Russian Civil War

The information in the proceeding chart is a brief description of the two sides that fought during the Russian Civil War that lasted from 1917-1922. Please evaluate this information and answer the questions on your worksheet.

Red Army

    • aka the Bolsheviks

    • led by Vladimir Lenin

    • well organized and well led

    • wanted to have a communist government in Russia

    • won the civil war

    • had Czar Nicholas II and his family murdered

    • changed the name of Russia to the Soviet Union

White Army

    • wanted to bring the Czar back to power

    • were helped by the Allied powers during World War I

    • was not a united group ( some in the White Army wanted to make Russia a democracy)

    • were poorly led and equipped

    • lost the Civil War

Read the following excerpt and then answer the question about it on your worksheet:

Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, letter to Nicholas II (January, 1917)

The unrest grows; even the monarchist principle is beginning to totter; and those who defend the idea that Russia cannot exist without a Tsar lose the ground under their feet, since the facts of disorganization and lawlessness are manifest. A situation like this cannot last long. I repeat once more - it is impossible to rule the country without paying attention to the voice of the people, without meeting their needs, without a willingness to admit that the people themselves understand their own needs