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iGCSE: Russia 1905-24 > Topic 5: Civil War 1918-21 > Flashcards

Topic 5: Civil War 1918-21 Flashcards

1
Q

Why was there a civil war?

A
  1. Opposition to Bolsheviks within Russia
  2. Opposition to Bolsheviks abroad
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2
Q

Who said that the Bolsheviks had no right to rule?

A

Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries and supporters of the Tsar

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3
Q

Why did former army officers fight against the Bolsheviks?

A

They were angry about the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

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4
Q

What were the main opponents of the Bolsheviks known as?

A

The Whites

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5
Q

What were the Bolsheviks known as during the civil war?

A

The Reds

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6
Q

How united were the Whites?

A

Not very - they all had different goals

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7
Q

Which countries sent troops to help the Whites?

A

Britain, France, the USA, and Japan

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8
Q

Why did the Allies send troops to help the Whites?

A

They were angry that Lenin had made peace with Germany

They feared Communism

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9
Q

What job did Trotsky have during the civil war?

A

Commissar for War

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10
Q

What did Trotsky create?

A

The Red Army

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11
Q

Who did Trotsky recruit from for the Red Army?

A

The Tsar’s old army

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12
Q

How did Trotsky ensure loyalty from his troops?

A

He told officers their families would suffer if they betrayed the Red Army

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13
Q

What was the punishment for Red Army deserters?

A

Execution

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14
Q

By 1921, how many men were in the Red Army?

A

5.4 million

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15
Q

Who were the four main armies in the Whites?

A

Siberia - led by Admiral Kolchak

Estonia - led by General Yudenich

South - led by General Denikin (taken over by General Wrangel in 1920)

Samara - the People’s Army of Komuch

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16
Q

Who were the Greens?

A

Peasant armies who joined together to control their own areas

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17
Q

Who was the best known leader of the Greens?

A

Nesto Makhno, a Ukrainian anarchist

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18
Q

How much did Britain send to the Whites?

A

£100 million

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19
Q

How many troops did Japan send to eastern Siberia to take land?

A

70,000

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20
Q

Where did the US send troops?

A

To eastern Siberia to stop Japan

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21
Q

Czechoslovakia and Slovenia sent how many troops?

A

50,000

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22
Q

What were the troops from Czechoslovakia and Slovenia called?

A

The Czech Legion

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23
Q

What did the Czech Legion try to control?

A

The Trans-Siberian Railway

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24
Q

What were the key events of the Civil War?

A

3rd March 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

13th March 1918: Trotsky becomes Commissar for War

May 1918: Involvement of the Czech Legion

July 1918: Execution of the Romanovs

August 1918: Fanya Kaplan shoots Lenin

November 1918: Eastern Russia Offensive

October 1919: Yudenich and Denikin advance on Petrograd and Moscow

1920-22: Tambov Uprisings

November 1920: Battle of Prekop

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25
What was signed on the 3rd March 1918?
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
26
Who became the Commissar for War on the 13th March 1918?
Trotsky
27
How did the Czech Legion get involved in May 1918?
They refused to give up their weapons and took large sections of the Trans-Siberian railroad They joined with the SRs
28
Where were the Tsar and his family being held?
Ekaterinburg
29
Who were the Tsar and his family executed by?
Cheka
30
When were the Tsar and his family executed?
July 1918
31
Why were the Tsar and his family executed?
To prevent them from being rescued by the Whites
32
When were the Romanov bodies found?
Not until the fall of the USSR. 1991.
33
Who was Fanya Kaplan?
A Socialist Revolutionary
34
What did the shooting of Lenin lead to?
The Red Terror
35
What was the Red Terror?
The Cheka arrested suspected opponents and executed them without trial
36
When did Fanya Kaplan shoot Lenin?
30th August 1918
37
Who led the Eastern Russia Offensive?
Kolchak
38
When was the Eastern Russia Offensive?
November 1918
39
By June 1919, how many km from Moscow were Kolchak's army?
800km
40
Why did Kolchak's army not succeed with the Eastern Russia Offensive?
His army was split by disagreements and the Red Army pushed it back
41
Who advanced on Moscow and Petrograd in October 1919?
Yudenich and Denikin
42
Whose forces nearly reached Petrograd in October 1919?
Yudenich
43
Whose forces got within 520km of Moscow in October 1919?
Denikin
44
What were the Tambov Uprisings in 1920?
Followed a Bolshevik decision to increase grain tax 70,000 peasants defended their region from the Reds The Reds sent 100,000 troops to Tambov
45
How many peasants defended their region from the Reds in 1921?
70,000
46
How many Reds were sent to Tambov to crush the uprising?
100,000
47
How did Red Army troops kill peasants hiding in the forest during the Tambov Uprising?
Poison gas
48
What was the outcome of the Battle of Prekop in November 1920?
The Red Army defeated the White Army
49
Why did the Reds win the Civil War?
1. Divisions amongst the Whites 2. Reds controlled central areas 3. Trotsky was an excellent military commander 4. Red leaders were ruthless and efficient 5. Foreign powers had no clear aims 6. War Communism
50
Where did the Whites control?
The fringes of the Russian Empire
51
Who did the Whites work with?
The Cossacks
52
What was the main problem with the Whites?
They had no clear goal
53
Who wanted overall control of the Whites?
Yudenich, Wrangel, Denikin, and Kolchak Leading to mistrust
54
Where did the Reds occupy?
Central Russian-speaking areas
55
Why could the Reds make good use of the railways?
It was centred on Moscow
56
The Red Army had 5m men by the end of the war. The Whites never had more than _____ at a time
250,000
57
What did the weapons stores of the old Tsarist army have?
2.2m rifles, 12,000 field guns and plenty of ammo
58
True or false: The Reds controlled the most productive industrial areas
True
59
Why was Trotsky an excellent military commander?
He was a brilliant organiser, ruthless leader and directed the front from a special train
60
How did Trotsky race from front to front?
He had a specially armoured and equipped train
61
What did Lenin introduce that allowed the Reds total control over people's lives and possessions?
War Communism
62
Who were killed for who they were?
Kulaks, priests, and the bourgeoisie
63
How did the Bolsheviks emphasise that the people were now in charge of Russia?
Speeches, newspapers, and leaflets
64
What did anti-Whites propaganda state?
That the Whites would destroy the achievements of the revolution and bring the old landlord system back
65
Why did foreign intervention increase support for the Reds?
People were resentful of foreign invaders
66
Why did the foreign powers have no clear aims?
They did not know which faction of the Whites to support
67
What was the point of War Communism?
It was to help the Red Army and towns supplied with food It put Communist theories into practice by redistributing wealth
68
War Communism: What factories were nationalised?
Ones with more than 10 workers
69
War Communism: Who was production planned by?
The Supreme Council of National Economy (Vesenkha)
70
War Communism: What could happen to striking workers?
They could be shot
71
War Communism: Who got the most food?
Soldiers and workers
72
War Communism: What became illegal?
Free enterprise became illegal. All production and trade was controlled by the state.
73
War Communism: How popular was it?
Very unpopular - Lenin stated it was necessary if the Reds were to win
74
War Communism: Why did people tolerate it?
They believed in what the Bolsheviks were fighting for
75
War Communism: Why was it introduced?
Keeping the army supplied with food State control of industry Food shortages Ideological reasons
76
War Communism: How much were industries producing by 1920?
Only 60% of what they had done in 1913
77
How much of the industrial areas had the Bolsheviks lost because of Brest-Litovsk?
40%
78
From 1919, what could happen to workers?
They could be moved from one sector of work to another
79
From 1920, what could happen to citizens?
Anyone of working age could be made to work for the state
80
Why did War Communism use requisitioning?
To deal with the problem of food shortages in the cities
81
What was requisitioning?
The state decided how much the peasants should live on and then took the rest of what they grew.
82
Compare the amount of grain collected in 1918 and 1920?
1918: 1m tonnes 1920: 6m tonnes
83
What ideological reasons did the Bolsheviks have for introducing War Communism?
- It was a system close to how they believed a Communist country should be run
84
How much did peasants cut down their production because of requisitioning?
It fell to 37% of what it had been in 1913
85
Who did the Bolsheviks blame for the problems in the countryside?
The Kulaks
86
What was the famine in 1921-22?
- Drought caused a poor harvest - 1/4 of all crops died - Requisitioning meant that there was no emergency grain - Cannibalism and body snatching became common - Typhus and cholera killed thousands - The US sent over 1m tonnes of grain - At least 5m people died
87
1921-22 Famine: What percentage of the crops died before their harvest?
25%
88
1921-22 Famine: Why did the peasants not have emergency grain?
Requisitioning had taken it
89
1921-22 Famine: Starvation was common - what did people resort to?
Cannibalism and body snatching
90
1921-22 Famine: What diseases killed thousands?
Typhus and cholera
91
1921-22 Famine: What did the USA send over?
1m tonnes in grain and 300 aid workers
92
1921-22 Famine: How many people died?
5 million
93
What was the 4:3:2:1 system?
Soldiers, manual workers, middle-classes, formerly wealthy
94
What percentage of food was estimated to have been supplied by the black market?
70%
95
What did many anti-Communists do?
Flee Russia
96
What was shared out?
Private property. Often shared out room by room
97
What was the difference in the cost of a train journey in 1917 to 1922?
November 1922 was 4 million times higher than in June 1917
98
What examples are there of opposition to War Communism?
- Tambov Uprisings - Kronstadt Revolt
99
What were Kronstadt sailors known as?
'The reddest of the red'
100
Why were Kronstadt sailors known as the 'reddest of the red'?
They were involved in the major events of the revolution
101
When was the Kronstadt Revolt?
February 1921
102
Which battleship mutinied during the Kronstadt Revolt?
Petropavlovsk
103
How many sailors mutinied during the Kronstadt Revolt?
15,000
104
What did the Kronstadt sailors demand?
- New elections to the Soviets with a secret vote - Freedom of speech and press - Freedom to meet for trade unions and peasants groups - Freedom for peasants to farm their land
105
Did Lenin give in to the Kronstadt sailors?
No
106
What happened to the Kronstadt Revolters?
800 fled to Finland Many were killed or exiled to Siberia
107
Why was the Kronstadt Revolt so important?
Their rebellion showed Lenin that War Communism could not continue If the 'reddest of the red' were willing to revolt, Lenin had to make changes
108
What did Lenin replace War Communism with?
The NEP

iGCSE: Russia 1905-24 (15 decks)

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