How did the Bolsheviks retain power in the crisis years from October 1917 to March 1921?

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How did the Bolsheviks retain power in the crisis years from October 1917 to March 1921?

Finally, after two revolutions in 1917, one in March and one in October, the Bolshevik party took control of Russia, with Lenin leading the way.  However, the next four years was going to be very troublesome for the Bolsheviks, and would lead to a huge Civil War.  So, how did the Bolsheviks manage to stay in power against all the odds?  The main reason is the disturbing and horrifying methods of the secret police, the Cheka.  This ‘police force’ executed around 1,000 people every month, mainly because of their political views.  This struck terror into the heart of all the anti-Bolsheviks, and that was what Lenin wanted.  However, there are many other reasons why the Bolsheviks did remain in power.

As soon as Lenin came into power in October 1917, there were a few things that he had to do.  Firstly, he held a national election, which did not give him good results.  In this Constituent Assembly, formed on 5 Jan 1918, the Bolsheviks only won 168 seats out of a possible 700, whereas the Social Revolutionaries won around 370.  Therefore, Lenin just ordered the Red Army to dismiss this parliament.  The democratic system of Russia under the rule of Lenin had lasted only 24 hours.  This showed him how much support he had, and how stable a position he was in.  

The peasants in Russia had had hardly any land during the time of Dual Power, but now there was complete anarchy.  They were just taking land as they pleased.  So, on 8 November 1917, Lenin said that all the land in Russia should be nationalized, and then handed out equally to the peasants in Russia.  This made sure the peasants had enough land to live on.  However, during the Civil War, the Bolsheviks requisitioned all the grain that the peasants made, and gave it to the soldiers.  However, the peasants did not know this, so they were pleased with their new land. The land nationalization was not an economic success in the long run, but in the short term it would have helped him to strengthen his power and control, as it was a popular policy.

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One of his promises in the April Theses was that he would remove Russia from the First World War, in the hope that this would give the Bolsheviks some support.  However, the treaty, signed on the 20 February 1918, was extremely harsh on Russia; they lost control of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Kars, Ardahan, and Baturn, as well as paying a huge sum of 6,000 million marks to the Germans.  Although this gained a little support, the Russian economy was now very weak, and all of Russia’s former allies were deeply angered.  This removal of Russia from WW1 was a ...

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