Why did the Bolsheviks sign the shameful Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Brest peace - conditions, reasons, significance of signing a peace treaty

October 26, 1917 II All-Russian Congress of Soviets at the suggestion of V.I. adopted the famous "Decree on Peace", which outlined the program for Russia's withdrawal from the First World War. In particular, this document contained a proposal to all the governments of the belligerent countries to immediately stop hostilities on all fronts and start negotiations on the conclusion of a general democratic peace without annexations and indemnities and on conditions of complete self-determination of the peoples regarding their future fate.

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In Soviet historiography (A. Chubaryan, K. Gusev, G. Nikolnikov, N. Yakupov, A. Bovin), the “Decree on Peace” was traditionally considered as the first and important stage in the formation and development of the “Leninist peace-loving foreign policy of the Soviet state”, based on the cornerstone principle of the peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems. In reality, Lenin's "Decree on Peace" could in no way lay the foundations for a new foreign policy doctrine of Soviet Russia, because:

He pursued a purely pragmatic goal - the withdrawal of dilapidated and exhausted Russia from the state of war;

The Bolsheviks considered the revolution in Russia not as an end in itself, but as the first and inevitable stage in the beginning of the world proletarian (socialist) revolution.

November 8 People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky sent the text of the "Decree on Peace" to the ambassadors of all the allied powers, inviting the leaders of these states to immediately stop hostilities at the front and sit down at the negotiating table, but this call was completely ignored by the Entente countries. November 9, 1917 to the commander-in-chief N.N. Dukhonin was instructed to immediately turn to the command of the Fourth Bloc countries with a proposal to end hostilities and start peace negotiations with them. General N.N. Dukhonin refused to comply with this order, for which he was immediately declared an "enemy of the people" and removed from his post, which was taken by Ensign N.V. Krylenko. A little later, upon the arrival of N.V. Krylenko to Mogilev, General N.N. Dukhonin was first arrested and then killed at the staff car by drunken sailors, and the new Commander-in-Chief immediately followed the instructions of the Central Committee on this issue.

On November 14, 1917, representatives of the German and Austro-Hungarian military leadership informed the Soviet side of their agreement to stop hostilities on the Eastern Front and begin the process of peace negotiations. On November 20, 1917, the first round of negotiations between Russia and the countries of the Quadruple Bloc began in Brest-Litovsk, at which the leadership of the Soviet delegation represented by A.A. Ioffe (chairman of the mission), L.B. Kameneva, G.Ya. Sokolnikov and L.M. Karakhan immediately announced a declaration of principles, in which they again proposed to conclude a democratic peace treaty without annexations and indemnities. Having received no response to their proposal, the Soviet side refused to conclude a formal truce and took a week-long time-out.

On November 27, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR approved the "Outline of the peace talks program", compiled by V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin and L.B. Kamenev, in which the idea of ​​concluding a general democratic peace was reaffirmed, and three days later the negotiation process resumed in Brest-Litovsk. The result of new negotiations was the signing on December 2, 1917 of an armistice agreement for a period of one month, until January 1, 1918.

On December 9, 1917, a new round of negotiations began, in which the head of the Soviet delegation, A.A. Ioffe announced the declaration "On the principles of universal democratic peace", consisting of six main points. In this declaration, based on the main provisions of the Peace Decree and the Outline of the Peace Negotiation Program, the main components of a democratic peace were once again concretized: "refusal of annexations and indemnities" and "complete self-determination of peoples".

On December 12, 1917, the Austrian Foreign Minister O. Chernin announced a response note to the Soviet side, which stated that the countries of the Quadruple Bloc agreed to immediately conclude a peace treaty with all Entente countries without annexations and indemnities. But for the Soviet delegation, this turn of events was so unexpected that its head, A.A. Ioffe suggested a ten-day break. The opposing side rejected this proposal, and three days later the head of the German delegation, Richard von Kuhlmann, who, by the way, while holding the post of State Secretary (Minister) of Foreign Affairs, was personally involved in the financial support of the Bolshevik Pravda, directly laid claim to the possession of all of Poland, Lithuania , Courland, part of Estonia and Livonia, whose peoples "they themselves expressed a desire to come under the protection of Germany." Naturally, the Soviet delegation categorically refused to discuss this proposal, and a break was announced in the work of the peace conference.

People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky once again tried to give the peace talks a general character and addressed with a repeated note to the governments of the Entente countries to sit down at the negotiating table, but he did not receive an answer to his message. In this situation, fearing that the negotiations in Brest would take on an openly separate character, at the suggestion of V.I. Lenin, the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR decided to move the peace talks to the capital of neutral Sweden, the city of Stockholm. The Austro-German side rejected this trick of the Soviet government, and Brest-Litovsk remained the place to continue negotiations. At the same time, representatives of the countries of the Quadruple Alliance, referring to the fact that the Entente countries remained deaf to the proposal to conclude a "general democratic peace", abandoned their own declaration on December 12, which seriously aggravated the negotiation process itself.

On December 27, 1917, the second round of the peace conference in Brest-Litovsk began, at which the Soviet delegation was already headed by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky. A new round of negotiations, at the suggestion of the oracle of the revolution, began with an empty theoretical dispute about the state and the right of nations to self-determination. This political chatter, which had become rather annoying for the opposing side, was soon stopped, and on January 5, 1918, the delegation of the countries of the Quadruple Union in an ultimatum presented the Soviet side with new conditions for a separate peace - the rejection from Russia not only of the entire Baltic region and Poland, but also of a significant part of Belarus.

On the same day, at the suggestion of the head of the Soviet delegation, a break was announced in the negotiations. L.D. Trotsky, having received a letter from V.I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin, was forced to urgently leave for Petrograd, where he had to give his explanations about his new position regarding the further conduct of negotiations, which he outlined in a letter addressed to V.I. Lenin on January 2, 1918. The essence of the new position of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs was extremely simple: “We stop the war, we demobilize the army, but we don’t sign peace.” In Soviet historical science, the position of L.D. Trotsky has always been interpreted in derogatory tones and expressions as the position of a "political prostitute" and a traitor to the interests of the working class and the working peasantry. In reality, this position, which was initially supported by V.I. Lenin, was absolutely logical and extremely pragmatic:

1) Since the Russian army cannot, and most importantly, does not want to fight, it is necessary to completely disband the old imperial army, and stop fighting at the front.

2) Since the opposing side is categorically in favor of a separate peace treaty, which threatens the Bolsheviks with a loss of reputation in the eyes of the world proletariat, a separate treaty with the enemy should by no means be concluded.

3) It is necessary to drag out the negotiating process as long as possible, in the hope that in Germany and other European powers the fire of the world proletarian revolution will flare up in the near future, which will put everything in its place.

4) Refusal to sign a separate treaty with the countries of the Quadruple Alliance will not formally give the Entente countries a reason to launch military intervention against Soviet Russia, which has violated its allied duty.

5) Finally, the refusal to sign a peace treaty will significantly smooth out the contradictions that have already arisen both within the ruling Bolshevik party and in relations between the Bolsheviks and the Left SRs.

By mid-January 1918, the latter circumstance began to acquire paramount importance. At this time, the “left communists” headed by N.I. Bukharin, F.E. Dzerzhinsky, M.S. Uritsky, K.B. Radek and A.M. Kollontai. This rather noisy and influential faction of the Bolsheviks, which was supported by a number of leaders of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party (B.D. Kamkov, P.P. Proshyan), categorically opposed any agreements with the enemy and declared that only a “revolutionary war” with the German imperialism will save the Bolsheviks from the universal disgrace of the accomplices of world capital and create the necessary conditions for kindling the fire of the world proletarian revolution. Moreover, at this time B.D. Kamkov and P.P. Proshyan turned to K.B. Radek, N.I. Bukharin and G.L. Pyatakov with a proposal to arrest the entire Council of People's Commissars headed by V.I. Lenin and form a new government consisting of Left Social Revolutionaries and Left Communists, which could be headed by Georgy Leonidovich Pyatakov, but this proposal was rejected by them.

In the meantime, another principled approach to solving this problem was outlined in the party leadership, which was expressed by V.I. Lenin. The essence of his new position, which he reached at the end of December 1917, was also extremely simple: to conclude a separate peace with Germany and its allies at any cost.

In historical science, the question of the motives that prompted the leader of the revolution to such a political conclusion, which ran counter to all the postulates of orthodox Marxism, has long been discussed.

Soviet historians (A. Chubaryan, K. Gusev, A. Bovin) claimed that V.I. Lenin came to this conviction under the pressure of harsh objective circumstances, namely the complete disintegration of the old Russian army and the uncertainty about the timing of the proletarian revolution in Europe, primarily in Germany itself.

Their opponents, mainly from the liberal camp (D. Volkogonov, Yu. Felshtinsky, O. Budnitsky), are sure that, while advocating extremely harshly for the conclusion of a separate peace with Germany, V.I. Lenin only fulfilled his obligations to his German sponsors, who generously forked out for the October Revolution.

On January 8, 1918, after discussing the new Leninist theses at an enlarged meeting of the Central Committee, an open vote was held, which clearly showed the alignment of forces in the top party leadership: the position of N.I. Bukharin was supported by 32 participants in this meeting, for L.D. Trotsky was voted by 16 participants, and the position of V.I. Lenin was supported by only 15 members of the Central Committee. On January 11, 1918, the discussion of this issue was submitted to the Plenum of the Central Committee, where the position of L.D. was supported by a small majority. Trotsky. This situation forced V.I. Lenin to make partial adjustments to his previous position: no longer insisting on the immediate conclusion of peace, he proposed to delay the process of negotiations with the Germans in every possible way. The next day, the Trotskyist slogan "no war, no peace" was approved by a majority vote at a joint meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) and the PLSR, which was immediately formalized as a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. Thus, all supporters of peace in both ruling parties, in particular members of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) V.I. Lenin, G.E. Zinoviev, I.V. Stalin, Ya.M. Sverdlov, G.Ya. Sokolnikov, I.T. Smilga, A.F. Sergeev, M.K. Muranov and E.D. Stasov, and members of the Central Committee of the PLSR M.A. Spiridonova, A.L. Kolegaev, V.E. Trutovsky, B.F. Malkin and A.A. Bidenko again remained in the minority. On January 14, 1918, the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets approved a resolution reflecting the position of L.D. Trotsky, and on the same day the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs left for Brest-Litovsk, where on January 17 the third round of peace negotiations began.

Meanwhile, in Brest itself, negotiations were in full swing between the Austro-German representatives and the leadership of the Ukrainian People's Rada (N.A. Lyublinsky), whose government the Bolsheviks recognized back in December 1917. On January 27, 1918, immediately after the signing of a separate treaty with the government of the Ukrainian People We are glad that the delegation of the Quadruple Alliance in an ultimatum demanded that the Soviet side immediately respond to its terms of the peace treaty.

The next day, L.D. Trotsky, on behalf of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, announced a declaration in which:

1) it was announced the termination of the state of war between Russia and the countries of the Quadruple Bloc - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria, as well as the complete demobilization of the old Russian army;

In Soviet historiography (A. Chubaryan, K. Gusev), this ultimatum of the head of the Soviet delegation was always regarded as another act of vile betrayal on the part of the “Jewish Trotsky”, who violated the oral agreement with V.I. Lenin that after the new "German ultimatum we sign a peace treaty."

Modern Russian historians, including outspoken apologists L.D. Trotsky (A. Pantsov), they say that the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs acted in strict accordance with the decision of the Central Committee of both ruling parties and the resolution of the III All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and their oral agreement with V.I. Lenin clearly contradicted them.

February 14, 1918 declaration by L.D. Trotsky received official support at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and its chairman Ya.M. Sverdlov, and a day later the German command in the person of Leopold of Bavaria and Max Hoffmann announced the end of the truce and the resumption of hostilities along the entire front from noon on February 18. In this situation, on the evening of February 17, 1918, an emergency meeting of the Central Committee was convened, at which six of the eleven members of the highest party Areopagus, namely L.D. Trotsky, N.I. Bukharin, M.S. Uritsky, G.I. Lomov, N.N. Krestinsky, A.A. Ioffe, spoke out against the resumption of the negotiation process in Brest.

The Germans launched an offensive at the front and by the end of February 19 occupied Polotsk and Dvinsk. In this critical situation, at a new meeting of the Central Committee, with seven votes in favor, it was decided to immediately resume the peace process. In this situation, L.D. Trotsky announced his resignation from the post of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, and the leader of the left communists N.I. Bukharin - about his withdrawal from the Central Committee and the editorial board of Pravda.

On February 23, 1918, the Soviet government was presented with new conditions for a separate peace treaty and a very strict framework for signing and ratifying it. In particular, the German side demanded that all of Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Estonia and part of Belarus be torn away from Russia, as well as the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops from the territory of Finland and Ukraine, and the signing of a similar peace treaty with the government of the Central Rada.

On the same day, a new meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) was convened, at which the votes on the German ultimatum were distributed as follows: seven members of the Central Committee voted “for” its adoption - V.I. Lenin, I.V. Stalin, G.E. Zinoviev, Ya.M. Sverdlov, G.Ya. Sokolnikov, I.T. Smilga and E.D. Stasova, "against" - four members of the highest party Areopagus - N.I. Bukharin, A.S. Bubnov, G.I. Lomov and M.S. Uritsky, and "abstained" - also four members of the Central Committee - L.D. Trotsky, F.E. Dzerzhinsky, A.A. Ioffe and N.N. Krestinsky. Thus, at the most critical moment, when the issue of retaining one's own power was being decided, the majority of the members of the Central Committee "trembled" and voted for the conclusion of an "obscene" peace with the Germans.

On February 24, at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, after an extremely tense discussion, the Bolshevik resolution on the adoption of new terms of the peace treaty was approved by a small majority. And late in the evening of the same day, a new Soviet delegation consisting of G.Ya. left for Brest-Litovsk to sign a peace treaty with the countries of the Quadruple Bloc. Sokolnikova, L.M. Karakhan, G.V. Chicherin and G.I. Petrovsky.

On March 3, 1918, the leaders of both delegations signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, under the terms of which:

A vast territory of more than 1 million square meters was torn away from Soviet Russia. kilometers, on which more than 56 million people lived - the entire territory of Poland, the Baltic States, Ukraine, part of Belarus and Turkish Armenia;

Soviet Russia had to pay the countries of the Quadruple Alliance a huge military indemnity in the amount of six billion gold marks and agree to the complete transfer of all industrial enterprises and mines, where before the war 90% of all coal was mined and more than 70% of iron and steel were smelted.

According to V.I. Lenin, in such humiliating and "obscene" conditions of the Brest peace treaty, which the Soviet government was forced to sign, were to blame, first of all, "our unfortunate leftists Bukharin, Lomov, Uritsky and Co." Moreover, a number of Soviet and Russian historians (Yu. Emelyanov) argue that not a single theoretical or political mistake of N.I. Bukharin did not have such catastrophic consequences for our country and tens of millions of its citizens.

On March 8, 1918, at the emergency VII Congress of the RCP (b), the terms of the Brest Peace Treaty after a sharp controversy between V.I. Lenin and N.I. Bukharin were passed by a significant majority, since the majority of his delegates agreed with Lenin's argument that the international world revolution was for the time being just a beautiful fairy tale and nothing more. On March 15, 1918, after no less heated and heated discussion at the IV Extraordinary Congress of Soviets, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was ratified by roll call and entered into force.

In historical science, there are still diametrically opposed assessments of the Brest peace treaty, which largely depend on the political and ideological views of their authors. In particular, V.I. Lenin, who did not have any sympathy for the patriarchal thousand-year-old Russia, directly called the Brest Treaty "Tilsit" and "obscene" peace, but vital to the salvation of the power of the Bolsheviks. The same assessments were shared by Soviet historians (A. Chubaryan, A. Bovin, Yu. Emelyanov), who were forced to talk about the brilliant insight and political wisdom of the leader, who foresaw the imminent military defeat of Germany and the annulment of this treaty. In addition, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was traditionally regarded as the first victory of the young Soviet diplomacy, which laid the foundations for the peace-loving foreign policy of the USSR.

In modern science, the assessments of the Brest Treaty have changed significantly.

Historians of the liberal persuasion (A. Pantsov, Yu. Felshtinsky) believe that this agreement was not a victory, but the first major defeat of the Bolshevik course to prepare for the world proletarian revolution. At the same time, this peace became a kind of maneuver in the field of tactics and a short-term retreat of the Bolsheviks on the tortuous and difficult path of struggle for the victory of the world socialist revolution.

Historians of a patriotic persuasion (N. Narochnitskaya) are convinced that for V. Lenin and other leaders of Bolshevism, the Russian proletarian revolution was a kind of “bunch of brushwood” capable of igniting the fire of the world proletarian revolution. Therefore, the Brest Treaty was a direct betrayal of the national interests of Russia, which marked the beginning of its collapse and the most difficult Civil War.

2. "Left SR rebellion" and its political consequences

After the ratification of the Brest peace treaty, the "left communists" did not give up hope for its denunciation. In particular, in May 1918 at the Moscow Conference of the RCP(b) N.I. Bukharin, N.V. Osinsky and D.B. Ryazanov (Goldenbach) again called for the denunciation of the Brest Treaty, but the majority of the delegates of this party forum did not support their proposal.

Another attempt to denounce the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was the "Left SR rebellion" that took place in Moscow on July 6-7, 1918. The events associated with this rebellion looked like this: The Cheka, under a plausible pretext, entered the German embassy and, having killed the German ambassador, Count V. Mirbach, hid in the headquarters of the Cheka troops, which was headed by their fellow party member Dmitry Popov.

After the accomplishment of this terrorist act, V.I. Lenin and Ya.M. Sverdlov went to the German embassy, ​​and the chairman of the Cheka, F.E. Dzerzhinsky went to the headquarters of the Cheka troops to arrest Ya. G. Blyumkin and N.A. Andreeva. Upon arrival at the place of F.E. Dzerzhinsky was taken under arrest, and the headquarters of the Cheka troops, on the orders of D.I. Popov was turned into an impregnable fortress, where more than 600 well-armed Chekists dug in.

Upon learning of the arrest of F.E. Dzerzhinsky, V.I. Lenin instructed to arrest the entire faction of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries who took part in the work of the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and to take their leader Maria Spiridonova as a hostage in exchange for saving the life of F.E. Dzerzhinsky. At the same time, the commander of the division of the Latvian riflemen I.I. Vatsetis was ordered to storm the mansion of the Cheka troops and suppress the "Left SR rebellion". On the night of July 7, 1918, a division of Latvian riflemen, with the support of field artillery, launched an assault on the headquarters of the Cheka troops, which ended in the complete defeat of the rebels and the release of F.E. Dzerzhinsky.

The trial of the rebels was quick and just: several hundred people, including Ya.G. Blyumkin and N.A. Andreev, were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, and the immediate inspirer and leader of this rebellion, Deputy Chairman of the Cheka V.A. Aleksandrovich was shot. The same result ended with the new “Left SR rebellion”, raised in Simbirsk by the commander of the Eastern Front, the Left SR M.A. Muravyov, who was shot dead on July 10, 1918 upon arrival for negotiations in the building of the provincial executive committee.

In Soviet and Russian historical science (K. Gusev, A. Velidov, A. Kiselev), it was traditionally asserted that the July events in Moscow and Simbirsk were deliberately organized by the leadership of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party (M.A. Spiridonova, P.P. Proshyan), who not only wanted to denounce the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, but also, having provoked a government crisis, to remove from power the Bolshevik Party, which, planting kombeds, began to pursue a disastrous economic course in the countryside.

In foreign historiography (Yu. Felshtinsky), there is a rather exotic version, which says that the so-called “Left SR rebellion” was organized by “left communists”, in particular, the head of the Cheka, F.E. Dzerzhinsky, who also sought to denounce the "obscene" Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and kindle the fire of the world proletarian revolution.

In our opinion, there are much more white spots and unsolved mysteries in the history of this rebellion than it seems at first glance, since researchers have not been able to properly answer even two completely obvious questions:

1) why exactly the chairman of the Cheka F.E. Dzerzhinsky personally went to the headquarters of the Cheka troops to arrest the killers of the German ambassador;

2) if the decision to kill the German ambassador was sanctioned by the Central Committee of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party, then why is its entire faction, including M.A. Spiridonov, calmly waited for her isolation and arrest on the sidelines of the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets.

Speaking essentially, it should be recognized that the July events in Moscow and Simbirsk drew a line under the period of development of Soviet statehood on a two-party basis and became the starting point for the formation of a one-party Bolshevik system in the country. During this period, the activities of all Socialist-Revolutionary, Menshevik and anarchist groups and parties, the existence of which still created the illusion of proletarian-peasant democracy in the country, were banned.

The Brest Treaty itself was denounced by the Soviet government on November 13, 1918, that is, exactly one day after the surrender of Germany and its military allies to the Entente countries, which put a long-awaited end to the First World War.

The direct result of the Brest Peace and the suppression of the "Left SR rebellion" was the adoption of the first Constitution of the RSFSR. According to most authors (O. Chistyakov, S. Leonov, I. Isaev), for the first time the issue of creating the first Soviet Constitution was discussed at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on March 30, 1918. On April 1, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee formed a constitutional commission, in which included representatives of his three party factions (Bolsheviks, Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, Maximalist Socialist-Revolutionaries) and representatives of the six leading people's commissariats - for military and naval affairs, for nationalities, internal affairs, justice, finance and the Supreme Economic Council. Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee Ya.M. Sverdlov.

During the work on the draft Constitution, which lasted more than three months, a number of fundamental disagreements arose on the following issues:

1) the federal structure of the state;

2) the system of local Soviet authorities;

3) the social and economic foundations of Soviet power, etc.

In particular, representatives of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (V.A. Algasov, A.A. Schreider) and Maximalist Socialist-Revolutionaries (A.I. Berdnikov) very persistently suggested:

1) to base the Soviet federation on the administrative-territorial principle of state structure with the provision of the broadest possible rights to all subjects of the federation to manage their own territories;

2) liquidate the lower levels of the Soviet state system and replace them with traditional rural assemblies, which, having lost their political functions, turned into municipal authorities;

3) carry out total socialization of property and tighten the principles of universal labor service, etc.

During a heated and lengthy debate, in which many prominent Bolsheviks took part, including V.I. Lenin, Ya.M. Sverdlov, I.V. Stalin, N.I. Bukharin, L.M. Reisner, M.F. Latsis and M.N. Pokrovsky, these proposals were rejected. The final draft of the Soviet Constitution was approved by a special commission of the Central Committee of the RCP (b), headed by V.I. Lenin.

On July 4, 1918, this project was submitted for consideration by the V All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and already on July 10, the congress delegates approved the first Constitution of the RSFSR and elected a new composition of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, consisting entirely of Bolsheviks.

The main provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic were enshrined in six separate sections:

2) general provisions of the Constitution of the RSFSR;

3) the construction of Soviet power;

4) active and passive suffrage;

5) budget law;

6) about the emblem and flag of the RSFSR.

The Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People, which was fully included in the Constitution of the RSFSR, determined the political and social basis of the new Soviet statehood - the power of the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies and "the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the poorest peasantry in order to completely suppress the bourgeoisie, abolish the exploitation of man by man and establish socialism in the country."

The state structure of the RSFSR was based on the principles of a national federation, the subjects of which were declared national republics, as well as various regional unions, consisting of several national regions. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', Peasants' and Cossacks' Deputies became the supreme body of state power in the country, the exclusive competence of which included all issues of state building: approval and amendment of the Constitution of the RSFSR; declaration of war and conclusion of peace; ratification of peace treaties, general management of foreign and domestic policy of the state; establishment of national taxes, duties and fees; fundamentals of the organization of the armed forces, law enforcement agencies, judiciary and legal proceedings; federal law, etc.

For everyday and operational work, the congress elected from among its members the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK RSFSR), which formed the Council of People's Commissars (SNK RSFSR), which consisted of people's commissars who headed the branch people's commissariats (People's Commissariats). And the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and the Council of People's Commissars equally had the right to issue legislative acts, which was a direct consequence of the complete denial by the Bolsheviks of the well-known bourgeois principle of separation of powers. Regional, provincial, district and volost congresses of Soviets, as well as city and rural Soviets, which formed their own executive committees (executive committees), became local government bodies.

It should be emphasized that the well-known principle of “democratic centralism” was put at the basis of the organization of Soviet power at all levels, according to which the lower bodies of Soviet power were strictly subordinated to the higher ones, which were charged with the obligation to implement all decisions of the higher Soviets that did not violate their competence.

The Constitution of the RSFSR legislated not only a new type of Soviet statehood, but also a new type of Soviet democracy, since it openly proclaimed the class principle of democratic rights and freedoms. In particular, all "socially alien class elements" were deprived of the right to vote, and the representation from the social groups of working people who were endowed with the right to vote was far from equal. For example, in elections to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, city Soviets had a fivefold advantage over provincial Congresses of Soviets, etc.

In addition, the Soviet electoral system retained the principle of indirect elections that existed in Tsarist Russia. Only elections to grassroots city and rural Soviets were direct, and deputies of all subsequent levels were elected at volost, district, provincial and regional congresses of Soviets.

In official Soviet history, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is described as an urgently needed move at the end of 1917, giving the young Soviet Republic a breathing space to fulfill the promises made in the first decrees and given to the people at the time of the seizure of power. The fact that the signing of the treaty was not only a necessary but also a forced measure was not brought to the attention of the audience.

The decomposition of the army

The army is part of the state apparatus. It is not an independent force. With the help of this tool, the government of any country ensures the implementation of its own decisions when nothing else works. Nowadays, the expression "power department" is widespread, it succinctly and succinctly describes the role of the armed forces in the general state mechanism. Before the February Revolution, the Bolshevik Party actively carried out the decomposition of the Russian army. The goal was to defeat the tsarist government in the World War. The task is not easy, and it was not possible to complete it completely until the very October coup. Moreover, as the course of subsequent events showed, it continued to exist for four long years, while the Civil War was going on. But what was done was enough for the troops to begin to leave their positions en masse and desert. The process of demoralization of the army reached its apogee when the first order of the Petrograd Soviet introduced an elective procedure for appointing commanders. The power mechanism stopped working. The conclusion of the Brest peace in such conditions was indeed an inevitable and forced measure.

Position of the Central Powers

In the central countries opposed to the Entente, things were catastrophic. The mobilization potential was completely exhausted in the middle of 1917, there was not enough food, famine began in Austria-Hungary and Germany. About seven hundred thousand citizens of these states died from malnutrition. The industry, which switched to the production of exclusively military products, could not cope with orders. Pacifist and defeatist sentiments began to emerge among the troops. Actually, the Brest Peace was needed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, Bulgaria and Turkey no less than the Soviets. Ultimately, even Russia's withdrawal from the war on the most favorable terms for its opponents could not prevent the defeat of the Central countries in the war.

Negotiation process

The signing of the Brest Peace was a difficult and long process. The negotiation process began at the end of 1917 and continued until March 3, 1918, passing through three stages. The Soviet side offered to end the war on the original terms without presenting demands for annexations and indemnities. Representatives of the Central Powers put forward their own conditions, which the Russian delegation could not fulfill with all its desire, including the signing of the treaty by all the countries of the Entente. Then Leon Trotsky arrived in Brest-Litovsk, whom Lenin appointed as the main "delayer" of the negotiations. His task was to have peace signed, but as late as possible. Time worked against Austria-Hungary and Germany. The head of the Soviet delegation behaved defiantly and used the negotiating table as a platform for Marxist propaganda, without even thinking about what kind of audience was in front of him. Ultimately, the Bolshevik delegation, having received the German ultimatum, left the hall, declaring that there would be no peace, no war either, and the army would be demobilized. Such an unexpected move provoked a completely natural reaction. German troops rushed forward without meeting resistance. Their movement could not even be called an offensive, it was a simple movement by trains, cars and on foot. Vast territories were captured in Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic states. The Germans did not take Petrograd for a banal reason - they simply did not have enough human resources. Having removed the government of the Central Rada, they immediately began the usual robbery, sending Ukrainian agricultural products to starving Germany.

The results of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty

In these difficult conditions, with the growing inner-party struggle, the Brest peace was concluded. Its conditions turned out to be so shameful that the delegates spent a long time deciding who exactly would sign this document. The gigantic amounts of indemnities, the withdrawal of vast territories of Ukraine and the Caucasus in favor of the Central Powers, the rejection of Finland and the Baltic states in the catastrophic military and economic situation of the enemy seemed something fantastic. The Brest peace became a catalyst for the transition of the nature of the Civil War from focal to total. Russia automatically ceased to be a victorious country, despite the defeat of the Central countries. In addition, the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk was absolutely useless. After the signing of the act of surrender in Compiègne in November 1918, it was denounced.

(Dates, unless otherwise specified, are given before February 1, 1918, according to the old style, and after this date, according to the new one.) See also the article Brest Peace.

1917

Night of November 8, 1917 - Council of People's Commissars sends to the Supreme Commander of the Russian Army Dukhonin order: immediately appeal to the commanders of the enemy armies with a proposal for the immediate suspension of hostilities and the opening of peace negotiations.

November 8 - in response to Dukhonin's statement that it is not the Commander-in-Chief who is authorized to start peace negotiations, but the government, Lenin removes him from his post, replacing him with an ensign Krylenko. Note of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs to all the ambassadors of the Allied Powers with a proposal to declare a truce and start peace negotiations. Radiogram from Lenin: “To all soldiers and sailors. Choose representatives and enter into negotiations for a truce with the enemy yourself.

Brest Peace

November 10 - the heads of the military missions of the allied countries at the headquarters of the Russian Supreme Commander-in-Chief present General Dukhonin with a collective note protesting against the violation of the agreement of September 5, 1914, which prohibited allies conclusion of a separate peace or truce.

November 14 - Germany declares its consent to start peace negotiations with the Soviet government. On the same day, Lenin's note to the allies: “On December 1, we are starting peace negotiations. If the allied peoples do not send their representatives, we will negotiate with the Germans alone.

November 20 - start of negotiations on armistice in Brest. Arrival of the Krylenka at the Mogilev Headquarters. The murder by militants of his detachment Dukhonin.

November 21 - the Soviet delegation in Brest sets out its terms: a truce is concluded on all fronts for 6 months; the Germans are withdrawing troops from Riga and moonzunda; the transfer of German troops from the Eastern Front to the Western is prohibited. The Germans reject these proposals and force the Bolsheviks into another agreement: an armistice for 10 days(from 24.11 to 4.12) and only on the Eastern Front; troops remain in their positions; all transfers of troops are stopped, except for those that have already begun ( and what started - you can't check).

December 2 - conclusion of an armistice agreement in Brest for 28 days from 4.12, with the possibility of further extension (in case of a break, warn the enemy 7 days in advance).

December 5 - Trotsky's appeal "To the oppressed and bloodless peoples of Europe": he tries to convince them that "the truce in Brest-Litovsk is a huge conquest of mankind"; "the reactionary governments of the Central Powers are compelled to negotiate with the Soviet power", but complete peace will be ensured only by a proletarian revolution in all countries.

December 9 - the beginning of the 1st stage of negotiations on world. The delegations of the states of the Quadruple Union are headed by: from Germany - Secretary of State of the Foreign Office R. von Kühlmann; from Austria-Hungary - Minister of Foreign Affairs Count O. Chernin; from Bulgaria - Minister of Justice Popov; from Turkey - Grand Vizier Talaat Bey. Soviet delegation: Ioffe, Kamenev(Rosenfeld), Sokolnikov(Girsh Brilliant), Socialist-Revolutionary terrorist Bitsenko (Kamoristaya) and literary librarian Maslovsky-Mstislavsky + 8 military consultants + 5 delegates "from the people" - sailor Olic, soldier Belyakov, Kaluga peasant Stashkov (he constantly gets drunk at diplomatic dinners), worker Obukhov , ensign of the fleet Zedin. The Soviet delegation puts forward "principles Peace Decree"(peace without annexations and indemnities + self-determination of peoples).

December 11 - Lithuanian Tariba announces the restoration of Lithuanian independence in "eternal union" with Germany.

December 12 - Kuhlmann's statement that Germany agrees to accept the principles put forward by the Soviets, but only if the Entente countries also accept them. The Soviet delegation proposes a 10-day break in order to try once again to involve the Entente in the negotiations during this time. It soon becomes clear that the Germans believe that Poland, Lithuania and Courland have already spoken out by way of “self-determination” in favor of secession from Russia and can, without violating the principle of “non-annexations”, voluntarily enter into negotiations on joining Germany.

December 14 - the proposal of the Soviet delegation: Russia will withdraw its troops from the parts of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Persia occupied by it, and let the powers of the Quadruple Alliance withdraw from Poland, Lithuania, Courland and other regions belonging to Russia. The Germans reject: Poland and Lithuania "have already expressed their people's will", and now the Soviet government must withdraw Russian troops from Livonia and Courland in order to give the population an opportunity to speak freely there too. This concludes the first stage of the negotiations.

December 15 - The Soviet delegation leaves for Petrograd. The Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) decides to drag out the peace negotiations as long as possible, in the hope of a revolution in Germany - and adopts the formula: "We hold on until the German ultimatum, then we surrender." The People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs again invites the Entente to join the negotiations, but again receives no answer.

December 20 - the Soviet government proposes to the countries of the Quadruple Alliance to transfer negotiations to Stockholm (in the hope of attracting European socialists there) Zimmerwaldists). It deviates.

December 22 - arrival in Brest of the delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada. She intends to negotiate separately from Russia and demands to transfer the Kholm region, Bukovina and Eastern Galicia to Ukraine (then it is limited to one Kholm region).

December 25 - arrival in Brest of the Soviet delegation of Trotsky - Joffe. Trotsky's main goal is to drag out negotiations as long as possible.

December 27 - the beginning of the 2nd stage of peace negotiations. Kuhlmann's statement: since the Entente did not accept the formula "without annexations and indemnities", Germany will not accept it either.

December 28 - a joint meeting with the participation of the delegation of the Central Rada. Its head, V. Golubovich, announces a declaration that the power of Soviet Russia does not extend to Ukraine, and the Rada will negotiate independently. The Moscow Regional Bureau of the RSDLP(b), in opposition to the position of the Central Committee, demands a break in negotiations with Germany.

December 30 - Soviet statement that the will to self-determination of national territories is possible only after the withdrawal of foreign troops from them. Rejected by Germany.

1918

January 5 - General Hoffmann presents the conditions of the Central Powers: Poland, Lithuania, part of Belarus and Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia, the Moonsund Islands and the Gulf of Riga should withdraw to Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Soviet delegation asks for a break of ten days to consider these conditions.

January 6 - the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly by the Bolsheviks, which could reject peace with Germany.

January 8 - discussion of Lenin's "Theses" at a meeting of members of the Central Committee with party workers. Outcome: 15 votes for them, for " left communists"(to continue the war, but not for the sake of defending Russia, but in order not to disappoint the international proletariat with capitulation to the Germans) - 32 votes, for Trotsky's slogan "no war, no peace" (do not wage war, but do not formally conclude peace - again with that the goal is not to disappoint the European proletariat) - 16 votes.

January 9 - IV Wagon Central Rada: in view of the beginning Bolshevik offensive on Kyiv it finally proclaims Ukraine an independent state.

January 11 - meeting of the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks on the issue of peace. It was decided by 12 votes against Zinoviev alone to drag out the negotiations with the Germans in every possible way. When voting on what to do in the event of a German ultimatum, the left communists take the side of Trotsky, and his formula "no war, no peace" defeats Lenin's by 9 votes to 7.

January 17 - the beginning of the 3rd stage of the Brest negotiations. Trotsky arrives on them, accompanied by delegates from Soviet Ukraine, but the Germans refuse to recognize them. Trotsky responded by declaring that the Council of People's Commissars "does not recognize separate agreements between the Rada and the Central Powers."

January 27 - the signing of peace between the German coalition and the delegates of the Central Rada. In exchange for military assistance against the Soviet troops, the UNR undertakes to supply Germany and Austria-Hungary by July 31, 1918 with one million tons of grain, 400 million eggs, up to 50 thousand tons of cattle meat, lard, sugar, hemp, manganese ore, etc. The German ultimatum to the Soviets on the acceptance of peace terms with the abandonment of the Baltic regions up to the Narva-Pskov-Dvinsk (Daugavpils) line.

January 28 (February 10, NS) - in response to the German ultimatum, Trotsky officially proclaims the “neither peace nor war” formula at the negotiations: the Soviets stop both hostile actions against the Central Powers and peace negotiations with them. The Soviet delegation leaves the negotiations. Subsequently, Soviet historians falsely present this act as Trotsky's "treacherous arbitrariness", but it is entirely based on the decision of the Central Committee on January 11th.

January 31 - Krylenko's order to the army on the cessation of hostilities and demobilization (later Soviet historians incorrectly claim that it was allegedly issued without the consent of the Council of People's Commissars). The official request of the Rada to the Germans for help against the Soviets. The Germans accept it.

February 16 (February 3, old style) - at half past seven in the evening, the Germans notify that at 12 noon on February 18, the Soviet-German truce ends. (Some historians claim that by doing so the Germans violated the previous condition to notify of the breaking of the truce in 7 days However, the departure of the Soviet delegation from the talks on January 28 is already tantamount to a unilateral announcement of the breaking of all previous conditions.)

February 18 - the beginning of the German offensive on the Eastern Front. Two meetings of the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks on this issue: at the morning Lenin's proposal to immediately send a request for peace to the Germans was rejected by 7 votes to 6, at the evening it won by 7 votes to 5, with one abstention.

February 19 - Lenin's telegram to the Germans: "In view of the situation that has arisen, the Council of People's Commissars sees itself forced to sign the peace conditions proposed in Brest-Litovsk by the delegations of the Quadruple Union ..."

February 21 - Occupation of Minsk by the Germans. Council of People's Commissars adopts a decree " The socialist fatherland is in danger"(Listing not so much defensive measures against the enemy as terrorist threats to opponents of Soviet power: all able-bodied members of the bourgeois class, men and women, are mobilized to dig trenches under the supervision of the Red Guards and under the threat of being shot, "enemy agents, speculators, thugs, hooligans, counter-revolutionary agitators, German spies are shot at the scene of the crime). Formation of the Committee for the Revolutionary Defense of Petrograd.

February 22 - the response of the German government to the request for peace: it sets even more difficult conditions for it (immediately clear Livonia, Estonia, Finland and Ukraine, return the Anatolian provinces to Turkey, immediately demobilize the army, withdraw the fleet in the Black and Baltic Seas and in the Arctic Ocean to Russian ports and disarm it, plus "trade and economic demands"). You have 48 hours to accept the ultimatum. Trotsky's resignation from the post of People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. Since none of the prominent Bolsheviks is eager to sign a shameful peace with the Germans, Ioffe, Zinoviev and Sokolnikov refuse the offer to become a People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs.

February 23 - meeting of the Central Committee on the issue of the German ultimatum: 7 votes for its adoption, 4 against and 4 abstentions.

February 24 - German troops occupy Zhytomyr, and the Turks - Trebizond. Adoption VTsIK German peace conditions after an open, roll-call vote. Radiogram to Berlin about the acceptance of the German conditions. "Left Communists" leave the Council of People's Commissars in protest.

February 25 - the occupation of Revel and Pskov by the Germans. Admiral Shchastny at the last moment takes the Reval squadron of the Baltic Fleet to Helsingfors (later he was shot at the insistence of Trotsky for not handing over the Baltic Fleet to the Germans).

March 1 - the occupation of Kyiv and Gomel by the Germans. The arrival of a new Soviet delegation (Sokolnikov, Petrovsky, Chicherin, Karakhan) to Brest-Litovsk.

March 4 - the occupation of Narva by the Germans (already after the signing of the peace). Appointment of Trotsky as chairman (formed on the same day) of the Supreme Military Council (13.03 - and People's Commissar).

March 6-8 - The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was approved by the 7th Congress of the RCP(b) (30 for ratification, 12 against, 4 abstained).

March 10 - the movement (flight) of the Bolshevik Council of People's Commissars from Petrograd threatened by the Germans to Moscow.

March 14-16 – Treaty of Brest approved IV Extraordinary Congress of Soviets(for - 784 votes, against - 261, 115 abstentions).

The conclusion of the Brest peace took place on March 3, 1918. The parties to the agreement were: Russia - the first side, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey - the second. The effect of this peace treaty was short-lived. it lasted a little over nine months.

It all started with the first negotiations in Brest, where Kamenev L.B. and Ioffe A.A., as well as Mstislavsky S.D., Karakhan L.M. acted as representatives of the Russian Bolsheviks. At the last minute before leaving for this border town, it was decided that the participation of representatives of the people was necessary. These were a soldier, a worker, a sailor and a peasant who was lured by large business trips. Of course, the opinion of this group was not taken into account during the negotiations and was simply not heard.

During the negotiations, the fact was revealed that the German side, in addition to signing peace, wants to conclude it without indemnities and annexations, and also longs to achieve from Russia the right of nations to self-determination, thus planning to get Ukraine and the Russian Baltic states under its own control. It became obvious that Russia could lose Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, as well as the territory of Transcaucasia.

The signing of the Brest Peace was only a temporary truce in the hostilities. Lenin, Sverdlov and Trotsky were worried that if the conditions of the German side were met, they would be overthrown for treason, since the bulk of the Bolsheviks did not agree with the policies of Vladimir Ulyanov.

In January 1918, the second stage of negotiations took place in Brest. The delegation was led by Trotsky without the presence of representatives of the people. The main role in this round belonged to the Ukrainian delegation, whose main demand was the secession of the lands of Bukovina and Galicia from Austria-Hungary. At the same time, the Ukrainian side did not want to know the Russian delegation. Thus, Russia has lost an ally in the person of Ukraine. For Germany, the latter was beneficial by placing on its territory a significant number of warehouses with weapons and military uniforms. The Brest peace, due to the impossibility of reaching common points of contact, ended in nothing and was not signed.

The third stage of negotiations began, during which the representative of the Russian delegation Trotsky L.D. refused to recognize representatives from Ukraine.

On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. The result of this agreement was the rejection of Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Crimea, Ukraine and Transcaucasia from Russia. Among other things, the fleet was disarmed and issued to Germany, an indemnity of six billion marks in gold was imposed, as well as one billion marks to compensate for the damage to German citizens that they suffered during the revolution. Austria-Hungary and Germany received warehouses with weapons and ammunition. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk also imposed on Russia an obligation to withdraw troops from the said territories. Their place was taken by the armed forces of Germany. to the peace treaty stipulated the economic position of Germany in Russia. Thus, German citizens were endowed with the right to engage in entrepreneurial activities on the territory of Russia, despite the process of nationalization taking place in it.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk restored customs tariffs with Germany established in 1904. Due to the non-recognition by the Bolsheviks of the royal, according to this agreement, she was forced to confirm them to such countries as Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Germany and begin to make payments on these debts.

The countries that were part of the Entente bloc did not approve of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and in mid-March 1918 announced their non-recognition.

In November 1918, Germany abandoned the terms of the peace agreement. Two days later, it was annulled by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. A little later, German troops began to leave the former

The issue of concluding a separate peace could, if desired, become an important factor consolidating the dispersed political forces to create a broad government coalition. This was at least the third such untapped opportunity since the October Revolution. The first was connected with the Vikzhel, the second - with the Constituent Assembly. The Bolsheviks once again ignored the chances of reaching a national consensus.

Lenin, regardless of anything, sought to conclude a peace unfavorable for Russia with Germany, although all other parties were against a separate peace. Moreover, the matter went to the defeat of Germany. In the words of D. Volkogonov, the enemy of Russia "he himself was already on his knees before the Entente." It cannot be ruled out that Lenin wanted to fulfill the promise of an early peace he had given before seizing power. But the main reason, of course, was the retention, preservation of power, the strengthening of the Soviet regime, even at the cost of losing the country's territory. There is also a version that Lenin, who continued to use financial assistance from Germany after the October Revolution, acted according to the scenario dictated by Berlin. D. Volkogonov believed: "In fact, the Bolshevik elite was bribed by Germany."

The states of the German bloc, waging a war on two fronts and interested in ending hostilities against Russia, responded to the Bolshevik proposal to conclude peace. On November 20, 1917, negotiations began in Brest-Litovsk between Soviet Russia, on the one hand, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey, on the other. A month later, Ukraine, which became independent, also took part in them. The proposal of the Soviet delegation to make peace without annexations and indemnities was not taken seriously by Germany, because. it occupied a significant part of the territory of Russia. Having agreed on a separate peace with Ukraine, she demanded from Russia the rejection of Poland, Lithuania, parts of Latvia and Estonia. If we proceed from the fact that Russia could not hold Poland and the Baltic states in any case, then the peace conditions were not too difficult.

Lenin proposed that peace be signed immediately. However, not only right-wing, liberal and socialist parties and organizations opposed the conclusion of a separate peace, but also the majority of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). Lenin met with the strongest resistance of the so-called. "Left Communists" led by N.I. Bukharin, who dreamed of waging a revolutionary war against Germany in order to ignite the fire of the world revolution. They believed that the conclusion of peace is beneficial to German imperialism, because. peace will contribute to the stabilization of the situation in Germany. Meanwhile, the socialist revolution was conceived as a world revolution, its first stage being Russia, the second should be Germany with a strong communist opposition. The "Left Communists" proposed starting a revolutionary war with Germany, which would create a revolutionary situation there and lead to the victory of the German revolution. The same position was shared by the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and the German Communists, led by K. Liebknecht and R. Luxembourg. If peace is concluded, then there may be no revolution in Germany. And without a revolution in the West, it will also be defeated in Russia. Victory is possible only as a world revolution.

Trotsky thought the same, but unlike the "left communists", he saw that Russia had nothing to fight with. Dreaming about the same thing, he put forward another slogan: "no peace, no war, but disband the army." It meant: without signing peace with German imperialism and announcing the dissolution of the no longer existing Russian army, the Soviet government appeals to the solidarity of the international proletariat, primarily the German one. Consequently, Trotsky's slogan was a kind of call for world revolution. He also headed the Soviet delegation at the talks and on January 28, 1918, announced that Russia was withdrawing from the imperialist war, demobilizing the army and not signing the predatory peace.

Trotsky's calculation that the Germans would not be able to attack was not justified. On February 18, the Germans went on the offensive. The Council of People's Commissars issued a decree "The socialist fatherland is in danger!", The formation of the Red Army began, but all this had little effect on the course of events. The Germans occupied Minsk, Kyiv, Pskov, Tallinn, Narva and other cities without a fight. There was also no manifestation of solidarity between the German proletariat and Soviet Russia. In this situation, when the danger of the existence of Soviet power loomed, Lenin, threatening to resign, forced the majority of the Central Committee to agree to German terms. Trotsky also joined him. The decision of the Bolsheviks was supported by the Central Committee of the Left SRs. The Soviet government informed the Germans by radio of its readiness to sign peace.

Now Germany put forward much more stringent demands: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia were torn away from Russia; recognition by Russia of the independence of Ukraine and Finland; transition to Turkey Kars, Ardagan, Batum; Russia had to demobilize the army and navy, which practically did not exist; pay an indemnity of six billion marks. Under these conditions, the peace treaty was signed on March 3 in Brest by the head of the Soviet delegation, G. Ya. Sokolnikov. The indemnity was 245.5 tons of gold, of which Russia managed to pay 95 tons.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was approved by a majority of votes at the 7th Congress of the Bolsheviks, held on March 6-8. But the Central Committee of the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party, on the contrary, under pressure from the lower ranks of the party, revised its position and opposed peace. The IV Extraordinary Congress of Soviets was convened on March 15 to ratify the Brest Peace. It took place in Moscow, where the Soviet government moved due to the approach of the Germans to Petrograd and the strikes of the Petrograd workers. The supporters of Lenin and Trotsky voted for the treaty, while the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, anarchists, Socialist-Revolutionaries, and Mensheviks voted against. The "Left Communists" abstained, and soon their faction disintegrated. Trotsky left the post of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs in April, became People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, then - Chairman of the Republic's Revolutionary Military Council. GV Chicherin was appointed People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. The Left SRs, protesting against the Brest peace, withdrew from the Council of People's Commissars, although they continued to cooperate with the Bolsheviks.

German units occupied Ukraine, moved deep into Russian territory and reached the Don. Peace with Russia allowed Germany to transfer its troops to the Western Front and launch an offensive on French territory. However, in the summer of 1918 the French, British, Americans and their allies inflicted decisive defeats on the German army. In November 1918, the countries of the German bloc capitulated, and revolutions took place in Germany and Austria-Hungary. As Lenin had foreseen, with the defeat of Germany, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was annulled. Soviet troops occupied Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states. The Bolsheviks considered the moment favorable for the realization of their main dream - a revolution in Europe. However, the trip to Europe did not take place due to the outbreak of the civil war.