Before the Civil War.

• Why did Lenin choose to end WW1:

  • Unpopular: the war effectively led to both the Feb and October revolution. The Feb rev came from the impact of the war on the economy and on rations, the October rev argubly came from the result of the Kerensky offensive (June, 1917) and its failure.
  • Ending the war was essential to the survival of the new government. It would help consolidate the Bolshevik state which was still weak (their strength won't come for a while). Lenin also, correctly, thought that this would help the economy recover as war was incredible expensive.
• Why did Lenin choose to end WW1:

  • Lenin knew that a struggle for power, in the form of a civil war, would break out. He wanted to end WW1 and bring back the soldiers from the frontlines to fight to ensure that the Bolsheviks had as much strength as possible.
  • Germany did still have some involvement in Lenin's finances and his decision may've been influenced by them. Germany were very crafty: they supported Lenin returning to Russia because they knew that he would bring about an end to Russian involvement in WW1.
  • However, Lenin was argubly more influenced by the economic state of Russia.
• Lenin wanted peace IMMEDIATELY and on the 2nd December 1917, an armistace was signed. The German demand was incredibly harsh , but Lenin knew that if he didn't sign the peace treaty, the approaching civil war could end horribly. There were lots of differing views among the Bolsheviks, but Lenin threatened to resign if the Bolsheviks didn't agree with him. On the 3rd March, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed.
• When the treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed (3rd March, 1918), it was incredibly unpopular and support even started to decline for the Bolsheviks. But this could be seen as an initial reaction. It was unpopular, but it was probably the right thing to do. The economy would better recover and the benefits of peace would outweigh the damage to the economy. Additionally, the Bolsheviks were made stronger when it came to the Civil War.