Moreover, suggested by Rose, the prohibition of all 'counter revolutionary' newspaper portrays the political corruptness of the party from the beginning whereas David Christian argues that censorship was compulsory to stabilize rule. The issuing of the decrees on Peace, Land and Workers control of Factories was both a political and ideological move employed to appease the main working class population. .
Other progressive changes included the enactment of a democratic modeled Soviet constitution, the establishment of a Constituent Assembly and the Bolshevik's socialist commitment to the emancipation of women in The Marriage Code of 1918. These reforms demonstrate the democratic side of Bolshevism as it successfully yielded popularity when the government was fragile and lacked a traditional machinery of power because they appealed to the populace. .
Bolshevik ideology was sacrificed in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed on 3rd March 1918, as the party forged a reluctant alliance with Capitalism. Lenin realized that Russia was too fragile to face war with Germany and without stability or peace, the Bolshevik regime would barely survive. However, this democratic experiment resulted in a loss of 2 million square kilometers of land and the loss of 60 million people, as well as 74% of iron ore and coal reserves. Denounced as a "betrayal of the Bolshevik proletariat" by Lionel Kochan, popular support for the Bolsheviks heavily decreased due to the large loss of territory and the professed surrender to Imperial Germany. Consequently, as the Bolsheviks only gained 24% of the vote in the elections of the Constituent Assembly in November, the Bolsheviks dissolved the Constituent Assembly and abolished all opposing political parties from June 1918 onwards. Furthermore, the Cheka was used to eliminate both internal and external enemies and to strengthen control over Russia. These extreme authoritarian measures were necessary for developing a new coercive machinery of power.
