Wars between 1918-1921

World War I, in which Russia participated in an alliance with France, Great Britain, and USA ended on the East in 1917. It was not the end of military action on these territories, however. The Russian Revolution soon caused a number of rebellions, fights, pogroms and in 1918 - a civil war and military interventions of England, France, Japan and USA.

The main strand of military action was a conflict between the Bolshevik Reds and their opponents (Whites). Roughly speaking, it is possible to divide this conflict into two phases: the first phase encompassing the years 1918-1919, and the second in 1919-1921. In the first phase the Red Army defended central territories around Moscow against the attacks coming from the West of (Estonia), East (Siberia), and South (Ukraine). In this phase the Whites seemed to take over. The second phase consisted of an offensive taken by the Reds and their seizing power in most of the national republics. The ones that had not been defeated by the Red Army created independent republics: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

The conflict between the Reds and Whites was accompanied by a number of international fights. The Bolsheviks in their desire to expand attacked Poland (1919-1920, Bolshevik War) Yet the plans of global revolution failed when the Polish Army won over the Red Army. Breaking off peace negotiations with the countries of Central Powers brought attacks of Entente: England, USA, Japan, France, Italy, and Greece. In Western Europe Germany and Austria won over Bolsheviks in Ukraine. Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, and Ukrainian armies were involved in supporting Entente as well.  The lack of agreement between the Whites, the masses of Russian peasants and the countries of Entente, however, prevented them from wining over the Bolshevik Army, regardless of their advantageous position.

Bolsheviks tried to turn international conflicts into local civil wars, hoping that in such a way these countries would stop to exist, and this in consequence would lead to a global revolution. In Russia the plan of destroying the existing order was realised by supporting the fight that took place between opposing parties. 

If Bolsheviks were defeated in Poland and in four national republics (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland) they won over the Whites and the remaining national republics. They created new, Soviet national republics, dependant on central communist government: Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, Turkiestan ASRR, Georgian SSR which after uniting with Armenia and Azerbeydzan created FSSR. All these republics (as well as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland) used to belong to Tzar's Empire as colonies.

Made by Ania Zaremba, Vincent Yau and Kevin Jones