1 Causes and course of Civil War

Despite there being no formal declaration of Civil War, when did fighting break out?

April/May 1918

When did Czechs seize towns on the Trans-Siberian railway?

May 1918

When were the tsar and his family murdered?

17th July 1918

When was the high point of the first White advance westwards?

August 1918

When did Kolchak declare himself ‘Supreme Leader’ of Russia?

November 1918

When did Denikin get within 200 miles of Moscow and Yudenich reached the outskirts of Petrograd?

October 1919

When is Kolchak shot after being handed over the Bolsheviks?

February 1920

When was Denikin’s army evacuated to the Crimea?

March 1920 (only a few months after high point of advance near Moscow)

When was the beginning of the Russo-Polish War?

May 1920

When was Wrangel’s army evacuated from the Crimea and the Whites are defeated?

October 1920

When was the end of the Russo-Polish War and the Treaty of Riga?

March 1921

When was the Constitution of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics adopted?

December 1922

Why did some people join the Whites? (legitimacy of power, right-wing view)

The Bolsheviks had no right to rule Russia having seized pwoer by force

Why did some people join the Whites? (legitimacy of power, centralist view)

The Bols had not submitted to popular elections and had no legitimate right to rul;e

Why did some people join the Whites? (legitimacy of rule, left-wing view)

Many were frustrated the Bols had largely ignored the soviet that had helped place them in power

Why did some people join the Whites? (extremity of Bol ideology)

Bolshevik ideology alienated some groups (notably aristocrats and bourgeoise, but also some on the left e.g. Mensheviks)

Why did some people join the Whites? (tsarist)

some people wanted to return to the tsarist regime, even if they didn’t all necessarily want TN2 himself back on the throne. These people often stood to lose a lot from the Bol policies (e.g. landowners and businessmen, army officers who were unhappy with peace deal with Germany)

Why did some people join the Whites? (left-wing parties)

Lots of left-wing parties resented the Bols - Lenin had forced the Kadets and SRs out of government

Why did some people join the Whites? (national minorities)

Some national minorities (e.g. Georgians, Estonians - supported Yudenich) doubted that the Bols would deliver on their promises of self-determination. Saw the chaos of the Civil War as a way of fighting for their independance

Why did some people join the Whites? (personal grievances)

Some people didn’t get involved in the Civil War out of any sort of political ideology but rather saw it as an opportunity to play out local rivalries and win old battles

Why did some people join the Whites? (economic problems)

Some people were becoming frustrated by the Bolshevik’s inability to resolve Russia’s economic problems. The initial euphoria after the fall of tsardom was replaced by disillusionment as the ToB-L and loss of Ukraine added to Russia’s difficult food situation

Which White army was Germany partly financing?

Anti-Bolshevik Volunteer Army (created spring 1918) in the south of the country

When was the capital moved to Moscow?

March 1918

What could be seen as the spark that started the Civil War?

Members of the Czech legion attacking Bolsheviks in Western Siberia in MAy

What can be said overall about the nature of the fighting i nthe Civil War/

Characterised by very fluid campaigns, battles and skirmishes, fought over large areas mainly in Western Russia

Why would co-ordinated attacks from the Whites have been difficult to organise?

The very different forces involved, the lack of a single command and the vast geographical distances between the armies

Which two key cities did the Bols hold?

Moscow and Petrograd (although Petrograd was threatened by Yudenich’s forces in October 1919)

Why could the Whites be seen as a threat in terms of geography?

Although spread out, the White armies appeared to threaten the Reds from all directions

What is a Green army that actually served as an irregular division for the Reds? How were they useful?

Makhno’s army in Crimea, helped to defeat Denikin’s forces

How many people roughly died during the Civil War (albeit some of these were due to hunger and epidemics)?

10 million

When was the first stage of the Civil War where the Reds and Whites were actively fighting?

1918-20

What characterised the latter years of the Civil War (1920-21)?

The war continued less as a civil war between Russians but more as a nationalist struggle against Poland (Russo-Polish war)

Brief overview of the events of the Russo-Polish War

Poland invested Western Ukraine but were driven back by General Tukhachevsky. After a second rising was crushed, the Treaty of Riga was signed

When was the Treaty of Riga signed/

March 1921

What was agreed in the Treaty of Riga?

Poland, Galicia and parts of Byelorussia were granted self-rule. The independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were also confirmed