Lenin’s Decrees and Early Actions (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Lenin's Decrees and Early Actions
The decree programme: October to December 1917
Between the Bolshevik takeover and the year's end, Lenin issued an extensive series of decrees. This period has been characterized as the 'utopian phase' of Bolshevik rule. Utopian describes an idealised vision of perfection; the term derives from Sir Thomas More's Utopia (1516), which depicted an imaginary island representing near-perfect society.
Lenin needed to consolidate support and demonstrate the Bolsheviks' commitment to radical change. His decrees addressed workers' demands, peasant grievances, and broader social transformation. More than tactical maneuvers to win popularity, these measures reflected Lenin's genuine belief in the masses' capacity to create a new social order. He gave practical expression to this conviction through decrees on workers' control and factory management in November.
October decrees
October 1917: Immediate Reforms
The first wave of decrees targeted the most pressing demands of workers, soldiers, and peasants, establishing the Bolsheviks as agents of radical change.
- Workers' decree: Established a maximum eight-hour working day, addressing a longstanding demand of the industrial workforce.
- Social insurance decree: Provided old age, health and unemployment benefits, creating a welfare safety net for workers.
- Press decree: Banned opposition newspapers, eliminating public platforms for criticism of the new government.
- Decree on Peace: Promised to end Russia's involvement in the First World War 'without annexation and indemnities'. An armistice followed in November, with official demobilization proceeding in December. This fulfilled the soldiers' desperate wish to leave the conflict.
- Decree on Land: Abolished private ownership of land and legitimised peasant seizures of estates without compensation to former landlords. This measure reduced peasant support for the Socialist Revolutionaries while consolidating Bolshevik rule by giving peasants breathing space.
November decrees
- Rights of the people of Russia decree: Abolished titles and class ranks, dismantling the old social hierarchy.
- Nationality decree: Promised self-determination to the peoples of the former Russian Empire. In December, Finland became an independent state, and an elected rada (parliament) was established in Ukraine.
- Decree on Workers' Control of Factories: Gave workers the right to 'supervise management', introducing direct worker participation in industrial administration.
- Judicial Decree: Established a new legal system based on elected people's courts, replacing the tsarist judicial apparatus.
- Decree to outlaw sex discrimination: Granted women equality with men and the right to own property, addressing gender inequality.
December decrees
December 1917: Consolidating Control
The December decrees marked a decisive shift toward state repression and control over key institutions including banks, the military, and the Church.
- Decree to establish the 'All-Russian Commission for the Suppression of Counter-Revolution, Sabotage and Speculation': Created a secret police force known as the Cheka (from its initial letters) to root out opposition. This marked a decisive turn toward state repression.
- Bank decree: Nationalised banks and ended the private flow of capital, bringing the financial system under state control.
- Military decree: Removed class ranks, saluting requirements and military decorations from the army, and placed the military under the control of soldiers' soviets, which would elect officers. This democratized military structure but also reduced discipline.
- Decrees on the Church: Nationalised Church land, removed marriage and divorce from Church control, and gave women the right to initiate divorce. These measures attacked the Orthodox Church's authority and traditional family structures.
Economic management and gradualism
While the Bolshevik government pursued radical social transformation, Lenin expressed caution about moving toward 'socialism' too rapidly. He envisaged a lengthy transition during which the first steps would be a form of 'State capitalism' throughout which there would be state control over economic affairs but private markets would remain present in economic life.
In December 1917, Veshenka (the Council of the National Economy) was established to supervise and control economic development. However, Lenin remained cautious about demands from within his party for complete nationalisation of industry. Nationalisation means taking businesses out of private hands and placing them under state control.
Lenin's hesitation suggests he recognized the complexity of managing an entire economy and feared moving too quickly might provoke resistance or economic collapse.
Combating opposition
The early months of Bolshevik rule also witnessed systematic measures to suppress opposition:
- Propaganda campaign: From November onward, the Bolsheviks mounted an intensive campaign against political and 'class' enemies, particularly the burzhui (bourgeois). Everyone had to be addressed as a 'Citizen' or Grazhdanin, and party members as Tovarishch (Comrade). This linguistic shift aimed to reshape social relations and enforce ideological conformity.
- Press censorship: Anti-Bolshevik newspapers were closed down, eliminating public platforms for criticism.
- Civil service purge: The existing civil service underwent a purge, removing officials associated with the old regime.
- Cheka establishment: The secret police force established in December became the instrument for rooting out counter-revolutionary activity. Its creation demonstrated Lenin's conviction that the 'dictatorship of the proletariat' required active repression of enemies.
- Arrest of political opponents: Leading Kadets, right-wing Social Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were rounded up and imprisoned in December, neutralizing organized opposition from other political parties.
Lenin's justification and approach
Lenin tried to portray these measures as defensive rather than aggressive. In his speech to the Petrograd Soviet on 4 November 1917, he defended arrests (including that of the State Bank director) while claiming the Bolsheviks would not resort to the terrorism of French revolutionaries who had guillotined unarmed men.
Primary Source: Lenin's Speech (4 November 1917)
"When we arrested anyone we told him we would let him go if he gave us a written promise not to engage in sabotage. Such written promises have been given."
Analysis: This rhetoric suggested restraint, but Lenin's emphasis on promises against sabotage revealed his determination to eliminate active opposition. The argument that the Bolsheviks had "strength on our side" indicated confidence in their ability to enforce compliance through coercion rather than persuasion.
Primary Source: Trotsky's Speech (29 October 1917)
Following an army cadet uprising against Bolshevik rule, Trotsky declared that while they had won easily in Petrograd, "the dominant classes never relinquish their power without a bitter struggle." He warned that the Bolsheviks could "be merciless when it is a question of holding onto the conquests of the revolution," threatening that if their men fell into enemy hands, "for every worker and for every soldier, we shall demand five cadets."
Analysis: This threat ratio demonstrated the Bolsheviks' willingness to use terror to maintain control. Trotsky's destruction of the Pavlovsky Cadet School and his holding of cadets as hostages illustrated that Bolshevik rule would rest on force.
Key Points to Remember:
- Between October and December 1917, Lenin issued numerous decrees addressing workers' rights (eight-hour day), land redistribution, peace, women's equality, and the abolition of class ranks, demonstrating both tactical manoeuvres to win support and genuine ideological commitment.
- The establishment of Veshenka and Lenin's caution about complete nationalisation revealed his preference for gradual economic transformation through 'State capitalism' rather than immediate full socialism.
- The Bolsheviks systematically suppressed opposition through propaganda campaigns, press censorship, civil service purges, and the creation of the Cheka secret police force in December, alongside arrests of Kadets, right-wing SRs and Mensheviks.