external opp

• Treaty of Brest-Litvosk (end war Germany)

  March 1918
• Lenin prioritized peace for Bolshevik survival amid opposition
• Decree on Peace aimed to rally war-weary Europeans
• By Jan. 1918, Lenin saw central Europe's revolution as impractical and Russia's military weakness
• Central Committee divided

  • Left Communists favored continued war, possibly with a partisan army
  • Trotsky proposed 'neither war nor peace' but conceded to Lenin's realism after German advances
• Central Committee accepted peace on Feb. 23, losing 32% of arable land, 26% of railways, 33% of factories, 75% of iron and coal mines, and 62 million citizens
• Left SRs opposed, leading to their split with the Bolsheviks
• Right SRs resisted Bolshevik control, leading to their expulsion
• SR activities, including assassinations, prompted Lenin to crackdown with the CHEKA
• Brest-Litovsk intensified internal and external opposition, paving the way for civil war