This period marked the transformation of Russia into a one-party communist state under Lenin and Stalin, reshaping governance, ideology, and power structures.
Lenin’s Political and Ideological Principles
Sovnarkom and the New Bolshevik Government
After the October Revolution in 1917, Lenin and the Bolsheviks established a new government, the Council of People’s Commissars (Sovnarkom). This body replaced the Provisional Government and was made entirely of Bolsheviks, reflecting Lenin’s belief in a dictatorship of the proletariat.
Sovnarkom was created to govern Russia on behalf of the soviets (workers’ councils).
It consisted of commissars responsible for various sectors, with Lenin as its chairman.
Sovnarkom passed legislation quickly and bypassed the All-Russian Congress of Soviets when necessary, consolidating central executive power.
This system marked a clear departure from any form of democratic pluralism. While it appeared to rule through soviets, true political power was concentrated in the hands of the Bolsheviks.
One-Party State and the Elimination of Political Opposition
Lenin rapidly moved to establish a one-party state, marginalising and banning all political rivals:
In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly, which had a Socialist Revolutionary majority, was dissolved by force after one day.
Lenin justified this by arguing that the Bolsheviks had a historical duty to lead the proletariat and that parliamentary democracy was a bourgeois construct.
By 1921, all other political parties were banned. Even factions within the Communist Party were suppressed by the ban on factions introduced at the 10th Party Congress.
The Communist Party thus emerged as the only legal political organisation, consolidating Lenin’s vision of a centralised, ideologically unified government.
Early Bolshevik Decrees and Centralisation of Power
Decree on Land
One of Lenin’s first acts in power was the Decree on Land (October 1917), which:
Abolished private ownership of land.
Allowed peasants to seize estates and redistribute them.
Appealed directly to the rural population, gaining peasant support.
Although the decree recognised what was already happening in the countryside, it legitimised land seizures under Bolshevik authority, strengthening the regime’s rural base.
Decree on Workers’ Control
The Decree on Workers’ Control (November 1917):
Gave factory workers the right to supervise management.
Formed factory committees to regulate production and wages.
Initially empowering for the working class, it was later undermined by centralisation, as the Bolsheviks reasserted state control over the economy. Nonetheless, the decree was vital for early support from industrial workers.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Signed in March 1918, this treaty with Germany:
Ended Russia’s involvement in WWI.
Resulted in enormous territorial losses: Poland, Ukraine, Finland, and the Baltic states.
Sparked internal opposition, even within the Bolshevik Party.
Lenin saw the treaty as necessary to consolidate Bolshevik power at home, but it deepened economic hardship and provoked the Civil War, justifying the need for further centralisation and repression.
Stalin’s Rise to Power After Lenin’s Death
Leadership Struggle
Lenin’s death in January 1924 triggered a power vacuum, leading to a bitter struggle among leading Bolsheviks:
Lenin’s Testament criticised Stalin and recommended his removal, but it was suppressed by the Party elite.
Stalin presented himself as a moderate and practical figure, defending the Party line and Lenin’s legacy.
Other contenders, like Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and later Bukharin, underestimated Stalin’s organisational control.
Stalin’s position as General Secretary gave him control over Party appointments and membership, allowing him to build a loyal support base.
Elimination of Rivals
Trotsky, Lenin’s natural successor in ideology and leadership, was expelled from the Party in 1927 and exiled in 1929.
Zinoviev and Kamenev, initially allied with Stalin, were purged after forming the United Opposition with Trotsky.
Bukharin, a supporter of the NEP, was removed when Stalin shifted economic policy toward rapid industrialisation.
By the early 1930s, Stalin had outmanoeuvred all rivals, securing total control of the Communist Party and the state apparatus.
Stalin’s Ideological Shifts and Personal Dictatorship
Shift from Leninism to Stalinism
While claiming to uphold Lenin’s legacy, Stalin significantly altered Communist governance and ideology:
Promoted “Socialism in One Country”, rejecting Trotsky’s emphasis on international revolution.
Prioritised state control over the economy through collectivisation and industrialisation.
Reversed Lenin’s limited pluralism with complete centralisation and repression.
These changes formed the foundation of Stalinism, which blended Marxist principles with authoritarian rule and intense state control.
Establishment of the Personal Dictatorship
Stalin transformed the Communist Party from a collective leadership into a vehicle of personal authority:
Used patronage to fill key positions with loyalists.
Created a political culture where opposition was equated with treason.
Introduced show trials, purges, and surveillance to eliminate dissent.
He constructed a system in which no political challenge could arise, and his interpretation of Marxism–Leninism became the sole doctrine.
Party Control Over the State
Under Stalin, the Communist Party’s dominance over the state became absolute:
The government became subordinate to the Party’s Central Committee and the Politburo, both controlled by Stalin.
All institutions — judiciary, security services, education — were instruments of the Party.
Elections were symbolic; candidates were chosen by the Party, ensuring no real competition.
This created a monolithic power structure, where Party and state were fused into a tool of Stalin’s will.
The Cult of Personality
One of the most striking features of Stalin’s rule was the development of a cult of personality:
Stalin was portrayed as the “Father of Nations,” “Great Leader,” and “Lenin’s true heir.”
His image dominated posters, textbooks, newspapers, and even school curricula.
History was rewritten to exalt Stalin’s role in the revolution and civil war, often at the expense of others (e.g., Trotsky erased from photographs and records).
The cult reinforced his absolute authority and was used to justify repression and demand personal loyalty.
These developments between 1917 and 1941 demonstrate a profound transformation of the Soviet state: from revolutionary pluralism under Lenin to totalitarian dictatorship under Stalin. The early Bolshevik ideals of worker control and participatory socialism were eclipsed by a centralised, coercive regime where power was vested in one man and one party.
FAQ
The Red Army was instrumental in establishing and maintaining Bolshevik control during the early years of the Soviet regime. Formed in early 1918 and led by Leon Trotsky, the Red Army became the military backbone of Bolshevik authority during the Russian Civil War (1918–1921). Trotsky’s leadership introduced strict discipline, conscription, and centralised command, transforming it into an effective fighting force. The Red Army defeated a range of enemies—White armies, foreign interventionists, and internal nationalists—ensuring the Bolsheviks could assert control over vast territories. The military victories enabled the Bolsheviks to enforce policies like War Communism and later centralisation without external threat. Furthermore, its success legitimised Bolshevik rule and allowed Lenin to dismantle democratic alternatives under the guise of wartime necessity. The Red Army was not just a military force but a political instrument, essential for consolidating the one-party state and crushing opposition across the former Russian Empire.
Lenin’s leadership was marked by increasing intolerance of internal dissent within the Communist Party. Initially, there was a degree of pluralism, with debates tolerated during the early revolutionary years. However, as the Bolsheviks faced external threats and internal instability, Lenin began to clamp down on internal opposition to ensure ideological and political unity. The turning point came at the Tenth Party Congress in 1921, where the ban on factions was introduced. This resolution prohibited the formation of organised groups within the Party that challenged official policy, effectively silencing dissent. Although the Party continued to allow debate in theory, in practice, the leadership increasingly suppressed opposition. Groups such as the Workers’ Opposition were dissolved, and dissenters were marginalised or expelled. Lenin believed that internal unity was vital for survival during crises like civil war and foreign intervention. This approach laid the groundwork for the authoritarian political culture Stalin would later intensify into outright dictatorship.
The 1921 Kronstadt Rebellion had profound consequences for Bolshevik rule and was a turning point in the regime’s internal policy. It was an uprising by previously loyal sailors, soldiers, and workers at the Kronstadt naval base, demanding greater political freedoms, the end of Bolshevik repression, and the reinstatement of soviet democracy. The revolt shocked the leadership because the Kronstadt sailors had been staunch Bolshevik supporters in 1917. Lenin viewed the rebellion as a direct threat to Bolshevik survival and crushed it with brutal military force. Its suppression demonstrated the regime’s willingness to use violence against even its former allies to maintain power. More significantly, it persuaded Lenin to replace War Communism with the New Economic Policy (NEP), acknowledging the need to placate economic grievances. Politically, it justified an intensified clampdown on dissent, both within and outside the Party. The rebellion underscored the fragility of Bolshevik support and the prioritisation of authoritarian control over revolutionary ideals.
Stalin manipulated Marxist–Leninist ideology to portray his political rivals as counter-revolutionaries and threats to socialist progress. He cast his vision of “Socialism in One Country” as the legitimate continuation of Lenin’s legacy, contrasting it with Trotsky’s insistence on permanent revolution, which he claimed was impractical and dangerous. This ideological framing allowed Stalin to isolate Trotsky as an unrealistic radical. Stalin similarly used ideological labels to discredit Bukharin, accusing him of “right opportunism” for defending the NEP, and portrayed Zinoviev and Kamenev as inconsistent leftists who lacked true revolutionary conviction. These accusations were not merely rhetorical; they were reinforced through Party propaganda and used to justify purges, expulsions, and later arrests. By framing his opponents as ideological deviants, Stalin maintained an image of orthodoxy and loyalty to Lenin. This tactic not only silenced debate but also built popular support for repression by presenting it as a necessary defence of the revolution.
Between 1917 and 1941, the Communist Party evolved from a revolutionary organisation into a rigid, hierarchical apparatus dominated by Stalin. Initially, the Party operated through relatively democratic structures such as the Congress of Soviets and the Central Committee. After 1918, power began to shift increasingly towards the Politburo, the executive body that made day-to-day decisions. By the 1920s, especially under Stalin, real decision-making became centralised in a small inner circle, with Party Congresses reduced to rubber-stamp bodies. The Secretariat, headed by Stalin from 1922, gained immense power through control over appointments, enabling him to fill the Party with loyalists. Purges in the 1930s drastically reduced independent thought and debate, turning the Party into a tool for enforcing state policy and personal loyalty to Stalin. Bureaucratisation also increased, with thousands of officials overseeing all aspects of society. By 1941, the Party was no longer a forum for ideological debate but a monolithic structure enforcing Stalinist orthodoxy.
Practice Questions
‘Lenin’s early decrees were primarily designed to consolidate Bolshevik power rather than to implement socialist ideals.’ Assess the validity of this view.
Lenin’s early decrees, such as the Decree on Land and Workers’ Control, were critical for consolidating Bolshevik power. While they reflected socialist rhetoric, they were primarily pragmatic, aimed at gaining popular support and stabilising Bolshevik authority. These measures legitimised existing actions by peasants and workers, ensuring loyalty during a volatile period. Centralisation quickly followed, revealing Lenin’s intention to strengthen Party control. Though rooted in Marxist language, these decrees were less about ideological purity and more about political necessity. Therefore, the view is valid: Lenin’s primary goal was power consolidation, with socialism serving as a guiding but flexible framework.
How significant was the cult of personality in establishing Stalin’s personal dictatorship by 1941?
The cult of personality played a crucial role in reinforcing Stalin’s personal dictatorship, portraying him as Lenin’s rightful heir and an infallible leader. Through propaganda, education, and media, Stalin was elevated to a god-like status, suppressing dissent and encouraging unquestioning loyalty. However, the cult operated alongside institutional control—purges, party manipulation, and state terror—that physically eliminated rivals and centralised authority. While the cult provided ideological justification and mass support, it was Stalin’s complete domination of the Party and state mechanisms that ensured his unchallenged rule. Thus, the cult was significant, but it worked in tandem with systematic political repression.
