Causes of the civil war

The deepest causes of the civil war in Russia were the split of society, the accumulated hatred, bitterness between different groups of the population, aggravated by the war and two revolutions, in which it was extremely difficult to maintain civil peace. The basis for discontent of a large part of the population was also fed by the predatory Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, signed in March 1918 by the government of V. I. Lenin, which deprived the country of vast territories and assumed the payment of huge indemnities to Germany. This treaty hurt the mood of people who were traditionally brought up in the spirit of Russian patriotism: first of all, the officers who came out of the nobility and the raznoshchin environment, and the intelligentsia associated with the old state system. Millions of Russian people reacted negatively to the dissolution of the new Constituent Assembly by the Bolsheviks in January 1918, considering it a departure from the promised democratic changes. After the collapse of the multimillion-strong tsarist army, huge masses of people who had weapons, who knew how and were accustomed to fight, dispersed to all corners of the country, where they continued the revolution in their own way (they took away land, property, houses, valuables).

The goals of the parties were defined as follows: the Reds defended the gains of the revolution, fought against exploitation, for building a just, humane society; whites sought to regain lost power and private property, the privileges of the upper classes.

Beginning of the civil war

Regarding the beginning of the civil war, there is no single point of view. Some historians believe that the civil war began from the moment of the October armed uprising of 1917, others consider it to be the beginning of the Kerensky-Krasnov rebellion. These were episodes of the civil war.

A full-scale civil war began at the end of May 1918, when a rebellion of the Czechoslovak corps and counter-revolutionary forces took place simultaneously over a vast territory - from the Volga region to the Far East. The Czechoslovak Corps was formed in Russia during the World War from prisoners of war of the Austro-Hungarian army to participate in the war against Germany. By agreement with the countries of the Entente, the Czechoslovak corps was declared an autonomous part of the French army, and the Soviet government undertook to transport it with weapons through the Far East to Europe. By the end of May 1918, trains with Czechoslovak troops (numbering up to 45 thousand people) stretched along the Siberian railway from Penza to Vladivostok for 7 thousand kilometers. The slow movement displeased the soldiers; Rumors spread that this was done on purpose, and on May 25 an armed mutiny began at many stations on the highway. The uprising activated the anti-Bolshevik forces everywhere, raising them to armed struggle, and created local governments.

With the help of the Czechoslovaks, the forces of the so-called democratic counter-revolution - Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Cadets - established their power in a number of places; counter-revolutionary governments arose: Komuch (Committee of members of the Constituent Assembly) in Samara, the Ural Provisional Government in Yekaterinburg, the Provisional Siberian Government in Tomsk. These governments, relying on the military might of the Czechoslovak corps, proclaimed their goals the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, dispersed by the Bolsheviks, and the struggle against Soviet power. This is how the vast Eastern Front was formed.

On June 29, 1918, the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, V. I. Lenin, declared: “We are in a war, and the fate of the revolution will be decided by the outcome of this war. This should be the first and last word of our agitation, of all our political, revolutionary and transformative activity.

Creation of the armed forces of the Soviet Republic

Since the spring of 1918, the process of forming and strengthening the combat capability of the Red Army has been intensively going on. On March 4, the Supreme Military Council was established, which directed the construction of the armed forces and military operations. In April, volost, district, provincial and district commissariats for military affairs were formed, whose functions included registration and conscription of those liable for military service, formation of military units and their supply, and training of workers in military affairs. In April, a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee introduced universal military training for workers aged 18 to 40. The All-Russian General Headquarters is being created, the party-political apparatus of the Red Army is being formed, the institution of military commissars is being introduced, military specialists from the tsarist army (under the control of commissars) are being recruited, courses and schools are being created to train "red commanders", etc. In June, the call to the Red Army of workers and laboring peasants of 1893-1897 was announced. birth, which meant the transition to universal military service. The mobilization of former officers of the Russian army into the new army was also carried out; in total, up to 75 thousand of them were involved during the years of the civil war. These measures of the Soviet government made it possible to sharply increase the size of the Red Army. If on May 20, 1918 there were 264 thousand fighters in it, then by the end of September - already 600 thousand. Lenin set the task of bringing the army to 3 million fighters (by the end of the war it amounted to 5.5 million people).

In September 1918, by a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the Supreme Military Council was abolished and the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic (RVSR) headed by L. D. Trotsky was created instead. This body of supreme military power acted in accordance with the directives of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) and the Soviet government. The post of commander-in-chief was introduced; at first this post was held by I. I. Vatsetis, and from July 1919 - by S. S. Kamenev (both former colonels of the tsarist army, participants in the First World War).

Formation of the white movement and white armies

The White movement began to take shape in the spring and summer of 1917, when the monarchists and the Cadets began to consolidate to fight against the growing revolutionary movement. It gained wider development after the victory of the October Revolution. The White movement united those who were interested in restoring the old order, restoring the power of the bourgeoisie - the generals and officers of the old army, the highest officials, the clergy, the merchants, certain sections of the bourgeois intelligentsia. Representatives of the "lower classes" also participated in this movement, believing that they were saving Russia from the rebels.

The founders of the white movement were generals M.V. Alekseev, L.G. Kornilov, A.M. Kaledin. Soon after October, M. V. Alekseev sent an appeal to all parts of Russia with an appeal to officers to come to Novocherkassk, where volunteer units were being formed.

Initially, the Volunteer Army numbered 2 thousand people, and by the summer of 1918 it had grown to 10-12 thousand. A. I. Denikin was entrusted to command it. In late 1918 - early 1919, he established contact with Admiral A.V. Kolchak, generals N.N. Yudenich (leader of the counter-revolution in the northwest) and E.K. Miller (commander-in-chief of the white army in the North). In May 1919, in an effort to unite the forces of the counter-revolution, Denikin recognized the supremacy of Admiral Kolchak, "the supreme ruler of the Russian state and the supreme commander of the Russian armies." Kolchak appointed Denikin as his deputy in southern Russia.

The establishment of the dictatorship of A. V. Kolchak

In mid-October 1918, Admiral A.V. Kolchak, who had commanded the Black Sea Front during the World War, arrived in Omsk, where the Provisional Government, the Directory, created by the Cadets was located. The Cadets in Omsk were in favor of establishing a military dictatorship, and in Kolchak they saw a man fit for the role of dictator. On November 4, he received the post of Minister of War of the government, on November 18 he carried out a government coup: the leaders of the Directory were arrested. The next day, he issued an order on his appointment as the Supreme Ruler of Russia and Commander-in-Chief.

Kolchak retained the Omsk coalition government of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Cadets. All acts of the Supreme Ruler were sealed by the signature of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Social Revolutionary N. N. Vologda.

The most difficult for the Kolchak authorities was the agrarian question, it postponed its final decision until the "convening of the national assembly." The delay in resolving the land issue led to the fact that Kolchak lost the political advantages associated with the anti-Bolshevik sentiments of the Siberian peasantry. In addition, the Kolchak government carried out military recruitment for the army, food requisitions, and, having met the resistance of the peasants, sent punitive expeditions to the villages. The peasantry responded with armed uprisings against Kolchak's policy and the arbitrariness of the military.

At the beginning of 1919, the White armies expected to launch an offensive against Moscow with their combined forces. The main blow was delivered from the east by the troops of Kolchak, and auxiliary blows from the south by the troops of Denikin and from the north-west by Yudenich. In early March 1919, Kolchak's army occupied Ufa and cut off Turkestan from Soviet Russia by mid-April.

In the spring of 1919, the anti-Bolshevik armed forces launched a concerted offensive against the Soviet troops. The main stake was on Kolchak's army, which by this time had captured the vast territory of Siberia and the Far East. Kolchak's command expected that a successful offensive would make it possible to unite the eastern, southern and northern forces of the Whites for a joint attack on the vital centers of the Soviet Republic. Battles were fought simultaneously in the east, south and north of the country.

Kolchak's central group of troops penetrated deeply into the disposition of the Soviet troops. Using this strategic situation, the Soviet command sent a blow of its troops to the flank of Kolchak's main forces and inflicted a heavy defeat on them. Decomposition began in Kolchak's troops, under the blows of the Reds, they retreated from the Urals, to the east, to Siberia. The end of the remnants of Kolchak's forces and Kolchak himself was approaching. Near Irkutsk, in Cheremkhovo, on December 31, 1919, an anti-Kolchak uprising took place. On February 7, 1920, by order of the Revolutionary Committee, Kolchak and the chairman of his government, V.N. Pepelyaev, were shot. On March 7, units of the Red Army entered Irkutsk.

Simultaneously with the victories on the Eastern Front, the Reds defeated the Whites near Petrograd, where Yudenich's troops, supported by Estonian and Finnish units, went on the offensive against the city. The help of the white army was provided by the English squadron. At the end of May, the advance of the Whites near Petrograd was stopped. In August, the white army was driven back to the Estonian border.

After the defeat of the main forces of Kolchak and the troops of Yudenich in the summer of 1919, the main stake of the anti-Bolshevik forces was placed on Denikin's army, operating on the Southern Front. Under the command of Denikin were the Don Cossack Army and the Volunteer Army, united into the Armed Forces of the South of Russia.

The offensive of Denikin's army

In the summer of 1919, the center of gravity of the struggle of the White armies against the Red troops was transferred to the area of ​​operations of the troops led by Denikin. Under the onslaught of the superior forces of the White Army, the Soviet troops defending the Donbass began to retreat. By the end of June, Denikin's troops occupied a significant part of Ukraine and launched an offensive against the central regions of the country. July 3 Denikin published Moscow Directive- an order to attack Moscow. From the summer of 1919, military supplies for his army from abroad increased. In August 1919, Denikin's troops occupied the Donbass, the Don region, Kharkov, Tsaritsyn, Kyiv, and Odessa. By mid-October, the troops occupied Voronezh, approaching the outskirts of Moscow. The fighting became more and more fierce. On October 13, Denikin took Orel, but this was his last success.

The forced mobilization of the peasants, carried out by Denikin, contributed to an increase in the number of his troops, but led to a weakening of their combat effectiveness: instead of volunteers who had left during the fighting, the army was replenished with discontented mobilized peasants.

The Soviet troops of the Southern Front, reinforced by new reinforcements, went on the offensive. November 18 they occupied Kursk. As a result of the counteroffensive of the Red Army in late October - early November 1919, Denikin's troops were defeated. In the second half of November, Denikin's army was divided into three groups: one, under pressure from the Red troops, retreated to Odessa, the other - to the Crimea, the main one - to Rostov and Novocherkassk. In January 1920, the Red Army took Taganrog, Rostov, Kyiv, Tsaritsyn, in February - the right-bank Ukraine, in January - March 1920 Denikin's main forces were defeated. At the end of March, their remnants were evacuated to the Crimea. On April 4, Denikin resigned as commander in chief, announced General P. N. Wrangel as his successor, and emigrated.

War with Poland

In the spring of 1920, the peaceful respite that had been created was interrupted. On April 25, the Polish troops in Ukraine, supported by the Entente, went on the offensive and soon occupied Kyiv. Large Soviet forces from the North Caucasus were transferred to the Western Front, including the 1st Cavalry Army of S. M. Budyonny. In July, Kyiv was liberated, Soviet troops reached Warsaw and Lvov, but were defeated near Warsaw. The Polish leadership, headed by Yu. Pilsudski, fearing that the continuation of the war with Soviet Russia could result in the defeat of Poland, went to peace negotiations.

On March 18, 1921, a peace treaty was signed in Riga between the RSFSR and Poland. The regions of Western Belarus and Ukraine retreated to Poland. The treaty obligated to ensure the free development of language, culture and the performance of religious rites by persons of Polish nationality in Russia, and in Poland - by persons of Russian and Ukrainian nationalities.

The defeat of Wrangel's army

Peace with Poland allowed the command of the Red Army to concentrate large forces on the Southwestern Front to fight Wrangel's troops, who had seized bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnieper. An independent Southern Front under the command of M.V. Frunze was separated from the Southwestern Front.

In October, the troops of the Southern Front went on the offensive and defeated the main forces of Wrangel, only the most combat-ready White Guard units managed to break into the Crimea. In November, units of the Red Army broke through strong fortifications on the Perekop Isthmus and on November 17 completed the capture of the Crimea. The defeat of Wrangel's troops basically ended the Civil War in most of the European territory of the country.

Losses in the civil war

During 1921 and 1922, Soviet troops suppressed individual centers of anti-Bolshevik uprisings (Kronstadt sailors, Tambov peasants, and others). Losses in the civil war - human, material, moral and psychological - were enormous. Human losses, according to various sources, ranged from 8 to 13 million people. People died not only at the fronts, during uprisings and rebellions, partisan struggle, but also as a result of the red and white terror, as well as from famine and epidemics. A great loss should be considered the emigration from Russia of about 2 million representatives of the nobility, high-ranking officials, white officers, entrepreneurs, politicians, intellectuals, writers, national economy specialists, scientists and designers. This led to the impoverishment of the intellectual and political life of the country, the impoverishment of Russian culture.

Russia's territorial losses were also significant: Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, Bessarabia, which had seceded from Russia, occupied 800 thousand square meters. km with a population of 30 million people.

The result of the war was terrible economic ruin, the flooding of mines, the destruction of bridges, the disruption of transport, and the rupture of economic ties between different regions of the country. The total amount of material damage amounted to 1 / 4 of the entire national heritage of pre-war Russia.

The Civil War had a huge impact on the style of thinking, psychology, political culture and methods of state activity of the Bolsheviks. The ideas, methods and forms inherent in "war communism" were firmly and permanently established in their minds. The period of the civil war had a major impact on the formation and development of the Soviet political system.

Factors of the victory of the Red Army in the Civil War

The ruling circles of the Entente, when deciding on military assistance to the opponents of the Bolsheviks, hoped to ensure their superiority over the Red troops. In fact, their participation in the Russian Civil War ultimately turned against the whites they patronized, it allowed the Bolshevik authorities, under the slogan of fighting the invaders, to direct the anger of the patriotic masses against the white armies receiving foreign aid. This, to no small extent, made it easier for the Soviet government to quickly create a powerful Red Army, constantly replenished with reserves, based on universal military duty, military discipline and coercion. From 100 thousand people in April 1918, the army grew to 1 million in October 1918, to 1.5 million in May 1919 and 5 million in 1920. To command such a multi-million army, numerous qualified military personnel were required, and the Soviet government used officers of the royal army. Agitation, calls to fight against foreign invaders and material incentives prompted 48 thousand former officers and 415 thousand non-commissioned officers to return to duty in June 1918 - August 1920. Experienced major tsarist military specialists and military leaders from the worker-peasant milieu were appointed to many top military posts. Some of them turned out to be talented commanders: M. V. Frunze, M. N. Tukhachevsky, who defeated Kolchak, Wrangel, S. M. Budyonny, who commanded the “red cavalry”. Led by L. D. Trotsky, People's Commissar of Defense of the Soviet government.

The victories of the Red Army were also facilitated by the peculiarities of the geographical environment and the structure of the population of Central Russia, which was the stronghold of the Bolsheviks. Moscow, Petrograd and other industrial cities, densely populated areas around them supplied reinforcements, weapons, and uniforms to the Red troops. Transport routes converged here. White armies and regimes, especially after the fall of Samara, were on the periphery of the country, in the sparsely populated Don, Kuban and Ural steppes, in Siberia. Controlling the center of the country, the Soviet government could, if necessary, transfer troops from one front to another, making optimal use of reserves, which its opponents located on the periphery could not do.

Repeated mobilization of communists and Komsomol members to the front
strengthened the morale of the soldiers. An important role in the victory of the Bolsheviks was also played by ideological, agitational work to clarify the goals of the struggle for a new society in which there is no exploitation and the ideals of goodness, justice, brotherhood and equality dominate. And the desire of the leaders of the white movement was directed to the restoration of the old order, hated by the people, the restoration of economic and political structures that had historically become obsolete. Acute dissatisfaction was caused in European Russia by the return of the landowners and capitalists, the postponement of the solution of the agrarian question, in Siberia - by the attempts of the Kolchakites to collect arrears from the peasants for three years, the cruelty of the requisitioning detachments.

The reasons for the victory of the Red Army in the Civil War were:

1. Social and ideological heterogeneity of the white movement.

2. The use by the Bolsheviks of the possibilities of a powerful state apparatus capable of conducting mass mobilizations strengthened the morale of the fighters.

3. Thoughtful ideological support for military companies.

4. Support by a significant part of the population of the slogans and policies of the Bolsheviks.

5. Lack of mass support for "whites" by the population.

6. The geographical factor - Soviet power in the most difficult periods of the war remained in the center of Russia, where there were significant resources, industry was concentrated, transport routes converged.

For many years, historians have been trying to formulate the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the assessment of the events of those years has changed greatly depending on the era.

Centralized power

The main difference between the "Reds" and "Whites" was that from the very beginning of the war, the Communists were able to create a centralized government, to which the entire territory they had conquered was subordinate. The Bolsheviks managed to take possession of Petrograd and Moscow. In their hands were the two largest cities in the country.

The Whites have never been a single movement. Among the opponents of the communists there were several leaders (for example, Denikin and Kolchak). They all operated in different regions with no clear communication and without setting a common goal. In many ways, this disunity was the reason for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War.

Those dissatisfied with Lenin and his party represented completely different political views. Among the "whites" were monarchists and republicans, nationalists and imperialists. Contradictions and ideological differences often prevented the leaders from joining their efforts in the fight against the "Reds". Thus, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War did not lie in their advantage, but in the shortcomings of their opponents.

skillful propaganda

The "whites" were bad agitators. Ideological work with the troops and the population of the conquered territories was carried out somehow. It was only with time that the opponents of the communists realized the importance of agitation, but by the end of the war, the strategic advantage was already in the hands of Lenin's supporters.

Often the ideological indoctrination of the troops lay on the shoulders of the officers of the former tsarist army. Of course, they were completely unprepared for such work. At the same time, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks during the years of the Civil War also lay in their ability to organize effective propaganda against enemies. This is not surprising, because the entire party elite had an excellent education and was savvy in ideological matters.

From the very first day after coming to power, the Soviet leadership had a clear program of action regarding the future transformations of the country. As soon as the October Revolution took place, the famous Decrees on Land and Peace were issued, which increased the popularity of the "Reds" among the vacillating peasantry and the military.

The leaders of the "white" movement, as a rule, had a military education. They were good generals, but completely lost in conversations about the future of Russia. The revolutions that took place before the eyes of the former aristocracy sowed horror and confusion in the minds of the opponents of the "Reds". In their uncertainty, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War were hidden. In short, the inconsistency of the actions and decisions of the "white" generals nullified all their military successes.

Discipline in the army

Both sides of the conflict suffered from desertion. People fled from the armies due to poor conditions of detention, inept organization, officer dominance, etc.

When Denikin's army reached its maximum success at the front, it was already on the outskirts of Moscow. It was at this moment that the main reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War affected. In Moscow, they decided to launch repressions against deserters and vacillators. The surplus appraisal in the countryside also increased. The Bolsheviks did not reckon with the victims on the way to achieving their goal. As a result, the village was ruined (famine began there), but the army began to receive rations and other resources steadily. Discipline in the troops also increased, which made it possible to coordinate forces for a decisive blow against the "whites".

At the same time, the Armed Forces of the South of Russia suffered from the partisan movement of the "green" gangs. The "Whites" were unable to win over the entire peasantry, due to the fact that their program to transfer land to the villagers stalled. Denikin had to recapture the villages and towns, which had already been significantly devastated by the war. The deplorable state of the economy and the impoverishment of the population hit hard on the positions of the "white" governments.

Because of desertion, the opponents of the communists had to recruit new detachments from captured Red Army soldiers. These militias did far more harm than good. They quickly went over to the side of the enemy, staged sabotage, fled from the battlefield, etc.

Renunciation of royal orders

In Soviet historiography, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War, the re-odization of the Civil War and its entire history were presented in textbooks within a very rigid ideological framework. The hatred of the "whites" of the urban proletariat, who did not want the return of the old order, was emphasized.

Indeed, the populist rhetoric of the communists about the advent of a socialist paradise had an effect on the poor inhabitants of the country much more than the sluggish exhortations of the tsarist officers. In "red" propaganda, the "whites" were the exploiters, followed by the nobles and other insatiable capitalists, unloved by the workers. The proletariat believed that after the establishment throughout the country, a new era of prosperity for ordinary workaholics from factories would begin.

The fight against the bourgeoisie

Hardly anyone then (even in the party leadership) imagined how the creation of the USSR would turn out. The reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War, in short, largely consisted in their support by the peasantry after the introduction of the Decree on Land. However, none of the villagers understood that after the establishment of Soviet power, the reverse process of enslavement would begin in the form of the creation of collective farms in the most ugly forms.

Communist ideology suggested that the capitalist exploitation of workers must be abolished. After the Civil War, the bourgeoisie was indeed wiped off the face of the country. But the former exploiter was replaced by the state, which systematically squeezed all the juice out of the peasantry and the working class. During the war, loud slogans about social justice were extremely effective among the poor and war-weary population.

Heirs of the first revolution

For many proletarians, the revolution of 1905 was memorable. Its continuation was The reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks were that they were supported by people who suffered from the tsarist repressions arranged ten years before. The episode of Bloody Sunday, when a delegation of workers marching with a petition to the sovereign, was shot in St. Petersburg with a particularly vivid propaganda and recall.

To understand the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War, it is enough to recall the factor of the First World War. The "White" government (as in 1917) consistently supported the Entente in the conflict with Germany. The slogan "war to the bitter end" has become a red rag for the exhausted front-line soldiers.

Lenin and his party intercepted this banner in time. Negotiations began with Germany, ending with the signing. Hence, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War appeared. Communists in the mass consciousness became the heralds of the long-awaited peace. The First World War was called "imperialist", it was stigmatized for many years in Soviet textbooks.

Entente intervention

If we list the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War point by point, then we cannot but mention the fatal mistake of the "whites" who accepted the help of the European allies. After the conclusion of the Brest Treaty, the Entente rightly accused the Soviet leadership of treason.

The allies went to rapprochement with the "whites". However, their support was extremely weak and consisted of the occupation of several northern ports. The Europeans did not go further. Their aggression also lies in the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War. Communist Party personalities took advantage of this attack as a propaganda coup.

Now the "whites" were called traitors to national interests who made a deal with the invaders. Thus, new reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War appeared. The main stages of this bloody conflict are often formulated according to the situation at the front. But the "whites" lost the war not in battles, but precisely in the ideological field. The clever "red" propaganda used every move of the enemy to its advantage.

And do not get lost if you are asked: "Name the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the Civil War." In order to list them, it will be enough to mention the theses described above.

War against the invaders

In its struggle against foreign interventionists, the Soviet leadership effectively used the interests of the world proletariat. Workers from all European countries looked at the Russian revolution as their own victory. Foreign armies were filled with Soviet agents and agitators who demoralized the enemy from within.

Interestingly, Lenin himself wrote in his letters that the Entente countries needed a general effort to destroy the Bolsheviks and occupy Moscow and Petrograd. However, the Allies did not. In their assistance to the "whites", they limited themselves to small (on a strategic scale) deliveries of food and weapons.

The defeat of the "whites"

In 1919 occurred in the Civil War. The "Whites" retreated on all fronts. Kolchak with his army left the whole of Siberia behind him and died in Irkutsk.

Denikin was also defeated and began to retreat south. In 1921, the "whites" had only Crimea, from which a hasty evacuation of opponents of the communists began. With the end of the Civil War, the streets of European capitals were filled with Russian monarchists, liberals and other ghosts of the "old order".

The reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks were such favorable factors as a good location (central, not peripheral, like the White movement), the presence of a developed central transport system, which increased the maneuverability of troops and supplies. The Soviet government managed to arrange deliveries to the front at the expense of the rear and achieve the support of the majority of the country's population. The ideological unity of the military campaigns was also envisaged. In the summer of 1919, a military-political union of the Soviet republics was formed, which greatly increased the defense capability of Soviet Russia and helped mobilize the country's material and human resources to repel the offensives of anti-Soviet forces. On June 1, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee adopted the Decree "On the unification of the Soviet republics - Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus for the struggle against world imperialism." A unified military command was approved. Industry, transport, finance were united.

The reason for the defeat of the white movement was that numerous national and regional governments were not able to fight the Bolsheviks alone and could create a strong united anti-Bolshevik front due to mutual territorial and political claims and contradictions.

The allies of the whites from among the Entente countries also did not have a common goal and, despite the intervention in some port cities, did not provide the whites with enough military equipment to conduct successful military operations, not to mention any serious support by their troops.

The reasons for the victory of the Reds and the defeat of the Whites should also include the human factor. Do not forget that any army is supplied with what can be taken from the peasants. The main thing that an army needs is people, horses and bread. Of course, the peasants did not give all this voluntarily to either the whites or the reds. The outcome of the war was determined by how much effort had to be expended to get it all. The red peasants resisted much weaker than the whites. The hatred of the peasantry and the elite of the whites was mutual and was almost racial in nature. This hatred of the common people was not in sight of the Reds, whom the peasants saw - Chapaev or Shchors, they were "the same race." This factor seems to me not unimportant, and may even be one of the main ones.

Conclusion

So, the civil war ended with the victory of the "Reds". However, this was the first victory. Its influence on the subsequent course of the historical development of our country is catastrophic. Taking as an axiom the proposition that the civil war was won thanks to the wise policy of the Bolshevik Party, its leaders transferred all their military achievements to civilian life. The extraordinary administrative methods laid down during the civil war were subsequently brought to the point of absurdity. Terror, which could still be somehow explained in the conditions of tough confrontation, became a necessary attribute of suppressing the slightest dissent. The one-party system and dictatorship of the party were declared the highest achievement of democracy.

The civil war led to huge material and human losses. The total damage amounted to 50 billion gold rubles. Industrial production has decreased seven times; transportation was in complete decline; coal and oil production were at the level of the late 19th century; cultivated area has been drastically reduced. The people were exhausted. For a number of years they lived hand to mouth, there were not enough clothes, shoes, medicines. The consequences of the civil war also affected the city. Due to the lack of raw materials and fuel, many enterprises were closed. One of the most tragic consequences of the war years was child homelessness.

Data on the victims of the civil war is still very fragmentary and incomplete. However, all researchers agree that most of the casualties are among the civilian population. In the ranks of the Red Army and red partisans, according to some estimates, up to 600 thousand people died in battle and died from wounds and diseases.

There is no reliable data on white casualties. Taking into account their much smaller (four-five times) numbers and better combat training, as well as the fact that up to ¼ of Soviet losses occur in the war against Poland, the number of those who died in battle and died from diseases in the White armies can be estimated at 200 thousand human.

Not less than 2 million is the number of victims of terror, mainly "red", and the loss of peasant formations ("green"). At least 300,000 people died during the Jewish pogroms.

In total, due to the civil war, the population of the USSR (within the post-war borders) decreased by more than 10 million people. Of these, more than 2 million emigrated, and more than 3 million civilians died of starvation and disease*.

The formation of a new consciousness, characterized by a combination of revolutionary romanticism and an extremely low assessment of human life and personality, was also a consequence of the civil war.

The civil war caused colossal and irreparable damage to the state. And today everyone, and especially those who are at the top of power, should not forget, they are afraid of repetition and not allow armed conflicts in the country. It should be noted that the collapse of the Russian army largely contributed to the civil war. And here the analogies are clear. The real state in which the modern Armed Forces and the military industry of Russia are located makes us think about many things. And I would like to think that the experience of the past bloody years of the civil war was also taken into account during the reforms of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in recent years. That nothing is forgotten!

In Russia - one of the most bloody and tragic events in the history of our country. Only the Great Patriotic War in terms of the number of victims exceeded this terrible event. The tragedy is also that the civil war is still shrouded in a halo of secrets and myths: the causes, the results of the civil war, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks are not fully clear. For a long time, our society, under the influence of Soviet propaganda, labeled this event as “good reds” and “bad whites”. In our time, on the contrary, we began not only to humanize the former "murderers", "White bandits", "White Czechs", "White Poles", but also to ascribe to them the status of "saints", "great martyrs" who gave their lives for the Tsar and the Fatherland. We will try to understand in the article: what are the true reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war. What mistakes did the white movement make during the bloody era of the first half of the 20th century?

concept

Before understanding the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war, it is necessary to clarify the concept.

The civil war in Russia is a socio-economic crisis of society, which resulted in bloody hostilities from June 1918 to November 1920, in some territories - until October 1922.

Even when defining this concept, myths are hidden: many consider the civil war to be a confrontation between the old (tsarist) and new (Soviet) regimes. Actually it is not. The tsar himself abdicated back in February 1918, after which power passed to the Provisional Government as a result of the so-called February bourgeois revolution.

The civil war in Russia is a confrontation between various classes and political groups, each of which achieved its own political goals. Let's take a closer look.

Major political forces in the civil war

It is impossible to understand the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war without understanding the main political forces, groups and classes drawn into it. For a long time, our grandfathers and fathers believed that there were only two of them: "white" officers and "red" workers. The former are the exploiters, the latter are the exploited. Therefore, it was easy to explain the very reason for the war: the struggle of "good" workers with "bad" enslavers.

A huge number of different forces participated in the civil war, each of which achieved its own goals:

• the peasantry, divided into poor peasants, middle peasants and wealthy (kulaks);
• clergy;
• officers;
• Cossacks;
• national minorities;
• intelligentsia;
• nobles and landowners;
• patriots and revolutionaries, etc.

Each of these groups waged war with each other, entering into various alliances, temporary coalitions, etc.

For example, the anarchists of Nestor Makhno fought on the territory of Ukraine with the White Guards, and with the German interventionists, and with the nationalists of Petlyura, and, ultimately, with the Bolsheviks of Lenin-Trotsky, who until then were considered their faithful allies.

The main reason for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war

The Bolsheviks won the civil war. What is the main reason? Almost all historians are sure that the merit of the Bolsheviks is the preservation of a single central territory of the former empire, which included both capitals, powerful industry, food and military warehouses. Russia was drawn into the First World War. Many factories in Petrograd, the Urals produced military products, there were a lot of uniforms and ammunition in the warehouses of the Volga region. It was these central territories that were controlled by the Bolsheviks. Of course, there were local centers of resistance in the Far East, and in Siberia, in the Caucasus, but Lenin and Trotsky saw the main task - to keep a single center. Few people know, but the famous “Budenovka hats” are royal “heroes”, specially created for the future parade in honor of the victory in the First World War. Neither the victory nor the future parade took place. The people first saw the "heroes" in the cavalry detachments of S. M. Budyonny, so the hats were dubbed "Budyonovka". The headdress example is not the only one: the Red Army got food supplies, weapons, and other uniforms.

The integrity of the territory also made it possible to quickly transfer huge forces to the necessary sectors of the front. For example, at a critical moment, the troops of the Southern Front of Frunze were transferred to the East against Kolchak, which made it possible to stop the "Ruler of Russia" on the outskirts of the Urals, where huge stocks of ammunition and uniforms were located.

Reason two: "Decree on Peace"

What are the other reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war. One of them is the signing of the "Decree on Peace". According to him, Soviet Russia recognized its defeat before the Kaiser's Germany and agreed to peace. As President Vladimir Putin said: “Our country lost the war to the losing side. This has never happened before in history." The signing of the decree attracted the soldiers who fought in the First World War to the side of the Bolsheviks. They were tired of it, they considered the war to be imperialist. Both the Provisional Government and the White movement remained loyal to the Entente. They called for a war to a victorious end. Another thing is the Bolsheviks, who call for signing peace. Of course, through the prism of time, we now understand the tragedy of the situation, but ordinary people in this period could be understood.

Reason three: "Land Decree"

The "Decree on Land" and the policy of the Bolsheviks in the countryside also brought results. Of course, the Soviet government did not bring prosperity and wealth to rural workers, as it was presented by propaganda and cinema. The Bolsheviks, through their representatives from the poor (“combeds”), selected no less, and sometimes even more, White Guards. However, the reason for the support of the "Reds" is that they took away only food. The "White Guards" not only took supplies, but also took away the land, returning the old order.

Reason four: propaganda

The Bolsheviks skillfully used propaganda. It was this tool that made it possible to inspire the people that the “Reds” are the defenders of the Motherland and Fatherland, and the “Whites” are supporters of the imperialists and foreign invaders. The declassification of many documents today allows us to draw opposite conclusions.

So, we have analyzed what a civil war is in Russia, the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks also became clear. We have tried to cover this complex topic without ideological myths and political predilections.

For our country, the Civil War and intervention turned into a great tragedy. The damage that was inflicted on the national economy exceeded 50 billion rubles. gold rubles. Industrial production decreased by seven times, and agricultural production by 38%. The number of the working class has halved, as part of it died at the fronts, and part settled in various state-bureaucratic structures or returned to the countryside. The rest of the workers were occupied with casual occupations, they were increasingly disillusioned with the existing regime. In the countryside, the percentage of small proprietors who have always disliked the Bolsheviks has increased.

About 8 million people died in battles, from hunger, disease, white and red terror. About 2 million people - almost the entire political, financial and industrial, to a lesser extent scientific and artistic elite of pre-revolutionary Russia - were forced to emigrate.

The end of the war meant the end of the protracted revolutionary process. The Bolsheviks were not only able to seize power, but also to keep it in the conditions of military confrontation. Having spilled a river of blood, having suffered heavy losses, the leaders of the white movement suffered a crushing defeat.

Why did the Reds win? Reasons for winning:

1) the population of Russia mainly consisted of peasants, the position of this class determined the winner in the civil war. The Bolsheviks managed to win over most of the country's population to their side, since during the offensive of the White troops, the rural population got the opportunity to compare. And this was not in favor of the whites, who wanted to return pre-revolutionary Russia. The advantage of the Reds was also that they took away only food, while the Whites took away both bread and land from the peasants in the territory subject to them;

2) the Bolsheviks carried out mass propaganda work. The peasants were told about the temporary nature of the emergency measures and promised to repay their debts after the war. The peasants chose the least evil and preferred to serve the Reds;

3) shortly after the start of the war, the Reds create a strong and regular army, which they recruit with the help of universal conscription. Because of this, there is an advantage in favor of the Reds;

4) attracting a huge number of military specialists who made the army professional;

5) the Reds did not have problems with ammunition, since they used the stocks of tsarist times concentrated in central Russia. And the dense network of railroads helped the army to be very mobile and always ready;

6) the policy of war communism also contributed to the victory of the Bolsheviks. The way to neutralize opponents was the red terror;

7) the national policy of the Bolsheviks attracted to their side the population of the national outskirts of the empire. White's slogan "one and indivisible Russia" deprived him of this support.

After considering the reasons for the victory of the Bolsheviks, we will identify the reasons for the defeat of the Whites. The defeat of the anti-Bolshevik forces in the Civil War was due to many reasons:

1) without a positive program, the white movement could not consolidate all the anti-Bolshevik forces;

2) lack of unity within the camp of the Whites;

3) the absence of a real agrarian program also played a fatal role. The Whites did not dare to approve a spontaneous land redistribution;