Bolshevik Consolidation of Power

During 1917 to 1924 Russia was experiencing vast political, economic and social change that began with the Bolshevik revolution. Various factors, particularly the First World War, had left Russia in a disastrous state where the nation, lacking unity and political control, was confronting tremendous social unrest and facing a major uprising. During this state, the Bolsheviks who had just seized control, undertook numerous extensive measures to establish their authority including the declaration of initial reforms, the signing of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, fighting a Civil War, instigating War Communism, commencing the red terror and finally, implementing the New Economic Policy (NEP). All of these actions were each extremely significant in aiding the Bolsheviks in their quest to consolidate power during the period 1917-1924.
The year 1917 was the beginning of Russia’s perpetual internal struggle as the revolution sparked major social, political and economic changes. With the return of Lenin, the Bolsheviks had swept the nation with revolutionary ideology that would start their rise to power through his popular slogans of ‘Bread, Peace, Land’ and ‘all power to the Soviets’. Lenin’s ‘April Thesis’ in 1917 was a crucial step toward change as he called for a worldwide revolution, an end to the war and an end to the provisional government. The Bolsheviks used the opportunity of mass popular support to grasp power and trigger a revolution. This however was not the end to Russia’s problems and instead was the beginning of more complicated circumstances.   The war with Germany still existed but now worker’s industrial production began to fall rapidly, food production was plummeting and soon Russia was embraced by a devastating famine leading Russia to the brink of economic collapse. Various factions had led to the rise of counter revolutionary actions and soon after, Russia faced civil war. As Bolshevik control gave Russia traits of a corrupt police state, social unrest...