The signing of the Brest Peace
The Brest-Litovsk Peace meant the defeat and withdrawal of Russia from the First World War.
A separate international peace treaty was signed on March 3, 1918 in Brest-Litovsk by representatives of Soviet Russia (on the one hand) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria) on the other. Separate world - a peace treaty concluded by one of the members of the warring coalition without the knowledge and consent of the allies. Such peace is usually concluded until the general end of the war.
The signing of the Brest Peace Treaty was prepared in 3 stages.
The history of the signing of the Brest Peace
First stage
German officers meet the Soviet delegation in Brest-Litovsk
At the first stage, the Soviet delegation consisted of 5 delegates - members of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee: A. A. Ioffe - chairman of the delegation, L. B. Kamenev (Rosenfeld) and G. Ya. Sokolnikov (Brilliant), Social Revolutionaries A. A. Bitsenko and S. D Maslovsky-Mstislavsky, 8 members of the military delegation, 3 translators, 6 technical employees and 5 ordinary members of the delegation (sailor, soldier, Kaluga peasant, worker, warrant officer of the fleet).
The armistice negotiations were overshadowed by the tragedy in the Russian delegation: during a private meeting of the Soviet delegation, a representative of the Headquarters in a group of military consultants, Major General V. Ye. Skalon, shot himself to death. Many Russian officers believed that he was suppressed due to a humiliating defeat, the collapse of the army and the fall of the country.
Proceeding from the general principles of the Decree on Peace, the Soviet delegation immediately proposed that the following program be adopted as a basis for negotiations:
- No violent annexation of territories captured during the war is allowed; the troops occupying these territories are withdrawn as soon as possible.
- The full political independence of the peoples, which were deprived of this independence during the war, is being restored.
- National groups that did not have political independence before the war are guaranteed the opportunity to freely decide whether they belong to a state or their state independence through a free referendum.
- Cultural-national and, subject to certain conditions, administrative autonomy of national minorities is ensured.
- Waiver of Contributions.
- Settlement of colonial issues on the basis of the above principles.
- Avoiding indirect constraints on the freedom of weaker nations by stronger nations.
On December 28, the Soviet delegation left for Petrograd. The current state of affairs was discussed at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). By a majority vote, it was decided to drag out the peace negotiations as long as possible, in the hope of an early revolution in Germany itself.
The Entente governments did not respond to the invitation to take part in the peace negotiations.
Second phase
At the second stage of negotiations, the Soviet Delegation was headed by L.D. Trotsky. The German high command expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the protracted peace negotiations, fearing the disintegration of the army. The Soviet delegation demanded that the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary confirm their lack of intentions to annex any territories of the former Russian Empire - in the opinion of the Soviet delegation, the decision on the future fate of the self-determining territories should be carried out through a popular referendum, after the withdrawal of foreign troops and the return refugees and displaced persons. General Hoffmann said in a speech that the German government was refusing to clear the occupied territories of Courland, Lithuania, Riga and the islands of the Gulf of Riga.
On January 18, 1918, at a meeting of the political commission, General Hoffmann presented the conditions of the Central Powers: Poland, Lithuania, part of Belarus and Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia, the Moonsund Islands and the Gulf of Riga retreated in favor of Germany and Austria-Hungary. This allowed Germany to control the sea routes to the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia, as well as to develop an offensive against Petrograd. The Russian Baltic ports passed into the hands of Germany. The proposed border was extremely disadvantageous for Russia: the absence of natural boundaries and the preservation of a bridgehead for Germany on the banks of the Western Dvina near Riga, in case of war, threatened the occupation of all Latvia and Estonia, threatened Petrograd. The Soviet delegation demanded a new interruption of the peace conference for another ten days in order to familiarize its government with the German demands. The German delegation's self-confidence increased after the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly on January 19, 1918.
By mid-January 1918, a split was formed in the RSDLP (b): a group of "left communists" headed by NI Bukharin insisted on rejecting the German demands, and Lenin insisted on their acceptance, having published Theses on Peace on January 20. The main argument of the "left communists": without an immediate revolution in the countries of Western Europe, the socialist revolution in Russia will perish. They did not allow any agreements with the imperialist states and demanded that a "revolutionary war" be declared on international imperialism. They declared their readiness "to accept the possibility of losing Soviet power" in the name of "the interests of the international revolution." The Germans proposed conditions shameful for Russia were opposed by: N.I.Bukharin, F.E.Dzerzhinsky, M.S.Uritsky, A.S.Bubnov, K. B. Radek, A. A. Ioffe, N. N. Krestinsky , N. V. Krylenko, N. I. Podvoisky and others. The views of the "left communists" were supported by a number of party organizations in Moscow, Petrograd, the Urals and others. Trotsky preferred to maneuver between the two factions, putting forward an "intermediate" platform "neither peace, nor war "-" We end the war, we do not conclude peace, we demobilize the army. "
On January 21, Lenin gives a detailed justification for the need to sign a peace, announcing his "Theses on the question of the immediate conclusion of a separate and annexationist peace" (they were published only on February 24). 15 participants of the conference voted for Lenin's theses, 32 people supported the position of the "left communists" and 16 - the position of Trotsky.
Before the departure of the Soviet delegation to Brest-Litovsk to continue the negotiations, Lenin instructed Trotsky to drag out the negotiations in every possible way, but if the Germans presented an ultimatum to sign peace.
IN AND. Lenin
On March 6-8, 1918, at the VII emergency congress of the RSDLP (b), Lenin managed to persuade everyone to ratify the Brest Peace. Voting: 30 for ratification, 12 against, 4 abstentions. As a result of the congress, the party was renamed into the RCP (b) at the suggestion of Lenin. The congress delegates were not familiar with the text of the agreement. Nevertheless, on March 14-16, 1918, the IV Extraordinary All-Russian Congress of Soviets finally ratified the peace treaty, which was adopted by a majority of 784 votes against 261 with 115 abstentions and decided to transfer the capital from Petrograd to Moscow due to the danger of a German offensive. As a result, representatives of the Left Social Revolutionary Party left the Council of People's Commissars. Trotsky resigned.
L. D. Trotsky
Stage three
None of the Bolshevik leaders wanted to put their signature on the shameful treaty for Russia: Trotsky had resigned by the time of signing, Ioffe refused to go as part of the delegation to Brest-Litovsk. Sokolnikov and Zinoviev proposed each other's candidacies, Sokolnikov also refused the appointment, threatening to resign. But after lengthy negotiations, Sokolnikov nevertheless agreed to lead the Soviet delegation. The new composition of the delegation: Sokolnikov G. Ya., Petrovsky L. M., Chicherin G. V., Karakhan G. I. and a group of 8 consultants (among them the former chairman of the delegation Ioffe A. A.). The delegation arrived in Brest-Litovsk on March 1 and two days later signed an agreement without any discussion. The official ceremony of signing the agreement took place in the White Palace (the house of the Nemtsevichs in the village of Skoki, Brest district) and ended at 5 o'clock in the afternoon on March 3, 1918. And the German-Austrian offensive, which began in February 1918, continued until March 4, 1918.
The signing of the Brest Peace Treaty took place in this palace
Terms of the Brest Peace Treaty
Richard Pipes, american scientist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Russian History at Harvard University described the terms of this agreement as follows: “The terms of the agreement were extremely onerous. They made it possible to imagine what kind of peace the countries of the Quadruple Accord would have to sign if they lost the war … ". Under this treaty, Russia pledged to make many territorial concessions by demobilizing its army and navy.
- The Vistula provinces, Ukraine, the provinces with a predominantly Belarusian population, the Estland, Courland and Livonia provinces, the Grand Duchy of Finland were rejected from Russia. Most of these territories were to become German protectorates or become part of Germany. Russia pledged to recognize the independence of Ukraine in the person of the government of the UPR.
- In the Caucasus, Russia ceded the Kars region and the Batumi region.
- The Soviet government ended the war with the Ukrainian Central Council (Rada) and the Ukrainian People's Republic and made peace with it.
- The army and navy were demobilized.
- The Baltic Fleet was withdrawn from its bases in Finland and the Baltic States.
- The Black Sea Fleet with all its infrastructure was transferred to the Central Powers.
- Russia paid 6 billion marks of reparations plus payment of losses incurred by Germany during the Russian revolution - 500 million gold rubles.
- The Soviet government pledged to stop revolutionary propaganda in the Central Powers and allied states formed on the territory of the Russian Empire.
If the results of the Brest Peace Treaty are translated into the language of numbers, it will look like this: an area of \u200b\u200b780 thousand square meters was torn away from Russia. km with a population of 56 million people (a third of the population of the Russian Empire), which before the revolution were 27% of arable agricultural land, 26% of the entire railway network, 33% of the textile industry, 73% of iron and steel was smelted, 89% of coal was mined and 90% sugar; there were 918 textile factories, 574 breweries, 133 tobacco factories, 1,685 distilleries, 244 chemical plants, 615 pulp factories, 1,073 machine-building factories, and 40% of industrial workers lived.
Russia withdrew all its troops from the indicated territories, while Germany, on the contrary, introduced there.
Consequences of the Brest Peace
German troops occupied Kiev
The advance of the German army was not limited to the limits of the occupation zone defined by the peace treaty. Under the pretext of ensuring the power of the "legitimate government" of Ukraine, the Germans continued their offensive. On March 12, the Austrians occupied Odessa, on March 17 - Nikolaev, on March 20 - Kherson, then Kharkov, Crimea and the southern part of the Don region, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don. A movement of "democratic counter-revolution" began, proclaiming Socialist-Revolutionary and Menshevik governments in Siberia and the Volga region, the uprising of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries in July 1918 in Moscow and the transition of the civil war to large-scale battles.
The Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, as well as the formed faction of "left communists" within the RCP (b), spoke of "betrayal of the world revolution", since the conclusion of peace on the Eastern Front objectively strengthened the conservative Kaiser's regime in Germany. The Left Social Revolutionaries left the Council of People's Commissars in protest. The opposition rejected Lenin's arguments that Russia could not but accept the German conditions in connection with the collapse of its army, putting forward a plan for the transition to a massive popular uprising against the German-Austrian occupiers.
Patriarch Tikhon
The Entente powers were hostile to the concluded separate peace. On March 6, a British assault force landed in Murmansk. On March 15, the Entente announced its non-recognition of the Brest Peace, on April 5, a Japanese landing landed in Vladivostok, and on August 2, a British one in Arkhangelsk.
But on August 27, 1918 in Berlin, in the strictest secrecy, the Russian-German additional treaty to the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty and the Russian-German financial agreement were signed, which on behalf of the RSFSR government was signed by Plenipotentiary A.A. Ioffe, and on behalf of Germany - von P. Hinze and I. Kriege.
Soviet Russia pledged to pay Germany, as compensation for damage and costs of maintaining Russian prisoners of war, a huge contribution of 6 billion marks (2.75 billion rubles), including 1.5 billion gold (245.5 tons of pure gold) and loan commitments, 1 billion deliveries of goods. In September 1918, two "gold echelons" were sent to Germany (93.5 tons of "pure gold" worth over 120 million gold rubles). Almost all of the Russian gold that entered Germany was subsequently transferred to France as an indemnity under the Versailles Peace Treaty.
Under the additional agreement concluded, Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine and Georgia, renounced Estonia and Livonia, which, according to the original agreement, were formally recognized as part of the Russian state, bargaining for the right of access to the Baltic ports (Revel, Riga and Windau) and retaining Crimea, control over Baku , losing to Germany a quarter of the products produced there. Germany agreed to withdraw its troops from Belarus, from the Black Sea coast, from Rostov and part of the Don Basin, as well as not to occupy any more Russian territory and not to support separatist movements on Russian soil.
On November 13, after the Allied victory in the war, the Brest Treaty was canceled by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. But Russia could no longer take advantage of the fruits of the common victory and take a place among the winners.
Soon, the withdrawal of German troops from the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire began. After the cancellation of the Brest Treaty, Lenin's authority became indisputable among the Bolshevik leaders: “By shrewdly going to a humiliating peace, which gave him the necessary time to gain and then collapsed under his own weight, Lenin earned the wide confidence of the Bolsheviks. When on November 13, 1918, they tore apart the Brest-Litovsk Peace, after which Germany capitulated to the Western allies, Lenin's authority was lifted to unprecedented heights in the Bolshevik movement. Nothing better served his reputation for being free of political mistakes; never again did he have to threaten to resign in order to insist on his own, ”wrote R. Pipes in his work“ Bolsheviks in the Struggle for Power ”.
The civil war in Russia lasted until 1922 and ended with the establishment of Soviet power in most of the territory of former Russia, with the exception of Finland, Bessarabia, the Baltic States, Poland (including the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus that became part of it).
Allies (Entente): France, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, Serbia, USA, Italy (participated in the war on the side of the Entente since 1915).
Friends of the Entente (supported the Entente in the war): Montenegro, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Cuba, Nicaragua, Siam, Haiti, Liberia, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica.
Question about the causes of the First World War is one of the most discussed in world historiography since the beginning of the war in August 1914.
The outbreak of the war was facilitated by the widespread strengthening of nationalist sentiments. France was hatching plans to reclaim the lost territories of Alsace and Lorraine. Italy, even being in alliance with Austria-Hungary, dreamed of regaining its lands of Trentino, Trieste and Fiume. The Poles saw in the war the possibility of rebuilding a state destroyed by the divisions of the 18th century. Many peoples inhabiting Austria-Hungary aspired to national independence. Russia was convinced that it would not be able to develop without restricting German competition, protecting the Slavs from Austria-Hungary and expanding its influence in the Balkans. In Berlin, the future was associated with the defeat of France and Great Britain and the unification of the countries of Central Europe under the leadership of Germany. In London, it was believed that the people of Great Britain would live in peace only by crushing the main enemy - Germany.
In addition, international tensions were exacerbated by a series of diplomatic crises - the Franco-German clash in Morocco in 1905-1906; the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Austrians in 1908-1909; The Balkan Wars in 1912-1913.
The immediate cause of the war was the Sarajevo murder June 28, 1914austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nineteen-year-old Serbian student Gavrila Princip, who was a member of the secret organization "Young Bosnia", fighting for the unification of all South Slavic peoples in one state.
July 23, 1914Austria-Hungary, having enlisted the support of Germany, presented Serbia with an ultimatum and demanded that its military formations be allowed into Serbia in order to jointly with Serbian forces to suppress hostile actions.
Serbia's response to the ultimatum did not satisfy Austria-Hungary, and July 28, 1914she declared war on Serbia. Russia, having received assurances of support from France, openly opposed Austria-Hungary and July 30, 1914announced a general mobilization. Germany, taking advantage of this opportunity, announced August 1, 1914 war on Russia, and August 3, 1914- France. After the German invasion August 4, 1914 to Belgium Great Britain declared war on Germany.
The First World War consisted of five campaigns. During first campaign in 1914 Germany invaded Belgium and northern France, but was defeated at the Battle of the Marne. Russia captured parts of East Prussia and Galicia (East Prussian operation and Battle of Galicia), but was then defeated by the German and Austro-Hungarian counteroffensive.
1915 campaign connected with the entry into the war of Italy, the disruption of the German plan for the withdrawal of Russia from the war and bloody fruitless battles on the Western Front.
1916 campaign associated with the entry into the war of Romania and the conduct of a grueling trench warfare on all fronts.
Campaign of 1917associated with the entry into the war of the United States, the revolutionary withdrawal of Russia from the war and a number of successive offensive operations on the Western Front (Operation Nivelle, operations in the Messines region, on Ypres, near Verdun, at Cambrai).
1918 campaigncharacterized by a transition from positional defense to a general offensive by the armed forces of the Entente. From the second half of 1918, the Allies prepared and launched retaliatory offensive operations (Amiens, Saint-Miiel, Marne), during which they eliminated the results of the German offensive, and in September 1918 went over to a general offensive. By November 1, 1918, the allies liberated the territory of Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, entered after the armistice into the territory of Bulgaria and invaded the territory of Austria-Hungary. On September 29, 1918, Bulgaria concluded an armistice with the allies, on October 30, 1918 - Turkey, on November 3, 1918 - Austria-Hungary, November 11, 1918 - Germany.
June 28, 1919at the Paris Peace Conference was signed Versailles Peace Treatywith Germany, which officially ended the First World War of 1914-1918.
On September 10, 1919, the Saint-Germain Peace Treaty was signed with Austria; November 27, 1919 - Treaty of Neuilly with Bulgaria; June 4, 1920 - Trianon Peace Treaty with Hungary; August 20, 1920 - Treaty of Sevres with Turkey.
In total, World War I lasted 1,568 days. It was attended by 38 states, in which 70% of the world's population lived. The armed struggle was fought on fronts with a total length of 2500-4000 km. The total losses of all the warring countries amounted to about 9.5 million killed and 20 million wounded. At the same time, the losses of the Entente amounted to about 6 million people killed, the losses of the Central Powers about 4 million people killed.
During World War I, for the first time in history, tanks, aircraft, submarines, anti-aircraft and anti-tank guns, mortars, grenade launchers, bomb throwers, flamethrowers, super-heavy artillery, hand grenades, chemical and smoke shells, and toxic substances were used. New types of artillery appeared: anti-aircraft, anti-tank, infantry escort. Aviation became an independent branch of the armed forces, which began to be subdivided into reconnaissance, fighter and bomber. Tank troops, chemical troops, air defense troops, and naval aviation emerged. The role of engineering troops increased and the role of cavalry decreased.
The results of the First World War were the elimination of four empires: German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman, and the latter two were divided, and Germany and Russia were cut territorially. As a result, new independent states appeared on the map of Europe: Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Finland.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Peace of Brest Peace of Brest
March 3, 1918, a peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexed Poland, the Baltic States, part of Belarus and the Caucasus, and received an indemnity of 6 billion marks. VI Lenin considered it necessary to conclude the Brest Peace Treaty in order to preserve Soviet power. The conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace caused an acute crisis in the leadership of Soviet Russia. A group of "left communists" headed by NI Bukharin opposed the Brest-Litovsk Peace and was ready to "accept the possibility of losing Soviet power" in the name of the interests of the world revolution. Nevertheless, in the conditions of the offensive of the German troops, the treaty was ratified by the 4th Congress of Soviets. Canceled by the government of the RSFSR on November 13, 1918 after the defeat of Germany in the 1st World War.
BREST WORLDBREST WORLD, a peace treaty concluded on March 3, 1918 between Soviet Russia on the one hand and the states of the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) on the other, ending Russia's participation in the First World War (cm. FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-18).
Peace negotiations
The issue of withdrawing from the First World War was one of the key issues in Russian policy in 1917-1918. Bolsheviks (cm. BOLSHEVIKI) declared that since the war is imperialist and predatory, an early peace is necessary, even if it is separate (cm. SEPARATE WORLD)... But this peace should be honorable for Russia and not provide for annexations (cm. ANNEXATION) and contributions (cm. CONTRIBUTION)... During the October Revolution of 1917 (cm. OCTOBER REVOLUTION 1917) the Decree on Peace (cm. DECREE OF PEACE)", Which offered all participants in the war to immediately conclude peace without annexations and indemnities. Only Germany and its allies responded to this proposal, whose military and economic situation, like Russia, was extremely difficult. In December 1917, an armistice was concluded, the Russian-German (with the participation of Germany's allies) negotiations began in Brest-Litovsk (cm. BREST (in Belarus))... They quickly showed that the German side does not take seriously the slogans of peace without annexations and indemnities, considering Russia's desire to conclude a separate peace as evidence of its defeat. The German side acted from a position of strength and dictated conditions that included both annexations and indemnities. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomacy also took advantage of the fact that Soviet Russia granted the formal right to self-determination to Poland, Finland, Ukraine, the Baltic States and the Transcaucasus, while supporting the communist struggle for power in these countries. The states of the Quadruple Alliance demanded non-interference in the affairs of these countries, hoping to use their resources necessary to win the war against the Entente. But Russia also badly needed these resources to restore the economy.
At the same time, the Central Rada (cm. CENTRAL RADA) - the governing body of the Ukrainian People's Republic - signed a separate peace with Germany and its allies, according to which German troops were invited to Ukraine to protect its government from the Bolsheviks, and Ukraine supplied food to Germany and its allies. Soviet Russia did not recognize the power of the Central Rada in Ukraine; it considered the Soviet Ukrainian government in Kharkov to be the legal representative of the Ukrainian people. Soviet troops took Kiev on February 9, 1918. But Germany, continuing to recognize the Central Rada, forced L.D.Trotsky to reckon with this (cm. TROTSKY Lev Davidovich), who served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. It became obvious that the conclusion of peace would lead to the occupation of Ukraine by the Germans.
The humiliating agreement with the imperialists was unacceptable for the revolutionaries both from the point of view of the Bolshevik communists and from the point of view of their partners in the government of the Left SRs. (cm. LEFT ESERS)... As a result, in the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), it was decided that Trotsky should drag out the negotiations as long as possible, in the expectation that the revolution would embrace Germany, which was also exhausted by the war. As subsequent events showed, a revolution was indeed brewing in Germany, only not a "proletarian", but a democratic one.
Ultimatum
On February 10, Germany issued an ultimatum to the Soviet delegation that it was impossible to endlessly drag out the peace negotiations. Germany demanded that Russia renounce its rights to Poland, Transcaucasia, the Baltic States and Ukraine, the fate of which would be decided by Germany and its allies, from supporting revolutionary actions in these countries, paying indemnities by Russia, etc. Without changing the principles with which the Bolsheviks came to power, they could not sign such a peace. Trotsky protested against the ultimatum, broke off negotiations, declared the state of war ended, and left for Petrograd, leaving the German representatives perplexed.
Heated discussions broke out among the Bolsheviks and Left SRs. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V. I. Lenin (cm. LENIN Vladimir Ilyich), who believed that in the conditions of the disintegration of the old army, a broad desire for peace and at the same time, with the threat of civil war, it was impossible to wage war with Germany. Recognizing that the world is difficult and shameful ("obscene"), Lenin demanded to accept the ultimatum in order to provide the Soviet power with a respite. He accused Trotsky of violating discipline with dire consequences: the Germans would resume their offensive and force Russia to accept an even harder peace. Trotsky put forward the slogan: "No peace, no war, but the army to dissolve," that is, refusal to sign a peace and end the state of war, the dissolution of the old decayed army. Delaying the signing of the peace, Trotsky hoped that Germany would transfer troops to the West and would not attack Russia. In this case, the signing of the shameful peace would become unnecessary. Trotsky's calculations were based on the fact that Germany did not have the strength to occupy Russia along with Ukraine. Germany and Austria were on the brink of revolution. In addition, by not concluding peace, the Bolsheviks did not compromise themselves by betraying the interests of the Motherland and compromising with the enemy. By disbanding the army, they strengthened their influence among the soldier mass, tired of the war.
Left communists (cm. LEFT COMMUNISTS) headed by N.I.Bukharin (cm. BUKHARIN Nikolay Ivanovich) and the majority of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries believed that other peoples should not be left under German rule, that they would have to wage a revolutionary, primarily partisan war against German imperialism. They believed that the Germans, in any case, even when the peace was signed, would continue to put pressure on Soviet Russia, trying to turn it into their vassal, and therefore war was inevitable, and peace would demoralize the supporters of Soviet power. Such a peace provided Germany with additional resources to overcome the social crisis, the revolution in Germany will not take place.
But Lenin considered the calculations of Trotsky and Bukharin to be erroneous, fearing that under the conditions of the German offensive, the Soviet government would not remain in power. Lenin, for whom the issue of power was “the key issue of every revolution,” understood that successful resistance to the German invasion was impossible without broad support in the country. And the social support of the Bolshevik regime was limited, especially after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly (cm. CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY)... This meant that the continuation of the war would lead to a "shift in power" from the Bolsheviks and Left SRs to a broader coalition, where the Bolsheviks could lose their dominant positions. Therefore, for Lenin, the continuation of the war with a retreat into the interior of Russia was unacceptable. The majority of the Central Committee initially supported Trotsky and Bukharin. The position of the left received the support of the Moscow and Petrograd party organizations of the RSDLP (b), as well as about half of the country's party organizations.
The socialist fatherland is in danger
While there were heated disputes in the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Germans launched an offensive on February 18 and captured Estonia. An attempt was made to resist them. Near Pskov, units of the withdrawing Russian army faced a German detachment that had already occupied the city. Breaking through the city and blowing up an ammunition depot, the Russians took up positions near Pskov. Detachments of sailors and workers headed by P.E.Dybenko were sent to Narva (cm. DYBENKO Pavel Efimovich)... But the workers' detachments were militias that did not represent a serious military force, the sailors were poorly disciplined and did not know how to fight on land. Near Narva, the Germans scattered the Red Guards, Dybenko hastily retreated. By February 23, the Germans had threatened Petrograd. True, due to the stretching of communications, the Germans did not have the opportunity to attack deep into Russia. Lenin wrote the appeal "The socialist fatherland is in danger!", Where he called for the mobilization of all revolutionary forces to repel the enemy. But the Bolsheviks did not yet have an army that could defend Petrograd.
Faced with resistance in his party, Lenin threatened to resign (which in these conditions meant a split in the Bolshevik party) if the "obscene" peace terms were not accepted. Trotsky understood that in the event of a split in the Bolsheviks, it would be impossible to organize resistance to the German invasion. In the face of such threats, Trotsky yielded and abstained from the peace vote. Left-wing communists were in the minority in the Central Committee. This allowed Lenin to gain a majority and predetermined the conclusion of peace on March 3, 1918. According to its terms, which were worsened even in comparison with the ultimatum on February 10, Russia renounced the rights to Finland, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Transcaucasia, part of Belarus, had to pay an indemnity.
A struggle unfolded for the ratification of the peace treaty. At the 7th Congress of the Bolshevik Party on March 6-8, the positions of Lenin and Bukharin clashed. The outcome of the congress was decided by the authority of Lenin - his resolution was adopted by 30 votes to 12 with 4 abstentions. Trotsky's compromise proposals to make peace with the countries of the Quadruple Alliance as the last concession and to prohibit the Central Committee from making peace with the Central Rada of Ukraine were rejected. The controversy continued at the IV Congress of Soviets, where the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and anarchists opposed the ratification, while the Left Communists abstained. But thanks to the existing system of representation, the Bolsheviks had an obvious majority at the Congress of Soviets. If the left-wing communists had decided to split the party, the peace treaty would have failed, but Bukharin did not dare to do so. On the night of March 16, the peace was ratified.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had many adverse consequences. A coalition with the Left Social Revolutionaries became impossible (on March 15, they left the government in protest, not wanting to compromise themselves by surrendering to Germany). The occupation of Ukraine by Germany (with subsequent expansion to the Don) disrupted the ties between the center of the country and the grain and raw material regions. At the same time, the Entente countries began to intervene in Russia, seeking to reduce the possible costs associated with its surrender. The occupation of Ukraine aggravated the food problem and further exacerbated relations between the townspeople and the peasantry. Its representatives in the Soviets, the Left SRs, launched an agitation campaign against the Bolsheviks. The capitulation to Germany became a challenge to the national feelings of the Russian people, millions of people, regardless of their social origin, were opposed to the Bolsheviks. Only a very tough dictatorship could withstand such sentiments.
Peace with Germany did not mean that the Bolsheviks rejected the idea of \u200b\u200ba world revolution as such. The Bolshevik leadership believed that without a revolution in Germany, isolated Russia would not be able to move on to building socialism. After the start of the November Revolution (cm. NOVEMBER REVOLUTION 1918 in Germany) in Germany, the Council of People's Commissars annulled the Peace of Brest-Litovsk on November 13, 1918. However, its consequences have already made themselves felt, becoming one of the factors in the outbreak of a large-scale Civil War (cm. CIVIL WAR in Russia) in Russia. Post-war relations between Russia and Germany were regulated by the Rapallo Treaty of 1922 (cm. RAPAULA TREATY 1922), according to which the parties abandoned mutual claims and territorial disputes, especially since by that time they did not even have a common border.
encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .
See what "Peace of Brest" is in other dictionaries:
3.3.1918, the peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexed Poland, the Baltic states, parts of Belarus and the Caucasus, and received an indemnity of 6 billion marks. Soviet Russia went to ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
BREST WORLD, 3.3.1918, a separate peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexed Poland, the Baltic states, part of Belarus and the Caucasus, received an indemnity of 6 billion marks. ... ... Russian history
The peace treaty concluded on March 3, 1918 between Soviet Russia on the one hand and the states of the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) on the other, ending Russia's participation in the First World War. ... ... Political science. Dictionary.
Brest Peace - BREST WORLD, 3.3.1918, peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. According to the Brest Peace, Germany, having annexed Poland, the Baltic states, parts of Belarus and the Transcaucasus, was to receive an indemnity of 6 ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
This article is about the peace treaty between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers. For a peace treaty between the UPR and the Central Powers, see Peace of Brest (Ukraine Central Powers). Wikisource has texts on the topic ... Wikipedia
Peace of Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918 - a peace treaty between Germany and the Soviet government on Russia's withdrawal from the First World War. This peace did not last long, since already on October 5, 1918, Germany dissolved it, and on November 13, 1918, the Brest Peace was dissolved by the Soviet side. It happened 2 days after Germany's surrender in World War II.
Peace opportunity
The issue of Russia's withdrawal from the First World War was extremely topical. The people largely supported the ideas of the revolution, since the revolutionaries promised an early exit of the country from the war, which had lasted for 3 years and was extremely negatively perceived by the population.
One of the first decrees of the Soviet government was the peace decree. After this decree on November 7, 1917, he appeals to all the belligerent countries with an appeal for an early conclusion of peace. Only Germany replied with consent. At the same time, one must understand that the idea of \u200b\u200bconcluding peace with the capitalist countries was in opposition to the Soviet ideology, which was based on the idea of \u200b\u200ba world revolution. Therefore, there was no unity among the Soviet regime. And Lenin had to push through the Brest Peace of 1918 for a very long time. There were three main groups in the party:
- Bukharin. He put forward the idea that the war should continue at any cost. These are the positions of the classical world revolution.
- Lenin. He talked about the need to sign peace on any terms. This was the position of the Russian generals.
- Trotsky. He put forward a hypothesis, which today is often formulated as “No war! No peace! " It was a position of uncertainty, when Russia dissolves the army, but does not leave the war, does not sign a peace treaty. This was the ideal situation for Western countries.
Concluding a truce
On November 20, 1917, negotiations on the coming peace began in Brest-Litovsk. Germany proposed to sign an agreement on the following conditions: severing from Russia the territory of Poland, the Baltic states and part of the Baltic Sea islands. In total, it was assumed that Russia would lose up to 160 thousand square kilometers of territory. Lenin was ready to accept these conditions, since the Soviet government did not have an army, and the generals of the Russian Empire unanimously said that the war was lost and that peace should be concluded as soon as possible.
The negotiations were led by Trotsky as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Attention is drawn to the fact of the preserved secret telegrams between Trotsky and Lenin during the negotiations. To practically any serious military question, Lenin answered that it was necessary to consult with Stalin. The reason here is not the genius of Joseph Vissarionovich, but that Stalin acted as an intermediary between the tsarist army and Lenin.
Trotsky, during the negotiations, wasted time in every possible way. He said that a revolution was about to happen in Germany, so you just need to wait. But even if this revolution does not happen, then Germany does not have the strength for a new offensive. Therefore, he was playing for time, waiting for the support of the party.
During the negotiations, an armistice was concluded between the countries for the period from December 10, 1917 to January 7, 1918.
Why did Trotsky play for time?
Taking into account the fact that from the first days of the negotiations, Lenin took the position of unambiguously signing a peace treaty, Troitsky's support for this idea meant the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty and the end of the epic with the First World War for Russia. But Leiba did not do this, why? Historians give 2 explanations for this:
- He was waiting for the German revolution, which was to begin very soon. If this is really the case, then Lev Davydovich was an extremely short-sighted person, expecting revolutionary events in a country where the power of the monarchy was strong enough. The revolution eventually happened, but much later than the time when the Bolsheviks expected it.
- He represented the position of England, USA and France. The fact is that with the beginning of the revolution in Russia, Trotsky came to the country from the United States with a large amount of money. At the same time, Trotsky was not an entrepreneur, he had no inheritance, but he had large sums of money, the origin of which he never specified. It was extremely beneficial for the Western countries that Russia delayed negotiations with Germany as long as possible, so that the latter would leave its troops on the eastern front. This is quite a few 130 divisions, the transfer of which to the western front could prolong the war.
The second hypothesis may sound like a conspiracy theory at first glance, but it makes sense. In general, if we consider the activities of Leiba Davydovich in Soviet Russia, then almost all of his steps are related to the interests of England and the United States.
Crisis in negotiations
On January 8, 1918, as was stipulated by the armistice, the parties again sat down at the negotiating table. But literally right there, these negotiations were canceled by Trotsky. He referred to the fact that he urgently needed to return to Petrograd for consultations. Arriving in Russia, he raised the question of whether to conclude the Brest Peace in the party. He was opposed by Lenin, who insisted on the early signing of the peace, but Lenin lost 9 votes to 7. This was facilitated by the revolutionary movements that began in Germany.
On January 27, 1918, Germany made a move that few expected. She signed a peace treaty with Ukraine. It was a deliberate attempt to play off Russia and Ukraine. But the Soviet government continued to bend its line. On this day, a decree was signed on the demobilization of the army
We are withdrawing from the war, but we are forced to refuse to sign a peace treaty.
Trotsky
Of course, this shocked her on the German side, which could not understand how it was possible to stop fighting and not sign peace.
On February 11, at 17:00, a telegram from Krylenko was sent to all front headquarters that the war was over and we needed to return home. The troops began to retreat, exposing the front line. At the same time, the German command brought 2 Trotsky's words to Wilhelm, and the Kaiser supported the idea of \u200b\u200ban offensive.
On February 17, Lenin again made an attempt to convince party members to sign a peace treaty with Germany. Once again, his position is in the minority, since the opponents of the idea of \u200b\u200bsigning the peace convinced everyone that if Germany did not go on the offensive in 1.5 months, then it would not go on the offensive further. But they were very wrong.
Signing an agreement
On February 18, 1918, Germany launched a large-scale offensive in all sectors of the front. The Russian army was already partially demobilized and the Germans were quietly moving forward. There was a real threat of complete capture of the territory of Russia by Germany and Austria-Hungary. The only thing the Red Army was worthy of was to give a small battle on February 23 and slightly slow down the enemy's advance. Moreover, the battle was given by officers who changed into a soldier's greatcoat. But this was one hotbed of resistance that could not solve anything.
Lenin, under the threat of resignation, pushed through the party's decision to sign a peace treaty with Germany. As a result, negotiations began, which ended very quickly. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3, 1918 at 17:50.
On March 14, the 4th All-Russian Congress of Soviets ratified the Brest Peace Treaty. In protest, the Left Social Revolutionaries withdrew from the government.
The conditions of the Brest Peace were as follows:
- Complete rejection of the territories of Poland and Lithuania from Russia.
- Partial rejection of the territory of Latvia, Belarus and the Caucasus from Russia.
- Russia completely withdrew its troops from the Baltic States and Finland. Let me remind you that Finland had already been lost before.
- The independence of Ukraine was recognized, which passed under the protectorate of Germany.
- Russia ceded eastern Anatolia, Kars and Ardahan to Turkey.
- Russia paid Germany an indemnity of 6 billion marks, which was equal to 3 billion gold rubles.
Under the terms of the Brest Peace, Russia lost an area of \u200b\u200b789,000 square kilometers (compare with the initial conditions). This territory was home to 56 million people, which was 1/3 of the population of the Russian Empire. Such large losses became possible only because of the position of Trotsky, who at first was playing for time, and then insolently provoking the enemy.
The fate of the Brest peace
It is noteworthy that after the signing of the agreement, Lenin never used the word "treaty" or "peace", but replaced them with the word "respite." And it really was so, because the world did not last long. Already on October 5, 1918, Germany terminated the treaty. The Soviet government dissolved it on November 13, 1918, 2 days after the end of the First World War. In other words, the government waited for the defeat of Germany, made sure that this defeat irrevocably and calmly canceled the treaty.
Why was Lenin so afraid to use the word "Brest-Litovsk Peace"? The answer to this question is quite simple. After all, the idea of \u200b\u200bconcluding a peace treaty with the capitalist countries was in opposition to the theory of the socialist revolution. Therefore, the recognition of the conclusion of peace could be used by Lenin's opponents to eliminate it. And here Vladimir Ilyich showed a rather high flexibility. He made peace with Germany, but the party used the word respite. It was because of this word that the decision of the congress to ratify the peace treaty was not published. After all, the publication of these documents using Lenin's formulation could have been met negatively. Germany made peace, but she did not enter into any respite. The world puts an end to the war, and a respite means its continuation. Therefore, Lenin acted wisely not to publish the decision of the 4th Congress on the ratification of the Brest-Litovsk agreements.
On October 25 (November 7), 1917, the October Revolution took place in Petrograd. The Provisional Government fell, power passed into the hands of the Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, convened in Smolny on October 25, established the Soviet Republic in the country. V.I. was elected the head of the government. Lenin. On October 26 (November 8), 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted the Peace Decree. In it, the Soviet government proposed "to all the belligerent peoples and their governments to begin immediately negotiations on a just and democratic peace." It was further explained that the Soviet government considers such a peace to be an immediate peace without annexations, without the forcible annexation of foreign peoples and without indemnity.
Indeed, among the many tasks that the victorious Soviets had to solve, one of the most important was the withdrawal from the war. The fate of the socialist revolution largely depended on this. The working masses were waiting for deliverance from the hardships and hardships of the war. Millions of soldiers were rushing from the fronts, from the trenches home, V.I. Lenin wrote then: "... What could be more indisputable and clearer than the following truth: the government, which gave Soviet power, land, workers' control and peace to the people exhausted by a three-year predatory war, would be invincible? Peace is the main thing" (Lenin V.I. Complete collection of works-T.35.-P.361).
The governments of the Entente countries did not even respond to the proposal of the Second Congress of Soviets to conclude peace. On the contrary, they tried to prevent Russia's withdrawal from the war. Instead of looking for ways to peace, they tried to prevent Russia from leaving the war. Instead of looking for ways to peace, they embarked on a course of supporting the counter-revolution in Russia and organizing an anti-Soviet intervention in order, as Winston Churchill put it, "to strangle the communist hen before she hatched the chickens."
In these conditions, it was decided to independently start negotiations with Germany on the conclusion of peace.
In the party and in the Soviets, a heated discussion flared up - to conclude or not to conclude peace? Three points of view fought: Lenin and his supporters - to agree to the signing of the annexationist peace; the group of "left communists" headed by Bukharin - not to conclude peace with Germany, but to declare a "revolutionary" war on it and thereby help the German proletariat to kindle a revolution in itself; Trotsky - "no peace, no war."
The Soviet peace delegation, headed by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky, Lenin gave instructions to delay the signing of the peace. There was a glimmer of hope that a revolution might break out in Germany. But Trotsky did not fulfill this condition. After the German delegation conducted negotiations in an ultimatum tone, he announced that the Soviet Republic was ending the war, demobilizing the army: but not signing peace. As Trotsky later explained, he hoped that such a gesture would stir up the German proletariat. The Soviet delegation immediately left Brest. The negotiations were thwarted by Trotsky.
The German government, which had long been developing a plan to seize Russia, received a pretext for breaking the armistice. On February 18, at 12 noon, German troops launched an offensive along the entire front - from the Gulf of Riga to the mouth of the Danube. It was attended by about 700 thousand people.
The plan of the German command provided for the quick capture of Petrograd and Moscow, the fall of the Soviets and the conclusion of peace with the new, "non-Bolshevik government."
The retreat of the old Russian army began, which had by this time lost its combat capability. The German divisions moved almost unhindered into the interior of the country, and above all in the direction of Petrograd. On the morning of February 19, Lenin sent a telegram to the German government agreeing to sign the peace on the proposed terms. At the same time, the Council of People's Commissars took measures to organize military resistance to the enemy. It was provided by small detachments of the Red Guard, the Red Army and individual units of the old army. However, the German offensive developed rapidly. Dvinsk, Minsk, Polotsk, a significant part of Estonia and Latvia were lost. The Germans were eager for Petrograd. Mortal danger loomed over the Soviet Republic.
On February 21, the Council of People's Commissars adopted the letter written by V.I. Lenin's decree "The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!" On February 22 and 23, 1918 in Petrograd, Pskov, Revel, Narva, Moscow, Smolensk and other cities, a campaign of enrollment in the Red Army was launched.
Near Pskov and Revel, in Latvia, Belarus, in the Ukraine, there were battles with Kaiser's units. On the Petrograd direction, Soviet troops managed to halt the enemy offensive.
The growing resistance of the Soviet troops cooled the ardor of the German generals. Fearing a protracted war in the East and a blow by the Anglo-American and French troops from the West, the German government decided to make peace. But the conditions of peace he proposed were even more difficult. The Soviet republic was supposed to completely demobilize the army, conclude unfavorable agreements with Germany, etc.
The peace treaty with Germany was signed in Brest on March 3, 1918 and went down in history under the name of the Brest Peace.
Thus, Russia withdrew from the First World War, but for Soviet power in Russia it was only a respite that was used to strengthen power and economy, to prepare for "rebuff to world imperialism."