Another achievement of the Bolsheviks was the liberalization of Russia in matters of sex and morality. The Bolsheviks came into power with a radical program for the transformation of women and the family. Their reforming zeal was evidenced in the comprehensive “Code on Marriage, the Family, and Guardianship” which was ratified in October 1918. This equalized women’s legal status with men’s, allowed both spouses to retain the right to their own property and earnings, granted children born outside wedlock the same rights as those born within, and made divorce available upon request. Previously, women were treated as “inferior” compared to men and they were forbidden from working as their responsibilities were only to family and children However, with the Bolshevik’s rule, women were summoned to set aside their responsibilities to husbands and children and to become fighters on behalf of oppressed humanity. Abortion became legalized in 1920 and the family, as an institution based on private property was seen as
outdated. Before long, Russia became the most liberal European country in sexual issues and “by the late 1920s, the number of abortions in cities surpassed the number of births, and the typical woman having a termination was married with at least one child.”
Another achievement of the Bolsheviks was in arts in which under Bolsheviks’ rule, Russia saw the astonishing outburst of “artistic experiment that was unsurpassed anywhere else in the world.” This was symbolized in K.S. Malevich’s Black Square, V. Y. Tatlin’s Monument to the Third International, V. Y. Meyerhold’s biomechanical drama, to the transrational poetry of V. Khlebnikov, the strident verses of V.V. Mayakovsky and N. Roslavets’s experiments with a new tonal system in music. In cinema, leading directors such as S.Eisenstein, D. Vertov, V. Pudovkin and A. Dovzhenko produced classics of world drama. Literature also experienced efflorescence in the 1902s, partly because of the revival of private publishing houses which were not banned by the Bolsheviks. Poets such as A.A.Blok, S.A. Esnin and A. Belyi flourished under the Bolsheviks’ rule and their works were considered as great classics. The 1920s was thus an era of unbounded artistic and intellectual diversity and this was one great achievement pf the Bolsheviks.
The improvement of Russia’s economy should also be credited to the Bolsheviks and this started when in March 1921, this marked the inauguration of the HEW Economic Policy (NEP) which soon turned into a whole scale repudiation of War Communism which was deemed as a failure at improving Russia’s economy as it focused too much on the introduction of socialist principles of production and distribution by “direct assault” which was the introducing of harsh policies directed towards peasants such as forcing peasants to surrender food to the governments. NEP saw the declaration that grain surpluses might be sold to “cooperatives or on the open market”, legalization of private trading and private ownership of small-scale businesses. The imposition of the NEP thus heralded a period of economic growth for Russia and by 1924; Russia a stable currency had been established. Industrial production had also increased by 45% and grain harvest also increased by 64% from the 1913 level from the 1913 level. Russia’s industrial had by then recovered to match the production of the 1914 level.
Another achievement of the Bolsheviks was that they managed to eliminate all political opposition through the use of the red army and the secret police which was set up in December 1917 and known as CHEKA. Opponents of Lenin and his government were rounded up, killed and imprisoned and as CHEKA operated outside the laws, this means that victims were not given trial and could not appeal against any punishment mete out to them. By mid-1918, the three main political parties mainly the Kadets, Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were eliminated as their party members were arrested, party presses were closed and this led to the effective break-up of the parties. Opposition leaders were also forced into exile and their organizations were driven underground and by 1918-1922 following the introduction of the NEP and the defeat of the Whites in the civil war, never again were these opposition parties ever serious in opposing the Bolsheviks.
Another achievement of the Bolsheviks was that they had been successful in garnering mass support for their party. In November 1917, the Bolsheviks made their first attempt in alleviating the plight of the peasants through the introduction of decrees. Such decrees took the form of nationalization of all land so that it could be redistributed among peasants and all indemnities were abolished. Although such measure were a failure in improving the peasant’s plight, these measures signaled to the population that the Bolsheviks were intent on resolving their concerns and thus, were successful in building up the population’s confidence in them and garnering their support. The withdrawal of Russia from WWI through the treaty of Brest-Litovsk managed to win the support of the people as they relieved them from the burdens of the war in terms of heavy taxation in order to fuel the war and compulsory service in the army. Previously, Lenin had opposed any form of national self-determination. However, in 1918 and again in 1922, Lenin consented to the formation of two largest federations in the world, namely the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic (RSFSR) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). At the same time, they allowed regional autonomy but the price of which was close supervision at all levels by the appropriated organs of the party. Thus, such a concession allowed the Bolsheviks to gain the support of the national minorities.
Hence, it can be seen Lenin had managed to achieve his earlier goals of delivering his promise of “Bread, Peace and Land” with the improvement of the economy in the 1920s, the garnering of mass support and the destruction of any political opposition which secured the rule of the Bolsheviks. The rise of USSR as a superpower could thus be said to be founded upon the foundations laid down by the Bolsheviks in their numerous achievements by 1924
Smith S.A The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002. Chapter 5 ( society & culture) pg 137
Smith S.A The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002. Chapter 5 ( society & culture) pg 140
Smith S.A The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002. Chapter 5 ( society & culture) pg 150
Smith S.A The Russian Revolution: A Very Short Introduction Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002. Chapter 4 ( NEP: politics and the economy) pg 100