History of the 1917 Russian Revolution and the Civil War

The Outbreak of the February Revolution and the Crisis of the Tsarist Regime

By the beginning of $1917$, a profound political crisis had matured in all the warring nations involved in World War I, yet the situation in Tsarist Russia was uniquely complex. The country faced continuous defeats and retreats on the fronts, the death of millions of soldiers, and a total collapse of the national economy. This environment of devastation and famine, coupled with the decomposition of the government apparatus, turned wide layers of the population against the Tsarist regime. The peasant question reached a breaking point, workers sought improved labor conditions through radical means, and the national fringes of the empire began putting forward ideas for autonomy. Above all, the people demanded an end to the war, signaling that the Russian autocracy was experiencing a terminal crisis.

In February $1917$, Petrograd became the center of massive unrest among workers and soldiers. Insurgents seized weapon warehouses, ransacked the main arsenal, and captured the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Petrograd garrison shifted its allegiance to the side of the rebels. With the support of armed workers, soldiers took control of vital infrastructure, including the post office, telegraph, and telephone exchanges. Those soldiers and workers who occupied the State Duma were led by the Menshevik-Defensists. This spontaneous uprising of labor, soldier, and peasant masses culminated in the Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution on February $23$, $1917$. On March $2$, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne, effectively ending the Romanov monarchy.

The Emergence of Dual Power and the Activity of the Provisional Government

Following the arrest of Tsarist ministers and the abdication of the Tsar, Russia required a new governing structure. In the Tauride Palace, two distinct centers of power emerged, creating a state of "Dual Power" (dvoevlastie). These consisted of the Provisional Government, composed of Cadets and Octobrists, and the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, which included representatives of the revolutionary democracy. The Provisional Government became the highest organ of the Russian state, attempting to manage a transition from the old autocratic regime to a new democratic one by reforming political and socioeconomic institutions amidst a severe crisis and military ruin.

The membership of the Provisional Government included several prominent figures: Chairman of the Council of Ministers G. E. Lvov, Minister of Foreign Affairs P. N. Milyukov, Minister of Justice (and later Prime Minister) A. F. Kerensky, Minister of War and Navy A. I. Guchkov, Minister of Finance M. I. Tereshchenko, Minister of National Education A. A. Manuilov, Minister of Agriculture A. I. Shingarev, Over-Procurator of the Holy Synod V. N. Lvov, Minister of Communications N. V. Nekrasov, and Minister of Trade and Industry A. I. Konovalov. The successes of this government included the implementation of a full list of democratic freedoms, the proclamation of a republic, the adoption of democratic electoral legislation, and the abolition of the death penalty for political crimes.

However, the failures of the Provisional Government were significant and ultimately fatal to its authority. It insisted on continuing Russia's participation in the First World War, delayed the resolution of the critical agrarian question, and repeatedly postponed elections for the Constituent Assembly. Furthermore, it eventually restored the death penalty for military crimes in combat zones and introduced military-revolutionary courts. These decisions allowed revolutionaries returning from exile and emigration, such as Lenin, Zinoviev, and Plekhanov (who returned on April $3$), to gain popular support by opposing the government's "war to a victorious end" policy and calling for an immediate socialist revolution.

The Deepening Crisis and the Transition to Socialist Revolution

The period following the February Revolution was characterized by extreme instability, facilitating intense struggles between different political forces. Between the fall of the autocracy and the October Revolution, Russia experienced three major crises in April, June, and July. These were driven by sharpened class contradictions, public indignation at the counter-revolutionary policies of the Provisional Government, and the lack of resolution regarding labor, land, and national issues. The July crisis of $1917$ served as the turning point; anti-government armed demonstrations were suppressed by troops, and the Cadets resigned from the bourgeois Provisional Government on July $2$ ($15$), $1917$, sparking a new government crisis.

On July $8$ ($21$), $1917$, A. F. Kerensky became the Prime Minister. At the suggestion of V. I. Lenin, the VI Congress of the RSDLP(b), held in Petrograd from July $28$ to August $3$ (August $8$–$16$), $1917$, set the party's sights on a socialist revolution. By July $24$, a second coalition government was formed, but the Cadets began leaning toward a military dictatorship. In August (September) $1917$, Supreme Commander-in-Chief General L. G. Kornilov attempted to establish a military dictatorship to enforce "strong power" and prevent the Bolsheviks from taking control. After the suppression of the "Kornilov Mutiny," the Provisional Government proclaimed Russia a republic. During this time, the Monarchists, Octobrists, and Progressivists vanished from the political stage, while the Mensheviks remained fragmented and the SRs (Socialist Revolutionaries) continued their coalition with the Cadets. The Bolsheviks stood alone in their demand for an immediate exit from the war.

The October Socialist Revolution and the Establishment of Soviet Power

On November $7$ (October $25$), $1917$, an armed uprising of workers, sailors, and soldiers in Petrograd successfully overthrew the Provisional Government. The new Soviet government published the Decree on Land and called for an end to the war by proposing a democratic peace without annexations or contributions. The new leadership also exposed secret treaties made by the Tsarist and Provisional governments with allies like England, France, and Italy regarding post-war territorial claims. While the Entente powers refused to negotiate, Soviet Russia signed an armistice with Germany on December $15$, $1917$. This was followed a week later by separate negotiations in Brest-Litovsk with Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria, culminating in the signing of a peace treaty on March $3$, $1918$, after accepting a German ultimatum.

These revolutionary events resonated deeply in Kazakhstan. The Tsarist Governor-Generals were abolished and replaced by regional commissioners. The Provisional Government appointed Bukeikhanov as the commissioner of the Turgay region, Tynyshpaev for Semirechye, Dosmukhamedov for the Ural region, and Chokaev for Turkestand. National Kazakh regional and district committees were also established. Following the Bolshevik rise to power, the main task became the creation of a new state management system. The Soviets were chosen as the universal form, representing the organs of the dictatorship of the proletariat. All state structures were to be controlled by these organs, and executive power was vested in the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), headed by V. I. Lenin.

The First Legislative Acts and the Constitutional Foundations of the New State

The initial decrees of the Soviet government were designed to meet the fundamental demands of the working class. The Decree on Peace formalized Russia's exit from the war, while the Decree on Land was based on peasant demands for the abolition of private land ownership. The Decree on Power proclaimed the transition of all authority to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies. On January $3$ ($16$), $1918$, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) adopted the "Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited People," a constitutional act written by Lenin that legislatively secured the gains of the October Revolution and defined the principles of the socialist state.

This Declaration consisted of four sections establishing the political foundations of the Soviet state, defining its primary tasks, affirming foreign policy principles, and excluding the exploitative classes from participating in government management. At Lenin's suggestion, the Declaration was integrated as the first section of the RSFSR Constitution, which was adopted on July $10$, $1918$, by the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

The Civil War in Russia: Stages and Foreign Military Intervention

Following the revolution, the socio-political situation in Russia deteriorated into a Civil War, dividing the country into the "Whites," who sought to restore the old order, and the "Reds," who fought for a new socialist system. The war is categorized into four distinct stages: first, from October to November $1917$, which saw the formation of the main anti-Bolshevik centers; second, from November $1918$ to April $1919$, marking the beginning of the Entente intervention; third, from May $1919$ to April $1920$, involving simultaneous combat against White armies and Entente troops; and fourth, from May $1920$ to November $1922$, ending with the defeat of the White armies.

A unique feature of the Russian Civil War was its entanglement with foreign intervention as Germany, France, England, the USA, Japan, and Poland supplied anti-Bolshevik forces with weapons and financial support. Anti-Bolshevik centers formed in Moscow and Petrograd, while strong movements emerged among the Cossacks. General P. N. Krasnov led movements in the Don and Kuban, and Ataman P. I. Dutov led those in the Southern Urals. The Volunteer Army, the basis of the White movement in the south, was founded by General L. G. Kornilov. Foreign intervention escalated in the spring of $1918$: German troops occupied Ukraine, Odessa, Crimea, and parts of the North Caucasus; Romania seized Bessarabia; and the Entente powers took Baku in October $1918$. In the north, a British corps landed in Murmansk in March, while Japanese forces occupied Vladivostok in April. In May $1918$, the revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion led to the overthrow of Soviet power in the Volga and Siberia. However, by October-November, troops under I. I. Vacietis pushed the enemy back across the Urals, ending the first stage.

The Final Stages of the Civil War and the Consequences of the Conflict

The White movement reached its maximum scale between late $1918$ and $1919$. A plan was devised for a simultaneous strike against Soviet power from the east by A. V. Kolchak, the south by A. N. Denikin, and the west by N. N. Yudenich. The combined offensive failed, and Soviet power was restored in Southern Russia, Ukraine, and the North Caucasus. By $1919$, the interventionists were forced to withdraw their troops due to revolutionary ferment within their own ranks and the "Hands off Soviet Russia!" public movement in Europe and the USA. The final stage of the war in $1920$ focused on the Soviet-Polish War and the struggle against P. N. Wrangel.

In May $1920$, Polish troops invaded Belarus and Ukraine. The Red Army, commanded by M. N. Tukhachevsky and P. I. Egorov, defeated the Polish grouping but saw its offensive on Warsaw fail. A peace treaty was signed in March $1921$, granting Poland lands in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. Meanwhile, at the end of October $1920$, the Red Army under M. V. Frunze defeated Wrangel's army in Crimea, effectively ending the Civil War. The Bolsheviks won because they managed to mobilize all national resources into a unified military camp and benefited from international solidarity, while their opponents failed to agree on a unified program or leader. The war was a tragedy of immense proportions: material damage exceeded $50$ billion gold rubles, industrial production dropped by a factor of $7$, and approximately $8$ million people died from combat, famine, disease, and terror, with another $2$ million forced to emigrate.