The October Revolution did not initiate an immediate world revolution, but it undoubtedly stimulated global reformist transformations in the West, as a result of which the working people achieved significant social gains, and capitalism itself subsequently took on a very civilized decent form of a society of "social partnership". The Bolsheviks did their best to ensure the majority in the Soviets for the workers and members of the party elite as the most proletarian, as a result of which the Soviet power began to acquire the features of a one-party dictatorship. The main instrument of building a new statehood was the Soviet People's Commissars headed by V.I.Lenin, who from the very beginning freed himself from the control of the Soviets and began the formation of a specific Bolshevik political regime authorities. In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed. The contours of Soviet statehood were determined by the first Constitution of the RSFSR, adopted in July 1918, which simultaneously became the very first constitution in Russia as a whole. The Basic Law reflected the influence of the recent revolution and the outbreak of civil war. Former exploiters were deprived of civil rights, unearned elements were excluded from political life, and unequal rights were provided for voters in town and village. The elections were multi-stage, which ensured the required composition of all Soviets.
Until the death of V.I. But already at that time the political regime was deformed, against which the "workers' opposition", the group of "democratic centralism", the opposition of Trotsky, and others tried to fight. The formation of a one-party polit. The resolution “On Party Unity” prohibited the creation of factions or groups in the RCP (b) that had a point of view different from the party leadership. Having introduced like-mindedness in its ranks, the Bolshevik leadership set about its polit. opponents. In December 1921, at the suggestion of the Dzerzhinsky Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), decided to hold an open trial of the Socialist-Revolutionaries. The trial took place in June-August 1922. The tribunal of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee accused the arrested of organizing conspiracies to overthrow the Sov. authorities, in counter-revolutionary propaganda and agitation. In June 1923, a secret instruction “On Measures of Struggle Against the Mensheviks” was developed, in which the task was set to defeat the Menshevik Party. Polit. the opposition outside the Bolshevik Party ceased to exist.
Formation of the USSR. At the suggestion of Lenin on October 6, 1922, the Central Committee of the RCP (b) approved the draft Federal Treaty, according to the cat. all republics were guaranteed equal rights within the newly formed USSR, theoretically the right of freedom to secede from the Union was granted. December 30, 1922, on the day of the opening of the 1st Congress of Soviets of the USSR, which adopted a decision. on the formation of the USSR, already paralyzed Lenin dictated a letter "On the question of nationalities or" autonomization ". Here he outlined his understanding of internationalism, emphasized the need to preserve and strengthen. THE USSR. The formation of the USSR on December 30, 1922 took place as part of 4 republics: the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation. In January 1924 the Constitution of the USSR was adopted. The highest legislator. the organ according to it was the Congress of Soviets of the USSR. He was elected on the basis of an indirect election. rights of deputies of provincial and republican Soviets. In this case, the right to vote was deprived of the so-called. “Non-labor elements,” the elections were not secret, they were held at meetings of labor collectives. M / u congresses of Soviets three times a year gathered the CEC. It consisted of two laws. chambers: Council of the Union and Council of Nationalities. The CEC elected the CEC Presidium and appointed the SNK (executive and administrative body with a number of legislative functions). Thus, the NEP as a whole included the admin.-market system of households under the state. own-ty on a large and that means. part of industry, transport, banks, with unequal exchange with the countryside and authoritarian polit. Regime Authoritarianism is distinguished by a strictly hierarchical structure of power, which does not allow any polit. opposition, however, in the presence of various forms of ownership in the economy. From here int. inconsistency authoritarian regimes, cat. leads to the fact that their development leads either to a gradual democratization of polit. spheres and legal society, or origin. nationalization of the economy with a further tightening of control by the state over politics, ideology and personal life of citizens, as a result, all the "innovations" of NEP demanded the abolition of will force. labor and centuries. labor market, reforming the salary system (a tariff system of remuneration was introduced). A monetary reform was carried out, the result of which was cat. became centuries. in the country of a solid monetary unit, backed by gold - the "gold duct", cat. highly appreciated in the world foreign exchange market. Fastest adapt. small industry to NEP, retail and the village. The restoration of the heavy industry proceeded at a slower pace. After the terrible drought of 1921 and the famine of 1922, the agricultural began to gradually. led away. their volumes. The introduction of the NEP caused a change in the social. structure and way of life of people. The personification of the new econ. regiments were bright, socially heterogeneous types: red people's commissars, directors.
1) The establishment of Soviet power in Russia
From the end of October 1917 to February 1918, Soviet power was established (mainly by peaceful means) in most of the territory of the former Russian Empire.
At the end of 1917 - beginning of 1918, simultaneously with the liquidation of the old bodies of power, a new state apparatus was being created. The supreme legislative body was the Congress of Soviets. In the intervals between congresses, these functions were performed by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (All-Russian Central Executive Committee). The supreme executive body was the Council of People's Commissars (government), headed by V.I. Lenin.
After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly on January 5, 1918, which at its first meeting refused to support the October Revolution, the Third Congress of Soviets was held. At this congress, Russia was declared the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).
The new organization of power was enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR, adopted at the V Congress of Soviets in 1918.
The Left SRs were the only party to join the government bloc with the Bolsheviks. However, already in March 1918 the bloc disintegrated: the Left Social Revolutionaries left the government in protest against the imprisonment Brest Peace.
After the exclusion of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks from the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and local Soviets (June 1918), we can talk about the actual establishment of a one-party system in the Soviet Republic.
One of the key issues of the young Soviet power was the question of the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, over which even a big internal party struggle unfolded.
Having embarked on a grandiose transformation of Russia, the Bolsheviks were in dire need of peace on the outer borders. Continued World War... The Entente countries ignored the Bolshevik Peace Decree. It was obvious that the Russian army was not in a position to fight, and mass desertions began.
I had to negotiate a separate peace with Germany. They took place in Brest-Litovsk. The conditions proposed by the enemy were humiliating: Germany demanded that Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Estonia and Livonia be torn away from Russia. Trotsky thwarted the negotiations. On February 18, 1918, the Germans resumed hostilities. On February 23 (the birthday of the Soviet Army), the Germans present even more difficult peace conditions, according to which Finland, Ukraine and some regions of the Transcaucasia are torn away from Russia. Finally, on March 3, 1918, the contract is signed.
I must say that the Brest-Litovsk Peace was nevertheless a necessary measure, it was necessary for the young Soviet republic to keep the Bolsheviks in power.
2) Formation of a one-party system
We can talk about the formation of a one-party system in our country since July 1918, because the Left Social Revolutionaries, not participating in the government in October-November 1917 and March-July 1918, had seats in the Soviets of all levels, the leadership of the people's commissariats and the Cheka , with their noticeable participation, the first Constitution of the RSFSR, the most important laws of Soviet power, were created. Some Mensheviks also actively collaborated in the Soviets at that time.
The suppression of pluralism began immediately after the October Revolution. By the decree "On the arrest of the leaders of the civil war against the revolution" of November 28, 1917, one party was banned - the Cadets. The strength of the cadets lay in their intellectual potential, ties with the commercial, industrial and military circles, and the support of the allies. But just this ban of the party could not undermine, most likely it was an act of revenge on the once most influential enemy.
The real rivals of the Bolsheviks in the struggle for the masses were the anarchists. They took an active part in the establishment and consolidation of Soviet power, but posed a threat to the Bolsheviks with their demand for centralism. They expressed a spontaneous protest of the peasantry and urban lower classes against the state, from which they saw only taxes and the omnipotence of officials. In April 1918, the anarchists were dispersed. The pretext for their defeat was their undoubted connection with criminal elements, which gave the authorities a reason to call all anarchists without exception bandits. Some of the anarchists went underground, while others joined the Bolshevik Party.
On the other hand, the right-wing Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries competed with the Bolsheviks, expressing the interests of more moderate layers of workers and peasants who yearned for political and economic stabilization in order to improve their material situation. The Bolsheviks relied on the further development of the class struggle, transferring it to the countryside, which further increased the gap between them and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, formed in connection with the conclusion of the Brest Peace. As a result, in June, the Mensheviks and Right SRs, and after July, the Left SRs were expelled from the Soviets. The Socialist-Revolutionaries-maximalists still remained in them, however, due to their small number, they did not play a significant role.
During the years of foreign military intervention and the civil war, depending on the change in the policy of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary parties in relation to the power of the Soviets, they were either allowed or again prohibited, passing to a semi-legal position. Attempts from both sides to conditional cooperation have not been developed.
The course to eradicate political pluralism and prevent a multiparty system was confirmed by the resolution of the XII All-Russian Conference of the RCP (b) in August 1922 "On anti-Soviet parties and trends", which declared all anti-Bolshevik forces anti-Soviet, i.e. anti-state, although in reality most of them encroached not on the power of the Soviets, but on the power of the Bolsheviks in the Soviets. Measures of ideological struggle were to be directed against them, first of all. Repression was not ruled out, but officially had to play a subordinate role.
The process of the Combat Organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, organized in the summer of 1922, was intended to play primarily a propaganda role. Held in the Column Hall of the House of Unions in Moscow in the presence of a large public, foreign observers and defenders, and widely reported in the press, the process was supposed to present the SRs as ruthless terrorists. After that, the Extraordinary Congress of ordinary members of the AKP passed easily, announcing the dissolution of the party. Then the Georgian and Ukrainian Mensheviks announced their dissolution. In recent literature, facts about the role of the RCP (b) and the OGPU in the preparation and conduct of these congresses have been made public.
Thus, on a multi-party system in 1922-1923. the cross was finally put up. It seems that from this time it is possible to date the completion of the formation of a one-party system, a decisive step towards which was made in 1918.
21. Civil war in Russia: causes, stages, results, consequences.
After October uprising a tense socio-political situation developed in the country, which led to the Civil War. The reasons for the Civil War: the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly by the Bolsheviks; internal policy of the Bolshevik leadership; the desire of the overthrown classes to preserve private property and their privileges; refusal of the Mensheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries and anarchists from cooperation with the Soviet government. The peculiarity of the Civil War in Russia lay in its close intertwining with foreign intervention. Germany, France, England, USA, Japan, Poland and others took part in the intervention. They supplied the anti-Bolshevik forces with weapons, provided financial and military-political support. The policy of the interventionists was determined by the desire to put an end to the Bolshevik regime and prevent the "spreading" of the revolution, return the lost property of foreign citizens and obtain new territories and spheres of influence at the expense of Russia. In 1918, the main centers of the anti-Bolshevik movement were formed in Moscow and Petrograd, which united the Cadets, Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries. A strong anti-Bolshevik movement developed among the Cossacks. On the Don and Kuban, they were headed by General P.N. Krasnov, in the South Urals - ataman P.I. Dutov. The basis of the white movement in southern Russia and the North Caucasus was the Volunteer Army of General L.S. Kornilov. In the spring of 1918, foreign intervention began. German troops occupied Ukraine, Crimea and part of the North Caucasus, Romania captured Bessarabia. In March, the British corps landed in Murmansk. In April, Vladivostok was occupied by a Japanese landing party. Soldiers revolted in May 1918 Czechoslovak Corps who were in captivity in Russia. The uprising led to the overthrow of Soviet power in the Volga region and Siberia. In early September 1918 troops Eastern Front under the command of I.I. Vatsetis went on the offensive and during October-November drove the enemy out of the Urals. The restoration of Soviet power in the Urals and the Volga region ended the first stage of the civil war. At the end of 1918 - 1919. the white movement has reached its maximum scope. In 1919, a plan was created for a simultaneous strike on Soviet power: from the east (A.V. Kolchak), the south (A.I.Denikin) and the west (N.N. Yudenich). However, it was not possible to carry out the combined performance. The troops of S.S. Kamenev and M.V. Frunze stopped the offensive of A.V. Kolchak and drove him to Siberia. Two offensives of N.N. Yudenich against Petrograd ended in defeat. In July 1919 A.I. Denikin captured Ukraine and launched an offensive against Moscow. The Southern Front was formed under the command of A.I. Egorova. In December 1919 - early 1920, the troops of A.I. Denikin were defeated. Soviet power was restored in southern Russia, Ukraine and the North Caucasus. In 1919, the interventionists were forced to withdraw their troops. This was facilitated by the revolutionary ferment in the occupation units and the social movement in Europe and the United States under the slogan "Hands off Soviet Russia! "The main events of the final stage of the Civil War in 1920 were the Soviet-Polish war and the struggle against P.N. Wrangel. In May 1920, Polish troops invaded Belarus and Ukraine. The Red Army under the command of M.N. Tukhachevsky and PI Egorova in May 1920 defeated the Polish grouping and launched an offensive on Warsaw, which soon collapsed.In March 1921, a peace treaty was signed, according to which Poland received the lands of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. , elected "ruler of the south of Russia", formed the "Russian Army" in Crimea and launched an offensive on Donbass.At the end of October 1920, the troops of the Red Army under the command of MV Frunze defeated the army of PN Wrangel in Northern Tavria and drove it back remnants in the Crimea. PN Wrangel's defeat marked the end of the civil war. The Bolsheviks won the civil war and repelled foreign intervention. This victory was due to a number of reasons. to raise it into a single military camp, international solidarity, the help of the proletariat of Europe and the United States was of great importance. The policy of the White Guards - the abolition of the Decree on Land, the return of land to its former owners, unwillingness to cooperate with the liberal and socialist parties, punitive expeditions, pogroms, mass executions of prisoners - all this caused discontent among the population, including armed resistance. During the civil war, the opponents of the Bolsheviks failed to agree on a single program and a single leader of the movement. The civil war was a terrible tragedy for Russia. Material damage amounted to more than 50 billion rubles. gold. Industrial production decreased by 7 times. In battles, from hunger, disease and terror, 8 million people died, 2 million people were forced to emigrate.
The beginning of the formation of a one-party political system
In January 1918 ᴦ. the III All-Russian Congress of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies took place. He supported the Bolsheviks. The Congress approved the "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People", approved the draft law on the socialization of the land, proclaimed the federal principle state structure Russian Soviet Socialist Republic (RSFSR) and instructed the All-Russian Central Executive Committee to develop the basic provisions of the country's Constitution.
July 10, 1918 ᴦ. The V Congress of Soviets approved the first Constitution of the RSFSR. The Constitution proclaimed the proletarian character of the Soviet state, the federal principle of the state structure of the RSFSR and the course towards building socialism. Representatives of the former exploiting classes, clergymen, officers and police agents were deprived of the right to vote. The advantage of workers over peasants in the norms of representation during elections to government bodies was introduced (1 vote of a worker was equal to 5 votes of peasants). The elections were not general, direct, secret and equal. The constitution established the system of central and local government.
The Constitution declared the introduction of political freedoms (speech, press, meetings, rallies, processions). At the same time, in practice, this had no real confirmation. Moreover, the first Soviet Constitution did not provide for the participation of the possessing classes and their parties in the political struggle.
Until October 1918 ᴦ. IN AND. Lenin expressed his firm conviction that the masses of the people through the Soviets were capable of running the state. But very soon it turned out that practice was at odds with the forecast. In 1919 ᴦ. IN AND. Lenin: ʼʼ Because of Russian specifics, ᴛ.ᴇ. lack of culture, the masses with might and main cannot govern the state. "The dictatorship of the proletariat" in our country from the very beginning began to mean the rule of a narrow layer of the Communist Party. Elections to the Soviets were held more formally, with selected candidates pre-appointed to deputy positions. In practice, "Soviet power" and "Bolshevik power" increasingly merged. A one-party political system began to take shape in the RSFSR.
Economic transformation.
During the short period of its tenure in power, the provisional government could not solve the main socio-economic, political and national problems of the country. All these unsolved problems now confronted the Soviet government.
Before coming to power, the Bolsheviks envisioned a socialist economy as an economy without private property, directive, where the state must take into its own hands all goods and give them out to the population as it is of utmost importance.
For this reason, immediately after October 1917 ᴦ. the Bolsheviks began to pursue a line on the destruction of private property. Since November 1917 ᴦ. the authorities organized a "Red Guard attack on capital". A number of large enterprises and industries were nationalized. Further, decrees were adopted on the nationalization of banks, railway transport, and a monopoly on foreign trade... The beginning of the creation of the public sector in the economy was laid. December 1917 ᴦ. to guide the public sector in the economy was created Supreme Council National economy(VSNKh). The transfer of enterprises to state control laid the foundations for "state socialism."
In the spring of 1918 ᴦ. the implementation of the Land Decree began. The peasants were to receive free of charge 150 million acres of land belonging to the landowners, the bourgeoisie, the church, and monasteries. The 3 billion debt of peasants to banks was canceled. The poor peasants greeted the implementation of the Land Decree with approval. The land was divided equally among all seven groups of peasants, and the individual small farming of peasants was preserved. Landlord ownership of land was destroyed in the country, and along with it the landlord class ceased to exist.
The agrarian policy of the Bolsheviks caused social tension in the countryside, since the Soviet government supported the poor. This aroused the discontent of the well-to-do kulak peasants. The kulaks began to hold on to marketable (for sale) bread. In the cities there was a threat of famine. In this regard, the Council of People's Commissars switched to a policy of harsh pressure on the countryside. In May 1918 ᴦ. a food dictatorship was introduced. This meant the prohibition of the grain trade and the seizure of food supplies from wealthy peasants. Food detachments (food detachments) were sent to the village. Οʜᴎ relied on the help of the committees of the poor (kombeda), created in June 1918 ᴦ. instead of local councils. The "black redistribution" of the land dealt a blow to the large farms of landowners, wealthy peasants (otrubnikov, farmers), ᴛ.ᴇ. destroyed positive sides agrarian reform P.A. Stolypin. Equal distribution led to a drop in labor productivity and agricultural marketability, and to a worse use of land.
The food dictatorship did not justify itself and failed because instead of the planned 144 million poods of grain, only 13 were collected, and also led to the actions of the peasants against the power of the Bolsheviks
Social transformations.
Democratic transformations were carried out in the social sphere. Soviet power finally destroyed the estate system, abolished pre-revolutionary ranks and titles. Free education and medical care were established. Women were given equal rights with men. The Marriage and Family Decree introduced the institution of civil marriage. The Decree on the 8-hour working day was adopted, a labor code that prohibited the exploitation of child labor, guaranteed a system of labor protection for women and adolescents, and the payment of unemployment and sickness benefits. Freedom of conscience was proclaimed. The church was separated from the state and from the education system. Most of the church property was confiscated.
National policy Of the Soviet state was determined by the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" adopted by the Council of People's Commissars on November 2, 1917 ᴦ. It proclaimed the equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia, their right to self-determination and the formation of independent states. (See Additional textbook material 1 and 2) In December 1917 ᴦ. The Soviet government recognized the independence of Ukraine and Finland, in August 1918 ᴦ. - Poland, in December - Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, in February 1919 ᴦ. - Belarus. Self-determination of peoples was becoming a reality. National movements were led by intellectuals, entrepreneurs, clergy, bourgeois and moderate parties, which nominated prominent political leaders. The Transcaucasian Democratic Party also proclaimed its independence federal Republic; after its disintegration (in June) the Azerbaijan, Armenian and Georgian bourgeois republics arose.
In May 1918 ᴦ. the nationalist government of the North Caucasus ("Union of the United Caucasus Highlanders"), which arose before the October events, declared the independence of the North Caucasian state and its separation from Russia. In September 1919 ᴦ. was created an independent "North Caucasian Emirate" in Nagorno-Chechnya. Autumn 1918 ᴦ. Polish statehood was restored from the lands that were part of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.
The first Soviet Constitution of the RSFSR (adopted on July 10, 1918) consolidated the principle of unitarity of the new state, but the peoples of Russia received the right to regional autonomy. Peoples Of the Russian state within the framework of the autonomy they could realize their national interests.
In 1918 ᴦ. the first national regional associations were: the Turkestan Soviet Republic, the Labor Commune of the Volga Germans, the Soviet Socialist Republic of Taurida (Crimea). In March 1919 ᴦ. the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Republic was proclaimed, and in 1920 ᴦ. Tatar and Kirghiz became autonomous republics. TO autonomous regions joined Kalmyk, Mari, Votskaya, Karachay-Cherkess, Chuvash. Karelia became the Labor Commune. In 1921-1922, the Kazakh, Gorsk, Dagestan, Crimean autonomous republics, Komi-Zyryansk, Kabardin, Mongol-Buryat, Oirot, Circassian, Chechen autonomous regions were created.
The right to autonomy was deprived of the Cossacks, which had formed over the course of several centuries at the expense of the Russian, Ukrainian, Kalmyk, Bashkir, Yakut and other peoples of Russia and lived compactly. In this case, the central government expressed concern about the Cossacks as a "socially dangerous element." The interests of the Russian population were not taken into account either.
Moreover, in its practical activities the Bolshevik leadership sought to overcome the further disintegration of Russia. Using local party organizations, it contributed to the establishment of Soviet power in the national regions, provided financial and material assistance Soviet republics The Baltic states.
Brest Peace
November 26, 1917 ᴦ. the Bolsheviks adopted the "Decree on Peace", which, among other things, contained an appeal to the peoples and governments of the belligerent countries to conclude a democratic peace without annexations and indemnities. Then the Soviet state did not recognize a single state in the world. Only Germany was on the verge of defeat and responded to the Peace Decree.
On December 2, an armistice was signed with Germany. Then in ᴦ. Brest-Litovsk (now ᴦ. Brest) began negotiations for peace. The Soviet delegation proposed to conclude a peace without annexations and indemnities. Germany sought to take advantage of weakness and isolation Soviet government... January 1, 1918 ᴦ. Germany presented Russia with a tough ultimatum: demanding to transfer to it a huge territory - Poland, part of the Baltic states, Ukraine, Belarus - an area of 150 thousand square meters. km.
In the Bolshevik state, the ultimatum caused sharp controversy. So, the minority of the members of the Central Committee, together with V.I. Lenin insisted on unconditional acceptance of the German conditions, since the Bolsheviks did not have the strength to continue the war. But the majority of the members of the Central Committee believed that it was impossible to sign a peace agreement on such humiliating conditions, since this would postpone the world revolution for an indefinite period. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky and his supporters spoke in favor of refusing to sign the peace at the negotiations, proposing to do this only after the German troops go over to the offensive, and there is a direct threat of the death of Soviet power. Οʜᴎ proposed the following formula for Brest-Litovsk: "No peace, no war." N.I. Bukharin and his supporters (called the "left communists") believed that the Soviet state, having concluded a separate peace with Germany, would become an "accomplice" of German imperialism. Οʜᴎ demanded to end negotiations and announce revolutionary war international imperialism and provoke a revolutionary crisis in Europe.
The Bolsheviks decided to drag out the peace negotiations. L. D. Trotsky in February 1918 ᴦ. came up with the famous formula: "We do not sign peace, we do not wage war, but we dissolve the army." In response, on February 18, German troops launched an offensive along the entire front.
There was a direct threat to the Soviet state. The Bolsheviks accepted the terms of the German ultimatum, but the Germans tightened their demands. Now they wanted to seize a territory of 750 thousand square meters from Russia. km. With a population of 50 million people: the entire Baltic region, Belarus and part of the Transcaucasia (Ardahan, Kars, Batum) in favor of Turkey. Future destiny the territories seized from Russia, according to the peace treaty, will be "determined" by Germany. Russia had to pay an indemnity of 3 billion rubles. (the amount could be increased by Germany unilaterally), stop revolutionary propaganda in the Central European countries.
There was no military threat to Germany from Russia at that time. The fact is that the theoretical substantiation of the extremely importance of the destruction of Russia by Germany was prepared for the leadership of the Reich as early as 1915-1916. The program of German expansion to the east at the expense of Russia had by that time become an integral part of the political thinking of the German elite. Putting forward the "predatory" terms of the peace treaty, the German Reich embarked on the first stage of destroying the independent Russian state.
March 3, 1918 ᴦ. The Russian delegation signed a treaty without discussion to end the state of war with imperial Germany and its allies.
Only the complete victory of the Entente countries over Germany could save the independent Soviet state.
November Revolution in Germany 1918 ᴦ. led to the collapse of imperial Germany. November 11, 1919 ᴦ. German troops surrendered to Western front... This allowed Moscow to annul the Brest Peace Treaty on the same day and return most of the territories lost on it. German troops left the territory of Ukraine. Soviet power was established in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia. The preconditions for the preservation of Russian statehood were restored. (The "robber" nature of the Brest peace diktat largely determined the rigidity of the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which most Germans perceived as national humiliation, although the terms of the Versailles Peace Treaty were much more civilized than those of the Brest Treaty).
Question 45. Civil War and the Politics of War Communism
War communism (politics of war communism) - name domestic policy Soviet Russia during the Civil War of 1918-1921.
The essence of war communism was to prepare the country for a new, communist society, the new authorities were oriented towards ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ. War communism was characterized by such features as:
· The extreme degree of centralization of management of the entire economy;
· Nationalization of industry (from small to large);
· A ban on private trade and curtailment of commodity-money relations;
· State monopolization of many branches of agriculture;
· Militarization of labor (focus on the military industry);
· Total equalization, when everyone received an equal amount of goods and goods.
It was on the basis of these principles that it was planned to build a new state where there are no rich and poor, where everyone is equal and everyone receives exactly as much as is extremely important for a normal life. Scientists believe that the introduction new policies was extremely important in order not only to survive in the conditions of the Civil War, but also to quickly rebuild the country for a new type of society.
The beginning of the formation of a one-party political system - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "The beginning of the formation of a one-party political system" 2017, 2018.
Civil war in Russia: causes, course, results.
The beginning of the civil war is usually attributed to October 25, 1917... However, until the middle of 1918, opposition to Bolshevism from the monarchist and bourgeois parties hoped to avoid the outbreak of a civil war and decide their fate by peaceful means, mainly parliamentary. Until the middle of 1918, armed uprisings of individual units were observed under the leadership of military and political leaders ( Kerensky, Dukhonin, Krasnov). From May 1918, white armies were formed and resistance to Bolshevism acquired an organized character. Foreign powers (USA, England, France, Japan) intervened in the course of the civil war, carrying out intervention and financial and technical assistance to the white armies. These countries sought to stop the spread of Bolshevism to their territories and return the money invested in the Russian economy.
Periodization of the Civil War:
4) Stage III February 1919 - spring 1920;
Formation of a one-party system in the country. 1918 - late 1920s
We can talk about the formation of a one-party system in our country since July 1918, because the Left Social Revolutionaries, not participating in the government in October-November 1917 and March-July 1918, had seats in the Soviets of all levels, the leadership of the people's commissariats and the Cheka , with their noticeable participation, the first Constitution of the RSFSR, the most important laws of Soviet power, were created. Some Mensheviks also actively collaborated in the Soviets at that time.
The suppression of pluralism began immediately after the October Revolution. By the decree "On the arrest of the leaders of the civil war against the revolution" of November 28, 1917, one party was banned - the Cadets. The strength of the cadets lay in their intellectual potential, ties with the commercial, industrial and military circles, and the support of the allies. But just this ban of the party could not undermine, most likely it was an act of revenge on the once most influential enemy.
The real rivals of the Bolsheviks in the struggle for the masses were the anarchists. They took an active part in the establishment and consolidation of Soviet power, but posed a threat to the Bolsheviks with their demand for centralism. They expressed a spontaneous protest of the peasantry and urban lower classes against the state, from which they saw only taxes and the omnipotence of officials. In April 1918, the anarchists were dispersed. The pretext for their defeat was their undoubted connection with criminal elements, which gave the authorities a reason to call all anarchists without exception bandits. Some of the anarchists went underground, while others joined the Bolshevik Party.
On the other hand, the right-wing Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries competed with the Bolsheviks, expressing the interests of more moderate layers of workers and peasants who yearned for political and economic stabilization in order to improve their material situation. The Bolsheviks relied on the further development of the class struggle, transferring it to the countryside, which further increased the gap between them and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, formed in connection with the conclusion of the Brest Peace. As a result, in June, the Mensheviks and Right SRs, and after July, the Left SRs were expelled from the Soviets. The Socialist-Revolutionaries-maximalists still remained in them, however, due to their small number, they did not play a significant role.
During the years of foreign military intervention and the civil war, depending on the change in the policy of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary parties in relation to the power of the Soviets, they were either allowed or again prohibited, passing to a semi-legal position. Attempts from both sides to conditional cooperation have not been developed.
The course to eradicate political pluralism and prevent a multiparty system was confirmed by the resolution of the XII All-Russian Conference of the RCP (b) in August 1922 "On anti-Soviet parties and trends", which declared all anti-Bolshevik forces anti-Soviet, i.e. anti-state, although in reality most of them encroached not on the power of the Soviets, but on the power of the Bolsheviks in the Soviets. Measures of ideological struggle were to be directed against them, first of all. Repression was not ruled out, but officially had to play a subordinate role.
The process of the Combat Organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, organized in the summer of 1922, was intended to play primarily a propaganda role. Held in the Column Hall of the House of Unions in Moscow in the presence of a large public, foreign observers and defenders, and widely reported in the press, the process was supposed to present the SRs as ruthless terrorists. After that, the Extraordinary Congress of ordinary members of the AKP passed easily, announcing the dissolution of the party. Then the Georgian and Ukrainian Mensheviks announced their dissolution. In recent literature, facts about the role of the RCP (b) and the OGPU in the preparation and conduct of these congresses have been made public.
Thus, on a multi-party system in 1922-1923. the cross was finally put up. It seems that from this time it is possible to date the completion of the formation of a one-party system, a decisive step towards which was made in 1918.
The struggle for power in Russia in 1917 is key event for the history of the state, the result of which was the establishment of a one-party system in the country.
During the events in February 1917, the absolute monarchy was overthrown, replaced by the Provisional Government, which, according to estimates, was weak and indecisive, as a result of which it was overthrown in the October Revolution by radical socialists, the Bolshevik faction of the Social Democratic Party, who separated and formed "Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)". By the summer of 1918, the final stage of the formation of a one-party government under the leadership of V.I. Lenin. It is worth noting that most modern researchers agree that the creation of just such a model of the state was not originally planned by the Bolsheviks and became pure improvisation in the face of a tough struggle for power.
After coming to power, the Bolsheviks faced several alternatives for further state building: the power of the Soviets with the formation in them of a "homogeneous socialist government" from different socialist parties, the dissolution of the Soviets in the party organization with the transfer state power directly to the party, the preservation of the Soviets with the subordination of their party. The third option was chosen, and the center of decision-making moves from the Soviet bodies to the party bodies, from the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars to the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b).
The V Congress of Soviets adopts the 1918 Constitution. The Constitution finally fixed that the Soviets are the only power in Russia. The system of Soviets was unified, and the deprivation of the electoral rights of the former "qualifying elements" was also finally fixed, the circle of which was determined as follows:
1.Persons resorting to hired labor for the purpose of making a profit;
2. persons living on unearned income, such as interest on capital, income from enterprises, income from property, etc .;
3. private traders, trade and commercial intermediaries;
4. monks and clergymen of churches and religious cults;
5. employees and agents of the former police, a special corps of gendarmes and security departments, as well as members of the house that reigned in Russia; Protasov L.G. All-Russian constituent Assembly... The story of birth and death. M., 1997.
Also, the electoral rights were deprived of persons recognized in established order mentally ill or insane, as well as persons under guardianship: persons convicted of mercenary and defamatory crimes for a period established by law or a court sentence.
In total, about five million people were deprived of voting rights.
The course towards the establishment of a one-party political system (such a system under which the only and, therefore, ruling party is preserved) fully corresponded to the theoretical ideas about the state of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The authorities, based on direct violence and systematically using it against "hostile classes", did not even allow the thought of the possibility of political rivalry and opposition from other parties. Equally intolerable for this system was the existence of dissent, alternative groups within the ruling party. In the 20s. the formation of a one-party system was completed. The NEP, which allowed elements of the market, private initiative, and entrepreneurship in the economic sphere, in the political sphere retained and even toughened up the military-communist intolerance towards "enemies and hesitants."
By 1923 the remnants of the multiparty system were eliminated. The 1922 trial of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, accused of organizing conspiracies against the Soviet regime and the leaders of the Communist Party, put an end to more than twenty years of the party's history. In 1923, the persecuted and intimidated Mensheviks announced their self-dissolution. The Bund ceased to exist. These were left-wing, socialist parties; monarchist and liberal parties were liquidated in the first years after the October Revolution of 1917.
Political opponents outside the ranks of the Communist Party were done away with. It remained to achieve unity within the party. The question of the unity of V.I. After the end of the Civil War, Lenin considered it the key, "a matter of life and death." The X Congress of the RCP (b) in 1921, at his insistence, adopted the famous resolution "On Party Unity", which prohibited any factional activity. In the equally famous last works of 1922-1923. The seriously ill leader called on his heirs to preserve the unity of the party "like the apple of an eye": he saw the main threat in the split of its ranks.
Meanwhile, the internal party struggle, which had intensified during Lenin's lifetime, flared up with renewed vigor after his death (January 1924). Her driving forces there were, on the one hand, disagreements about which direction and how to move on (what to do with NEP; what policy to pursue in the countryside; how to develop industry; where to get money to modernize the economy, etc.), and personal rivalry in an irreconcilable battle for absolute power - on the other.
The main stages of the internal party struggle in the 1920s:
1923-1924 - "triumvirate" (IV Stalin, GE Zinoviev and LB Kamenev) against L.D. Trotsky. Ideological content: Trotsky demands an end to the retreat in front of the petty-bourgeois element, "tighten the screws", tighten the command leadership of the economy, accuses the party leaders of degeneration. Outcome: the victory of the "triumvirate", personal strengthening of Stalin.
1925 - Stalin, N.I. Bukharin, A.I. Rykov, M.P. Tomsky and others against the "new opposition" of Zinoviev and Kamenev. Ideological content: Stalin puts forward the thesis about "the possibility of building socialism in a single country"; the opposition defends the old slogan of "world revolution" and criticizes the authoritarian methods of leading the party. The result: the victory of Stalin, the rapprochement of the "new opposition" with Trotsky.
1926-1927 - Stalin, Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky and others against the "united opposition" of Zinoviev, Kamenev, Trotsky ("Trotskyite-Zinoviev bloc"). Ideological content: the struggle continues around the Stalinist thesis about building socialism in a single country. The opposition demands to speed up the development of industry by "siphoning" money from the countryside. The result: Stalin's victory, the removal of opposition leaders from leading posts in the party and state, exile and then the expulsion from the country of Trotsky.
1928-1929 - Stalin against the "Right Opposition" (Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky). Ideological content: Stalin puts forward a course for forced industrialization, carried out at the expense of the peasantry, speaks of the intensification of the class struggle; Bukharin and others are developing the theory of "growing" into socialism, civil peace and the support of the peasantry. The result: the victory of Stalin, the defeat of the "right opposition". http://www.portal-slovo.ru/history/35430.php
Thus, the internal party struggle in the 1920s. ended with the personal victory of Stalin, who by 1929 seized absolute power in the party and state. Together with him, the policy of abandoning NEP, forced industrialization, collectivization of agriculture, and the establishment of a command economy won.
Since the victory of the Bolsheviks in a fierce struggle for power, passing through Civil war, the destruction and suppression of the opposing parties, we can say that since 1920 the Communist Party was the only legal one in the USSR.
In the 30s. The CPSU (b) was a single, strictly centralized, rigidly subordinate mechanism. The Communist Party was the only legal political organization. The Soviets, which were formally the main organs of the dictatorship of the proletariat, acted under its control, all state decisions were made by the Politburo and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and only then were they formalized by government decrees. Leading party leaders held leading positions in the state. Through the party organs went all personnel work: no appointment could have been made without the approval of party cells.
The Komsomol, trade unions and public organizations basically simply tied the party to the masses. Trade unions for workers, the Komsomol for youth, a pioneer organization for children and adolescents, creative unions for the intelligentsia), they played the role of party representatives in various strata of society, helping her to lead all spheres of the country's life.
In the 30s. the previously developed and expanded repressive apparatus (the NKVD, extrajudicial authorities - "troikas", the Main Department of the camps - the GULAG, etc.) worked at full speed, the use of which brought millions of victims among the people.
The result of this period can be considered the adoption of the constitution in 1936. She guaranteed citizens the entire range of democratic rights and freedoms. Another thing is that most of them were deprived of citizens. The USSR was characterized as a socialist state of workers and peasants. The Constitution noted that socialism was basically built, public socialist ownership of the means of production was established. The Soviets of Working People's Deputies were recognized as the political basis of the USSR, and the role of the leading nucleus of society was assigned to the CPSU (b). There was no principle of separation of powers. The USSR Constitution of 1936 brought closer political system to a parliamentary-type system, although, of course, she did not bring this idea to the end. This period is characterized by great changes in the organization of state unity. Centralization is noticeably increasing: the competence of the Union is expanding, respectively, the rights of the Union republics are narrowed.
During the Great Patriotic War, the state was undergoing a military restructuring, which was expressed in the fact that on June 22, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the Decree "On martial law", and on June 29, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Council of People's Commissars and to the Soviet bodies with a directive, which outlined in general form the program of measures of the Communist Party and the state in the fight against the fascist aggressor. The restructuring of the state apparatus was carried out. During the war, the highest bodies of state power and administration of the USSR retained their powers: the Supreme Soviet and its Presidium, the Council of People's Commissars, sectoral and republican bodies of power and administration, local Soviet bodies. The created temporary emergency authorities and administration, including the State Defense Committee (GKO), relied in their activities on the apparatus of the Soviets and other constitutional bodies.
Started in the mid-50s. course towards democratization of state life also affected the form of state unity, as a result of which in the 50s. a number of measures were taken to expand the rights of the union republics. In 1954-1955. over 11 thousand industrial enterprises were transferred from the union subordination to the jurisdiction of the union republics. As a result, the proportion of enterprises of republican and local subordination increased from 31% in 1953 to 47% in 1955. In the period from 50-60, the state apparatus was changed in order to democratize state structure and remove centralism. In January 1957, the Central Committee of the CPSU adopted a resolution "On improving the activities of the Soviets of Working People's Deputies and strengthening their ties with the masses." It can be said that the measures taken were not in vain, life in the Soviets revived: sessions began to be convened regularly, at which issues of economic and cultural development were discussed and decided, the activities of the standing committees of the Soviets intensified, and the Soviets' ties with the population became closer. Also, it is worth noting that in 1957-1960. v union republics new Regulations on local (rural and regional) Soviets of Working People's Deputies were adopted, which regulated their rights and obligations, the procedure for their activities. Measures were taken to improve the rule of law and law abidance, and the judicial system was reformed. Political history: Russia - USSR - Russian Federation. - M., 1996.
Since the mid-60s, the USSR has entered a period of slowing down the pace of social development, there is a tendency to abandon those innovations in public administration that were carried out before this.
Resignation from leading party and government posts of N. S. Khrushchev in October 1964 was, as the subsequent twenty years showed, an important milestone in Soviet history. The era of the "thaw", energetic, albeit often ill-conceived reform, gave way to a time marked by the stamp of conservatism, stability, retreat to the old order (partial, not in all directions). There was no complete return to Stalinism: the party-state leadership, which did not hide sympathy for the Stalinist times, did not want a repetition of repressions and purges that threatened its own well-being. And objectively, the situation in the mid-60s. was completely different from the situation of the 30s. Simple mobilization of resources, over-centralization of management, non-economic coercion were useless in solving the problems that the scientific and technical, and later the technological revolution posed before society. These circumstances were taken into account by the company started in 1965. economic reform, the development and implementation of which was associated with the name of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR A.N. Kosygin. The idea was to update the economic mechanism, expand the independence of enterprises, introduce material incentives, and supplement administrative regulation with economic ones. The idea of the reform was already controversial.
On the one hand, it was proposed to rely on commodity-money relations and economic methods management. The enterprises independently planned the rate of growth of labor productivity, average wages, and cost reduction. They had at their disposal a large share of the profits that could be used to raise workers' wages. The number of planned indicators by which the activity of enterprises was assessed decreased, among them appeared such as profit, profitability, payroll, and the volume of products sold.
On the other side, basic constructions The reform did not dismantle the command system. The sectoral principle of managing the economy through ministries was restored. Directive planning remained in force, and the performance of enterprises was evaluated, in the final analysis, according to the indicators of the fulfillment of planned targets. The pricing mechanism, slightly adjusted, has not essentially changed: prices were set in an administrative manner. The old system of supplying enterprises with raw materials, machinery, equipment, etc.
We can say that the reform has yielded results. The slowdown in economic growth has stopped, wage workers and employees. But by the end of the 60s. industrial reform has actually ceased. In the 70-80s. the economy developed extensively: new enterprises were built (but only a few technically and technologically corresponded to the world level - VAZ, KamAZ), the extraction of irreplaceable natural resources (oil, gas, ore, etc.) grew, the number of people employed in manual and low-skilled labor increased. Despite all efforts, the economy rejected the latest technical developments. Achievements of scientific and technological progress were implemented extremely poorly. Qualitative indicators (labor productivity, profit, profit-to-cost ratio) deteriorated.
It was a dead end: the command economy could not work effectively under the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution, but the country's leadership still tried to solve all the problems mainly by administrative means. The deadlock is dangerous, since the gap between the developed world economy and the USSR economy was steadily increasing.
In the social and political life of the country, conservative tendencies reigned supreme. Their ideological justification was the concept of developed socialism, according to which the slow, planned, gradual improvement of real socialism, built in the USSR "completely and finally", will take up a whole historical epoch. In 1977, this concept was legislatively enshrined in the preamble of the new Constitution of the USSR. For the first time, the thesis about the leading and guiding role of the CPSU received the status of a constitutional norm. The Constitution declared the USSR a state of the whole people, proclaimed a full set of democratic rights and freedoms of citizens.
Real life did not fully comply with the requirements of the Constitution. Councils of People's Deputies at all levels remained a decoration, power belonged to the party apparatus, which prepared and accepted everything. major decisions... His control over society, as in previous years, was all-encompassing. It is another matter that the apparatus and the nomenklatura that made it up (party and state officials of a certain level), using the term of those years, were “reborn”. L.I. Brezhnev, who for 18 years held the post of First (since 1966 - General) Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, considered it necessary to maintain the staff stability of the apparatus, strengthen its privileges, and refrain from harsh actions against the nomenklatura. Yu.S. Kukushkin, O.I. Chistyakov Essay on the history of the Soviet Constitution. M., 1987.
The party elite, keenly aware of the changes, was burdened by the fact that its omnipotence was not backed up by property. The further, the more she strove to secure for herself the share of public property that she controlled. The merging of the party-state apparatus with the "shadow economy", corruption began in the 70-80s. an important factor in social and political life. Their existence was officially recognized after the death of Brezhnev by the new General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Yu.V. Andropov (1982-1984). Investigation of criminal cases, in which high-ranking officials and officials were accused, showed the scale and danger of the crisis. All about the Communist Party // http://www.kpss.ru/
The emergence of the dissident movement also testified to the crisis. Human rights, religious, national, environmental organizations, despite the repressions of the authorities (arrests, camps, exile, deportation from the country, etc.), opposed neo-Stalinism, for reforms, respect for human rights, and renunciation of the party's monopoly on power. The dissident movement was not massive, but it spoke of the growth of opposition sentiments, of dissatisfaction with the current situation. The most stable era in Soviet history ended with its own denial: society demanded change. Stability turned into stagnation, conservatism - immobility, continuity - a crisis.
Thus, the logical end of the crisis was such a process as "perestroika", starting in 1986 and the final collapse of the USSR. In the "perestroika" period, there are three stages:
The first stage (March 1985 - January 1987). The initial period of Perestroika was characterized by the recognition of certain shortcomings of the existing political and economic system of the USSR and attempts to correct them with several large campaigns of an administrative nature (the so-called "Acceleration") - an anti-alcohol campaign, "the fight against unearned income", the introduction of state acceptance, a demonstration of the fight against corruption. No radical steps have yet been taken during this period; outwardly, almost everything remained as before. At the same time, in 1985-1986, the bulk of the old personnel of the Brezhnev draft was replaced by new team managers. It was then that A.N. Yakovlev, E.T. Ligachev, N.I. Ryzhkov, B.N. Yeltsin, A.I. Lukyanov and other active participants in future events. Thus, the initial stage of perestroika can be regarded as a kind of “calm before the storm”. Vert N. History of the Soviet state. 1900 - 1991 - M., 1992.
The second stage (January 1987 - June 1989). The "Golden Age" of Perestroika. Characterized by the beginning of large-scale reforms in all spheres of life Soviet society... V public life a policy of openness is proclaimed - softening censorship in the media and lifting bans on what used to be considered taboo. In the economy, private entrepreneurship is legalized in the form of cooperatives, and joint ventures with foreign companies are being actively created. In international politics, the main doctrine is "New Thinking" - a course to abandon the class approach in diplomacy and improve relations with the West. Part of the population is gripped by euphoria from long-awaited changes and unprecedented freedom by Soviet standards. At the same time, during this period, general instability begins to gradually increase in the country: the economic situation is deteriorating, separatist sentiments appear on the national outskirts, and the first interethnic clashes break out.
Third stage (June 1989-1991). The final stage of Perestroika, originating from the I Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. During this period, there is a sharp destabilization of the political situation in the country: after the Congress, a confrontation between the communist regime and the new political forces that emerged as a result of the democratization of society begins. Difficulties in the economy develop into a full-blown crisis. A chronic commodity shortage reaches its climax: empty store shelves are becoming a symbol of the turn of the 80s and 90s. Perestroika euphoria in society is being replaced by disappointment, uncertainty about the future and massive anti-Soviet sentiments. "New thinking" in the international arena boils down to endless unilateral concessions to the West, as a result of which the USSR is losing many of its positions and superpower status. In Russia and other republics of the Union, separatist-minded forces come to power - a "parade of sovereignties" begins. The natural result of this development of events was the elimination of the power of the CPSU and the collapse of the Soviet Union.