Peace negotiations began on December 9, 1917. Delegations of the states included in the Triple Alliance bloc were represented by the Secretary of State of the Foreign Office R. von Kühlmann (Germany), the Minister of Foreign Affairs Count O. Chernin (Austro-Hungarian Empire), as well as delegates from Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. At the first stage, the Soviet delegation included 5 authorized members of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee: Bolsheviks A. Ioffe, L.B. Kamenev, G. Sokolnikov, Socialist Revolutionaries A.A. Bitsenko and S.D. Maslovsky-Mstislavsky, 8 members of the military delegation, secretary of the delegation, 3 translators and 6 technical employees.
Based on the general principles of the Peace Decree of 1917, the Soviet delegation proposed adopting the following program as the basis for negotiations:
1. Preventing the forcible annexation of territories captured during the war;
2. Withdrawal of troops from occupied territories.
3. Restoration of the political independence of peoples who lost it during the war.
4. A guarantee of the opportunity to independently resolve the issue of statehood through a referendum for national groups that did not have political independence before the war.
5. Ensuring cultural-national and, under certain conditions, administrative autonomy of national minorities.
6. Refusal of annexations and indemnities.
7. Resolution of colonial issues based on the above principles.
8. Preventing indirect restrictions on the freedom of weaker nations by stronger nations.
After a three-day discussion by the countries of the German bloc of Soviet proposals, on the evening of December 12, 1917, German Ambassador R. von Kühlmann made a statement that Germany and its allies accepted these proposals. At the same time, a reservation was made that actually denied Germany’s consent to peace without annexations and indemnities.
Having similarly noted the adherence of the German bloc to the Soviet peace formula “without annexations and indemnities,” the Soviet delegation proposed declaring a ten-day break, during which it would be possible to try to bring the countries of the Entente bloc to the negotiating table.
During the break, however, it became clear that Germany had a slightly different understanding of a world without annexations than the Soviet delegation. For Germany, we are not talking at all about the withdrawal of troops to the borders of 1914 and the withdrawal of troops from Poland, Lithuania and Courland, especially since, according to the German statement, Poland, Lithuania and Courland have already spoken out in favor of secession from Russia, so if these three countries now enter into negotiations with Germany about their future fate, this will by no means be considered annexation by Germany.
On December 14, 1917, the Soviet delegation at the second meeting of the political commission made a proposal for the withdrawal of troops by Soviet Russia from the occupied parts of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Persia, troops of the powers of the Triple Alliance - from Poland, Lithuania, Courland and the occupied regions of Russia. In addition, Soviet Russia promised, in accordance with the principle of self-determination of nations, to provide the population of these regions with the opportunity to decide for themselves the issue of their state existence - in the absence of any troops other than national or local police.
The German and Austro-Hungarian delegation, however, made a counter-proposal - Soviet Russia was asked to take note of statements expressing the will of the peoples inhabiting Poland, Lithuania, Courland and parts of Estonia and Livonia, about their desire for full state independence and separation from composition of the territories of the Russian Empire. It was also proposed to recognize that these statements should be considered as an expression of the people's will. In addition, the Soviet delegation was also informed that the Ukrainian Central Rada was sending its own delegation to Brest-Litovsk. Due to newly discovered circumstances, as well as the reluctance of each side to make concessions during the negotiations, it was decided to introduce a temporary break and on December 15, 1917, the Soviet delegation left for Petrograd.
During a break in the conference, the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of Soviet Russia again appealed to the governments of the Entente bloc powers with a proposal to take part in peace negotiations and again received no response. IN AND. Ulyanov-Lenin wrote: “It was the Anglo-French and American bourgeoisie that did not accept our proposal, it was they who refused to even talk to us about universal peace! It was they who acted treacherously towards the interests of all peoples, it was they who prolonged the imperialist massacre!”
During the second stage of negotiations, the Soviet side was represented by the following delegates L.D. Trotsky, A.A. Ioffe, L.M. Karakhan, K.B. Radek, M.N. Pokrovsky, A.A. Bitsenko, V.A. Karelin, E.G. Medvedev, V.M. Shahray, St. Bobinsky, V. Mickiewicz-Kapsukas, V. Terian, V.M. Altvater, A.A. Samoilo, V.V. Lipsky.
On December 20, 1917, the Soviet government sent telegrams to the chairmen of the delegations of the Triple Bloc countries with a proposal to move peace negotiations to Stockholm. The Soviet side made this decision for strategic reasons, because according to the Council of People's Commissars, the Soviet delegation could feel freer there, because its radio messages could be protected from interception, and telephone conversations with Petrograd from German censorship. However, this proposal was categorically rejected by Germany.
Twenty-second December 1917 German Chancellor Hertling announced in his speech in the Reichstag that a delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada had arrived in Brest-Litovsk. Germany agreed to negotiate with the Ukrainian delegation, hoping to use this fact as leverage against Soviet Russia and against its ally, Austria-Hungary. Ukrainian diplomats, who conducted preliminary negotiations with the German General Hoffmann, initially announced their claims to annex the Kholm region (which was part of Poland), as well as the Austro-Hungarian territories of Bukovina and Eastern Galicia, to Ukraine. Hoffmann, however, insisted that they lower their demands and limit themselves to the Kholm region, agreeing that Bukovina and Eastern Galicia form an independent Austro-Hungarian crown territory under the rule of the Habsburg dynasty. It was these demands that they defended in their further negotiations with the Austro-Hungarian delegation. Negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation dragged on so much that the opening of the conference had to be postponed to December 27, 1917.
Opening the conference, R. von Kühlmann stated that since during the break in the peace negotiations no application had been received from any of the main participants in the war to join them, the delegations of the Triple Alliance countries were abandoning their previously expressed intention to join the Soviet peace formula " without annexations and indemnities." Both R. von Kühlmann and the head of the Austro-Hungarian delegation O. Chernin spoke out against moving the negotiations to Stockholm. In addition, since Russia’s allies did not respond to the offer to take part in the negotiations, the conversation now, in the opinion of the German bloc, will have to be not about universal peace, but about a separate peace between Russia and the powers of the Triple Alliance.
The Ukrainian delegation was also invited by Germany to the next meeting, held on December 28, 1917. Its chairman, V. Golubovich, announced the declaration of the Central Rada that the power of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Russia does not extend to the territory of Ukraine, and therefore the Central Rada intends to independently conduct peace negotiations. R. von Kühlmann turned to L. Trotsky, who headed the Soviet delegation at the second stage of negotiations, with the question of whether the Ukrainian delegation should be considered part of the Russian delegation or whether it represents an independent state. L. Trotsky, in the face of the actual situation, recognized the Ukrainian delegation as independent, which made it possible for Germany and Austria-Hungary to continue contacts with Ukraine, while negotiations with Russia became a deadlock.
R. von Kühlmann presented the Soviet side with the peace terms proposed by Austria-Hungary, according to which the territories of the Principality of Poland, Lithuania, Courland, parts of Estonia and Livonia, which came under the protection of Germany, were torn away from Russia.
After the refusal of the Ukrainian Central government, they are happy to oppose L.G.’s supporters. Kornilov and A.M. Kaledin Ukraine declared state sovereignty on January 22, 1918. Several Soviet republics were formed on its territory, which at their unification congress elected their capital in Kharkov. On January 26, 1918, Kyiv was occupied by the troops of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA). On January 27, 1918, the delegation of the Ukrainian People's Republic signed a separate separate peace with the Central Powers of the Triple Alliance in Brest-Litovsk, which included recognition of the sovereignty of Ukraine and military assistance against the Red Army troops in exchange for food supplies. On January 28, 1918, the head of the Soviet delegation, L. Trotsky, rejected the German peace conditions, putting forward the slogan “Neither peace, nor war.” On February 5, 1918, troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary began an offensive along the entire line of the “Eastern” Front.
By February 18, 1918, German troops captured Estonia. The Soviet Bolshevik government organized an attempt to resist the German army. Thus, near the city of Pskov, parts of the retreating Russian army encountered a German detachment that had already occupied the city. Having broken through the city and blowing up an ammunition depot, the Russian army took up positions near Pskov. In addition, detachments of sailors and Red Guard detachments of workers led by P.E. were sent near Narva. Dybenko. But the work detachments were made up of militias that did not represent a serious military force, and the sailors were poorly disciplined and did not know how to fight on land. Near Narva, German troops managed to disperse the Red Guard detachments; P. E. Dybenko decided to retreat. By February 23, 1918, German troops already located in the vicinity of Petrograd threatened the occupation of the capital. And although, due to the stretched communications, the German army did not have the opportunity to advance deep into Russia, the government of Soviet Russia published the appeal “The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!”, in which it called for the mobilization of all revolutionary forces to repel the enemy. However, the Bolsheviks did not have an army that could defend Petrograd.
At the same time, the head of the Bolshevik Party V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin faced tough internal party controversy about the need to conclude peace. Thus, L. Trotsky, as the main oppositionist to the point of view of V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin about the urgent need to conclude a peace treaty, realized that if the Bolshevik Party split, it would be impossible to organize resistance to the German invasion.L. Trotsky was forced to give in and accept the point of view of V.I. Ulyanov - Lenin, which allowed the issue of concluding a separate peace to receive a majority. On March 3, 1918, the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was signed.
The conditions for a separate peace put forward by Germany to Soviet Russia were extremely difficult. According to them:
The Vistula provinces, Ukraine, provinces with a predominant Belarusian population, the Estland, Courland and Livonia provinces, the Grand Duchy of Finland, the Kars region and the Batumi region (in the Caucasus) were torn away from the territory of Russia.
The Soviet government ended the war with the Ukrainian People's Republic and made peace with it.
The Russian army and navy were demobilized. The Baltic Navy was withdrawn from its bases in Finland and the Baltic states, and the Black Sea Navy with its entire infrastructure was transferred to the powers of the Triple Alliance.
Soviet Russia paid reparations to Germany in the form of 6 billion marks and compensation for losses incurred by Germany during the Russian revolution - 500 million gold rubles.
The Soviet government pledged to stop revolutionary propaganda in the powers of the Triple Alliance and their allied states formed on the territory of the former Russian Empire.
However, already at the VII Congress of the RCP (b) on March 6-8, the positions of V.I. collided. Ulyanov-Lenin and N.I. Bukharin. The outcome of the congress was decided by the authority of V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin - his resolution was adopted by 30 votes against 12 with 4 abstentions. L. Trotsky's compromise proposals to make peace with the countries of the Triple Alliance the last concession and to prohibit the Central Committee from making peace with the Central Rada of Ukraine were rejected. The controversy continued at the Fourth Congress of Soviets, where the left Socialist Revolutionaries and anarchists opposed ratification, and the left communists abstained. But thanks to the existing system of representation, the Bolsheviks had a clear majority at the Congress of Soviets. On the night of March 16, the peace treaty was ratified.
The victory of the Entente bloc in the First World War and the signing of the Compiegne Armistice on November 11, 1918, according to which all treaties previously concluded with Germany were declared invalid, allowed Soviet Russia to annul the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty on November 13, 1918 and return a significant part of those seized to as a result of the Brest-Litovsk separate treaty of territories. German troops were forced to leave the territories of Ukraine, the Baltic states, and Belarus.
The Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, as a result of which large territories were torn away from Soviet Russia, cementing the loss of a significant part of the country's agricultural and industrial base, aroused opposition to the Bolsheviks from all political forces in the country. The Left Socialist Revolutionaries, who were in alliance with the Bolsheviks and were part of the Soviet government of the Bolsheviks, as well as the resulting faction of the so-called. The “left communists” within the RCP (b) interpreted this peace treaty as a “betrayal of the world revolution,” since the conclusion of peace on the “Eastern” front objectively strengthened the conservative regime in Germany.
The Brest-Litovsk Peace not only allowed the powers of the Triple Alliance, who were on the verge of defeat in 1917, to continue the war, but also gave them a chance to win, allowing them to concentrate all their forces against the troops of the Entente bloc in France and Italy, and the liquidation of the Caucasian Front allowed the Ottoman Empire intensify actions against British troops in the Middle East and Mesopotamia.
In addition, the Brest-Litovsk Treaty served as a catalyst for the intensification of the actions of the opposition government of the Bolsheviks of the counter-revolution and the formation of counter-revolutionary democratic regimes of the Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik governments in Siberia and the Volga region. Surrender to Germany became a challenge to the national feelings of the Russian people.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
March 3, 1918, peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexed Poland, the Baltic states, part of Belarus and Transcaucasia, and received an indemnity of 6 billion marks. V.I. Lenin considered it necessary to conclude the Brest Peace Treaty in order to preserve Soviet power. The conclusion of the Brest Peace Treaty caused an acute crisis in the leadership of Soviet Russia. A group of “left communists” led by N.I. Bukharin opposed the Brest Peace Treaty and was ready to “accept the possibility of losing Soviet power” in the name of the interests of the world revolution. Nevertheless, in the face of the advance of German troops, the treaty was ratified by the 4th Congress of Soviets. Canceled by the government of the RSFSR on November 13, 1918 after the defeat of Germany in World War I.
BREST PEACEPEACE OF Brest-Litovsk, a peace treaty concluded on March 3, 1918 between Soviet Russia on the one hand and the states of the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) on the other, ending Russia’s participation in the First World War (cm. FIRST WORLD WAR 1914-18).
Peace negotiations
The issue of exit from the First World War was one of the key ones in Russian politics in 1917-1918. Bolsheviks (cm. BOLSHEVIKS) stated that since the war is imperialistic and predatory, a speedy peace is necessary, even if it is separate (cm. SEPARATE PEACE). But this peace should be honorable for Russia and not include annexations (cm. ANNEXATION) and indemnities (cm. CONTRIBUTION). During the October Revolution of 1917 (cm. OCTOBER REVOLUTION 1917) The Decree on Peace was adopted (cm. DECREE ON PEACE)", which invited all participants in the war to immediately conclude peace without annexations and indemnities. Only Germany and its allies responded to this proposal, whose military and economic situation, like Russia’s, was extremely difficult. In December 1917, a truce was concluded, Russian-German (with the participation of Germany's allies) negotiations began in Brest-Litovsk (cm. BREST (in Belarus)). They quickly showed that the German side does not take seriously the slogans of peace without annexations and indemnities, considering Russia’s desire to conclude a separate peace as evidence of its defeat. The German side acted from a position of strength and dictated terms that included both annexations and indemnities. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomacy also took advantage of the fact that Soviet Russia granted the formal right to self-determination to Poland, Finland, Ukraine, the Baltic and Transcaucasian countries, while supporting, however, the communist struggle for power in these countries. The states of the Quadruple Alliance demanded non-interference in the affairs of these countries, hoping to take advantage of their resources necessary to win the war against the Entente. But Russia also urgently needed these resources to restore its economy.
At the same time, the Central Rada (cm. CENTRAL RADA)- the governing body of the Ukrainian People's Republic - signed a separate peace with Germany and its allies, according to which German troops were invited to Ukraine to protect its government from the Bolsheviks, and Ukraine supplied food to Germany and its allies. Soviet Russia did not recognize the power of the Central Rada in Ukraine; it considered the Soviet Ukrainian government in Kharkov to be the legal representative of the Ukrainian people. Soviet troops took Kyiv on February 9, 1918. But Germany, continuing to recognize the Central Rada, forced L. D. Trotsky to take this into account (cm. TROTSKY Lev Davidovich), who served as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. It became obvious that the conclusion of peace would lead to the occupation of Ukraine by the Germans.
The humiliating agreement with the imperialists was unacceptable to the revolutionaries, both from the point of view of the Bolshevik Communists and from the point of view of their government partners, the Left Socialist Revolutionaries. (cm. LEFT SRs). As a result, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b) decided that Trotsky should delay the negotiations as long as possible, in the expectation that the revolution would sweep over Germany, which was also exhausted by the war. As subsequent events showed, a revolution was indeed brewing in Germany, but not a “proletarian” one, but a democratic one.
Ultimatum
On February 10, Germany presented an ultimatum to the Soviet delegation about the impossibility of endlessly delaying peace negotiations. Germany demanded that Russia renounce its rights to Poland, Transcaucasia, the Baltic states and Ukraine, the fate of which would be decided by Germany and its allies, from supporting revolutionary uprisings in these countries, from paying indemnities by Russia, etc. Without betraying the principles with which the Bolsheviks came to power, they could not sign such a peace. Trotsky protested against the ultimatum, stopped negotiations, declared the state of war ended and left for Petrograd, leaving the German representatives perplexed.
Heated discussions took place among the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars V.I. Lenin (cm. LENIN Vladimir Ilyich), who believed that in the conditions of the disintegration of the old army, the widespread desire for peace and at the same time with the threat of civil war, it was impossible to wage a war with Germany. Recognizing that the world was difficult and shameful (“obscene”), Lenin demanded that an ultimatum be accepted in order to provide the Soviet government with a respite. He accused Trotsky of breaking discipline with dire consequences: the Germans would resume the offensive and force Russia to accept an even more difficult peace. Trotsky put forward the slogan: “No peace, no war, but dissolve the army,” that is, refusal to sign peace and end the state of war, dissolution of the old, decayed army. By delaying the signing of peace, Trotsky hoped that Germany would transfer troops to the West and would not attack Russia. In this case, signing a shameful peace would become unnecessary. Trotsky’s calculations were based on the fact that Germany did not have the strength to occupy Russia along with Ukraine. Germany and Austria stood on the brink of revolution. In addition, by not concluding peace, the Bolsheviks did not compromise themselves by betraying the interests of the Motherland and conciliating with the enemy. By disbanding the army, they strengthened their influence among the mass of soldiers, tired of the war.
Left communists (cm. LEFT COMMUNISTS) led by N.I. Bukharin (cm. BUKHARIN Nikolai Ivanovich) and the majority of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries believed that it was impossible to leave other peoples under German rule, that they would have to wage a revolutionary, primarily guerrilla, war against German imperialism. They believed that the Germans, in any case, even after signing peace, would continue to put pressure on Soviet Russia, trying to turn it into their vassal, and therefore war was inevitable, and peace would demoralize supporters of Soviet power. Such a world would provide Germany with additional resources to overcome the social crisis; a revolution would not take place in Germany.
But Lenin considered the calculations of Trotsky and Bukharin to be erroneous, fearing that in the conditions of the German offensive the Soviet government would not remain in power. Lenin, for whom the question of power was “the key question of every revolution,” understood that successful resistance to the German invasion was impossible without broad support in the country. And the social support of the Bolshevik regime was limited, especially after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly (cm. CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY). This meant that continuing the war would lead to a "power shift" from the Bolsheviks and left Socialist Revolutionaries to a broader coalition, where the Bolsheviks could lose their dominant position. Therefore, for Lenin, continuing the war with a retreat into the interior of Russia was unacceptable. The majority of the Central Committee initially supported Trotsky and Bukharin. The position of the left received the support of the Moscow and Petrograd party organizations of the RSDLP (b), as well as approximately half of the country’s party organizations.
The socialist fatherland is in danger
While there were heated debates in the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Germans went on the offensive on February 18 and captured Estonia. An attempt was made to resist them. Near Pskov, parts of the retreating Russian army encountered a German detachment that had already occupied the city. Having broken through the city and blowing up an ammunition depot, the Russians took up positions near Pskov. Detachments of sailors and workers led by P. E. Dybenko were sent near Narva (cm. DYBENKO Pavel Efimovich). But the work detachments were militias that did not represent a serious military force; the sailors were poorly disciplined and did not know how to fight on land. Near Narva, the Germans scattered the Red Guards, Dybenko hastily retreated. By February 23, the Germans threatened Petrograd. True, due to the extended communications, the Germans did not have the opportunity to advance deep into Russia. Lenin wrote the appeal “The Socialist Fatherland is in Danger!”, where he called for the mobilization of all revolutionary forces to repel the enemy. But the Bolsheviks did not yet have an army that could defend Petrograd.
Faced with resistance in his party, Lenin threatened to resign (which in these conditions meant a split in the Bolshevik party) if the “obscene” peace terms were not accepted. Trotsky understood that if the Bolsheviks split, it would be impossible to organize resistance to the German invasion. In the face of such threats, Trotsky gave in and began to abstain from voting on peace. Left communists found themselves in the minority in the Central Committee. This allowed Lenin to gain a majority and predetermined the conclusion of peace on March 3, 1918. According to its conditions, which were worsened even compared to the ultimatum of February 10, Russia renounced its rights to Finland, Ukraine, the Baltic states and Transcaucasia, parts of Belarus, and had to pay indemnity.
The struggle for ratification of the peace treaty began. At the VII Congress of the Bolshevik Party on March 6-8, the positions of Lenin and Bukharin clashed. The outcome of the congress was decided by Lenin's authority - his resolution was adopted by 30 votes against 12 with 4 abstentions. Trotsky's compromise proposals to make peace with the countries of the Quadruple Alliance the last concession and to prohibit the Central Committee from making peace with the Central Rada of Ukraine were rejected. The controversy continued at the Fourth Congress of Soviets, where the left Socialist Revolutionaries and anarchists opposed ratification, and the left communists abstained. But thanks to the existing system of representation, the Bolsheviks had a clear majority at the Congress of Soviets. If the left communists had split the party, the peace treaty would have failed, but Bukharin did not dare to do so. On the night of March 16, peace was ratified.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk had many unfavorable consequences. A coalition with the Left Socialist Revolutionaries was becoming impossible (on March 15, they left the government in protest, not wanting to compromise themselves by capitulating to Germany). Germany's occupation of Ukraine (with subsequent expansion on the Don) disrupted the ties between the center of the country and the grain and raw materials regions. At the same time, the Entente countries began intervention in Russia, trying to reduce the possible costs associated with its capitulation. The occupation of Ukraine aggravated the food problem and further aggravated relations between the townspeople and the peasantry. His representatives in the Soviets, the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, launched a propaganda campaign against the Bolsheviks. Surrender to Germany became a challenge to the national feelings of the Russian people; millions of people, regardless of their social origin, were opposed to the Bolsheviks. Only a very tough dictatorship could resist such sentiments.
Peace with Germany did not mean the Bolsheviks abandoned the idea of world revolution as such. The Bolshevik leadership believed that without a revolution in Germany, isolated Russia would not be able to move on to the construction of socialism. After the start of the November Revolution (cm. NOVEMBER REVOLUTION 1918 in Germany) in Germany, the Council of People's Commissars annulled the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on November 13, 1918. However, its consequences had already made themselves felt, becoming one of the factors in the outbreak of a large-scale Civil War (cm. CIVIL WAR in Russia) in Russia. Post-war relations between Russia and Germany were regulated by the Treaty of Rapallo 1922 (cm. TREATY OF RAPALLE 1922), according to which the parties abandoned mutual claims and territorial disputes, especially since by this time they did not even have a common border.
encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .
3/3/1918, peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexed Poland, the Baltic states, parts of Belarus and Transcaucasia, and received an indemnity of 6 billion marks. Soviet Russia went to... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
PEACE OF Brest-Litovsk, 3.3.1918, a separate peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. Germany annexed Poland, the Baltic states, part of Belarus and Transcaucasia, and received an indemnity of 6 billion marks.... ... Russian history
A peace treaty concluded on March 3, 1918 between Soviet Russia on the one hand and the states of the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria) on the other, ending Russia’s participation in the First World War.... ... Political science. Dictionary.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk- PEACE OF BREST, 3.3.1918, peace treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey. According to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Germany, having annexed Poland, the Baltic states, parts of Belarus and Transcaucasia, was supposed to receive an indemnity of 6... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
This article is about the peace treaty between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers. For the peace treaty between the UPR and the Central Powers, see Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (Ukraine Central Powers). Wikisource has texts on the topic... Wikipedia
At the beginning of the twentieth century, one of the directions of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire was to gain control over the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles. Joining the Entente in 1907 could resolve this issue in a war with the Triple Alliance. Speaking briefly about Russia in the First World War, it must be said that this was the only chance when this problem could be solved.
On July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. In response, Nicholas II signed a decree on general mobilization three days later. Germany responded by declaring war on Russia on August 1, 1914. This date is considered the beginning of Russia’s participation in the World War.
There was a general emotional and patriotic upsurge throughout the country. People volunteered for the front, demonstrations were held in large cities, and German pogroms took place. The inhabitants of the empire expressed their intention to wage the war to a victorious end. Against the backdrop of popular sentiment, St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. The country's economy gradually began to be transferred to a war footing.
Russia's entry into the First World War was not only in response to the idea of protecting the Balkan peoples from an external threat. The country also had its own goals, the main of which was to establish control over the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, as well as the annexation of Anatolia to the empire, since more than a million Christian Armenians lived there. In addition, Russia wanted to unite under its leadership all the Polish lands that were owned by the opponents of the Entente in 1914 - Germany and Austria-Hungary.
It was necessary to start hostilities at an accelerated pace. German troops were advancing on Paris and in order to pull some of the troops from there, on the Eastern Front they had to launch an offensive by two Russian armies in East Prussia. The offensive did not encounter any resistance until General Paul von Hindenburg arrived here, who established the defense, and soon completely encircled and defeated Samsonov’s army, and then forced Renenkampf to retreat.
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In the southwestern direction in 1914, the headquarters carried out a number of operations against the Austro-Hungarian troops, occupying part of Galicia and Bukovina. Thus, Russia played its role in saving Paris.
By 1915, the shortage of weapons and ammunition in the Russian army began to take its toll. Coupled with heavy losses, the troops began to retreat to the east. The Germans hoped to take Russia out of the war in 1915 by transferring the main forces here. The equipment and strength of the German army forced our troops to leave Galicia, Poland, the Baltic states, Belarus and part of Ukraine by the end of 1915. Russia found itself in an extremely difficult situation.
Few people know about the heroic defense of the Osovets fortress. The fortress's small garrison defended it from superior German forces for a long time. Large-caliber artillery did not break the spirit of Russian soldiers. Then the enemy decided to launch a chemical attack. The Russian soldiers did not have gas masks and almost immediately their white shirts became stained with blood. When the Germans went on the offensive, they were met by a bayonet counterattack by the Osovets defenders, all wearing bloody rags covering their faces and screaming “For the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland,” wheezing in blood. The Germans were repulsed, and this battle went down in history as the “Attack of the Dead.”
Rice. 1. Attack of the dead.
In February 1916, having a clear advantage in the east, Germany transferred its main forces to the Western Front, where the Battle of Verdun began. By this time, the Russian economy had been completely restructured, equipment, weapons, and ammunition began to arrive at the front.
Russia again had to act as an assistant to its allies. On the Russian-Austrian front, General Brusilov began preparations for a large-scale offensive with the goal of breaking through the front and bringing Austria-Hungary out of the war.
Rice. 2. General Brusilov.
On the eve of the offensive, the soldiers were busy digging trenches towards enemy positions and camouflaging them in order to get as close to them as possible before a bayonet attack.
The offensive made it possible to advance tens, and in some places hundreds of kilometers to the west, but the main goal (to defeat the army of Austria-Hungary) was never resolved. But the Germans were never able to take Verdun.
By 1917, dissatisfaction with the war was growing in Russia. In large cities there were queues and there was not enough bread. Anti-landowner sentiment grew. The political disintegration of the country began. Fraternization and desertion became widespread at the front. The overthrow of Nicholas II and the coming to power of the Provisional Government finally disintegrated the front, where committees of soldiers' deputies appeared. Now they were deciding whether to go on the attack or abandon the front altogether.
Under the Provisional Government, the formation of Women's Death Battalions became widely popular. There is one known battle where women took part. The battalion was commanded by Maria Bochkareva, who came up with the idea of forming such detachments. Women fought equally with men and valiantly repelled all Austrian attacks. However, due to large losses among women, it was decided to transfer all women's battalions to serve in the rear, away from the front line.
Rice. 3. Maria Bochkareva.
In 1917, V.I. Lenin secretly entered the country from Switzerland through Germany and Finland. The Great October Socialist Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power, who soon concluded the shameful Brest-Litovsk separate peace. Thus ended Russia's participation in the First World War.
The Russian Empire played perhaps the most important role in the victory of the Entente, twice saving its allies at the cost of the lives of its own soldiers. However, the tragic revolution and a separate peace deprived it not only of achieving the main goals of the war, but also of including it in general among the victorious countries.
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On October 25 (November 7), 1917, the October Revolution took place in Petrograd. The Provisional Government fell, power passed into the hands of the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, convened in Smolny on October 25, established the Soviet Republic in the country. V.I. was elected head of government. Lenin. On October 26 (November 8), 1917, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted the Decree on Peace. In it, the Soviet government proposed that “all warring peoples and their governments begin immediately negotiations for a just and democratic peace.” It was further explained that the Soviet government considers such a peace to be an immediate peace without annexations, without the forced annexation of foreign peoples and without indemnity.
Indeed, among the many tasks that the victorious Soviets had to solve, one of the most important was exit from the war. The fate of the socialist revolution largely depended on this. The working masses were waiting for deliverance from the hardships and deprivations of the war. Millions of soldiers were rushing from the fronts, from the trenches to go home, V.I. Lenin wrote then: "...What could be more indisputable and clearer than the following truth: a government that gave the people exhausted by a three-year predatory war Soviet power, land, workers' control and peace, would be invincible? Peace is the main thing" (Lenin V.I. Complete collection of works - T.35.-P.361).
The governments of the Entente countries did not even respond to the proposal of the Second Congress of Soviets to conclude peace. On the contrary, they tried to prevent Russia from leaving the war. Instead of looking for ways to peace, they tried to prevent Russia from leaving the war. Instead of looking for ways to peace, they set a course for supporting the counter-revolution in Russia and organizing anti-Soviet intervention in order, as Winston Churchill put it, “to strangle the communist hen before she hatches her chicks.”
Under these conditions, it was decided to independently begin negotiations with Germany to conclude peace.
A heated debate broke out in the party and in the Soviets - to conclude peace or not to conclude peace? Three points of view fought: Lenin and his supporters - to agree to the signing of an annexationist peace; groups of “left communists” led by Bukharin - not to make peace with Germany, but to declare a “revolutionary” war on it and thereby help the German proletariat kindle a revolution in their own country; Trotsky - “no peace, no war.”
The Soviet peace delegation, headed by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky and Lenin gave instructions to delay the signing of peace. There was a glimmer of hope that a revolution might break out in Germany. But Trotsky did not fulfill this condition. After the German delegation negotiated in an ultimatum tone, he declared that the Soviet Republic was ending the war, demobilizing the army, but not signing peace. As Trotsky later explained, he hoped that such a gesture would stir up the German proletariat. The Soviet delegation immediately left Brest. The negotiations were disrupted due to Trotsky's fault.
The German government, which had long been developing a plan to seize Russia, received a pretext for breaking the truce. On February 18, at 12 noon, German troops went on the offensive along the entire front - from the Gulf of Riga to the mouth of the Danube. About 700 thousand people took part in it.
The plan of the German command provided for the rapid capture of Petrograd and Moscow, the fall of the Soviets and the conclusion of peace with a new, “non-Bolshevik government.”
The retreat of the old Russian army began, which by this time had lost its combat effectiveness. German divisions moved almost unhindered into the interior of the country, and primarily in the direction of Petrograd. On the morning of February 19, Lenin sent a telegram to the German government agreeing to sign peace on the proposed terms. At the same time, the Council of People's Commissars took measures to organize military resistance to the enemy. It was provided by small detachments of the Red Guard, the Red Army and individual units of the old army. However, the German offensive developed rapidly. Dvinsk, Minsk, Polotsk, and a significant part of Estonia and Latvia were lost. The Germans were rushing to Petrograd. A mortal danger loomed over the Soviet Republic.
On February 21, the Council of People's Commissars accepted what V.I. Lenin's decree "The Socialist Fatherland is in danger!" On February 22 and 23, 1918, a registration campaign for the Red Army unfolded in Petrograd, Pskov, Revel, Narva, Moscow, Smolensk and other cities.
There were battles with the Kaiser’s units near Pskov and Revel, in Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine. In the Petrograd direction, Soviet troops managed to stop the enemy’s offensive.
The growing resistance of the Soviet troops cooled the ardor of the German generals. Fearing a protracted war in the East and an attack from the Anglo-American and French troops from the West, the German government decided to make peace. But the peace terms he proposed were even more difficult. The Soviet Republic had to completely demobilize the army, enter into unfavorable agreements with Germany, etc.
The peace treaty with Germany was signed in Brest on March 3, 1918 and went down in history as the Brest Peace Treaty.
Thus, Russia emerged from the First World War, but for Soviet power in Russia this was only a respite that was used to strengthen power and economy, to prepare for “rebuffing global imperialism.”
Signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk meant the defeat and withdrawal of Russia from the First World War.
A separate international peace treaty was signed on March 3, 1918 in Brest-Litovsk by representatives of Soviet Russia (on the one hand) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria) on the other. Separate peace- a peace treaty concluded by one of the participants in the warring coalition without the knowledge and consent of the allies. Such peace is usually concluded before the general cessation of war.
The signing of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty was prepared in 3 stages.
The Soviet delegation in Brest-Litovsk is met by German officers
The Soviet delegation at the first stage included 5 authorized members of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee: A. A. Ioffe - chairman of the delegation, L. B. Kamenev (Rozenfeld) and G. Ya. Sokolnikov (Brilliant), Socialist Revolutionaries A. A. Bitsenko and S. D. Maslovsky-Mstislavsky, 8 members of the military delegation, 3 translators, 6 technical employees and 5 ordinary members of the delegation (sailor, soldier, Kaluga peasant, worker, naval ensign).
The armistice negotiations were overshadowed by a tragedy in the Russian delegation: during a private meeting of the Soviet delegation, a representative of the Headquarters in the group of military consultants, Major General V. E. Skalon, shot himself. Many Russian officers believed that he was depressed due to the humiliating defeat, the collapse of the army and the fall of the country.
Based on the general principles of the Peace Decree, the Soviet delegation immediately proposed adopting the following program as the basis for negotiations:
On December 28, the Soviet delegation left for Petrograd. The current state of affairs was discussed at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b). By majority vote, it was decided to delay peace negotiations as long as possible, in the hope of an early revolution in Germany itself.
The Entente governments did not respond to the invitation to take part in peace negotiations.
At the second stage of negotiations, the Soviet Delegation was headed by L.D. Trotsky. The German high command expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the delay in peace negotiations, fearing the disintegration of the army. The Soviet delegation demanded that the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary confirm their lack of intentions to annex any territories of the former Russian Empire - in the opinion of the Soviet delegation, the decision on the future fate of self-determining territories should be carried out through a popular referendum, after the withdrawal of foreign troops and return refugees and displaced persons. General Hoffmann, in a response speech, stated that the German government refuses to clear the occupied territories of Courland, Lithuania, Riga and the islands of the Gulf of Riga.
On January 18, 1918, General Hoffmann, at a meeting of the political commission, presented the conditions of the Central Powers: Poland, Lithuania, part of Belarus and Ukraine, Estonia and Latvia, the Moonsund Islands and the Gulf of Riga went in favor of Germany and Austria-Hungary. This allowed Germany to control the sea routes to the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as develop an offensive against Petrograd. Russian Baltic ports passed into German hands. The proposed border was extremely unfavorable for Russia: the absence of natural boundaries and the preservation of a bridgehead for Germany on the banks of the Western Dvina near Riga in the event of war threatened the occupation of all of Latvia and Estonia, and threatened Petrograd. The Soviet delegation demanded a new break in the peace conference for another ten days to familiarize its government with German demands. The German delegation's self-confidence increased after the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly on January 19, 1918.
By mid-January 1918, a split was forming in the RSDLP (b): a group of “left communists” led by N.I. Bukharin insists on rejecting German demands, and Lenin insists on their acceptance, publishing “Theses on Peace” on January 20. The main argument of the “left communists”: without an immediate revolution in Western European countries, the socialist revolution in Russia will die. They did not allow any agreements with the imperialist states and demanded that a “revolutionary war” be declared against international imperialism. They declared their readiness to “accept the possibility of losing Soviet power” in the name of “the interests of the international revolution.” The conditions proposed by the Germans, shameful for Russia, were opposed by: N. I. Bukharin, F. E. Dzerzhinsky, M. S. Uritsky, A. S. Bubnov, K. B. Radek, A. A. Ioffe, N. N. Krestinsky , N.V. Krylenko, N.I. Podvoisky and others. The views of the “left communists” were supported by a number of party organizations in Moscow, Petrograd, the Urals, etc. Trotsky preferred to maneuver between the two factions, putting forward an “intermediate” platform of “neither peace nor war - “We are stopping the war, we are not making peace, we are demobilizing the army.”
On January 21, Lenin provided a detailed justification for the need to sign peace, announcing his “Theses on the issue of the immediate conclusion of a separate and annexationist peace” (they were published only on February 24). 15 meeting participants voted for Lenin’s theses, 32 people supported the position of the “left communists” and 16 supported the position of Trotsky.
Before the departure of the Soviet delegation to Brest-Litovsk to continue negotiations, Lenin instructed Trotsky to delay the negotiations in every possible way, but if the Germans presented an ultimatum, to sign peace.
IN AND. Lenin
On March 6-8, 1918, at the VII emergency congress of the RSDLP(b), Lenin managed to persuade everyone to ratify the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty. Voting: 30 for ratification, 12 against, 4 abstained. Following the results of the congress, the party was, at Lenin’s suggestion, renamed the RCP(b). The congress delegates were not familiar with the text of the treaty. However, on March 14-16, 1918, the IV Extraordinary All-Russian Congress of Soviets finally ratified the peace treaty, which was adopted by a majority of 784 votes against 261 with 115 abstentions and decided to move the capital from Petrograd to Moscow due to the danger of a German offensive. As a result, representatives of the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party left the Council of People's Commissars. Trotsky resigned.
L.D. Trotsky
None of the Bolshevik leaders wanted to put their signature on the treaty, which was shameful for Russia: Trotsky had resigned by the time of signing, Joffe refused to go as part of the delegation to Brest-Litovsk. Sokolnikov and Zinoviev nominated each other; Sokolnikov also refused the appointment, threatening to resign. But after long negotiations, Sokolnikov still agreed to lead the Soviet delegation. The new composition of the delegation: Sokolnikov G. Ya., Petrovsky L. M., Chicherin G. V., Karakhan G. I. and a group of 8 consultants (among them the former chairman of the delegation Ioffe A. A.). The delegation arrived in Brest-Litovsk on March 1 and two days later signed an agreement without any discussion. The official signing ceremony of the agreement took place in the White Palace (the Nemtsevichs’ house in the village of Skoki, Brest region) and ended at 5 o’clock in the afternoon on March 3, 1918. And the German-Austrian offensive, which began in February 1918, continued until March 4, 1918.
The signing of the Brest Peace Treaty took place in this palace.
Richard Pipes, An American scientist, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor of Russian history at Harvard University described the terms of this agreement as follows: “The terms of the agreement were extremely onerous. They made it possible to imagine what kind of peace the countries of the Quadruple Entente would have to sign if they had lost the war … " According to this treaty, Russia pledged to make many territorial concessions by demobilizing its army and navy.
If the results of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty are translated into numbers, it will look like this: a territory with an area of 780 thousand square meters was torn away from Russia. km with a population of 56 million people (a third of the population of the Russian Empire), on which, before the revolution, 27% of cultivated agricultural land, 26% of the entire railway network, 33% of the textile industry were located, 73% of iron and steel were smelted, 89% of coal was mined and 90% sugar; There were 918 textile factories, 574 breweries, 133 tobacco factories, 1,685 distilleries, 244 chemical plants, 615 pulp mills, 1,073 engineering factories and home to 40% of the industrial workers.
Russia withdrew all its troops from these territories, and Germany, on the contrary, sent them there.
German troops occupied Kyiv
The advance of the German army was not limited to the occupation zone defined by the peace treaty. Under the pretext of ensuring the power of the “legitimate government” of Ukraine, the Germans continued their offensive. On March 12, the Austrians occupied Odessa, on March 17 - Nikolaev, on March 20 - Kherson, then Kharkov, Crimea and the southern part of the Don region, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don. The movement of the “democratic counter-revolution” began, which proclaimed Socialist Revolutionary and Menshevik governments in Siberia and the Volga region, the uprising of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries in July 1918 in Moscow and the transition of the civil war to large-scale battles.
The Left Social Revolutionaries, as well as the resulting faction of “left communists” within the RCP (b), spoke of “betrayal of the world revolution,” since the conclusion of peace on the Eastern Front objectively strengthened the conservative Kaiser’s regime in Germany. The Left Socialist-Revolutionaries resigned from the Council of People's Commissars in protest. The opposition rejected Lenin's arguments that Russia could not refuse to accept German conditions in connection with the collapse of its army, putting forward a plan to transition to a mass popular uprising against the German-Austrian occupiers.
Patriarch Tikhon
The Entente powers perceived the concluded separate peace with hostility. On March 6, British troops landed in Murmansk. On March 15, the Entente declared non-recognition of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, on April 5, Japanese troops landed in Vladivostok, and on August 2, British troops landed in Arkhangelsk.
But on August 27, 1918, in Berlin, in the strictest secrecy, the Russian-German additional treaty to the Brest-Litovsk Treaty and the Russian-German financial agreement were concluded, which were signed by plenipotentiary A. A. Ioffe on behalf of the government of the RSFSR, and by von P. on behalf of Germany. Ginze and I. Kriege.
Soviet Russia undertook to pay Germany, as compensation for damage and expenses for maintaining Russian prisoners of war, a huge indemnity of 6 billion marks (2.75 billion rubles), including 1.5 billion in gold (245.5 tons of pure gold) and credit obligations, 1 billion in supplies of goods. In September 1918, two “gold trains” (93.5 tons of “pure gold” worth over 120 million gold rubles) were sent to Germany. Almost all of the Russian gold that arrived in Germany was subsequently transferred to France as indemnity under the Treaty of Versailles.
According to the additional agreement concluded, Russia recognized the independence of Ukraine and Georgia, renounced Estonia and Livonia, which, according to the original agreement, were formally recognized as part of the Russian state, having negotiated for itself the right of access to the Baltic ports (Revel, Riga and Windau) and retaining Crimea and control over Baku , losing to Germany a quarter of the products produced there. Germany agreed to withdraw its troops from Belarus, from the Black Sea coast, from Rostov and part of the Don Basin, and also not to occupy any more Russian territory and not to support separatist movements on Russian soil.
On November 13, after the Allied victory in the war, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was annulled by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. But Russia could no longer take advantage of the fruits of the common victory and take a place among the winners.
Soon the withdrawal of German troops from the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire began. After the annulment of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, Lenin’s authority became unquestioned among the Bolshevik leaders: “By shrewdly agreeing to a humiliating peace, which allowed him to gain the necessary time, and then collapsed under the influence of its own gravity, Lenin earned the widespread trust of the Bolsheviks. When they tore up the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on November 13, 1918, following which Germany capitulated to the Western allies, Lenin's authority was elevated to unprecedented heights in the Bolshevik movement. Nothing better served his reputation as a man who made no political mistakes; never again did he have to threaten to resign in order to insist on his own,” wrote R. Pipes in his work “Bolsheviks in the Struggle for Power.”
The civil war in Russia lasted until 1922 and ended with the establishment of Soviet power in most of the territory of the former Russia, with the exception of Finland, Bessarabia, the Baltic states, and Poland (including the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus that were part of it).
