The following were all equally important reasons why the Bolsheviks won the Civil war of 1918-21:
- Bolshevik Strengths
- Foreign Intervention
- White deficiencies
Explain how far you agree with this statement.
The Bolshevik strengths were that they had a great military leader, Leon Trotsky. He raised the morale of the Red army, which meant that would inspire them to achieve more than they thought was possible. Trotsky also made important strategic decisions like bringing back the older, more experienced Tsarist generals which meant the Red army would be more efficient and organised. The Bolsheviks had unity between them, as they were all fighting for the same reason and were joint together by the leadership of their military leader, Trotsky. They were committed and it paid off with them finally winning the civil war in 1917. Another Bolshevik strength was their very effective propaganda. Examples of this were the 8 hour (maximum) day and the free education for all, which were policies they never intended to stick to but just to increase their popularity. The Bolsheviks were very good at using propaganda and saw it as an opportunity to win over supporters and get more men fighting for them. There was also the decree to give equality to women, the nationalities and all religions. This was very successful propaganda as it targeted women, who were half the population and nationalities of which there were many in Russia for example Ukrainians and Estonians. This demonstrates the Bolsheviks at being better at propaganda than their opposition. So, the Bolshevik strengths were their unity, effective propaganda and superior leader, Trotsky, to win the civil war in Russia of 1918-21.