To keep the peasant happy, they decreed that land belonging to Tsar, Church and nobles must be handed over to peasants.
To keep worker happy they decreed that a working day would be limited to 8 hours, workers to be insured against illness or accident, and factories put under control of workers committees.
To keep Bolshevik control, they decreed that all non Bolshevik newspapers be banned the opposition constitutional democratic party banned and its leaders arrested, Cheka (Bolshevik secret police) set up to deal with spies and counter revolutionaries and banks were put under Bolshevik government control.
To increase personal freedom, marriages could take place without a priest if desired and divorce would be made easier.
Lenin also promised free elections to the Constituent Assembly which were held in 1917. The Bolsheviks did not gain a majority so Lenin solved this problem by sending the Red Guards to close down the Assembly. The Assembly was soon forgotten.
Lenin had to make good his promise for peace. He put Trotsky in charge of negotiating a peace treaty with Germany but wanted him to spin out the negotiations as long as possible. Lenin hoped that a socialist revolution would break out in Germany as it had in Russia. There was no revolution and Germany started to advance again. Lenin had to accept their terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918. The treaty was a huge blow. Russia lost its best agricultural land and industrial areas, 25% of its population, 26% of its railways and 75% of its iron ore. Russia also had to pay a 300 million gold rouble fine.
By the end of 1918 several anti-Boshevik groups had united in an attempt to destroy the Bolsheviks. They were known as the Whites. Soon White armies began to march towards Petrograd and Moscow. In a short time Trotsky created a 300,000 men Red Army. They were led by former Tsarist officers. Trotsky made sure of their loyalty by putting their families at risk. There were many murders and beatings in what is now known as the Red Terror.
Not even the Tsar escaped. The Red Army approached Ekaterinburg where the Tsar was. They ordered the execution of the Tsar and his family.
By 1921 the Bolsheviks had defeated the White Army and were securely in control of Russia.
The Bolsheviks introduced a harsh policy called War Communism.They made sure that the towns and armies were fed by forcing peasants to give them food. They took over factories so they were able to supply ammunition and equipment to armies. Communist theories were put into practice and the wealth was shared out among the Russian people. The war was won but war communism caused a famine.
The Bolsheviks policies gave them more power and meant that they kept the Russians under control. Lenin's policies led to the new constitution which turned the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
