To what extent was the Civil War the main factor in the Bolshevik

In order to consolidate power, the war against the “Greens” proved to be a more significant factor as it was arguably more vital to establishing a Soviet Marxist society. The “Greens” as they were called were a group of members from other political parties, such as the Social Revolutionaries (SRs), Mensheviks and Kadets who grew huge discontent after the October revolution. This then was compounded by Russia’s withdrawal from the war and allegiances with Germany through the Brest – Litovsk agreement which further infuriated them as it was perceived as showing weakness but the Bolsheviks believed it was the quick solution to the war. And the Greens had an influence on the Bolsheviks, especially in their Red Army as ill-discipline did occur and the Greens tried to use this exposed area and tried to convert their ideology and turn them against the Bolsheviks and they recognized this problem. “The Russian Soviet Republic surrounded on all sides by enemies, has to create its own powerful army to defend the country, while engaged in remaking its social system along communist lines”. This source could be interpreted in many ways, the term “defend the country” could be perceived as defending against the Whites and the counter-revolutionaries but I believe it is applying more to defending the country against the Greens making it a very powerful statement and outlines the threat which the Greens had. This aspect is also favoured by modern and western revisionist historians as G.Swain states “The Russian Civil War was also a Red versus Green civil war…It was this Red versus Green civil war which shaped the soviet regime”. This conveys that the Reds versus Greens civil war was pivotal, but it was fundamental to the future of the Bolshevik party. In addition to this point a collaboration of historians express that “Events of 1918-22…in Russian society were far more complex than the simple Red-White struggle…the Civil War began as a war between the Bolsheviks and their socialist opponents – the…Socialist Revolutionaries”. This further reinforces this view that the Greens were a potent threat to the Bolsheviks regime from the start. Also it is a very credible source as it is a collaboration of historians which included revisionist historians, and a soviet historian which would take into consideration all sides of the argument.

Although, the Bolsheviks insisted that there was no Reds versus Greens Civil War and never acknowledged them as being involved in the civil war and insist that the Greens were just part of a social struggle, but this view has been disputed by the other political parties and historians. “The Soviet Regime is overthrown and Bolshevism suffered complete defeat on all the territory which is now subordinated to the Committee of Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly”. The Komuch was the Committee of Constituent Assembly which composed mainly of Socialist Revolutionaries which makes me question the typicality as they would have been biased during the Civil War, but by establishing a base for a new Russian government shows that Bolshevism did suffer defeats. The Komuch was the Greens only form of opposition really and did try to capitalise on any opportunity to convince people to their cause “KOMUCH includes as one of its basic tasks the merciless struggle against Bolshevism by forming armed forces and arming the people themselves...to carry out these aims KOMUCH will form a central organ of All-Russian government”. This conveys that the Komuch did make a fairly concerted effort in trying to surmount the Bolshevik regime by obtaining the numbers needed for this task. But this threat was suppressed by the Bolsheviks as Trotsky saw this as being detrimental to them and wanted to dispose of this. “Hundreds of hired agents who have penetrated…Red Army units…corrupting and inciting men to desert…I declare that from now on an end must be put to this by using merciless means”. This source shows how instrumental Trotsky was in this war as he recognised the threat of the Greens were able to distort their minds and use them at their own accord. This also shows how that another form of suppressing the Greens were as Trotsky described it “using merciless means” but historians have phrased this as using “Red Terror” and was highly effective. Therefore leading me to the assumption that the Reds versus Greens Civil War was immensely important in the Bolsheviks consolidation of power but other opposition such as the nationalities were needed to be quelled and this was done predominantly by “Red Terror”.

“A nation which oppresses another can never be free” this principle ideology from the leader of Marxism, Karl Marx, was how Lenin tried to solve the issue with Russia’s multi-cultural problem as many of the nationalities grew impatient. Lenin believed that this principle of national self-determination would entice non-Russian countries to be involved with the Bolshevik regime, but the opposite occurred and many countries peeled away and established independence like Ukraine. This intense atmosphere of hostility was being emitted mainly from countries such as: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and most notably Ukraine. All theses nationalities hated the Reds and the Whites equally as much however Ukraine posed the most direct threat to the Bolsheviks regime by creating their own anarchist army and establishing independence. The Bolsheviks now had the task of re-conquering these countries but this was not easy. “In 1920, overt opposition intensified. A rural rebellion gripped…Ukraine…were bases for peasant fighters” and the Bolsheviks had to make some appeasements “Territory densely inhabited by non-Russians was given favourable dispensation. Ukraine, Belorussia, Estonia and Latvia acquired their own soviet republics that…had equal status to the RSFSR”. This illustrates that this threat which these nationalities showed were enough to actually force gaining their own soviet republics which arguably is more than what the Greens or Whites could achieve in their struggles which made this a crucial factor to the Bolsheviks consolidation of power. Also the fact that both of these sources are derived from a respected modern revisionist historian who has analysed fresh new evidence makes these highly credible sources.

However, the Bolsheviks acknowledged that federalism was a necessity and the formation of the largest federation in the world in 1922: the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was created. But this appeasement needed to be reinforced by Red Terror to ensure that not only could the Bolsheviks display an authoritative position but to also ensure that these nationalities did not become over-confident with their new status. This suppression of the nationalities was one of the main reasons to establishing the Cheka was a certain indication that there were fully committed to trying not only to survive this uprising but to also resist opposition from various groups which were opposing but also to consolidate their power during or after all this. This removal of opposition by them helped immensely as they were able to install fear into the opposition with ruthless executions thus leading to them wiping out remnants of popular movement; known as “Red Terror”. “In view of the threatening and exceptional circumstances…the following resolutions are submitted:

1 To employ secret agents

2 To withdraw from circulation the prominent and active leaders from the Monarchists-Kadets, Right SRs and Mensheviks…

4 To execute prominent and clearly exposed counter-revolutionaries”. 

This primary evidence conveys that the fact that they had to establish and use the Cheka to remove opposition shows that there was opposition internally in Russia rather than the more transparent opposition from the Whites, and more attention was set to them as this issue was addressed due to them actually establishing the Cheka instead of letting the Red army take care of it. The view that the internal opposition within Russia was much more important than the war against the Whites is shared. “It is estimated that the Cheka killed more than 250,000 people between 1917 and 1924”. This secondary source by historian Richard Radway emphasises the point made by the previous source as it illustrates the sheer scale of the problem as a quarter of a million people were executed. Also this weakens the point made by traditional Soviets that even after the official end of the Civil War against the Whites, the Bolsheviks still had threatening opposition to their regime that needed to be removed for them to have consolidated power which is why the issue with the nationalities was definitely more important the war against the Whites and arguably as important if not more than the issue with the Greens.

Lastly, even though the threats from the Whites, Greens and the nationalities were largely eradicated there was still huge discontent from the peasants and it was a necessity to remove this opposition through various policies and the use of “Red Terror” hugely helped in the consolidation of power. During the civil war and the famine of 1921-22 the Bolsheviks implemented the policies of war communism and grain requisitioning however these had detrimental effects on not only the economy but the party’s support also. The discontent which was obtained from both of the policies was due to the shortages of food as they reduced the amount going to the Russian citizens. This reached to such a stage that peasant insurrections began to occur, in particular the Kronstadt revolt where the peasants expressed their most concentrated attack on the regime. The Bolsheviks appreciated that this was becoming a potent issue and at the tenth party congress introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) and abolished war communism and grain requisitioning. The economic impacts this policy had were very positive as private enterprise was returned to industry in 1921 therefore giving people incentives to produce more output as they could make a profit and now keep it. Russian civilians seemed to be content with all these changes and these uprisings stopped. “The New Economic Policy (NEP) produced its first positive results in the spring of 1921. The anti-soviet revolts ceased.” This piece of secondary source concurs with the point that the NEP was successful, but this soviet historian also comprehends the fact that there were other substantial issues like the “anti-soviet revolts” which the Bolsheviks needed to address in order to consolidate their power. “In a few years time the NEP restored to Russia an aspect of prosperity. But to many of us…this was sometimes distasteful and often disquieting” This source from a soviet historian at the time agrees with the previous source that the NEP did restore Russia’s economic status and made it healthy once again, however he acknowledges that this change in Russia’s status was not favoured by all people which could be relating to the use of Red Terror. Also the typicality of both sources is questionable as both are soviet historians which could lead them to having a biased opinion and they have written their books before the fall of communism in Russia at 1991 which could have had an influence on the perception which they emit as it may well have been biased.

Although the NEP eradicated most of these problems because of these economic improvements but there were still peasant insurrections which were addressed by the Bolshevik party. The use of Red Terror was their solution and this nullified and suppressed these uprisings which the Bolsheviks had encountered. This also had another effect on all Russian civilians as the Cheka, who were the main instrument used for Red Terror, implanted fear into the whole Russian society by carrying out merciless on the spot executions and people were now fearful of counter-revolutionary actions as they were aware of their fate therefore wiping out remnants of popular movement. “Let me tell you that in one month’s time at the most it [red terror] will assume more frightful forms, modelled on the terror of the great French revolutionaries. Not the fortress but the guillotine will await our enemies”. This primary evidence expresses Trotsky’s feelings on what he believes the effects which red terror will have once it gains momentum. However this was said to a soviet executive, which could have led him to exaggerate the predicted effects of Red Terror but we already know “that the Cheka killed more than 250,000 people between 1917 and 1924” from a previous source used as evidence for the nationalities paragraphs that Trotsky’s predictions were not exaggerated but quite realistic and truthful thus making it a credible source. The establishment of the Cheka was also a certain indication that they were fully committed to not only surviving these uprisings, but to also consolidate their power during or after all this. “The tenth party congress approved the turn-about of policy…All resistance was to be smashed, and no one in the country would be allowed to think that political concessions might be wrung out of the regime” This modern revisionist historian backs up the effect which red terror had as the element of fear on Russian society was immense. Furthermore, he carries on to say “It used bestial terror to win the civil war and maintain itself in the peace that followed”. This piece of secondary evidence not only supports the point that the use of red terror or as he refers to it “bestial terror” was hugely influential in removing all the opposition after the civil war, but this also supports the fact that red terror was the reason which they won the civil war and this was predominantly used against the Greens which weakens the importance of the Reds versus Whites civil war. Therefore, these extracts elaborates on the point that after the official end of the civil war seen by traditional soviets, there was still a vital issue which the Bolsheviks needed to address which were the peasants and did so by using red terror and the NEP in order to consolidate power.

In conclusion, once the Bolshevik regime gained full power over Russia it had four groups which they needed to address and quell in order to consolidate their power, however the importance of such groups have been deliberated in this essay. The Reds versus Whites, the most transparent war in the Civil War proved to be the least important in consolidating their power as they were easy opposition to eliminate due to their arrayed aspirations within the regiments. But the other three groups: the Greens, the nationalities and the peasants are much harder to differentiate in order of importance. The Reds versus Greens civil war addressed problems which existed before the start of the war and the Greens during the civil war posed the most political threat to the regime as they were able to create the foundations for their own government. But their failure in forming a strong and sizeable army led them to being disposed off by the use of the Cheka through red terror. The nationalities obtained the most out of all the groups by gaining some sort of independence through the formation of the RSFSR and then the USSR. This form of federalism although initially seemed like a breakthrough was short lived as the Bolsheviks had complete control over the USSR as power was still centralised to the Bolshevik party. And to further emphasise on their dominance the Bolsheviks made sure the nationalities were suppressed by the Cheka. The peasants even though did not have much political power posed an eminent threat to the regime as a series of insurrections forced the Bolsheviks to address them as an important problem. They did force the Bolsheviks to make appeasements such as the New Economic Policy (NEP) which helped the Bolsheviks also with their economic problems. However the peasants’ threat was easily neutralised as the operations of the Cheka implemented fear into the peasants and as a result stopped their revolutionary actions. Although all three of these groups were incredibly vital to quell in order for the Bolsheviks to consolidate power, the nationalities I believe were the most important group to quell as they attained the most significant appeasement from the Bolsheviks and proved to be the hardest opposition to get rid off as they needed to use red terror for this.

 

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