In the winter of 1917, Lenin in the Bolsheviks set out on a bold project: the construction of the world’s first exclusively socialist society. Although much ink had been spilled on this topic over the previous century, the reality was that much work had to be done to transform these vague ideals and aspirations into lived reality. In this episode, we examine the first steps taken by the new Soviet State in implementing Communism, highlighting in particular Lenin and the Bolsheviks’ use of violence as a tool to achieve social harmony. We also try to understand what life in the USSR was like in the early 1920s for ordinary people, answering why they found such a violent and dictatorial regime appealing. Along the way we’ll discuss things like the Checka, the New Economic Policy (NEP), Soviet policy towards farmers, the rise of the Red Army, and experimentation in the arts.

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