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Second All Russia Congress of Soviets meets, Council of People's Commussars (Sovnarkom) elected, with Lenin as head
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Period: to
Consolidation of Power
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Bolsheviks take power in Moscow after 10 days of fighting. Coalition government of Bolsheviks and Left SRs formed. Checka set up
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Initial decrees on land and peace
All private land was confiscated and placed into the hands of the peasants, affirming previous land seizures
Peace was to be sought immediately -
Sovnarkom established by decree
Sovnarkom effectively became the executive government with Lenin as chairman
In theory the Sovnarkom represents the Soviets, but allows Lenin to rule by decree -
Elections for the Constituent Assembly commence
Bolsheviks permitted scheduled elections for the Constituent Assembly to proceed, against Lenin's wishes
The results show a clear majority for the Social Revolutionaries (SRs) -
Formation of the Cheka
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission to Combat Counter-Revolution, Sabotage and Speculation (Cheka) was a secret police given extra-legal powers
It became an agent of terror -
Constituent Assembly meets, and is closed
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Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed with Germany. Left SRs leave coalition government in protest at Treaty terms
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Czech Legion begins to fight its way east
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War Communism implemented
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Period: to
War Communism
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SR set up Komuch government in Samara
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Period: to
Civil War
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Period: to
Civil War Phase 1 begin (Reds v. mainly Greens)
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SR rising in Moscow
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Tsar Nicholas II and his family assassinated at Ekaterinburg
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Lenin called for 'war on kulaks' and launched the Red Terror
August-September 1918
The kulaks were seen as counter-revolutionary conspirators or capitalists, so Lenin ordered their eradication
These policies highlighted Lenin's willingness to use terror -
Lenin shot by Fanya Kaplan
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By this time Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Poland, the Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan all declared independence
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Whites under Admiral Kolchak crush Komuch Republic
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Polish army invades the Ukraine
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Period: to
Civil War Phase 2 begins (Reds v. mainly Whites)
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Comintern (Communist International) established
The (Third) Communist International was aimed at promoting world revolution
It was ostensibly international but modelled on Soviet government and ideology -
Yudenich's White Army reaches suburbs of Petrograd
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Denikin's White Army gets within 200 miles of Moscow
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Kolchak captured by Reds
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Yudenich arrested by Reds
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Denikin's White Army defeated by Reds, Dinikin escapes
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Tambov region under peasant control
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Polish invasion of Russia
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Peasant rebellions and strikes, ending with Kronstadt revolt
These events represented not only a decline or absence of support for the Bolshevik regime, but direct opposition to it; Bolshevik authority was in danger of a further revolution -
Kronstadt mutiny crushed
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Lenin announced New Economic Policy (NEP)
Petty capitalism and trade of surplus goods was permitted, while Bolsheviks retained control of 'commanding heights'
This policy is seen by the Left as a betrayal of socialist ideology -
Period: to
Civil War Phase 3 (Reds v. Greens, peasant armies and armed bands)
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Period: to
New Economic Policy
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Famine in the Volga region
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Peace treaty with Poland
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Tambov rising crushed
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Civil War peters out
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Lenin ordered assault on the Church
This policy was logical continuation of Marxist ideology, dismantling the structures of religion ('the opiate of the masses'); however, this further alienated many sections of the peasantry -
Death of Lenin
Lenin had been incapacitated since late 1922, and his death left hte party in limbo; no clear plan for either economic reconstruction or a replacement leader had been established
