The Russian Civil war

What were the main causes of the war?

-Bolsheviks quickly created enemies as they banned opposition

-Opponents say Bolshevik rule as betrayal of revolution as urban workers wanted soviet gov not single party

-Treaty of Brest Litovsk as lost 1/6 of population

-Unhappy national minorities and urban rural divide

Who were the Reds?

-The Bolsheviks led by Lenin and organized by Leon Trotsky

-Defend B revolution +establish communist state

-Controlled central areas including Moscow

-United

Who were the Whites?

-Not one unified political; group instead collection of B opposers

-Tsarist,liberals,tsarit army officers

-Disagreed over who would replace

Who were the Greens?

-Mainly peasants who opposed both the reds and the whites

-Angry about war communism and policy of grain requestioning

-Founhgt to defend land and local independence

Trotsky and the reds

-Restored discipline to the army and reorganized ranking

-Tsarist soldiers but families hostage

-Political; commissar to every unit+special train

Why did the Reds win?

-Weakness of the whites

-Strengths of the reds

How did the weaknesses of the whites contribute to the war?

-Never fought as a united front as generals operated independently and scattered across the country

-No shared goals beside defeating B

-Struggled to win popular support as tied to unpopular tsarist policies

Strengths of the reds

-Controlled heartland and resources so had access to factories

-Controlled main communication and railway

-Trotsky leadership so single disciplined force and command structure

-Popular policy-land policy to redistribute land to peasants