6) The Civil War Flashcards
When did civil war begin
Summer 1918
After peace had been made with German
Some reasons for why civil war broke out
Starvation meant growing opposition
National minorities cease opportunity to get independence
Anger at treaty
Who were the reds
Bolsheviks
Who were the whites
Industrialists Foreign counties Middle class liberals Tsarists Landowners
Aims of the reds
Remain in one party control
Build socialist county
Leaders of reds
Trotsky
Lenin’s
Checka
Red army
Locations of red
Petrograd
Controlled railways and large industries
Aims of whites
Stop international rev spread
Bring back tsarist regime
National minorities want independence
Wanted military dictatorship
Wanted constituent assembly back
Location of whites
Scattered around everywhere
What was Trotskys contribution to the civil war
Organising Bolsheviks operations
Skilful organiser and propagandist – moulded red army effectively
Left red army well fed
Strategic decisions
Inspiration and boosted morale for troops and commanders
When was the first stage of the civil war
1918-20
Weaknesses of whites
Lacked a single command – difficult given the vast forces involved
Vast geographical distances
Where was the war mainly fought in Russia
East and south of Russia
Summer of 1918 and denikin
Cossack army attacked don region led by denikin
Successful red resistance prevented denikin from linking with white armies in east
Summer 1919 and denikin
Another offensive hit dangerously close to Moscow by October
Trotsky forced denikin army south
When was stage two of civil war
1920-22
National struggled and independence in 1921
Polish armies invaded western Ukrainian but were driven back by tukhachevsky
Treaty of rigs signed which granted polish self rule
How many men in red army
3 million
Explain how Trotsky was prepared to use whatever methods were necessary
Recruited 50,000 former tsarist army officers for their experience
Used them to train recruits
Any sign of disloyalty of desertion was punishable by death
Members of Cheka to shoot them
The murder of the tsar
Bolsheviks thought he could become a figurehead for the whites
July 1918 – whole family shot drenched in acid and thrown in a mine shaft
Killed by Bolshevik police unit (Cheka)
Wasn’t very important few people wanted him as figure head 
The role of peasants
In the end they supported the reds because they said they could keep their land whereas whites made it clear they would give it back to landlords
When was centralisation of power established
Early in civil war when Moscow replaced Petrograd as capital
Less vulnerable to attack
Who was the driving force behind the government and why
Bolsheviks
Party structure appeared democratic
Based on annual congress - elected by mass membership
When was politburo created
1919
What is politburo
Real centre for party policy
Key gov officials
Assumed increasing control of state affairs
EXECUTIVE COMMITEE FOR COMMUNIST PARTIES
What is democratic centralism
In theory Soviet Union was a democracy because workers and peasants elected members of local soviet
Central authorities passed decisions down to the masses
List the soviet government structure from top to bottom
Sovnarkom
Central committee of soviets
Congress of soviets
Provincial and city soviets
Local and district soviets
By the end of 1922 what was Russia know as
Union of soviet socialist republics (USSR)
Or
Soviet Union
Ehat did the impact of fighting civil war do to the communist state
Demand for obedience tightened
Central controls brought in to manage economy and food shortages
Terror used to eradicate opposition
Summary of civil war breaking out
Civil War broke out because Bolsheviks had seized power in a coup
Fought on many fronts the whites comprised of various groups but the Bolsheviks were united and held the central ground
Civil War was a brutal affair symbolised by the murder of the royal family
Civil War led to a greater governmental centralisation and increased party control these lasted beyond the war
