When Lenin Rose to power in 1918, he was desperate to preserve the newly established Soviet Union. In order to control the population and initiate communism, he enabled a policy that gradually became known as the infamous “Red Terror.” The years that followed were filled with executions by his notorious secret police, the CHEKA. The CHEKA helped Lenin maintain his leadership by executing a few thousand people whom he claimed were enemies during the Red Terror. This policy lasted for several years and had one central goal- to rid Russia of the bourgeoisie or the middle class. Although some may argue that Lenin was justified in creating the CHEKA, his main reasons were purely to use his government to help himself and his agenda and affect everyone
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When the Bolsheviks, the radical communist group of Russia, gained control of the government with Lenin at their head, Lenin decided that to ensure that his leadership would continue to operate unopposed, he would have to eliminate all the people that were seen as a threat to him. According to Sergei Melgunov, Lenin stated that the mass terror was inevitable due to the civil wars and the apparent counter- revolutions to justify his plans (198). Lenin did many things to hide what he had done; for instance, he edited out people from photos. To ensure his regime would not be disturbed, his first victim was the ex-tsar, whom Lenin locked in a basement with his family until it was his time to be executed. The CHEKA went around Russia arresting people for being political enemies. Lenin’s mass terror eliminated many political groups as well as the bourgeoisie. Bourgeoisie was the middle class who disliked the idea of a completely communist government. For Lenin’s ideal country to be implemented, all enemies of the proletariat and idealists had to be eliminated ( Melgunov 198). Lenin’s decisions benefited no one other than himself. His harsh policies came with detrimental effects. Many died just so that he could keep control over Soviet Russia. Through 1918, Lenin’s CHEKA were successful with over hundreds of thousands of so-called enemies
When the Bolsheviks, the radical communist group of Russia, gained control of the government with Lenin at their head, Lenin decided that to ensure that his leadership would continue to operate unopposed, he would have to eliminate all the people that were seen as a threat to him. According to Sergei Melgunov, Lenin stated that the mass terror was inevitable due to the civil wars and the apparent counter- revolutions to justify his plans (198). Lenin did many things to hide what he had done; for instance, he edited out people from photos. To ensure his regime would not be disturbed, his first victim was the ex-tsar, whom Lenin locked in a basement with his family until it was his time to be executed. The CHEKA went around Russia arresting people for being political enemies. Lenin’s mass terror eliminated many political groups as well as the bourgeoisie. Bourgeoisie was the middle class who disliked the idea of a completely communist government. For Lenin’s ideal country to be implemented, all enemies of the proletariat and idealists had to be eliminated ( Melgunov 198). Lenin’s decisions benefited no one other than himself. His harsh policies came with detrimental effects. Many died just so that he could keep control over Soviet Russia. Through 1918, Lenin’s CHEKA were successful with over hundreds of thousands of so-called enemies