The unpopularity of the Communists in 1918 should have assured their defeat in the Civil war which followed

Meanwhile on the streets of Russia itself, in major cities such as Petrograd, civilians had developed a complete disregard for the law. Looting and other criminal activities were drastically increasing, law-abiding citizens longed for a strong government to return and restore law and order to the crime-ridden cities. Out of all this trouble the Russian Civil war commenced.

Four main groups are involved in the Russian civil war, with three of the groups opposing the fourth, the Communists commonly known as the Reds. The Reds came in the form of the Bolsheviks who controlled Russia, they were led by Lenin and Trotsky led The Red Army. The other three groups were the Whites, the Allies and the Greens.        

The Whites were the ‘counter-revolutionists’ they were the capitalists who hated socialism, who wanted a united Russia. The main leaders of the whites were Generals Denikin, Kolchak and Yudenich. The Allies were Britain, France and America, who wanted to prevent communism from spreading to Europe or the rest of the world, they were also angry that the Bolsheviks had cancelled the Tsar’s debts. The Greens were small independent groups of peasants, bandits and nationalists who would roam Russia fighting anyone and raiding towns and villages for food and supplies these are the ones who caused Russia’s cities to become crime-ridden. The whites were the only opponents who actually participated in the war, the Allies and the Greens were causes of the civil war, and the Allies helped the Whites later in the war. There are several crucial factors, which led to the Red army defeating its opponents, and the Bolsheviks remaining in control of Russia, despite their unpopularity.

Geographical factors played a key role in Red victory, giving them a major advantage over the whites. The Reds occupied central western Russia, which contained the majority of Russia’s heavy industry; this supplied the Reds with all they needed to fight a war. The Reds also controlled the Railway lines that proved essential for the transportation of troops. The whites were scattered all over Russia, causing communication breakdown between the armed forces and difficulties supplying soldiers to areas where they were needed.

Strong powerful leadership is required for a successful organisation, which is exactly what the Reds had in the form of the loyal communist Trotsky. He himself had built up the Red army from nothing to a significant force, and would often participate in the fighting himself, visiting front lines to boost troops moral via his specialised train. The whites had no strong controlling leader; instead they had many leaders with their own-vestured interest, resulting in distrust between leaders and conflicting aims, some fighting for a united Russia, others for a democratic system and some to restore the Tsar. This led to un-coordinated attacks that left the whites useless against a strong united Red force, who all shared one simple aim, to keep the Bolshevik control of Russia and to build a socialist state.

The Allies supported the Whites but rarely got involved, supplying war materials here and there every so often. The Bolsheviks were able to use the allied aid to the whites as propaganda, portraying the western capitalists as operating through the whites. Foreign intervention had backfired. Propaganda was a powerful tool in winning the support of the people; The Communists used propaganda to show the war was one against evil, evil taking the form of Tsarism, the bourgeoisie and foreign capital.

The Red terror was another key to Red victory, strict controlling and monitoring upon certain areas kept active opposition low; suspects were arrested by the cheka. People were afraid to speak out against the communist regime, potential opposition was kept to a minimum.

In conclusion the forces opposed to communism were unable to overthrow it due to a lack of organisation. Unlike the Reds with strong leaders, they were weak and segmented with different aims for fighting the war