Welcome back, historians! Are you ready for another revolutionary journey?
For this one, just make sure you don't forget your hammer and your, um, what is it called again? Ah,
yes, your sickle. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, and no, a sickle is not
a cute name for a frozen treat. It's actually a semicircular blade that's used to cut grain.
So why are a hammer and sickle important? Well, you see, at first, they were used to represent
the interests of construction workers and farmers coming together. But eventually,
the combination evolved to represent the interests of workers all around the world.
So then why do many of us associate it with words like communism, the Cold War,
totalitarianism, and others? It's a valid question, and today you'll get
an answer as we explore how Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks used symbols like these
and other Marxist ideas to build a new society out of the ashes of the former Russian Empire.
Let's take a peek at the questions that will be guiding us along our journey. How did Lenin
and the Bolsheviks consolidate power during the end of the 1910s? What steps did Lenin
take to expand his power over Russia and the surrounding regions after the Russian Civil War?
How were Stalin and Trotsky significant to the revolution and the development of
communism in the USSR? And our big picture question: are violence and
depression justifiable methods for enacting reform in society? All right, let's dive in.
We ended our last lesson during a pretty turbulent time in Russian history. The year was 1917 and
female textile workers in Petrograd had just led a strike that sparked the February Revolution.
Uprisings were so fierce that Tsar Nicholas II was forced to step down, leaving Alexander Kerensky to
lead the provisional government, or, Duma. That same year, Germany helped Vladimir Lenin return
to Russia after his exile in western Europe, hoping his presence would further destabilize
the country and give the Central Powers an advantage on the Eastern Front of World War One.
And boy, did Lenin destabilize. In less than a year, Lenin and the Bolsheviks executed a swift
takeover of the Winter Palace and government offices, overthrowing Kerensky and the Duma
during what we now call the October Revolution. A coalition government of Bolsheviks, socialists,
Mensheviks, and previous members of the Duma was formed. They organized an election for an
assembly to draft a new Russian Constitution. But when the Bolsheviks realized they had not won a
majority of seats, they disbanded the assembly, leaving them in full control of the government.
With a one-party system in place, Lenin and the Bolsheviks went to work instituting some
immediate reforms. Many of these early reforms were in line with their slogan:
peace, land, and bread. One of the biggest reasons the Bolsheviks prioritized these
issues was to solidify the support of Russian farmers, workers, and soldiers.
Economic reforms included returning control of factories to workers and instituting an eight-hour
workday. Land reforms included redistributing farmland to peasants. And literacy campaigns,
as well as other educational reforms, were introduced all across the country.
But perhaps Lenin's most consequential decision was withdrawing Russia from the world war. The
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk officially declared an end to fighting between Russia and Germany,
with Russia agreeing to cede territory and ship grain from Ukraine to the Central Powers.
Many Russians resented the loss of territory as well as the new grain exports, which only worsened
the ongoing famine in most of the country. The Cheka, or Lenin's secret police, didn't make it
easy for Russians to voice their anger either. They used kidnappings, mass arrests, summary
executions, and other forms of violence to silence anyone that was an enemy to the revolution.
But the widespread anger couldn't be contained and it eventually bubbled
over into the Russian Civil War just a few months later.
The Bolshevik Red Army now found itself at war with a White Army, which was made up of
supporters of the old tsarist regime, proponents for democracy, and socialists who opposed Lenin.
Although the White Army enjoyed financial support from the U.S and other Western nations,
it struggled to build momentum and was ultimately defeated by 1920. Lenin and
the Bolsheviks were eager to capitalize on such a decisive victory and institute another round of
sweeping reforms to bring their vision for a new Russia to life. But before we move on to those,
let's review. How did Lenin and the Bolsheviks consolidate power during the end of the 1910s?
Lenin and the Bolsheviks' first order of business after securing power was
dealing with the aftermath of an intense and bloody civil war. The war not only destroyed
Russia's economy but it also contributed to the worst famine it had seen in over twenty years.
These dire circumstances led to the creation of Lenin's New Economic Policy. This policy
included changes like allowing peasants to profit from selling extra produce and crops, encouraging
foreign investment, and allowing private ownership of small businesses and factories.
Some Bolsheviks were angered by what Lenin called state capitalism, but these changes
also led to an era of peace and prosperity that Russia had not seen in over a century.
But Lenin wasn't satisfied. In fact, he was deeply concerned that the nationalism that swept across
Europe during the war would spread eastward. So he worked with Joseph Stalin to create the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or, the USSR. This created a federation of various
self-governing republics that still fell under the power of one central government in Moscow,
the USSR's new capital. Lenin hoped that by granting some degree of self-autonomy
to regions, it would minimize the risk of any nationalist movements for independence.
The state seal of the USSR even included a familiar symbol, the hammer and sickle,
to represent the working class as central to the success of the new country.
But Lenin wasn't finished. Instead, he sought to further solidify his power by creating the
Communist Party. Lenin built the party upon a foundation of Marxist ideals and the Communists
went on to draft a new constitution in 1924 based on socialist and democratic principles. However,
the party differed from Marx's original belief that the proletariat should lead the revolution,
instead arguing that a small group of elites should lead the movement and that only the
Communist Party could do it. Lenin's own take on Marxism would eventually lead to the development
of a new sect known as Leninism. But, alas, Lenin did not have much time left to implement all of
his revolutionary plans. Let's review for a second before we continue. What steps did
Lenin take to expand his power over Russia and the surrounding regions after the Russian Civil War?
Lenin's health began to decline severely by the end of 1922. Word spread that he had already
suffered two strokes and many began to ask who would succeed him as leader of the USSR:
Leon Trotsky or Joseph Stalin. Trotsky was a former Menshevik who embraced Bolshevism after
meeting Lenin during his exile in London. He was often praised for his intellect and capacity for
administration, both of which were on display when he designed and went on to lead Lenin's Red Army.
He also believed in the idea of permanent revolution, which called for the industrial
proletariat to align with the peasantry to seize power in regions all across the world.
Joseph Stalin, on the other hand, followed a slightly different path to leadership.
Known less for his intellect and more for his ruthlessness, Stalin quickly rose up the ranks
of Bolshevik leadership, often using violence and other manipulative tactics to advance the
interests of the party. He even bestowed the nickname Stalin, or Man of Steel, upon himself.
By the end of his life, Lenin believed that Trotsky was better suited to succeed him as leader
of the USSR, even warning in one of his final letters, [in Russian accent] "Comrade Stalin,
having become Secretary-General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am
not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution."
But as the Secretary-General of the party, Stalin had already begun appointing his
supporters to key government positions. So when Lenin died, well, Stalin did what he did best:
seize control and never let go. Trotsky did not shy away from the conflict at first,
instead leading a group known as the Left Opposition against Stalin's policies and
leadership within the Communist Party. But he eventually fled the USSR, spending the
rest of his life in exile until he was killed by a Stalinist agent in Mexico City in 1940.
Before we wrap up, let's review one last time. How were Stalin and Trotsky
significant to the revolution and the development of communism in the USSR?
In the upcoming lessons, we'll explore how Stalin's policies and his own personality
shaped the trajectory of the USSR and global politics as tensions began to
build across Europe once more. However, there is much to learn from the story
of Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Whether one considers their methods just or inhumane,
their efforts led to the development of the first internationally recognized socialist state and
inspired working-class revolutions around the world. Even their symbols still survive and
elicit a wide range of reactions to this very day because, as we remember, history is everywhere.