics