16 September, 2013
The Man Whose Russian Affair Opened the Door for Lenin and the Bolsheviks

Kornilov waving to Crowds
http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1917kornilov&Year=1917&navi=byYear
In March of 1917, in the face of societal unrest and military defeats, Nicholas II abdicated the throne of Russia. Nicholas relinquished power to his brother, Michael, calling on the people to support the tsar, working together to form a new Russia. The letter came when soldiers did not put down demonstrators against the tsar. Following Nicholas II’s abdication, a dual power system was created between the Provisional Government and the Soviets led by the Petrograd Soviet. Aleksandr Kerensky became one of the leaders of the Provisional Government and would play a vital role in the Kornilov affair.
After the April Crisis, Kerensky appointed General Lavr Kornilov as the commander-in-chief and “he implicitly sanctioned Kornilov’s plan to restore the army’s fighting capacity by restoring discipline and the death penalty,” but Kornilov “doubted that the coalition had the will either to win the war or to stabilize the domestic front” (Freeze 287). Kornilov did not agree with the implementation of dual power and aimed to end dual power in Russia. Kornilov aimed to challenge the government of Russia, and his support for his cause is evident in hist address to the people, “The true son of the Russian people always perishes at his post, and sacrifices the greatest thing that he has, his life, for his Motherland” (Seventeen Moments)

General Kornilov, leader of the Kornilov Affair
http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1917kornilov&Year=1917&navi=byYear
With Kerensky’s alleged support, Kornilov led troops to Petrograd to restore order; however, Keresky took advantage of the general in order to gain personal power. The event became known as the Kornilov affair.
“The main victor in the Kornilov Affair was the radical left, and in particular the Bolsheviks” (Seventeen Moments). The affair compromised the authority of Kornilov, Kerensky, and the Provisional government.
The chaos of revolution opened the door for conflict between the political right and left. Contradictions on how to handle social and economic developments and crises led to drastic efforts to establish a government in line with a specific ideology. From dual power, Kerensky and Kornilov saw the opportunity to eliminate chaos and “save” Russia from destroying itself; however, the long-term effects of the failed Kornilov affair “facilitated the Bolshevik seizure of power” (Freeze 288).
Despite failures, strikes continued to intensify, leading to the October Revolution of 1917. As October, and the events surrounding revolution, approached, Lenin and the Bolsheviks poised for political change, building off the stresses of the war and civil unrest.
Cited Sources:
Abdication of Nicholas II, March 2/15, 1917 documents: http://www.dhr.history.vt.edu/modules/eu/mod03_1917/evidence_detail_23.html
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History: 1917: Kornilov Affair: http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1917kornilov&Year=1917&navi=byYear
http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1917kornilov&Year=1917&navi=byYear
Gregory L. Freeze, Russia: A History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 287-288.
22 September, 2013
Youth of Russia
“Youth, according to Communist ideology, was destined to live under Communism”(Seventeen Moments). The Communists targeted the younger generation as the future of the Communist party, while the older generation were seen as tainted by capitalism. With an aim toward organizing youth, the Communists believed in establishing a youth organization. The organization, known as the Komsomol, was established in 1918, but “the organization was formally known as the Russian Communist Union of Youth” (Seventeen Moments).
Following Lenin’s death in 1924, “the Central Committee launched a recruitment campaign, the Lenin Enrollment, to ‘proletarianize’ the party by admitting more actual industrial workers” (Freeze 312). Enrollment brought greater numbers which “reached a million after the “Lenin Levy” recruitment drive of that year. By 1927 it stood at approximately two million” (Seventeen Moments).
Always Prepared! The Next Shift Comes In (1924)
The image above states: “Be prepared to fight for the workers’ cause. “”I, a young pioneer of the USSR, here before my comrades do solemnly swear : 1) to stand firm for the cause of the working class in its struggle to liberate workers and peasants of the whole world 2) to honestly and unswervingly fulfill the testament of Il’ich (Lenin), and the laws and customs of the young Pioneers”” (Seventeen Moments). The image shows how the Communist Party was able to utilize the energy of youths to promote their ideology within society. Another image, posted below, also shows how Lenin’s cause was committed to the youth’s responsiblity “to study, study, and study” (Seventeen Moments). The image, “To the Light and to Knowledge! (1920),” states, “Young Proletarians – To the Light and to Knowledge! “All worker-peasants into the ranks of the Russian Young Communist League!” (Seventeen Moments).
“To the Light and to Knowledge! (1920)
The Bolsheviks navigated unsteady waters following the height of the Civil War and the death of Lenin. The future of the party depended on youth, but the future of youth organizations fell victim to desire for numbers. In order for the Bolsheviks to maintain power as rulers, the party needed significant backing from society. The “Russian Communist Union of Youth” allowed the Bolsheviks, and Stalin, to find devoted followers in both military and society roles. This is reflected in the “Komosol March” song located on the Seventeen Moments website. The site describes the song as: a “highly militaristic song” which “reflected the new agenda of the Stalin era, in which the Komsomol was no longer an independent force in Soviet politics, but the training ground for military and state workers devoted to the platform of the central party organs” (Seventeen Moments). With support, the Bolsheviks could hope to maintain power, while lack of support would surely have led to definitive demise and continued political chaos within the Russian state. The Komsomol disbanded in the late 1980s/early 1990s with the fall of the communist state of Russia.
Cited Sources:
Always Prepared! The Next Shift Comes In (1924):http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1924komsomol&Year=1924&navi=byYear
Seventeen Moments: Young Communists: http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1924komsomol&Year=1924&navi=byYear
Seventeen Moments: Young Communists: Images: http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=images&SubjectID=1924komsomol&Year=1924&navi=byYear
Seventeen Moments: Young Communists: Song: http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&show=music&SubjectID=1924komsomol&Year=1924&navi=byYear
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