Russia And The Soviet Union

Once the Bolsheviks had seized power, they used force and persuasion in order to stabilise their rule. Even though the Bolsheviks were a minority, and encountered many threats, under the rule of Lenin, a vital figure of Russian Revolution, they continued to hold power. It was the work of propaganda, the secret police, elimination of oppositions and compromise that enabled the Bolsheviks to triumph over any problems that they faced. But the most effective factor in supporting Bolsheviks rule was the Red Army and the Cheka.

A major asset to the Bolsheviks was the effort of the secret police Ð'ÐŽV the Cheka, set up by the Bolsheviks on 20 December 1917. The Cheka was a descendant organisation of the Tsarist secret police that trained men to go into the factories and villages all over Russia and to pretend to be opponents of Lenin and the communists. By doing this they would find out the leaders of any possible opposition that they would then eliminate. The Cheka removed many of the BolsheviksÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ enemies, including the Tsar bloodline in July 1918 and Lenin believed the Cheka was essential to keep the Communists in power. He justified their violent actions by saying that the enemies of the state had to be wiped out or they would return Russia to those who had ruled it before. Ð'ÐŽÐ'ҐDictatorship of the ProletariatÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ was the phrase he used, which essentially meant that the people would have to be told what to do until they knew enough about communism to be able to decide matters for themselves. Without the Cheka, the Bolsheviks would not have been able to control the uprising rebellion amongst the workers and peasants against them.

Another benefit of the Bolsheviks was the Red Army under the dynamic leadership of Trotsky. After becoming War Commissar in April he had transformed it from an undisciplined volunteer force into a military machine with conscription and severe discipline imposed by former imperial officers. He constantly threatened his men, exercising a simple philosophy, Ð'ÐŽÐ'§Every scoundrel who incites anyone to retreat, to desert, or not to fulfil a military order, will be shot. Every soldier of the Red Army who voluntarily deserts his post will be shot. Every soldier who throws away his rifle or sells part of his equipment will be shot. Those guilty of harbouring deserters are liable to be shot.Ð'ÐŽÐ'Ё Trotsky positioned special troops in the rear, behind his front-line troops, to shoot deserters and stop the front line retreating from battle and to get Red soldiers to obey their officers, he appointed political commissars whose families were often held hostage to insure the officers' loyalty. Trotsky also had a special armoured train that linked the front to the base, solved urgent problems on the spot and enabled Trotsky to spread his inspirational speeches to the soldiers.

The Red ArmyÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s greatest success would have had to be the Civil War in 1918-1921 against the White Army, which was an alliance of various anti-Bolshevik groups. Besides the organisational power of Trotsky, who had managed to help it achieve victory by instilling fear into the men, there were other reasons why the Red Army eventually won the struggle and eliminated a strong opposition. The White Army was never united amongst themselves allowing Trotsky to eliminate them one at a time. The Bolsheviks also had better knowledge of RussiaÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s geography providing a superior strategic position. And the Whites also allowed landowners to take the land away from the peasants again, and in some cases they charged very high rents for land and buildings, inevitably driving the people for the support of the Communist side.

In 1918 the Communists endeavoured to maintain supplies for the Red Army by a policy of close Government control of industry and agriculture. This Ð'ÐŽÐ'ҐWar CommunismÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ policy provoked strikes among town workers and peasants and a naval mutiny at Kronstadt. Among the rebelsÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦ demands were Ð'ÐŽÐ'Ґfreedom of speech and press for all workersÐ'ÐŽKthe abolition of the specially privileged position of the Communist PartyÐ'ÐŽKfull rights for the peasants to do what they like with their land.Ð'ÐŽÐ'¦ For three weeks the mutineers held out before the infamous Red Army, advancing through blinding snow over the thick ice captured Kronstadt. Thanks to