Kronshtadt Rebellion

Kronshtadt Rebellion
(1921) Internal uprising against Soviet rule in Russia after the Russian Civil War, conducted by sailors from the Kronshtadt naval base.

The sailors had supported the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution of 1917, but disillusionment with the government and inadequate food supplies after the civil war led them to demand economic and labour reform and political freedoms. The rebels were crushed by a force led by Leon Trotsky and Mikhayl Tukhachevsky, and the survivors were shot or imprisoned. By dramatically demonstrating popular dissatisfaction with communist policies, the rebellion, along with several other major internal uprisings, led to the adoption of the New Economic Policy.

* * *

▪ Soviet history
Kronshtadt also spelled  Kronštadt 

      (March 1921), one of several major internal uprisings against Soviet rule in Russia after the Civil War (1918–20), conducted by sailors from the Kronshtadt naval base. It greatly influenced the Communist Party's decision to undertake a program of economic liberalization to relieve the hardships suffered by the Russian population during the Civil War.

      The sailors, located at the Kronshtadt fortress in the Gulf of Finland overlooking Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), had supported the Bolsheviks (Bolshevik) in 1917; their cooperation had been crucial to the success of the October Revolution. During the Civil War, however, they had become disenchanted with the Bolshevik government, which had been unable to provide an adequate food supply to urban populations and had restricted their political freedoms and imposed harsh labour regulations.

      When the urban workers responded (early 1921) with strikes and demonstrations, the Kronshtadt sailors, sympathizing with them, formed a Provisional Revolutionary Committee. In addition to economic reform, they demanded “soviets without Bolsheviks,” the release of non-Bolshevik socialists from prison, the end of the Communist Party's dictatorship, and the establishment of political freedoms and civil rights.

      Leon Trotsky and Mikhail N. Tukhachevsky led a force that crushed the rebels, shooting or imprisoning the survivors. Nevertheless, by dramatically demonstrating popular dissatisfaction with the Communists' policies, the rebellion forced the party to adopt the New Economic Policy (March 1921), which brought economic relief to Soviet Russia.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kronshtadt — [krō̂n′shtät΄krun shtät′] city & naval fortress on an island in NW Russia, on the Gulf of Finland: pop. 45,000: Ger. Kronstadt [krō̂n′shtät΄] * * * ▪ Russia also spelled  Kronštadt,         naval port, Leningrad oblast …   Universalium

  • rebellion — /ri bel yeuhn/, n. 1. open, organized, and armed resistance to one s government or ruler. 2. resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition. 3. the act of rebelling. [1300 50; ME rebellioun < OF < L rebellion (s. of rebellio),… …   Universalium

  • Union of Soviet Socialist Republics — a former federal union of 15 constituent republics, in E Europe and W and N Asia, comprising the larger part of the former Russian Empire: dissolved in December 1991. 8,650,069 sq. mi. (22,402,200 sq. km). Cap.: Moscow. Also called Russia, Soviet …   Universalium

  • War Communism — (1918–21) Soviet economic policy applied by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. Its chief features were the expropriation of private business and the nationalization of industry, as well as the forced requisition of surplus grain and… …   Universalium

  • Russia — /rush euh/, n. 1. Also called Russian Empire. Russian, Rossiya. a former empire in E Europe and N and W Asia: overthrown by the Russian Revolution 1917. Cap.: St. Petersburg (1703 1917). 2. See Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 3. See Russian… …   Universalium

  • KGB — the intelligence and internal security agency of the former Soviet Union, organized in 1954 and responsible for enforcement of security regulations, protection of political leaders, the guarding of borders, and clandestine operations abroad. Also …   Universalium

  • Trotsky, Leon — orig. Lev Davidovich Bronshtein born Nov. 7, 1879, Yanovka, Ukraine, Russian Empire died Aug. 20, 1940, Coyoacán, Mex., near Mexico City Russian communist leader. Born to Russian Jewish farmers, he joined an underground socialist group and was… …   Universalium

  • New Economic Policy — (in the Soviet Union) a program in effect from 1921 to 1928, reviving the wage system and private ownership of some factories and businesses, and abandoning grain requisitions. * * * ▪ Soviet history (NEP)       the economic policy of the… …   Universalium

  • Konev, Ivan Stepanovich — ▪ Soviet general born Dec. 28 [Dec. 16, Old Style], 1897, Lodeino, near Veliky Ustyug, Russia died May 21, 1973, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.  one of the outstanding Soviet generals in World War II, who was a leader of the offensive against the… …   Universalium

  • Konovalov, Aleksandr Ivanovich — ▪ Russian politician born 1875, Russia died 1948, New York City       liberal Russian factory owner and political figure; he played a supporting role in the provisional government that was overthrown during the Russian Revolution of November… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”