How effective was Lenin at establishing control in Russia between 1917 and 1924?

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How effective was Lenin at establishing control in Russia between 1917 and 1924?

        Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government on the 6th and 7th of November 1917 and from then until 1924 Lenin tried to establish control in Russia by two main methods, force and compromise. The Red Terror is an example of Lenin using force to try and establish control and the NEP is an example of Lenin using compromise. But were these methods actually effective in establishing control of Russia for Lenin? Sometimes Lenin’s ways of trying to establish control worked but they were not always totally effective. For example, War Communism, even though it could be argued it got Russia through the war, it resulted in a famine which claimed the lives of 5 million people. Also, even though Lenin had seized power in Petrograd after the November revolution in 1917 it wasn’t until after the Civil War that he actually established control of the whole of Russia.

        Lenin had been a revolutionary since 1887, when his brother was hung for playing a part in a plot to kill Tsar Alexander III, and in 1895 Lenin was arrested and sent to prison, and then later exiled to Siberia. Then in 1903 Lenin became the leader of the Bolsheviks, when the Social Democrats split. Lenin returned from exile to Russia in 1905 but was soon exiled again and didn’t return until April 1917, and from then until November 1917 he started to bring about the fall of the Government. Between April and November 1917 Lenin wrote his April Theses, which put forward his main ideas, he announced his slogans ‘Peace, Bread and Land’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets’ and then after the Bolsheviks’ popularity had increased when they saved Russia from the attempted coup of General Kornilov, Lenin and Trotsky arranged the details of the November Revolution.

        Before the November Revolution though, there was the Bourgeois revolution in March 1917 which led to the abdication of the Tsar, and the Provisional Government taking over the running of the country until elections could be held. The people in Russia were not happy with the outcome of this revolution though because the Provisional Government were making mistakes, so when the Bolsheviks popularity had increased Lenin knew the time was right to try and seize power from the government and turn Russia into the first Communist country in the world, and on the night of the 6th and 7th November 1917 the Bolshevik Revolution took place. As the Provisional Government had lost support and had few loyal troops left, it was quite easy for the Bolsheviks to seize power. All the key points in Petrograd were taken over and the guns of the Navy ship ‘Aurora’ were pointed on the home of the Provisional Government, the Winter Palace. On the 7th November the Bolsheviks captured the Winter Palace and the members of the Provisional Government were arrested, and as the Bolsheviks had virtually no opposition due to the fact there was no authority left, they were soon successful. Even though this method of establishing control was effective in seizing power from the Provisional Government, after this revolution Lenin only had power in Petrograd and not the rest of Russia. To gain this control of Petrograd though, Lenin was willing to use a level of force, like the Red Guards and the guns of the Navy ship, even though it ended up being a bloodless revolution as the Bolsheviks had little opposition.    

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         The first thing Lenin did after the Bolsheviks had seized power from the Provisional Government during the November Revolution was to make some Decrees to try and establish more control in Russia. Some of these decrees were popular with the peasants, workers and soldiers, some made Russia more democratic but others restricted the freedom of the Russian people. The positive decrees made by Lenin included abolishing all ranks and classes, declaring the land the property of the people and starting negotiations for peace, but the negative decrees included the censorship of anti-government press and Lenin’s use of the Cheka ...

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