The Russian Revolution is often presented as a purely domestic event.
In 1917, the Romanov dynasty collapsed. The Provisional Government took power. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized control under Vladimir Lenin.
But the Russian Revolution quickly became an international crisis.
The collapse of the Russian Empire occurred in the middle of the First World War. When the Bolsheviks took power, they withdrew Russia from the war against Germany. This created an enormous strategic crisis for the Allied powers.
The result was a complicated series of foreign interventions in the former Russian Empire.
Britain, France, the United States, Japan, Canada, Italy, China, Greece, Serbia, and other nations became involved in various ways. Some sent troops. Others supplied weapons or money. Some intervened primarily to protect their own interests.
The foreign intervention did not overthrow the Bolsheviks.
Instead, the Red Army eventually defeated the White armies and their foreign supporters.
However, the intervention had a profound impact on the developing Soviet Union. It helped convince the Bolsheviks that the capitalist powers were determined to destroy their revolution.
The First World War and the Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution cannot be separated from the First World War.
Russia had entered the war in 1914 as one of the major Allied powers.
The Russian Army fought Germany and Austria-Hungary on the Eastern Front.
The war placed enormous pressure on Russian society.
The country suffered:
- Military defeats
- Millions of casualties
- Food shortages
- Inflation
- Transportation problems
- Economic disruption
- Political instability
In March 1917, mass protests and strikes led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
A Provisional Government took power.
However, the new government made a crucial decision.
It continued the war.
This decision contributed to the government's eventual collapse.
In November 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power.
Lenin's government immediately sought to end Russia's involvement in the war.
An armistice was signed with Germany in December 1917.
The negotiations eventually resulted in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, signed in March 1918.
Russia surrendered enormous territories.
The treaty removed Russia from the First World War.
For the Allies, this was a disaster.
Germany could now transfer large numbers of troops from the Eastern Front to the Western Front.
The Bolshevik government had also repudiated many of Russia's international debts.
The Allied powers therefore faced a new situation.
Russia had changed from an ally into a revolutionary state that was making peace with Germany.
Why Did Foreign Powers Intervene?
There was no single reason for international intervention.
Different governments had different objectives.
The major motivations included:
- Continuing the war against Germany
- Preventing German access to Allied supplies
- Rescuing the Czechoslovak Legion
- Supporting anti-Bolshevik forces
- Protecting strategic interests
- Preventing the spread of communism
- Opposing revolutionary movements
- Expanding national influence
The foreign intervention also changed over time.
In 1918, the primary concern was still the First World War.
By late 1918 and 1919, the war against Germany was over.
The intervention increasingly became connected to the Russian Civil War and the struggle against Bolshevism.
This changing purpose created confusion.
The Allied governments did not agree about what they were trying to accomplish.
The Czechoslovak Legion
One of the most important factors in the international intervention was the Czechoslovak Legion.
The Legion consisted largely of Czech and Slovak soldiers who had served in the Russian Army during the First World War.
Their ultimate goal was to establish an independent Czechoslovakia.
After the Russian Revolution, the Legion wanted to leave Russia.
The original plan was to travel eastward across Siberia and then leave through Vladivostok.
From there, the soldiers could be transported to the Western Front.
However, the journey became increasingly complicated.
In 1918, the Legion became involved in a confrontation with Bolshevik authorities.
The result was an armed uprising.
The Czechoslovak Legion seized control of large portions of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
This was a major turning point.
The Legion controlled a strategically important transportation route and became involved with anti-Bolshevik forces.
The crisis helped encourage the Allied powers to intervene in Siberia.
The Czechoslovak Legion was therefore not simply a passive group waiting to be rescued.
It became one of the most important military forces in the early stages of the Russian Civil War.
Britain
Britain was one of the most active foreign powers in the Russian Civil War.
British involvement took place in several regions.
Northern Russia
British forces landed at Murmansk and Archangel.
The purpose was initially connected to protecting Allied military supplies that had been sent to Russia during the First World War.
There was also concern that these supplies might fall into German hands.
British troops eventually became involved in fighting against Bolshevik forces.
The northern campaign was conducted in difficult conditions.
The region had:
- Severe winters
- Poor transportation
- Limited roads
- Long distances
- Difficult supply conditions
British forces worked with anti-Bolshevik Russian forces.
They also supported the creation of a White military presence in the region.
The Caucasus
British forces also operated in the Caucasus.
The region was strategically important because of its oil resources and its proximity to the Ottoman Empire.
British troops occupied Baku for a period in 1918.
The British were concerned about:
- German and Ottoman influence
- Access to oil
- The security of the Middle East
- The spread of Bolshevism
British involvement in the Caucasus reflected the fact that the Russian Civil War extended far beyond the traditional Russian heartland.
Southern Russia
British forces also supported White armies in southern Russia.
British assistance included:
- Weapons
- Ammunition
- Equipment
- Advisors
- Some troops
The British supported White commanders including General Anton Denikin and later General Pyotr Wrangel.
British supplies were especially important to the White forces.
However, British governments never committed the enormous army that would have been necessary to conquer Russia and impose a new government.
The British intervention was therefore limited.
France
France had particularly strong reasons to oppose the Bolshevik government.
The French government had lent large amounts of money to the Russian Empire before the revolution.
The Bolshevik government repudiated the tsarist debts.
France therefore had both political and financial reasons to oppose the new regime.
French forces participated in the intervention in southern Russia and the Black Sea region.
France also supported anti-Bolshevik forces with weapons and supplies.
However, French involvement became increasingly unpopular.
The French Navy experienced serious unrest.
In 1919, French sailors in the Black Sea mutinied.
The mutinies reflected a broader problem facing the Allied intervention.
Many soldiers no longer understood why they were fighting.
The First World War had ended.
They had already spent years fighting.
They were now being asked to intervene in a Russian civil war.
The French eventually withdrew.
The United States
The United States entered the intervention for several reasons.
President Woodrow Wilson was deeply suspicious of Bolshevism.
However, Wilson did not initially want the United States to appear to be conducting a straightforward war against the Russian Revolution.
The American intervention therefore had carefully defined official objectives.
American troops were sent to two major areas.
Northern Russia
American forces participated in the North Russia Expeditionary Force.
Troops were sent to Archangel.
They became involved in fighting Bolshevik forces.
The operation was conducted in difficult conditions and continued after the end of the First World War.
American soldiers were often uncertain about the purpose of the mission.
The United States had gone to war against Germany.
Now American troops were fighting Russians.
This created political problems at home.
Siberia
American troops were also sent to Vladivostok.
The American Siberian Expedition was connected to several objectives:
- Assisting the Czechoslovak Legion
- Protecting Allied supplies
- Supporting stability in the region
- Limiting Japanese expansion
The United States was especially concerned about Japan.
Japan had sent far more troops to Siberia than any other foreign power.
Washington feared that Japan might use the Russian crisis to establish a permanent empire in eastern Siberia.
American forces therefore had an additional strategic purpose.
They helped limit Japanese ambitions.
The United States eventually withdrew.
The American intervention did not have a decisive effect on the outcome of the civil war.
Japan
Japan's involvement was the largest of any foreign power.
Japanese forces landed in Siberia in 1918.
The official justification was connected to the rescue of the Czechoslovak Legion and the protection of Allied interests.
However, Japan had its own strategic ambitions.
Japan already had important interests in East Asia.
The collapse of the Russian Empire created an opportunity to expand Japanese influence.
Japanese troops eventually occupied large areas of the Russian Far East.
Japan also supported anti-Bolshevik forces and local leaders.
The Japanese military remained in Siberia longer than the other major Allied powers.
The Japanese intervention continued into the early 1920s.
Japan's involvement was therefore more than a temporary expedition.
It was connected to a broader Japanese strategy of expanding influence in:
- Siberia
- The Russian Far East
- Manchuria
- Northern China
The intervention was also a source of tension with the United States.
Both countries were becoming increasingly concerned with the future of East Asia.
The Japanese withdrawal from Siberia did not occur until 1922.
The last major Japanese forces left the Russian Far East after the Soviet government established control over the region.
Canada
Canada also participated in the Siberian Intervention.
Canadian troops were sent to Vladivostok as part of the Allied expedition.
The Canadian contribution was relatively small compared with Japan or the United States.
The Canadian government was reluctant to become deeply involved.
The intervention occurred in the immediate aftermath of the First World War.
Canada had already suffered enormous casualties.
There was little public enthusiasm for another overseas military operation.
Canadian troops therefore spent much of their time in an uncertain and politically complicated mission.
The Canadian experience reflected a broader problem.
The Allied governments could send forces to Russia.
But they could not easily persuade their populations that the Russian Civil War was worth another major war.
Italy
Italy also participated in the intervention.
Italian forces served in Siberia.
The Italian government was interested in the wider international struggle against Bolshevism.
Italian involvement was relatively limited.
Like the other Allied powers, Italy faced the problem that the intervention lacked a clear and unified strategic purpose.
Greece and Serbia
Greek and Serbian troops also became involved in the fighting in southern Russia.
They were associated primarily with the French-led intervention in the Black Sea and southern Russia.
Their participation was connected partly to the military structures created during the First World War.
The use of these forces reflected the international nature of the conflict.
The Russian Civil War involved soldiers from many different countries.
China
Chinese forces also entered the Russian Far East.
Their presence was connected to the instability around Vladivostok and the protection of Chinese citizens and interests.
China was especially concerned about the expansion of Japanese influence in the region.
The Russian Civil War therefore became part of the larger struggle over the future of East Asia.
The Baltic States and Poland
Not every foreign power intervened in the same way.
Several nations that had recently become independent or were fighting for independence became directly involved in the conflicts surrounding the Russian Civil War.
These included:
- Finland
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland
Their primary concern was national survival.
The collapse of the Russian Empire created an opportunity for independence.
But the Bolsheviks wanted to recover much of the territory of the former empire.
The resulting wars became connected to the Russian Civil War.
Finland
Finland declared independence in 1917.
A civil war followed between the Reds and Whites.
Germany intervened on behalf of the Finnish Whites.
The White victory created an anti-Bolshevik government on Russia's northwestern border.
The Baltic States
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania fought for independence.
Their conflicts involved:
- Bolshevik forces
- Local nationalist forces
- German troops
- White Russian forces
The Baltic region became one of the most complicated areas of the postwar conflict.
Poland
Poland fought Soviet Russia in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921.
The war was directly connected to the wider collapse of the Russian Empire.
The Bolshevik government hoped that a Soviet victory would allow the revolution to spread westward.
Poland became a major barrier to that expansion.
The Polish victory at the Battle of Warsaw in 1920 was one of the most important defeats suffered by the Red Army.
The Soviet-Polish War was not simply a foreign intervention in the same sense as the British or American expeditions.
It was a war between two states.
However, it was part of the wider international struggle that emerged from the Russian Revolution.
Germany
Germany's role was particularly important.
Germany did not intervene in the Russian Civil War as an Allied power.
Instead, Germany had played a major role in the events that led to the Bolshevik seizure of power.
German authorities allowed Lenin to travel from exile to Russia in 1917.
The German government hoped that revolutionary instability would weaken Russia's ability to continue the war.
After the Bolshevik Revolution, Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the new Soviet government.
Germany occupied or controlled large parts of the former Russian Empire.
The treaty gave Germany influence over:
- Ukraine
- The Baltic region
- Belarus
- Other territories
Germany's defeat in November 1918 transformed the situation.
German forces withdrew.
The territories left behind became contested by:
- Bolsheviks
- Nationalists
- White Russians
- Poland
- Local governments
- Other foreign powers
The collapse of German power therefore created a new phase of conflict.
The White Armies
Foreign intervention cannot be understood without understanding the White movement.
The Whites were not a single unified political party.
They included:
- Monarchists
- Conservatives
- Liberals
- Nationalists
- Former tsarist officers
- Anti-Bolshevik socialists
Their common goal was opposition to Bolshevik rule.
But they disagreed about the future of Russia.
Would the monarchy be restored?
Would Russia become a democratic republic?
Would the empire be preserved?
What would happen to land seized by peasants?
These questions created enormous divisions.
The major White commanders included:
- Alexander Kolchak in Siberia
- Anton Denikin in southern Russia
- Nikolai Yudenich in the northwest
- Pyotr Wrangel in southern Russia
The Allies supported many of these forces.
But foreign intervention could not solve the fundamental political problems of the White movement.
Admiral Kolchak
Alexander Kolchak became one of the most important White leaders.
He was a former admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy.
In 1918, he became the leader of the anti-Bolshevik government in Siberia.
Kolchak received substantial foreign support.
The Czechoslovak Legion controlled important sections of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The British, Americans, French, and Japanese supplied equipment and assistance.
Kolchak launched major offensives against the Bolsheviks.
Initially, his forces made significant advances.
However, the Red Army eventually counterattacked.
Kolchak's forces retreated eastward.
He was eventually captured and executed by the Bolsheviks in 1920.
His defeat was a major turning point in the civil war.
General Denikin
Anton Denikin led the major White force in southern Russia.
His army received considerable support from Britain and other Allied powers.
In 1919, Denikin's forces advanced toward Moscow.
For a time, it appeared possible that the Bolshevik government might be overthrown.
However, the White offensive eventually collapsed.
The Red Army counterattacked.
Denikin's forces were pushed back.
The failure of the offensive demonstrated the weakness of the White movement.
The Whites were geographically separated from one another.
They lacked unified command.
They also had difficulty presenting a clear political alternative to Bolshevism.
General Yudenich
Nikolai Yudenich commanded White forces in the Baltic region.
His forces launched attacks toward Petrograd.
The Bolshevik capital was in danger.
However, the attacks failed.
The Red Army managed to defend Petrograd.
The defeat of Yudenich's forces removed one of the most serious threats to Bolshevik power.
The British and the Russian South
The British supplied large quantities of equipment to the White forces.
This included:
- Rifles
- Artillery
- Tanks
- Aircraft
- Ammunition
British assistance was particularly important to the forces of Denikin and Wrangel.
However, the White armies were never simply British puppets.
They had their own objectives.
The British government was also divided about how far it should go.
Some politicians wanted the Bolsheviks destroyed.
Others believed that direct intervention was too costly.
The result was inconsistent policy.
The Whites received support but not the massive commitment that would have been necessary to guarantee victory.
Why Did the Allies Fail?
The foreign powers had considerable military resources.
Why did they fail to defeat the Bolsheviks?
There were several reasons.
The Allies Had No Unified Strategy
The foreign powers did not agree about their objectives.
Some wanted to:
- Defeat the Bolsheviks
- Restore a non-communist government
- Protect supplies
- Rescue the Czechoslovak Legion
- Contain Japan
- Expand their own influence
These objectives sometimes conflicted.
The Intervention Was Geographically Dispersed
Foreign forces operated in:
- Northern Russia
- Siberia
- The Far East
- Southern Russia
- The Caucasus
- The Baltic region
These regions were separated by enormous distances.
The Allies could not easily coordinate their operations.
The White Armies Were Divided
The White movement lacked a unified political vision.
The Bolsheviks could offer a clear message.
The Whites often could not.
Many peasants feared that a White victory might restore the old landlords.
The Bolsheviks could therefore present themselves as defenders of the revolution, even though their policies were often extremely coercive.
The Bolsheviks Controlled the Central Region
The Bolsheviks controlled the heartland of Russia.
This gave them:
- Population
- Industry
- Railways
- Military resources
- Centralized command
The White armies operated largely around the edges of the former empire.
The Bolsheviks were therefore able to move troops along interior lines.
Foreign Troops Had Little Motivation
The soldiers of Britain, France, the United States, Canada, and other nations had already fought a devastating world war.
Many did not understand why they were now fighting in Russia.
The intervention was unpopular.
There were mutinies and political opposition.
Governments were unwilling to commit the enormous forces necessary to conquer the former Russian Empire.
The Red Army
The Bolsheviks had several important advantages.
The Red Army was organized under Leon Trotsky.
Trotsky created a centralized military structure.
The Bolsheviks also used former Imperial Russian officers.
These officers provided valuable military expertise.
Political commissars were used to ensure loyalty to the Bolshevik government.
The Red Army was not simply an ideological militia.
It became a powerful conventional army.
The Bolsheviks also controlled the central industrial region of Russia.
This allowed them to draw on a large population and substantial resources.
The End of the Intervention
The foreign intervention gradually collapsed.
The First World War had ended.
The original justification for many operations had disappeared.
The Czechoslovak Legion was evacuated.
The British withdrew from northern Russia.
The Americans left Siberia in 1920.
France withdrew from southern Russia.
The Japanese remained in the Russian Far East longer than the other major powers.
By 1922, Japan had also withdrawn from most of the region.
The Bolsheviks had defeated the major White armies.
The Soviet government gradually reestablished control over much of the former Russian Empire.
The Russian Civil War continued in some regions into the early 1920s.
The Soviet Union was formally established in 1922.
The International Consequences
The intervention had consequences far beyond the military campaigns.
Soviet Suspicion of the West
The Bolsheviks viewed the foreign intervention as evidence that capitalist governments were determined to destroy communism.
This perception became a central element of Soviet foreign policy.
The Soviet government believed that it was surrounded by hostile powers.
This idea of capitalist encirclement became important in Soviet political thinking.
The intervention therefore contributed to the deep hostility that developed between the Soviet Union and the Western powers.
The Red Army Learned from the Civil War
The Red Army gained enormous experience.
It learned how to conduct:
- Large-scale operations
- Railway warfare
- Mobile warfare
- Counterinsurgency
- Political warfare
The civil war created a generation of Soviet military leaders.
Some of these officers would later play important roles in the Second World War.
The International Communist Movement
The Bolshevik victory also encouraged communist movements around the world.
The Russian Revolution had survived.
The Bolsheviks had defeated both domestic enemies and foreign intervention.
The Soviet Union therefore became the center of the international communist movement.
The creation of the Communist International in 1919 was part of this effort.
The Russian Revolution was no longer simply a Russian event.
It had become a global ideological movement.
Was the Intervention an Allied Invasion?
The answer depends partly on how the intervention is defined.
The foreign troops certainly fought on Russian territory.
They supported anti-Bolshevik forces.
They occupied ports and cities.
They conducted military operations against the Red Army.
From the Bolshevik perspective, this was clearly a foreign invasion.
However, the intervention was not a single coordinated invasion by a unified Allied army.
The various governments had different objectives.
Many of the first operations were conducted while the First World War was still continuing.
The original objectives often involved protecting supplies or maintaining pressure on Germany.
After Germany's defeat, the intervention increasingly became a struggle against the Bolsheviks.
The historical reality was therefore more complicated than either simple description.
It was both an international intervention in a civil war and, in the eyes of the Bolsheviks, a foreign attempt to destroy the revolution.
Conclusion
The Russian Revolution quickly became an international conflict.
The collapse of the Russian Empire occurred during the First World War.
When the Bolsheviks seized power and withdrew Russia from the war, the Allied powers faced a major strategic crisis.
Foreign governments intervened for many different reasons.
Britain, France, the United States, Japan, Canada, Italy, China, Greece, Serbia, and other nations became involved in different ways.
Some sent combat troops.
Others provided weapons and supplies.
Some were motivated by anti-communism.
Others were concerned about strategic interests, territory, economic resources, or the protection of their own citizens.
The Czechoslovak Legion played a particularly important role in transforming the crisis into an international military conflict.
The Allied powers supported the White armies, but they never developed a unified strategy.
The Whites were divided politically and militarily.
The Bolsheviks controlled the central heartland of Russia and built an increasingly effective Red Army.
By the early 1920s, the intervention had failed.
The Bolsheviks had survived.
The Soviet Union was established.
But the consequences of the intervention lasted much longer.
The experience convinced Soviet leaders that the Western powers were committed to destroying the communist revolution.
At the same time, the intervention demonstrated the difficulty of overthrowing a revolutionary government through limited foreign military action.
The Russian Civil War was therefore not simply a domestic conflict.
It was one of the first major international struggles of the twentieth century between revolutionary communism and the established powers of the world.
Its legacy would influence Soviet foreign policy, international communism, and the relationship between the Soviet Union and the West for decades to come.
The First World War had helped create the Russian Revolution.
The international intervention that followed helped shape the Soviet state that emerged from it.
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