Civil War

The Civil War of 1917 is associated with the confrontation of the "white" and "red". However, during the course of events, tactical attitudes were regularly adjusted, political movements formed different blocs.

Civil war took place not only in the struggle of the Bolsheviks with the White movement. Confrontation was with former allies (anarchists and left-wing Socialist-Revolutionaries), opponents were supporters of the Constituent Assembly.

It should be noted that the forces opposing Bolshevism had very little in common, and the resulting differences did not allow the creation of a full-fledged coalition. There was also national ferment, not related to the activities of a particular party. The Civil War in Russia was brewing .

The reasons for the confrontation were mainly related to the contradictions between the power that gained power and other socio-political movements.

After gaining power, the Bolsheviks began the persecution of organizations "against the revolution." At the same time, the hostility of the new government spread not only on the "erroneous cause of the revolution", but also on various estates (nobles, officers, merchants, Cossacks, priests and others). Resistance of different political forces became a response. Several anti-Bolshevik formations were formed at the beginning of 1918 ("Committee for the Salvation of the Revolution and the Motherland", "Committee for Public Salvation" and other organizations). In these formations the role of the Cadets was quite active.

The dispersal of the Constituent Assembly facilitated the beginning of the arming of the opponents of the Bolsheviks. Civil war in this period is characterized by a kind of intolerance. Part of the intelligentsia tried to stop fratricide, but to no avail.

It should be noted that until mid-1918 armed anti-Bolshevik speeches were not of a large scale character. The campaign of General Krasnov to Petrograd, the uprising of Ataman Kaledin on the Don and Ataman Dutov in the Southern Urals, the rebellion of the Junkers in October (1917) in Moscow and the other offensives were not coordinated.

The Civil War was more provoked by the Social Revolutionaries, who organized the uprising of the leaders of the Czechoslovak Corps.

The summer of 1918 is characterized by growing bitterness in the confrontation between the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Bolsheviks. By the same time, they began to show their disagreement with the policy of Bolshevik power and anarchists.

The split between the anarchists was caused by the Brest Peace. As a result, two currents were formed-supporters and opponents of Soviet power. Among the supporters of Bolshevism are such figures as Berg, Zheleznyakov, Furmanov. However, a larger proportion of the anarchists opposed the Soviet regime.

By the autumn of 1918 the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks began to experience an ideological and organizational crisis. Speaking against Bolshevism, the Socialist-Revolutionaries did not find the support of the Whites. Moreover, Kolchak and Denikin's officers expressed open contempt for them.

The most consistent of all opponents of Bolshevism is the white movement. His ideologists (Struve, Lvov, Shulgin) tried to unite their activities on the basis of the national idea, which presupposed a struggle aimed at reviving a strong statehood.

As a military force, the white current began to form in the beginning of 1918, with the formation of volunteer units in Novocherkassk Alekseev, Kaledin, Kornilov. By the end of the year the army of volunteers was headed by General Denikin.

The white movement was defeated. There was it for many reasons. One of the main historians is the lack of peasant support. People often spoke out for the Reds and for the Whites, and often resisted both.

After the elimination of the white movement, the civil war by the Bolsheviks was not yet over. The insurrection of the Antonov army was suppressed in Tambov province.

At the end of the war, the Kronstadt mutiny of the Baltic sailors, which were at the beginning of the hostilities the shock force of the Reds, was extremely cruelly suppressed.