What triggered Civil War in Russia? Discuss its course.

What triggered Civil War in Russia? Discuss its course.

Ans.

(i) After the success of the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks ordered land redistribution to the peasants.

(ii) Soldiers in the Russian army, mostly peasants, went home for the redistribution and deserted the army.

(iii) This emboldened the non-Bolshevik socialists, liberals and supporters of autocracy to start a Civil War.

(iv) Their leaders moved to South Russia and organised troops to fight the Bolsheviks.

(v) During 1918 and 1919, the greens (socialist Revolutionaries) and whites (proTsarists) controlled most of the Russian empire.

(vi) They were backed by French, American, British and Japanese troops because these countries were worried at the growth of socialism in Russia

(vii) As these troops fought a Civil War with the Bolsheviks, supporters of private property among the whites took steps against peasants who had seized land.