Russia Civil War

Key Terms, Events, Names: Brest – Litovsk, Sovnarkom, Cheka, The Whites, The Czech Legion, Comintern, General Anton Denikin, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Admiral Alexander Kolchak, General Peter Wrangel, General Nikolai Yudenich

Identify two groups portrayed as ‘filth’ in the representation?

Starter: ‘Comrade Lenin Sweeps the World Clean of Filth’

Identify two features of the representation that symbolise

class conflict in the new society?

Evaluate the extent to which the representation provides an accurate depiction of the policies and actions of the Bolsheviks from October

1917 to March 1918

Key Parties of the Russian Civil War

Make notes on who where the key players of the Russian Civil War and

why were they involved

The Whites: Key Players of the Russian

Civil War December 1917-1920: General Denikin’s southern threat - Denikin wanted to restore the old regime and commanded 150,000 soldiers who advanced through the Ukraine and Kiev close to Moscow. 1918-1920: Admiral Kolchak’s eastern threat - Kolchak hated socialism and focused on establishing a anti-Bolshevik government in Siberia. He commanded 100,000 soldiers and was supplied with 1 million rifles and 700 field guns by the Allies. Kolchak was described as having ‘the support of the entire outside world’. However, he resigned in January 1920 after 80% of his anti-Bolsheviks peasant conscripts deserted. He was shot by the Red Army. October 1919: General Yudenich’s north-western threat - General Yudenich led an army of 14400 Russian soldiers who had been captured and released by the Germans. They attacked Petrograd in October 1919 but were defeated by the Reds.

The Greens: Key Players of the Russian

Civil War • The Green Armies were a separate collection of peasant

and cossack forces that did not support the Reds or the Whites.

• They had their own interests and different reasons for engaging in the war.

• They demanded greater autonomy from Moscow and mostly operated in the outer provinces - an example was a group of 40,000 led by Antonov who managed to control the Tambov region successfully until 1921.

• The Green Armies became a serious problem for the government in 1920-1921 as they began to challenge the benefits of the 1917 Revolution - they did not want to be leaders of Russia but rather wanted local independence.

Foreign Intervention: Key Players of the Russian

Civil War • The Allied countries refused to recognise the Treaty of

Brest Litovsk and prefered to support a White government that would continue the war.

• Foreign intervention occurred in January 1918 when Lenin declared that all foreign debts be cancelled “unconditionally and without any exception” - saving 80 billion roubles in gold which was ⅔ of their total national wealth.

• Lenin also confiscated all foreign-owned property in Russia.

• As a consequence, foreign powers supported the White armies - although they were rarely involved in any actual fighting.

Foreign Intervention: Key Players of the Russian

Civil War • British threat - marines landed in two of Russia’s northern

ports, Archangel and Murmansk to provide support to White armies. Winston Churchill claimed that between 1918-1919 Great Britain had spend 70,000,000 pounds in support of anti-Bolshevik forces.

• French threat - supported the British at Archangel but were the first nation to withdraw in April 1919.

• Japanese threat - 70,000 troops to Siberia hoping to gain new territory.

• American threat - August 1918 - send troops to protect Tran-Siberian railway from the Japanese and to support Admiral Kolchak’s new government.

• Czech Legion - aligned themselves with anti-Bolshevik SRs to form an independent republic in the Volga region.

This 1919 Bolshevik poster shows the three White generals Denikin, Kolchak and Yudenich as three vicious dogs who are under the control of America, France and Britain.            Explain the meaning and symbolism of this poster.  

The Entente was the First World War alliance between Britain, France and Russia - this Bolshevik poster see an evil entente between Britain, France, America and the remaining supporters of the Tsar(A poem accompanied the picture.)

The Reasons the Reds Won!

On the next slides you will find some reasons as to why the Bolsheviks were able to win the civil war. Use the sources opposite to develop your understanding of each of these reasons and ensure that you record further contextual evidence as you go.

Identify also whether there were any additional reasons beyond the seven that have been stated.

For each reason highlight the Bolshevik advantages and the White disadvantages

BBC Bitsize – The Russian RevolutionWhy did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War

Why The Bolsheviks Won The War

Leadership

Geographical Position

Red & White Army Organisation

Foreign Intervention

Terror

War Communism

Propaganda

The Reasons the Reds Won!

Review the worksheet which is called ‘factors cards the reds success in civil war’.

Cut these cards out and reorder them as a diamond with the factor you feel was the most significant for the reds success at the top and the least significant at the bottom.

Glue these into your book or on a sheet a paper and give it a title.

Task 1: In groups of three come up with categories that you might use to sort the 10 causes given in the hexagons.

Task 2: From the notes that you took last lesson add any addition causes and/or further contextual detail to the the 10 causes given in the blank hexagons.

How did the Bolsheviks keep power after 1917?

 Connect

 The

 Causes

 Together

Task 3: Glue all the hexagons to the page in categories and show how the evidence you have given is linked by having the hexagon touch another.

Task 4: Draw lines between the different causes in other categories and on these lines explain how the causes are linked.

 Connect

 The

 Causes

 Together

How did the Bolsheviks keep power after 1917?

How important was the role of Trotsky?

Source Analysis: From what you have read on the leadership of the Reds during the Civil War and using the sources in the document ‘Trotsky and the Civil War’, write a paragraph explaining why Trotsky’s role in the Civil War was so important.

You must support your answer with evidence to justify your opinion.