Many Russians were worried by these events. In 1917, civil war broke out. The Bolsheviks’ Red Army, under the command of Leon Trotsky, fought the White Army (an alliance of various anti-communist groups). In July 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and five children were executed by the Bolsheviks in the house where they had been imprisoned.
DID YOU KNOW? Tsar Nicholas II and family (Romanovs)
By 1921, Lenin and the Bolsheviks had gained control of the country and the last clusters of the White Army were defeated in 1922. Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). ‘Soviet’ originally meant a workers’ council.
CHECKPOINT!
1. Explain the following terms: communism; Bolsheviks; the Cheka. 2. Who was (a) Karl Marx; (b) Vladimir Lenin; (c) Leon Trotsky? 3. How did Lenin come to power in 1917? 4. List two changes Lenin and the Bolsheviks made once in power. 5. What was the outcome of the Russian Civil War?
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I can explain communism and how Russia became a communist state.
TIME TO GO BACK I CAN MOVE FORWARD
The Bolsheviks’ secret police was called the Cheka. During the civil war they ‘removed’ any person who was an ‘actual or potential threat’ to the government – so-called ‘enemies of the state’. In St Petersburg alone, the Cheka killed 800 people. This time became known as ‘the Red Terror’.
COLLABORATE: With your group, research Karl Marx and write down ten points on his ideas about communism. 338
