What was the effect of the Kronstadt Rebellion?

Answer 1

There's no simple answer to this. There is an assumption that as some of the Sailors demands were met by the institution of the New Economic Policy shortly afterwards, that the NEP was in response to the Rebellion itself - this is not the case. NEP had been mooted prior to the Rebellion and not in response to it. It may have cemented the need for economic changes, but it was certainly not the cause of them. The actual effects are reasonably small - the exodus of sailors to Finland caused an humanitarian crisis in that country, as they were not able to cope. A purge of the garrison and the town began immediately afterwards and the towns population was largely removed to other areas. Those sailors captured were tried, many were executed, although some were sent to labour camps and amnestied some time later. However, it did prompt a massive Cheka investigation. Kronstadt is an early example of the suppression of political adversaries in Soviet Russia, and an early example of what was to come. It has entered into mythology for various groups including anarchists who saw it as the final betrayal of the Revolution - Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, who were in St Petersburg at the time of the Rebellion, indicate that it was cause of their decision to leave Russia.