CIVIL WAR 1917-21 Flashcards
What did some opposition groups see the Revolution as?
An opportunity to launch a counter-offensive against the Bolsheviks.
What was the one event that signalled the start of the civil war unrest?
Kerensky’s Petrograd Offensive. (July 1917)
When was Kerensky’s and General Krasnov’s offensive brought to a halt?
November 1917
attempt to regain power after PG had been overthrown
When did the White armies fight against the Reds?
From December 1918 to the end of 1920.
When did Polish forces attack Russia? Where did they reach?
April 1921, they reached as far as Kiev in the east.
When did the Red troops drive out the last of the White troops from Southern Russia?
November 1921.
Who were the Green Armies?
Groups of armed peasants.
What did defeat on the Polish campaign bring upon the Bolsheviks?
Brought a similar kind of humiliation as the Russo-Japanese war had brought upon NII.
- Polish victory resulted in the establishment of the Russo-Polish border that existed until 1939
What was not abandoned in foreign policy? What was FP centred on alternatively?
Did not abandon Comintern or the concept of ‘world revolution’. Centred on developing peaceful relations.
How many people died as a result of war, famine and disease?
About 10 million.
How much had industry fallen in comparison to pre-war levels of capacity?
Ten to twenty per cent.
How much had the population of cities declined?
Decimated to around 50% of their 1917 levels.
What did the post-war government consist of?
Men who had served in the Red Army, the Cheka and other bodies.
What is the militaristic approach to government reflected in?
The introduction of war communism.
What was the NEP introduced to bring?
Stability to government even though it appeared to be in contradiction of all that the communists stood for.
When was the Civil War?
1918-20
How were the allies involved with the Civil War? (3)
Western allies pissed off at Russia’s withdrawal from war, Churchill sent 100m supplies to help whites, USA, Japan and Italy sent troops
Strengths of the Reds (4)
Conscription – 5mil in RA by 1920, Trotsky’s disciple, ideological commitment, Red Terror – 50k executions 1918 under Cheka, control of railways
Weaknesses of the Whites (4)
. reliance on foreign assistance, dessertions (worried about land issue), no single aim, allies’ puppets
Why did the Polish forces attack Russia in the civil war?
German defeat in WW1, Polish nationalism sparked by the re-creation of an independent Polish state, and the Bolsheviks’ determination to carry the gains they had achieved during the Russian Civil War to central Europe.
Reds
Communists led by Lenin - “Bread, Peace and Land”, Bolsheviks
Whites
All factions opposed to Reds (Mensheviks, tsarist supporters, SRs, etc.)
Greens
Peasants who feared Whites would take land
KEY IMPACTS OF THE CIVIL WAR
- ECONOMIC POLICY - WAR COMMUNISM AND NEP
- REALISATION OF INTERNAL CONFLICT - crack down heavily on non-Bolshevik socialists. Menshevik and SR deputies were expelled from the central and local soviets
- RED TERROR
- defeat various nationalist movements of the non-Russian peoples e.g hopes of the Tatars, southern Urals ruined
By 1920 rouble was worth ____ of its ___ worth
By 1920 rouble was wowth 1% of its 1917 worth
What ended the Civil War?
Treaty of Riga March 1921
- 10 million Ukranians and White Russians were put under Polish rule - though a loss, Communist government under Lenin was now secure
