Assess the impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of power in the period to 1924.

While the Bolshevik’s consolidation of power in the period to 1924 was successful, it came at a great
cost to the Russian people and to the Bolshevik Party itself, politically, economically, and socially.

Politically, the Bolshevik consolidation of power had many impacts. The Bolsheviks managed to
stamp out all opposition political groups as a result of the Civil War, and as well as this, many of its
members joined the Soviet of People’s Commissars and took up small government positions. The
Bolsheviks were a growing force too. In 1917, they had accumulated 24,000 members, but by 1924,
that number had risen to 472,000; it had become a mass organisation. Despite this party growth
however, older Bolsheviks were concerned that many of the new members did not share the same,
intense ideology as they did, leading to many early purges in the 1920s. These purges had limited
success.

On the 3rd of March 1918, Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, that essentially forced the
Bolsheviks to give up 34% of the entire population of the former Russian empire, 32% of its arable
land and over 50% of its industry. Lenin was worried that there might have been a complete German
invasion of Russia, however he believed that by signing this treaty, the revolution had been
temporarily saved. The ongoing success of the Bolshevik’s had been ensured through Lenin’s
leadership and pragmatic approach to the hardships that cropped up during the period to 1924.

Economically, Bolshevik consolidation of power was highly detrimental to Russia as a whole. Russia’s
involvement in World War I led to significant economic strains. However, instead of learning from
this experience, the Bolshevik’s sensible approach to dealing with economic issues and their anti-
free-market ideology fused together to create “War Communism”, which resulted in mass factory
closures, redundancies and an increasing homeless population. Petrograd had lost 60% of its
workforce by 1918, a very significant chunk. Workers affected by War Communism decided it was
best for them to link up with the Red Army or go back to their villages.

As a result of this now severely damaged economy, Lenin decided to implement a more relaxed
policy called the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921 at the Tenth Party Congress. This essentially
meant that while the main areas of the economy remained under state authority, such as the
banking, steel and transport industries, people working for their own individual gain and profit was
now permitted. The NEP allowed for some short-term recovery.

Whilst there many negative impacts socially, many were positive as a result of the Bolshevik
consolidation of power. Revolutionary theorists pushed for the implementation of communal dining
halls, laundries and nurseries to allow women to occupy themselves with things other than just
housework. There was also substantial party support for the employment of women, and the
revisions of laws regarding marriage, divorce and abortion helped to free women from the tight
grasp of their husbands.

Despite these promising changes, millions died from the famine in 1921, and diseases that could kill
such as typhoid and cholera become rife throughout society. As well as this, the implementation of
War Communism and collectivisation meant the working day was drawn out from 8 to 11 hours, and
that armed forces had to take grain from the peasants so that they could feed the urban factory
workers.

To wrap up, it is clear that while the Bolshevik’s consolidation of power in the period to 1924 was
successful, it came at a great cost to the Russian people and to the Bolshevik Party itself, politically,
economically, and socially. The massive party growth, the purges, War Communism, the NEP,
collectivisation and the famine of 1921 all contributed to this.