Civil war and military intervention 1917 1922. Civil war and intervention (briefly)
1.Civil War (G.V.) - a way to resolve acute contradictions (class, national, religious) between various socio-political forces within the country by means of armed violence.
Intervention- violent intervention of one or more states in the internal affairs of another state.
2.Temporal and spatial characteristics: The exact start and end time of G.V. It is quite difficult to indicate, but when determining the chronological framework, there are two periodizations. First: summer 1918 - 1920. This periodization is accepted by most historians and prevails in educational and scientific literature. In this case, we are talking about highlighting a special period in the history of the Soviet state, the period of intervention and civil war, when the military issue became the main, fundamental issue on which the fate of the revolution depended. Second periodization: 1917 - 1922 - is associated with the concept of civil war as a form of class struggle. And this struggle began immediately after October 1917. Suffice it to recall the rebellion of Kerensky - Krasnov, the speeches of Kaledin, Dutov, Kornilov, Alekseev - all these were hotbeds of G.V. By 1921 - 1922 - refers to the elimination of the last centers of resistance to Soviet power.
3. Background and reasons G.V. a) Reasons for G.V. - extreme aggravation of social, class and political contradictions, leading to confrontation and then to the split of society into warring camps. b) The impossibility and unwillingness to solve the problem peacefully (on both sides).
4. Beginning of G.V. and interventions(first half of 1918) A Volunteer Army is formed on the Don (former tsarist officers - Alekseev, Kornilov, Denikin), which moves to the Kuban - "Ice Campaign". At the same time, on the Don, Southern Urals, Kuban and Siberia, White Cossack units were formed. At the same time, the beginning of the intervention. December 1917 - Romania occupies Bessarabia. February 1918 - Germany, Türkiye, Austria invade Russia. Spring 1918 - British, French and American troops land in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, planning an attack on Petrograd and Moscow. Soviet power was overthrown here. Japanese, American, British troops are in the Far East. In the summer of 1918, the British intervention in Transcaucasia began and Central Asia. Germany occupied Ukraine, captured Rostov and Taganrog, violating the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. German troops invaded Belarus, the Baltic states, Crimea and Transcaucasia. In May 1918, a mutiny of the Czechoslovak corps began. In September 1918, with the capture of Baku by the British, the ring of fronts closed around the Soviet Republic.
5. Red and white terror. Terror - suppression, elimination of political opponents by violent means. Violence has become the norm. Both the Reds and the Whites had military punitive bodies. Wherever rebellions broke out, the Bolshevik leaders became the victims first of all. The Bolsheviks acted no less harshly. In Yekaterinburg, as the Czechoslovak corps approached, amid widespread anti-Soviet riots, the royal family was shot (on the night of July 16-17). Volodarsky and Uritsky were killed by the Social Revolutionaries. August 30, 1918 - Lenin was wounded. On September 5, 1918, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the resolution "On Red Terror." All persons involved in White Guard organizations, conspiracies and rebellions were subject to execution. For 1918-1919 More than 9 thousand people were shot by the Cheka.
6. Strengthening the Red Army (K.A.) and organization of defense (summer-autumn 1918). Creation of a new army (late 1917 - early 1918). April 22, 1918 - a decree on compulsory universal military training was issued. In May, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee issued a resolution “On the transition to general mobilization of workers and poor peasants.” The Red Army is the backbone (300 thousand people) members of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks). By the end of G.V. in K.A. - 5.5 million people (700 thousand workers). 50 thousand officers and generals of the old army (military experts) - Shaposhnikov, Egorov, Tukhachevsky, Karbyshev - served in the army. In the fall of 1918 in K.A. - the positions of military commissars were introduced. September 2, 1918 - By resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Soviet Republic was declared a Military camp. The Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (RVSR) was created, headed by Trotsky. The position of commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the republic was established. On November 30, 1918, the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense was created, headed by Lenin. Soviet military leaders - Budyonny, Voroshilov, Blucher, Lazo, Kotovsky, Parkhomenko, Frunze, Chapaev, Shchors, Yakir.
7. Military operations summer-autumn 1918. In the second half of 1918, Denikin's Volunteer Army inflicted a number of serious defeats on the Red Army. In November 1918, Krasnov's Don Army, having broken through the Southern Front, began to advance north. In December, its offensive was stopped, and at the beginning of 1919 K.A. managed to launch a counteroffensive. The White Czechs in the Middle Volga region are trying to break through to the center of the country. The Eastern Front was created. In heavy battles K.A. liberates Kazan, Samara, Simbirsk. Northern Front (autumn 1918) - the Whites and the interventionists were stopped in the area of Kotlas and Vologda.
8. Military actions at the end of 1918 - beginning of 1919. Military intervention and blockade of the Soviet Republic is intensifying. Allied troops landed in Odessa, Sevastopol, and Vladivostok. On November 18, 1918, Admiral Kolchak carried out a coup in Omsk and established military dictatorship. Kolchak took the title of Supreme Ruler Russian state and the title of Commander-in-Chief. Denikin became his deputy in the south of the country. Kolchak creates an army of 400 thousand people. and begins active operations on the Eastern Front. Eastern Front - battles with varying success. Northern Front - Americans and General Miller - dictatorship in Arkhangelsk. Southern Front - Krasnov's troops are defeated and the Don is liberated. Denikin launches an offensive in the North Caucasus. January 1919 - The volunteer army and Cossack troops of the Don and Kuban merged into the armed forces of southern Russia under the command of Denikin.
9. Military operations in the second half of 1919 - the first half of 1920
Southern Front: The main danger from the South is General Denikin (110 thousand people). The Entente provides him with massive support. May-June 1919 - Denikin goes on the offensive along the entire Southern Front (Kharkov, Yekaterinoslav, Tsaritsyn are taken). July 3, 1919 - Denikin gives the order to attack Moscow. On the right flank is the Caucasian Army, in the center is the Don Army, on the left is the Volunteer Army. Soviet power: “Everyone to fight Denikin!” In the rear, Denikin is restoring the old order, which leads to an increase in strike and partisan movement. August 15, 1919 - K.A. begins a counteroffensive. After temporary successes, it was suspended due to lack of strength. The Whites launched a counterattack: Kursk, Voronezh, Orel were taken and approached Tula. The most critical days have come for Soviet power. Mid-October - fierce fighting on the Southern Front. Mid-November - The Red Army strikes at the junction of the Volunteer and Don armies. The main striking force is Budyonny's 1st Cavalry Army. January 1920 - Tukhachevsky took Tsaritsyn, Rostov-on-Don, the last stronghold of the Whites - Novosibirsk. Denikin handed over command to Wrangel and went abroad.
Petrograd Front: Summer 1919 - at the height of the fighting on the Eastern Front, the troops of General Yudenich went on the offensive against Petrograd. They were supported by the English fleet from the sea. In May, Yudenich took Gdov, Yamburg and Pskov. In mid-June, the Red Army went on the offensive. The immediate threat to Petrograd was removed, but, thanks to the efforts of the allies, Yudenich's army soon regained its combat capability. Autumn 1919 - Yudenich launches the second attack on Petrograd, there is a danger of the city surrendering. But on October 21, K.A. begins an offensive along the entire front. Yudenich is defeated, the English fleet leaves the Baltic waters.
Eastern front: Autumn 1919 - K.A. launches a new offensive on the Eastern Front. November 14 - Omsk, the capital of Kolchak, is captured. On January 6, 1920, the remnants of Kolchak’s army were defeated near Krasnoyarsk. He and his prime minister were shot. The Entente evacuates its troops from Russia, and Japan withdraws them to Primorye. K.A. conducts offensive operations, but at the turn of Lake Baikal they pause (to avoid war with Japan). Spring 1920 - the decision to create the Far Eastern Republic (FER) - a buffer state between Soviet Russia and Japan.
Northern Front: At the beginning of 1920, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk were liberated. The intervention and counter-revolution are over.
The defeat of the counter-revolution in Transcaucasia and Central Asia. The Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR. The Khorezm and Bukhara NSRs were created in Central Asia.
10. The final stage of the civil war.
War with Poland. Spring 1920 fighting against Soviet Russia Poland started. The Western (Tukhachevsky) and Southwestern (Egorov) fronts were formed. In the summer of 1920, they went on the offensive, but the Western Front suffered a crushing defeat near Warsaw, and the Red Army was forced to retreat again. In March 1921, a peace treaty was signed with Poland.
Defeat of Wrangel. Leaving Russia forever in April 1920, Denikin handed over power to General Wrangel. By the beginning of June, Wrangel gained a foothold in the Crimea, having at his disposal a significant ground army and navy. The offensive of Wrangel's troops began in May 1920. The Southern Front was re-created, which was faced with the task of liberating Crimea before the start of winter. In September and October K.A. successfully held back the onslaught of Wrangel, who was trying to unite with the White Poles. At the end of October, in Northern Tavria, Wrangel’s main forces were defeated, units of K.A. reached Perekop. On the night of November 7, 1920, units of K.A. crossed Sivash and launched an offensive to the rear of the impregnable Perekop positions. At the same time, an attack began on these positions through the Turkish Wall. Perekop was taken. After its capture, other Wrangel positions also fell. By November 17, Crimea was completely cleared of whites, and the Southern Front was liquidated. The remnants of Wrangel's troops (about 145 thousand) on foreign ships were evacuated abroad.
11. Results G.V.: Human losses - about 8 million. people: victims of hunger, disease, terror and war. Losses from 1918 to 1923: 13 million people. Material losses: 50 billion gold rubles. 2-2.5 million people emigrated. 200 thousand Russian families were left homeless. Industrial production fell: to 4-20% compared to 1913. Agriculture has halved. Degradation of transport, destruction of internal and external economic ties, a sharp decline in culture and morality. The victory of the Bolsheviks marked the beginning of the formation of a totalitarian regime in Soviet Russia.
Presentation on the topic: Civil War and military intervention of 1917-1922 in Russia
1 of 6
Presentation on the topic: Civil war and military intervention 1917-1922 in Russia
Slide no. 1
Slide description:
Slide no. 2
Slide description:
Slide no. 3
Slide description:
Slide no. 4
Slide description:
YUDENICH Nikolai Nikolaevich (1862-1933), infantry general (1915), one of the leaders of the white movement in northwestern Russia. In World War I, he commanded the Caucasian Army (1915-16), successfully conducted the Erzurum operation (December 1915 - February 1916); in April - May 1917 commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Front. During the Civil War, he led the spring-summer offensive of 1919 White Guard troops on Petrograd, and from June he was the commander-in-chief of the White Guard troops in northwestern Russia. After the failure of the “campaign against Petrograd” (October - November 1919), he retreated to Estonia with the remnants of the army. He emigrated in 1920.
Slide no. 5
Slide description:
DENIKIN Anton Ivanovich (December 4, 1872, the village of Shpetal-Dolny, Włoclaw district, Warsaw province - August 7, 1947, Ann Arbor, USA), Russian military leader, one of the leaders of the white movement, publicist and memoirist, lieutenant general (1916). Beginning of a military career Father - from serfs, after 22 years of military service he passed the exam for the officer rank and retired with the rank of major, mother - a Polish woman from small landowners. He graduated from the Lovichi Real School, military school courses at the Kiev Infantry Junker School (1892) and the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1899). He served in the 2nd Artillery Brigade (1892-95 and 1900-02), and was senior adjutant of the 2nd Infantry Division (1902-03) and the 2nd Cavalry Corps (1903-04). During the Russo-Japanese War in March 1904, he submitted a report on transfer to the active army. In April 1917, after February Revolution, appointed chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, in May - commander-in-chief of the armies of the Western Front, in July - commander-in-chief of the armies of the Southwestern Front. In November 1917 he arrived in Novocherkassk, where he took part in the organization and formation of the Volunteer Army. He sought to smooth out differences between generals M.V. Alekseev and L.G. Kornilov, initiated the division of powers between them, as well as the Don ataman A.M. Kaledin. On January 30, 1918, he was appointed head of the 1st Volunteer Division. The greatest successes of Denikin's troops occurred in the summer - early autumn of 1919. On June 20, in the newly captured Tsaritsyn, Denikin signed the “Moscow Directive” - on an attack on Moscow. The White troops under the command of Denikin achieved the greatest successes compared to other anti-Bolshevik fronts; in October 1919 they took Oryol and launched an attack on Tula; However, the counter-offensive of the Red Army troops led to a rapid retreat, which ended in March 1920 with the “Novorossiysk disaster”, when the White troops, pressed to the sea, were evacuated in panic, and a significant part of them were captured. Shocked by the disaster, Denikin resigned and on April 4, 1922 handed over command to General P.N. Wrangel. In exile, Denikin went to Constantinople, then to London, and in August 1920 to Brussels. Buried with military honors at Evergreen Cemetery (Detroit); On December 15, 1952, Denikin's ashes were transferred to the Russian cemetery of St. Vladimir in Cassville (New Jersey).
Slide no. 6
Slide description:
As a result of the general counteroffensive of the Soviet troops of the Eastern Front in May - July, the Urals were occupied and, in the next six months, with the active participation of partisans, Siberia. In April - August 1919, the interventionists were forced to evacuate their troops from the south of Ukraine, from Crimea, Baku, Sr. Asia. The troops of the Southern Front defeated Denikin's armies near Orel and Voronezh and by March 1920 pushed their remnants into the Crimea. In the fall of 1919, Yudenich's army was finally defeated near Petrograd. In the beginning. 1920 The north and coast of the Caspian Sea were occupied. The Entente states completely withdrew their troops and lifted the blockade. After the end of the Soviet-Polish War, the Red Army launched a series of attacks on the troops of General P. N. Wrangel and expelled them from Crimea. In 1921-22, anti-Bolshevik uprisings were suppressed in Kronstadt, the Tambov region, in a number of regions of Ukraine, etc., and the remaining pockets of interventionists and White Guards in Sr. Asia and the Far East (October 1922). The civil war brought enormous disasters. From hunger, disease, terror and in battles (according to various sources), from 8 to 13 million people died, including approx. 1 million Red Army soldiers. Up to 2 million people emigrated by the end of the Civil War. Damage caused national economy, amounted to approx. 50 billion gold rubles, industrial production fell to 4-20% of the 1913 level, agricultural production fell by almost half.
To clarify the goals and objectives of the warring parties (white and red), it will be interesting to compare the program settings of the whites and the activities of the Bolshevik government.
The program of the white movement was drawn up at the headquarters of the Volunteer Army of A.I. Denikin. Its main provisions were:
1. destruction of Bolshevik anarchy and establishment in the country legal order;
2. restoration of a powerful, united and indivisible Russia;
3. convening the People's Assembly on the basis of universal suffrage;
4. carrying out decentralization of power by establishing regional autonomy and broad local self-government;
5. guarantee of complete civil freedom and freedom of religion;
6. implementation of land reform;
7. introduction of labor legislation, protecting workers from exploitation by the state and capital.
The most important problem in the study of the Civil War is the substantiation of the decisive factor in the outcome of the Civil War.
Both whites and reds faced a powerful peasant insurgency. Therefore, victory in the Civil War largely depended on the flexibility of the warring parties in resolving the so-called peasant question: the alternative to suppressing the peasant revolt was the satisfaction of the economic demands of the peasants.
Answering the question - what was the main reason for the victory of the Reds and the defeat of the Whites in the Civil War? - determine the significance of the Bolshevik government’s change from the policy of “war communism” to the policy of “alliance with the middle peasants” and the new economic policy - NEP. Faced with the threat of losing power, the Bolsheviks decided to change the direction of domestic policy, thereby making a concession to the peasant majority of the Russian population.
On final stage preparation, the main conclusions should be drawn.
The Bolsheviks won a military-political victory, the White Guard armies and interventionist forces were defeated. Soviet power established itself on the territory of the Soviet Republic and in most national regions. The power of the Bolsheviks was strengthened. A terrible price was paid for this victory: huge human losses (about 8 million people killed, dying of hunger and disease), mass emigration (more than 2.5 million people); economic devastation, rupture of spiritual and historical traditions in society.
The policy of “war communism”: a conscious choice or necessity?
It is important to understand that this is a set of emergency measures aimed at centralizing state control and management of all spheres of economic life. The measures that make up this policy: the introduction of surplus appropriation (essentially, the confiscation of food from peasants for the needs of the army), universal labor conscription, the militarization of labor, the ban on private trade, the nationalization of medium-sized and even small enterprises, and a course towards curtailing commodity-money relations.
The goals of the policy of war communism:
1) militarization of the economy, mobilization of all resources in the fight against whites and invaders; 2) a fast and direct path to socialism.
Canceled in March 1921 due to mass discontent in the country and the threat of the Bolsheviks losing power.
Economic, social and political crisis of the end of 1920 - beginning of 1921. New Economic Policy (NEP): theory, practice, results.
It is advisable to begin the study of the main models of socialist construction by answering the question: what economic problems did the country face at the final stage of the Civil War?
Analyze the changes over the five years in the Russian economy presented in the table:
Based on the knowledge gained in the process of studying the Civil War, identify the political reasons that, at the final stage of the Civil War, led the Bolsheviks to realize the need to change economic policy. Describe V.I. Lenin as a politician capable of adequately assessing the situation in the country and abruptly changing the domestic political course during a crisis of power. Try to explain the inconsistency of Lenin’s statements: “NEP is a “temporary retreat” before capitalism” - “NEP was introduced “seriously and for a long time” - “The Bolsheviks will return to “economic terror” yet.”
A comparative table of the “new economic policy” and the “policy of war communism” will help you characterize the activities of the NEP:
| The policy of "war communism" | NEP |
| Prodrazverstka | In-kind tax |
| Nationalization of all industry - “Red Guard attack on capital” | The lease of land and the use of hired labor were allowed to a limited extent. Private individuals were allowed to rent small and medium-sized industrial and commercial enterprises. |
| Complete centralization of economic management | Partial decentralization of management. Large state-owned enterprises were transferred to self-financing (after completing the state order, they sold their products independently). |
| Destruction of private capital | Concessions - attracting foreign investors |
| Labor conscription (mobilization) of the population | Free hiring of labor, creation of a labor exchange. |
| “Equalization” in wages | Wage was established depending on the qualifications and quantity of products produced. |
| Prohibition of free trade. Direct product exchange between city and countryside | Currency reform, restoration of the State Bank. Forced price regulation by the state - “price scissors” |
| The essence of politics | |
| Liquidation of commodity-money relations | Partial restoration of commodity-money relations. Reviving a mixed economy. Maintaining “commanding heights” in the economy in the hands of the state. |
By introducing the NEP, the Bolsheviks sought to solve two main problems: to preserve Soviet power and restore the country's economy. To understand the extent to which it is possible to modernize the USSR on the basis of the NEP economy, it is necessary to analyze the contradictions of the NEP. To do this, answer the following questions: 1) Did the Bolsheviks manage to solve their problems; 2) Thanks to what it was possible to short term restore key economic indicators; 3) What methods were used to strengthen the political regime during the NEP years; 4) Are the Bolsheviks’ fears that the results of social changes under the NEP contradict their ideological guidelines justified?
Until recently, the main contradiction of the NEP was considered to be the discrepancy between a multi-structured economy and a one-party political regime. However, modern economic science (taking into account the experience of the modern economy of Sweden, and especially China) no longer so categorically rejects the viability ideas of a two-sector economy. In this regard, try to identify and evaluate possible alternatives for creating the economic foundation of socialism.
Education of the USSR. Features of Soviet national policy and national-nationality model government structure
Prerequisites for the merger:
Ø General economic ties and the historical division of labor between the republics
Ø Uniformity of government structure and concentration of power in the center and in the republics in the hands of a single political party
Ø Striving for a unified external security of the republics
Association projects
Key dates
December 27, 1922– signing of the Union Treaty (RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, ZSFSR) on the formation of the USSR. Defense issues came under the jurisdiction of the Union, foreign policy, state security, border protection, foreign trade, transport, budget, communications and money circulation. At the same time, the right to freely leave the USSR was declared.
December 30, 1922─ at the First All-Union Congress of Soviets, the Declaration on the formation of the USSR as part of the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, and ZSFSR (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan) was approved.
1924– Constitution of the USSR.
Civil War (1917-1922)- an armed confrontation that spanned various political, ethnic, social groups and state formations, which began as a result of the October Revolution of 1917 and the coming to power of the Bolshevik Party. The main events took place in the European part of the former Russian Empire, as well as in the Urals and Siberia.
Causes of the war. The civil war was a consequence of a protracted revolutionary crisis, which began with the revolution of 1905-1907. First World War became a catalyst for increased tension in society and led to the fall of tsarist power as a result of the February Revolution. However, this only deepened the socio-economic crisis, national, political and ideological contradictions in Russian society, which was especially dangerous given the extremely low political culture and lack of democratic traditions in society.
After the Bolsheviks seized power and began to pursue a harsh, repressive policy towards their opponents, these contradictions resulted in a fierce struggle throughout the country between supporters of Soviet power and anti-Bolshevik forces seeking to regain lost wealth and political influence.
Foreign intervention
The civil war was accompanied by foreign military intervention (December 1917-October 1922) from both the armed forces of the Quadruple Alliance states and the Entente. Intervention- intervention foreign countries into the internal affairs of another state, encroaching on its sovereignty. May be military, political or economic in nature.
The intervention was caused by the need to fight Germany in the First World War, and after its defeat, the defense of England and France of their economic and political interests, which were under threat after the October Revolution, and the desire to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas outside Russia came to the fore. In this regard, the Entente intervention was aimed at assisting the White movement in its fight against the Bolsheviks.
Main stages of the war
October 1917-November 1918— the initial period of the Civil War. It was characterized by the establishment of the Bolshevik dictatorship, active intervention in the Civil War by foreign interventionists (France, Great Britain), and the emergence of national movements on the outskirts of the former Russian Empire.
Almost immediately with the establishment of the Bolshevik dictatorship in Petrograd in southern regions The Volunteer Army began to form in Russia. Generals M. Alekseev, A. Kaledin, L. Kornilov took an active part in its creation. Since April 1918, A. Denikin became the commander-in-chief of the Volunteer Army. At the same time, the Provisional Don Government headed by General P. Krasnov arose on the Don. Having received support from Germany, P. Krasnov’s Cossacks managed to capture most of the Donbass in the summer and autumn of 1918 and reached Tsaritsyn. After the defeat of Germany in the World War, P. Krasnov’s troops merged with the Volunteer Army.
The formation of the anti-Bolshevik opposition in the Volga region was greatly influenced by the events associated with the uprising in May 1918 of the Czechoslovak Corps, numbering over 40 thousand people. Together with representatives of the white movement, they managed to drive the Bolsheviks out of many provinces of Siberia, the Urals, the Volga region and Far East. In the face of the White offensive, the Bolsheviks decide to shoot on the night of July 16-17, 1918. royal family, who was under their arrest in Yekaterinburg.
The Bolsheviks tried to seize the initiative. The Eastern Front was created, led by S. Kamenev. During the battles for Ufa, the Red Divisional Commander V. Chapaev became famous. The counteroffensive of the Red Army forced their opponents to consolidate, and on November 18, 1918, Admiral A. Kolchak was declared Supreme Ruler of Russia in Omsk. His army, which had the support of the Entente countries, became the main driving force in the fight against Soviet Russia.
November 1918-March 1920- the main battles between the Bolshevik Red Army and supporters of the White movement, which ended with a radical change in favor of Soviet power, a reduction in the scale of intervention.
Having united significant anti-Bolshevik forces under his banner in the spring and summer of 1919, A. Denikin succeeded in a large-scale attack on the Red positions, as a result of which Kursk, Orel, and Voronezh came under the control of the Volunteer Army. However, the attack on Moscow ended unsuccessfully, which forced A. Denikin to turn to Ukraine. Twice during 1919 the troops of the white general N. Yudenich made unsuccessful attempts to attack Petrograd.
A. Kolchak’s army initially managed to reach the banks of the Volga, but the repressive policies of the Whites, built on exceptional laws, turned most of the population against them. This helped the Bolsheviks, who were able to push the armed forces of A. Kolchak to Siberia, to Lake Baikal, by the end of 1919.
At the beginning of 1920, the Red Army managed to take Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. Entente troops had to quickly leave Russia.
March 1920 - autumn 1922- the end of the Soviet-Polish War, the elimination of the last centers of resistance to Soviet power on the outskirts of the country. In particular, in November 1920, the Southern Front under the command of M. Frunze defeated the army of General P. Wrangel in the Crimea, and in November 1922, the Far Eastern Republic was liquidated, the remnants of the white armies went to China. This marked the end of the Civil War.
The key event of the final stage of the Civil War was the Soviet-Polish confrontation. The Entente countries wanted to create a kind of buffer zone from Poland that would protect Europe from the influence of Bolshevism. Due to these circumstances, the Polish dictator J. Pilsudski found encouragement in the West for his territorial claims in Eastern Europe. April 25, 1920, having concluded an agreement with a representative of the Ukrainian Directory people's republic(UNR) S. Petlyura, the Polish dictator gave the order to launch an offensive on the territory of Ukraine, which was under the control of the Bolsheviks. Although the Poles managed to briefly capture Kyiv, the counter-offensive of the Western (M. Tukhachevsky) and South-Western (A. Egorov) fronts of the Red Army, supported by Makhnovist detachments, forced them to retreat into Polish territory. It was stopped only in August 1920 on the outskirts of Warsaw. In March 1921, the Peace of Riga was concluded between Soviet Russia and Poland, which left the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus for the Poles, but Warsaw recognized Soviet power in the rest of Ukraine.
Results of the Civil War. As a result of the Civil War, most of the territory of the former Russian Empire came under the control of the Bolsheviks, who managed to successively defeat the armies of Kolchak, Denikin, Yudenich, Wrangel, and the armed forces of the Entente countries. The new government initiated the creation of Soviet republics on the territory of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Transcaucasia. Poland, Finland and the Baltic countries gained independence. Almost 2 million people who did not accept Soviet power were forced to emigrate.
The civil war caused enormous damage to the national economy. Industrial production in 1920 fell to 14% of the 1913 level, agricultural production decreased by almost half. The demographic losses turned out to be colossal. According to various estimates, they ranged from 12 to 15 million people.
Political programs of the parties involved
The main warring parties in the Russian Civil War were the Bolsheviks - the “Reds” and supporters of the White movement - the “Whites”. During the war, both sides sought to exercise their power through dictatorial methods.
The Bolsheviks considered armed reprisals against their opponents as the only acceptable option, not only for maintaining their power in a predominantly peasant country. The suppression of any dissent on the way to establishing a political dictatorship could allow them to turn the country into a base for the world socialist revolution, a unique model of a classless communist society that was planned to be exported to Europe. From their point of view, this goal justified a set of punitive measures applied to opponents of Soviet power, as well as to “vacillating” elements represented by the middle strata of the city and countryside, primarily the peasants. Certain categories of the population were deprived of political and civil rights - the former privileged classes, officers of the tsarist army, the clergy, and wide circles of the pre-revolutionary intelligentsia.
Only after seizing power in October 1917, the Bolsheviks banned the activities of all bourgeois parties, arresting their leaders. Pre-revolutionary political institutions were liquidated - the Senate, the Synod, The State Duma, control over the press, trade unions, and other public organizations. In July 1918, the rebellion of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, who had previously been part of a coalition with the Bolsheviks, was brutally suppressed. In the spring of 1921, the Mensheviks were massacred, which led to the actual establishment of a one-party regime.
On September 5, 1918, the decree of the Council of People's Commissars “On the Red Terror”, which was carried out by the Cheka, came into force. The reason for its appearance was the assassination attempt on V. Lenin on August 30, 1918 and the murder of the head of the Petrograd Cheka, M. Uritsky. The forms of the Red Terror were various: executions based on class, a hostage system, the creation of a network of concentration camps to contain class-hostile elements.
In addition to V. Lenin, one of the main ideologists of the Bolshevik movement was L. Trotsky(1879-1940) - revolutionary figure of the 20th century. One of the organizers of the October Revolution of 1917. He stood at the origins of the creation of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), which he led during the Civil War.
The basis of the White movement was the officers, Cossacks, intelligentsia, landowners, bourgeoisie, and clergy. The ideologists of the White movement A. Guchkov, V. Shulgin, N. Lvov, P. Struve saw in the Civil War an opportunity to preserve the Russian Empire, return power to their own hands and restore lost rights and privileges. In the territories conquered from the Bolsheviks, the Whites tried to recreate the army and the apparatus of civil government. The basis of their political program was the demands for the restoration of private property and freedom entrepreneurial activity. After the overthrow of the Bolshevik government, all changes in society were to be legitimized by the Constituent Assembly, whose competence would be to resolve the issue of the future political structure of the Russian state.
During the Civil War, the White movement largely discredited itself by striving for the restoration of the monarchy on an autocratic basis, terror against peasants and workers, carrying out pogroms against Jews, significant dependence on the interests of foreign interventionists, sharply negative attitude to the problems of the national outskirts of the former empire. The lack of unity in the white leadership also played an important role.
Among the leaders of the White movement, the figures of A. Kolchak and A. Denikin stood out. A. Kolchak(1874-1920) - military and political figure, admiral of the fleet. During the Civil War he was an iconic figure of the White movement. He held the positions of Supreme Ruler of Russia (1918-1920) and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army. After the betrayal of the Czechoslovaks, he was handed over to the Bolsheviks and executed in January 1920.
A. Denikin(1872-1947) - military leader, political and public figure. During the Civil War he was one of the main leaders of the White movement. Commanded the Volunteer Army (1918-1919), and then Armed forces South of Russia (1919-1920). Later he emigrated to France.
Various peasant movements had a huge influence on the course of the Civil War. Many of them were close to the ideas of anarchism - the rebel army of N. Makhno (1888-1934) - the leader of the revolutionary masses of the peasantry in the southern regions of Ukraine during the Civil War. Their political platform was based on the demand for an end to the terror against the peasantry and a real, free allocation of land to them. The fluctuations of the peasantry between the Reds and the Whites repeatedly changed the balance of power during the war and, ultimately, predetermined its outcome.
Representatives of the national outskirts of the former Russian Empire also took part in the Civil War, fighting for their independence from Russia (Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic states, Transcaucasia). This struggle met resistance both from the White movement, which wanted the restoration of a “united and indivisible Russia,” and from the Bolsheviks, who saw in it an undermining of the international unity of the working people.
Politics of War Communism
The elimination of private property in any form was the program position of the Bolshevik party and constituted its main task practical activities. This was first reflected in the Decree on Land. But Bolshevik policy during the Civil War was most fully embodied in war communism. War communism- a temporary system of emergency measures carried out by the Soviet government during the Civil War. All measures were aimed at concentrating maximum of the country's resources in the hands of the Bolshevik government.
Among its components: nationalization of industry (Decree of June 24, 1918); introduction of universal labor conscription; introduction of payment in kind, equalization of wages; provision of free public services; creation of food detachments and surplus appropriation for basic agricultural products (since May 1918); ban on private trade, card system of distribution of goods based on class; ban on leasing land and using hired labor.
In carrying out the policy of war communism in the countryside, the Bolsheviks relied on the so-called committees of the poor (kombeds), created by the Decree of June 11, 1918. Their competence included the distribution of bread and basic necessities, agricultural implements, and assistance to local food authorities in the removal of “surpluses” from wealthy peasants.
War communism had major consequences for the organization of labor. It soon became obvious that coercion would not only apply to members of the “exploiting classes.” Practice has shown that not only in politics, but also in the economic sphere, the new government relied on methods of violence and coercion. The policy of war communism soon caused mass indignation and rejection of new methods of leadership on the part of the majority of the population. The state, in fact, stopped market relations through its actions. If in the conditions of the Civil War such a policy could still somehow justify itself, then in the conditions of the transition to peacetime it was doomed to failure.
The civil war began in October 1917 and ended with the defeat of the White Army in the Far East in the fall of 1922. During this time, on the territory of Russia, various social classes and groups resolved the contradictions that arose between them using armed methods.
The main reasons for the outbreak of the civil war include the discrepancy between the goals of transforming society and the methods for achieving them, the refusal to create a coalition government, the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly, the nationalization of land and industry, the liquidation of commodity-money relations, the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the creation of a one-party system, the danger of the revolution spreading to other countries, economic losses of Western powers during regime change in Russia.
In the spring of 1918, British, American and French troops landed in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. The Japanese invaded the Far East, the British and Americans landed in Vladivostok - the intervention began.
On May 25, there was an uprising of the 45,000-strong Czechoslovak corps, which was transferred to Vladivostok for further shipment to France. A well-armed and equipped corps stretched from the Volga to the Urals. In conditions of decomposed Russian army, he became the only real force at that moment. The corps, supported by the Social Revolutionaries and White Guards, put forward demands for the overthrow of the Bolsheviks and the convening of the Constituent Assembly.
In the South, the Volunteer Army of General A.I. Denikin was formed, which defeated the Soviets in the North Caucasus. The troops of P.N. Krasnov approached Tsaritsyn, in the Urals the Cossacks of General A.A. Dutov captured Orenburg. In November-December 1918, English troops landed in Batumi and Novorossiysk, and the French occupied Odessa. In these critical conditions, the Bolsheviks managed to create a combat-ready army by mobilizing people and resources and attracting military specialists from the tsarist army.
By the fall of 1918, the Red Army liberated the cities of Samara, Simbirsk, Kazan and Tsaritsyn.
The revolution in Germany had a significant influence on the course of the civil war. Having admitted its defeat in the First World War, Germany agreed to annul the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and withdrew its troops from the territory of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states.
The Entente began to withdraw its troops, providing only material assistance to the White Guards.
By April 1919, the Red Army managed to stop the troops of General A.V. Kolchak. Driven deep into Siberia, they were defeated by the beginning of 1920.
In the summer of 1919, General Denikin, having captured Ukraine, moved towards Moscow and approached Tula. The troops of the first cavalry army under the command of M.V. Frunze and the Latvian riflemen concentrated on the Southern Front. In the spring of 1920, near Novorossiysk, the “Reds” defeated the White Guards.
In the north of the country, the troops of General N.N. Yudenich fought against the Soviets. In the spring and autumn of 1919 they made two unsuccessful attempts to capture Petrograd.
In April 1920, the conflict between Soviet Russia and Poland began. In May 1920, the Poles captured Kyiv. The troops of the Western and Southwestern Fronts launched an offensive, but failed to achieve final victory.
Realizing the impossibility of continuing the war, in March 1921 the parties signed a peace treaty.
The war ended with the defeat of General P.N. Wrangel, who led the remnants of Denikin’s troops in the Crimea. In 1920, the Far Eastern Republic was formed, and by 1922 it was finally liberated from the Japanese.
The reasons for the Bolshevik victory: support for the national outskirts and Russian peasants, deceived by the Bolshevik slogan “Land for the peasants”, the creation of a combat-ready army, the lack of a common command among the Whites, support for Soviet Russia from labor movements and communist parties of other countries.
Loading...
