The Pete Quiñones Show Episode 1015: The 'Red Terror' in Russia (1918-1922) w/ Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson
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Feb 18, 2024 Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson, a Russian history expert, delves into the brutal 'Red Terror' in Russia post-Revolution, discussing Bolshevik terror campaigns, violent policies, assassinations, Lenin's intensification of terror, and the Gulag system. He sheds light on wealth concentration, Marxist ideals, and the destruction of churches, impacting the Russian Orthodox Church.
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Foreign-Funded Tiny Faction Seized Power
- Dr. Matthew Raphael Johnson argues Bolsheviks were a small, foreign-funded faction that seized power through force rather than popular vote.
- He claims mainstream histories hide the financial and ethnic dimensions of the takeover.
Lenin Justified Terror As Policy
- Johnson emphasizes Lenin openly justified terrorism as a revolutionary tool and insisted the victorious party must maintain rule by terror.
- He links Lenin's State and Revolution rhetoric directly to early Soviet repression measures.
Early Institutions Laid Repressive Foundations
- The decree in late 1917 shut down opposition media and created the Cheka under Felix Dzerzhinsky to enforce Bolshevik control.
- Johnson presents these early institutions as foundational to a continuous system of repression.