| Abstract: | The subject of this paper is the relationship of the Bolsheviks and peasantry between 1903 and 1921 with a special focus on the period known as the Russian Revolution. Included in the paper is a discussion of the role of the Socialist Revolutionaries, that party which was labeled as the peasants' party, especially during the revolution of 1917 when a peculiar shift in positions occurred between the Bolsheviks and the Socialist-Revolutionaries. Issues covered by the paper includes: the orthodox Marxist ideology and Lenin's view of the peasantry from his early years through the 1905 revolution, the Stolypin reforms, the 1917 revolution, civil war and NEP. The last three sections focus on the issue of land reform and Bolshevik-peasant relations during the 1917 revolution, civil war and NEP. The man theme of the paper is that the Bolsheviks used the peasantry to help them achieve the proletarian revolution while at the same time becuase of their suspicions of the peasantry the Bolsheviks refused to allow the peasants to enjoy the fruits of what was essentially the peasants' revolution. The reason for this situation lies in the early formative years of the Russian Marxist revolutionary tradition to which the Bolshviks belonged. The paper focuses on these issues to demonstrate the consistency of Bolshevik view aout the peasantry. A study of this relationship also lends insight into State-peasant relations since the revolution. |
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