How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolsheviks growing hold on power in the years 1917-1924?

Lenin can easily be considered the most responsible character for the growth in Bolshevik power from 1917. However there are also other factors which without, Lenin would not have been unable to succeed the way he did, such as the Civil war and the failures of other political powers. The main reason that Lenin became successful in gaining the Bolsheviks power, was his willingness to make concessions. In believing that there was only a small group of people needed to run Russia, even his initial decision to have the Bolsheviks support the social revolutionaries was a compromise. However, in opposing the Provisional Government Lenin was able to detach himself from the problems the Provisional s faced which meant that the people of Russia were more likely to accept the Bolsheviks as a political party. With the Bolsheviks supporting the SR s manifesto of Bread, land, peace The people of Russia were drawn away from the Provisional s and became more inclined to support the Bolsheviks. Were it not for Lenin s being a pragmatist and seeing that what the people wanted to hear was that they could get out of the mess they were currently in and that they could have food, land and peace with the Bolsheviks, then there was no way that the Bolshevik party would have gotten their initial power. Lenin was a pragmatist, meaning he was able to see what needed to be done to gain power for the Bolsheviks. However what made him successful in his ambitions for the Bolsheviks to lead Russia, was his ability to swallow his pride and make concessions in accordance to what needed to be done to ensure Bolshevik rule. A prime example of this would be when he ended war communism and returned capitalism. It was obvious to Lenin that

he was later able to use the this coalition to take control of the Red army. This was beneficial to the Bolsheviks as it immediately gave them a force of which no other party had. That force was the ability to make everyone else fear them.

Lenin was responsible for the growth in Bolshevik power between 1917-1924 due to the concessions he made and his ability to see what the people of Russia wanted. Upon arriving back in Russia in April 1917, Lenin knew exactly what he wanted the Bolshevik party to do, and how they would succeed - Lenin wanted to turn Russia communist. With the country in such turmoil due to the war and the Tsars abdication, it took Lenin s pragmatic characteristics to see a way for the Bolsheviks to stand out against the opposing political parties such as the Provisional Government. This was done by making the decision for the Bolsheviks to support the SR s. With 80% of the Russian population being peasants, it made sense for Lenin to focus his efforts on making sure that they were happy, as it would gain the Bolsheviks numbers and support. Bread, Land and Peace was the manifesto of the SR s, and now Bolsheviks. These were the three main issues the Peasants had. By supporting the SR s in their bid to overcome the Provisional Government and take Russia into a revolution, Lenin was making a statement to the people of Russia, saying that the Bolsheviks could see a way to stop the problems of land ownership, food and peace . In appealing to the dark masses, Lenin was able to start gaining support It also meant that Lenin had access to the Red Army. It could be seen that were it not for the Red Army being under the rule of the Lenin, the Bolsheviks would have been unable to dissolve all other political parties or oppositions.

How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolsheviks growing hold on power in the years 1917-1924? With Lenin being the Bolsheviks leader from 1917-1924 it seems the most obvious answer to say he was the main reason for Bolshevik growth in power. However there are many other factors which were vital for the Bolsheviks in giving them opportunities to attract people to their party. Factors such as the Provisional Government losing the support of the Russian people in the world war, Trotsky s involvement in the 1905 revolution helping the people of Russia to trust the Bolsheviks decisions in the 1917 revolutions due to his revolutionary experiences, and the lack in capability of previous political parties such as the Provisional Government to keep the people of Russia happy. Without these factors the Bolsheviks are sure to have struggled in getting power. Lenin was a pragmatist, this meant that when he got back to Russia from Munich in 1917, he was able to see that what the people of Russia wanted was new leadership. Due to the farming classes being the ones that were going off to war there was very little food manufacturing, meaning the whole of Russia was hungry as well as cold. This left them turning against the idea of war and instead looking for a way out. With the farmers away fighting the war, there was also a lot of land ownership issues in the countryside, with people stealing land and fighting with other farmers to gain it. Russia was in turmoil, and Lenin was able to see a way out. Lenin developed an April Thesis Bread, Land and Peace. These few words were aimed at the lower classes in Russian society, the farmers and workers of whom represented a huge 80% of the Russian population. In being pragmatic and seeing that the only way for the Bolsheviks to gain any support was by appealing to the dark masses, Lenin made the first step in giving the Bolsheviks power. With the Bolsheviks not being a legitimate party, it was vital for them to have some form of force behind them which gave them the same stature and power as the Provisional Government, Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries, by the time of the constituent assembly. Lenin could see that there was no way for the Bolsheviks to gain enough supporters for the November constituent assembly, and so instead he made sure that he could take control of Russia by getting the other parties to dissolve themselves. The way this was achieved was by Lenin making concessions. His first concession which turned out to provide a long term benefit to the Bolsheviks- was the choice to support the Social Revolutionaries. Providing immediate power to the Bolsheviks, the Social Revolutionaries were not only an acknowledged party looking for a revolution, but they also had the support of the Red Army. Lenin had always believed that the Bolsheviks should be the sole party leading the country and that there should only be a few key people involved. However by supporting the Social Revolutionaries and having the Red Army on the Bolsheviks side meant that Lenin was able to use them as leverage when it came to the constituent assembly. The Bolsheviks had power in the form of guns. And this was a power that no other political party had. Lenin s ability to see a way around a situation and being able to swallow his pride meant that the Bolsheviks were able to grow in power. Upon gaining power November 1917, Lenin immediately took Russia out of the world war and in doing so managed to start a Civil war by

How far was Lenin responsible for the Bolsheviks growing hold on power in the years 1917-1924? Were it not for Lenin s strong, pragmatic character, the Bolsheviks may never have grown in power at all between 1917 and 1924. Initially Lenin was laughed at for believing that Russia could have a revolution. However he soon proved his opponents wrong as he managed to lead Russia closer towards communism. The beginnings of the Bolsheviks powerbase was sourced by Lenin in 1917, when he realised that by concentrating his energy on making sure the peasants and lower classes were content (people whom according to Marxism should not exist) he was able to gain support from the red army as many soldiers came from agricultural backgrounds. Having the Red Army backing the Bolsheviks meant that they had a power that none of the other parties had Provisional Government, Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries- It meant that the Bolsheviks had a fighting force and the power of terror to help encourage others to follow the rules of the Bolsheviks. The Red Armies support meant that Lenin was able to close down the constituent assembly and give the Bolsheviks power over Petrograd. This growth in power is mainly down to Lenin as he was willing to sacrifice his Marxist beliefs to get what he wanted for the Bolsheviks party. The people of Russia would not have believed Lenin could carry Russia through a revolution had Trotsky not supported him. Trotsky played a vital part in the growth of Bolsheviks power as he was a character of which many people trusted and saw as a revolutionary after his involvement in the 1905 revolution. It was this involvement alongside Trotsky s stirring speeches that meant more people, as well as soldiers, were willing to support the Bolsheviks, thus giving them more power. During the 1918 Russian civil war Trotsky played an important part in the founding and running of the red army. Lenin trusted Trotsky to take care of the Red Army, and so he did. Trotsky intelligence meant that he was able to see that for the red army to be more powerful than its opponents it would need experienced officers and commanders to lead it. This meant that Trotsky recruited the old tsarist officers, and held their family s hostage to ensure that they would help the Bolsheviks and red army win the civil war. This sly move from Trotsky meant that the Bolsheviks gained power as they became more prepared in comparison to the opposing parties. This shows that it was not just Lenin s doing that the Bolsheviks grew in power as people like Trotsky- were also responsible. 1918 Lenin introduced war communism in an attempt to regain strength and power to the Bolsheviks by winning the civil war. The decree of nationalisation of industry meant that the Bolsheviks had the seizure of land, banks and industry making it impossible for anyone in Russia to make profit. This harsh strategy gave Lenin power over everyone in and around Petrograd, whilst allowing industries to concentrate on the production of weapons and military equipment. However this power was not entirely beneficial to the Bolsheviks as Russia turned into an even more difficult place to live. Farmers stopped farming as their produce was taken away from them quickly and brutally, which concluded in the people of Russia starving in famine after famine. The Bolsheviks hold in power was in decline as the urban working class quickly diminished due to food scarcity leaving Lenin with no base to build his socialist society meaning Lenin was also responsible for the decrease in Bolsheviks power as well as growth. However, Lenin being a pragmatist saw that a new economic policy was needed for the Bolsheviks to not only gain power, but to enable them to carry on with their aim of creating pure communism. The NEP was sacrifice Lenin had to make as he reintroduced capitalism and private land ownership. This

meant that although the government didn t have exclusive power over the land, the peasants were happier and were making food. In applying the NEP Lenin had to regain power over his fellow Bolshevik s through forming the decree on party factions which banned any kind of revolt within the Bolshevik party. This all shows that Lenin was a harsh leader, but that he was able to see what needed to be done in order for the Bolshevik party to grow in strength, numbers and power. Even if it meant making sacrifices on his own part.