Russian Civil War

• After the Bolsheviks came in power, opposition came from all sides, and a civil war broke out
• Lenin ordered a withdrawal from the First World War by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918
• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk cost...
• 1/4 of the Russian population
• 1/4 of industry
• 9/10 of coal mines
• This was because continuation of participation in WW1 could undermine the efforts of the Bolsheviks to maintain power in the Russian Civil War
• The Bolshevik Red Army fought the White Army, a combination of supporters of the Tsar, military commanders that wanted to stay in the war, and foreign military from countries including the US, Britain, and France
• The cost of the war was big
• 800,000 soldiers died while fighting
• 8,000,000 citizens died from starvation and disease caused by the war
• The Bolsheviks won despite being heavily outnumbered

Strenghts of the Red

• Trotsky's leadership
• Was a great organiser
• Had no military training, but was an extremely great commander
• He promoted men based on combat ability and was not biased based on class
• He was a great motivator, and visited the frontlines to motivate his men on his armored train
• Red Army
• Was supplied well
• Lack of experience was compensated by Trotsky's cooperation with ex-Tsarist officers
• Support
• Lenin ordered that food was given to the Red Army first, with the remainder of the food distributed to the cities
• This meant that people joined the army for food
• This also meant that the army was healthier
• War Communism
• This economic policy was one adopted to support the needs of the war
• Government took over industry and ran the factories
• Discipline was strict, and workers on strike were shot
• All surplus grain was seized
• People were discontent
• Peasants did not cooperate in producing grain as the surplus was seized
• Workers moved to the countryside for greater chances for food
• In 1918-1920, Petrograd lost 75% of its population and Moscow lost 50%
• Industry output levels in 1921 fell to 20% of output levels in 1913
• Famine would kill around 8 million
• Lenin ensured the people were under control, and the Cheka (new secret police) hunted down political opposition

Weaknesses of the Whites

• The Whites were divided
• The White Army was a mixture of liberals, Tsarist officers, and foreign nations
• There was no appointed commander as each group believed in different things
• There was no unified leadership and the lack of cooperation weakened the Whites
• They failed to secure support from the people
• The Whites proposed return to the Tsar, which people were fearful of
• The Reds proposed peace, land, and bread
• Propaganda from the Red Army reinforced this fear
• The role of Foreign Nations
• The Allies wanted to keep Russia in the war
• However, France and Britain eventually worried that participating in the Civil War would undermine their war effort and cost too much
• There were reports of atrocities committed by the White Army, which lowered its support
• The Allies withdraw from Russia after the end of WW1