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Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41

Moves towards totalitarianism, 1917–24

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

The Cheka, the Red Terror and its victims, what terror achieved and cost, the Kronstadt Mutiny of 1921 and its crushing, the Politburo, the ban on factions and the creation of the USSR.

What you need to know

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Key term

What did the Kronstadt sailors demand in 1921?

Key term

What was the Cheka?

Key term

What was the Red Terror?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What was the Cheka?

    Model answer

    The secret police created soon after the Bolsheviks took power, with authority to arrest, imprison and shoot suspected opponents without trial.

  2. 2

    What was the Red Terror?

    Model answer

    A campaign of mass arrest and execution of anyone thought hostile to the Bolsheviks, launched in earnest after an attempt on Lenin's life.

  3. 3

    What did the Red Terror achieve, and what did it cost?

    Model answer

    It frightened opposition into silence and helped secure victory in the Civil War, but it lost the Bolsheviks support among workers who had expected freedom.

  4. 4

    Why was a mutiny at Kronstadt such a shock to the Bolsheviks?

    Model answer

    The sailors of the island fortress guarding Petrograd had been among their most loyal supporters in 1917.

  5. 5

    What did the Kronstadt sailors demand in 1921?

    Model answer

    Free elections to the soviets, freedom of speech and of the press, the release of political prisoners and an end to grain seizures.

  6. 6

    How was the Kronstadt Mutiny crushed?

    Model answer

    Trotsky sent the Red Army across the frozen sea to storm the fortress, and the survivors were shot or sent to labour camps.

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