What happened in Crimea BC. Population

It is very difficult to reconcile the “whites” and “reds” in our history. Each position has its own truth. After all, only 100 years ago they fought for it. The fight was fierce, brother went against brother, father against son. For some, the heroes will be the Budennovites of the First Cavalry, for others - the Kappel volunteers. The only people who are wrong are those who, hiding behind their position on the Civil War, try to erase from the past whole piece Russian history. Anyone who draws too far-reaching conclusions about the “anti-people character” of the Bolshevik government denies all Soviet era, all her accomplishments - and ultimately slides into outright Russophobia.

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Civil war in Russia - armed confrontation in 1917-1922. between different political, ethnic, social groups and government entities on the territory of the former Russian Empire that followed the Bolsheviks coming to power as a result October revolution 1917. The Civil War was the result of the revolutionary crisis that struck Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, which began with the revolution of 1905-1907, aggravated during the world war, economic devastation, and a deep social, national, political and ideological split in Russian society. The apogee of this split was the fierce war throughout the country between Soviet and anti-Bolshevik armed forces. The civil war ended with the victory of the Bolsheviks.

The main struggle for power during the Civil War was waged between the armed formations of the Bolsheviks and their supporters (Red Guard and Red Army) on the one hand and the armed formations of the White movement (White Army) on the other, which was reflected in the persistent naming of the main parties to the conflict as “Reds”. " and "white".

For the Bolsheviks, who relied primarily on the organized industrial proletariat, suppressing the resistance of their opponents was the only way to maintain power in a peasant country. For many participants in the White movement - officers, Cossacks, intelligentsia, landowners, bourgeoisie, bureaucracy and clergy - armed resistance to the Bolsheviks was aimed at returning lost power and restoring their socio-economic rights and privileges. All these groups were the top of the counter-revolution, its organizers and inspirers. Officers and the village bourgeoisie created the first cadres of white troops.

The decisive factor during the Civil War was the position of the peasantry, who made up more than 80% of the population, which ranged from passive wait-and-see to active armed struggle. The fluctuations of the peasantry, which reacted in this way to the policies of the Bolshevik government and the dictatorships of the white generals, radically changed the balance of forces and, ultimately, predetermined the outcome of the war. First of all, we are, of course, talking about the middle peasantry. In some areas (Volga region, Siberia), these fluctuations raised the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks to power, and sometimes contributed to the advancement of the White Guards deeper into Soviet territory. However, as the Civil War progressed, the middle peasantry leaned towards Soviet power. The middle peasants saw from experience that the transfer of power to the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks inevitably leads to an undisguised dictatorship of the generals, which, in turn, inevitably leads to the return of the landowners and the restoration of pre-revolutionary relations. The strength of the middle peasants' hesitation towards Soviet power was especially evident in the combat effectiveness of the White and Red armies. White armies were essentially combat-ready only as long as they were more or less homogeneous in class terms. When, as the front expanded and moved forward, the White Guards resorted to mobilizing the peasantry, they inevitably lost their combat effectiveness and collapsed. And vice versa, the Red Army was constantly strengthening, and the mobilized middle peasant masses of the village staunchly defended Soviet power from counter-revolution.

The base of the counter-revolution in the countryside was the kulaks, especially after the organization of the poor committees and the beginning of a decisive struggle for bread. The kulaks were interested in the liquidation of large landowner farms only as competitors in the exploitation of the poor and middle peasantry, whose departure opened up broad prospects for the kulaks. The struggle of the kulaks against the proletarian revolution took place in the form of participation in the White Guard armies, and in the form of organizing their own detachments, and in the form of a broad insurrectionary movement in the rear of the revolution under various national, class, religious, even anarchist, slogans. Characteristic feature The civil war was the willingness of all its participants to widely use violence to achieve their political goals (see “Red Terror” and “White Terror”)

An integral part of the Civil War was the armed struggle of the national outskirts of the former Russian Empire for their independence and the insurrectionary movement of broad sections of the population against the troops of the main warring parties - the “Reds” and the “Whites”. Attempts to declare independence provoked resistance both from the “whites,” who fought for a “united and indivisible Russia,” and from the “reds,” who saw the growth of nationalism as a threat to the gains of the revolution.

The civil war unfolded under conditions of foreign military intervention and was accompanied by military operations on the territory of the former Russian Empire by both the troops of the countries of the Quadruple Alliance and the troops of the Entente countries. The motives for the active intervention of the leading Western powers were to realize their own economic and political interests in Russia and to assist the Whites in order to eliminate Bolshevik power. Although the capabilities of the interventionists were limited by the socio-economic crisis and political struggle in the Western countries themselves, the intervention and material assistance to the white armies significantly influenced the course of the war.

The civil war was fought not only on the territory of the former Russian Empire, but also on the territory of neighboring states - Iran (Anzel operation), Mongolia and China.

Arrest of the emperor and his family. Nicholas II with his wife in Alexander Park. Tsarskoye Selo. May 1917

Arrest of the emperor and his family. Daughters of Nicholas II and his son Alexei. May 1917

Lunch of the Red Army soldiers by the fire. 1919

Armored train of the Red Army. 1918

Bulla Viktor Karlovich

Civil War Refugees
1919

Distribution of bread for 38 wounded Red Army soldiers. 1918

Red squad. 1919

Ukrainian front.

Exhibition of Civil War trophies near the Kremlin, timed to coincide with the Second Congress of the Communist International

Civil War. Eastern front. Armored train of the 6th regiment of the Czechoslovak Corps. Attack on Maryanovka. June 1918

Steinberg Yakov Vladimirovich

Red commanders of a regiment of rural poor. 1918

Soldiers of Budyonny's First Cavalry Army at a rally
January 1920

Otsup Petr Adolfovich

Funeral of the victims of the February Revolution
March 1917

July events in Petrograd. Soldiers of the Samokatny Regiment, who arrived from the front to suppress the rebellion. July 1917

Work at the site of a train crash after an anarchist attack. January 1920

Red commander in the new office. January 1920

Commander-in-Chief of the troops Lavr Kornilov. 1917

Chairman of the Provisional Government Alexander Kerensky. 1917

Commander of the 25th Rifle Division of the Red Army Vasily Chapaev (right) and commander Sergei Zakharov. 1918

Sound recording of Vladimir Lenin's speech in the Kremlin. 1919

Vladimir Lenin in Smolny at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars. January 1918

February revolution. Checking documents on Nevsky Prospekt
February 1917

Fraternization of soldiers of General Lavr Kornilov with the troops of the Provisional Government. 1 - 30 August 1917

Steinberg Yakov Vladimirovich

Military intervention in Soviet Russia. Command staff of White Army units with representatives of foreign troops

The station in Yekaterinburg after the capture of the city by units of the Siberian Army and the Czechoslovak Corps. 1918

Demolition of the monument Alexander III at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior

Political workers at the headquarters car. Western Front. Voronezh direction

Military portrait

Date of filming: 1917 - 1919

In the hospital laundry. 1919

Ukrainian front.

Sisters of Mercy partisan detachment Kashirina. Evdokia Aleksandrovna Davydova and Taisiya Petrovna Kuznetsova. 1919

In the summer of 1918, the detachments of the Red Cossacks Nikolai and Ivan Kashirin became part of the combined South Ural partisan detachment of Vasily Blucher, who carried out a raid in the mountains of the Southern Urals. Having united near Kungur in September 1918 with units of the Red Army, the partisans fought as part of the troops of the 3rd Army of the Eastern Front. After the reorganization in January 1920, these troops became known as the Army of Labor, whose goal was to restore the national economy of the Chelyabinsk province.

Red commander Anton Boliznyuk, wounded thirteen times

Mikhail Tukhachevsky

Grigory Kotovsky
1919

At the entrance to the building of the Smolny Institute - the headquarters of the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution. 1917

Medical examination of workers mobilized into the Red Army. 1918

On the boat "Voronezh"

Red Army soldiers in a city liberated from the whites. 1919

Overcoats of the 1918 model, which came into use during the Civil War, initially in Budyonny’s army, were preserved with minor changes until the military reform of 1939. The cart is equipped with a Maxim machine gun.

July events in Petrograd. Funeral of the Cossacks who died during the suppression of the rebellion. 1917

Pavel Dybenko and Nestor Makhno. November - December 1918

Workers of the supply department of the Red Army

Koba / Joseph Stalin. 1918

On May 29, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR appointed Joseph Stalin in charge of the south of Russia and sent him as an extraordinary commissioner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee for the procurement of grain from North Caucasus to industrial centers.

The Defense of Tsaritsyn was a military campaign by “red” troops against “white” troops for control of the city of Tsaritsyn during the Russian Civil War.

People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the RSFSR Leon Trotsky greets soldiers near Petrograd
1919

Commander of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, General Anton Denikin, and Ataman of the Great Don Army, African Bogaevsky, at a solemn prayer service on the occasion of the liberation of the Don from the Red Army troops
June - August 1919

General Radola Gaida and Admiral Alexander Kolchak (from left to right) with officers of the White Army
1919

Alexander Ilyich Dutov - ataman of the Orenburg Cossack army

In 1918, Alexander Dutov (1864–1921) declared the new government criminal and illegal, organized armed Cossack squads, which became the base of the Orenburg (southwestern) army. Most of the White Cossacks were in this army. Dutov's name first became known in August 1917, when he was an active participant in the Kornilov rebellion. After this, Dutov was sent by the Provisional Government to the Orenburg province, where in the fall he strengthened himself in Troitsk and Verkhneuralsk. His power lasted until April 1918.

Street children
1920s

Soshalsky Georgy Nikolaevich

Street children transport the city archive. 1920s

Where did the terms "red" and "white" come from? The Civil War also saw the “Greens”, “Cadets”, “Socialist Revolutionaries” and other formations. What is their fundamental difference?

In this article, we will answer not only these questions, but also briefly get acquainted with the history of its formation in the country. Let's talk about the confrontation between the White Guard and the Red Army.

Origin of the terms "red" and "white"

Today, the history of the Fatherland is of less and less concern to young people. According to surveys, many have no idea, let alone Patriotic War 1812...

However, such words and phrases as “red” and “white”, “Civil War” and “October Revolution” are still heard. Most people, however, do not know the details, but they have heard the terms.

Let's take a closer look at this issue. We should start with where the two opposing camps came from - “white” and “red” in the Civil War. In principle, it was simply an ideological move by Soviet propagandists and nothing more. Now you will figure out this riddle yourself.

If you look at textbooks and reference books Soviet Union, it explains that the “whites” are the White Guards, supporters of the Tsar and enemies of the “Reds”, the Bolsheviks.

It seems that everything was so. But in fact, this is another enemy that the Soviets fought against.

The country has lived for seventy years in confrontation with fictitious opponents. These were the “whites,” the kulaks, the decaying West, the capitalists. Very often, such a vague definition of the enemy served as the foundation for slander and terror.

Next we will discuss the causes of the Civil War. “Whites,” according to Bolshevik ideology, were monarchists. But here’s the catch: there were practically no monarchists in the war. They had no one to fight for, and their honor did not suffer from this. Nicholas II abdicated the throne, and his brother did not accept the crown. Thus, all tsarist officers were free from the oath.

Where then did this “color” difference come from? If the Bolsheviks really had a red flag, then their opponents never had a white one. The answer lies in the history of a century and a half ago.

Great French revolution gave the world two opposing camps. The royal troops carried a white banner, the symbol of the dynasty of French rulers. Their opponents, after seizing power, hung a red canvas in the window of the city hall as a sign of the introduction of wartime. On such days, any gatherings of people were dispersed by soldiers.

The Bolsheviks were opposed not by monarchists, but by supporters of the convening of the Constituent Assembly (constitutional democrats, cadets), anarchists (Makhnovists), “green army men” (fought against the “red”, “white”, interventionists) and those who wanted the separation of their territory into a free state .

Thus, the term "white" was cleverly used by ideologues to define a common enemy. His winning position was that any Red Army soldier could explain in a nutshell what he was fighting for, unlike all the other rebels. This attracted ordinary people to the side of the Bolsheviks and made it possible for the latter to win the Civil War.

Prerequisites for the war

When studying the Civil War in class, a table is essential for a good understanding of the material. Below are the stages of this military conflict, which will help you better navigate not only the article, but also this period in the history of the Fatherland.

Now that we have decided who the “reds” and “whites” are, the Civil War, or rather its stages, will be more understandable. You can begin to study them in more depth. It's worth starting with the premises.

So, the main reason for such intense passions, which later resulted in a five-year Civil War, was the accumulated contradictions and problems.

First, the Russian Empire's involvement in World War I destroyed the economy and depleted the country's resources. The bulk of the male population was in the army, agriculture and urban industry fell into decay. The soldiers were tired of fighting for other people's ideals when there were hungry families at home.

The second reason was agricultural and industrial issues. There were too many peasants and workers who lived below the poverty line. The Bolsheviks took full advantage of this.

In order to turn participation in the world war into an inter-class struggle, certain steps were taken.

First, the first wave of nationalization of enterprises, banks, and lands took place. Next was signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which plunged Russia into the abyss of complete ruin. Against the backdrop of general devastation, the Red Army men carried out terror in order to stay in power.

To justify their behavior, they built an ideology of struggle against the White Guards and interventionists.

Background

Let's take a closer look at why the Civil War began. The table we provided earlier illustrates the stages of the conflict. But we will start with the events that occurred before the Great October Revolution.

Weakened by its participation in the First World War, the Russian Empire declines. Nicholas II abdicates the throne. More importantly, he does not have a successor. In light of such events, two new forces are being formed simultaneously - the Provisional Government and the Council of Workers' Deputies.

The former are beginning to deal with the social and political spheres of the crisis, while the Bolsheviks concentrated on increasing their influence in the army. This path subsequently led them to the opportunity to become the only ruling force in the country.
It was the confusion in government that led to the formation of “reds” and “whites”. The civil war was only the apotheosis of their differences. Which is to be expected.

October Revolution

In fact, the tragedy of the Civil War begins with the October Revolution. The Bolsheviks were gaining strength and moving more confidently to power. In mid-October 1917, a very tense situation began to develop in Petrograd.

October 25 Alexander Kerensky, head of the Provisional Government, leaves Petrograd for Pskov for help. He personally assesses the events in the city as an uprising.

In Pskov, he asks for help with troops. Kerensky seems to be receiving support from the Cossacks, but suddenly the cadets leave the regular army. Now constitutional democrats refuse to support the head of government.

Not finding adequate support in Pskov, Alexander Fedorovich goes to the city of Ostrov, where he meets with General Krasnov. At the same time, the Winter Palace was stormed in Petrograd. IN Soviet history this event is presented as key. But in fact it happened without resistance from the deputies.

After a blank shot from the cruiser Aurora, sailors, soldiers and workers approached the palace and arrested all members of the Provisional Government present there. In addition, the Second Congress of Soviets took place, where a number of major declarations were adopted and executions at the front were abolished.

In view of the coup, Krasnov decides to provide assistance to Alexander Kerensky. On October 26, a cavalry detachment of seven hundred people leaves towards Petrograd. It was assumed that in the city itself they would be supported by an uprising by the cadets. But it was suppressed by the Bolsheviks.

In the current situation, it became clear that the Provisional Government no longer had power. Kerensky fled, General Krasnov negotiated with the Bolsheviks the opportunity to return to Ostrov with his detachment without hindrance.

Meanwhile, the Socialist Revolutionaries begin a radical struggle against the Bolsheviks, who, in their opinion, have acquired greater power. The response to the murders of some “red” leaders was terror by the Bolsheviks, and the Civil War (1917-1922) began. Let us now consider further events.

Establishment of "red" power

As we said above, the tragedy of the Civil War began long before the October Revolution. The common people, soldiers, workers and peasants were dissatisfied with the current situation. If in the central regions many paramilitary detachments were under the close control of Headquarters, then in the eastern detachments a completely different mood reigned.

It was the presence of a large number of reserve troops and their reluctance to enter into a war with Germany that helped the Bolsheviks quickly and bloodlessly receive the support of almost two-thirds of the army. Only 15 large cities resisted the “red” government, while 84 own initiative passed into their hands.

An unexpected surprise for the Bolsheviks in the form of stunning support from confused and tired soldiers was declared by the “Reds” as a “triumphant procession of the Soviets.”

The civil war (1917-1922) only worsened after the signing of the ruinous treaty for Russia. former empire lost more than a million square kilometers of territory. These included: the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Romania, Don territories. In addition, they had to pay Germany six billion marks of indemnity.

This decision caused protest both within the country and from the Entente. Simultaneously with the intensification of various local conflicts, military intervention by Western states on Russian territory begins.

The entry of Entente troops in Siberia was reinforced by the revolt of the Kuban Cossacks under the leadership of General Krasnov. The defeated detachments of the White Guards and some interventionists went to Central Asia and continued the struggle against Soviet power for many years.

Second period of the Civil War

It was at this stage that the White Guard Heroes of the Civil War were most active. History has preserved such surnames as Kolchak, Yudenich, Denikin, Yuzefovich, Miller and others.

Each of these commanders had his own vision of the future for the state. Some tried to interact with the Entente troops in order to overthrow the Bolshevik government and still convene the Constituent Assembly. Others wanted to become local princelings. This includes people like Makhno, Grigoriev and others.

The difficulty of this period lies in the fact that as soon as the First World War was completed, German troops had to leave Russian territory only after the arrival of the Entente. But according to a secret agreement, they left earlier, handing over the cities to the Bolsheviks.

As history shows us, it is after this turn of events that the Civil War enters a phase of particular cruelty and bloodshed. The failure of commanders oriented towards Western governments was further aggravated by the fact that they had a catastrophic shortage of qualified officers. Thus, the armies of Miller, Yudenich and some other formations disintegrated only because, with a lack of mid-level commanders, the main influx of forces came from captured Red Army soldiers.

Messages in newspapers of this period are characterized by headlines of this type: “Two thousand military personnel with three guns went over to the side of the Red Army.”

The final stage

Historians tend to associate the beginning of the last period of the war of 1917-1922 with the Polish War. With the help of his western neighbors, Piłsudski wanted to create a confederation with territory from the Baltic to the Black Sea. But his aspirations were not destined to come true. The armies of the Civil War, led by Egorov and Tukhachevsky, fought their way deep into Western Ukraine and reached the Polish border.

Victory over this enemy was supposed to rouse the workers in Europe to fight. But all the plans of the Red Army leaders failed after a crushing defeat in the battle, which was preserved under the name “Miracle on the Vistula.”

After the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Soviets and Poland, disagreements begin in the Entente camp. As a result, funding for the “white” movement decreased, and the Civil War in Russia began to decline.

In the early 1920s, similar changes in foreign policy Western states led to the Soviet Union being recognized by most countries.

The heroes of the Civil War of the final period fought against Wrangel in Ukraine, the interventionists in the Caucasus and Central Asia, in Siberia. Among the particularly distinguished commanders, Tukhachevsky, Blucher, Frunze and some others should be noted.

Thus, as a result of five years of bloody battles, a new state was formed on the territory of the Russian Empire. Subsequently, it became the second superpower, whose only rival was the United States.

Reasons for victory

Let's figure out why the “whites” were defeated in the Civil War. We will compare the assessments of the opposing camps and try to come to a common conclusion.

Soviet historians main reason They saw their victory in the fact that they received massive support from the oppressed sections of society. Particular emphasis was placed on those who suffered as a result of the 1905 revolution. Because they unconditionally went over to the side of the Bolsheviks.

“Whites,” on the contrary, complained about the lack of human and material resources. In occupied territories with a population of millions, they could not carry out even the minimum mobilization to replenish their ranks.

Particularly interesting are the statistics provided by the Civil War. “Reds” and “Whites” (the table below) especially suffered from desertion. Unbearable living conditions, as well as the lack of clear goals, made themselves felt. The data concerns only the Bolshevik forces, since the White Guard records did not preserve clear figures.

The main point that modern historians note was the conflict.

The White Guards, firstly, had no centralized command and minimal cooperation between units. They fought locally, each for their own interests. The second feature was the absence of political workers and a clear program. These aspects were often assigned to officers who only knew how to fight, but not how to conduct diplomatic negotiations.

The Red Army soldiers created a powerful ideological network. A clear system of concepts was developed that was drummed into the heads of workers and soldiers. The slogans made it possible for even the most downtrodden peasant to understand what he was going to fight for.

It was this policy that allowed the Bolsheviks to receive maximum support from the population.

Consequences

The victory of the “Reds” in the Civil War was very costly for the state. The economy was completely destroyed. The country lost territories with a population of more than 135 million people.

Agriculture and productivity, food production decreased by 40-50 percent. Surplus appropriation and “red-white” terror in different regions led to the death of a huge number of people from starvation, torture and execution.

Industry, according to experts, has slipped to the level of the Russian Empire during the reign of Peter the Great. Researchers say production levels have fallen to 20 percent of 1913 levels, and in some areas to 4 percent.

As a result, a massive outflow of workers from cities to villages began. Since there was at least some hope of not dying of hunger.

“Whites” in the Civil War reflected the desire of the nobility and higher ranks to return to their previous living conditions. But their isolation from the real sentiments that reigned among the common people led to the total defeat of the old order.

Reflection in culture

Civil War leaders have been immortalized in thousands different works- from cinema to canvases, from stories to sculptures and songs.

For example, such productions as “Days of the Turbins”, “Running”, “Optimistic Tragedy” immersed people in the tense wartime environment.

The films “Chapaev”, “Little Red Devils”, “We are from Kronstadt” showed the efforts that the “Reds” made in the Civil War to win their ideals.

The literary work of Babel, Bulgakov, Gaidar, Pasternak, Ostrovsky illustrates the life of representatives of different strata of society in those difficult days.

One can give examples almost endlessly, because the social catastrophe that resulted in the Civil War found a powerful response in the hearts of hundreds of artists.

Thus, today we learned not only the origin of the concepts “white” and “red,” but also briefly became acquainted with the course of events of the Civil War.

Remember that any crisis contains the seeds of future changes for the better.

Reference table of milestones, dates, events, causes and results civil war in Russia 1917 - 1922. This table is convenient for schoolchildren and applicants to use for self-study, in preparation for tests, exams and the Unified State Exam in history.

The main causes of the civil war:

1. a national crisis in the country, which has given rise to irreconcilable contradictions between the main social strata of society;

2. socio-economic and anti-religious policy of the Bolsheviks, aimed at inciting hostility in society;

3. attempts by the nobility to regain their lost position in society;

4. psychological factor due to a drop in value human life during the events of the First World War.

The first stage of the civil war (October 1917 - spring 1918)

Key events: the victory of the armed uprising in Petrograd and the overthrow of the Provisional Government, military actions were local in nature, anti-Bolshevik forces used political methods of struggle or created armed formations (Volunteer Army).

The second stage of the civil war (spring - December 1918)

Key events: the formation of anti-Bolshevik centers and the beginning of active hostilities.

Third stage (January - December 1919)

Key events: The culmination of the Civil War is the equality of forces between the Reds and the Whites, large-scale operations take place on all fronts.

By the beginning of 1919, three main centers of the White movement had formed in the country:

1. troops of Admiral A.V. Kolchak (Ural, Siberia);

2. Armed forces of the South of Russia, General A. I. Denikin (Don region, North Caucasus);

3. troops of General N.N. Yudenich in the Baltic states.

Fourth stage (January - November 1920)

Key events: the superiority of the Reds, the defeat of the White movement in the European part of Russia, and then in Far East.

Results and consequences of the Civil War:

A very severe economic crisis, economic devastation, industrial production falling by 7 times, agricultural production by 2 times; huge demographic losses - during the years of the First World War and the Civil War, about 10 million people died from fighting, famine and epidemics; the final establishment of the Bolshevik dictatorship, while the harsh methods of governing the country during the Civil War began to be considered as completely acceptable for peacetime.

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A source of information: History in tables and diagrams./ Edition 2e, St. Petersburg: 2013.

Chronology

• 1918 Stage I of the civil war - “democratic”
• 1918, June Nationalization Decree
• 1919, January Introduction of surplus appropriation
• 1919 Fight against A.V. Kolchak, A.I. Denikin, Yudenich
• 1920 Soviet-Polish War
• 1920 Fight against P.N. Wrangel
• 1920, November End of the civil war on European territory
• 1922, October End of the civil war in the Far East

Civil war and military intervention

Civil War- “armed struggle between various groups population, which was based on deep social, national and political contradictions, passed through various stages and phases with the active intervention of foreign forces…” (Academician Yu.A. Polyakov).

In modern historical science there is no single definition of the concept of “civil war”. IN encyclopedic dictionary we read: “Civil war is an organized armed struggle for power between classes, social groups, the most acute form of class struggle.” This definition actually repeats Lenin’s famous saying that civil war is the most acute form of class struggle.

Currently, various definitions are given, but their essence mainly boils down to the definition of the Civil War as a large-scale armed confrontation, in which, undoubtedly, the issue of power was decided. Bolshevik takeover state power in Russia and the subsequent dispersal of the Constituent Assembly can be considered the beginning of armed confrontation in Russia. The first shots were heard in the south of Russia, in the Cossack regions, already in the autumn of 1917.

General Alekseev, the last chief of staff of the tsarist army, begins to form the Volunteer Army on the Don, but by the beginning of 1918 it amounted to no more than 3,000 officers and cadets.

As A.I. wrote Denikin in “Essays on Russian Troubles,” “the white movement grew spontaneously and inevitably.”

In the first months of the victory of Soviet power, armed clashes were local in nature; all opponents of the new government gradually determined their strategy and tactics.

This confrontation truly took on a front-line, large-scale character in the spring of 1918. Let us highlight three main stages in the development of armed confrontation in Russia, based primarily on taking into account the alignment of political forces and the peculiarities of the formation of fronts.

The first stage begins in the spring of 1918 when the military-political confrontation becomes global, large-scale military operations begin. The defining feature of this stage is its so-called “democratic” character, when representatives of the socialist parties emerged as an independent anti-Bolshevik camp with slogans of returning political power to the Constituent Assembly and restoring the gains of the February Revolution. It is this camp that is chronologically ahead of the White Guard camp in its organizational design.

At the end of 1918 the second stage begins- confrontation between whites and reds. Until the beginning of 1920, one of the main political opponents of the Bolsheviks was the white movement with the slogans of “non-decision of the state system” and the elimination of Soviet power. This direction threatened not only the October, but also the February conquests. Their main political force was the Cadets Party, and the army was formed by generals and officers of the former tsarist army. The Whites were united by hatred of the Soviet regime and the Bolsheviks, and the desire to preserve a united and indivisible Russia.

The final stage of the Civil War begins in 1920. events of the Soviet-Polish war and the fight against P. N. Wrangel. Wrangel's defeat at the end of 1920 marked the end of the Civil War, but anti-Soviet armed protests continued in many regions of Soviet Russia during the years of the New Economic Policy

Nationwide scale armed struggle has acquired from spring 1918 and turned into the greatest disaster, the tragedy of the entire Russian people. In this war there were no right and wrong, no winners and losers. 1918 - 1920 — in these years, the military issue was of decisive importance for the fate of the Soviet government and the bloc of anti-Bolshevik forces opposing it. This period ended with the liquidation in November 1920 of the last white front in the European part of Russia (in Crimea). In general, the country emerged from the state of civil war in the fall of 1922 after the remnants of white formations and foreign (Japanese) military units were expelled from the territory of the Russian Far East.

A feature of the civil war in Russia was its close intertwining with anti-Soviet military intervention Entente powers. It was the main factor in prolonging and aggravating the bloody “Russian Troubles.”

So, in the periodization of the civil war and intervention, three stages are quite clearly distinguished. The first of them covers the time from spring to autumn 1918; the second - from the autumn of 1918 to the end of 1919; and the third - from the spring of 1920 to the end of 1920.

The first stage of the civil war (spring - autumn 1918)

In the first months of the establishment of Soviet power in Russia, armed clashes were local in nature; all opponents of the new government gradually determined their strategy and tactics. The armed struggle acquired a nationwide scale in the spring of 1918. Back in January 1918, Romania, taking advantage of the weakness of the Soviet government, captured Bessarabia. In March - April 1918, the first contingents of troops from England, France, the USA and Japan appeared on Russian territory (in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, in Vladivostok, in Central Asia). They were small and could not significantly influence the military and political situation in the country. “War communism”

At the same time, the enemy of the Entente - Germany - occupied the Baltic states, part of Belarus, Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. The Germans actually dominated Ukraine: they overthrew the bourgeois-democratic Verkhovna Rada, whose help they used during the occupation of Ukrainian lands, and in April 1918 they put Hetman P.P. in power. Skoropadsky.

Under these conditions, the Supreme Council of the Entente decided to use the 45,000th Czechoslovak Corps, which was (in agreement with Moscow) under his subordination. It consisted of captured Slavic soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army and followed railway to Vladivostok for subsequent transfer to France.

According to the agreement concluded on March 26, 1918 with the Soviet government, the Czechoslovak legionnaires were to advance “not as a combat unit, but as a group of citizens equipped with weapons to repel armed attacks by counter-revolutionaries.” However, during their movement, their conflicts with local authorities became more frequent. Since the Czechs and Slovaks had more military weapons than provided for in the agreement, the authorities decided to confiscate them. On May 26 in Chelyabinsk, conflicts escalated into real battles, and legionnaires occupied the city. Their armed uprising was immediately supported by the military missions of the Entente in Russia and anti-Bolshevik forces. As a result, in the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East - wherever there were trains with Czechoslovak legionnaires - Soviet power was overthrown. At the same time, in many provinces of Russia, peasants, dissatisfied with the food policy of the Bolsheviks, rebelled (according to official data, there were at least 130 large anti-Soviet peasant uprisings alone).

Socialist parties(mainly right-wing Social Revolutionaries), relying on interventionist landings, the Czechoslovak Corps and peasant rebel groups, formed a number of governments Komuch (Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly) in Samara, the Supreme Administration of the Northern Region in Arkhangelsk, the West Siberian Commissariat in Novonikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk), The Provisional Siberian Government in Tomsk, the Trans-Caspian Provisional Government in Ashgabat, etc. In their activities they tried to compose “ democratic alternative”both the Bolshevik dictatorship and the bourgeois-monarchist counter-revolution. Their programs included demands for the convening of the Constituent Assembly, the restoration of the political rights of all citizens without exception, freedom of trade and the abandonment of strict government regulation economic activity peasants while maintaining a number of important provisions of the Soviet Decree on Land, establishing a “social partnership” of workers and capitalists during the denationalization of industrial enterprises, etc.

Thus, the performance of the Czechoslavak corps gave impetus to the formation of a front that bore the so-called “democratic coloring” and was mainly Socialist-Revolutionary. It was this front, and not the white movement, that was decisive at the initial stage of the Civil War.

In the summer of 1918, all opposition forces became a real threat to the Bolshevik government, which controlled only the territory of the center of Russia. The territory controlled by Komuch included the Volga region and part of the Urals. Bolshevik power was also overthrown in Siberia, where the regional government of the Siberian Duma was formed. The breakaway parts of the empire - Transcaucasia, Central Asia, the Baltic states - had their own national governments. Ukraine was captured by the Germans, Don and Kuban by Krasnov and Denikin.

On August 30, 1918, a terrorist group killed the chairman of the Petrograd Cheka, Uritsky, and the right-wing Socialist Revolutionary Kaplan seriously wounded Lenin. The threat of loss of political power from the ruling Bolshevik party became catastrophically real.

In September 1918, a meeting of representatives of a number of anti-Bolshevik governments of democratic and social orientation was held in Ufa. Under pressure from the Czechoslovaks, who threatened to open the front to the Bolsheviks, they established a unified All-Russian government - the Ufa Directory, headed by the leaders of the Socialist Revolutionaries N.D. Avksentiev and V.M. Zenzinov. Soon the directorate settled in Omsk, where the famous polar explorer and scientist, former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral A.V., was invited to the post of Minister of War. Kolchak.

The right, bourgeois-monarchist wing of the camp opposing the Bolsheviks as a whole had not yet recovered at that time from the defeat of its first post-October armed attack on them (which largely explained the “democratic coloring” of the initial stage of the civil war on the part of anti-Soviet forces). White Volunteer Army, which after the death of General L.G. Kornilov in April 1918 was headed by General A.I. Denikin, operated on a limited territory of the Don and Kuban. Only the Cossack army of Ataman P.N. Krasnov managed to advance to Tsaritsyn and cut off the grain-producing regions of the North Caucasus from the central regions of Russia, and Ataman A.I. Dutov - to capture Orenburg.

By the end of the summer of 1918, the position of Soviet power had become critical. Almost three-quarters of the territory of the former Russian Empire was under the control of various anti-Bolshevik forces, as well as the occupying Austro-German forces.

Soon, however, a turning point occurs on the main front (Eastern). Soviet troops under the command of I.I. Vatsetis and S.S. Kamenev went on the offensive there in September 1918. Kazan fell first, then Simbirsk, and Samara in October. By winter the Reds approached the Urals. The attempts of General P.N. were also repelled. Krasnov to take possession of Tsaritsyn, undertaken in July and September 1918.

From October 1918, the Southern front became the main front. In the South of Russia, the Volunteer Army of General A.I. Denikin captured Kuban, and the Don Cossack Army of Ataman P.N. Krasnova tried to take Tsaritsyn and cut the Volga.

The Soviet government launched active measures to protect its power. In 1918, a transition was made to universal conscription, widespread mobilization was launched. The Constitution adopted in July 1918 established discipline in the army and introduced the institution of military commissars.

The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) was allocated as part of the Central Committee to quickly resolve problems of a military and political nature. It included: V.I. Lenin - Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars; L.B. Krestinsky - Secretary of the Party Central Committee; I.V. Stalin - People's Commissar for Nationalities; L.D. Trotsky - Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs. Candidates for membership were N.I. Bukharin - editor of the newspaper “Pravda”, G.E. Zinoviev - Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, M.I. Kalinin is the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

The Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, headed by L.D., worked under the direct control of the Party Central Committee. Trotsky. The Institute of Military Commissars was introduced in the spring of 1918, one of its important tasks was control over the activities of military specialists - former officers. Already at the end of 1918, there were about 7 thousand commissars in the Soviet armed forces. About 30% of former generals and officers of the old army during the civil war took the side of the Red Army.

This was determined by two main factors:

• acting on the side of the Bolshevik government for ideological reasons;
• The policy of attracting “military specialists”—former tsarist officers—to the Red Army was pursued by L.D. Trotsky using repressive methods.

War communism

In 1918, the Bolsheviks introduced a system of emergency measures, economic and political, known as “ policy of war communism”. Main acts this policy became Decree of May 13, 1918 g., giving broad powers to the People's Commissariat for Food (People's Commissariat for Food), and Decree of June 28, 1918 on nationalization.

The main provisions of this policy:

• nationalization of all industry;
• centralization of economic management;
• ban on private trade;
• curtailment of commodity-money relations;
• food allocation;
• equalization system of remuneration for workers and employees;
• payment in kind for workers and employees;
• free utilities;
• universal labor conscription.

June 11, 1918 were created committees(committees of the poor), which were supposed to seize surplus agricultural products from wealthy peasants. Their actions were supported by units of the prodarmiya (food army), consisting of Bolsheviks and workers. From January 1919, the search for surpluses was replaced by a centralized and planned system of surplus appropriation (Chrestomathy T8 No. 5).

Each region and county had to hand over a set amount of grain and other products (potatoes, honey, butter, eggs, milk). When the delivery quota was met, the village residents received a receipt for the right to purchase industrial goods (fabric, sugar, salt, matches, kerosene).

June 28, 1918 the state has started nationalization of enterprises with capital over 500 rubles. Back in December 1917, when the VSNKh (Supreme Council of the National Economy) was created, he began nationalization. But the nationalization of labor was not widespread (by March 1918, no more than 80 enterprises were nationalized). This was primarily a repressive measure against entrepreneurs who resisted workers' control. It was now government policy. By November 1, 1919, 2,500 enterprises had been nationalized. In November 1920, a decree was issued that extended nationalization to all enterprises with more than 10 or 5 workers, but using a mechanical engine.

Decree of November 21, 1918 was installed monopoly on domestic trade. Soviet power replaced trade with state distribution. Citizens received products through the People's Commissariat for Food using cards, of which, for example, in Petrograd in 1919 there were 33 types: bread, dairy, shoe, etc. The population was divided into three categories:
workers and scientists and artists equated to them;
employees;
former exploiters.

Due to the lack of food, even the wealthiest received only ¼ of the prescribed ration.

In such conditions, the “black market” flourished. The government fought against bag smugglers, prohibiting them from traveling by train.

In the social sphere, the policy of “war communism” was based on the principle “he who does not work, neither shall he eat.” In 1918, labor conscription was introduced for representatives of the former exploiting classes, and in 1920, universal labor conscription.

IN political sphere “War communism” meant the undivided dictatorship of the RCP (b). The activities of other parties (cadets, mensheviks, right and left socialist revolutionaries) were prohibited.

The consequences of the policy of “war communism” were deepening economic devastation, a reduction in industrial production and agriculture. However, it was precisely this policy that largely allowed the Bolsheviks to mobilize all resources and win the Civil War.

The Bolsheviks assigned a special role to mass terror in the victory over the class enemy. On September 2, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted a resolution proclaiming the beginning of “mass terror against the bourgeoisie and its agents.” Head of the Cheka F.E. Dzherzhinsky said: “We are terrorizing the enemies of Soviet power.” The policy of mass terror adopted state character. Execution on the spot became commonplace.

The second stage of the civil war (autumn 1918 - end of 1919)

From November 1918, the front-line war entered the stage of confrontation between the Reds and the Whites. The year 1919 was decisive for the Bolsheviks; a reliable and constantly growing Red Army was created. But their opponents, actively supported by their former allies, united among themselves. The international situation has also changed significantly. Germany and its allies in the world war laid down their arms before the Entente in November. Revolutions took place in Germany and Austria-Hungary. Leadership of the RSFSR November 13, 1918 canceled, and the new governments of these countries were forced to evacuate their troops from Russia. In Poland, the Baltic states, Belarus, and Ukraine, bourgeois-national governments arose, which immediately took the side of the Entente.

The defeat of Germany freed up significant combat contingents of the Entente and at the same time opened up for it a convenient and short road to Moscow from southern regions. Under these conditions, the Entente leadership prevailed in the intention to defeat Soviet Russia using its own armies.

In the spring of 1919, the Supreme Council of the Entente developed a plan for the next military campaign. (Chrestomathy T8 No. 8) As noted in one of his secret documents, the intervention was “to be expressed in combined military actions of Russian anti-Bolshevik forces and the armies of neighboring allied states" At the end of November 1918, a joint Anglo-French squadron of 32 pennants (12 battleships, 10 cruisers and 10 destroyers) appeared off the Black Sea coast of Russia. English troops landed in Batum and Novorossiysk, and French troops landed in Odessa and Sevastopol. Total number The fighting forces of the interventionists concentrated in the south of Russia were brought to 130 thousand people by February 1919. The Entente contingents in the Far East and Siberia (up to 150 thousand people), as well as in the North (up to 20 thousand people) increased significantly.

In Siberia, on November 18, 1918, Admiral A.V. came to power. Kolchak. . He put an end to the chaotic actions of the anti-Bolshevik coalition.

Having dispersed the Directory, he proclaimed himself the Supreme Ruler of Russia (the rest of the leaders of the white movement soon declared their submission to him). Admiral Kolchak in March 1919 began to advance on a broad front from the Urals to the Volga. The main bases of his army were Siberia, the Urals, the Orenburg province and the Ural region. In the north, from January 1919, General E.K. began to play a leading role. Miller, in the north-west - General N.N. Yudenich. In the south, the dictatorship of the commander of the Volunteer Army A.I. is strengthening. Denikin, who in January 1919 subjugated the Don Army of General P.N. Krasnov and created the united Armed Forces of southern Russia.

In March 1919, the well-armed 300,000-strong army of A.V. Kolchak launched an offensive from the east, intending to unite with Denikin’s forces for a joint attack on Moscow. Having captured Ufa, Kolchak’s troops fought their way to Simbirsk, Samara, Votkinsk, but were soon stopped by the Red Army. In the end of April Soviet troops under the command of S.S. Kamenev and M.V. The Frunzes went on the offensive and advanced deep into Siberia in the summer. By the beginning of 1920, the Kolchakites were completely defeated, and the admiral himself was arrested and executed by verdict of the Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee.

In the summer of 1919, the center of the armed struggle moved to the Southern Front. (Reader T8 No. 7) July 3, General A.I. Denikin issued his famous “Moscow directive”, and his army of 150 thousand people began an offensive along the entire 700-km front from Kyiv to Tsaritsyn. The White Front included such important centers as Voronezh, Orel, Kyiv. In this space of 1 million square meters. km with a population of up to 50 million people there were 18 provinces and regions. By mid-autumn, Denikin's army captured Kursk and Orel. But by the end of October, the troops of the Southern Front (commander A.I. Egorov) defeated the white regiments, and then began to press them along the entire front line. The remnants of Denikin’s army, headed by General P.N. in April 1920. Wrangel, strengthened in Crimea.

The final stage of the civil war (spring - autumn 1920)

At the beginning of 1920, as a result of military operations, the outcome of the front-line Civil War was actually decided in favor of the Bolshevik government. At the final stage, the main military operations were associated with the Soviet-Polish war and the fight against Wrangel’s army.

Significantly aggravated the nature of the civil war Soviet-Polish war. Head of Polish State Marshal J. Pilsudski hatched a plan to create “ Greater Poland within the borders of 1772” from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, including a large part of Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian lands, including those never controlled by Warsaw. The Polish national government was supported by the Entente countries, who sought to create a “sanitary bloc” of Eastern European countries between Bolshevik Russia and Western countries. On April 17, Pilsudski gave the order to attack Kiev and signed an agreement with Ataman Petliura, Poland recognized the Directory headed by Petliura as the supreme authority of Ukraine. On May 7, Kyiv was captured. The victory was achieved unusually easily, because the Soviet troops withdrew without serious resistance.

But already on May 14, a successful counter-offensive of troops began Western Front(commander M.N. Tukhachevsky), May 26 - Southwestern Front (commander A.I. Egorov). In mid-July they reached the borders of Poland. On June 12, Soviet troops occupied Kyiv. The speed of a victory can only be compared with the speed of a previously suffered defeat.

On July 12, British Foreign Secretary Lord D. Curzon sent a note to the Soviet government - in fact, an ultimatum from the Entente demanding to stop the Red Army's advance on Poland. As a truce, the so-called “ Curzon line”, which passed mainly along the ethnic border of the settlement of Poles.

The Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), having clearly overestimated its own strengths and underestimated the enemy’s, set a new strategic task for the main command of the Red Army: to continue the revolutionary war. IN AND. Lenin believed that the victorious entry of the Red Army into Poland would cause uprisings of the Polish working class and revolutionary uprisings in Germany. For this purpose, the Soviet government of Poland was quickly formed - the Provisional Revolutionary Committee consisting of F.E. Dzerzhinsky, F.M. Kona, Yu.Yu. Markhlevsky and others.

This attempt ended in disaster. The troops of the Western Front were defeated near Warsaw in August 1920.

In October, the warring parties concluded a truce, and in March 1921, a peace treaty. Under its terms, a significant part of the lands in western Ukraine and Belarus went to Poland.

At the height of the Soviet-Polish war, General P.N. took active action in the south. Wrangel. Using harsh measures, including public executions of demoralized officers, and relying on the support of France, the general turned Denikin's scattered divisions into a disciplined and combat-ready Russian army. In June 1920, troops were landed from the Crimea on the Don and Kuban, and the main forces of the Wrangel troops were sent to the Donbass. On October 3, the Russian army began its offensive in the northwestern direction towards Kakhovka.

The offensive of Wrangel’s troops was repulsed, and during the operation of the army of the Southern Front under the command of M.V., which began on October 28. The Frunzes completely captured Crimea. On November 14 - 16, 1920, an armada of ships flying the St. Andrew's flag left the shores of the peninsula, taking broken white regiments and tens of thousands of civilian refugees to a foreign land. Thus P.N. Wrangel saved them from the merciless red terror that fell on Crimea immediately after the evacuation of the whites.

In the European part of Russia, after the capture of Crimea, it was liquidated last white front. The military issue ceased to be the main one for Moscow, but fighting on the outskirts of the country continued for many months.

The Red Army, having defeated Kolchak, reached Transbaikalia in the spring of 1920. The Far East was at this time in the hands of Japan. To avoid a collision with it, the government of Soviet Russia promoted the formation in April 1920 of a formally independent “buffer” state - the Far Eastern Republic (FER) with its capital in Chita. Soon, the army of the Far East began military operations against the White Guards, supported by the Japanese, and in October 1922 occupied Vladivostok, completely clearing the Far East of Whites and interventionists. After this, a decision was made to liquidate the Far Eastern Republic and incorporate it into the RSFSR.

The Civil War became the biggest drama of the twentieth century and the greatest tragedy in Russia. The armed struggle that unfolded across the expanses of the country was carried out with extreme tension of the opponents' forces, was accompanied by mass terror (both white and red), and was distinguished by exceptional mutual bitterness. Here is an excerpt from the memoirs of a participant in the Civil War, talking about soldiers of the Caucasian Front: “Well, why, son, isn’t it scary for a Russian to beat a Russian?” - the comrades ask the recruit. “At first it’s really kind of awkward,” he answers, “and then, if your heart gets hot, then no, nothing.” These words contain the merciless truth about the fratricidal war, into which almost the entire population of the country was drawn.

The fighting parties clearly understood that the struggle could only have a fatal outcome for one of the parties. That is why the civil war in Russia became great tragedy for all its political camps, movements and parties.

“Reds” (the Bolsheviks and their supporters) believed that they were defending not only Soviet power in Russia, but also “the world revolution and the ideas of socialism.”

In the political struggle against Soviet power, two political movements were consolidated:

• democratic counter-revolution with slogans of returning political power to the Constituent Assembly and restoring the gains of the February (1917) Revolution (many Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks advocated the establishment of Soviet power in Russia, but without the Bolsheviks (“For Soviets without Bolsheviks”));
• white movement with the slogans of “non-decision of the state system” and the elimination of Soviet power. This direction threatened not only the October, but also the February conquests. The counter-revolutionary white movement was not homogeneous. It included monarchists and liberal republicans, supporters of the Constituent Assembly and supporters of the military dictatorship. Among the “Whites” there were also differences in foreign policy guidelines: some hoped for the support of Germany (Ataman Krasnov), others hoped for the help of the Entente powers (Denikin, Kolchak, Yudenich). The “Whites” were united by hatred of the Soviet regime and the Bolsheviks, and the desire to preserve a united and indivisible Russia. They did not have a unified political program; the military in the leadership of the “white movement” relegated politicians to the background. There was also no clear coordination of actions between the main “white” groups. The leaders of the Russian counter-revolution competed and fought with each other.

In the anti-Soviet anti-Bolshevik camp, some of the political opponents of the Soviets acted under a single Socialist Revolutionary-White Guard flag, while others acted only under the White Guard.

Bolsheviks had a stronger social base than their opponents. They received strong support from urban workers and the rural poor. The position of the main peasant mass was not stable and unambiguous; only the poorest part of the peasants consistently followed the Bolsheviks. The peasants' hesitation had its reasons: the “Reds” gave the land, but then introduced surplus appropriation, which caused strong discontent in the village. However, the return of the previous order was also unacceptable for the peasantry: the victory of the “whites” threatened the return of the land to the landowners and severe punishments for the destruction of the landowners’ estates.

The Socialist Revolutionaries and anarchists rushed to take advantage of the hesitations of the peasants. They managed to involve a significant part of the peasantry in the armed struggle, both against the whites and against the reds.

For both warring sides, it was also important what position the Russian officers would take in the conditions of the civil war. Approximately 40% of the officers of the tsarist army joined the “ white movement”, 30% sided with the Soviet regime, 30% avoided participating in the civil war.

The Russian Civil War worsened armed intervention foreign powers. The interventionists carried out active military operations on the territory of the former Russian Empire, occupied some of its regions, helped incite the civil war in the country and contributed to its prolongation. The intervention turned out to be an important factor in the “revolutionary all-Russian unrest” and increased the number of victims.

The Reds played a decisive role in the civil war and became the driving mechanism for the creation of the USSR.

With their powerful propaganda they managed to win the loyalty of thousands of people and unite them with the idea of ​​​​creating ideal country workers.

Creation of the Red Army

The Red Army was created by a special decree on January 15, 1918. These were voluntary formations from the worker and peasant part of the population.

However, the principle of voluntariness brought with it disunity and decentralization in army command, from which discipline and combat effectiveness suffered. This forced Lenin to announce universal conscription for men 18-40 years old.

The Bolsheviks created a network of schools to train recruits, who studied not only the art of war, but also received political education. Commander training courses were created, for which the most outstanding Red Army soldiers were recruited.

Major victories of the Red Army

The Reds in the civil war mobilized all possible economic and human resources to win. After the annulment of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, the Soviets began to expel German troops from the occupied areas. Then the most turbulent period of the civil war began.

The Reds managed to defend the Southern Front, despite the considerable efforts that were required to fight the Don Army. Then the Bolsheviks launched a counter-offensive and conquered significant territories. The situation on the Eastern Front was very unfavorable for the Reds. Here the offensive was launched by Kolchak’s very large and strong troops.

Alarmed by such events, Lenin resorted to emergency measures, and the White Guards were defeated. The simultaneous anti-Soviet protests and the entry into the struggle of Denikin’s Volunteer Army became a critical moment for the Bolshevik government. However, the immediate mobilization of all possible resources helped the Reds win.

War with Poland and the end of the civil war

In April 1920 Poland decided to enter Kyiv with the intention of liberating Ukraine from illegal Soviet rule and restoring its independence. However, the people perceived this as an attempt to occupy their territory. Soviet commanders took advantage of this mood of the Ukrainians. Troops of the Western and Southwestern Fronts were sent to fight Poland.

Soon Kyiv was liberated from the Polish offensive. This revived hopes for a quick world revolution in Europe. But, having entered the territory of the attackers, the Reds received powerful resistance and their intentions quickly cooled. In light of such events, the Bolsheviks signed a peace treaty with Poland.

Reds in the civil war photo

After this, the Reds concentrated all their attention on the remnants of the White Guards under the command of Wrangel. These fights were incredibly violent and brutal. However, the Reds still forced the Whites to surrender.

Famous Red leaders

• Frunze Mikhail Vasilievich. Under his command, the Reds carried out successful operations against the White Guard troops of Kolchak, defeated Wrangel’s army in the territory of Northern Tavria and Crimea;
• Tukhachevsky Mikhail Nikolaevich. He was the commander of the troops of the Eastern and Caucasian Front, with his army he cleared the Urals and Siberia of the White Guards;
• Voroshilov Kliment Efremovich. He was one of the first marshals of the Soviet Union. Participated in the organization of the Revolutionary Military Council of the 1st Cavalry Army. With his troops he liquidated the Kronstadt rebellion;
• Chapaev Vasily Ivanovich. He commanded the division that liberated Uralsk. When the whites suddenly attacked the reds, they fought bravely. And, having spent all the cartridges, the wounded Chapaev set off running across the Ural River, but was killed;
• Budyonny Semyon Mikhailovich. Creator of the Cavalry Army, which defeated the Whites in the Voronezh-Kastornensky operation. Mastermind military-political movement of the Red Cossacks in Russia.

• When the workers' and peasants' army showed its vulnerability, former tsarist commanders who were their enemies began to be recruited into the ranks of the Reds.
• After the assassination attempt on Lenin, the Reds dealt especially cruelly with 500 hostages. On the line between the rear and the front there were barrage detachments who fought desertion by shooting.