A Level History - Russia chapter 6

When did the civil war break out?

summer 1918

What did those on the right say about the Bolsheviks' seizing of power?

the Bolsheviks had no right to rule Russia

What did those on the left say about the Bolsheviks' seizing of power?

they had ignored the soviet which helped them seize power

What did those on the centre say about the Bolsheviks' seizing of power?

they had not submitted to popular elections

Which groups did Bolshevik ideology most alienate? (2)

aristocrats and bourgeoisie

What did army officers want for the future of Russia?

wanted the old tsarist regime back

Which groups wanted the old tsarist regime back?

included army officers and Russians with land, money or business

Why did Russians with land, money or business want the old tsarist regime back?

they could lose out greatly from Bolshevik economic and social policies

Why did those on the left hate the Bolsheviks? (3)

kadets and right-wing SRs had been forced out of the Bolsheviks govt; had ignored the electorate's wishes in the CA; had expelled the left-wing SRs from govt after they opposed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Why did some national minorities decide to fight against the Bolsheviks?

saw an opportunity to fight for their independence

When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

March 1918

What was Ukraine known as?

the "bread basket of Europe"

Why was the loss of Ukraine a problem?

threatened to add to food shortages in Russia

Who were the main White leaders? (4)

General Denikin, Admiral Kolchak, General Yudenich, Baron Wrangel

Where was Denikin situated?

the South

Where was Kolchak situated?

Siberia

Where was Yudenich situated?

Estonia

Where was Wrangel situated?

the Crimea

When was the anti-Bolsheviks volunteer army formed?

by spring 1918

Which country partly financed the anti-Bolsheviks volunteer army?

Germany

When did the Bolsheviks move the capital from Petrograd to Moscow?

March 1918

When did members of the Czech legion start attacking Bolsheviks?

May 1918

When was Petrograd threatened by Yudenich's forces?

October 1919

How many were in the Czech legion?

around 45,000 soldiers

Who were the Czechs originally fighting?

Germany and Austria-Hungary

How did fighting break out between Bolsheviks and the Czech legion?

the Czechs had been allowed to use the trans-Siberian railway, but some Bolsheviks leaders tried to arrest some of them in May, and fighting broke out; the Czechs then seized the railway line, and joined forces with anti-Bolsheviks

When did Bolshevik leaders try to arrest some of the Czechs?

May 1918

In which regions did the Czechs seize the trans-Siberian railway?

through much of Western Siberia and parts of European Russia

What was the Czech legion also called?

the Czechoslovak "army of the liberation"

What group was included in Denikin's army?

cossacks

When did Denikin attack the Don region?

summer 1918

Which city did Denikin's forces threaten in 1918?

Tsaritsyn

When did Kolchak capture Sumara and Kazan?

summer 1918

Which cities did Kolchak capture in summer 1918?

Sumara and Kazan

When did Denikin get very close to Moscow?

summer-October 1919

How many were in Yudenich's army?

about 15,000

When did Yudenich get close to Petrograd?

October 1919

Which city did Denikin get very close to in October 1919?

Moscow

Which city did Yudenich get close to in October 1919?

Petrograd

When was Kolchak in retreat?

autumn 1919

When was Kolchak captured and shot?

1920

When did Wrangel replaced Denikin in the Crimea?

1920

Who led the green peasant army in 1920?

Nestor Makhno

When did British and French ships evacuate remnants of the White army from the Crimea?

end of 1920

How many died in the Civil War?

10 million

Who were the greens?

Russian fighters who weren't allied to the whites or the reds

Which groups were part of the greens?

Ukrainians and Georgians who wanted independence from Russia, peasants who wanted reds and whites out of their own area

When was the Treaty of Riga?

March 1921

Who was the Treaty of Riga between?

Poland and Ukraine

What did the Treaty of Riga rule?

granted Poland self-rule along with Galicia and parts of Byelorussia

What did Trotsky do in the Civil War? (3)

directed the war from his prop-agit train, visited fronts and met commanders

How many miles did Trotsky's train cover over the course of the civil war?

65,000

How was Trotsky effective?

inspired troops and leaders and helped boost morale

How many former tsarist officers did Trotsky recruit?

50,000

Why did Trotsky recruit former tsarist officers during the Civil War?

for their experience and to train recruits

Who did Trotsky appoint to army units?

political commissars who were relied upon to obey

What was discipline like in the Red Army?

very harsh: any disloyalty was punishable by death

What was the Cheka used for in the Civil War?

used to shoot deserters

When was Tsar Nicholas and his family murdered?

July 1918

Why did the Bolsheviks kill the Romanovs?

Bolsheviks feared he may become the focus for White resistance, wanted to remove a potential figurehead

Where were the Tsar and his family killed?

in Yekaterinburg in the Urals

Why was the death of the Tsar not that important?

because none of the Whites were really fighting to put him back on the throne

Why did the Reds win the Civil War? (5)

geography, unity, organisation, leadership, support

How did the Reds' geography help them win the war? (3)

commanded the hub of communications and armaments factories; had control of the two most important cities; were densely populated

How did the Reds' unity and organisation help them win the war? (2)

were united in their aim and had a unified command structure

How did the Reds' support help them win the war?

had more support of peasants because their land policies were more popular

How did the Whites' geography lose them the war? (2

were widely dispersed, didn't have control of Moscow or Petrograd

What did the Whites have control of which was greatly beneficial?

the trans-Siberian railway

How did the Whites' organisation lose them the war?

they were not unified under a common goal and the leaders operated independently, making it a mess

How did the Reds' leadership help them win the war?

was well-led under Trotsky and the Red Army became a well-disciplined fighting force

How did the Whites' leadership contribute to their loss of the war?

whites had few competent commanders and the armies were very ill-disciplined

What was the Orgburo?

created to supervise the work of local party committees and the permanent secretariat

When was the Orgburo established?

1919

What does Orlando Figes say about the Civil War?

that "the totalitarian state had its origins in the Civil War"

Why was the capital moved to Moscow? (2)

was more centralised, was less vulnerable to attack

How many party members fought for the Red Army in the civil war?

over half a million

What was the politburo?

a sub-committee of the central committee which increasingly took control of state affairs

Who was part of the politburo?

Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin

What did the politburo gradually sideline?

sovnarkom

How did the party become more authoritarian during the Civil War? (3)

demand for obedience to the party tightened; central controls were brought in; terror was used

Why were central controls brought in?

to manage the economy and food shortages

Why was terror used during the Civil war?

to enforce new measures and eradicate opposition

What type of mentality did the Bolsheviks adopt during the Civil War?

a "siege mentality"

What was the name given to the Bolshevik state in January 1918?

"Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic"

When was the USSR formally established?

end of 1922

What did USSR stand for?

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

How did Lenin and Trotsky disagree over what to do with the areas conquered by the reds which were allowed to remain as separate republics?

Lenin wanted a federation of soviet republics whilst Stalin wanted them directly controlled by Moscow (Lenin won)

What happened to the areas conquered by the Reds?

were absorbed into the RSFSR or allowed to remain as separate republics

Which countries were allowed to remain as separate republics? (3)

Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia

Who won the civil war?

the Reds