THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION - THE CIVIL WAR

Question 1

THE CIVIL WAR: INTERNAL THREAT - WHITE ARMIES

• Brief information (Context about opposition)
• WHO were the White Armies?
• Threats
• General Miller’s northern threat
• General Yudenich’s north-western threat
• Murder of the royal family (Prevent them from being captured by the White Armies)
• Admiral Kolchak’s eastern threat
• General Denikin’s southern threat

Answer 1

• Internal dissent began as soon as the Bolsheviks had seized power in October
• Bolsheviks received open opposition from SR and Kerensky
• Kornilov: gathering a volunteer army from the Don Cossack region to fight against the Government

WHITE ARMIES

• The traditional conservative forces in Russia
• Led by officers from the former Russian army
• Supported by PEASANTS, landowners, and ousted political groups (SR)
• Provided constant opposition to the Soviet Government

Question 2

THE CIVIL WAR: INTERNAL THREAT - GREEN ARMIES
(Peasant Wars)

• Collection of peasant and…
• Gave allegiance to neither…
• Not a… group…
• Small scale peasant revolts against…
• Demand: Greater…
• Operated primarily in the…
• … National independence…
• Wanted local… while Lenin wanted…

Answer 2

• Peasant wars
• Collection of peasant and Cossack forces
• Gave allegiance neither to the WHITES nor the REDS
• They were not a unified group and didn’t fight together
• Most of their larger rebellions had started in 1920 as small-scale peasant revolts against the requisitioning of food
• DEMANDS: greater autonomy from Moscow
• Operated primarily in the outer provinces in white -occupied territories
• Supported movements for national independence
• Wanted local independence while Lenin wanted national UNITY

Question 3

THE CIVIL WAR: EXTERNAL THREAT - FOREIGN INTERVENTION

• Campaigns
• British threat - April 1918
• French threat - April 1918
• Japanese threat - April 1918
• American threat - August 1918
• Czech Legion threat - May 1918
• Polish Soviet War - February (1919) to March 1921

Answer 3

• Allied countries refused to recognize the Treaty of Brest-Litvosk and preferred to gather support for a White government that would CONTINUE the war.
• WHY/HOW: Lenin’s declaration on January 18th 1918 (all foreign debts were CANCELLED). Russia saved 80 billion roubles in gold…
• Lenin confiscated foreign owned property located in Russia = further antagonized international companies
• Foreign powers supporting the White Armies
• CAMPAIGNS against the Soviets

Question 4

THE CIVIL WAR: MURDR OF THE ROYAL FAMILY

• July… 1918…
• Murdered by…
• This was an example of the…
• This was to prevent…

Answer 4

• July 17th 1918 at Ekaterinburg
• Murdered by local Bolsheviks
• An example of the TERROR of the CIVIL WAR
• Prevent them being captured by the White Armies

Question 5

THE CIVIL WAR: REASONS FOR BOLSHEVIKS’ VICTORY

• Impact of Red Army and CHEKA

RA

• Crucial… survival of the….
• Sovnarkom…
• Commissar of war… oath (…)

CH

• Instrument…
• Exposed 142…
• Executions…
• Unity of purpose and defended a central location
• Patriotism…
• Bolshevik propaganda…
• Although the Whites…. the Reds utilized…
• Leadership of LEON Trotsky

Answer 5

RED ARMY

• Crucial to the survival if the Bolsheviks
• Formed: January 1918 by SOVNARKOM (Council of People’s Commissars)
• Workers and peasants = conscripted into the army
• Commissar of War: Leon Trotsky (in charge of the Red Army: March 1918)
• Trotsky: Oath (Red Warrior) - strict military discipline in order to defend the Soviet republic against all foreign invaders
• 1920: grown to 5 million men

CHEKA

• …became signifiant instrument(s) of terror…
• Exposed 142 counter-revolutionary organizations
• CHEKA executions during the three years of the Civil War = 140,000

UNITY OF PURPOSE / DEFENDING A CNTRAL LOCATION

• PATRIOTISM: Key psychological factor = bred high moral and dedication. Greater commitment
• Bolshevik propaganda = Depicted the White forces as the combined evil FORCES of statism, the bourgeoise, and foreign capitalists
• Although the Whites controlled the majority of Russian soil, the Reds utilized and were in control of Petrograd and Moscow

Question 6

THE CIVIL WAR: REASONS FOR BOLSHEVIKS’ VICTORY

• Whites divided in strategy
• No common unity of…
• Socialist while others were…
• Different… and ….
• Geographical distance…
• White’s lack of propaganda
• Unable to capitalize…with effective…
• Did not approve of… (middle and upper classes)

Answer 6

DIVIDED IN PURPOSE AND STRATEGY

• The Whites had NO common unity of purpose
• Some were socialist while others were conservatives (promoted a return to Tsarism) = Different motivation and political ideologies
• Geographical distance = lack of cooperation or unification of leadership
• Fighting separate battles

LACK OF (POWERFUL) PROPAGANDA

• Unable to capitalize on the despair of the peasant communities with effective propaganda
• Did not approve of taking land from the traditional landowners (because they were from the middle and upper classes) = less commitment from peasant recruits who were experiencing starvation and desperation (Rural communities)

Question 7

THE CIVIL WAR: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CIVIL WAR

• Strengthened the authority…
• Stringent measures of…
• Psychologically…
• Politically…
• Organizationally…
• Socially…

Answer 7

• Impact of the Bolshevik Party
• The Civil War strengthened their authority which helped them justify more stringent measures of social control
• Psychologically: Created a survival mentality, incredible self-belief and a ruthless determination to fight against their opposition
• Politically: Shaped the militaristic character of communism
• Organizationally: Developed a strong centralized administration characterized by an AUTHORITATIVE leadership with smaller governing bodies
• Socially: Justified strict sanctions and summary justice on perceived countries-revolutionary threats both inside and outside of the Bolshevik party.