The Reds had other problems to deal with at the time though as chaos was constantly growing. Opposition to the new Bolshevik state especially and Trotsky and Lenin had to deal with many attacks against their new state. One example is in 1918 when a group called the Czechoslovak Legion were leaving Russia and violence arose. Trotsky demanded they hand their weapons in but they refused, defeated attempts of the local soviets to disarm them, and took control of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The space left by this incident let to the creation of two anti-Bolshevik authorities: the West Siberian Commissariat, of predominantly liberal complexion, based at Omsk; and the Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly, composed of Socialist Revolutionaries, based at Samara. Actions like the above were known as ‘The Red Terror’
Events like these caused the Moscow government to crack down heavily on non-Bolshevik socialists. The Menshevik and Socialist Revolutionary deputies were expelled from the central and local soviets and prevented from engaging in any organized political activity.
1918 saw the turning of the civil war for the Reds as they began to overcome opposition to the State and the White army. This was down to many tactical employments by the Reds. Petrograd and Moscow were seen as the key areas and these were always well defended through interior lines and railways which Trotsky himself used to transport his special army to and from battles.
The peasants were invaluable to the Reds effort too as they made up the majority of the population. Originally, they supported no particular side but the White threat to restore aristocratic landlords drove them to support the Bolsheviks.
May 1918 also saw the setting up the requisitioning of grain to be delivered to the people in the cities in Russia who needed it. The peasants responded quite badly to this as they lost out severely on income.
Private trade and manufacture were banned too and replaced by an enormous black market. This meant that the Russian population had to banter for possessions to survive. Lenin also put all industry under state control which was administered by the Supreme Council of National Economy.
Under War Communism, workers conditions did not improve. Punctuality was imperative and if people were absent or late, they would receive fines. Rations were also brought in with the Red Guard and labour force given priority. On the other end of the scale were the middle-class as they were now seen as the former people.
With these new features of the system, the Bolsheviks looked to be obtaining authority but there were still many cases of attacks against the state. War Communism was not as productive as it seems though. Its foremost aim was to provide for the war and workforce so the normal people did suffer. When the war ended however, people’s hopes and expectations changed. Workers and peasants wanted an improvement in their standard of living and an end to wartime policies. With conditions deteriorating by the spring of 1921 – a revolt started against the Bolshevik Government. Shocking cases of the famine in Southern Russia after a severe drought led to the deaths of 5 million people. Lenin could do nothing to win the Russian population over with War Communism in place so he was forced to change. It was these circumstances in 1921 that led to the introduction of NEP and the end of War Communism.
