Russia Topic 4 - The Russian Civil War Flashcards
What were the causes of the Russian Civil War?
- constituent assembly = Lenin closed it down declaring it was an instrument of the bourgeoisie ( related to the tsar ). This was done as the Bolshevik lost the election to the social revolutionaries
- economically = constant food shortages, distribution problems
- Czech Legion = czech prisoners of war mutinied took control of the siberian railway and it attacked towards Moscow
- Question the legitimacy = from the October Revolution
- peasants votes = worth less than workers
- Russian orthodox church = targeted by atheist Bolshevik
- burzhui = old bourgeoisie lost jobs, basic rations, voted by the cheka
- Right wing = yearned for the old tsarist regime: officers, landowners, businessmen
- Bolshevik ideology = alienated some groups which made them not want to work with them. Their actions and their enemies who agreed to work together.
- allie Intervention = Britain and France felt betrayed as Russia left the war. Felt like they should attack them.
who were the red army:
-aim
-leader(s)
-consumed of
-capacity
-support(ers)
- aim: unified structure of creating a communist country
- leader: Lenin, Trotsky was the leader of the Reds
- consumed: bolsheviks (communists)
- army: 5 million by 1920
- support: soldiers and industrial workers. Peasants turned to them a little.
when did the civil war take place
1918-1924
what were the two sides of the Civil War?
Red army and white army
Who were the white army?
– aim
- Leader(s)
- Consumed of
- Capacity
- Support(ers)
- aim = restore tsarism, bring back the constituent assembly (demoncracy) , reclaim lost land through the land decree of 1917
- leaders = Denikin, Kolchak, Yudenich
- Consumed = allies, former tsarists, socialists, kadets, monarchists and liberals
- capacity = 150,000 (D), 140,000 (K), 15,000 (Y)
- support = moral from allies which made them look weak. Peasants turned away after they ravaged the countryside.
where was Denikin based?
south
Where was Kolchak based?
East
where was Yudenich based?
west
Who were the green army?
-aim
-leader
-tactics
-consumed of
- aim = independence
- leader = makhno
- tactics = guerrila warfare
- consumed = peasants who didn’t agree with the reds or whites
what was Trotsky’s train?
A train which travelled the red Army 65,000 miles
what was the role of Trotsky’s train?
– Recruitment = recruited 50,000 former tsarist army offices due to the experience and train new peasants that lacked military experience. He appointed political to reinstate that strength.
– Discipline = hush as he brought back traditional ranks through the use of terror, the death penalty to ensure that men would fight in the war and kept families hostages to ensure that the soldiers would remain loyal to the red army
– Train = used to travel around his own elite army, gloves, food and weapons. He would rush two front lines to meet commanders and flea quickly run necessary. It travels 65,000 miles in total
- tactics = listen to others who were already trained and allowed them to make decisions. He committed an atrocities (war crimes) and had a mobility due to train which allowed him to cause surprise tax on the whites. He would retreat earlier rather than later if necessary and save petrograd from the white army.
– Leadership = commissar for made in control of the army. His leadership was proven through his work in the military revolutionary committee during the October revolution
Where became the capital city of Russia in 1918 and why?
Moscow
To increase the centralisation of Bolshevik control
what was the politburo?
The political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party responsible for major policy decisions
what was the orgburo?
The organisation bureau which turned policies into practice
What was the secretariat?
The civil service carried out the administration policies
when were the Romanov’s murdered?
17 July 1918
Who murdered the Romanovs and why?
bolsheviks
to end the reign of the tsar forever
how were the Romanovs murdered?
told that counter Revolutionary troops were going to attack them so they needed to go to the basement of the house they were staying in. they were then shot to death and finished off with a gunshot to the head.
It is believed that the soldiers were nervous to do this so they got drunk before and had very bad aim
What was the impact of the Civil War?
– 10 million lives lost
– Women abandoned
– High rate of disease
– Requisitioning left peasants scare of food
What is a one party state?
A single political party that controls the ruling system. All other parties are either limited or overboard. The bolsheviks created this in Russia.
Who were the Czech Legion?
April/May 1918 = the czech Legion began to seize towns on the trans-Siberian railway which they had taken over. The Bolshevik attempt to rest them as a result of this.
what was the role of the cheka during the Civil War?
they had been given authority to arrest those they believed were opposition and requisition grain from the peasants which would be given to the army
Who was the victorious of the Civil War?
The red army
