The Russian Civil War Flashcards
Who were the contenders in the Russian civil war?
The White Russians versus the Red Army.
Who were the White Russians?
• Landowners who wanted the monarchy back (tsar loyalists)
• Liberals who wanted democracy back
• Socialists who disliked the ‘vanguard of the proletariat’
• Supporters of the Socialist Revolutionaries
• Allies during WWI - Britain, France, the US and Japan provided aid
• Ukraine, Finland, Poland
Who were the Red Army?
• Trostky led the red army
• Converted the red guard into the red army
• Imposed a policy of conscription
• Highly organised
Who were the White Russians ?
• Landowners who wanted the monarchy back (tsar loyalists)
• Liberals who wanted democracy back
• Socialists who disliked the ‘vanguard of the proletariat’
• Supporters of the Socialist Revolutionaries
• Allies during WWI - Britain, France, the US and Japan provided aid
• Ukraine, Finland, Poland
What terrors did the White Russians inflict on the people of Russia?
• Villages supporting the Bolsheviks were burnt to the ground.
• People were controlled by being whipped or shot.
• Much of this “white terror” was directed at Jewish communities, who were blamed for the revolution.
What terrors did the Red Army inflict on the people of Russia?
• Started after an assassination attempt on Lenin in August 1918
• Those who opposed the Bolsheviks were shot without trial or sent to labour camps.
• They were seen as ‘enemies of the state’ or ‘enemies of the revolution’
• Tens of thousands of people
died as a result of this
What is war communism?
• Lenin knew that he would have to adapt the economy to meet the needs of the red army.
• The govt took control of the economy - used the policy of nationalisation (state ownership of
industry or commerce).
• This was done to feed the red army.
• Grain and other food supplies were taken from the peasants at a set price.
• Special units in the army were sent out to seize the grain from the peasants.
• Any peasant caught hoarding food was brutally punished as an example to others.
• The food that was taken was rationed
• Soldiers and workers got more than anyone else.
• People were also conscripted to factories or the army.
• Strikes were banned and striking workers could be charged with treason.
• Workers were redeployed to areas where they were needed - was no freedom of movement.
• Private trade was banned
• Private wealth, such as land and housing, became the property of the govt and inheritance was banned.
• There were food shortages that led to famine - this led to revolts.
• Peasants refused to work because what they produced was taken away from them.
• Many peasants slaughtered their cattle or burnt their crops in retaliation of war communism.
What happened in Russia after the civil war?
•Around 25 million Russians died between 1914 and 1921 from famine and fighting. AFTER CIVIL WAR….
•Entire villages were destroyed, bridges were blown up and buildings lay in ruins.
•Only 6% of spindles were still working in the textile industries.
•Agricultural production fell to 50% of the pre-war level and many crops had been burnt.
•By 1921 a drought and the production drop in the main agricultural region, Volga, killed 5 million people.
•Workers left the cities to find food in the countryside.
•Petrograd lost 60% of its population.
•Food was severely rationed, sparking strikes and protests.
What was the Kronstadt uprising?
• The mutiny of sailors at the Kronstadt naval base in March 1921 was the most serious threat to Lenin’s power.
• The sailors wanted a return to multi-party democracy, free press, elections and an end to grain requisitioning.
• After fierce fighting in an 18-hour battle that led to 15 000 deaths, the sailors were defeated.
• Lenin was deeply upset at the uprising as many Kronstadt sailors had loyally supported the Bolsheviks during the 1917 October revolution.
• Lenin knew that economic change was needed
