The Russian civil war

Question 1

Civil War 1918-1921

Answer 1

Sovnarkom had little real power outside of Petrograd and Moscow for the first few months.
The Russian Civil War allowed Lenin to establish Communist control over the whole of Russia.
The Civil War radically changed the nature of the Communist Government; it led to the emergence of an authoritarian, centralised and bureaucratic regime.

Question 2

Groups in the Russian Civil War

Answer 2

The Reds: Communist forces
The Whites: liberals, Tsarists or those who wanted to establish military dictatorship
The ‘Greens’: associated with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) or anarchist groups - they fought for autonomy of local groups of peasants.