Red Terror Dbq

Additionally, the Bolsheviks asserted control by exerting a mixture of ideology and terror, aimed to subdue or cow the vast population into submission to their ideology. Soviet-era historians view that the increasing authoritarian measures had to be taken during the Civil War and were simply necessary responses to rises in desertion and external military threats. Erik C. Landis also believes that terror was a necessity, especially in the case of the Green Army, which consisted of armed peasants engaging in resistance to Bolshevik rule, noting that these ‘disturbances’ occurred at critical breaches on the front line. Trotsky also stated that events, such as the Tsar’s execution were justified, to ‘not only frighten, horrify and instil a sense of hopelessness in the enemy, but also to shake up our own ranks, to show that there was no retreating.’ Service comments on the high level of public executions as an opportunity to cement Bolshevik control over the provinces, as

Figes agrees that the ‘Red Terror’ was a pivotal moment in the war, and one which showed the Bolsheviks for what they were: ‘It [the execution of the Romanovs] was a declaration of the Terror, as well a statement that from now on individuals would count for nothing in the civil war’ . To this end, specially-appointed Commissars were given the order to execute anyone who was suspected of deserting, and even families of ex-Imperial Army officers were kept hostage to ensure political reliability. This use of terror went often hand-in-hand with a clear and systematic use of ideology. In particular, the Bolsheviks initiated a program of democratic centralism for the Red Army. This principle not only gave the ordinary workers and peasants a say in the decisions making process, but it also ensured a unity of purpose and action during troubled times. This is acknowledged by A.B. Murphy, who stated that, ‘the Bolsheviks took great steps into creating a ‘self-image’, which the population could rally