Lenin + The Consolidation of Bolshevik Authority

• The main issue that the Bolsheviks faced when consolidating authority was that they were a minority.
• The Bolsheviks aspire to be the party of the people but they lacked mass support.
• The signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk developed an increasingly wide array of opposition.
• Russia was facing economic collapse by spring 1918.
• Grain wasn't effectively reaching the cities which caused hunger for workers.
• The transport system was disrupted by the War and grain wasn't effectively getting to the cities.
• Peasants reverted to subsistence farming as a result of land redistribution and they had little surplus grain to sell.
• Peasants had little reason to sell their limited grain because there were few goods to exchange for it and this became an issue because workers took control of the factories with no management plan.
• The factories' shortage of raw materials led to a decrease of industrial output specifically in consumer goods.
• Food riots erupted on 1918 as a result of food shortages and workers fled the cities to search for food.
• The workers' search for food led to a shortage of labour in factories.
• A civil war was developing between the Bolshevik "Reds" and Non-Bolshevik "Whites" in the spring of 1918.
• The regime of communism was at stake following the Reds' and Whites' conflict.
• The Bolsheviks had to ensure the army was provided with food and weapons which led to the development of a more centralised control system.
• The policy of war communism was adopted to control the economy and look after the army.
• Red Guards and soldiers would take grain from peasants by force.
• Industry was placed entirely under state control under War Communism and managers replaced workers' committees.
• Factory discipline was imposed and workers could get fined for lateness and absence.
• Food rationing was introduced and the workers and Red Army got the highest priority of food.
• The Bourgeoisie got the lowest priority of food under food rationing.
• Necessity for control might have influenced and dictated War Communism.
• War Communism enabled the Bolsheviks to extend class warfare. Lenin wanted to deal with "class enemies".
• Bolsheviks saw centralised control as a primary force to develop socialism.
• The Red Terror was the most controversial aspect of early Bolshevik rule. Lenin justified it because it ensured the survival of the regime.
• Peasants were the main target of the Red Terror. They were forced to hand over grain to feed soldiers and workers.
• The Cheka supported the grain requisitioning teams.
• Peasants were imprisoned, exiled and executed under the Red Terror. This happened particularly in pro-White areas.
• Bolsheviks viewed other socialists and SRs as "enemies of the people".
• Half a million people were likely executed between 1918 and 1921. Others were sent to labour camps.
• Stalin continued the use of terror as a political weapon after Lenin.