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