Did the Lives of the Russian People Improve Under the Rule of Lenin?

Did the Lives of the Russian People Improve Under the Rule of Lenin?

  • Submitted By: jc1136
  • Date Submitted: 11/04/2008 12:50 PM
  • Category: History Other
  • Words: 927
  • Page: 4
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In 1917-1924 Lenin was in control of Russia’s government. There were many ups and downs under his rule and there were plenty of people who despised him and thought he was a waste of space for example the social revolutionaries, supporters of the provisional government and army officers. However, despite all this, it cannot be said that he did not have good intentions. He wanted a better quality, fairer life for the people of Russia who had suffered such hardship over the recent years due to things like the war. He made some very unpopular decisions, such as starting war communism, but some of these decisions were really for the benefit of Russia, as it was this that kept Russia on it’s feet during the war. On the other hand, he also made some excellent changes, which benefited the Russian people hugely, for example the New Economic Policy (NEP).

There were plenty of negative changes made under the rule of Lenin such as the period of Red terror, which was imposed by Lenin’s secret police, the CHEKA. This was when the Reds (the Bolsheviks) executed thousands of people, stole all they wanted and burnt down many villages. This came upon the already imposed war communism, where the Bolsheviks abolished all private trading and the making of profit for yourself, enforced that all large scale industries like coal and iron as well as factories were now under control of the state, so they were able to just take whatever products they wanted. All surplus grain was also owned by the state and you were only allowed to own one tone for yourself. Anyone found hoarding stashes of grain would be shot on site. The effect of this was a major famine, in which 5,000,000 people died, this was mainly because workers preferred to burn any excess grain rather than hand it over. This made the Bolsheviks very unpopular, however they said it was only a short-term arrangement.

When Russia finally decided to pull out of World War 1 in March 1918, they had to sign the treaty of...

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