The treaty of brest litovsk Flashcards
When was a ceasefire negotiated in 1917?
2 December
What was Trotsky’s position on war with Germany?
“Neither peace nor war.”
When did Trotsky lead negotiations with German High Command? What was his position?
Late December - February 1917-18. Commissar of Foreign Affairs.
How did Trotsky stall negotiations with Germans?
Give the impression of signing a treaty, then would reject them.
Bolshevik agitators spread revolutionary ideas amongst German troops, fraternisation between two camps, encouraged to “turn imperialist war into civl war.”
Trotsky called for a fair and equitable peace with the German public as well as the German government
Why did Trotsky think Germany was on the brink of revolution?
In late January German workers went on strike to protest immediate peace with Russian without annexation or indemnities.
What was the ultimatum issued by Germany in February? What was Trotsky’s response?
Bolsheviks are forced to either accept terms on offer or have hostilities resume.
Trotsky declares Russia would pull out of the war but would not sign a German peace treaty.
When did Germans launch an offensive in February 1918? How many troops did they deploy? What was the impact?
18 Feb. 700 000.
Germany army met no resistance, Bolshevik government thrown into disarray.
What happened on 12 March 1918?
Capital is moved from Petrograd to Moscow.
How did Lenin coerce the Bolsheviks to agree with him to sign a treaty?
Threatened to resign
What happened on 3 March 1918?
Sovnarkom signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk entail?
34% of Russian’s European population taken out of their control (62 million).
Russia gives up 32% of its farmland, including ‘breadbasket’ Ukraine.
German forces gain control of Poland and Baltic region.
Russia pays 3 billion roubles in war reparations.
o Russia looses 89% of its iron ore and coal reserves, 54% of its industrial enterprises, and 26% of its railways.
When did the Communists renounce the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk after Germany’s surrender? What was the effect?
13 November 1918.
Lenin seen as a wise leader.
