The Bolshevik Consolidation of Power and the Civil War » Reds Against Whites: The Russian Civil War
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Section A, Investigation A2, Key topic 4
- Who fought the Russian Civil War: the Reds, the Whites, their foreign backers and the Greens
- The key events of the war from 1918 to 1921
- What happened to the Tsar and his family
- How to answer an 8-mark 'How far does Source A support Source B?' question
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Unlock This CourseTwo sides, and a third
The Bolsheviks had taken power in Petrograd, but they did not yet control Russia. Within months, a huge civil war began. It lasted mainly from 1918 to 1920, with the last revolts and fighting running into 1921. Millions of people died, most of them from hunger and disease as well as in battle.
Key terms:
- Reds: the Bolsheviks and their Red Army, fighting to keep power
- Whites: the many groups, led mostly by former tsarist officers, who fought to remove the Bolsheviks
- Greens: armed peasant bands who fought against both Reds and Whites
- Allied intervention: the sending of troops and supplies into Russia by foreign countries, mainly Britain, France, the USA and Japan
- Czech Legion: tens of thousands of Czech and Slovak former prisoners of war who were trying to leave Russia to fight on the Western Front
🔴 The Reds
The Bolsheviks held the centre: Moscow and Petrograd, with most of the railways and factories. They fought as one government with one army.
⚪ The Whites
Not one army, but several. They held the edges of Russia and agreed on little except hating the Bolsheviks. Some wanted the Tsar back, some wanted a democracy, and some just wanted to rule themselves.
🌳 The Greens
Peasants who hid in forests and villages. Both Reds and Whites took their grain and horses and drafted their sons, so the Greens fought back against both.
The Whites and their foreign backers
The main White leaders each had their own area:
- Admiral Kolchak in Siberia. In November 1918 he made himself 'Supreme Ruler' at Omsk.
- General Denikin in the south, leading the Volunteer Army.
- General Yudenich in the north-west, near the Baltic.
- General Wrangel, who took over from Denikin and held the Crimea in 1920.
Foreign countries joined in. At first, Britain, France and the USA wanted to stop war supplies falling into German hands and to keep Russia fighting. They were also angry that the Bolsheviks had made peace with Germany. British troops landed at Murmansk and Archangel in 1918, and the USA, Japan and others sent troops to Vladivostok. Japan sent the most men and stayed until 1922. After the First World War ended in November 1918, the foreign governments sent mostly weapons, uniforms and advisers to the Whites. By 1920 most of their troops had gone home.
The Greens included the peasant armies of Ukraine led by Nestor Makhno, who fought the Whites and the Reds at different times.
Key events, 1918 to 1921
1918: the war begins
- May: the Czech Legion, travelling east along the Trans-Siberian Railway, clashed with the Bolsheviks and seized towns along the line. This gave anti-Bolshevik forces in Siberia and the Volga a base.
- July: the Tsar and his family were killed (see below).
- August: foreign troops landed at Archangel and Vladivostok.
- November: Kolchak took power in Siberia.
1919: the Whites come closest
- Spring: Kolchak advanced west from Siberia, but the Red Army drove him back. He was captured and shot in February 1920.
- October: Denikin reached Orel, less than 400 kilometres from Moscow, and Yudenich reached the edge of Petrograd. Both were beaten back within weeks.
1920 to 1921: the Reds finish the war
- 1920: Poland attacked Russia in April and took Kyiv. The Red Army drove the Poles back almost to Warsaw, but was beaten there in August. The war ended with the Treaty of Riga in March 1921.
- November 1920: the Red Army broke into the Crimea and Wrangel's fleet took well over 100,000 soldiers and civilians out of the country.
- 1921: Greens and other peasant groups kept up revolts against Bolshevik rule, but the main fighting was over.
Why the Reds won is the subject of the next lesson, Why the Bolsheviks Won the Civil War.
The fate of the Tsar and his family
After he abdicated in 1917, Nicholas II was held under guard. In April 1918 he, his wife Alexandra and their five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei, were moved to Yekaterinburg in the Urals and held in the Ipatiev House. As the Czech Legion and White forces came closer, the local Bolshevik leaders, the Ural Soviet, decided the family must not be rescued.
In the early hours of 17 July 1918 the whole family was shot, along with four members of their household, including their doctor. White troops took the city a week later. The killing showed how bitter the war had become. It also ended any chance that a White victory could put Nicholas back on the throne. Historians still discuss how far Bolshevik leaders in Moscow, including Lenin, ordered or approved the decision.
Common mistakes
- Writing that the Whites were one army with one leader. They were separate armies with different aims, far apart from each other.
- Forgetting the Greens. They were neither Red nor White, and they fought both.
- Saying that foreign armies fought most of the war. Foreign troops were few and most left by 1920. Their main help to the Whites was supplies.
- Saying the Tsar was killed in Petrograd or Moscow. It was at Yekaterinburg, in July 1918.
Exam-style question
This is a Paper 2 Section A (b) question. You compare two sources only. You do not need your own knowledge. Show where the sources agree and where they differ, then judge how far A supports B.
Source A: From a public statement by the United States Government about Russia, 3 August 1918.
... the only present object for which American troops will be employed will be to guard military stores ... With such objects in view the Government of the United States is now cooperating with the Governments of France and Great Britain in the neighborhood of Murmansk and Archangel.
Source B: From a letter of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) to party organisations, written by Lenin, July 1919 (translated).
The British and French capitalists have failed in their plan to conquer the Ukraine using their own troops; ... The foreign capitalists are now making a desperate effort to restore the yoke of capital by means of an onslaught by Denikin, whom they have supplied with officers, shells, tanks, etc., etc., as they once did Kolchak.
Study Sources A and B. How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about the part played by foreign countries in Russia? Explain your answer. [8 marks]
Model answer
Source A supports Source B on some points. Both show that foreign countries, and Britain and France in particular, were active in Russia. A says the USA is 'cooperating with the Governments of France and Great Britain' at Murmansk and Archangel, and B says 'British and French capitalists' made a 'plan to conquer the Ukraine using their own troops'. Both also show foreign governments committing resources in Russia, because A refers to 'American troops' being 'employed' and B says Denikin was 'supplied with officers, shells, tanks'.
However, the sources differ greatly on the purpose of this involvement. A says the 'only present object' is 'to guard military stores', which makes it sound limited and defensive. B says foreign countries are trying 'to restore the yoke of capital' and have 'supplied' Denikin for an 'onslaught', so it describes active support for one side in the war. They also differ on who is involved: A is about American troops guarding stores in the north, while B does not mention the USA and is about British and French help to the Whites.
Overall, Source A supports Source B only a little. They agree that Britain and France were involved in Russia, but they disagree about what that involvement was for, which is the main point of B.
What lifts this to the top level: it matches short quotations from both sources for agreement and for difference, and it ends with a judgement on how far A supports B.
Exam tip
Quote from both sources in every paragraph. Do not use your own knowledge and do not decide which source is right. Write about agreement, then difference, then give a one-sentence verdict that says 'only a little', 'quite well' or 'largely'.