Lenin in Power

Read the shared reading, "Lenin in Power" and "Why the Reds Won the Civil War" Answer questions 1 -6.

1. What was the Sovnarkom?
The Sovnarkom was the Council of the People's Commissar.

2. Why was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk bad for Russia?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a bad idea for Russia because they pretty much lost almost everything. They lost 34% of their population, 32% of agricultural land, 54% of it's industry, 26% of it's railways, and 89% of coalmines. As well as a fine of 300 gold roubles.

3. Who were the "Whites"?
The "Whites" were the enemies of the Bolsheviks from inside and outside of Russia who had united to crush them.

4.. Read Source 3. What evidence does it provide of Lenin's
a) political skill: "The partisans of the Bourgeoisie, especially the higer officials, bank clerks, etc., are sabotaging and organizing strikes in order to block the government's efforts to reconstruct the state on a socialistic basis."

b) ruthlessness: "Sabotage has spread even to food-supply organizations and millions of people are threatned with famine."

5. Use Sources 5 and 7 to describe how the Civil War affected ordinary people.

Ordinary people such as the peasants, hated the Bourgeoisie and wouldn't give up their grain for them; they would rather die. Owners and managers were forced to do labour and hundreds of people were dying from hunger. The ordinary people are stuck in the middle of all the fighting and have no place to go, so like in source 7 when the Whites fired towards the village, the people had to take cover and many of them probably died. Also the male population under 45 were whipped and the Whites stole everything from the people.

6. "Most Russians saw the Bolsheviks as the lesser of two evils." With reference to Sources 5, 7, 13 and 16 explain whether or not you agree with this statement or not.

I do agree with the statement, "Most Russians saw the Bolsheviks as the lesser of the two evils." because the village people were picked on by the Bolsheviks and hated them for fighting village people for their grain and other things. Source 5 says, "In the villages the peasants will not give grain to the Bolsheviks because he hates them. Armed companies are sent to take grain from the peasant and everyday, all over Russia, fights for grain are fought to a finish."