Including War Communism & New Economic Policy (briefly) The Civil War Including War Communism & New Economic Policy (briefly)

The Civil War Lasted 3 years-ish – Winter of 1917-18 to 1921 Appalling Initially, most serious enemy for Bolsheviks = Germans until Treaty of Brest- Litovsk (3 March 1918). Bs had many other enemies – international & domestic.

Millions died in combat, from hunger, cold & disease. Approx. 300,000 war dead + same number of executions. Famine during & when fighting stopped = millions more RIP Many facets – ‘Reds v Whites’, ‘Proletariat v bourgeoisie’, ‘Class war’ Fought on 3 main fronts – southern, eastern & north-western.

Reds, whites, greens, blacks?

‘White’ forces General Iudenich General Denikin Admiral Kolchak Foreign forces

Reasons for the Civil War - enemies Many enemies at home – all anxious to dislodge Bs: Constituent Assembly Social Revolutionaries (won election, denied power) Landlords who lost their land Supporters of Tsar National groups wanting independence Generals + troops opp. to humiliating terms of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Enemies abroad – Allies sent forces to support Whites because they were… Angry re: Russia made peace with Germany Wanted to destroy B regime in case it spread rev. in Europe. The Czech legion… Bs quarreled with Czech ex-POWs Angry Czechs…took over Trans-Siberian Railway, gave protection to ‘White’ (anti-B) groups, formed Czech legion & marched to Moscow.

Aim of the Reds Survive & retain power at any cost Satisfy the people & build socialism Hold on to the Russian heartland

The war End of 1918 – Not going well for Reds. Mid-1919 – big test. Trotsky organized Red Army. Whites did not attack together – Trotsky able to deal with attacks on at a time Mid-1919 – big test. Lack of cooperation amongst Whites again issue. Main threat over by 1920 – war lingered on, particularly in Poland. Fighting was bitter & cruel. Both sides guilty of atrocities.

Why did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War? Popularity – reforms, >Whites Unity v disunity – singleness of purpose v different groups w no leader Allied intervention Terror – the CHEKA Propaganda War communism – kept Red Army supplied Resources – Bs controlled main cities, factories & railways Leadership Trotsky – created ‘Red Army’, enforced strict discipline, outstanding military strategist. Geography

The results of the Bolshevik victory The survival of Bolshevik rule The extension of Bolshevik control over a wider area Famine, industrial collapse, and the New Economic Policy

War Communism Extreme form of state control Aims: To ensure Red Army fed & equipped. To introduce system of Communism. Term only used later, at the time it was simply Bs attempts to introduce Communism & win Civil War.

War Communism How it worked: Nationalisation: Workers: Peasants: Factories >10 workers taken over by state. Supreme Council of National Economy decided what each factory should produce (Vesenkha, est. Dec 1917) Workers: Military discipline in factories. Strikes illegal – strikers could be shot. Peasants: Forced to give all surplus to Govt. No longer allowed to sell it for profit. Rationing: Food rationed in cities. Money: To meet expenses Govt printed masses of money = inflation – Govt. allowed money to lose its value. Many money payments abolished (e.g. rents, fares). Barter

War Communism Results: Govt. managed to feed & equip army (5 million). Resentment & hardship Peasants stopped producing surplus food, caused… 1919-20 – Food shortages. 1921 – Famine – 7 million died. Hunger, low wages & discontent. Industrial output↓. 1921 – Kronstadt mutiny.

Civil War propaganda

‘The Red Wedge is the White’s death’ 1920

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.

Foreign Propaganda – anti-Bolshevik

The Red & White Terror Ferocity & sheer brutality Atrocities by both sides The Red Terror Bolsheviks employed terror as deliberate choice Cheka formed shortly after Oct Rev Purpose = defend the revolution & destroy its enemies no matter the cost As threats ↑, so too did justification for the terror. At first, aimed at ‘the bourgeois class enemy’. As civil war cont. became more indiscriminate – members of all classes targeted The White Terror Whites responded in kind Atrocities: Kharkov – prisoners scalped & skin removed like gloves Odessa – White officers boiled Kiev – prisoners buried alive with decomposing bodies Vorenezh – prisoners rolled in spiked barrels Ukraine – anti-Jewish pograms by Whites