Why did the Bolsheviks Remain in Power? To the Centenary of the Civil War in Russia — Leonid Luks's Report

On October 5, 2021, at the seminar "West and East: Universalism of Culture", the academic director of the Laboratory Professor Leonid Luks made a presentation

During the civil war and the "Red Terror" of 1918-1921 the Bolshevik regime was not accepted, in fact, by all sections of the population of Russia. The Bolsheviks were in deep social isolation. What allowed them to endure this isolation and, at the end, win the civil war? Mass terror alone would obviously not be enough for this. Other important factors contributed to the success of the Bolsheviks. For example, their ability to combine a strict adherence to doctrine with an amazing sense of reality. In this regard, it is necessary, first of all, to mention their agrarian policy. The abolition of private property was one of the most important foundations of the "war communism" system established by the Bolsheviks during the civil war. Only in one area did the Bolsheviks slow down their onslaught aimed at the total nationalization of the means of production — in the area of ​​peasant land ownership. This provision was unacceptable to the "Left Opposition" in the party. However, Lenin and his associates rejected the demands of "left" critics during the civil war. They knew that any attempt to question the "Decree on Land" proclaimed by the Bolsheviks after seizing power would make their struggle for survival extremely difficult. But not only in the question of land, but also in some other areas, the Bolsheviks managed to combine abstract doctrinairism with pragmatic attitudes, which, in the end, helped them win the civil war.

Watch the video on YouTube.