The Civil War and War Communism

After seizing power in October 1917, the Bolsheviks faced a civil war that threatened to destroy them. From 1918 to 1921, the Red Army (Bolsheviks) fought against the White Army (a loose alliance of anti-Bolshevik forces) in a brutal conflict that caused millions of deaths. To survive, Lenin imposed a harsh economic policy known as War Communism. This lesson covers these events for AQA GCSE History.

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The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918)

Lenin had promised peace, and in March 1918, Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany.

Term	Detail
Territory lost	Russia lost Ukraine, Finland, the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Poland, and parts of Belarus
Population	Lost approximately 62 million people (one-third of the former empire's population)
Agricultural land	Lost about 27% of farmland
Industry	Lost about 26% of railways and 74% of iron ore and coal deposits
Reparations	Agreed to pay 6 billion marks in reparations