Power-point 12: 1918-1921: Area of Study 2 – Creating a new society
Chapter 15: Lenin’s Final Years and Legacy
Introduction – Lenin’s final years 1922 to 1924
Imposes Absolute Control
Illness
Final Political Will
Death
Legacy?
Lenin imposes absolute control
While the 10th Congress requested unity in 1921, Lenin soon enforced compliance
Cheka were given complete power to purge one quarter of the Communist party of ‘radishes’ (Bolsheviks critical of Lenin)
What remained was a disciplined and devoted bureaucratic central govt
Political aftermath of 1921
The end of the Civil war brought about:
1922 – USSR created from 6 independent Soviet republics.
1923 – Competent Bolshevik leaders replaced by Bureaucratic “yes-men”
1924 – Cheka given a name change to GPU then OGPU – Still evil though!!
Lenin’s IllnessMay/December 1922 - He suffered two strokes. Had letters dictated for him
March 1923 – Third stroke paralysed him and he lost all speech.
Reasons:1. Lead Poisoning from bullet from
August 1918 assassination attempt2. April 1922 Doctors removed bullet
and may have done more damage3. Death of mistress in 1920 distraught
him
Wasting away
Death of Lenin: 21 Jan 1924
Reactions:
Massive outpouring of grief
Lenin’s body embalmed for viewing
Petrograd renamed Leningrad
Trotsky was devastated
Half a million people queued for hours to enter Lenin’s mausoleum in Red Square,
Moscow
Vladimir Lenin's embalmed skin sack being taken from its exhibit case at the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow and given its yearly bath in a soup of formaldehyde, methanol and ethanol. Got to stay juicy!
Lenin’s final politcal concerns
In December 1922, he dictated his Political Will which was a summary of Lenin’s views on key Communist Party leaders like Stalin, Trotsky and Zinoviev.
He warned the party against Stalin abusing his power.
Lenin’s legacy: Historical issues
Different historians have different views of socialism and Lenin
Was Lenin’s motivations behind his actions pure or heartless?
Hindsight can blame Lenin easily Lenin didn’t have long to transform
Russia59% of his time in power was spent in
war, 28% seriously ill & 13% in peace & good health