The treaty of Brest-litovsk
Lenin knew he needed to keep his promise of peace to the people, as that would be the downfall of the Provisional government and the Tsar. Russia with the treaty of Brest-litovsk (1918) would suffer huge loses for the price of peace with Germany. Russia would lose territory in Finland, Estonia, Ukraine and other Baltic states. They would lose 32% of agriculture, 34% of the population and a huge 54% of industry. Why would Lenin be prepared to accept this harsh treaty? Lenin, promised peace to the people before gaining power and so he knew he would have to do this without hesitation as he could lose power and support. Yet, in the final analysis it would be the failure of the military and political situation that would cause the end of the war.
The Civil War
After the Bolsheviks promise of signing the peace treaty (Brest-Litosvk) with Germany it soon lead to a mounted opposition of the Bolsheviks. This ‘white’ opposition consisted of a large range of different political groups. There were the loyalists of the Tsar, the liberals, national minorities whom wanted independence, rival parties such as the Mensheviks and the military whom disagreed with the peace with Germany. The whites also were giving aid from foreign powers such as Britain, USA and France as they supported the anti-communism policy. From an over-view of the crisis, this looked highly daunting for the Bolsheviks but by 1921 all threats to the Bolsheviks had ended initially from the strongest opposition.
The whites were a divided army separated by the one desire to rid Russia of the Bolshevik regime. However there was much division on how the rule that would take over the Bolsheviks would be, as some wanted the return of the Tsar, while others wanted a democratic republic. This divide meant that there would be several white armies that would not centralise their power and co-operation would be limited; not helped by the long front that the white armies would fight. Although the whites had an excellent occupation of old Tsar offices it found it difficult to hire conscripts. The peasants (or Greens) realised a fear of loss of land if the whites won so saw the ‘reds’ as less of a threat.
In contrast to the Whites, the reds had were able to organise an effective fighting force for the coming war. Leon Trotsky, who became commissar for war in early 1918, turned the red army into a prime war machine. The army was formed from Red Guard units, with pro-Bolshevik elements from the old Tsar regime. However conscription was introduced to swell the numbers into the army, which grew to 5 million. Although the Bolsheviks were against highracy and rank, they introduced 50,000 officers from the old Tsar regime to help the effort as a temporary measure. Yet under Trotsky the red army became a well-organised, trained and motivated force.
The start of the war, the area controlled by the reds was small and centred around the cities of Moscow and Petrograd. This area was the massively industrial so supplies and weapons could easily be produced and distributed. The rail network set-up from Moscow to the other industrial areas meant the army could be well equipped and transported. The capital was moved from the vulnerable area of Petrograd to Moscow. The economy was geared towards the effort of the war known as War communism. The food that would be needed to supply the army and workers was huge so all food was taking from the peasants which was hugely unpopular.
By early 1921, all the white strongholds were defeated and all allies after the treaty of Versailles decided it would be more appropriate to not continue another war. The military strategy was a lot more organised and skilful than that of the whites, giving decisive advantage to the reds. Credit also must go towards Trotsky as his sole leadership of the army meant he could defend the lands well and organised. The support of the reds was also key as for example the workers saw a more guarantee from the reds for gains. The greens or peasants did not like the aspect of the Bolsheviks but saw them as less of a threat than the whites with relation to their land.
