THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES

NAME : CHANDA REGINA

COMPUTER NUMBER : 18053192

COURSE CODE : HIS 4410

LECTURER : ASSIGNMENT ONE

DUE DATE : 28TH MARCH, 2022

CELL NUMBERS : 0979652500

EMAIL : reginachanda21@gmail.com

QUESTION: “Bolshevik policies of ‘peace, bread and land’ kept on changing from 1917 up to
1924.” Discuss.
The power of the Bolshevik party had a large impact on the working class of Russia. The
working soviets were persuaded by the Bolshevik party that they were the better type of
government, promised by the Bolsheviks were better rights, land, and bread. The Bolsheviks had
major control over the working class. This was very important for the Bolsheviks because out of
the workers' soviets, they were able to create a make-up army by arming workers, sailors, and
actual soldiers. They used this organized army to seize important government buildings to
diminish the power of the present government. This invasion was successful and the Bolshevik
party was now in control of the government. Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik Party began to
spread his ideas and policies of the Communist type of government in Russia with their slogan,
Peace, Bread, Land: Lenin used this slogan to win over the people of Russia. Peace: Lenin knew
that Russia wanted the war to end so that's what he would work for. Bread: The Provisional
government had done nothing to solve the food shortages of Russia; Lenin claimed that the
Bolshevik Party could solve it. Land: Peasants were a large majority of Russia yet the Bolsheviks
did not have much support from them so they offered land in return for their support. Bolshevik
policies of ‘peace, bread and land’ kept on changing from 1917 up to 1924.” Discuss.

In the early 1900’s, Russia was a country ripe for a revolution; with a dwindling tsar autocracy
deteriorating due to poor leadership, overworked and poverty stricken citizens, World War I in
motion, and numerous attempts at economic, social or political reforms, which all failed, the
people of Russia had had enough and decided that the year 1917 was the right time to create the
Bolshevik (Russian) Revolution.

In the years leading up to the formation of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the country of
Russia had undergone multiple series of wars. These wars included: The Crimean War (1854-
56), The Russo-Turkish War (1877-78), and The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Undergoing
all these wars required a lot from the state; the requirements being tax dollars and manpower
(troops/armies). Russia was defeated in all of the wars listed above except for one, the one being
the battle against Turkey. These series of wars also caused great displeasure among the people
and caused suffering in the country 's economy and government.

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Along with these wars, there were three major groups that backed the cause of the revolution.
The first major group was the peasants; they were the ones who maintained the majority of the
population in Russia. They were extremely poor and could barely escape famine from harvest to
harvest. The population boom that occurred in Russia from 1867 to 1896 significantly impacted
the peasants. The

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