Why were the Bolsheviks able to defeat their opponents by 1922?
Following the Bolshevik accession to power in the October Revolution many obstacles stood in the way to Bolshevik absolutism. The external and internal enemies of Communist Bolshevism actively threatened to topple Lenin and his Party. However it was the ability of the Party to suppress or negotiate with its enemies, that helped the Bolsheviks consolidate power by 1922, and do away with their enemies.
Though the Party in 1917 ruled with a degree of popular support, institutions of coercion were quickly established to consolidate the power of the Bolsheviks. The first step to Bolshevik absolutism was political streamlining. The nation was turned into an effective one party state with the closure of all anti Bolshevik newspapers, the dissolution of the democratically elected Constituent Assembly and the establishment of the Cheka- a new form of secret police. By dividing and disbanding their political opponents, the Bolsheviks were able to nullify the threat of internal enemies. The Constituent Assembly did not represent a Bolshevik majority. The CA was made up of 1/4 Bolsheviks and 3/4 moderate socialist parties such as the SR’s. Lenin’s ability to suppress these opponents underlines the theme of Bolshevik ruthlessness between 1917 and 1921 to consolidate the Party’s power.