Kronstadt Uprising in 1921.

• Kronstadt was a naval base. The sailors within it started an uprsing on the 1st March, 1921.
• Causes of the Kronstadt Uprising:

  • The Sailors were unhappy that the peasants were suffering from awful food shortages.
  • Kronstadt naval base was very close to the old capital city, Petrograd, and were hearing all about the workers and their troubles.
  • The workers were unhappy because they were being treated very unfairly because of War Communism. Factories were militirised with harsh punishments for absenteeism and lateness. Workers were being imprisoned or shot if their targets weren't met.
• Causes of the Kronstadt Uprising (2):

  • On the 22nd January, 1921, bread rations were cut down by ONE THIRD in several cities, including Moscow and Petrograd (where there were lots of factories and, of course, workers).
  • The workers felt like they didn't have a voice anymore through their unions, which were no longer there to help them, but to control them.
  • Bolsheviks forbade striking, and if anyone did try to strike, they could be arrested or shot (remember, WAR COMMUNISM).
  • The sailors were hearing news of workers being treated unfairly and were rising up on the behalf of them and peasants.
• General Knowledege about March 1921:

  • The severe Winter of 1920 and 1921 brought strikes.
  • Food demonstrations had to be broken up by the Cheka and special troops because ordinary soldiers refused to fire on civillians. This was just like Feb 1917!! This showed that the soldiers sympathised with the strikers.
  • There were calls for soviets without Communists and a revival in support for other socialist parties.
  • Martial law (curfews) were imposed in Petrograd.
  • These strikers were, of course, supported by the Kronstadt sailors.
• How were the Kronstadt sailors in contact with workers?

  Soldiers were likely to come from peasant or working families. The sailors, therefore, were in contact with the peasant and/or workers.
• Events during the Uprising:

  • The sailors mutinied, beginning in March 1921.
  • They were refusing to take orders and their aim was to start a widespread uprising against the Bolsheviks.
  • They made a list/manifesto of demands, which showed their organisation.
  • The list contained: a wish for an end to terror, they didn't want any more dictatorship, an end to grain requsitioning and no more one-party state.
• Bolshevik division at time of uprising:

  
  

  It is important to note that there was division within the Bolsheviks at this time, with some having sympathy for workers. Alexandra Kollontoi was one of this: she wanted unions to have more of a voice.
• Results and significance of the Uprising (1):

  • In 1917, Trotsky called the Kronstadt sailers 'the pride and glory' of the Russian revolution. This is significant because now these sailors have TURNED ON the Bolsheviks and NO LONGER support them!!!
  • Lenin and Trotsky condemmed the uprising, labelling them as 'White enemies' in their propaganda.
  • But this wasn't true. Some of the sailors were anarchists, some were SRs, but some were even Bolsheviks, some were ex-pesants.
  • This revolt was a powerful argument for change in economic policy.
• Results and significance of the Uprising (2):

  • Lenin realised this was dangerous for the Bolsheviks. They were losing a lot of support, and could potentially lose their power. He realised that he needed to drop War Communism ASAP as it was so unpopular.
  • Lenin called it 'the flash that lit up reality'.
  • The Kronstadt mutiny was so important because many of them had once been pro-Bolshevik. They had helped the Bolsheviks win the Civil War and had supported the Bolsheviks in their October revolution. But now they wre calling for Soviets (councils) without Communists.
• Bolshevik response (significance,(3)):

  • The Bolsheviks brutally crushed this uprising.
  • The first Bolshevik attack failed. But then Marshal Tukhavesky was sent in with 50, 000 of the best troops.
  • Around 10, 000 were killed fighting.
  • In the following weeks, 2, 500 were killed in firing squads and hundreds of others were sent to Slovestsky, the first big Labour camp.
  • Red Army Soldiers were forced to march out and take positions on the Coastline (the ice leading to the naval base had frozen over, so they could walk there). They launched an attack on the sea ice.
• Bolshevik response (significance, (4)):

  • The Bolsheviks had no cover on the frozen ice, and were met with fierce fire from the fortresses. 80% of the Red Army were killed. Their first attempt was a HUGE failure.
  • The sailors were trying to encourage a revolt against the Bolsheviks, but the people of Petrograd and Moscow were too exhausted and hungry for another revolution. Lenin kept them on his side by increasing bread rations.
  • The second attack on the Kronstadt naval base from the Reds came at night. The Red Army managed to enter the streets of Kronstadt.
• Results and Significance (5):

  • Reds VS Kronstadt sailors was considered the last major battle for 'the soul of Russia'. It was the last major uprising against the Bolsheviks.
  • Around 8000 Kronstadt sailors managed to escape, and they made it to Finland across the ice.