Born in the USSR: the collapse of the Russian Empire. Collapse of the Russian Empire. Creation of a federal state

and nation-state building

in Soviet Russia 1917 – 1922

Pre-revolutionary Russia was a multinational state in which Russians made up only 41% of the empire's population, so the most important issue of the Second Russian Revolution was the national question - the question of the relationship between the Russian people and other peoples of Russia. Most of them (with the exception of Poland, Finland, the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara) did not have autonomy at the beginning of the twentieth century, and therefore demanded equal rights with the Russians and the right to autonomy within Russia, which had been turned into a federal state. Only the Poles and Finns sought to secede from it and create their own independent states.

After the October Revolution, the demands of non-Russian peoples became more radical. Frightened by the anarchy in the Russian provinces and the cruelty of the Bolshevik regime, they began to secede from Russia and create their own national states. This process was accelerated by German and Turkish intervention in 1918, when Germany and Turkey set a course for creating small states on the outskirts of Russia, dependent on the Quadruple Alliance.

Even before the revolution, the creation of such a state began in Poland. In August 1914, the Riflemen (armed units of Polish nationalists formed on the territory of Austria-Hungary) invaded the territory of Poland, which was part of Russian Empire, along with German and Austrian troops. In December 1915, a Central National Committee was created on German-occupied Polish territory. However, attempts by the leader of the Polish national movement, Józef Pilsudski, to turn this committee into the government of Poland, and the Polish legions within the Austro-Hungarian army into a Polish army independent of Berlin and Vienna, failed. In July 1917, he was arrested by the Germans and until November 1918 he was imprisoned in the Magdeburg fortress. The “independent” Polish state created by the Germans and Austrians (proclaimed in November 1916) and its government, the Provisional State Council (created in January 1917) were under complete control of the occupiers. Therefore, Polish independence became real only after the defeat of Germany in the First World War. Returning to his homeland in November 1918, Pilsudski dispersed the Regency Council created by the Germans in Warsaw and the Provisional People's Government of the Polish Republic in Lublin, disarmed the German troops retreating from Russia and, arming the Polish legions with captured weapons, turned them into one of the strongest in Eastern Europe army. In February 1919, it launched an offensive to the east, occupying by May 1920. Lithuania, Belarus, Western and Right Bank Ukraine, including Kyiv. The counteroffensive of the Red Army (June-August 1920) ended in its serious defeat near Warsaw (the Poles called it the “miracle on the Vistula”). Its results were consolidated by the Treaty of Riga (March 1921), according to which Vilnius, Western Belarus and Western Ukraine became part of Poland. Thus, Poland not only became an independent state, but also expanded its borders.

In Finland, independence was proclaimed on December 6, 1917, and three days later its government adopted a declaration that said: “There is now no government in Russia,” therefore “anarchy in Russia obliges the Finnish people to free themselves forever from any dependence on Russia.” However, in practice, when resolving the issue of Russian-Finnish relations, both Helsingfors (Helsinki) and Petrograd played a double game. The Finns, declaring that in Russia “there is no government now,” a few days later, on two lines at once, began negotiations with the Bolsheviks and their government on recognizing the independence of Finland (the Finnish government made such a request to the Council of People’s Commissars, and the ruling Social Democratic Party of Finland - to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party). As a result, on December 31, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a resolution recognizing the independence of Finland, which was approved four days later by a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. However, when discussing this decree at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, People's Commissar for Nationalities I.V. Stalin said: “In fact, the Council of People's Commissars gave freedom against its will not ... to representatives of the Finnish proletariat, but to the Finnish bourgeoisie,” which he regarded as “the tragedy of the Finnish proletariat.” , which is the result of “indecisiveness and incomprehensible cowardice” of the local left-wing Social Democrats. Therefore, the Bolsheviks, with the help of the latter, organized a communist putsch in Finland, supported by Russian soldiers and sailors (January 27, 1918). The rebels occupied Helsingfors and proclaimed the “Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic”, which on March 1, 1918 concluded a treaty of friendship and mutual assistance with the RSFSR. But the highest authority of the new republic, the Council of People's Representatives (analogous to the Russian Council of People's Commissars) controlled only southern Finland.
80% of the country's territory remained under the control of its legitimate government, which fled to the city of Vaza. As a result, a civil war began in Finland, a turning point in which came after the landing of the division of German General R. von der Goltz in this country (mid-March 1918), which by the beginning of May, with the help of the Shutskor (Finnish White Guard), defeated the Red Guard of the Workers Republic" and restored the power of the bourgeois government of Svinhufvud and Mannerheim in the south (the latter actually became the Finnish dictator). However, the Russian Bolsheviks came to terms with the fact of the defeat of their local supporters only six months later (the RSFSR recognized bourgeois Finland in December 1918).

The struggle between nationalists and communists in Ukraine was even more fierce. On March 4, 1917, several socialist parties (Ukrainian Social Democratic Labor Party, Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party and others) created the Central Rada (Ukrainian parliament). Its executive body was the Malaya Rada (Ukrainian government). On June 10, 1917, the Central Rada issued its first universal (decree), according to which Ukraine received autonomy, “without breaking with the Russian power,” and its new government, the General Secretariat, was created.

On November 7, 1917, after the suppression of the Bolshevik putsch in Kyiv (local Bolsheviks, having defeated the cadets and officers, tried to proclaim Soviet power in the city, but this attempt was suppressed by the “Ukrainized divisions”), the third universal of the Central Rada proclaimed the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR), Formally, it is an autonomous republic within Russia, but in fact, it is a sovereign state. But on December 11, 1917 in Kharkov, at the All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets, the Soviet “People’s Ukrainian Republic” (later renamed the Ukrainian SSR) was proclaimed, the highest authority of which was the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Ukraine. His troops launched an attack on Kyiv (mainly by Russian Red Guards and soldiers). In response, the Central Rada, with its fourth universal (January 22, 1918), proclaimed the UPR “an independent free and sovereign state of the Ukrainian people.” Five days later, this state entered into an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, at the request of which a clause on recognition of the UPR by Soviet Russia. On February 12, the Central Rada invited German troops to Ukraine, which on March 2, together with the UPR army under the command of S. Petlyura, took Kyiv. Thus, the first civil war in Ukraine (November 1917 - March 1918) ended in victory for the nationalists, but the Germans who occupied Ukraine made a decisive contribution to this victory.

In March - November 1918, the situation in Ukraine thanks to German occupation was quite stable. The new ruler of the country, Hetman P.P. Skoropadsky, who gained power as a result of a military coup on April 29, 1918, organized by the Germans, controlled the entire territory of Ukraine. But after the departure of German troops (November 1918), the situation changed dramatically, and the second civil war began in Ukraine (November 1918 - October 1920). The Central Rada, which went underground in April 1918
On November 18, 1918, she created a new Ukrainian government, the Directory, and restored the UPR destroyed by the hetman. On December 14, 1918, Petliura’s army took Kyiv, and Skoropadsky fled to Germany. However, the Petliurists, unlike the hetman, controlled only part of the territory of Ukraine. The Bolsheviks, having created the “Provisional Workers’ and Peasants’ Government of Ukraine” in Kursk in November 1918, began an attack on Kyiv with the forces of the Ukrainian Front created on the territory of the RSFSR and by February 1919 occupied the entire Left Bank of Ukraine and Kyiv. At the same time, French and Denikin troops landed in the Crimea and the ports of Southern Ukraine, and Makhno and other atamans fought simultaneously against the Petliurites, Red and White. As a result, throughout 1919, Ukraine was an arena of struggle between several military-political groups, and its territory, including Kyiv, changed hands many times (the Reds and Petliurists took the Ukrainian capital twice, and Denikin’s once). Convinced that he could not conquer Ukraine from the Reds and Whites on his own, Petliura, who by that time had turned into a Ukrainian dictator, entered into an alliance with Poland on April 21, 1920, giving it a fifth of the Ukrainian land (Eastern Galicia and Volyn). On April 25, Polish and Ukrainian troops launched an attack on Kyiv and took it on May 6, but were driven out of there by the Reds on June 12. After the end of the Soviet-Polish War (October 1920), 40 thousand Petliurists, left without allies, were partially destroyed by the Red Army, and partially fled to Poland and Romania. Thus, the second civil war in Ukraine ended in victory for the Bolsheviks, and it finally became a Soviet republic.

In Belarus, the struggle between communists and nationalists was not as difficult and prolonged as in Ukraine, since the Belarusian nationalists were much weaker than the Ukrainian ones. The first step towards independence was taken here when the Great Belarusian Rada (analogous to the Ukrainian Central Rada) was convened in Minsk in August 1917, but already on October 25-27, the Minsk Council proclaimed Soviet power in Belarus. Attempts by nationalists to disrupt the Sovietization process, first by political means and then by force, failed. Convened on December 5, 1917, the All-Belarusian National Congress (the local analogue of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly) was dispersed by the Bolsheviks on December 17, and the rebellion of the Polish corps of General I.R. Dovbor-Musnitsky (January 12 - 31, 1918) was quickly suppressed.

However, after the start of the offensive of German troops in Belarus (February 18, 1918), Soviet power in this country was overthrown, and on March 9, the Belarusian People's Republic (BPR) was proclaimed, the highest authority of which was the Rada of the BPR, created on March 19. However, after the Germans left, this republic fell. On January 1, 1919, the “temporary Workers’ and Peasants’ Government of the Belarusian Soviet Independent Republic” was created in Minsk and Soviet power was proclaimed, and on February 4, the First Belarusian Congress of Soviets adopted the Constitution of the BSSR.

The situation in the Baltic states was more complex, where nationalists were stronger than in Belarus, and interference in events by external forces (Germany, Poland, Russian White Guards and others) was more active. In Lithuania, occupied by the Germans back in 1915, on November 28, 1917, the “independent Lithuanian state” was proclaimed, the highest authority of which, Tariba (national council), immediately turned to Berlin with a request for an “eternal and lasting alliance” with Germany. On January 12, 1918, the same “independent” state was proclaimed in Riga, occupied by the Germans in August 1917. In Estonia and Eastern Latvia, occupied by Russian troops, Soviet power was established: in Reval (Tallinn) - October 22-23, 1917 ., in Eastern Latvia - December 16-17, 1917, but after the offensive of German troops in the Baltic states, the situation in the region changed dramatically. “Independent” Lithuania became a monarchy with a German prince on the throne, while Latvia and Estonia were united into the Baltic District, ruled by a German military governor. Thus, all three Baltic countries became German colonies.

After Germany's defeat in World War I, the situation in this region changed again. As a result of the offensive of the Red Army, three Soviet republics were created here - the Estonian Labor Commune (November 29, 1918), the Lithuanian Soviet Republic (December 16, 1918) and the Soviet Socialist Republic of Latvia (December 17, 1917), immediately recognized by the RSFSR. However, they only existed for a few months. By May 1919, the English fleet, which landed troops in Reval, the White Guard Northern Army and two divisions of Latvian nationalists completely cleared Estonia of the Bolsheviks, a month earlier Polish army destroyed the Soviet republic in Lithuania, and in January 1920, under the onslaught of the Landswehr (German and Latvian mercenaries) and Russian White Guards, the Soviet republic in Latvia fell.

In Transcaucasia, the first step towards separating this region from Russia was taken on November 15, 1917, when the Transcaucasian Commissariat (a local government similar to Komuch) was created in Tiflis (Tbilisi). On February 23, 1918, this government was replaced by a new government body, the Transcaucasian Sejm, which on April 22 proclaimed the independent Federative Transcaucasian Republic. However, on May 26, the Sejm declared it no longer existing and was dissolved itself. On the same day, the Georgian National Assembly proclaimed the Georgian Democratic Republic, and on May 28, the Armenian Republic and the Azerbaijani Republic were proclaimed.

After the start of the offensive in Transcaucasia by the Turkish army
(January 30, 1918) The Armenian Republic was destroyed, and Azerbaijan turned into a puppet state, completely subordinate to Turkey. Georgia, occupied by German troops, enjoyed great independence and even claimed to be a regional superpower (its troops captured part of the territory of Armenia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia).

After the departure of German and Turkish troops from Transcaucasia (November 1918), the military-political situation in the region changed again. At first, five British divisions appeared here, but by September 1919 they were withdrawn from Transcaucasia, which made it easier for the Bolsheviks to capture it. On March 17, 1920, V.I. Lenin ordered the hundred thousand-strong 11th Army of the Southern Front to launch an attack on Azerbaijan and Georgia. Carrying out this task, units of this army entered Baku, where the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic was proclaimed (April 28, 1920) and invaded Georgia (but had to temporarily leave there due to the outbreak of war with Poland). The next victim of the 11th Army was Armenia, weakened by the war with Turkey over Turkish cities captured by the Armenians in May 1919. On November 27, 1920, the Reds crossed the border of Armenia, and on November 29 it was proclaimed a “Soviet Socialist Republic.” On February 16, 1921, the 11th Army invaded Georgia, where local Bolsheviks, with the help Soviet ambassador A “popular uprising” was organized in Tiflis. The Revolutionary Committee, created during the uprising, immediately turned to Moscow for help. On February 25, Tiflis was captured and the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed.

The struggle of communists and nationalists in Kazakhstan and Central Asia was even longer and more difficult. By the beginning of 1917, there were four administrative-territorial units: the Steppe Territory in Kazakhstan, the Turkestan Governor-General, the Khanate of Khiva and the Emirate of Bukhara in Central Asia. The first step towards independence in this region was the uprising in Turkestan and the Steppe region in 1916, which was brutally suppressed by tsarist troops. In April 1917, two institutions were created in the region at once, fighting for its autonomy - the Kazakh-Kyrgyz Congress in Orenburg and the Turkestan Muslim Central Committee in Tashkent, but their activities did not produce real results (the Tashkent Committee was soon dissolved, and the only result The work of the Orenburg congress was the creation in July 1917 of the Alash Orda party, which sought to create an autonomous Kazakh-Kyrgyz state within Russia). More effective was the activity of the local Bolsheviks, who seized power in Tashkent back in September 1917, and only after the arrival of a punitive detachment from Kazan was the power of the Provisional Government restored here.

The second attempt to establish a Bolshevik dictatorship in Turkestan turned out to be more successful. As a result of the uprising (October 27 – November 1, 1917), power in the city passed to the Regional Council people's commissars, formed at the III Regional Congress of Soviets (November 15 - 22, 1917). However, at the “all-Muslim congress” in Kokand (December 1917), in which Uzbek nationalists and Alashorda residents participated, an anti-Bolshevik government was created, which declared Turkestan an autonomous region, "united with the Russian Democratic Federative Republic." As a result, a civil war began in Turkestan, which ended with the victory of the Tashkent government (February 1918). His troops took, plundered and burned Kokand, and the head of the “Kokand autonomy” Irgash fled to the Fergana Valley, where he became the first leader of the Basmachi troops. On April 20, 1918, at the V Extraordinary Congress of Soviets of Turkestan, the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed and its Central Executive Committee and Council of People's Commissars were created. However, it was not possible to establish Soviet power in Khiva and Bukhara, since the armies of the khan and the emir defeated the Tashkent Red Guards, and the authorities of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic were forced to recognize the independence of their states.

After the outbreak of a large-scale civil war, the military-political situation in Kazakhstan and Central Asia changed dramatically. The Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic found itself cut off from the main territory of the RSFSR and surrounded by numerous enemies (British invaders in Turkmenistan, the Basmachi in Fergana, the Alashordy people, who created their own state in April 1919, in Central Kazakhstan, the Kolchakites in the north and northeast). Only after the defeat of A.V. Kolchak (summer 1919) was the connection between Soviet Turkestan and Moscow restored, and pockets of resistance to the Bolsheviks with the help of troops of the Turkestan Front, separated from the Eastern Front in August 1919, were suppressed. In December 1919 - February 1920, the division of the white General Litvinov on the Caspian coast of Turkmenistan was defeated, in September 1919 - the Fergana Basmachi. In February 1920, troops of the Turkestan Front took Khiva, which was proclaimed the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic (Khorezm - ancient name Khiva), in September 1920 - Bukhara, where the Bukhara People's Soviet Republic was created. New rise of the Basmachi movement in 1920 - 1922. the situation could no longer be changed, and after the death of the main leader of the Basmachi, the Turkish general Enver Pasha (August 1922), the victory of Soviet power in Turkestan could be considered final. Legally, this victory was secured by the new constitution of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (the first Constitution of Soviet Turkestan was adopted in November 1918), adopted in September 1920 and proclaiming it an autonomous republic of Uzbeks, Turkmen, Tajiks and Kyrgyz. The Kazakhs who lived in the steppe region also received autonomy: in August 1920, the Kirghiz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created (at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Kazakhs were called the Kyrgyz, and the Kyrgyz were called the Kara-Kirghiz).

Thus, in 1917 - 1918. The Russian Empire collapsed, and a number of new nationalist states arose from its ruins, but only five of them (Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) managed to maintain their independence. The rest were defeated by the Red Army and fell under Bolshevik rule.

In solving the national question, they subordinated it to their main task - to seize and retain power. Therefore, even before the revolution, trying to attract non-Russian peoples to their side, the Bolsheviks put forward the slogan of the right of nations to self-determination. After the October Revolution, it was legally formalized by the “Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia”, adopted by the Council of People's Commissars on November 2, 1917.
It proclaimed three basic principles of Soviet national policy(equality and sovereignty of all peoples of Russia, the right of nations to self-determination up to the formation of sovereign states and the free development of national minorities), but in practice none of these principles were observed.

The development of Soviet national statehood during the years of the revolution and the Civil War proceeded in two directions:

1. Creation of autonomous nation states economic units (republics, regions, states, etc.) within the RSFSR.

The first such entity, the Ural-Volga State, was created in February 1918 by decision of the Kazan Council and included Tatar and Bashkir lands. In March 1918, this “state” was reorganized into the Tatar-Bashkir Soviet Republic, but it was soon divided into two new republics (in March
In 1919, the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created, in May 1920 - the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). In April 1918, the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed, in October 1918 - the Labor Commune of the Volga Germans, in June 1920 - the Chuvash Autonomous Region, in November 1920 - the Votyak (Udmurt), Mari and Kalmyk Autonomous Regions, in January 1921 – Dagestan and Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics. As a result, to
In 1922, the RSFSR included 10 autonomous republics (ASSR) and 11 autonomous regions (AO).

2. The creation of “independent” (in fact, they were completely dependent on Moscow) Soviet republics.

The first such republic, the "People's Ukrainian Republic", was proclaimed in December 1917, and by 1922 there were nine such republics - the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Armenian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Khorezm People's Soviet Republic , Bukhara People's Soviet Republic and Far Eastern Republic (FER). The three Soviet republics in the Baltic states, created in November-December 1918, were already destroyed by May 1919 by local nationalists with the help of the English fleet, German volunteers, Russian White Guards and the Polish army.

Lecture 8

The Soviet state and law during the NEP years

(1922-1929)

· Ukraine. 1919 · Transcaucasia. 1919 · Creation and liquidation of the North-Western Region. August - December 1919 · Liquidation of the Northern Region. February 1920 · Sovietization of Central Asia (Turkestan). 1920 · Siberia. 1920. Founding of the Far Eastern Republic · Settlement of relations between the RSFSR and the Baltic states. 1920 · Ukraine. 1920-1921. Soviet-Polish War · Bolshevization of Transcaucasia. 1920-1921 · Fall of Crimea. 1920 · Annexation of the Far Eastern Republic to the RSFSR. 1921-1922 · Founding of the USSR (December 1922) · Related articles · Notes · Literature ·

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

With the Bolsheviks coming to power, on October 26, 1917, they proclaimed the Decree on Peace, which invited all warring peoples to immediately conclude a “fair democratic peace without annexations and indemnities.” On December 9, 1917, separate negotiations with Germany on immediate peace began; from December 20, the Russian delegation was headed by People's Commissar L. D. Trotsky.

The conditions put forward by the Germans were disgraceful for Russia, and included the seizure of vast national borderlands in the west of the former Russian Empire, the payment of reparations to Germany and compensation to persons of German nationality who suffered during the revolutionary events. In addition, Germany in fact negotiated with Ukraine separately, as an independent power.

Trotsky proposes an unexpected formula of “no peace, no war,” which consisted of artificially delaying negotiations in the hope of a quick revolution in Germany itself. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b), the majority (9 votes to 7) were in favor of Trotsky’s proposal.

But at the same time, this strategy failed. On February 9, 1918, the German delegation in Brest-Litovsk, on the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II, presented the first ultimatum to the Bolsheviks; on February 16, they notified the Soviet side of the resumption of hostilities on February 18 at 12:00. On February 21, the German side presented a second, harsher ultimatum. On the same day, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the decree “The Socialist Fatherland is in danger!”, began mass recruitment into the Red Army, and on February 23 the first clashes of the Red Army with the advancing German units took place.

On February 23, the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), under pressure from Lenin, nevertheless decided to accept the German ultimatum. On March 3, 1918, under pressure from Lenin, peace was signed on German terms.

The VII Congress of the RSDLP (b) (at this congress renamed the RCP (b)), which worked on March 6-8, 1918, adopted a resolution approving the conclusion of peace (30 votes for, 12 against, 4 abstained). On March 15, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was ratified at the IV Congress of Soviets.

The German offensive in the spring of 1918 and its consequences

In February 1918, after the Soviet side delayed the peace negotiations in Brest, the German army went on the offensive.

After the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, the German army practically unhindered occupied the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, landed in Finland, and entered the lands of the Don Army. Turkish troops begin an offensive in Transcaucasia.

By May 1918, German-Austrian troops liquidated the Republic of Iskolata (Latvia), the Soviet republics in Ukraine.

Ukraine

On March 7-10, 1918 in Simferopol, elected at the 1st Constituent Congress of Soviets, Revolutionary Committees and Land Committees of the Tauride Province, the Tavria Central Executive Committee announced by decrees dated March 19 and 21 the creation Tavrian SSR.

On March 19, 1918, in Yekaterinoslav, all Soviet entities on the territory of Ukraine (Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic, Ukrainian People's Republic of Soviets, Odessa Soviet Republic, Soviet Socialist Republic of Taurida) proclaimed unification into a single Ukrainian Soviet Republic within the RSFSR. Despite this decision, some of the Soviet republics formally continued to exist in parallel with the new state formation, but at the same time, as a result of the German offensive, by the end of April 1918, the territory was occupied by German troops, and the republics themselves were liquidated.

In addition, on April 29, 1918, the Central Rada was dispersed by German troops, the Ukrainian People's Republic was liquidated, and in its place was created Ukrainian state led by Hetman Skoropadsky.

Finland and Karelia

During the Finnish Civil War, Soviet Russia supports the troops of the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic, and the Finnish Republic is supported by Sweden and Germany. However, with the start of the German offensive in February 1918, Soviet Russia was forced to sharply reduce its assistance to the “Reds”, and under the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, Russian troops were withdrawn from Finland (which, however, did not take an active part in the civil war), and the Baltic Fleet left Helsingfors. Moreover, the weapons and ammunition of the Russian troops for the most part go to the “whites”.

At the same time, the leadership of the Finnish “whites” announces plans to expand the territory of Finland at the expense of Karelia. However, there was no official declaration of war from Finland. In March 1918, “volunteer” Finnish detachments invaded the territory of Karelia and occupied the village of Ukhta. On March 15, Finnish General Mannerheim approves the “Wallenius Plan”, which provides for the seizure of part of the former territory of the Russian Empire up to the line Petsamo (Pechenga) - Kola Peninsula - White Sea - Lake Onega - Svir River - Lake Ladoga.. In addition, it is proposed to transform Petrograd into a “free city-republic" like Danzig. In March, Ukhta is going to Ukhta Committee(Karelian Uhtuan Toimikunta - Ukhtuan Toimikunta), which was headed by a certain Tuisku, who adopted a resolution on the annexation of Eastern Karelia to Finland.

In April, as a result of the Olonets campaign, the White Finns occupied part of the territory of southern Karelia, and on May 15 they proclaimed in the occupied territory Olonets government.

The actions of the Finns for further expansion in Karelia are restrained by the Entente troops landing in Murmansk in early March and Kaiser Wilhelm II, who feared the loss of power by the Bolsheviks as a result of the occupation of Petrograd by the Finns and sought to facilitate the exchange of the territory of the Vyborg province, reserved for Russia, to the Pechenga region with access to the Barents Sea , what Germany needed to wage war in the North with England, whose troops began the intervention of Russian Pomerania.

In March 1918, Germany received the right to place its military bases in Finland, and on April 3, 1918, a well-armed German expeditionary force of 12 thousand (according to other sources, 9500) people landed in Gango, with the main task of taking the capital of red Finland. In total, the number of German soldiers in Finland under the command of General Rüdiger von der Goltz amounted to 20 thousand people (including garrisons on the Åland Islands).

On April 12-13, German troops took Helsinki, handing over the city to representatives of the Finnish Senate. Hyvinkä was taken on April 21, Riihimäki on April 22, and Hämenlinna on April 26. A brigade from Loviisa captured Lahti on April 19 and cut off communications between the western and eastern Red forces.

During February, Turkish troops advanced, occupying Trebizond and Erzurum by early March. Under these conditions, the Transcaucasian Sejm decided to begin peace negotiations with the Turks.

The peace negotiations, which took place from March 1 (14) to April 1 (14) in Trebizond, ended in failure. According to Art. IV Brest Peace Treaty with Soviet Russia and the Russian-Turkish additional treaty, Turkey was given the territories of Western Armenia, and, in addition, the regions of Batum, Kars and Ardahan. Türkiye demanded that the Transcaucasian delegation recognize the terms of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. The Diet interrupted negotiations and recalled the delegation from Trebizond, officially entering the war with Turkey. Moreover, representatives of the Azerbaijani faction in the Seimas openly stated that they would not participate in the creation of a common union of Transcaucasian peoples against Turkey, given their “special religious ties with Turkey.”

At the same time, as a result of the March events in Baku, the Bolsheviks came to power, proclaiming in the city Baku commune.

In April, the Ottoman army launched an offensive and occupied Batumi, but was stopped at Kars. On April 22, Türkiye and the Transcaucasian Seim agreed on a truce and the resumption of peace negotiations. Under pressure from Turkey, on April 22, 1918, the Seimas adopted a declaration of independence and the creation Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. On May 11, negotiations resumed in the city of Batumi.

During the negotiations, the Turkish side demanded even greater concessions from Transcaucasia. In this situation, the Georgian side began secret bilateral negotiations with Germany on the transition of Georgia to the sphere of German interests. Germany agreed to the Georgian proposals, since Germany, back in April 1918, signed a secret agreement with Turkey on the division of spheres of influence in Transcaucasia, according to which Georgia was already in the sphere of influence of Germany and the Poti Treaty was concluded between the parties. On May 25, German troops landed in Georgia. On May 26, independence was proclaimed Georgian Democratic Republic. Under these conditions, on the same day the Transcaucasian Seim announced its self-dissolution, and on May 28 they declared their independence Republic of Armenia And Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

At the same time, after negotiations with the Turkish government in Batum, occupied by the Turks, on May 11, members of the first composition of the Gorsky government announced the restoration Mountain Republic.

Belarus

In March 1918, the territory of Belarus was occupied by German troops. On March 25, 1918, representatives of several national movements under German occupation announced the creation of an independent Belarusian People's Republic. The territory of the BPR included the Mogilev province and parts of Minsk, Grodno (including Bialystok), Vilna, Vitebsk, and Smolensk provinces.

Moldova

In February 1918, Romanian troops, having captured the territory of Bessarabia, tried to cross the Dniester, but were defeated Soviet troops on the Rezina-Sholdanesti line. At the beginning of March, the Soviet-Romanian protocol on eliminating the conflict was signed.

At a meeting on March 27, 1918, in conditions when the parliament building of the Moldavian Democratic Republic was surrounded by Romanian troops with machine guns, Romanian military authorities were present at the voting itself. Sfatul Tarii voted in favor of unification with Romania.

Meanwhile, having lost the support of the Russian Empire and left alone with the Central Powers, Romania signed the separate Bucharest Peace Treaty on May 7, 1918. Having lost its rights to Bessarabia under the Treaty of Dobruja, Romania meanwhile achieved recognition by the Central Powers of its rights to Bessarabia.

Baltics

Estonia

On February 18, 1918, German troops launched an offensive in Estonia. On February 19, 1918, the Land Council, which emerged from underground, formed the Committee for the Salvation of Estonia, chaired by Konstantin Päts.

On February 24, the Executive Committee of the Councils of Estonia and the Revel Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies left the city of Revel, in which on the same day the Estonian Salvation Committee published the "Manifesto to all the peoples of Estonia", which declared Estonia an independent democratic republic, neutral in relation to the Russian-German conflict. On the same day, Konstantin Päts was elected head of the Estonian Provisional Government.

On February 25, 1918, German troops entered Revel, and by March 4, all Estonian lands were completely occupied by the Germans and included in Area of the Supreme Command of all German armed forces in the East(Ober Ost). The German occupation authorities did not recognize the independence of Estonia and established a military occupation regime in the region, under which officers of the German army or Baltic Germans were appointed to key administrative positions.

Simultaneously with the occupation of Revel by the Germans, the Soviet Republic of sailors and builders on the island of Naissaar was liquidated - the sailors boarded ships of the Baltic Fleet and headed for Helsinki, and from there to Kronstadt.

Latvia

In February 1918, German troops occupied the entire territory of Latvia and liquidated the Iskolata Republic.

On March 8, 1918, in Mitau, the Courland Landesrat proclaimed the creation of an independent Duchy of Courland. On March 15, William II signed an act recognizing the Duchy of Courland as an independent state.

April 12 in Riga, at the united Landesrat of Livonia, Estonia, the city of Riga and about. Ezel was announced to be created Baltic Duchy, which included the Duchy of Courland, and on the establishment of a personal union of the Baltic Duchy with Prussia. It was assumed that Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin would become the formal head of the duchy, but like other German quasi-state entities, the Baltic states would join the federal German Empire.

Lithuania

On February 16, 1918, the Lithuanian Tariba adopted the “Act of Independence of Lithuania,” which, unlike the “December Declaration,” asserted the freedom of Lithuania from any allied obligations to Germany and the decision of the fate of the state was submitted to the Constituent Sejm. On February 21, the German Chancellor notified Tariba that the German state could not recognize the independence of Lithuania on principles other than those stated in the December declaration. On February 28, the Tariba Presidium announced that Tariba agreed to the recognition of independence in accordance with the principles of the declaration of December 24, 1917. On March 23, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II recognized independence Lithuania.

Cossack regions and the North Caucasus

On March 3 in Pyatigorsk at the 2nd Congress of the Peoples of the Terek, it was proclaimed Terek Soviet Republic within the RSFSR. On March 5, the Bolsheviks expel the Provisional Terek-Dagestan government and the government of the Mountain Republic from Vladikavkaz, who flee to Tiflis. The government of the Terek Soviet Republic moves to Vladikavkaz.

In March 1918, the Red Army occupied Yekaterinodar, abandoned by detachments of the Kuban Regional Rada, without a fight. The Kuban Rada left Yekaterinodar and was proclaimed by the Bolsheviks on April 13 Kuban Soviet Republic within the RSFSR.

On February 22, 1918, under pressure from the superior forces of the Red Army, volunteers set out on the “Ice March” from Rostov-on-Don to the south. On March 31, 1918, General Kornilov died during the assault on Yekaterinodar. General Denikin becomes the new commander, and the Volunteer Army returns to the Don.

On March 13 in Novorossiysk it was proclaimed Black Sea Soviet Republic within the RSFSR.

The offensive of German troops in Ukraine, their occupation of Rostov and Taganrog leads to the fall of the Don Soviet Republic (formally existed until September 1918) and the proclamation by Ataman Krasnov of an independent puppet pro-German Don Cossack Republic.

Plus, the relationship between the Cossacks and the Volunteer Army remains complex; The Cossacks, despite the fact that they were strongly anti-Bolshevik, did not show much desire to fight outside their traditional lands. As Richard Pipes notes, “General Kornilov became in the habit of gathering Cossacks in the Don villages that he was about to leave, and trying with patriotic speech - always unsuccessfully - to persuade them to follow him. His speeches invariably ended with the words: “You are all bastards.”

On May 30, the Kuban Soviet Republic and the Black Sea Soviet Republic united into Kuban-Black Sea Soviet Republic within the RSFSR.

Central Asia (Turkestan)

The power of the Bolsheviks and left Socialist Revolutionaries in Tashkent was established after the October uprising of 1917. In February 1918, the Bolsheviks liquidated Turkestan autonomy, by the end of April 1918 formed Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In accordance with their class ideology, when establishing Soviet power in the Central Asian region, the Bolsheviks relied primarily on local factory workers, most of whom were of Russian nationality.

At the same time, relations with the Bukhara Emirate and the Khanate of Khiva remain unsettled; the vassal relations existing in 1917 of these state entities with the Russian Empire were finally terminated at the official level by the October Revolution. In March 1918, the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries made the first unsuccessful attempt to Sovietize the Bukhara Emirate ( see Kolesovsky campaign).

Ivan Artsishevsky, representative of the association of members of the Romanov family in Russia

As a rule, an accident is a combination of factors; an accident does not happen due to any one factor.

In Russia it was disunity, an ideological misunderstanding of the common people by the aristocracy: it was very far from the people. A weak king, of course: he was a wonderful person, but a very weak manager. The disunity of the military: when trouble struck, the February Revolution began, everyone wanted change, they wanted the tsarist power to change, acquiring a more democratic, more liberal form. But a completely unsuccessful person came, and Russia ceased to be governable.

The indecision of the generals. A wonderful anecdote comes to mind: when a Russian found himself on a desert island, he had one house, one garden, but always two churches. When asked why two, he replied: I don’t go to that one.

The world will debate for a long time why the Russian Empire collapsed

And so it happened: everyone wanted to be heroes or condemn each other. This absurdity, the indecisiveness of the generals, of course, played a role, because the army did not present a united front.

The impudence of the terrorists after whom our streets are named today. The indecisiveness of politicians who tried to show that one of them is better than the other, without thinking about Russia. It was in this combination of factors that this tragedy happened, which, of course, is a tragedy not only for Russia, but for the whole world. The world will continue to understand for a long time and gather a completely wild harvest after what happened a hundred years ago.

Andrey Zubov, Doctor of Historical Sciences

The most important thing that led to the death of the Russian Empire is the greatest social injustice old Russia, especially the 18th and 19th centuries, before the great reforms.

Then the majority of the Russian population were peasants, who were actually slaves for the upper class, that is, the nobility. People were smart enough to understand this, and they strived for freedom, understanding the injustice.

The death of the Russian Empire - the social injustice of old Russia

This injustice was never fully resolved until the revolution of 1905. The Bolsheviks and other radical parties played on this injustice, which led Russia to revolution and disaster. So the fact that the revolution occurred was primarily to blame for the old order and the not very skillful attempts to overcome it from Alexander II to Nicholas II.

Stanislav Belkovsky, political scientist

The elite of that empire is always to blame for the collapse of any empire.

One hundred more factors can be cited, but all of them will be auxiliary and not even secondary, but tertiary. It fell apart in the same way Soviet Union, because the socialist elite no longer wanted to build communism. The Russian Empire collapsed because the elite of the late 19th and early 20th centuries did not formulate any new goals for this empire.

First of all, there should have been some reforms that would have transformed the Russian Empire in the direction of a European state, but this did not happen. The last emperor, Nicholas II, was extremely inconsistent in his decisions, he had no specific concept except one: maintaining his own God-given power.

Belkovsky: the elite of the empire is always to blame for the collapse of any empire

He was too weak to maintain this power with brute military force, and at the same time could not propose any reform program that would transform Russia politically, economically, and technologically. Formally, it is Nicholas II who bears full responsibility, because if he had not abdicated the throne (under pressure, by the way, not from some oppositionists, but from his own generals, as well as prominent representatives of the State Duma, pro-monarchist ones at that), he would not have disappeared the institution of monarchy itself, and the Empire could have existed for some time.

Evgeny Pchelov, candidate of historical sciences, researcher of the history of the Russian nobility

I believe that both internal and external factors led to the death of the Russian Empire.

As for the internal life of the country, it is quite obvious that there is a certain delay and lag between the political system of the state and its economic development and, in general, from the general development of European civilization during this period. In other words, political system The autocratic monarchy did not meet the challenges of modernizing the country and the times. If some reforms had been carried out, the Russian monarchy could have turned into a constitutional monarchy following the example of England, and revolution might have been avoided.

Both internal and external factors led to the death of the Russian Empire

Secondly, the foreign policy situation also played a role: the First World War accelerated the process of revolutionary intensity. After all, before the war, in the last peaceful year of Russia, it was the year of the Romanov Jubilee, it seemed that the state was extremely stable, and no outbreaks of discontent were observed. The war aggravated the situation within the country. The war dragged on, was not successful for Russia, was associated with very great hardships, and revealed problems in the system public administration and economy, and, of course, contributed to the creation of what is Soviet era called a “revolutionary situation.” Thirdly, this is, of course, the radicalization of the revolutionary movement, which has set itself the task of not just transforming the state system, but the destruction of the entire state machine and the creation of a completely new system, a new social system. The combination of all three factors played a disastrous role in this sad phenomenon, which is the death of the Russian Empire.

The Russian Empire did not collapse overnight. Her downfall is a multi-act drama, where each action brings the inevitable end closer.

State Duma

With a manifesto of August 6, 1905, Emperor Nicholas II established the State Duma. This legislative body, designed to serve as a pillar of power, only brought confusion into the already troubled Russian society. It was difficult to expect any help in stabilizing the state from the meetings, which were accompanied by constant squabbles and disruptions of order.
The Duma undoubtedly contributed to the collapse of the empire, if only because, with its liberal activities and incitement, it essentially gave a free hand to the left forces, which successfully took advantage of the difficult situation in the country.
On the eve of February 1917, when a turning point was brewing on the fronts of the First World War that could lead to victory for the Russian army, when the country needed unity, members of a number of factions in the State Duma only intensified their course towards confrontation between the tsar, the government and society.
One of the Duma leaders, Alexander Kerensky, called for solving the problem of destroying the ruling regime “immediately, at any cost.” At the same time, he recommended not to stop at using “legal means”, but to move on to the “physical elimination” of government officials. It was on the sidelines of the Duma that a conspiracy was brewing, which set itself the task of overthrowing the sovereign, and, if necessary, regicide.
Duma deputies, with the help of the Socialist Revolutionaries, socialists and workers' organizations, launched agitation among Petrograd workers and soldiers of the reserve battalions. They fanned street protests over food shortages into the fire of the February Revolution, but were unable to control it.

First World War

Russia's entry into the First World War did not yet imply a tragic outcome. According to historians, if Nicholas II had taken into account the mistakes of the Russo-Japanese War, then one would have expected a different development of events. Unfortunately, the government has stepped on the same rake both in managing the defense-industrial complex and in supplying the army.
General Anton Denikin recalled: “The great tragedy of the Russian army was the retreat from Galicia. No cartridges, no shells... Eleven days of the terrible roar of German heavy artillery, literally tearing down entire rows of trenches along with their defenders. We almost didn’t answer - there was nothing.”
“Fate has never been as cruel to any country as to Russia. Her ship sank while the harbor was in sight. She had already weathered the storm when everything collapsed. All the sacrifices have already been made, all the work has been completed,” Winston Churchill said about the First World War.
They decided to rectify the situation by turning to domestic breeders and manufacturers. But what came of it? As Yevgeny Barsukov, a member of the Artillery Committee, testified: “At the very first news of the extreme lack of combat supplies at the front and the opportunity as a result of this to “make good money” on items of such urgent need, Russian industrialists were seized by an unprecedented excitement.”

Later, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich admitted: “The Romanov throne fell not under the pressure of the forerunners of the Soviets or young bombers, but of bearers of aristocratic families and courtiers, nobility, bankers, publishers, lawyers, professors and other public figures who lived on the bounty of the empire.”

February Revolution

As British historian Richard Pipes wrote, by the end of 1916, all political parties and groups united in opposition to the monarchy. They believed that it was not the regime itself that was to blame for the Russian crisis, but the people at the helm of power - the German Empress and Rasputin. And as soon as they were removed from the political arena, they believed, “everything would go well.” A spark was enough for all the indignant people to fall upon the government and the tsar.
The reason for the mass unrest in Petrograd was the dismissal of about 1,000 workers at the Putilov plant. The workers' strike, which began on February 23 (March 8 according to the new style), coincided with a women's demonstration of many thousands organized by the Russian League for Women's Equality. “Bread!”, “Down with war!”, “Down with autocracy!” – these were the demands of the action participants.
By the evening of February 27, virtually the entire composition of the Petrograd garrison - about 160 thousand people - went over to the side of the rebels. The commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Sergei Khabalov, was forced to report: “Please report to His Imperial Majesty that I could not fulfill the order to restore order in the capital. Most of the units, one after another, betrayed their duty, refusing to fight against the rebels."
The February Revolution turned out to be the point of no return, after which Russia embarked on the path of self-destruction. “The decisive elimination of the autocratic regime and the complete democratization of the country” (which the liberals dreamed of) ultimately resulted not only in the collapse of liberal ideas, but, worst of all, incalculable disasters for the country.

Renunciation

The events of February 1917 forced Nicholas II, who was at Headquarters, to take urgent measures. “The situation is serious. There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed. General discontent is growing. Troop units shoot at each other. It is necessary to immediately entrust a person with confidence to form a new government. “We must not hesitate,” the Chairman of the State Duma, Mikhail Rodzianko, reported on February 26 in a telegram to the Emperor.
However, Nikolai refuses to react in any way to this message: “Again this fat man Rodzianko wrote to me all sorts of nonsense, to which I will not even answer him.” He also does not respond to subsequent panicky telegrams from Rodzianko, who predicts that in case of inaction, “the collapse of Russia, and with it the dynasty, is inevitable.”
Who knows how history would have turned out if the emperor had decided to immediately leave for Petrograd. According to historian Georgy Katkov, the emperor's inner circle at Headquarters expected two things from him: clear instructions on how to act in connection with the rebellion, and a policy statement that would calm the country and at least temporarily satisfy the liberals.
Instead of acting on his own, the tsar asks Prince Golitsyn to come to the capital, to whom he grants all the necessary powers for civil administration. On February 28, Nikolai nevertheless decides to go, but not to rebellious Petrograd, but to his family in Tsarskoe Selo. However, it was not possible to reach the final goal; the emperor was no longer in power in his country. The abdication of the throne only put an end to the hopelessness of the situation.
Historian Pyotr Cherkasov, avoiding extreme assessments of the reign of Nicholas II, notes the tragedy of the personality of the last Russian Tsar - “a deeply decent and delicate man to the point of shyness, faithful to his duty and at the same time an unremarkable statesman, a captive of once and for all acquired convictions in the inviolability of the order bequeathed to him by his ancestors things."

October Revolution

If the inspirers of the February Revolution were representatives of the Duma opposition and bourgeois elites, then the October Revolution was planned by the Bolshevik Party, which had gained strength and popularity. All this was done right next to the completely careless Provisional Government, which, instead of taking urgent measures to normalize the situation in the country, continued to conduct political debates.
In October 1917, the agonizing and disintegrating Russia, declared a Republic by Kerensky, barely held back the onslaught of German troops approaching Petrograd. In this situation, a military revolt broke out in Petrograd, led by the Bolshevik leaders Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) and Lev Bronstein (Trotsky). As a result of decisive and carefully planned actions, the most radical of Russian parties seized power almost without a struggle in a paralyzed and decaying country.
The Bolsheviks adopted the course towards an armed uprising back in August 1917. But only at the end of September, when the Bolsheviks headed the Petrograd and Moscow Soviets, did the new revolution take real shape. Nevertheless, a participant in the events of 1917, historian Sergei Melgunov, believed that the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks was not inevitable. What made it inevitable were the specific mistakes of the Provisional Government, which had every opportunity to prevent the coup.
The uprising that took place on the night of October 24-25 came as a surprise to many. The Provisional Government was preparing for an armed uprising by the garrison regiments, but instead, detachments of the workers' Red Guard and sailors of the Baltic Fleet methodically completed the work begun long ago by the Petrograd Soviet to transform dual power into autocracy.
By the end of 1917, Soviet power was established in the Central Industrial Region of the country. However, at the same time, the Bolsheviks were unable to do anything with the separatist movements that had gained strength, breaking away from former empire one piece after another - Finland, Poland, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Transcaucasia. Only years later will this process be reversed.

Collapse of the Russian Empire. Formation and strengthening of the party apparatus

In March 1917, the Russian Empire collapsed, unable to withstand the economic and military hardships of the First World War. At that moment, chaos and confusion reigned, the temporary government could not do anything about the state of affairs in the country, various political forces over the next few years tore the country apart. At this same grateful time, the leaders of the RSDLP party, its Bolshevik wing, emerged from a long period of underground exile and emigration. In April, Lenin returned to Petrograd, pronounced his famous “April Theses,” and surrounded himself with Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Trotsky. Stalin is a little relegated to the background for now. He fully supports Lenin's practical policy of strengthening Bolshevik power locally - at that time these were local Soviets. Stalin continued to work with party organizations and edited Pravda. He gained respect and trust common members party and at the seventh conference became third after Lenin and Zinoviev. At the same conference, Stalin made a report on the national question. At the same time, the Provisional Government accused the Bolsheviks of trying to destroy the revolution and cause anarchy in the country. The Justice Department released documents alleging that Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders were German agents. But again Stalin came to Lenin’s aid. Under the protection of Stalin and Alliluyev, Lenin was transported to a more reliable place, to Sestroretsk.

Stalin protects Zinoviev and Kamenev from expulsion from the ranks of the party, which Lenin insisted on when they, in a state of panic, expressed their disagreement with the armed uprising in the press. Stalin did this not out of reconciliation with them, but because he believed: the exclusion of two famous figures may cause a split in the party.

On October 24, 1917, the uprising began. By evening everything was finished. There was a lightning-fast, almost bloodless capture of Petrograd. The fact that Lenin and Stalin were in the shadows during the uprising was not blamed on them. Perhaps this was a tactical move so that if they were defeated they could continue the fight. However, the uprising was victorious. Lenin arrived in Smolny. Stalin also arrived there. And these two people, responsible for the fate of Russia, began to learn to understand the true essence of power.

No one at that time saw Stalin as the future head of Soviet Russia. Everyone notes his modesty, ability to behave with dignity, concern for the party and the successes of the revolution. No desire for power.

The next stage in Stalin's life began, in which he would establish himself as a statesman. Stalin took a direct part in all the main events of that time. He supported Lenin at the conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany. He was a member of the commission for the preparation and development of the draft of the first Constitution, adopted in July 1918, and took part in the creation of the Soviet republics.

Ian Gray correctly noted that Lenin really needed Stalin. Even Stalin's office was next to Lenin's. For most of the day, Stalin worked together with Lenin. In the government, Stalin was Commissioner for Nationalities. He took his work very seriously and did a lot for the formation of the USSR. At the same time, he becomes a witness and participant in many discussions and disputes initiated by Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev and other “educated” members of the government. The first thing that really struck him was Trotsky’s behavior at the conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany in Brest-Litovsk. Then he simply tore them down, and Germany launched an offensive on a broad front, Trotsky provoked debate at a government meeting. Having missed an advantageous moment, Soviet Russia was forced to accept harsher peace terms. Trotsky, not wanting to understand the complexity of the situation, voted against it and put forward the slogan - “No peace, no war!” But Bukharin insisted on continuing the holy revolutionary war to the last man.

They brought both the party and the country to the brink of split. To save the revolution, the Central Executive Committee voted to accept German peace terms. Stalin remembered for a long time the irresponsibility of two revolutionary leaders.

Architects of communism. Artist Evgeny Kibrik

Before they had time to survive this shock, the country found itself embroiled in a civil war. Stalin took an active part in food procurement, and in the fight against corruption and sabotage in Tsaritsyn, and in organizing its defense. Despite all the difficulties, disagreements with Trotsky and his own mistakes, he managed to defend Tsaritsyn. In November 1918, Stalin was appointed chairman of the Military Council of the Ukrainian Front. Liberates Kharkov, then Minsk. Together with Dzerzhinsky, he quickly and decisively eliminates the critical situation near Perm. In the summer of 1919, he organized resistance to the Polish offensive. With the support of Stalin, the First Cavalry Army was created, led by Voroshilov and Shchadenko, which became legendary. Trotsky's prestige during the war, especially towards the end, was shaken, and Lenin began to rely more on Stalin, who was the complete opposite of Trotsky. He rarely spoke to the troops, and if he did, it was in simple, intelligible words. A realist, he always correctly assessed people and the situation. He was calm and confident. He demanded that orders be carried out, although he himself sometimes did not obey them. But he understood very well that the figure of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who enjoys unlimited power, is very important for achieving victory. And he will never forget this lesson. On November 27, Trotsky and Stalin were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Lenin equally and worthily appreciated their merits.

The experience of the civil war had a great influence on Stalin. First, it allowed him to get to know himself and his abilities. For the first time in his life, he took on such responsibility and coped with it. He realized that the party's ideas must be implemented, regardless of human sacrifice. He saw thousands of people die so that the party could live.

The old communist R.B. Lert wrote: “Revolution was necessary in a country like Russia, and this revolution could not do without violence. It was impossible to win the civil war without mass terror, without violence against officers, against kulaks... A truly deadly struggle broke out, and if the communists had not won, the whites would have slaughtered them all. But we, as a revolutionary party, made a mistake when we presented revolutionary violence not as a sad inevitability, but as a feat. Mass violence, terror, even “red” terror, still remain evil. Even if this evil is temporarily necessary, it is still evil, and yet it soon began to be presented as good. We began to think and say that everything that is useful and necessary for the revolution is good, it is moral. But this approach to assessing events is incorrect in principle. The revolution brought with it not only good, but also evil. It was impossible to avoid violence in the revolution, but it was necessary to understand that we are talking about the temporary admission of evil into our lives and into our practice. By romanticizing violence, we extended its life, we preserved it even when it had become completely unnecessary, became an absolute evil... Non-resistance to evil through violence is not our philosophy; in many cases it can only help the triumph of evil. But, using very drastic means, we should not have changed the moral assessment of these acts of violence.”

Chairman of the Central Election Commission M.I. Kalinin wrote: “... the war and civil struggle created a huge cadre of people whose only law is the expedient disposal of power. To manage for them means to manage completely independently, without being subject to the regulating articles of the law.”

Victory in the civil war came at a terrible price. Russia lost 27 million of its citizens - both “white” and “red”, but the bulk of those who died - civilians - from hunger and disease. The country was in ruins, the impoverished economy was completely destroyed, the people were hungry. The peasants were dissatisfied with the confiscation of surplus food, and discontent also grew among the workers. Lenin and his commissars faced the question of restoring the national economy. Disputes began about ways to build socialism in Russia. None of these theorists knew how, what methods to build it. Lenin initially adopted the system of War Communism. Trotsky fanatically defended this system. He dreamed of ruling a completely militarized society. At his urgent request, the 3rd Army was renamed the First Revolutionary Army of Labor.

During this period, Stalin actively supported Lenin. While many party members strongly protested against a return to capitalism when Lenin announced the New Economic Policy, Stalin vigorously defended the NEP. Stalin masterfully managed the apparatus; Lenin was not very good at dealing with administrative issues. Trotsky saw himself as an orator, a theorist, but not an administrator. Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin considered it beneath their dignity to occupy the apparatus. They considered Stalin to be “gray mediocrity,” so they entrusted him with what they thought was a completely mediocre job. But they did not take into account that he treated all orders responsibly, so he thought carefully about how the apparatus should develop and function in order to maintain the absolute power of the center. Lenin's declaration that the party was the guiding and guiding force in Soviet society required the creation of a strong and effective command and control mechanism. Stalin understood how administrative and organizational issues inseparable and important for party unity.

From this moment on, the creation of a new administration similar to the imperial bureaucracy begins. Key role in the creation of an extensive party apparatus belongs to Stalin. He alone of all the leaders had the experience, knowledge and patience for this kind of work. In addition, it was the understanding of the role of competent placement of personnel in key positions in all party structures that played a decisive role in strengthening Stalin’s power. At the X Party Congress, Stalin made a report “The immediate tasks of the party in national issue».

He called for a fight against great-power Great Russian chauvinism, as the main danger, and for a fight against local nationalism.

Thanks to this speech, he was able to strengthen his influence among communists with moderate centrist views on the national question, both in the Russian party leadership and in the outlying organizations of the country. This contributed to the acquisition of additional allies in the party ranks. The congress delegates recognized that Stalin not only understood the national question, but was also capable of developing and justifying a theoretical basis. This played a significant role in the expansion of his power, which happened relatively quickly.

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