Red Terror & Centralisation

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The Red Terror

The Bolsheviks moved quickly to crush their opposition and to restrict political freedoms.

Quashing opposition

As early as December 1917, all non-Bolshevik newspapers, even those of other left-wing groups, were banned.
The Kadet Party was banned and its leaders arrested.
Law courts were replaced by Revolutionary Tribunals, and the Cheka shot enemies of the Bolsheviks.

The secret police

The Cheka terrorised enemies of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War in the so-called Red Terror.
The Cheka was then renamed the GPU (State Political Directorate) in 1922, and then the OGPU (All-Union State Political Directorate) in 1923.
During the Red Terror (September 1918 to February 1919), between 50,000 and 140,000 people were executed, and concentration camps were established on the Solevetsky Islands.

One-party state

Between 1918 and 1922, the Socialist Revolutionists, Mensheviks and anarchists were removed and deported (sent into exile in other countries). Russia became a one-party state.
In February 1918, Bolshevik decrees became more extreme.
- The party could now force anyone to do hard labour and could execute anyone who resisted.

Bolshevik Centralisation

In March 1918, the Bolsheviks became the Russian Communist Party (of Bolsheviks). There was a shift towards ‘communism’ rather than ‘Bolshevism’ in public. This led to a process of centralisation.

The Sovnarkom

Lenin was the chairman of the government, which was called Sovnarkom (the Council of People’s Commissars).
Lenin was responsible for Russia’s development into a brutal dictatorship, rather than into a genuinely equal communist society.

The Communist Party

Although the Soviets were supposed to be in charge in the regions, in reality power was completely under the control of the Communist Party.
The Soviets were eventually required to agree automatically with the decisions of the central party.
While from the outside the communist government seemed like a democracy, in reality the Communist Party decided everything.
When elections were held, it was only members of the Party who could stand for office.
- Criticism of the party was not allowed.

The Politburo

The Central Committee was elected at the Party Congress to represent the party between congresses. The Central Committee elected the Politburo (the key policymaking committee).
The first members of the Politburo were Lenin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky and Stalin.
From 1917 onwards, the Politburo became increasingly powerful.

The Soviet Union

In 1924, under a new constitution, Russia was reorganised into the USSR - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
There were initially four republics. The largest was the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic.
Officially, each region had voluntarily become part of the USSR.
- In reality, the Red Army had forced the regions to join and there was no way for them to leave the USSR.
In December 1925, the Communist Party became the ‘All-Union Communist Party (of Bolsheviks)’ in response to this change.