Lenin in Power

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

2. Why was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk bad for Russia?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was bad for Russia because land was lost and Russia lost 34 percent of its population, 32 percent of its agricultural land, 54 percent of its industry, 26 percent of its railways and 89 percent of its coal mines. This was another example of Lenin's single-minded leadership.

3. Who were the "Whites"?
The Whites were anti-bolsheviks and wanted to crush the Bolsheviks.

4.. Read Source 3. What evidence does it provide of Lenin's
a) political skill
It shows that Lenin wanted to take over most of Russia. Everyone is striking eg. bank clerks, higher officials. This shows that nobody wanted to hear what he has to say and they just want to strike because they do not agree.

b) ruthlessness
Lenin did not care about what other people did and he was knew what people were doing but he wanted to have the power which wasnt good because he was loosing support instead of gaining it.

5. Use Sources 5 and 7 to describe how the Civil War affected ordinary people.
The Peasants were mad at the Bolsheviks and hated them because the red gaurds are trying to take their grain and they do not want to give it. If they restrain machine guns are taken out and death is the only option. Source 5 describes how the Civil war affected the peasants because they were starving and the red gaurds were taking their food. Source 7 describes how the Civil war affected ordinary people because people were shooting at their houses and their villages and then they had to give heir best cattle, pigs, good, and bread for the soldiers so that they would be able to fight.

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 "most russians saw the Bolsheviks as the lesser of the two evils" because the Russians know that even though times were bad, they could have been so much worse. The Bolsheviks just wanted power and they wanted people to take them seriously so they were very strict. They were trying to start a new government because it was not going to be an anarchy anymore. They wanted people to believe they had the power so they did take land, and wanted their soldiers to do the best and to win. They had alot of ideas and wanted to have more. They shot people because they wanted people to take them seriously. I agree with this statement because even though they were evil in a way, they still were not the worse and the Bolsheviks were trying to help by being strict.