civil war life

• in the south, whites raped and murdered villages of Jews claiming they supported the Bolsheviks
• miners were shot by whites in Donbass region if did not produce enough coal
• in Rostov, 100s of red miners buried alive
• in Kharkov reds nailed the epaulettes (badges which represent hierarchy) from soldiers to their shoulders whilst they were still alive
• over 1 million said to have been killed by Typhus in 1920
• 4.5 million died from disease in period and 350,000 in fighting
• Bolsheviks had control over industry which is why they won
• industry fell apart as workers committees incapable of running factories
• shortages of raw materials
• inflation as value of rouble collapsed
• peasants no incentive to supply food for cities as no goods could be exchanged
• rations of bread led to riots
• workers left cities
• grain requestioning= soldiers went to countryside to forcibly take grain
• banned private trade
• nationalisation of industry under state control
• labour discipline= fines for lateness, absenteeism, internal passports
• rationing- class based rationing with workers and red army priority, smallest to middle class
• the red terror was triggered off by assassination attempt to Lenin summer 1918, opposition parties being arrested, execution of Tsar and family
• 300,000 killed by Cheka between 1918 and 1920
• 'bag men' who travelled between cities selling their produce, created chaos in factories. Cheka tried to stop them
• 'civil war sausage' as horses were being killed for meat
• 3000 homes in Petrograd torn down for firewood
• middle class women turned to prostitution
• 5000 Bolsheviks and their families lived in the Kremlin and best hotels in Moscow with Caviar and champagne
• weaknesses of whites:

  • allied help as communists could portray whites as puppets of allies
  • lack of co-operation
  • lack of commitment
  • foreign forces had little involvement and quickly withdrew
  • suspicious of each other
  • desertions
  • rely on allies for weaponry
• reds had strong leadership:

  • Trotsky introduced ranks into military
  • Trotsky recruited 50,000 formers Tsarists officers and Bolshevik political commissars to keep troops morale
  • Trotsky travelled 65,000 miles in war
  • people respond positively to Trotsky
• reed geographical advantages:

  • controlled railway and machinery
  • communists in control of heartland of industry and population
• reds as a united force:

  • 5 million red forces yet whites could not get over 500,000 at a time
  • workers were loyal and propaganda prevented desertions
  • conscription and ranks enforced military discipline
• others successes of reds:

  • propaganda
  • CHEKA helped discipline
• in 1920-21 there were hundreds of peasant risings due to grain requisitioning and peasants were turning against the regime
• strikes in cities with sailors and soldiers
• drought in 1920, followed by severe winter with dry spell summer 1921 leading to 1920 famine. Peasants did not have enough reserves as been eaten or confiscated therefore not enough to survive
• 5 million died in 1920 famine from starvation or disease
• in 1920 famine American Relief administration raised money to distribute to worst off areas; kept 14 million alive
• in 1920 famine government could not help as would be admitting communism is a failure
• the Krondstadt sailors helped the Bolsheviks seize power 1917
• The sailors wanted end to communist dictatorship, release political prisoners and end grain requestioning; caused mutiny
• Mutiny stopped as Trotsky sent to crush, gov acted quickly, 50,000 red army troops stopped mutiny. 10,000 red soldiers killed. rebels treated savagely and sent to concentration camps
• Decree of party unity March 1921: formation of subgroups and factions within communist party would be banned