Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a big fight in the former Russian Empire. It lasted from 1917 to 1922. It started after the October Revolution, when the Bolsheviks took power.

Many groups wanted to decide what Russia's future would be, which led to a lot of fighting.

There were two main sides in the war. The Red Army fought for a socialist state led by Vladimir Lenin. The White Army wanted a different kind of government. There were also other groups, like the Ukrainian anarchists, and some foreign countries got involved.

The war was very hard on everyone. Many people suffered. The Bolsheviks won, and this led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The civil war changed Russia forever.

Background

From World War I to the Russian Revolution

The Russian Empire joined World War I in 1914, fighting with France and the United Kingdom against Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. In 1917, events changed the country's leadership. The February Revolution caused Emperor Nicholas II to step down, and a new government, called the Russian Provisional Government, was created. At the same time, groups of workers, soldiers, and peasants, known as soviets, began to organize.

October Revolution

Later in 1917, the Provisional Government had many problems, especially with ending the war. A failed military attempt in September 1917 increased support for the Bolsheviks, a group led by Lenin. Promising to end the war and give power to the soviets, the Bolsheviks took over the Provisional Government in late October. This event, known as the October Revolution, started a struggle for power that would lead to a civil war.

Formation of the Red Army

As the old Russian Army broke apart, the Bolsheviks formed a new military force called the Red Guards. In January 1918, Leon Trotsky helped organize these forces into the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. To build a stronger army, the Bolsheviks required rural peasants to join the military in June 1918. They also used officers from the old Russian Army to help lead the Red Army.

White movement and foreign interventions

Opposing the Bolsheviks was the White movement, a group with many different political views but generally wanting to restore order and often support the old Russian Empire's ways. The Western Allies, worried about the spread of communist ideas and Russia's debts, supported the White forces. Some Central Powers also supported groups against the Bolsheviks during the early stages of the conflict.

Opposition and repression in Soviet Russia

As the Bolsheviks took control, they faced opposition from various groups, including the Mensheviks and the Socialist Revolutionaries. The Bolsheviks took strong measures against these groups, seeing them as threats. This period saw the start of harsh measures against political opponents, including the creation of the Cheka, the secret police.

Revolts against grain collection by the Bolsheviks led to uprisings, such as the Tambov Rebellion, which were stopped by the Red Army.

Geography and chronology

Main articles: Southern Front of the Russian Civil War, North Russia Campaign, Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War, Yakut Revolt, and Finnish Civil War

The Russian Civil War happened in many parts of Russia and had three main time periods.

The first period was from March 1917 to November 1918. During this time, fighting happened in many places. Some groups, like the Cossacks in the Don region, did not support the new government. Other countries also helped groups that opposed the new leaders.

The second period was from January to November 1919. Armies led by different leaders tried to take control from the Red Army. The Red Army had to fight on many fronts but managed to stop these advances.

The third period in 1920 involved a long siege in the Crimea. The last groups trying to take control were trapped there but were eventually forced to leave.

Warfare

October Revolution

The Bolshevik Party led groups to take over cities and villages across Russia after taking control of Petrograd. In January 1918, they ended the old Russian government and started new councils led by workers.

Initial anti-Bolshevik uprisings

Some groups tried to take power from the Bolsheviks after they took control. Local Cossack armies and some Russian officers opposed them. Leaders like General Mikhail Alekseev began organizing forces to fight back. These groups had many battles against the Bolsheviks.

Peace with the Central Powers

The Bolsheviks wanted peace with Germany and its allies to stop the war. They signed a treaty in March 1918, giving up some parts of Russia to Germany and the Ottoman Empire. This was a controversial decision but needed to end the fighting.

Ukraine, South Russia, and Caucasus (1918)

In Ukraine, German and Austro-Hungarian forces pushed out the Bolsheviks. In South Russia, the Volunteer Army fought against Soviet forces. Battles happened in cities like Rostov and Yekaterinodar. In the Caucasus, German and Ottoman forces also fought Soviet troops.

Eastern Russia, Siberia and the Far East (1918)

In Siberia, a group of soldiers called the Czechoslovak Legion took control of parts of the railway. This led to uprisings against the Bolsheviks in cities like Samara. The Bolsheviks used strict measures to keep control.

Central Asia (1918)

The Red Army took control of areas in Central Asia but faced challenges from local groups and foreign forces. British forces supported some opposition groups, but the Bolsheviks kept building support in the region.

Left SR Uprising

In July 1918, members of a different political group attacked and killed a German ambassador in Moscow. The Bolsheviks arrested and removed many of their opponents, strengthening their control of the government.

Estonia, Latvia and Petrograd

Estonia and Latvia worked to stay independent from Soviet control. In October 1919, a force tried to capture Petrograd but was stopped by the Red Army, which grew stronger to defend the city.

Northern Russia (1919)

British and American forces occupied cities like Murmansk and Arkhangelsk but later left. The remaining opposition forces exited the region by early 1920.

Siberia (1919)

In Siberia, White forces moved forward at first but were later pushed back by the Red Army. The Red Army captured important cities and forced the White forces to move east.

South Russia (1919)

In South Russia, White forces led by Denikin moved toward Moscow but were stopped by the Red Army. Battles happened in cities like Kiev and Kursk. The Red Army finally pushed the White forces back.

Central Asia (1919)

After British forces left Central Asia, the Red Army kept building support among local people. By late 1919, communication issues were fixed, helping the Bolsheviks defeat opposition groups in the region.

South Russia, Ukraine and Kronstadt (1920–1921)

By early 1920, Denikin's forces were limited to areas in the Crimea and Southern Russia. After retreating, the White forces left from Novorossiysk. The Red Army then fought anarchist groups. In 1921, protests and a mutiny by sailors at Kronstadt were stopped by the Red Army.

Siberia and the Far East (1920–1923)

In Siberia, the remaining White forces led by Admiral Kolchak were defeated. Kolchak was captured and removed. Other White forces moved toward China but were pushed out by the Red Army. By October 1922, the Red Army took control of Vladivostok, ending major fighting in the Russian Civil War.

Aftermath

After the war ended, the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) felt safer because there was no big military danger anymore. But they were still worried about people being unhappy. They also noticed that revolutions they hoped would happen in other countries, like in Germany, did not succeed. Because of this, they kept a strong army ready.

The Bolsheviks took control of most of Russia, but not all of it. They signed a treaty in 1921 with Poland, called the treaty of Riga, which decided the borders between Poland and Soviet Russia in places like Belarus and Ukraine. Countries like Estonia, Finland, Latvia, and Lithuania successfully stopped Soviet forces from taking over. However, places like Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were taken by the Red Army. By 1925, the Bolsheviks changed their name to the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

Evacuations

Main article: White émigré

See also: Evacuation of Novorossiysk (1920) and Evacuation of the Crimea

About one to two million people, known as the White émigrés, left Russia after the war. Many of them left with a general named Wrangel. Some went through far eastern areas, and others traveled west to new independent countries like the Baltic states.

Ensuing rebellion

In parts of Central Asia, soldiers called the Red Army kept facing fights until 1923. Groups of fighters called the basmachi tried to stop the Bolsheviks from taking control. The Soviets used help from local leaders, like Magaza Masanchi, to fight against these groups. It wasn’t until 1934 that the Communist Party finally stopped them.

A general named Anatoly Pepelyayev kept fighting in a place called the Ayano-Maysky District until June 1923. Areas like Kamchatka and Northern Sakhalin were controlled by Japan until 1925, when Japan made a treaty with the Soviet Union and left.

Casualties

See also: Red Terror (Russia) and White Terror (Russia)

The war caused many losses. Many people died from diseases and hunger. By 1922, there were about seven million children without parents in Russia because of the damage from World War I and the civil war.

Droughts in 1920 and 1921, along with a big hunger time called the Russian famine of 1921, made things even worse. Diseases like typhus also spread a lot. Many more died because there wasn’t enough food.

Civilian casualties

Many regular people died in the war. Most of the deaths were civilians.

Ethnic violence

See also: Pogroms during the Russian Civil War

During the war, many people from a group called the Cossacks were hurt or forced to leave their homes. About 100,000 Jewish people were killed in places like Ukraine. Punishments by leaders like Kolchak caused many deaths, and the fighting on both sides led to many people being killed.

Economic impact

The war hurt Russia’s economy a lot. People started trading things instead of using money because the ruble lost its value. Factories made much less, and farms produced less food. Coal mining dropped from 27.5 million tons in 1913 to just 7 million tons in 1920. Factories made goods worth 1,000 million roubles instead of 10,000 million roubles.

A system called War communism helped the new government survive during the war, but the economy was very weak. Some farmers stopped farming because soldiers took their food. By 1921, only 62% of farmland was being used, and harvests were only 37% of what they used to be. There were fewer horses and cows than before. Even though Russia grew quickly later, the war left big problems that lasted for a long time.

Political impact

See also: Treaty of Rapallo (1922)

Because revolutions they hoped for in other countries did not happen, the Bolsheviks changed their plans from trying to change the whole world to focusing on just Russia, called socialism in one country.

The Treaty of Rapallo (1922) was signed on April 16, 1922, between the Soviet Union and Germany. Both countries agreed to forget any claims on each other and to be friendly.

In fiction

Literature

The Russian Civil War has been used by many writers for their stories. Some famous books are How the Steel Was Tempered by Nikolai Ostrovsky and The Road to Calvary by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy.

Other important books were written by Mikhail Bulgakov, Isaac Babel, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. These books show different parts of the war.

Film

The Civil War has been used in many movies. Some well-known films are Arsenal, Chapaev, and Doctor Zhivago. Directors like David Lean and Warren Beatty made these movies.

Video games

A few video games use the Civil War as their setting. Games like Assassin's Creed Chronicles and Battlefield 1 In the Name of the Tsar let players explore this time in history.