Who are the “red” and “white”? Civil War (1917-1922): Red Army and White

Where did the terms “red” and “white” come from? The civil war also knew the "greens", "cadets", "Social Revolutionaries" and other formations. What is their fundamental difference?

In this article we will answer not only these questions, but also briefly get acquainted with the history of the formation of Soviet power in the country. Let's talk about the confrontation between the White Guard and the Red Army.

The origin of the terms “red” and “white”

Today, the history of the Fatherland is less and less concerned for young people. According to surveys, many do not even have an idea who Lenin is, let alone the Patriotic War of 1812 ...

However, such words and phrases as “red” and “white”, “Civil War” and “October Revolution” are still heard. Most, however, do not know the details, but they heard the terms.

Let's take a closer look at this issue. To begin with, where did the two warring camps come from - the “white” and the “red” in the Civil War. In principle, it was just an ideological move by Soviet propagandists and nothing more. Now you will understand this riddle yourself.

If we turn to textbooks and reference books of the Soviet Union, it explains that the “whites” are the White Guards, supporters of the tsar and enemies of the “red”, Bolsheviks.

It seems that it was so. But in fact, this is another enemy that the Soviets fought with.

After all, the country lived for seventy years in opposition to fictitious opponents. These were the “whites,” the kulaks, the decaying west, the capitalists. Very often, such a vague definition of the enemy served as the foundation for slander and terror.

Next, we will discuss the causes of the Civil War. "Whites", according to Bolshevik ideology, were monarchists. But here's the catch, there were practically no monarchists in the war. They had no one to fight for, and honor did not suffer from this. Nicholas II abdicated, but his brother did not accept the crown. Thus, all the royal officers were free from the oath.

Where did this “color" difference come from then? If the Bolsheviks really had a red flag, then their opponents never had a white one. The answer lies in the history of a century and a half ago.

The Great French Revolution gave the world two opposing camps. The royal troops carried a white banner, a sign of the dynasty of French rulers. After the seizure of power, their opponents hung a red canvas in the window of the city hall as a sign of the introduction of wartime. On such days, any gatherings of people were dispersed by soldiers.

But the Bolsheviks were opposed not by monarchists, but by supporters of the convocation of the Constituent Assembly (constitutional democrats, cadets), anarchists (Makhnovists), "green soldiers" (who fought against the "red", "white", interventionists) and those who wanted the separation of their territory into a free state .

Thus, the term “whites” was cleverly used by ideologists to define a common enemy. His winning position was that any Red Army soldier could explain in a nutshell what he was fighting for, unlike all the other rebels. This attracted ordinary people to the side of the Bolsheviks and made it possible for the latter to win the Civil War.

War background

When the Civil War is studied in the lessons, the table is simply necessary for a good assimilation of the material. Below are the stages of this military conflict that will help you better navigate not only in the article, but also in this period of the history of the Fatherland.

Now that you and I have decided who the “red” and “white” are, the Civil War, or rather its stages, will be more understandable. You can proceed to a deeper study of them. It’s worth starting with the premises.

So, the main reason for such a passion, which subsequently resulted in a five-year Civil War, was the accumulated contradictions and problems.

Firstly, the participation of the Russian Empire in World War I destroyed the economy and depleted resources in the country. The bulk of the male population was in the army, agriculture and urban industry fell into decay. The soldiers were tired of fighting for other people's ideals when there were hungry families at home.

The second reason was agricultural and industrial issues. There were too many peasants and workers who lived below the poverty line and poverty. The Bolsheviks took full advantage of this.

In order to turn participation in the World War into an interclass struggle, certain steps were taken.

First, the first wave of nationalization of enterprises, banks, and lands took place. Then the Brest Treaty was signed, which plunged Russia into the abyss of complete ruin. Against the backdrop of general devastation, the Red Army organized terror to stay in power.

To justify their behavior, they built the ideology of the struggle against the White Guards and the interventionists.

Background

Let's take a closer look at why the Civil War began. The table we presented earlier illustrates the stages of the conflict. But we will begin with those events that occurred before the Great October Revolution.

Weakened by participation in the First World War, the Russian Empire is declining. Nicholas II abdicates the throne. More importantly, he does not have a successor. In the light of such events, two new forces are being formed at the same time - the Provisional Government and the Council of Workers' Deputies.

The former begin to deal with the social and political spheres of the crisis, while the Bolsheviks concentrated on increasing their influence in the army. This path led them subsequently to the possibility of becoming the only ruling force in the country.
It was the confusion in government that led to the formation of “red” and “white”. The civil war was only the apotheosis of their differences. Which is to be expected.

October Revolution

In fact, the tragedy of the Civil War begins with the October Revolution. The Bolsheviks gained strength and more confidently went to power. In mid-October 1917, a very tense situation began to take shape in Petrograd.

On October 25, Alexander Kerensky, head of the Provisional Government, leaves Petrograd for Pskov for help. He personally evaluates the events in the city as an uprising.

In Pskov, he asks General Dukhonin to help him with troops. Kerensky seems to get support from the Cossacks, but suddenly the cadets leave the regular army. Now constitutional democrats refuse to support the head of government.

Not finding proper support in Pskov, Alexander Fedorovich goes to the city of Ostrov, where he meets with General Krasnov. At the same time, an assault on the Winter Palace takes place in Petrograd. In Soviet history, this event is presented as a key one. But in fact, it happened without resistance from the deputies.

After a single shot from the cruiser Aurora, sailors, soldiers and workers went to the palace and arrested all members of the Provisional Government present there. In addition, the Second Congress of Soviets took place , where a number of basic declarations were adopted and the execution at the front was abolished.

In view of the coup, Krasnov decides to help Alexander Kerensky. October 26 in the direction of Petrograd goes horse detachment of seven hundred people. It was assumed that in the city themselves they were supported by the uprising of the junkers. But it was suppressed by the Bolsheviks.

In this situation, it became clear that the Provisional Government was no longer in force. Kerensky fled, General Krasnov bargained from the Bolsheviks the opportunity to freely return to the island with the detachment.

In the meantime, the Socialist-Revolutionaries begin a radical struggle against the Bolsheviks, who, in their opinion, have gained great power. The response to the killings of some "red" leaders was the terror of the Bolsheviks, and the Civil War (1917-1922) began. We are now considering further developments.

The establishment of the "red" power

As we said above, the tragedy of the Civil War began long before the October Revolution. Ordinary people, soldiers, workers and peasants were unhappy with the current situation. While in the central regions many militarized detachments were under the close control of the Headquarters, then completely different sentiments reigned in the eastern detachments.

It was the presence of a large number of reserve troops and their unwillingness to enter the war with Germany that helped the Bolsheviks quickly and bloodlessly get the support of almost two-thirds of the army. Only 15 large cities opposed the "red" government, while 84 on their own initiative passed into their hands.

An unexpected surprise for the Bolsheviks in the form of tremendous support from the confused and tired soldiers was declared "red" as the "triumphal march of the Soviets."

The Civil War (1917-1922) only worsened after the signing of the devastating Brest Peace for Russia . Under the terms of the agreement, the former empire lost more than a million square kilometers of territories. These included: the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Romania, Don territories. In addition, they were supposed to pay Germany six billion marks of indemnity.

This decision provoked a protest both domestically and by the Entente. Along with the intensification of various local conflicts, the military intervention of Western states on the territory of Russia begins.

The entry of the Entente troops was reinforced by the uprising of the Czechoslovak corps in Siberia and the revolt of the Kuban Cossacks led by General Krasnov. The defeated detachments of the White Guards and some of the interventionists left for Central Asia and continued the struggle against Soviet power for many years.

Second period of the Civil War

It was at this stage that the most active were the White Guard Heroes of the Civil War. History has preserved such surnames as Kolchak, Yudenich, Denikin, Yuzefovich, Miller and others.

Each of these commanders had his own vision of the future for the state. Some tried to interact with the troops of the Entente in order to overthrow the Bolshevik power and still convene a Constituent Assembly. Others wanted to become local princes. These include such as Makhno, Grigoriev and others.

The complexity of this period lies in the fact that as soon as the First World War was over, German troops had to leave the territory of Russia only after the advent of the Entente. But under a secret agreement, they left earlier, surrendering the city to the Bolsheviks.

As history shows us, it was after such a turn of events that the Civil War entered a phase of special cruelty and bloodshed. The failure of the commanders, guided by Western governments, was further aggravated by the fact that they sorely lacked qualified officers. So, the armies of Miller, Yudenich and some other formations disintegrated only because, with a lack of middle-level commanders, the main influx of forces came from captured Red Army soldiers.

The newspaper reports of this period are characterized by headlines of this type: "Two thousand troops with three guns went over to the side of the Red Army."

The final stage

The beginning of the last period of the war of 1917-1922, historians tend to associate with the Polish war. With the help of Western neighbors, Pilsudski wanted to create a confederation with territory from the Baltic to the Black Sea. But his aspirations were not destined to come true. The Civil War armies, led by Yegorov and Tukhachevsky, fought deep into Western Ukraine and reached the Polish border.

The victory over this enemy was to raise the workers in Europe to the struggle. But all the plans of the Red Army leaders failed after a devastating defeat in the battle, which was preserved under the name “Miracle on the Vistula”.

After the conclusion of a peace treaty between the Soviets and Poland, differences begin in the Entente camp. As a result, funding for the “white” movement has declined, and the Civil War in Russia is beginning to decline.

In the early 1920s, such changes in the foreign policy of Western states led to the fact that the Soviet Union recognized most of the countries.

The heroes of the Civil War of the final period fought against Wrangel in Ukraine, the interventionists in the Caucasus and Central Asia, in Siberia. Among the particularly distinguished commanders, Tukhachevsky, Blucher, Frunze and some others should be noted.

Thus, as a result of five-year bloody battles on the territory of the Russian Empire, a new state was formed. Subsequently, it became the second superpower, the only rival of which was the United States.

Reasons for victory

Let's see why the “whites” were defeated in the Civil War. We will compare the estimates of the warring camps and try to come to a general conclusion.

Soviet historians saw the main reason for their victory in the fact that there was massive support from the oppressed sections of society. Particular emphasis was placed on those who suffered as a result of the 1905 revolution. Because they unconditionally sided with the Bolsheviks.

The "whites", on the contrary, complained about the lack of human and material resources. In the occupied territories with a million people, they could not even carry out minimal mobilization in order to join the ranks.

Of particular interest are the statistics provided by the Civil War. “Reds”, “whites” (table below) were particularly affected by desertion. Intolerable living conditions, as well as the lack of clear goals made themselves felt. The data relate only to the Bolshevik forces, since the White Guard did not save any distinct numbers.

The main point noted by modern historians was the political sphere of the conflict.

The White Guards, firstly, did not have a centralized command and minimal cooperation between the units. They fought locally, each for their own interests. The second feature was the lack of political workers and a clear program. These moments were often assigned to officers who knew how to fight, but not to conduct diplomatic negotiations.

The Red Army created a powerful ideological network. A clear system of concepts was developed that was hammered into the heads of workers and soldiers. Slogans made it possible for even the most slaughtered peasant to understand what he was going to fight for.

It was such a policy that allowed the Bolsheviks to receive maximum support from the population.

Effects

The victory of the "Reds" in the Civil War was given to the state very expensive. The economy was completely destroyed. The country has lost territories with a population of more than 135 million people.

Agriculture and productivity, food production declined by 40-50 percent. Food surplus and "red-white" terror in different regions led to the death of a huge number of people from starvation, torture and execution.

According to experts, industry has slipped to the level of the Russian Empire since the reign of Peter the Great. According to the researchers, production figures fell to 20 percent of the 1913 volumes, and in some areas to 4 percent.

As a result, a massive outflow of workers from cities to villages began. Since there was at least some hope not to die of hunger.

The "whites" in the Civil War reflected the desire of the nobility and senior officials to restore their former living conditions. But their isolation from the real moods prevailing among the common people led to the total defeat of the old order.

Cultural reflection

Civil War leaders have been immortalized in thousands of different works - from cinema to canvases, from stories to sculptures and songs.

For example, such productions as “Turbin Days”, “Running”, “Optimistic Tragedy” plunged people into the tense atmosphere of wartime.

The films Chapaev, Red Devils, We from Kronstadt showed the efforts that the Reds made in the Civil War to defeat their ideals.

The literary work of Babel, Bulgakov, Gaidar, Pasternak, Ostrovsky illustrates the life of representatives of different walks of life in those difficult days.

You can give examples almost ad infinitum, because the social catastrophe that erupted in the Civil War found a powerful response in the hearts of hundreds of artists.

Thus, today we have learned not only the origin of the concepts of “white” and “red”, but also briefly acquainted with the course of events of the Civil War.

Remember that any crisis keeps in itself a grain of future changes for the better.