Evaluate the role of terror and coercion in the consolidation of the Soviet state between 1917 and 1924.

Candidates will appraise the contribution made by coercion and terror in consolidating the Soviet state between 1917 and 1924. Evidence of coercion may include the closing of the Constituent Assembly and/or the forcing of ex-tsarist officers to serve in the Red Army. There may also be reference to levels of censorship and the promotion of Communist ideology. When evaluating the use of terror, candidates may refer to the Cheka and the Red Terror, the assassination of the Romanovs and the crushing of the Kronstadt Mutiny. Some candidate may elect to weigh the importance of coercion and terror against other factors. These may include: the popularity of the Bolsheviks, their victory in the civil war and Bolshevik policies such as the New Economic Policy (NEP). Candidates may discuss the fate of other political parties such as the Mensheviks and the Social Revolutionaries and the role of the one-party state policy.