Russian Civil War

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Revision as of 21:00, 20 September 2015

The Russian Civil War (1917–1920) was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd and subsequently gained control throughout vast swathes of Russia.

The principal fighting occurred between the Bolshevik Red Army, often in temporary alliance with other leftist pro-revolutionary groups, and the forces of the White Army, which consisted of the pro-Entente "Volunteer Army" under the leadership of the Generals Anton Denikin and Alexeev, "People`s Republican Army" of General Lavr Kornilov in Siberia and pro-German "South Army", which was formed by Russian monarchists in Kiev. Many foreign armies fought against the Red Army, notably the Entente Forces prior to their 1919 withdrawal (which did not include Japan) and the German forces since the beginning of their intervention in June 1919, as well as many foreign volunteers who fought on both sides of the Russian Civil War. Other nationalist and regional political groups also participated in the war, including the Cossack nationalist armies, and warlords such as Roman Ungern von Sternberg.

The struggle begins

Kuban steppes and Siberia were the only places in the middle of 1918 in Russia, where the Red Army was confronted by difficulties. General Alexeev and his assistant General Denikin, with the help of the Don Cossack`s leader Pyotr Krasnov formed a small army, which consisted of both republican and monarchist officers and also Kuban Cossacks could defeated numerous, but weaker Bolshevik forces.

Meanwhile, after the rebellion of the Czechoslovak legion in Siberia, pro-republican politicians could have taken control over this large region, but they didn`t have enough influence over the local population, that`s why after victories in Kazan, Samara and Ufa, the White forces weren`t able to keep these cities and under pressure of the Red army the Whites started to retreat. But despite these setbacks, overall strategic situation was not as grim as it seemed for the new authority. General Kornilov, who was born in Siberia and also was a well-known military in Siberia, took power in September 1918. In Siberia also arrived a well-known a right SR politician Boris Savinkov, who despite a scandalous reputation among the Russian SRs, had an impressive administrative skills. Under his influence, SR land law was accepted by the new government in Ufa and from the Volga river to Vladivostok was proclaimed Russian Republic.

The German intervention

But the Bolsheviks were still strong enough to fight against two enemies. By the end of December 1918, the Red Army reached Perm and Ufa, in the south Krasnov`s Cossacks and Volunteer Army continued their blockade of Tsaritsyn. But it was obvious, that the Red Army had reserves, while the situation in Siberia and especially in Kuban steppes was not so easy. The decisive influence on the Russian civil war was made by the events in France. A socialist revolution in France, which happened in January 1919 and growing unrest among the workers and soldiers in Germany and Great Britain seemed to confirm an inevitability of the world socialist revolution. Something must be done and the German government decided to crush the weakest socialist enemy – it was Soviet Russia. Many Russian officers, members of the middle-class, especially monarchist escaped to the Ukraine, which was under control of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky. Since the beginning of the 1918 many of them asked the Germans to support the creation of the Anti-bolshevik forces. Finally Germany decided to help them and the «South Army» was formed in Kiev.

In Finland the local civil war finished with the victory of the White forces. But the Finns also observe the situation in Russia with fear. In Baltic region the local German nobles and Russian officers defeated the nationalists and the socialists. From all these forces the German government decided to form an alliance against Soviet Russia, which should have destroyed the socialist danger and also transfer under German control new territories. On the 22th of June the German intervention against Soviet Republic finally began.

The fall of the Soviet Russia

During July the small in numbers German forces took White Ruthenia, the South Army took Oryol and Kursk, the Finnish and Baltic forces started the blockade of Petrograd. The Soviet government was clearly beginning to lose the Civil War: General Pyotr Wrangel took Tsaritsyn and Kornilov`s forces started their unstoppable movement to the Volga, where many red divisions surrendered, because for many soldiers the Republican government was still better than Alexeev`s regime or the Germans. Lenin decided that the defence of Moscow had the priority and left Petrograd to its fate. By October 22 Yudenich's troops were on the outskirts of Petrograd, where Zinoviev (responsible for the defence of the city and in charge of the regional government) decided to surrender. Finally, after weeks of hard street fights, most of the Red Army was defeated in Nizhny Novgorod on the 7th November 1919, making the way to Moscow clear for the victorious Kornilov`s forces. Sent to Moscow to ensure the defence of the city against the White armies, Trotsky took advantage of the state of panic within the Soviet leaders to flee Russia by December.

End of the war

Kornilov was the first White General to enter Moscow in January 1920, soon followed by Wrangel. Both Generals accepted General Tukhachevsky's surrender on behalf of the Russian Republic. With the defeat of the Red Army, the White Forces won the civil war and a new Russian Republic was established in Moscow on the 22th January. Nonetheless the skirmishes continued for several years. The last enclave of the Red Forces was the city of Arkhangelsk which the Bolsheviks had seized following the withdrawal of the Entente forces in 1919, where General Antonov-Ovseyenko capitulated in 17 June 1920.

But the White forces had to do something with the Germans, who controled the whole White Ruthenia and Smolensk and the South Army, which forces were near Moscow in Tula. This monarchist army was still a dangerous enemy. The intense negotiations with the Germans started. Russia was represented by the former President Alexander Kerensky, who returned from the political non-existence by the White Generals because of two reasons: he represented a de-jure connection with the former Russian Republic, which had been proclaimed on the first of September 1917 and also he was agree to sign the disgraceful peace with the Germans.

The Minsk treaty

Finally the additional treaty to the Brest-Litovsk peache agreement was signed by the German Empire and the Russian Republic in Minsk on the 5th of September, 1920. Russia recognised an independence of Don-Kuban Union and White Ruthenia, a new border with Finland and an autonomy for Alash-Orda. Also, according to this treaty, an Ukrainian border with Russia was finally accepted by both sides.

Germany finished its support to pro-monarchist forces in Russia, Kerensky`s government was recognised as the only one in Russia. Germany and Russia didn`t recognise Mongolian and Japanese occupation of the Far East Russian regions, which had happened in the middle of the 1919.

The young Republic still had a lot of problems, especially in Siberia and in the Far East, but the bloody war in the West was finally finished.