The Civil War 1918 - 1921

Question 1

When was the civil war

Answer 1

1918- 1921

Question 2

What were the most significant causes of the civil war

Answer 2

World opposition to the Bolsheviks

Domestic challenges from Bolshevik enemies

The threat from the Czech legion

Question 3

Give an example of world opposition to the Bolsheviks

Answer 3

The Bolsheviks believed in world revolution and set up the Comintern, led by Zinoviev which essentially stated it would try to cause end start communist revolution all over the world.

Consequently the great powers of Europe sent armies to destroy the Bolsheviks, British, American and French armies attacked from archangel, Ukraine and vladivostok

Question 4

Give examples of domestic challenges from Bolshevik enemies

Answer 4

• after the SR’s had won a majority in the constituent assembly, Lenin dissolved the constituent assembly and replaced it with soviet rule and political terror. The SR’s weren’t happy and fought back
• Bolsheviks were facing opposition from supporters of the old provisional government and the Mensheviks who had a significant say in the prov gov
• Bolsheviks faced opposition from supporters of the tsarists who wanted to rescue tsar Nicholas II And put him back on the throne. They were also supported by land owners who weren’t happy with the peasant land seizures
• Lenin had signed the treaty of Brest litovsk in which Russia had lost much of Russia’s best agricultural and industrial land to Germany including the Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This angered patriotic Russians, the kadets and conservative forces on the right and caused a split in the party

Question 5

Give an example of a threat from the Czech legion

Answer 5

The Bolsheviks faced a military threat when the Czech legion’s 40,000 soldiers who had fought on the side of the Russians during WW1 as a means of gaining independence from Austro- Hungary found themselves isolated after Russia and Germany had signed the treaty of Brest- litovsk

Question 6

Who were the reds

Answer 6

The ‘workers’ and peasants’ red army’ was formed from Kronstadt sailors and red guards, plus workers who volunteers and soldiers from the disintegrating former imperial army

Question 7

Who were the whites

Answer 7

There were liberals, former tsarists, nationalists and separatists, SR’s and other moderate socialists

Question 8

Who were the main forces in the whites

Answer 8

Yudenich’s army

The Omsk government

The komuch

The southern volunteer army

Question 9

Who were the greens

Answer 9

Peasant armies

Most were concerned with protecting their own area

The most famous of them was probably makhno who at times fought the reds, whites and Germans but became an ally of the Bolsheviks

Question 10

What key events of the civil war happened in 1918 ( in order)

Answer 10

Jan- red army established

March- treaty of Brest litovsk, first British troops land at Murmansk

May- Czech legion rebels and captures a large section of the trans- Siberian railway, conscription into red army is introduced

June- SR government is established, murder of tsar and family

August- Americans arrive in northern and eastern Russia, British land at archangel and establish an anti Bolshevik government

November- kolchak assumes control in Omsk

December- French land at Odessa

Question 11

What key events of the civil war happened in 1919 ( in order)

Answer 11

February- denikin assumes supreme command in the south east, red army occupies Kiev

March- Kolchak’s forces cross the Urals but are repulsed by the red army, growing discontent in French and British forces

April- French evacuate Odessa

June- denikin and southern army take Kharkov

July- denikin advances from the Caucasus and captures Tsaritsyn, loss of Kharkov and Tsaritsyn leads to criticisms of Trotsky, he resigns but his resignation is refused

September- allies evacuate archangel

October- denikin takes Orel but is forced back later in the month, yudenich reaches the outskirts of Petrograd

November- yudenich is defeated; denikin pushed back

Question 12

What key events of the civil war happened in 1920 ( in order)

Answer 12

February- kolchak is executed by the Bolsheviks, red army invades georgia

April- denikin is succeeded by wrangel

May- polish army invaded Russia and occupies Kiev

July- tukhachevsky mounts red army counter offensive against poles

August- red army defeated by poles outside Warsaw

November- wrangel is defeated in the Crimea

Question 13

What key events of the civil war happened in 1921 ( in order)

Answer 13

March- treaty of Riga: peace between Poland and soviet Russia

Question 14

Who was admiral kolchak

Answer 14

He led a tsarist army in the east from November 1918

set up a right wing government in Omsk, ruling a large part of western Siberia.

Eventually he was forced to retreat through 1919 before being captured and shot by the reds in 1920

Question 15

Who was general denikin

Answer 15

Had been kornilovs chief of staff and took over a large tsarist army in the south when korniloc was killed in April 1918.

He had the support of the Cossacks in the don area.

Having advanced northwards, his forces nearly succeeded in joining up with Kolchaks st Tsaritsyn by the summer of 1918.

In 1919 denikin got to within 200 miles of Moscow but was forced to retreat right back to the Crimea.

His forces were eventually evacuated by British and French naval vessels in 1920

Question 16

Who was general yudenich

Answer 16

Another ex tsarist general

advanced through Estonia and reached the outskirts of Petrograd in October 1919 before being forced back

Question 17

How did other nations impact the civil war (Britain, France and Japan?)

Answer 17

Other nations supplies anti Bolshevik forces with money and arms and in some cases sent troops.

Winston Churchill was determinedly anti Bolshevik and at his instigation British forces were sent to Murmansk.

French investors were the biggest losers when the Bolsheviks nationalised foreign businesses without compensation and the French fleet was sent to the Black Sea.

Japanese forces occupied Vladivostok, hoping to seize territory; us forces were sent to keep an eye on the Japanese.

On the whole there was little support at home for these expeditions.

Question 18

How much of an effect did the foreign armies and nations have an effect on the outcome of the civil war

Answer 18

They had little effect and all had withdrawn by 1920

Question 19

When was the polish war

Answer 19

1919- 1921

Question 20

Who were foreign armies made up of

Answer 20

Mostly working class men from Britain, France and Japan

They often sympathised with the Bolsheviks and were not keen on a war against a workers republic

Question 21

Explain about the polish war 1919- 1921

Answer 21

In 1919 there were national and religious uprisings in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

However the most serious threat came from newly independent Poland

The polish army was successful at first, invaded and reached Kiev but were driven back to Warsaw by the red army under general tukhachevsky

Te reds, however, could not sustain this advance and were driven out of Poland

Peace was made at the treaty of Riga, 1921 at which Poland made significant gains of former Russian land in the Ukraine and Belarus

Question 22

What happened in the third phase of the civil war

Answer 22

It broke out in summer 1920

Although the whites were defeated, the red army was fully stretched against the poles and resistance to the communists was widespread

There were plenty of grievances against the communists by then, from harsh discipline in the factories, hunger in the cities and forced grain requisitions in the countryside

However, the SR’s were so weakened by this time that they couldn’t launch the coordinated effort needed to oust the communists

Tambov uprising 1921

Other peasant risings

Question 23

What was the Tambov uprising

Answer 23

In august, peasants in a village in the Tambov region attacked a red grain requisition brigade and killed several of them.

They were joined by other villagers and by the end of the year 8000 brigade members had been killed

They had no intention of taking over government but effectively cut the whole province off from communist control for over a year

They were only crushed when a huge red army of 100,000 men moved into the province in the last part of 1921

Question 24

Explain about the similar peasant risings in the third phase of the civil war

Answer 24

Similar peasant risings to Tambov took place all over russia

They used guerrilla warfare such as blowing up bridges, cutting telegraph lines and pulling up railway tracks to defeat all attempts by the communist government to bring them into line.

They used terror of their own, mutilating bodies of those they captured in a savage war of vengeance

Question 25

Explain about the bitter strikes in Moscow in the summer of 1920

Answer 25

In the third phase of the civil war there was bitter strikes in Moscow in the summer of 1920

The appearance of a group called the Workers’ opposition within the Bolshevik party and of course the Kronstadt mutiny of March 1921

Question 26

What is war communism

Answer 26

The name given to the set of drastic measures taken by Lenin and the Bolsheviks to win the civil war and stay in power

In order to ensure the red army was supplied with munitions and fed, Lenin introduced a decree of nationalisation which established strong centralised control over all areas of production and distribution in the areas under his control

Question 27

Explain about war communism in industry

Answer 27

By 1918 industrial production was running at about 30% of 1913 levels.

The problems faced by the provisional government in 1917 - lack of raw materials, failures of the transport system, inflation- had only got worse

Management of factories by workers’ committees was not working

The flight of workers from the cities to the villages was causing a labour shortage

All industries had been put under centralised state control in December 1917 and were now run by the supreme council of state economy ( Vesenkha)

The vesenkha solution was to bring discipline to the factories. Workers were fined for lateness ect

Question 28

How important the role of Trotsky in the civil war and what did he change

Answer 28

When Trotsky was made commissar for war in 1918, the army was on the point of disintegration.

He restored discipline and professionalism to what was now called the ‘workers’ and peasants’ red army’ and turned it into an effective fighting force.

He reorganised the army along strict hierarchical lines and brought back thousands of former tsarist officers to train and command army units. To ensure their loyalty, Trotsky held their families hostage

Soldiers’ committees end the election of officers by soldiers were ended. This didn’t go down well.

There was a reintroduction of ranks, saluting and pay differentials.

Trotsky also re-established harsh military discipline, bringing back the death penalty.

He also formed labour battalions to help at the front

Question 29

What were Trotsky’s strengths

Answer 29

His energy, passion and organisational abilities

According to volkogonov, Trotsky was not much of a military strategist and the key military decisions were taken by others

But Trotsky never claimed to be an expert in military matters and his chief contribution was as the person in overall charge, holding small things together and making the organisation work

Question 30

Why was Trotsky’s return to a traditional army resented by other leading Bolsheviks

Answer 30

Especially Stalin and Zinoviev

They had a different concept of a revolutionary army- one which was more like a militia and certainly not one that had tsarist officers in charge

Trotsky only managed to get his way with the support of Lenin

To placate the party and ensure loyalty of the officers, Trotsky attacked a political commissar (fanatical Bolshevik) to each army unit to watch and report on the actions of the officers

Question 31

What were the weaknesses of the red army

Answer 31

Once the supply of urban workers ran out, the reds conscripted peasants but they were generally unwilling conscripts and would often desert at harvest time.

The peasants staged uprisings and many joined independent green armies

Rates of desertion were just as high for the reds as for the whites.

It had indiscipline and at worst this became full scale mutinies in which burzhui officers were murdered and new officers elected

Question 32

What were the rates of desertion for the red army in 1918 and by 1921

Answer 32

One million in 1918

4 million by 1921

Question 33

Why was desertion in the red army significant

Answer 33

When they deserted they took weapons and uniform with them so even in the later stages of the war the red army was often poorly equipped and they were short of ammunition

This is why Trotsky’s train which carried uniforms and supplies was so important

Question 34

Give detail about yudenich’s army

Answer 34

In the north west

quite a small force

attacked the reds out of Estonia

Question 35

Give detail about the Omsk government

Answer 35

A reactionary government

mainly rightists under nominal leadership of kolchak

controlled extensive area in Siberia

Question 36

Give detail about the komuch

Answer 36

(The committee of the members of the constituent assembly)

Composed mainly of SR’s

based at samara on the river volga

Question 37

Give detail about the southern volunteer army

Answer 37

Formed by generals kornilov and alexseev

based in the south on the river don

thousands of army officers joined as well as kadets and other liberals

army taken over by general denikin in 1918

Question 38

What type of economy did war communism and nationalisation lead to

Answer 38

A command economy which was influenced by the state rather than by the laws of supply and demand

Question 39

What were the main features of war communism

Answer 39

1. All factories and businesses were nationalised in November 1920 due to shortages. Workers lost their freedom and were forced to work long hours without wages. Their reward was a small ration of food, some clothing and lodgings
2. All grain had to be delivered to the state. Soldiers confiscated crops and livestock. Peasants began hiding their crops so Lenin was forced to use the Cheka
3. Ban on private trade and a rationing system was introduced on food.
4. Money lost all value.

Question 40

What was people’s response to war communism

Answer 40

In areas occupied by the Bolsheviks, Trotsky used the Cheka to establish control and ensure the loyalty of the people

Within the red army, civilian commissars were attached to each unit to ensure the soldiers’ political loyalty

Hostages were taken and there were mass executions

During the summer of 1918 the reds began a period of indiscriminate murder and wholesale atrocities

Peasants didn’t give up their crops easily

Question 41

What were the effects of war communism

Answer 41

The peasants decided it wasn’t worth growing crops for the communists to steal -> acute food shortage in 1920 and a famine in 1921

Between 7,500,000 and 10,000,000 Russians died during the civil war and very few were battle casualties -> hunger and disease especially typhus were the main culprits

A Commissariat of Supplies (Narkomprod) was made responsible for the feeding of the cities and the army

The middle peasants were antagonised and the partnership between the proletariat and peasants was upset

People fled the country

A black market flourished

The number of strikes increased -> the most serious was the strike of sales in Kronstadt

Question 42

How many Russian people died during the civil war and why

Answer 42

Between 7,500,000 and 10,000,000 Russians died during the civil war and very few were battle casualties -> hunger and disease especially typhus were the main culprits caused by the movement of lousy troops, the absence of soap and hot water and medical supplies, malnutrition

Question 43

What did the Commissariat of Supplies (Narkomprod) do

Answer 43

Was responsible for the feeding of the cities and the army

In 1918 the immediate method was to organise committees of poor peasants in the villages and detachments of armed workers in the towns, both of whom were to extract grain from the kulaks

The confusion of requisitioning that ensued soon antagonised a large class of middle class peasants and upset the partnership of proletariat and peasantry that Lenin was determined to create

Question 44

Why did townspeople flee the country due to war communism

Answer 44

They fled to the country where they believed starvation was less of a problem -> reduced the number of workers left in the towns

It’s estimated in December 1920 the population of 40 capitals had fallen by 33% compared with 1917 while that for Petrograd fell by 57.5% and 44.5% for Moscow

Question 45

What was the effect of the black market caused by war communism

Answer 45

It flourished for all types of goods which affected the total output of industry that fell while the number of strikes increased

Question 46

What was the Kronstadt rising

Answer 46

In March 1921 further reductions in food rationing promoted 30,000 sailors at the Kronstadt naval base to rebel

They had been the Bolsheviks most loyal supporters in 1917 but by 1921 they opposed the Bolsheviks one party dictatorship and use of terror

Trotsky sent the red army to put down the uprising and 15,000 rebels were imprisoned with the ring leaders being shot

The uprising caused divisions within the Bolshevik party. The workers opposition group was set up under shlyapnikov and kollontai to protect workers rights and oppose the continuation of war communism

Question 47

What was the Worker’s Opposition group?

Who was it set up by

Answer 47

The workers opposition group was set up under shlyapnikov and kollontai to protect workers rights and oppose the continuation of war communism

The members of this group believed Bolshevik leadership was becoming too authoritarian and was straying too far from its original mission of ‘all power to the Soviets’

Question 48

What events led to the Red Terror

Answer 48

On 30 august 1918 Lenin was shot and seriously wounded by fanya kaplan.

She was executed three days after

On the same day as the attack on Lenin, the head of the Petrograd Cheka was murdered

These two events provoked a period of uncontrolled terror as Bolsheviks ransacked the streets looking for victims

Question 49

What were the main features of the red terror

Answer 49

The bourgeoisie were driven from their homes, derived of food rations and forced to do degrading work

In august 1918 Lenin ordered the implementation of a ruthless mass terror against the Kulaks, priests and white guards by specially chosen men loyal to the Bolshevik regime

All suspicious people were detained in concentration camps

Former officials, landlords and priests were executed and while families wiped out because they’d once been rich

Any opposition to the Bolshevik authorities was dealt with by violence

Peasants who resisted the requisitioning of their crops or who hoarded grain were punished often by shooting

The murder of ex tsar Nicholas and his family

Question 50

Why was ex tsar Nicholas and his family murdered

Answer 50

During the summer of 1918 units of the Czech legion fighting with the whites closed in on Ekaterinburg

As the Czechs approached, the Bolsheviks panicked and realised that if the tsar was rescued, he would become a rallying point for the whites

They took matters into their own hands and at midnight they shot they royal family and attempted to disguise their remains

Three days later Izvestia published an official announcement which stated the wide and son of Nicholas were sent to a safe place

Question 51

What are the reasons for the success of the red army

Answer 51

1. Although the whites were stronger, they were divided
2. The red army was small but better trained and dedicated to the cause of the revolution. Commissars ensured unity and loyalty
3. The red army leaders Lenin and Trotsky were men of considerable personality and organising skills. They were more united in their aims
4. The red army used the railway system more effectively and was better able to move troops from one section of the front to another
5. The reds were inspired by the idealistic promise of a fairer, socialist society and popularised slogans such as ‘peace, bread and land’
6. The reds controlled Petrograd and Moscow but the whites were based on makeshift capitals - Omsk and archangel
7. The intervention of British and French forces on the side of the whites allowed the red the prestige of fighting for ‘mother Russia’ against foreign, imperialist invaders

Question 52

What happened to Russia after the civil war to 1924 (economic)

Answer 52

Economic chaos:
•Russia was in a state of economic collapse with mines flooded, machinery smashed and industries producing little.
• the index of gross industrial output fell from 100 in 1913 to 31 in 1921 while the index for large scale industrial output fell from 100 to 21 in the same period
• the railway system was at a near standstill
• towns and cities depressed and infested with vermin -> epidemics of typhus that in 1920 caused the deaths of 3 million people
• agricultural production was just over half the pre war level
• widespread famine -> thousands died of starvation and cannibalism appeared
• population fell from 170.9 million in 1913 to 130.9 by 1921

Question 53

What happened to Russia after the civil war to 1924 (Kronstadt mutiny 1921)

Answer 53

As the effects of war communism worsened, some reached the limits of their endurance

They had once been supporters of the revolution but has grown tired of the ruthless years of war communism

They demonstrated and made a list of demands:
Free elections
Freedom of the press and of speech

Question 54

How did the authorities respond to the Kronstadt mutiny

Answer 54

A leading party member, kalinin was sent to warn the people of Kronstadt and prevent any further embarrassment but his mission had little effect and on March 15 Trotsky sent them a menacing ultimatum

Two days later the red army launched an assault on the garrison

Question 55

What was the significance of the Kronstadt mutiny

Answer 55

To Lenin, events at Kronstadt were a warning that people had endured war communism long enough

Lenin said Kronstadt was the ‘flash which lit up reality better than anything else’ and that it was time to compromise and recognise the failure of war communism

To avoid further rebellions like this, Lenin had to admit his errors, revise his policies and make a tactical retreat

Lenin admitted that ‘only agreement with the peasantry can save socialist revolution in Russia’

Question 56

When did Lenin announce the new economic policy

Answer 56

At the tenth party Congress in March 1921, Lenin announced the details of a new economic policy

Question 57

What were the main features of NEP

Answer 57

1. Requisitioning of crops was to cease and peasants would now be expected to hand over a fixed proportion of their harvests as a form of tax. They would be able to sell their surplus crops for profit on the open market
2. Private traders (known as Nepmen) were to be permitted to buy and sell goods for profit on the open market. The money economy was back
3. Small businessmen were permitted to own and run medium sized firms and factories and to make a profit
4. The state kept control of large scale heavy industries like coal and oil. It also regained control of transport and the banking system. Industry was organised into trusts that had to buy materials and pay their workers from their own budgets

Question 58

Why did the reds win ( geographical factors)

Answer 58

They held the central area which included Petrograd and Moscow

They moved their capital to Moscow at the hub of the railway network which made it easier to transport men and munitions to the battle fronts

This area also contained the main armament factories so the Bolsheviks could carry on producing war materials. Much of the artillery, rifles and other military equipment of the old Russian army fell into Bolshevik hands

The central area was heavy populated so they could conscript large numbers to fight

Whites were scattered over large distances making commutation, moving men and weapons and coordinating attacks difficult

Question 59

Why did the reds win (unity and organisation)

Answer 59

The Bolsheviks had a single unified command structure

Trotsky organised the red army into an effective fighting force

The whites were made up of different groups who had different aims

Question 60

Why did the reds win ( leadership)

Answer 60

Trotsky proved himself to be a superb leader. He was brave and inspired men

Discipline was tough and the death penalty was used frequently

White leaders were second rate so many soldiers deserted

The level of indiscipline abs corruption in the white armies was extraordinary

Question 61

Why did the reds win (support)

Answer 61

The support of the peasants was crucial as they supplied the main body of soldiers for both sides. They had little love for either side but Lenin had legitimised their right to the land so they were inclined to support the reds

Whites lost the support of nationalist groups

The Bolsheviks had a core support group of some workers and soldiers but did not enjoy widespread popular support but urban workers and peasants wanted to protect the gains of 1917 and the reds seemed to offer them their best chance of doing this

Question 62

Why did the reds win ( other factors)

Answer 62

Foreign intervention should have worked in the whites favour and it certainly did bring them supplies and weapons but it was half hearted and ineffective. It also gave the Bolsheviks a propaganda coup because they could present themselves as the defenders of Russian soil against foreign forces

Both sides used propaganda but the whites didn’t see how valuable it was

The reds used extremely powerful images including:
The whites would take away from the peasants
Foreign invaders supporting the whites
The reds offering a wonderful new society for workers and peasants

Question 63

Why did Lenin adopt war communism

Answer 63

Industry fell apart as workers committees proved incapable of running the factories

Acute shortages of raw materials created by the civil war.

Industrial output, particularly consumer goods, shrank in the Bolshevik held central area

Shortage of goods led to soaring price inflation and the value of the rouble collapsed

Peasants wouldn’t supply food to the cities

The rich wheat areas of the Ukraine were outside Bolshevik control

In February 1918 the bread ration in Petrograd had reached an all time low of only 50grams per person per day

Food riots in many cities

Workers started to flee from the cities

Question 64

What was life like in Bolshevik cities under war communism

Answer 64

Less than a third of the urban diet came from state provided rations. The rest came from the black market. Bag men travelled between villages selling their produce

The urban workers eked out their rations by selling or exchanging goods to barter for food (known as cigarette lighterism)

The railway system was choked with bag men moving between cities but the Cheka raided trains to stop them travelling and raided markets where the goods were sold

Wages in 1919 were at 2% of their 1913 level

Fuel for heating was short and in the winter of 1919- 1920, 3000 wooden houses were stripped to provide fuel. Trees disappeared

Sanitary conditions were appalling and water was collected from street pumps

The middle classes were not allowed to work and sold anything they owned for bread.

Question 65

Why were some party members against the nep to begin with and what changed their minds

Answer 65

Some party members considered the nep to be a betrayal of the principles of the October revolution

What finally persuaded the doubters was the Kronstadt revolt. They realised that splits in the party could result in them losing their power altogether

There was a genuine desire for unity and they were prepared to fall in behind Lenin as long as the nep was a temporary measure

Question 66

How did the nep lead to economic recovery

Answer 66

By 1922 the results of the NEP were better than anyone expected

There was food in the markets and brisk trade in other goods

Shops, cafes and restaurants reopened and life began to flow back into the cities

By 1923 cereal production had increased by 23% compared with 1920

Industrial production also made a rapid recovery

From 1920 to 1923 factory output rose by almost 200%

Larger scale industries took longer to revive but the recovery was well underway by 1924

Question 67

What was one of the chief agents of the economic recovery with the NEP

Answer 67

The appearance of private traders or Nepmen

They scoured the villages buying produce like grain, meat, eggs, vegetables to take to markets in the cities

They travelled round the workshops picking up nails, shoes, clothes and hand tools to sell in the markets and to the peasants

By 1923 Nepmen handled as much as three quarters of the retail trade

Question 68

Two years after the beginning of the NEP how many private traders was there in Moscow

Answer 68

Walter Duranty claimed there were over 25,000

Question 69

How did the peasants do well out of the NEP

Answer 69

After the famine there was rapid recovery in the villages

A great deal of the trade was between villages in produce and in hand crafted goods.

Peasants could also make money on the side in the cities or through Nepmen

They could farm their land without much interference from the government

The local branches of the soviets were on the whole still weak in the country side and traditional forms of organisation around the communes were much stronger