Stages of the civil war red and white table. Brief chronology of the civil war

The Great Russian Revolution of 1917 was the impetus for the development of armed struggle between different groups population. The revolution deprived some of everything, while to others it seemed to give everything, but did not say how they could get it. There were more dissatisfied people than one could imagine. Military-political structures formed during the days of the revolution, and state formations on the territory of the former Russian Empire divided into two groups, to which the names “white” and “red” were assigned. The spontaneously arising military and socio-political groups, which were called the “third force” (rebel, partisan detachments and others), did not stand aside. Foreign states or interventionists did not remain aloof from the civil confrontation in Russia.

Stages and chronology of the Civil War

To date, historians have no consensus on how to determine the chronology of the Civil War. There are experts who believe that the war began with the February bourgeois revolution, others defend May 1918. There is also no definitive opinion on when the war ended.

The next stage can be called the period until April 1919, when the Entente intervention expanded. The Entente set as its main task to support the anti-Bolshevik forces, strengthen its interests and resolve the issue that still long years worried her: it was the fear of socialist influence.

The next stage is the most active on all fronts. Soviet Russia simultaneously fought both against the interventionists and against the White armies.

Causes of the Civil War

Naturally, the beginning of the Civil War cannot be reduced to one reason. The contradictions that had accumulated in society by this time were off scale. First World War sharpened them to the extreme, values human life were devalued.

Changes in government were of no small importance in aggravating the situation. political system, especially the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly by the Bolsheviks, the creation of which many really counted on. Great turmoil was caused by the actions of the Bolsheviks in rural areas. A Decree on Land was announced, but new decrees reduced it to zero. Nationalization and confiscation of land plots from landowners gave rise to severe resistance from the owners. The bourgeoisie was also extremely dissatisfied with the nationalization that had taken place and sought to return factories and factories.

The actual exit from the war, the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty - all this played against the Bolsheviks, which made it possible to accuse them of the “destruction of Russia.”

The right of peoples to self-determination, which was proclaimed by the Bolsheviks, contributed to the emergence of independent states. This also caused irritation as a betrayal of Russian interests.

Not everyone agreed with the policies of the new government, which was breaking with its past and ancient traditions. Anti-church policies caused particular rejection.

There were many forms of the Civil War. Uprisings, armed clashes, large-scale operations involving regular armies. Guerrilla actions, terror, sabotage. The war was bloody and extremely long.

Main events of the Civil War

We offer you the following chronicle of the events of the Civil War:

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

Results of the Civil War

The civil war ended, its main result was the establishment of Soviet power.

During the war years, the Red Army was able to turn into a well-organized and well-armed force. She learned a lot from her opponents, but many of her own talented and original commanders emerged.

The Bolsheviks actively used the political sentiments of the masses, their propaganda set clear goals, quickly resolved issues about peace and land, etc. The government of the young republic was able to organize control over the central provinces of Russia, where the main military enterprises were located. Anti-Bolshevik forces were never able to unite until the end of the war.

The war ended, and Bolshevik power was established throughout the country, as well as in most national regions. According to various estimates, more than 15 million people died or died due to disease and starvation. More than 2.5 million people went abroad. The country was in a state of severe economic crisis. Entire social groups were on the verge of destruction, primarily the officers, intelligentsia, Cossacks, clergy and nobility.

Civil War

Poster from the Civil War period.

Artist D. Moore, 1920

Civil War is an armed struggle between various social, political and national forces for power within the country.

When the event took place: October 1917-1922

Causes

Irreconcilable contradictions between the main social strata of society

Features of the Bolshevik policy, which was aimed at inciting hostility in society

The desire of the bourgeoisie and nobility to return to their previous position in society

Features of the Civil War in Russia

Accompanied by the intervention of foreign powers ( Intervention- violent intervention of one or more states in the internal affairs of other countries and peoples, can be military (aggression), economic, diplomatic, ideological).

Conducted with extreme cruelty (“Red” and “White” Terror)

Participants

The Reds are supporters of Soviet power.

Whites are opponents of Soviet power

Greens are against everyone

National movements

Milestones and events

First stage: October 1917-spring 1918

The military actions of opponents of the new government were local in nature; they created armed formations ( Volunteer Army- creator and supreme leader Alekseev V.A.). Krasnov P.- near Petrograd, Dutov A.- in the Urals, Kaledin A.- on the Don.

Second stage: spring - December 1918

March, April. Germany occupies Ukraine, the Baltic states, and Crimea. England - lands troops in Murmansk, Japan - in Vladivostok

May. Mutiny Czechoslovak Corps(these are captured Czechs and Slovaks who went over to the side of the Entente and are moving on trains to Vladivostok for transfer to France). Reason for the mutiny: The Bolsheviks tried to disarm the corps under the terms of the Brest Peace. Bottom line: the fall of Soviet power along the entire Trans-Siberian Railway.

June. Creation of Socialist Revolutionary Governments: Committee of Members of the Founding meetings in Samara Komuch, Chairman of the Social Revolutionary Volsky V.K.), Provisional Government Siberia in Tomsk (chairman Vologodsky P.V.), Ural regional government in Yekaterinburg.

July. Revolts of the Left Social Revolutionaries in Moscow, Yaroslavl and other cities. Depressed.

September. Created in Ufa Ufa Directory- “All-Russian government” chairman Socialist Revolutionary Avksentyev N.D.

November. The Ufa directory was dispersed Admiral A.V. Kolchak., who declared himself "supreme ruler of Russia" The initiative in the counter-revolution passed from the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks to the military and anarchists.

Actively acted green movement - not with reds and not with whites. Green color is a symbol of will and freedom. They operated in the Black Sea region, Crimea, the North Caucasus and southern Ukraine. Leaders: Makhno N.I., Antonov A.S. (Tambov province), Mironov F.K.

In Ukraine - detachments Father Makhno (created a republic Walk in the field). During the German occupation of Ukraine, they led the partisan movement. They fought under a black flag with the inscription “Freedom or Death!” Then they began to fight against the Reds until October 1921, until Makhno was wounded (he emigrated).

Third stage: January-December 1919

The culmination of the war. Relative equality of power. Large-scale operations on all fronts. But foreign intervention intensified.

4 white movement centers

Admiral's troops Kolchak A.V..(Ural, Siberia)

Armed Forces of Southern Russia General Denikina A.I.(Don region, North Caucasus)

Armed Forces of Northern Russia General Miller E.K.(Arkhangelsk region)

General's troops Yudenich N.N. in the Baltics

March, April. Kolchak's attack on Kazan and Moscow, the Bolsheviks mobilize all possible resources.

End of April - December. Counter-offensive of the Red Army ( Kamenev S.S., Frunze M.V., Tukhachevsky M.N..). By the end of 1919 - complete defeat of Kolchak.

May June. The Bolsheviks barely repulsed the attack Yudenich to Petrograd. Troops Denikin captured Donbass, part of Ukraine, Belgorod, Tsaritsyn.

September October. Denikin advances towards Moscow, reached Orel (against him - Egorov A.I., Budyonny S.M..).Yudenich for the second time he is trying to capture Petrograd (against him - Kork A.I.)

November. Troops Yudenich thrown back to Estonia.

Bottom line: by the end of 1919, the preponderance of forces was on the side of the Bolsheviks.

Fourth stage: January - November 1920

February March. The defeat of Miller in northern Russia, the liberation of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk.

March-April. Denikin pushed out to the Crimea and the North Caucasus, Denikin himself transferred command to the baron Wrangel P.N.. and emigrated.

April. Education of the Far Eastern Republic - Far Eastern Republic.

April-October. War with Poland . The Poles invaded Ukraine and captured Kyiv in May. Counter-offensive of the Red Army.

August. Tukhachevsky reaches Warsaw. Help for Poland from France. The Red Army is driven into Ukraine.

September. Offensive Wrangel to southern Ukraine.

October. Riga Peace Treaty with Poland . Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were transferred to Poland.

November. Offensive Frunze M.V.. in Crimea.Destruction Wrangel.

In the European part of Russia, the civil war is over.

Fifth stage: end of 1920-1922

December 1920. The Whites captured Khabarovsk.

February 1922.Khabarovsk is liberated.

October 1922.Liberation of Vladivostok from the Japanese.

Leaders of the white movement

Kolchak A.V.

Denikin A.I.

Yudenich N.N.

Wrangel P.N.

Alekseev V.A.

Wrangel

Dutov A.

Kaledin A.

Krasnov P.

Miller E.K.

Leaders of the Red Movement

Kamenev S.S.

Frunze M.V.

Shorin V.I.

Budyonny S.M.

Tukhachevsky M.N.

Kork A.I.

Egorov A.I.

Chapaev V.I. - leader of one of the Red Army detachments.

Anarchists

Makhno N.I.

Antonov A.S.

Mironov F.K.

The most important events of the civil war

May-November 1918 . - the struggle of Soviet power with the so-called "democratic counter-revolution"(former members of the Constituent Assembly, representatives of the Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, etc.); beginning of military intervention Entente;

November 1918 – March 1919 g. - the main battles on Southern Front countries (Red Army - army Denikin); the strengthening and failure of direct intervention by the Entente;

March 1919 – March 1920 – major military operations in Eastern Front(Red Army - army Kolchak);

April-November 1920 – Soviet-Polish war; defeat of the troops Wrangel in Crimea;

1921–1922 . - end of the Civil War on the outskirts of Russia.

National movements.

One of the important features of the civil war is national movements: the struggle to gain independent statehood and secession from Russia.

This was especially evident in Ukraine.

In Kyiv after February Revolution, in March 1917, the Central Rada was created.

In January 1918. she entered into an agreement with the Austro-German command and declared independence.

With the support of the Germans, power came to Hetman P.P. Skoropadsky(April-December 1918).

In November 1918, arose in Ukraine Directory, at the head - S.V. Petlyura.

In January 1919, the Directory declared war on Soviet Russia.

S.V. Petliura had to confront both the Red Army and Denikin’s army, which fought for a united and indivisible Russia. In October 1919, the “White” army defeated the Petliurists.

Reasons for the Reds' victory

The peasants were on the side of the Reds, since it was promised to implement the Decree on Land after the war. According to the white agrarian program, the land remained in the hands of the landowners.

Single leader - Lenin, unified combat plans. Whites didn't have this.

The national policy of the Reds, which is attractive to the people, is the right of nations to self-determination. The Whites have the slogan “united and indivisible Russia”

The Whites relied on the help of the Entente - the interventionists, and therefore looked like an anti-national force.

The policy of "war communism" helped to mobilize all the Red forces.

Consequences of the Civil War

Economic crisis, devastation, drop in industrial production by 7 times, agricultural production by 2 times

Demographic losses. About 10 million people died from fighting, hunger, and epidemics

The establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the harsh management methods used during the war years began to be seen as completely acceptable in peacetime.

Material prepared by: Melnikova Vera Aleksandrovna

The goals of the White movement were: the liberation of Russia from the Bolshevik dictatorship, the unity and territorial integrity of Russia, the convening of a new Constituent Assembly to determine government system countries.

Contrary to popular belief, monarchists made up only a small part of the White movement. The White movement consisted of forces that were heterogeneous in their political composition, but united in the idea of ​​​​rejection of Bolshevism. This was, for example, the Samara government, “Komuch”, in which representatives of left-wing parties played a large role.

A big problem for Denikin and Kolchak was the separatism of the Cossacks, especially the Kuban. Although the Cossacks were the most organized and worst enemies of the Bolsheviks, they sought first of all to liberate themselves from the Bolsheviks Cossack territories, had difficulty obeying the central government and were reluctant to fight outside their lands.

Hostilities

Fighting in the South of Russia

The core of the White movement in southern Russia was the Volunteer Army, created under the leadership of generals Alekseev and Kornilov in Novocherkassk. The area of ​​initial operations of the Volunteer Army was the Don Army Region and Kuban. After the death of General Kornilov during the siege of Yekaterinodar, command of the white forces passed to General Denikin. In June 1918, the 8,000-strong Volunteer Army began its second campaign against Kuban, which had completely rebelled against the Bolsheviks. Having defeated the Kuban Red group consisting of three armies, volunteers and Cossacks took Yekaterinodar on August 17, and by the end of August they completely cleared the territory of the Kuban army from the Bolsheviks (see also Development of the war in the South).

In the winter of 1918-1919, Denikin’s troops established control over the North Caucasus, defeating and destroying the 90,000-strong 11th Red Army operating there. Having repulsed the offensive of the Red Southern Front (100 thousand bayonets and sabers) in the Donbass and Manych in March-May, on May 17, 1919, the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (70 thousand bayonets and sabers) launched a counter-offensive. They broke through the front and, having inflicted a heavy defeat on units of the Red Army, by the end of June they captured Donbass, Crimea, Kharkov on June 24, Ekaterinoslav on June 27, Tsaritsyn on June 30. On July 3, Denikin set his troops the task of capturing Moscow.

During the attack on Moscow (for more details, see Denikin’s March on Moscow) in the summer and autumn of 1919, the 1st Corps of the Volunteer Army under the command of General. Kutepov took Kursk (September 20), Orel (October 13) and began moving towards Tula. October 6 parts of the general. Shkuro occupied Voronezh. However, White did not have enough strength to develop success. Since the main provinces and industrial cities of central Russia were in the hands of the Reds, the latter had an advantage both in the number of troops and in weapons. In addition, Makhno, having broken through the White front in the Uman region, with his raid across Ukraine in October 1919, destroyed the rear of the AFSR and diverted significant forces of the Volunteer Army from the front. As a result, the attack on Moscow failed and, under the pressure of superior forces of the Red Army, Denikin’s troops began to retreat to the south.

On January 10, 1920, the Reds occupied Rostov-on-Don, a large center that opened the road to Kuban, and on March 17, 1920, Yekaterinodar. The Whites fought back to Novorossiysk, and from there crossed by sea to the Crimea. Denikin resigned and left Russia (for more details, see Battle of Kuban).

Thus, by the beginning of 1920, Crimea turned out to be the last bastion of the White movement in the south of Russia (for more details, see Crimea - the last bastion of the White movement). The command of the army was taken by Gen. Wrangel. The size of Wrangel's army in mid-1920 was about 25 thousand people. In the summer of 1920, Wrangel's Russian army launched a successful offensive in Northern Tavria. In June, Melitopol was occupied, significant Red forces were defeated, in particular, the Zhloba cavalry corps was destroyed. In August, a landing was undertaken on Kuban, under the command of General. S.G. Ulagaya, however, this operation ended in failure.

On the northern front of the Russian army, stubborn battles took place throughout the summer of 1920 in Northern Tavria. Despite some successes of the Whites (Aleksandrovsk was occupied), the Reds, during stubborn battles, occupied a strategic bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper near Kakhovka, creating a threat to Perekop.

The situation in Crimea was made easier by the fact that in the spring and summer of 1920 large Red forces were diverted to the west, in the war with Poland. However, at the end of August 1920, the Red Army near Warsaw was defeated, and on October 12, 1920, the Poles signed a truce with the Bolsheviks, and Lenin’s government threw all its forces into fighting the White Army. In addition to the main forces of the Red Army, the Bolsheviks managed to win over Makhno’s army, which also took part in the assault on Crimea. Disposition of troops at the beginning of the Perekop operation (on November 5, 1920)

For the assault on Crimea, the Reds pulled together enormous forces(up to 200 thousand people versus 35 thousand for whites). The attack on Perekop began on November 7. The fighting was characterized by extraordinary tenacity on both sides and was accompanied by unprecedented losses. Despite the gigantic superiority in manpower and weapons, the Red troops for several days could not break the defenses of the defenders of the Crimea, and only after, having crossed the shallow Chongar Strait, units of the Red Army and Makhno’s allied detachments entered the rear of the main white positions (see. scheme), and on November 11, the Makhnovists near Karpova Balka defeated Borbovich’s cavalry corps, the White defense was broken through. The Red Army broke into Crimea. Wrangel's army and many civilian refugees were evacuated to Constantinople on ships of the Black Sea Fleet. The total number of people who left Crimea was about 150 thousand people.

Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army

RKKA, Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Red Army) - the official name of the Ground Forces and Air Force, which, together with the Navy, Border Troops, Internal Security Troops and State Convoy Guards, made up Armed forces USSR from January 15, 1918 to February 1946. The birthday of the Red Army is considered to be February 23, 1918 - the day when the German offensive on Petrograd was stopped and an armistice was signed (see Defender of the Fatherland Day). The first leader of the Red Army was Leon Trotsky.

Since February 1946 - the Soviet Army, the term “Soviet Army” meant all types of the Armed Forces of the USSR, except the Navy.

The size of the Red Army has varied over time, from the largest army in history in the 1940s, until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The number of the People's Liberation Army of China in some periods exceeded the size of the Red Army.

Intervention

Intervention is the military intervention of foreign states in the civil war in Russia.

Beginning of the intervention

Right after October revolution, during which the Bolsheviks came to power, the “Decree on Peace” was announced - Soviet Russia withdrew from the First World War. The territory of Russia broke up into several territorial-national entities. Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, the Don and Transcaucasia were occupied by German troops.

Under these conditions, the Entente countries, which continued the war with Germany, began to land their troops in the North and East of Russia. On December 3, 1917, a special conference was held with the participation of the United States, England, France and their allied countries, at which a decision was made on military intervention. On March 1, 1918, the Murmansk Council sent a request to the Council of People's Commissars, asking in what form it would be possible to accept military assistance from the Allies, proposed by the British Rear Admiral Kemp. Kemp proposed landing British troops in Murmansk to protect the city and the railway from possible attacks by the Germans and White Finns from Finland. In response to this, Trotsky, who held the post of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, sent a telegram.

On March 6, 1918, in Murmansk, a detachment of 150 British marines with two guns landed from the English battleship Glory. This was the beginning of the intervention. The next day, the English cruiser Cochran appeared in the Murmansk roadstead, on March 18 - the French cruiser Admiral Ob, and on May 27 - the American cruiser Olympia.

Continuation of the intervention

On June 30, the Murmansk Council, using the support of the interventionists, decided to sever relations with Moscow. On March 15-16, 1918, a military conference of the Entente was held in London, at which the issue of intervention was discussed. In the context of the beginning of the German offensive on the western front, it was decided not to send large forces to Russia. In June, another 1.5 thousand British and 100 American soldiers landed in Murmansk.

On August 1, 1918, British troops landed in Vladivostok. On August 2, 1918, with the help of a squadron of 17 warships, a 9,000-strong Entente detachment landed in Arkhangelsk. Already on August 2, the interventionists, with the help of white forces, captured Arkhangelsk. In fact, the interventionists were the owners. They established a colonial regime; They declared martial law, introduced courts-martial, and during the occupation they exported 2,686 thousand pounds of various cargo totaling over 950 million rubles in gold. The entire military, commercial and fishing fleet of the North became the prey of the interventionists. American troops served as punitive forces. Over 50 thousand Soviet citizens (more than 10% of the total population under control) were thrown into prisons in Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Pechenga, Iokanga. In the Arkhangelsk provincial prison alone, 8 thousand people were shot, 1020 died from hunger, cold and epidemics. Due to lack of prison space, the battleship Chesma, plundered by the British, was turned into a floating prison. All intervention forces in the North were under British command. The commander was first General Poole and then General Ironside.

August 3rd War Department The United States gives General Graves the order to intervene in Russia and send the 27th and 31st Infantry Regiments to Vladivostok, as well as volunteers from Graves' 13th and 62nd regiments in California. In total, the United States landed about 7,950 soldiers in the East and about 5 thousand in northern Russia. According to incomplete data, the United States spent over $25 million just on the maintenance of its troops - without the fleet and assistance to the Whites. At the same time, the US Consul in Vladivostok Caldwell was informed: “The government has officially committed itself to helping Kolchak with equipment and food...”. The United States transfers to Kolchak loans issued and unused by the Provisional Government in the amount of $262 million, as well as weapons worth $110 million. In the first half of 1919, Kolchak received from the United States more than 250 thousand rifles, thousands of guns and machine guns. The Red Cross is supplying 300 thousand sets of linen and other equipment. On May 20, 1919, 640 wagons and 11 locomotives were sent from Vladivostok to Kolchak, on June 10 - 240,000 pairs of boots, on June 26 - 12 locomotives with spare parts, on July 3 - two hundred guns with shells, on July 18 - 18 locomotives, etc. This only individual facts. However, when in the fall of 1919 rifles purchased by the Kolchak government in the USA began to arrive in Vladivostok on American ships, Graves refused to send them further. railway. He justified his actions by the fact that the weapons could fall into the hands of the units of Ataman Kalmykov, who, according to Graves, with the moral support of the Japanese, was preparing to attack the American units. Under pressure from other allies, he nevertheless sent weapons to Irkutsk.

After the defeat of Germany in the First World War, German troops were withdrawn from Russian territory and in some points (Sevastopol, Odessa) were replaced by Entente troops.

In total, among the participants in the intervention in the RSFSR and Transcaucasia, there are 14 states. Among the interventionists were France, the USA, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, Romania, etc. The interventionists either sought to seize part of Russian territory(Romania, Japan, Turkey), or receive significant economic privileges from the White Guards they support (England, USA, France, etc.). So, for example, on February 19, 1920, Prince Kurakin and General Miller, in exchange for military assistance, gave the British the right to exploit all the natural resources of the Kola Peninsula for 99 years. The goals of different interveners were often opposed to each other. For example, the United States opposed Japan's attempts to annex the Russian Far East.

On August 18, 1919, 7 British torpedo boats attacked the ships of the Red Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt. They torpedoed the battleship Andrei Pervozvanny and the old cruiser Memory of Azov.

The interventionists practically did not engage in battles with the Red Army, limiting themselves to supporting the white formations. But supplies of weapons and equipment to the Whites were also often fictitious. A.I. Kuprin wrote in his memoirs about the supply of Yudenich’s army by the British.

In January 1919, at the Paris Peace Conference, the Allies decided to abandon plans for intervention. A big role in this was played by the fact that the Soviet representative Litvinov, at a meeting with the American diplomat Bucket, held in January 1919 in Stockholm, announced the readiness of the Soviet government to pay off pre-revolutionary debts, grant concessions to the Entente countries in Soviet Russia, and recognize the independence of Finland, Poland and other countries. Transcaucasia in case of termination of the intervention. Lenin and Chicherin conveyed the same proposal to the American representative Bullitt when he arrived in Moscow. The Soviet government clearly had more to offer the Entente than its opponents. In the summer of 1919, 12 thousand British, American and French troops stationed in Arkhangelsk and Murmansk were evacuated from there.

By 1920, the interventionists left the territory of the RSFSR. Only in the Far East did they last until 1922. The last regions of the USSR liberated from the invaders were Wrangel Island (1924) and Northern Sakhalin (1925).

List of powers that took part in the intervention

The most numerous and well-motivated troops were those of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Britain, Japan, and Poland. The personnel of the other powers poorly understood the need for their stay in Russia. In addition, by 1919, French troops faced the danger of revolutionary ferment under the influence of events in Russia.

There were significant contradictions between the various interventionists; After the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary in the war, their units were withdrawn; in addition, in the Far East there were noticeable tensions between the Japanese and British-American interventionists.

Central Powers

German Empire

• Part of European Russia

  Baltics

  Austro-Hungarian Empire

  From 1964 to 1980 Kosygin was the chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers.

  Under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, Gromyko was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

  After Brezhnev's death, Andropov took over the leadership of the country. The first president of the USSR was Gorbachev. Sakharov - Soviet scientist, nuclear physicist, creator hydrogen bomb. Active fighter for human and civil rights, pacifist, Nobel Prize laureate, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

  Founders and leaders of the democratic movement in the USSR in the late 80s: A. Sobchak, N. Travkin, G. Starovoitova, G. Popov, A. Kazannik.

  Leaders of the most influential factions in the modern State Duma: V.V. Zhirinovsky, G.A. Yavlinsky; G.A. Zyuganov; V.I. Anpilov.

  US leaders who participated in Soviet-American negotiations in the 80s: Reagan, Bush.

  Managers European states who contributed to improving relations with the USSR in the 80s: Thatcher.

  Terminological dictionary

  Anarchism - political theory, the goal of which is the establishment of anarchy (Greek αναρχία - anarchy), in other words, the creation of a society in which individuals freely cooperate as equals. As such, anarchism opposes all forms of hierarchical control and domination.

  Entente(French entente - agreement) - a military-political bloc of England, France and Russia, otherwise called the “Triple Entente”; formed mainly in 1904-1907 and completed the delimitation of the great powers on the eve of the First World War. The term arose in 1904, initially to designate the Anglo-French alliance, and the expression l’entente cordiale (“cordial agreement”) was used in memory of the short-lived Anglo-French alliance in the 1840s, which bore the same name.

  Bolshevik- a member of the left (revolutionary) wing of the RSDLP after the party split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Subsequently, the Bolsheviks formed a separate party, the RSDLP(b). The word "Bolshevik" reflects the fact that Lenin's supporters were in the majority in the elections of governing bodies at the second party congress in 1903.

  Budenovka- a Red Army cloth helmet of a special type, a uniform headdress for military personnel of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

  White Army, or White Movement(also called " White Guard", "White Cause") - the collective name of political movements, organizations and military formations that opposed the Bolsheviks during the Civil War in Russia.

  Blockade- actions aimed at isolating an object by cutting off its external connections. Military blockade Economic blockade Siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War.

  Great Patriotic War (WWII)́ Soviet Union 1941-1945 - the war of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany and its European allies (Hungary, Italy, Romania, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia); the most important and decisive part of World War II.

  All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK), the highest legislative, administrative and supervisory body of state power of the RSFSR in 1917-1937. He was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets and acted in the periods between congresses. Before the formation of the USSR, it included members from the Ukrainian SSR and the BSSR, elected at republican congresses of Soviets.

  State Defense Committee- an emergency governing body created during the Great Patriotic War in the USSR.

  GOELRO(abbreviated from State Commission for Electrification of Russia) is a body created to develop a project for the electrification of Russia after the revolution of 1917. The abbreviation is often deciphered as the State Plan for the Electrification of Russia, that is, a product of the GOELRO commission, which became the first long-term economic development plan adopted and implemented in Russia after the revolution.

  Decree(Latin decretum decree from decernere - to decide) - a legal act, a resolution of an authority or official.

  Intervention- military intervention of foreign states in the civil war in Russia.

  Committee of the Poor (Committee of the Poor)- an organ of Soviet power in rural areas during the years of “War Communism”. The decrees of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee created 1) the distribution of bread, basic necessities and agricultural implements; 2) providing assistance to local food authorities in the removal of grain surpluses from the hands of kulaks and rich people, and the interest of the Committees of Poor People was obvious, because the more they took, the more they themselves got from it.

  Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)- the ruling political party in the Soviet Union. Founded in 1898 as the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP). The Bolshevik faction of the RSDLP - RSDLP(b) played decisive role in the October Revolution of 1917, which led to the formation of the socialist system in Russia. Since the mid-1920s, after the introduction of a one-party system, the Communist Party has been the only party in the country. Despite the fact that the party did not formally form a party government, its actual ruling status as the guiding and directing force of Soviet society, the one-party system of the USSR was legally enshrined in the Constitution of the USSR. The party was dissolved and banned in 1991, but on July 9, 1992, the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was held, and on October 10, 1992, the XX All-Union Conference of the CPSU was held, and then the Organizing Committee for the XXIX Congress of the CPSU was created. The XXIX Congress of the CPSU (March 26-27, 1993, Moscow) transformed the CPSU into the SKP-KPSS (Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union). Currently, the SKP-CPSU plays rather the role of a coordination and information center, and this is due both to the positions of a number of leaders of individual communist parties, and to the objective conditions of the growing disintegration and disunity of the former Soviet republics.

  Comintern- Communist International, 3rd International - in 1919-1943. an international organization that united communist parties from various countries. Founded by 28 organizations on the initiative of the RCP (b) and personally Vladimir Ilyich Lenin for the development and dissemination of the ideas of revolutionary international socialism, as opposed to the reformist socialism of the Second International, the final break with which was caused by the difference in positions regarding the First World War and the October Revolution in Russia. After Stalin came to power in the USSR, the organization served as a conductor of the interests of the USSR, as Stalin understood them.

  Manifesto(from Late Latin manifestum - call) 1) A special act of the head of state or the highest body of state power addressed to the population. Adopted in connection with any important political event, special date, etc. 2) Appeal, declaration political party, a public organization containing a program and principles of activity. 3) A written presentation of the literary or artistic principles of any movement or group in literature and art.

  People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD)- the central government body of the Soviet state (RSFSR, USSR) for combating crime and maintaining public order in 1917-1946, subsequently renamed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR.

  Nationalization- transfer into state ownership of land, industrial enterprises, banks, transport and other property owned by private individuals or joint-stock companies. Can be carried out through gratuitous expropriation, full or partial redemption.

  Insurgent Army of Ukraine- armed formations of anarchist peasants in Ukraine in 1918 - 1921 during the Russian Civil War. Better known as "Makhnovists"

  Red Army, Workers' and Peasants' Red Army(Red Army) - the official name of the Ground Forces and Air Force, which, together with the Navy, Border Troops, Internal Security Troops and State Guard Convoy, constituted the Armed Forces of the USSR from January 15, 1918 to February 1946. The birthday of the Red Army is considered to be February 23, 1918 - the day when the German offensive on Petrograd was stopped and an armistice was signed (see Defender of the Fatherland Day). The first leader of the Red Army was Leon Trotsky.

  Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (SNK, Sovnarkom)- from July 6, 1923 to March 15, 1946, the highest executive and administrative (in the first period of its existence also legislative) body of the USSR, its government (in each union and autonomous republic there was also a Council of People's Commissars, for example, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR).

  Revolutionary Military Council(Revolutionary Military Council, RVS, R.V.S.) - the highest collegial body of military power and political leadership of the armies, fronts, and fleets of the Armed Forces of the RSFSR in 1918-1921.

  Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate (Rabkrin, RKI)- a system of government bodies dealing with issues of state control. The system was headed by the People's Commissariat

  Trade unions (trade unions)- voluntary public association citizens connected by common interests according to the nature of their activities in production, in the service sector and in culture. The association is created for the purpose of representing and protecting the social and labor rights and interests of participants.

  Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union(until the spring of 1917: Central Committee of the RSDLP; 1917-1918 Central Committee of the RSDLP (b); 1918-1925 Central Committee of the RCP (b); 1925-1952 Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (b)) - the highest party body in the intervals between party congresses. The record number of members of the CPSU Central Committee (412 members) was elected at the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU (1990).

After the October Revolution, a tense socio-political situation developed in the country. The establishment of Soviet power in the fall of 1917 - spring of 1918 was accompanied by many anti-Bolshevik protests in different regions of Russia, but they were all scattered and local in nature. At first, only certain, small groups of the population were drawn into them. A large-scale struggle, in which huge masses from various social strata joined on both sides, marked the development of the Civil War - a general social armed confrontation.

In historiography there is no consensus on the time of the start of the Civil War. Some historians attribute it to October 1917, others to the spring and summer of 1918, when strong political and well-organized anti-Soviet pockets emerged and foreign intervention began. Historians also argue about who was responsible for the outbreak of this fratricidal war: representatives of classes that lost power, property and influence; the Bolshevik leadership, which imposed its method of transforming society on the country; or both of these socio-political forces that were used by the masses in the struggle for power.

The overthrow of the Provisional Government and the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly, the economic and socio-political measures of the Soviet government set the nobles, bourgeoisie, wealthy intelligentsia, clergy, and officers against it. The discrepancy between the goals of transforming society and the methods for achieving them alienated the democratic intelligentsia, Cossacks, kulaks and middle peasants from the Bolsheviks. Thus, the internal politics of the Bolshevik leadership was one of the reasons for the outbreak of the Civil War.

The nationalization of all land and the confiscation of the landowners caused fierce resistance from its former owners. The bourgeoisie, confused by the scale of nationalization of industry, wanted to return factories and factories. The liquidation of commodity-money relations and the establishment of a state monopoly on the distribution of products and goods hit hard the property status of the middle and petty bourgeoisie. Thus, the desire of the overthrown classes to preserve private property and their privileged position as monks was the reason for the outbreak of the Civil War.

Creation of a one-party political system and the “dictatorship of the proletariat”, in fact - the dictatorship of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), alienated the socialist parties and democratic ones from the Bolsheviks public organizations. With the decrees “On the arrest of the leaders of the Civil War against the Revolution” (November 1917) and on the “Red Terror”, the Bolshevik leadership legally substantiated the “right” to violent reprisals against their Political opponents. Therefore, the Mensheviks, right and left Socialist Revolutionaries, and anarchists refused to cooperate with the new government and took part in the Civil War.

The uniqueness of the Civil War in Russia lay in the close intertwining of the internal political struggle with foreign intervention. Both Germany and the Entente allies incited the anti-Bolshevik forces, supplied them with weapons, ammunition, and provided financial and political support. On the one hand, their policy was dictated by the desire to end the Bolshevik regime and return lost property foreign citizens, prevent the “spreading” of the revolution. On the other hand, they pursued their own expansionist plans aimed at dismembering Russia and gaining new territories and spheres of influence at its expense.

Civil War in 1918

In 1918, the main centers of the anti-Bolshevik movement, different in their socio-political composition, were formed. In February, the “Union for the Revival of Russia” arose in Moscow and Petrograd, uniting cadets, Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. In March 1918, the “Union for the Defense of the Motherland and Freedom” was formed under the leadership of the famous Socialist Revolutionary, terrorist B.V. Savinkov. A strong anti-Bolshevik movement developed among the Cossacks. On the Don and Kuban they were led by General P. N. Krasnov, on Southern Urals- Ataman A.I. Dutov. In the south of Russia and the North Caucasus under the leadership of generals M.V. Alekseev and L.I. Kornilov, the officer Volunteer Army began to form. It became the basis of the White movement. After the death of L. G. Kornilov, General A. I. Denikin took command.

In the spring of 1918, foreign intervention began. German troops occupied Ukraine, Crimea and part North Caucasus. Romania captured Bessarabia. The Entente countries signed an agreement on non-recognition of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty and the future division of Russia into spheres of influence. In March, an English expeditionary force was landed in Murmansk, which was later joined by French and American troops. In April, Vladivostok was occupied by a Japanese landing. Then detachments of the British, French and Americans appeared in the Far East.

In May 1918, soldiers of the Czechoslovak corps rebelled. It gathered prisoners of war Slavs from the Austro-Hungarian army, who expressed a desire to participate in the war against Germany on the side of the Entente. The corps was sent by the Soviet government along the Trans-Siberian Railway to the Far East. It was assumed that it would then be delivered to France. The uprising led to the overthrow of Soviet power in the Volga region and Siberia. In Samara, Ufa and Omsk, governments were created from Cadets, Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. Their activities were based on the idea of ​​reviving the Constituent Assembly and were expressed in opposition to both the Bolsheviks and the far-right monarchists. These governments did not last long and were swept away during the Civil War.

In the summer of 1918, the anti-Bolshevik movement led by the Socialist Revolutionaries acquired enormous proportions. They organized performances in many cities of Central Russia (Yaroslavl, Rybinsk, etc.). On July 6-7, the Left Social Revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the Soviet government in Moscow. It ended in complete failure. As a result, many of their leaders were arrested. Representatives of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries who opposed the Bolshevik policies were expelled from Soviets at all levels and government bodies.

The complication of the military-political situation in the country influenced the fate of the imperial family. In the spring of 1918, Nicholas II with his wife and children, under the pretext of intensifying the monarchists, was transferred from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg. Having coordinated its actions with the center, the Ural Regional Council on July 16, 1918 shot the Tsar and his family. On the same days, the Tsar's brother Mikhail and 18 other members of the imperial family were killed.

The Soviet government launched active measures to protect its power. The Red Army was transformed on new military-political principles. A transition to universal conscription was carried out, and widespread mobilization was launched. Strict discipline was established in the army, and the institution of military commissars was introduced. Organizational measures to strengthen the Red Army were completed by the creation of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (RVSR) and the Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense.

In June 1918, the Eastern Front was formed under the command of I. I. Vatsetis (since July 1919 - S. S. Kamenev) against the rebellious Czechoslovak corps and the anti-Soviet forces of the Urals and Siberia. At the beginning of September 1918, the Red Army went on the offensive and during October - November drove the enemy beyond the Urals. The restoration of Soviet power in the Urals and Volga region ended the first stage of the Civil War.

Exacerbation of the Civil War

At the end of 1918 - beginning of 1919, the white movement reached its maximum extent. In Siberia, power was seized by Admiral A.V. Kolchak, who was declared the “Supreme Ruler of Russia.” In the Kuban and North Caucasus, A.I. Denikin united the Don and Volunteer armies into the Armed Forces of Southern Russia. In the north, with the help of the Entente, General E. K. Miller formed his army. In the Baltic states, General N.N. Yudenich was preparing for a campaign against Petrograd. Since November 1918, after the end of the First World War, the Allies increased assistance to the White movement, supplying it with ammunition, uniforms, tanks, and aircraft. The scale of intervention has expanded. The British occupied Baku and landed in Batum and Novorossiysk, the French in Odessa and Sevastopol.

In November 1918, A.V. Kolchak launched an offensive in the Urals with the aim of uniting with the troops of General E.K. Miller and organizing a joint attack on Moscow. Once again the Eastern Front became the main one. On December 25, A.V. Kolchak’s troops took Perm, but already on December 31, their offensive was stopped by the Red Army. In the east, the front has temporarily stabilized.

In 1919, a plan was created for a simultaneous attack on Soviet power: from the east (A.V. Kolchak), south (A.I. Denikin) and west (N.N. Yudenich). However, the combined performance failed.

In March 1919, A.V. Kolchak launched a new offensive from the Urals towards the Volga. In April, the troops of S.S. Kamenev and M.V. Frunze stopped him, and in the summer they pushed him out to Siberia. A powerful peasant uprising and partisan movement against the government of A.V. Kolchak helped the Red Army establish Soviet power in Siberia. In February 1920, by verdict of the Irkutsk Revolutionary Committee, Admiral A.V. Kolchak was shot.

In May 1919, when the Red Army was winning decisive victories in the east, N. N. Yudenich moved to Petrograd. In June he was stopped and his troops were thrown back to Estonia, where the bourgeoisie came to power. N.N. Yudenich’s second attack on Petrograd in October 1919 also ended in defeat. His troops were disarmed and interned by the Estonian government, which did not want to come into conflict with Soviet Russia, which offered to recognize Estonia's independence.

In July 1919, A.I. Denikin captured Ukraine and, having carried out a din of mobilization, launched an attack on Moscow (Moscow Directive). In September, his troops occupied Kursk, Orel and Voronezh. In connection with this, the Soviet government concentrated all its forces on the fight against A. . I. Denikin. The Southern Front was formed under the command of A.I. Egorov. In October, the Red Army went on the offensive. She was supported by the insurgent peasant movement led by N.I. Makhno, who deployed a “second front” in the rear of the Volunteer Army. In December 1919 - early 1920, the troops of A.I. Denikin were defeated. Soviet power was restored in southern Russia, Ukraine and the North Caucasus. The remnants of the Volunteer Army took refuge on the Crimean Peninsula, the command of which A.I. Denikin transferred to General P.N. Wrangel.

In 1919, revolutionary ferment began in the Allied occupation units, intensified by Bolshevik propaganda. The interventionists were forced to withdraw their troops. This was facilitated by a powerful social movement in Europe and the USA under the slogan “Hands off Soviet Russia!”

The final stage of the Civil War

In 1920, the main events were the Soviet-Polish war and the fight against P. N. Wrangel. Having recognized the independence of Poland, the Soviet government began negotiations with it on territorial demarcation and establishment of the state border. They reached a dead end, as the Polish government, headed by Marshal J. Pilsudski, made exorbitant territorial claims. To restore “Greater Poland,” Polish troops invaded Belarus and Ukraine in May and captured Kyiv. The Red Army under the command of M. N. Tukhachevsky and A. I. Egorov in July 1920 defeated the Polish group in Ukraine and Belarus. The attack on Warsaw began. It was perceived by the Polish people as an intervention. In this regard, all the forces of the Poles, financially supported Western countries, were aimed at resisting the Red Army. In August, M. N. Tukhachevsky’s offensive stalled. The Soviet-Polish war ended with peace signed in Riga in March 1921. According to it, Poland received the lands of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. In Eastern Belarus, the power of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic remained.

Since April 1920, the anti-Soviet struggle was led by General P. N. Wrangel, elected “ruler of the south of Russia.” He formed the “Russian Army” in Crimea, which launched an offensive against Donbass in June. To repel it, the Southern Front was formed under the command of M.V. Frunze. At the end of October, the troops of P.I. Wrangel were defeated in Northern Tavria and pushed back to the Crimea. In November, units of the Red Army stormed the fortifications of the Perekop Isthmus, crossed Lake Sivash and broke into Crimea. The defeat of P. N. Wrangel marked the end of the Civil War. The remnants of his troops and part of the civilian population opposed to Soviet power were evacuated with the help of the allies to Turkey. In November 1920, the Civil War effectively ended. There remained only isolated pockets of resistance to Soviet power on the outskirts of Russia.

In 1920, with the support of the troops of the Turkestan Front (under the command of M.V. Frunze), the power of the Bukhara emir and the Khan of Khiva was overthrown. The Bukhara and Khorezm People's Soviet Republics were formed on the territory of Central Asia. In Transcaucasia, Soviet power was established as a result of the military intervention of the government of the RSFSR, material and moral-political assistance from the Central Committee of the RCP (b). In April 1920, the Musavat government was overthrown and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. In November 1920, after the liquidation of the power of the Dashnaks, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was created. In February 1921, Soviet troops, violating the peace treaty with the government of Georgia (May 1920), captured Tiflis, where the creation of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed. In April 1920, by decision of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) and the government of the RSFSR, a buffer Far Eastern Republic was created, and in 1922 the Far East was finally liberated from the Japanese occupiers. Thus, in the territory of the former Russian Empire (with the exception of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland), Soviet power won.

The Bolsheviks won the Civil War and repelled foreign intervention. They managed to preserve the bulk of the territory of the former Russian Empire. At the same time, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states separated from Russia and gained independence. Western Ukraine, Western Belarus and Bessarabia were lost.

Reasons for the Bolshevik victory

The defeat of the anti-Soviet forces was due to a number of reasons. Their leaders canceled the Decree on Land and returned the land to the previous owners. This turned the peasants against them. The slogan of preserving a “united and indivisible Russia” contradicted the hopes of many peoples for independence. The reluctance of the leaders of the white movement to cooperate with liberal and socialist parties narrowed its socio-political base. Punitive expeditions, pogroms, mass executions of prisoners, widespread violation of legal norms - all this caused discontent among the population, even to the point of armed resistance. During the Civil War, opponents of the Bolsheviks failed to agree on a single program and a single leader of the movement. Their actions were poorly coordinated.

The Bolsheviks won the Civil War because they managed to mobilize all the country's resources and turn it into a single military camp. The Central Committee of the RCP(b) and the Council of People's Commissars created a politicized Red Army, ready to defend Soviet power. Various social groups were attracted by loud revolutionary slogans and the promise of social and national justice. The Bolshevik leadership managed to present itself as a defender of the Fatherland and accuse its opponents of betraying national interests. International solidarity and the help of the proletariat of Europe and the USA were of great importance.

The civil war was a terrible disaster for Russia. She led to further deterioration economic situation in the country, to complete economic ruin. Material damage amounted to more than 50 billion rubles. gold. Industrial production decreased by 7 times. The transport system was completely paralyzed. Many segments of the population, forcibly drawn into the war by the warring parties, became its innocent victims. In battles, from hunger, disease and terror, 8 million people died, 2 million people were forced to emigrate. Among them were many representatives of the intellectual elite. Irreparable moral and ethical losses had deep sociocultural consequences that were reflected in the history of the Soviet country for a long time.

The civil war in Russia began immediately after the October Revolution.

October 1917 – February 1918 – beginning of the Civil War. A.F. Kerensky with General P.N. Krasnov tried to capture Petrograd on November 8–13, 1917, but were defeated by the Red Guards. Fighting also began in Moscow - between supporters of the Provisional Government and revolutionary detachments. The Bolsheviks during this period advanced their power throughout the country.

February – May 1918 – exit of Soviet Russia from the First World War, reflection of the invasion of German troops. A number of important events took place during this period. March, 3rd 1918 was signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Russia, on the one hand, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey, on the other, which meant Russia’s withdrawal from the First World War. According to the agreement, vast territories were torn away from Russia - only approx. 1 million km with a population of 56 million people (almost one third of the country’s population), the Soviet side undertook to pay an indemnity. By agreeing to a humiliating peace (Lenin called it “obscene”), the Bolsheviks sought to gain the necessary time. And they won:

Firstly, they were able to remove a significant part of their troops from the German front and transfer them to the most critical areas of hostilities with the Whites and the interventionists;

Secondly, in November 1918, after the victory of the revolution in Germany, this agreement was annulled (cancelled, declared invalid).

February 23 1918 based on Lenin’s decree “The Socialist Fatherland is in danger!” The construction of the Red Army began on a voluntary basis. The first battles of the Red Army soldiers with German troops took place near Pskov, Narva, and Revel.

February 23 – Victory Day of the Red Army over the Kaiser’s troops in Germany (1918) in modern conditions is celebrated as Day military glory(victory day) of Russia - Day of Defenders of the Fatherland.(Before the collapse of the USSR - Day of the Soviet Army and Navy.)

Since there were clearly not enough volunteers to join the Red Army, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was adopted in May on universal conscription.

May - November 1918 - The Soviet Republic is surrounded by fronts. During these months, the Soviet Republic found itself surrounded by fronts. The invaders attacked Russia: through Murmansk and Vladivostok, Central Asia and Transcaucasia, Finland and Novorossiysk. The intervention became a decisive factor in the outbreak of a large-scale civil war.

In May–July, a mutiny of the Czechoslovak Corps, provoked by the Entente, took place. The White Czechs (prisoners of war of the Austro-Hungarian army, sent to their homeland through the Far East), together with White Guard detachments, captured Chelyabinsk, Tomsk, Ufa, Simbirsk, etc., restoring the old order along the way.

Large centers of counter-revolution arose in the south: the White Cossacks on the Don (Krasnov), the Volunteer Army in the Kuban (Denikin), the Dashnaks (members of the Armenian nationalist counter-revolutionary party) and the Musavatists (members of the Azerbaijani counter-revolutionary party) in Transcaucasia.

Under these conditions, the Soviet government creates Council of Workers' and Peasants' Defense led by Lenin, forms the Eastern, Southern, Northern, and then Western and Ukrainian fronts. The country is declared a military camp.

Soon the Eastern Front liberated a number of territories; in the south the attack on Tsaritsyn, Grozny, and Kizlyar was repelled.

November 1918 – March 1919 – disruption of the Entente’s attempts to destroy the Soviet Republic on its own. The surrender of Germany in the First World War freed the hands of the Entente countries in the fight against Russia. It was decided to throw the troops released on the Western Front against the Soviet Republic and destroy it with their own forces (the White Guard troops were assigned an auxiliary role). Parts of the British, Americans and Japanese landed in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, and Vladivostok. Assistance to the White Guards with weapons, equipment, and equipment increased. The dictatorship of the admiral was established and maintained in Omsk A.V. Kolchak. The interventionists also attacked from the south, in the direction of Moscow.

Number of interventionists on Russian territory, people February 1919

English – 44,600

French – 13,600

American – 13,700

Japanese – 80,000

Czechoslovakian – 42,000

Italian – 3,000

Greek – 3,000

Serbian – 2,500

– – – – -

Total troops - 202,400 people

At the end of 1918, the Red Army began its offensive on all fronts. The plans of the interventionists were thwarted, and part of their troops were evacuated.

March 1919 - March 1920 - decisive victories of the Red Army over the combined forces of the Entente and internal counter-revolution. Now in the fight against the Bolsheviks the main striking force was the armies supported by the Entente countries Denikin And Kolchak. Kolchak advanced from the east, Denikin from the south, and from the northwest Yudenich, from North Miller, from the west, the forces of Poland and the Baltic states are only about 1 million people. Anti-war sentiment grew in the Entente countries. A movement of solidarity with Soviet Russia arose. In April 1919, the sailors of the French squadron rebelled. The Entente leadership, fearing Bolshevisation, began to withdraw its troops. Bolsheviks in as soon as possible managed to win over the middle peasant to their side, formalize the military-political union of the Soviet republics and increase the size of the army to 3 million people.

The defeat of the troops of the white fronts, the internal counter-revolution, was carried out consistently. Kolchak was the first to be defeated in the east. The Red Army then repelled Yudenich's advance. In the counter-offensive of the Southern Front in 1919, and then in the offensive of the Southern and South-Eastern Fronts in 1919–1920. Denikin's troops were defeated, their remnants went to the Crimea and the Caucasus. Yudenich's new attack on Petrograd also failed. During these years, the partisan movement that developed, mainly beyond the Urals, provided great assistance to the regular Red Army.

April – November 1920 – Soviet-Polish War and the defeat of Wrangel. J. Pilsudski, the ruler of Poland, who had plans to create a “great Poland” from the Baltic to the Black Sea, was the first to launch a campaign “against the Soviets.” Thus, the war between Soviet Russia and Poland became, first of all, a war against Polish aggression.

Together with the forces that supported them in Ukraine, the Poles occupied Kyiv. Tukhachevsky's troops opposing them were defeated. Then, having regrouped their forces, units of the Red Army began to drive the Poles out of Russian territory and reached their border. Carried away by the offensive, the command of the troops Western Front did not notice how they were already confronted by a military force 6 times superior to them. A counter-offensive by the Poles and a disorderly retreat of the Reds began. In October 1920, an armistice was signed with Poland, and in March 1921 – peace treaty. Significant western territories of Ukraine and Belarus were torn away from Russia.

After the end of the war with Poland, the main forces of the Red Army were directed against the general Wrangel, who took command of the White Army from Denikin and attempted an offensive from the Crimea. The last hopes of the counter-revolutionaries rested on him.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

“We believe that you will not follow the path of General Denikin. We believe that you have taken into account the mistakes of the past... The honest and valiant General Denikin did not understand what freedom is. He fought with Georgia and Ukraine, he antagonized Poland, Finland, Latvia, and Estonia, and, most importantly, he antagonized the peasants, i.e. Russia... He was overcome by executions and robberies... General Denikin was destroyed by those madmen who, instead of forgiveness, carried with them merciless revenge, because you can’t build anything on revenge.”

B. Savinkov, Socialist Revolutionary

Wrangel was driven to Crimea. At the beginning of November 1920, the Southern Front, at the cost of heavy losses, managed to break through to Crimean peninsula and during the pursuit, complete the defeat of the demoralized 100,000-strong white army.

1921–1922 – destruction of centers of white resistance on the outskirts of the country. With the defeat of Wrangel, the main hostilities ended. The military question as the main issue of the policy of the Soviet Republic was removed from the agenda. The remaining pockets of resistance on the outskirts of the country - in the Transcaucasus, Central Asia, and the Far East - were eliminated in 1921–1922. the 25th of October 1922 The last stronghold of the interventionists, Vladivostok, was liberated (from the Japanese). The civil war is over.

Results of the Civil War and military intervention. They are sad, the sacrifices are enormous.

The total losses of Russia in the Civil War, according to various sources, amounted to about 13 million Russians.

The total amount of damage amounted to about 50 billion gold rubles.

Industrial production remained at 4–20% of the 1913 level.

Agricultural production fell by almost half.

In a fierce armed fratricidal struggle, the Bolsheviks managed to retain power in their hands. The uncompromising nature of the political goals of the parties participating in the Civil War determined its exceptionally fierce nature.

ORIGINAL SOURCE

“The laxity and laxity must be put to an immediate end. All right-wing Social Revolutionaries known to the local Soviets must be immediately arrested, and significant numbers of hostages must be taken from the bourgeoisie and officers. At the slightest movement among the White Guards, unconditional mass execution should be used. Local provincial executive committees should take special initiative in this direction. Management departments through the police and emergency commissions must take all measures to identify and arrest all persons hiding under false names and surnames, with the unconditional execution of all those involved in White Guard work... Not the slightest hesitation, not the slightest indecision in the use of mass terror.”

G.I. Petrovsky, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the RSFSR

ORIGINAL SOURCE

“To the heads of military detachments operating in the area of ​​the uprising:

1. When occupying villages previously captured by robbers, demand the extradition of their leaders and leaders; if this does not happen, and there is reliable information about the presence of such, shoot every tenth person.

2. Villages whose population encounters government troops with weapons are to be burned; the adult male population should be shot without exception...

6. Take hostages from among the population; in the event of actions by fellow villagers directed against government troops, shoot the hostages mercilessly...”

S.N. Rozanov, special representative of Admiral A. Kolchak in Krasnoyarsk, governor of the Yenisei and part of the Irkutsk province

The military intervention had an extremely negative impact on the situation in Russia, aggravating the course and consequences of the war.