3 - Civil War and Foreign Relations 1918-1924 Flashcards
Why did non-Bolshevik parties oppose the Bolsheviks by 1918?
The Bolsheviks were despised as they:
- crushed the constituent assembly
- outlawed other parties.
Non-Bolshevik parties would NOT accept absolute rule by a minority party
Who was the civil war between? (colours)
- Reds
- Whites
- Greens
How did the Bolsheviks present the struggle?
They presented the stuggle as a class war
What was the real nature of the struggle? (not as a ‘class war’ as depicted by Bolsheviks)
It involved more than just a ‘class war’;
- It gave Russia’s national minorities, e.g. Ukrainians, a cover to establish their independence
- Aso provided a cover to settle personal vendettas (e.g. villages were divided against each other)
- fighting was simply a desperate struggle for food (creating initial military opposition to Bolsheviks)
Give 2 examples of the hunger crisis in Petrograd, just before the civil war
- In March 1918, bread ration in Petrograd reached its lowest allocation of 50 grams a day
- By June 1918, workforce in Petrograd shrunk by 60% and overall pop decline from 3mil to 2mil
What did the hunger crisis (1918) show about the decree of Worker-control (1917)?
It showed that the decree of worker-control was ineffective
What ‘white’ units started to appear during the civil war?
- SR’s established anti-Bolshevik Volga ‘republic’ at Samara
- White ‘volunteer army’, led by General Denikin, was formed in Southern Russia from Tsarist Loyalists and outlawed Kadets
- In Estonia, another ex-Tsarist,General Yudenich, formed white army of resistance
- In Ukraine, Baron Wrangle led ‘Caucasus Volunteer army’ against Bolsheviks
Why was there fighting between Czechoslovakian troops and Local Soviets, during the civil war?
There was fighting as:
- 40,000 Czechoslovakian troops aimed to rejoin allies in Vladivostok, in hope of winning support for independent czechslovakia
- Local Soviets challenged troops and fighting pursued alng the trans-Siberian railway
What were Green weaknesses that contributed to their downfall?
Their limited aims for national independence for particular regions meant that they never formed a common front to challenge the Reds
What were White weaknesses that contributed to their downfall?
- The various white armies fought as separate detachments
- Apart from their obvious desire to overthrow Bolsheviks, they were not bound together by a single aim
- They were unwilling to sacrifice individual interests in order to form a united anti-Bolshevik front. This allowed Reds to defeat white armies separately
- In rare cases where whites did work together, they were too widely scattered geographically to be able to mount a sustained attack on the Reds
- Whites became too reliant on supplies from abroad, which hardly arrived in sufficient quantities, ar right place/time. This also meant that Reds could accuse them of being in league with the foreign interventionists
- They lacked leaders of quality of Trotsky
What were Red strengths that contributed to their victory?
- They remained in control of a concentrated central area of Western Russia, that they were able to defend by maintaining inner communication and supply lines
- Administrative centres of Russia, Petrograd and Moscow, remained in their control
- Reds kept control of railway network
- Reds had control over industrial centres. This gave them access to munitions and resources unavailable to whites
- Red Army was well led by Trotsky
What was Trotsky role during the civil war?
He was War Commissar
What were some of Trotsky actions, that helped the Bolsheviks win the civil war
- He banned independence of trade unions, so workers were brought under same discipline as soldiers. (this helped him build red army)
- Supervised development of new fighting force from his train, motivating them (due to his belief in the importance of morale and dedication)
- He enlisted large numbers of ex-tsarist officers to train the rank and file into efficient soldiers (attaching political commissars as a precaution)
- Strict discipline: Imposed death sentence for desertion or disloyalty. Used customary forms of ranks and address with soldiers
Give evidence to show that Trotskys role in the war was successful
- Within 2 years, he turned an unpromising collection of tired Red Guard veterans and raw recruits into a formidable number of 3 million men
- Political commissars were so successful that they were attached to all gov. departments under Lenin
- Throughout struggle, Reds were sustained by driving sense of purpose instilled in them by Trotsky
Who Trotsky conscript as recruits?
He conscripted:
- Anyone whos political/social background suggested fighting ability. They were formed into labour battalions behind the lines, digging trenches, loading ammo and pulling heavy guns
- Peasants (werent very reliable)
- Workers (VERY reliable and were referred to defenders of the revolution for their work)
How did Trotsky justify the severity of the Reds methods
He used the slogan ‘everything for the front’, referring to the dangers Russia felt on all sides
Were all of the Reds successes achieved by coercion?
No, some idealists saw Red methods as necessary in creating Proletarian world
How strong were the Red Army in comparison to other European armies at the time?
Not very strong: They were short of equipment and expertise, and within Russia, they soon came to outstrip its white opponents in its efficiency and sense of purpose
What were the effects of the civil war on the Bolsheviks?
- Proved Bolshevik strength and loyalty: of all members in party in 1927, 1/3 joined between 1917-1920 and fought in red army, creating a tradition of loyalty
- Bolshevik authoritarianism: The focus on authoritarian measures in civil war provided initial framework for future ruling methods
- Centralisation of Bolshevik control: Rapid Civil War decisions meant that power moved away from cumbersome central committee to the efficient Politburo/Orgburo (1919)
What was the secretariat?
The civil service that carried out administration of policies
What was the Orgburo?
The organisation bureau, which turned policies into practise
What was the Politburo?
The political bureau, responsible for major policy decisions
Why did Western Allies want Russia to stay in the war?
If Russia made peace with Germany, Germany could focus on only the western front, and not the western AND eastern front
How did the Western Allies try to keep Russia in the war?
They offered Russia large amounts of capital
What did the Allies do after finding out that Russia made peace with Germany?
British, French and US troops occupied the ports of Murmansk in the Arctic and Archangel in the White sea to prevent vital war-supplies, previously loaned to Russia, from falling into German hands
What were the ‘foreign interventions’
A 2-year period (1918-1920) where forces from a large number of countries occupied key areas of Russia
Why was the ‘foreign interventions’ dangerous for the Bolsheviks?
It made an offensive against the Bolsheviks more likely (after the First World War), especially with the creation of the Comintern
What did Russia do especially to aggravate Foreign allies (other than sign treaty)?
Russia refused to pay back any foreign debts and froze all foreign assets in Russia
Describe some of the invasions that Foreign allies made (in Russia)
- in 1918, British land forces enter Southern Russia and British Warships enter Russian Baltic waters and Black sea, where they were joined by French naval vessels
- French established major land base around Black sea port of Odessa
- April 1918, Japan troops occupy port in Vladivostok. Joined by British, US, Italy, & French troops soon after
- Czech, Finnish, Lithuanian, Polish and Romanian forces cross into Russia (to gain independence)
- in 1919, Japan and US troops occupy party of Siberia
Why were interventionist attacks not successful?
They were only focused on protecting individual interests, so attacks werent co-ordinated and there was little co-operation
Were there any interventionist successes?
Yes (there was one)
- national forces, backed by British warships and troops, crushed a Bolshevik invasion and forced Lenin’s government to recognise the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
When did the interventionists withdraw from Russia?
- By end of 1919, All French and US troops were recalled
- By end of 1920, All other western forces had left
- By 1922, Japan left Russia
Were the withdrawals a victory for the Bolsheviks?
Not really
How did the Bolsheviks portray the interventionist withdrawals?
They portrayed it as a victory for the Bolsheviks, depicting Lenin as the saviour of the nation from foreign conquest.
- This helped Russia recover its esteem after its capitulation to Germany
What did the Bolsheviks do to Poland in 1920?
The Red Army marched into Poland, expecting the polish to rise inrevolution against their government. However, the Polish saw this as traditional Russian aggression and drove them out
What were the consequences of the war against Poland in 1920?
Soviet morale was seriously damages, forcing Lenin to rethink whole question of international revolution
What 3 events forced Lenin to rethink idea of international revolution?
- War against Poland
- Foreign interventions
- Failure of communist revolutions in Germany and Hungary
How did Lenin change his foreign policy after these 3 events?
- He decided to wait till capitalist nations grew weaker before taking major steps e.g. invading
- Comintern would continue calling for a world revolution, but Soviet Russia would soften its international attitude
What was the Treaty of Rapallo?
A treaty signed between Germany and Soviet Russia in April 1922
Why were Germany and Russia both considered as Pariah nations by 1922?
- Germany: Under treaty of Versailles, Germany had to pay heavy reparations and had beendenied right to rearm
- Soviet Russia: earned hostiity by renouncing all of Russia’s debts and encouraging a world revolution
What were the main terms of the Treaty of Rapallo?
- Russia would provide German forces with military training ground and resources
- In return, Russia would be granted special trading rights in Germany
What was the Treaty of Berlin?
A further Soviet-German agreement in 1926, confirming the main terms of the Rapallo treaty.
Which european government was the 1st to give diplomatic recognition to the Soviet Union in 1924?
The British Labour government
What were the main terms of the Anglo-Soviet treaty?
- Britain agreed to advance a 30 million loan to the Soviet Union
- The Soviet Union would pay compensation for the British financial assets that the Bolsheviks had seized after the Oct Rev.
What was the ‘Zinoviev letter’
A letter by ‘Zinoviev’ in 1924, which suggested that the Bosheviks were planning on infiltrating the British Labour Party and using it to bring down the British Gov in an armed insurrectionq
What were the consequences of the Zinoviev letter?
The Anglo-Soviet treaty was never carried out as the British Labour Government were defeated in elections (due to worry that relations between labour gov and USSR would occasion a revolution in Britain)
