The civil war of 1917 is associated with the confrontation between the “whites” and the “reds”. However, during the course of events, tactical attitudes were regularly adjusted; political movements formed various blocks.
The civil war took place not only in the struggle of the Bolsheviks against the white movement. The confrontation was with the former allies (anarchists and left SRs), opponents were supporters of the Constituent Assembly.
It should be noted that the forces opposing Bolshevism had very little in common, and the disagreements that had formed did not allow creating a full-fledged coalition. There was also a national ferment, not related to the activities of a particular party. The Civil War was brewing in Russia.
The reasons for the confrontation were mainly related to the contradictions between the power that gained power and other socio-political movements.
Having gained power, the Bolsheviks began to persecute organizations "against the revolution." Moreover, the hostility of the new government spread not only to the “infidels of the cause of the revolution”, but also to various classes (nobles, officers, merchants, Cossacks, priests and others). The resistance of various political forces has become a response. Several anti-Bolshevik groups were formed at the beginning of 1918 (the Committee for the Salvation of the Revolution and the Homeland, the Committee for Public Salvation, and other organizations). The role of the cadets was quite active in these formations.
The dispersal of the Constituent Assembly contributed to the beginning of the arming of the opponents of the Bolsheviks. The civil war in this period is characterized by a certain intolerance. Part of the intelligentsia tried to stop fratricide, but to no avail.
It should be noted that until mid-1918, armed anti-Bolshevik demonstrations were not large-scale. The campaign against General Krasnov in Petrograd, the uprising of Ataman Kaledin in the Don and in the Southern Urals by Ataman Dutov, in Moscow the rebellion of the junkers (October 1917) and other offensives were not coordinated.
The civil war was largely provoked by the Social Revolutionaries, who organized the uprising of the leaders of the Czechoslovak corps.
The summer of 1918 is characterized by increasing bitterness in the confrontation between the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Bolsheviks. By this time, the anarchists began to show their disagreement with the policy of the Bolshevik authorities.
The split between the anarchists caused the Brest Peace. As a result, two currents formed - supporters and opponents of Soviet power. Among the supporters of Bolshevism, such figures as Berg, Zheleznyakov, Furmanov. However, a larger portion of the anarchists opposed Soviet power.
By the fall of 1918, the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks began to experience an ideological and organizational crisis. Opposing Bolshevism, the Social Revolutionaries did not find the support of the whites. Moreover, Kolchak and Denikin officers expressed open contempt for them.
The most consistent of all opponents of Bolshevism is the white movement. His ideologists (Struve, Lvov, Shulgin) tried to combine activity on the basis of a national idea, which suggested a struggle aimed at the revival of strong statehood.
As a military force, the white current began to form in early 1918, with the formation of volunteer units in Novocherkassk Alekseev, Kaledin, Kornilov. By the end of the year, the army of volunteers was led by General Denikin.
The white movement was defeated. This happened for many reasons. One of the main historians call the lack of peasant support. People often advocated for the Reds and for the Whites¸ often opposed both.
After the elimination of the white movement, the civil war by the Bolsheviks was not yet over. The uprisings of Antonov’s army were suppressed in the Tambov province.
At the end of the war, the Kronstadt rebellion of the Baltic sailors, which at the beginning of hostilities was the striking force of the Reds, was extremely brutally suppressed.