Red victory : a history of the Russian Civil War ; [1918-1921

Shortly after withdrawing from World War I, Russia descended into a bitter civil war unprecedented for its savagery: epidemics, battles, mass executions, forced labor, and famine claimed millions of lives. From 1918 to 1921, through great cities and tiny villages, across untouched forests and vast frozen wasteland, the Bolshevik "Reds" fought the anti-Communist Whites and their Allies (fourteen foreign countries contributed weapons, money, and troops—including 20,000 American soldiers). This landmark history re-creates the epic conflict that transformed Russia from the Empire of the Tsars into the Empire of the Commissars, while never losing sight of the horrifying human cost. Contents 9 Preface 11 Major Characters 17 Part One: 1918 23 Prologue 25 1 The Hungry Spring 51 2 The Fighting Begins 74 3 “The Expropriation of the Expropriators 103 4 First Days of Terror 131 5 The Allies Intervene 163 Part Two: 1919 211 6 Denikin and the Cossacks 213 7 Siberia's Supreme Ruler 246 8 The Petrograd Front 286 9 The Ukraine in Ferment 318 10 In the Red Heart of Russia 345 Part Three: 1920 375 11 The Struggle to Survive 377 12 Give Us Warsaw! 408 13 The End of the Whites 438 14 Victory's Bitter Fruit 478 15 The Kronstadt Uprising 505 Epilogue: The Revolution Consumes Its Makers 529 Notes 543 Works and Sources Ciîed 591 Index 619 CHRISTMAS 1916 found the people of Europe weary of war and sick at heart. A chronicle of the Russian Civil War, from 1918 to 1921.