SETION I
TEXT
I. . :
Government [`gÙvenmnt] ; to overthrow (overthrew, overthrown) [uv`qru] ; to withhold (withheld, withheld) [wi `huld] , ; ; a squad [skwÉ:d] . , ; to seize [si:z] ; ; to declare [di`klε] ; to declare war [di`klε wÉ:] ; to trigger [`trig] ; ; event [i`vent] ; ; provisional [pr`vi n()l] , ; to elect [i`lekt] (); a treaty [`tri:ti] ; drastic [`dræstik] .
II. . , . / :
Official version [`fiò()l `v:òn]; revolution [,rev`lu:ò()n]; attack [`tæk]; army [`a:mi]; ammunition [,æmju`niò()n]; military [`militri]; control [kn`trul]; recruit [ri`kru:t]; a genius [`d i:njs]; historian [his`tÉ:rin]; democratically [dm`krætik()li]; parliament [`pa:lmnt]; regime [rei` i:m]; unpopular [Ln`pÉpjul]; flag [flæg]; leader [`li:d]; dictatorship [`dik`teitòip]; general [d enrl].
III. / :
The hated October Provisional Government; top-rate leaders; the Great powers; a military genius in command; the powers; the Bolshevik regime; the Constituent Assembly; the democratically elected parliament; the Social revolutionaries; the First World War; a peace treaty; iron-producing areas; the supreme ruler of Russia.
IV. : Is there any difference between the official Soviet version of events and the real state of things?
The Russian Civil War
Did the Whites stand a chance?
The story of the Russian Civil War looks deceptively simple, and for a long time it suited Soviet governments. Essentially the official Soviet version of events looked like this:
The Bolsheviks overthrew the hated Provisional Government in the October Revolution, and their enemies joined forces to attack them. The Bolsheviks had no experience of leading armies and they were short of troops, ammunition and food. Their enemies, the Whites, were well trained and experienced, they had top-rate leaders, and they had plenty of military equipment. Above all, they had military support from all the Great Powers of the world Britain, France, Japan and the USA. The Whites controlled huge areas of Russia. But they didnt win. By an immense effort the Bolsheviks were able to recruit men and train them to fight. When the peasants withheld food, the Cheka (Bolshevik secret police) sent squads into the countryside to seize it. Above all, the Bolsheviks found to their delight that they had a military genius in command, in the person of Leon Trotsky.
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This version looks simple, but if it is true even in outline, then it raises a lot of questions:
If the White leaders were so experienced, why did Trotsky beat them?
If the Whites had such strong support from the Allied powers, why didnt they make better use of it?
If the Whites controlled so much of Russia, why could they not control the rest of it?
Why Was There a Civil War Anyway?
Lets look at how the Civil War actually started. It is difficult to be precise about this because there was no point when one side declared war on the other, but historians agree that there were two main events that triggered opposition to the Bolshevik regime and started the Civil War:
(a) January 1918: Lenin closes down the Constituent Assembly
The Constituent Assembly was the democratically elected parliament.
Danger: a lot of groups who opposed the Tsar and the Provisional Government, such as the Social Revolutionaries, were angry at this move by Lenin. One of them, Fanya Kaplan, even managed to shoot Lenin and very nearly killed him.
(b) March 1918: the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Lenin wanted to get Russia out of the First World War, even if it meant signing a humiliating peace treaty. In the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Russia gave up vast areas of land to the Germans, including the whole of the Ukraine, 73% of its iron-producing areas and 75% of its coalfields.
Danger: such a drastic peace treaty was very unpopular with the Russians. Even many Bolsheviks thought it was too harsh.
The fighting began when the Social Revolutionarias decided to set up a new Russian government, based at Samara in southern Russia. Suddenly lots of other groups were joining them. They all hated the Bolsheviks but for very different reasons. The Civil War started.
Whites Versus Reds
The Bolsheviks adopted red as their colour for flags, banners and so on. So their enemies called themselves the Whites. But there were many different groups of Whites; they did not all have the same leader; and they did not all want the same thing.
The Social Revolutionaries wanted the Constituent Assembly back.
The monarchists wanted the Tsar back.
The White Army leaders wanted some sort of military dictatorship in Russia.
The Whites had no shortage of generals. In the north, General Yudenich led an attack on Petrograd. In the south, General Denikin led an attack through the Ukraine. In the east, Admiral Kolchak led an attack and declared himself the supreme ruler of Russia.
In addition, other countries sent help to the Whites. The British and French sent ships and troops to help General Denikin; along with the Americans and the Italians, they also sent help to General Yudenich in the north. In the east, Admiral Kolchak had help from the Japanese. He also had the support of one of the most effective groups fighting in the war, the Czech legion.
They were not pleased when the Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and pulled out of the war. (GCSE Modern History Review Hindsight, Volume 11, Number 2, January 2001)
V. , (True/False)?
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1. The official Soviet version of the Russian Civil War never suited Soviet governments. 2. Leon Trotsky was the leader of the Social Revolutionaries. 3. One of the main events that triggered the war was Fanya Kaplans attempt to shoot Lenin. 4. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was very unpopular with the Russians. 5. There was just one group of the Whites; they had one leader. 6. General Yudenich, General Denikin, Admiral Kolchak are the names of White generals.
VI. / . .
VII. :
1. What were two main events that triggered the Civil War? 2. What were the main points in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk? 3. What groups did the Whites consist of? 4. Who supported the Whites?
VIII. spidergram. (Spidergram - , , .)
IX. . .
SECTION II
