Chapter 6 - The Civil War 1918-24 Flashcards
Why had the left turned against the Bolsheviks in the early months of 1918?
- Lenin had forced the Kadets and right-wing SRs out of his government
- Lenin had closed the Constituent Assembly after the SRs won the most seats
- The Bolsheviks were sidelining the soviets and imposing a one-party dictatorship
Why had the right turned against the Bolsheviks in the early months of 1918?
- Aristocrats and the bourgeoisie were alienated by Bolshevik ideology
- Some still yearned for the old tsarist regime, although they didn’t necessarily want Nicholas II himself back on the throne
- Food shortages hit the bourgeoisie the hardest as the rationing system meant they were given the smallest share
Who stood to lose everything from Bolshevik economic and social policies?
Russians with land, money or businesses
Who still supported the old tsarist regime?
A group including army officers, some of whom objected to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
What were some other causes for the outbreak of the civil war?
- Those of limited allegiance to any political group viewed the fluid political situation as an opportunity to win old battles and play out local rivalries
- National minorities were fighting for their independence
- There was much discontent caused by the Bolsheviks’ inability to solve Russia’s economic problems
- Many were angered by the concessions of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
- Bolshevik opponents claimed they had no right to rule Russia
How did national minorities who had been part of the old Russian Empire feel about the Bolsheviks?
They were uncertain that Bolshevik promises to grant self-determination were to be believed
They saw the prevailing chaos and uncertainty of the time before the civil war as an opportunity to fight for independence
What economic problems was Russia facing before the outbreak of the civil war?
Ongoing food shortages and severe rationing of essentials were exacerbated by distribution problems, as well as loss of agricultural land from the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Why did Bolshevik opponents claim they had no right to rule?
They’d seized power by force in Moscow and Petrograd
They hadn’t submitted to popular elections
They’d largely ignored the PS which had helped place them in power
Who were the key players in the civil war?
The Reds
The Whites
The Czech Legion
The Poles
The Greens
The Allies
The Reds
The Bolshevik Red Army, led by Trotsky
The Whites
The various armies and armed groups made up of the Bolsheviks’ opponents and led by former tsarist officers
Attacks rarely coordinated and had little in common with each other except their hatred of the Bolsheviks
The Czech Legion
Formed from Czech nationalists who had arrived in Russia during WWI
Joined forces with the Whites after the Bolsheviks tried to block and arrest some of the Czech soldiers as they travelled along the Trans-Siberian railway
The Allies
Britain, France and the USA all sent troops to help the Whites
The Greens
A largely peasant army fighting for independence from control by anyone, Red or White
Led by Nestor Makhno
Fought a guerilla campaign in the Ukraine
Sided with, and fought against, both the Reds and the Whites at different points in the war
The Poles
Polish armies fought to gain control of western Ukraine
What was the first main stage of the civil war?
1918-20
Mainly fought in the east and south of Russia
The Bolsheviks held the area around Moscow and were attacked on different sides by the Whites
What was the second main stage of the civil war?
1920-21
More of a nationalist conflict against the Polish armies that had invaded western Ukraine
Russian forces, led by General Tukhachevsky, were able to drive the Poles back
Led to the Treaty of Riga in March 1921
What did the Treaty of Riga do?
Granted independence to Poland and a number of other states, including Estonia and Latvia
What happened in April-May 1918?
The Czech Legion seizes part of the Trans-Siberian railway, war begins
Czechs joined the Whites and began advancing towards Moscow when the Bolsheviks tried to arrest them
What happened in August 1918?
Denikin and Kolchak’s White armies make rapid advances
General Denikin’s army attacked from the south-west of Moscow
Admiral Kolchak’s army attacked from the east
What happened in November 1918?
Kolchak declares himself ‘Supreme Ruler’ of Russia
The Whites appeared poised for success but Red counter-attacks prevented Denikin and Kolchak from linking up
What happened in October 1919?
Denikin’s army advances within 200 miles of Moscow
This was the closest Denikin got to victory. Trotsky counter-attacked to force Denikin south towards the Crimea
Yudenich’s army advances to the outskirts of Petrograd
Red troops were able to repel General Yudenich’s small army of 15,000 men
What happened in February 1920?
Kolchak is captured and shot
He’d been in retreat since 1919
He was captured and handed over to the Bolsheviks
What happened in March 1920?
Denikin’s army is evacuated to the Crimea
White armies continued to retreat
What happened in May 1920?
Beginning of the Russo-Polish war
The new campaign distracted Bolshevik forces
What happened in October 1920?
Wrangel’s army is evacuated from Crimea
Baron Wrangel took over from Denikin in the Crimea. His army was defeated by Nestor Makhno’s Green peasant army, and evacuated by British and French ships
The Bolsheviks establish control
The Bolsheviks gained victory over the Whites, but fighting against the Poles continued into 1921
What happened in March 1921
The Treaty of Riga is signed
What was the importance of Trotsky’s train?
It carried food, equipment and cigarettes for the troops and had a propaganda unit
All of these were important for Red Army morale
How did Trotsky ensure the troops had food?
By requisitioning grain
What was Trotsky’s role in the civil war?
He was an excellent military organisator and successfully directed the Red Army
- He travelled around the different fronts of the war in a special train, meeting commanders and troops and ensuring morale stayed high
- His ruthless approach ensured the Red Army had food and weapons
- He didn’t let ideology get in the way of winning
- He insisted on strict discipline
- He turned the Red Army into a professional military force
How did Trotsky turn the Red Army into a professional military force?
Reintroduced traditional ranks and practices
Soldier soviets no longer elected their officers
How did Trotsky not let ideology get in the way of winning?
Recruited 50,000 former tsarist officers to train new troops, even though they were ideological enemies of the working class
Political commissars watched the officers for any sign of disloyalty
How did Trotsky insist on strict discipline?
If a unit retreated without being ordered to, Trotsky said the first to be shot would be the political commissar and then the unit commander
Deserters were shot (the Cheka was used to round them up)
Where was the royal family being held in July 1918?
Yekaterinburg, in the Ural mountains
How were the royal family murdered?
By the Cheka police guarding them when they heard that White troops were nearby
How does the the killing of the royal family link back to Lenin and what is this evidence of if true?
Murder was carried out by local Bolsheviks but it’s almost certain that Lenin authorised the murders
If so, it’s evidence of the way that Lenin’s government was moving towards greater radicalisation and terror
How did geography contribute to Red victory?
The Reds:
Commanded the hub of communications, the armaments factories and the most densely populated regions of central Russia (including Petrograd and Moscow)
The Whites:
Widely dispersed in less developed parts
How did unity and organisation contribute to Red victory?
The Reds:
United in their aim to survive and ideologically committed in a way that the Whites were not
Had a unified command structure
The Whites:
Generals operated independently and fought for different objectives
How did leadership contribute to Red victory?
The Reds:
The Red Army became a well disciplined fighting force under Trotsky’s leadership
The Whites:
Few competent commanders and ill-discipline and corruption were rife
How did support contribute to Red victory?
Peasant support varied but the Reds’ land poicies were generally more popular than the Whites’ association with traditional tsarist policies
How did foreign involvement contribute to Red victory?
The Reds:
Hostility to foreign involvement gave them a useful propaganda platform
The Whites:
Foreign involvement didn’t greatly aid them
How did the national minorities contribute to Red victory?
Suspicious of the Whites whose slogan was ‘Russia One and Indivisible’
How did the civil war affect the Soviet bureaucracy? How did this affect the USSR after the war?
The Soviet bureaucracy grew much larger to organise the war, until there were more bureaucrats than workers.
Soviet government remained highly bureaucratic
What did the civil war lead to in terms of government?
Greater government centralisation and increased Party control. Had a lasting influence on how the USSR was governed
How did the civil war affect the Party?
500,000 Party members fought for the Red Army.
They became used to obeying orders and acting with whatever force was necessary
How did the civil war affect communication? How did this affect the USSR after the war?
In wartime it was essential that orders from the centre were communicated quickly and carried out without delay
This continued after the war and instead of policies and decision being created at a local soviet level, they were created in the centre and carried out without question at the local level
When was the Politburo set up and what was it?
1919
Formed from the Party’s Central Committee
Members were also key government officials
How did the civil war affect Sovnarkom? How did this affect the USSR after the war?
After 1919, the Politburo quickly took over the running of both the Party and the government.
Sovnarkom met gradually less frequently during the 1920s, as the Politburo increasingly bypassed it to give orders directly to the government ministers represented in the Central Committee
Why were ‘central controls’ brought in? What happened after the war?
To deal with food shortages
Central control of the economy increased after the war
How did ‘siege mentality’ affect the civil war? How did this affect the USSR after the war?
The Bolsheviks adopted a ‘siege mentality’ while surrounded by enemies in the civil war. Defending their revolution from enemies demanded extreme ruthlessness and brutality.
This mentality continued after the war; Stalin was heavily influenced by it
How did the Bolsheviks use terror in the civil war?
Used to ensure that people obeyed orders from the centre, and to eliminate anyone suspected of opposition
What happened to areas conquered by the Red Army after the civil war?
They either became a part of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic or were allowed to remain as seperate soviet republics
What happened to the Ukraine and Georgia after the civil war?
They remained as seperate soviet republics
What name was given to the Bolshevik State in Jan 1918?
the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic
What happened by the end of 1922?
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was officially established
AKA the Soviet Union or the USSR
