Lenin and the Bolsheviks Take Power

Read the Epilogue (pages 39-45)

1. Why was Lenin reluctant to compromise with the Mensheviks or Socialist Revolutionaries?
Lenin was reluctant to compromise because he thought that it would ruin his revolutionary agenda.

2. List two reasons why the Provisional Government under Kerensky could not govern.

• Socialists and liberal democrats respected or trusted him
• Everything he did didn't work out at all
  

3. The Bolsheviks did not have a majority at the Congress of Soviets after the October Revolution. How did they manage to assume power?
Since the Mensheviks and SRs walked out of the Congress because they were angry about the armed insurrection against the Provisional Government, they relinquished their chance to decide the future of the government. This left the Bolsheviks and that's how they assumed control of all government functions.

4. What did the Bolsheviks have to give up in order to get out of World War I? What was the name of the Treaty?
The Bolsheviks would have to conclude a peace with Germany and its allies and this treaty was called the treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

5. What was the Checka?
The Cheka was led by Felix Dzerzhinsky and it was an All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Struggle against Counter-Revolution, sabotage, and speculation.

6. What supporters joined the Red Army? White Army?
The Bolsheviks joined the Red Army and the anti-Bolsheviks joined the White Army.

7. How many Russians died during the Civil War? How many emigrated to other countries?
13 million died during the Civil war and 2 million Russians emigrated to other countries.