Cause: The Red Army (a Soviet Communist army created by the Bolshevik government) successfully defended the newly-formed Communist government against various Russian and anti-Bolshevik armies. Russia’s poor performance in WWI was a primary cause of the Revolution in 1917 which eventually led to the Civil War. The Civil War lasted from 1918-1920.
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Aftermath: After the Red Army won and the White Army surrendered, the Communists took full control of the Russian government. The government became known as Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. The victory of the Communists in the civil war is indeed mainly due to this simple fact of military superiority, reinforced by the fact that, holding the central core of European Russia throughout the war, they could plan operations and move men more easily than their enemies. After the war ended, Communist Russia took hold and became infamous for their Communist ideals for nearly the next century.
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Important People:
Bolsheviks: They were also referred as the “Reds.” They were the majority Communist Party in Russia. They were the party that everyone tried to oppose (needing outside help in order to oppose the powerful party.) Lenin Vladimir: Helped create the Soviet Union and Communist era-Russia. He was the leader of the Bolshevik party. A smart tactic he employed was that all food supplies went first to the soldiers, then to the people in the cities, which caused many men to flock to the Red Army. He eventually died in battle. The Whites: What the anti-Bolshevik army was called. They were against Communism. Their forces comprised of Finnish, Ukrainian, Russian and German forces. |
MORE INFORMATION ON THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR
Here is an animated video that explains what caused the tensions from the Russian Revolution that led to the Russian Civil War. An easy explanation of the Russian Civil War.
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The Red Terror: The Red Terror was the Bolsehvik-instigated campaign of arrests, torture, execution and intimidation of the protestors of the Bolshevik’s corrupt power. The Social Revolutionary Party were among the first victims of the Red Terror; in one incident over 800 Social Revolutionary soldiers were killed or detained into labor camps.
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The Rise of Stalin: After the death of Lenin Vladimir, all of Russia’s prominent political figures were grabbing for power. At first, a prominent soldier of the Red Army named Trotsky held control. Eventually, after much criticism and threats, Stalin rose to power and created the Communist-era Russia we know today.
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RESOURCES
- Britannica, T. E. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved from Russian Civil War: https://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Civil-War
-C N Trueman "The Russian Civil War.”historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 22 May 2015. 17 Apr 2018.
-J. Llewellyn et al, “The Red Terror” at Alpha History,
http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/red-terror/,2014, accessed April 7th, 2018.
-C N Trueman "The Russian Civil War.”historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 22 May 2015. 17 Apr 2018.
-J. Llewellyn et al, “The Red Terror” at Alpha History,
http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/red-terror/,2014, accessed April 7th, 2018.