Russian Civil War

The Civil War

Summary

The Bolsheviks' political enemies in Russia – 'the Whites' – tried to bring down the Revolution. They were joined by America, Britain, France and Japan; nationalist groups seeking independence; and peasants angry about the Prodrazverstka.

However, the disunity of the Whites, and the ruthlessness of the Bolsheviks ('the Reds') meant that the Revolution survived.

Source A

The Internationale

    Arise, ye slaves who know starvation!
    Shake off the curse that binds the earth!
    Our reason boils with indignation,
    And makes us die to gain new birth.
    We'll tear down our planet's false foundation,
    Then build a better world anew,
    While he who lived in humble station
    Will stand erect, as is his due.

The Internationale (translated) was the national anthem of the USSR. Its words explain why the western governments were so hostile to Communist Russia.

Going Deeper

The following links will help you widen your knowledge:

Russian Civil War - BBC Bitesize

Old Bitesize - on the WaybackMachine

Civil War - good notes

The Red Terror

YouTube

Animated map of the conflict

Why the Reds Won - 3-min History

Old textbook accounts of the Civil War

Reed Brett, European History (1967)

Norman Lowe (1982)

Why did Civil War break out in Russia 1918-21?

Why did the Bolsheviks Win the Civil War?

Causes of the Civil War [ONE JC]

The Russian Civil War is often prsented as a simple struggle between 'Reds' (Bolsheviks) and 'Whites'. In reality, says historian Robert Gerwarth, it was "a series overlapping and mutually reinforcng conflicts" including: a civil war between Lenin's Bolsheviks and their political opponents; separatist attempts by nationalists to break free from the Russian Empire; peasants rebelling against the Prodrazverstka; invasions by a number of foreign powers trying to destroy Communism; a war with Japan; and a successful revolt of a group of Czech prisoners-of-war ... all at the same time!

It truly was 'the-Bolsheviks-against-the-world', and on the face of it amazing that the Bolsheviks should survive, never mind triumph.

There were a number of causes of the Civil War:

1. Opponents of the Bolsheviks

The Bolsheviks had seized power by a coup d’état. After 1918, their political opponents united to fight back:

Tsarists who wanted to restore the monarchy,
former army officers angry about the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk,
landlords who had lost their land,
Social Revolutionaries ejected from the Assembly,
the Mensheviks,
peasants angry about the Prodrazverstka.

2. Nationalist rebellions

The Bolsheviks faced a number of nationalist rebellions across the country (click on the u orange arrow to reveal more details):
- • In Finland, a nationalist government was set up under Pehr Svinhufvud, which declared independence on 6 December 1917. In January 1918, the Finnish Red Guards rebelled, starting a civil war which lasted until May 1918. The Whites were helped by the Germans (still at war with Russia at that time), and the Reds were defeated at the Battle of Tampere (March 1918).
- • In May 1918 the Mountain republic of the Caucasus declared independence. It fought off attacks by the Whites, but was occupied by the Bolshevik forces in 1921.
- • Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland all supported the Whites, were given independence under the Treaty of Versailles (1919), and defeated Bolshevik attacks.
- • Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia all sought independence in 1920, but had been defeated by the Bolsheviks by the end of 1921.
- • In the Ukraine, anarchists led by Nestor Makhno at first allied with the Bolsheviks against the Whites, but as soon as the Whites were defeated, the Bolsheviks broke the alliance, resulting in a war 1920-21, and terrorist attacks until 1924 even after the Makhnovist army had been defeated.

3. Entente

The Entente allies of WWI – Britain, France and the USA – entered the Civil War. They were concerned about talk in Russia after the October Revolution of causing a 'world revolution' as the Bolsheviks had done in Russia – plus the Bolsheviks had seized the money and munitions the Allies had lent to the Tsar.

British Forces – totalling 60,000 – fought in the Archangel/SIberia region, and in the Caucasion region, and the British supplied munitions to Denikin. The aim was to provide support to the White Russian armies, but White units kept killing their British officers and deserting to the Bolsheviks.
The Americans sent a 'Polar Bear Expedition' to North Russia, and occupied Vladivostok in the far east of the country – a total of 11,000 troops.
Plus: French troops (16,000) fought in South Russia, Romanians in Bessarabia, 30,000 Greeks in the Crimea, 2,500 Italians in Archangel, and 5,000 Canadians in Siberia.

After the First World War, however, NOBODY really wanted to fight, and the Americans, French and British had all gone home by the end of 1919.

4. Japanese invasion

Japan sent 70,000 troops. They landed at Vladivostok in 1918 and fought their way towards Lake Baikal. The Japanese also occupied all Russia's Pacific seaports.

When the Allies withdrew, the Japanese stayed on until October 1922. Japanese companies such as Mitsubishi opened offices in the region, bringing wth them 50,000 settlers. It was suspected they they hoped to annex the area, but – after diplomatic pressure from America – they withdrew and in 1925 made peace with the USSR on the basis of the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth.

5. Czech Legion

In 1918 some 50,000 Czech prisoners of war who were being taken across Russia mutinied, took control of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and attacked towards Moscow.

A map showing all places mentioned in the text. Click on the map to bring up a larger image.

Consider:

1. How might Source A explain the violence of the Rusian Revolution? How might it explain th Bolshevik's success?

2. At first glance, the list of the Bolshevik's opponents looks overwhelming; however, looking at the list and the 'Events of the Civil War', can you spot any weaknesses in the Whites' position?

Events of the Civil War, 1918-22

White armies attacked from both the east and the west:

In summer 1918, General Denikin conquered the Caucasus region, and in 1919 he attacked towards Moscow; he was stopped when the Bolsheviks allied with the Ukrainian anarchists under Makhno. He resigned in 1920.
Admiral Kolchak set up a rival Russian Government in Siberia with himself as 'Supreme Leader', and secured support from the Allies. In March 1919 his armies advanced towards Moscow, but only got as far as the Ural mountains. In 1920, Kolchak resigned; he was betrayed, captured and shot by firing squad.
In October 1919, General Yudenich formed a White 'Northwestern Army', and attacked towards Petrograd; however, he failed to capture the railway, so the Bolsheviks were able to reinforce and save the city.
General Wrangel took over from Denikin, but the last White army in Russia was defeated in the Crimea in 1920. Wrangel evacuated to Serbia, where he set up the Russian All-Military Union as a White government-in-exile.

In July 1918 the Tsar and his family were put to death.
In 1919 the British, American and French armies went home. The Japanese left in 1922.
The civil war caused shortages, famine and disease - millions died. There were many cruel atrocities.
The Red Army invaded Poland in 1921, but was defeated and driven back.
In 1922 The Tenth Party Congress declared the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Source B

This 1919 Bolshevik poster shows the three White generals Denikin, Kolchak and Yudenich as three vicious dogs ... which are under the control of America, France and Britain. (A poem accompanied the picture.)

Source C

A 1920 Bolshevik poster entitled ‘The Last Battle’ shows a Red Army soldier knocking a capitalist businessman off the world.

Consider:

3. Study Sources B-C. Explain the meaning and symbolism of the posters, and the intended effect on those seeing them.

Source D

This White poster is entitled 'Sacrifice to the International [Communism]', and shows Mother Russia on an altar to Karl Marx. Bolshevik leaders are named along the top - including Lenin (in red) and Trotsky (holding the knife). In the foreground are racist and antisemitic stereotypes of Bolshevik supporters.)

Source E

A White poster entitled ‘Chirst is Risen!’ shows a White Army soldier trampling a Red flag in front of Mother Russia.

Did You Know

The Whites regarded their propaganda effort as "a total failure ... half-hearted, badly organised ... without an appealing ideology ... and in fact brought more harm than good".

Consider:

4. Study Sources D-E. Explain the meaning and symbolism of the posters, and the intended effect on those seeing them.

Why The Bolsheviks Won The War

1. Whites' Disunity

The Whites were disunited and their armies thousands of miles apart. They quarrelled, and did not co-ordinate their attacks, so Trotsky could fight them one by one.

2. Trotsky

was a brilliant war leader and strategist, so the Red Army had good tactics.

3. Belief

Many Reds were Communists, who believed they were fighting for a better world. Others fought for them because they hated foreign (British, American and French) armies invading Russia. This made the Bolshevik soldiers fervent and enthusiastic.

4. War Communism

The Bolsheviks nationalised the factories, and introduced military discipline. Strikes were made illegal. Food was rationed. Peasants were forced to give food to the government. This gave the Bolshevik armies the supplies they needed..

5. Terror

The Cheka murdered any Whites they found – more than 7000 people were executed, and Red Army generals were kept loyal by taking their families hostage – so the Bolsheviks were united.

6. Wherewithal

The Bolsheviks had control of the main cities of Moscow and Petrograd (with their factories), control of the railways (vital), an army of 300,000 men, very strict army discipline, and internal lines of communication – giving them the advantage in the war.

Source F

An account of Bolshevik ruthlessness

Right from the start the Red Army killed all the White officers they took prisoner. They shot them or cut their medals off and gouged out their chests.

from the memoirs of George Novikoff, a White Russian, written in the late 1980s.

Source G

An interpretation of the Civil War

The Communist Party sent the best of its members to join the Red Army. By the end of 1918 the Red Army numbered 1,700,000. It was a strong force.

Even so, on every battlefront Red Army units had to fight against an enemy who was better equipped, better trained and who outnumbered them.

in History of the USSR (1981) by Y Kukushkin, a Soviet historian.

Source H

Another interpretation of the Civil War

From the winter of 1918-19 Kolchak and Denikin faced a struggle against great odds.

The Bolsheviks had had a year to strengthen their position. They controlled most of the resources of old Russia. They had more popular support, and their forces outnumbered those of the Whites by ten to one.

from The Russian Civil War (1987), by E Mawdsley, a British historian.

Consider:

5. What made the Whites such a threat to the Bolsheviks in the Civil War?

6 Sources G and H were both written by historians but give very different interpretations of the Civil War. Why do you think their interpretations differ? Explain your answer using Sources D and E and your own knowledge. .

7. "The Bolshevik success in the Civil war was due to the weaknesses of the Whites." Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation? Explain your answer using Sources G and H and your own knowledge.