The White armies (also known as the ‘White Guards’ or ‘Whites’) were counter-revolutionary groups that participated in the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the two Russian Revolutions of 1917, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. The two largest combatant groups were the Red Army, fighting for the Bolshevik form of socialis…
Who were the Reds and whites during the Russian Revolution?
Tl;dr: the "Reds" were supporters of Bolsheviks; the "Whites" were their opposers - (but not all opposers of Bolsheviks were Whites); and there were many more independent forces. Reds were the Bolsheviks, the communists who wanted to institute full socialism.
Who were the White Russians in World War 2?
WHITE RUSSIANS - RUSSIAN REVOLUTION In general, White Russians (Russian Revolution) refers to those Russians who were against the Bolshevik socialist uprising of 1917. Many White Russians were imperialists who were loyal to Tsar Nicholas II. The ‘White Army’ force opposed revolution and Civil War erupted.
What was Russia like before the Revolution?
- The Russian enigma. At the turn of the 20th century, Russia was an enigma to most Europeans. ...
- A developing economy. Economically and industrially, the Russian empire lagged well behind the rest of Europe. ...
- An archaic government. ...
- A hierarchical society. ...
- Nicholas II. ...
- The Russo-Japanese War. ...
- The 1905 Revolution. ...
What are facts about the Russian Revolution?
What are 3 facts about the Russian revolution?
- There were actually two Russian Revolutions in 1917.
- The dates of the Revolutions are slightly confusing.
- Severe Russian losses in World War One contributed heavily to growing dissent in 1917.
- 12 March was the decisive day of the February Revolution in 1917.
See more
Who were the Whites and Reds in Russia?
The Civil War was a result of the emergence of opposition against the Bolsheviks after November 1917. These groups included monarchists, militarists, and, for a short time, foreign nations. Collectively, they were known as the Whites while the Bolsheviks were known as the Reds.
Who supported the Whites in the Russian revolution?
To help the White Army, troops from Britain, France, Japan and the United States were sent into Russia. By December, 1918, there were 200,000 foreign soldiers supporting the anti-Bolshevik forces.
Who did the Whites support in the Russian Civil War?
The Whites had backing from Great Britain, France, the U.S., and Japan, while the Reds possessed internal support which proved much more effective. The Red Army defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine and the army led by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak in Siberia in 1919.
What is a White Russian person?
(history) A White Guardist, a Russian who supported the tsar in the 1917 Revolution and the Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and afterward. quotations ▼ (obsolete) A Belarusian person.
Who were green and white in Russian revolution?
During 1918 and 1919, the 'greens' (socialist revolutionaries) and the 'whites' (pro-Tsarists) controlled most of the Russian empire. They were backed by French, American, British and Japanese troops who were opposed to the growth of socialism in Russia.
What happened to the White Russians?
Most white émigrés left Russia from 1917 to 1920 (estimates vary between 900,000 and 2 million), although some managed to leave during the 1920s and 1930s or were expelled by the Soviet government (such as, for example, Pitirim Sorokin and Ivan Ilyin).
What was the White movement in Russia?
The White Army or White Armies, also known as the White Guard (Бѣлая Гвардія/Белая Гвардия, Belaya Gvardiya), Whites, or White Guardsmen (Бѣлогвардейцы/Белогвардейцы, Belogvardeytsi), was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and anti-Soviet governments during the Civil War in Russia.
What groups made up the Red Army and the White Army?
Explanation: The Red Army was made up of people who supported Lenin and the establishment of socialism in Russia whereas the White Army was composed of Tsarists who remained faithful to the Imperial family and refused the victory of Bolsheviks.
Why do they call it White Russia?
The phrase White Russia is the literal translation of the word Belarus (Russian: белый – white, Русь – the Rus). In earlier times the countries belonging to the Rus were given many epithets or qualifying adjectives.
Who was called White in Russia Class 9?
pro- Tsarists groupBut when Tsar regime was under attack pro- Tsarists group came into existence during the early years of the 1900s. They were called 'White' and controlled most of the Russian empire from 1918 to 1919.
What is the difference between white and Black Russian?
The difference between the Black Russian and the White Russian is simply the addition of cream to the mix and a slight change in the quantities. Both of these drinks use the same style of glass; the old fashioned glass; and are served over ice.
Who were the White Russians?
Many White Russians were imperialists who were loyal to Tsar Nicholas II. The ‘White Army’ force opposed revolution and Civil War erupted. This is a brief history of the period. Consequently, you can understand more about White Russians and the Russian Revolution, which are the people of and setting for, Igor Labzin’s books.
When did the White Russians leave Russia?
WHITE RUSSIANS LEAVING SHORES OF RUSSIA 1922. Finally in 1922, the last of the White Russian forces sailed from Russia. Bolshevik forces had gained a final hold in Russia, and it was time to leave. This is now recognised as a sad time in Russia’s history. Most White Russians would never return.
Why did the Russians go into exile?
Disunity was primarily to blame for the eventual defeat of the White Russians after the Russian Revolution and Civil War. As a result, many White Russians went into exile. They fled Russia for places like Western Europe, and the United States, as well as Shanghai. An article titled Emigration (Russian Empire) from the International Encyclopaedia of World War 1 tells of the difficulties facing Russian emigres. Most noteworthy, there were estimated to be between 1 and 3 million people who were settled outside Russia by 1921:
What was the significance of the defeat of the last White Army Generals in Crimea in 1920?
The defeat of the last White Army Generals in Crimea in 1920 signified the defeat of White Russians in the western part of Russia. Further battles raged in Siberia until 1922 with no gain by the Whites.
When did the Russian Siberian Flotilla leave Vladivostok?
Especially relevant, is the historical footage of the Russian Siberian Flotilla leaving Vladivostok in 1922. The ships were crammed with Officers and families of the White Army in addition to political and civic leaders. In 2012 the Dom invited Author Igor Labzin to mark the 90th Anniversary of the departure of the Flotilla.
What happened in 1917 in Russia?
Following this, a temporary government stepped in. (1) During 1917, the Provisional Government continued Russia’s involvement in the First World War. Yet the Bolshevik socialists were against this. The Bolsheviks gathered militia in the months that followed. They launched a second revolt in October.
Who led the Bolshevik government?
The Bolshevik government led by Vladimir Lenin stepped into its place. The ousting of the temporary government by Bolshevik forces led to a bitter Civil War in Russia. The White Russians in the Russian Revolution led a ‘White Army’ fighting the Bolshevik ‘Red Army.’. Fighting in Russia continued through the rest of the First World War.
What did the White leaders accept?
Many of the White leaders accepted autocracy while remaining suspicious of "politics," which they characterized as consisting of speeches, elections, and party activities. Aside from being anti-Bolshevik and anti-Communist and patriotic, the Whites had no set ideology or main leader.
Where did the Reds and Whites fight?
The Whites and the Reds fought the Russian Civil War from November 1917 until 1921, and isolated battles continued in the Far East until 1923. The White Army—aided by the Allied forces ( Triple Entente) from countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the United States and (sometimes) the Central Powers forces such as Germany and Austria-Hungary —fought in Siberia, Ukraine, and the Crimea. They were defeated by the Red Army due to military and ideological disunity, as well as the determination and increasing unity of the Red Army.
What was the Eastern Front?
The Eastern Front started in spring 1918 as a secret movement among army officers and right-wing socialist forces. In that front, they launched an attack in collaboration with the Czechoslovak Legions, who were then stranded in Siberia by the Bolshevik Government, who had barred them from leaving Russia, and with the Japanese, who also intervened to help the Whites in the east. Admiral Alexander Kolchak headed the eastern White counter-revolutionary army and a provisional Russian government. Despite some significant success in 1919, the Whites were defeated being forced back to Far Eastern Russia, where they continued fighting until October 1922. When the Japanese withdrew, the Soviet army of the Far Eastern Republic retook the territory. The Civil War was officially declared over at this point, although Anatoly Pepelyayev still controlled the Ayano-Maysky District at that time. Pepelyayev's Yakut revolt, which concluded on 16 June 1923, represented the last military action in Russia by a White Army. It ended with the defeat of the final anti-communist enclave in the country, signalling the end of all military hostilities relating to the Russian Civil War.
What was the 8th Army?
Kornilov's Shock Detachment ( 8th Army ), later became the Volunteer Army's elite Shock Regiment. The Volunteer Army in South Russia became the most prominent and the largest of the various and disparate White forces. Starting off as a small and well-organized military in January 1918, the Volunteer Army soon grew.
What was the White Army's main goal in 1917?
The White Army had the stated aim to keep law and order in Russia as the Tsar's army before the civil war and the revolution of Russia.
What is the White movement?
Beloye dvizheniye, IPA: [ˈbʲɛləɪ dvʲɪˈʐenʲɪɪ]) also known as the Whites (Бѣлые/Белые, Beliye ), was a loose confederation of anti-communist forces that fought the communist Bolsheviks, also known as the Reds, in the Russian Civil War ...
Where did the Russians go to exile?
White propaganda poster. The defeated anti-Bolshevik Russians went into exile, congregating in Belgrade, Berlin, Paris, Harbin, Istanbul, and Shanghai. They established military and cultural networks that lasted through World War II (1939–1945), e.g., the Russian community in Harbin and the Russian community in Shanghai.
Who fought with the Red army in 1917?
Two men chose opposing sides in the events 1917. Their decisions changed forever the lives of their families. During the Russian civil war Vladimir Antonov Ovseenko (left) fought with the Red army, while Nikolay Lvov (right) supported the White army [Sergey Kozmin/Al Jazeera] [Wikipedia] ...
Who was the grandfather of Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko?
In the aftermath of the October Revolution, he was at the forefront of the new regime-building efforts and regularly joined the Bolshevik leadership for meetings. Anton Antonov-Ovseenko holds up a reproduction of a Soviet poster which features his grandfather, Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko (to the left of Lenin).
What did Lvov believe?
Lvov believed that political reforms were badly needed in Russia and that , in order to avoid chaos, they ought to come from the top, he explains. In 1917, as revolutionary spirit engulfed Russia, Ovseenko, who had earlier escaped from prison, and Lvov played prominent roles in the tumultuous events of that year.
What does Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko believe?
He believes Russia’s monarchy could have been preserved and transformed into a democracy, as happened to monarchies in parts of Western Europe. He sees a continuity between the regime established in 1917 and the current political culture. Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko with his family. His son, Anton, is the child in the middle.
What happened after the October Revolution?
Like many Russians, they struggle with the legacy of 1917: one as an intellectual and opposition politician, the other as a businessman and owner of two Soviet watch brands.
How old was Stalin's son when he was arrested?
Two years after his execution, his 18-year-old son Anton Vladimirovich, was arrested. The son of an “enemy of the people”, he spent 13 years in and out of gulags. He was released in 1953 and “rehabilitated”, or acquitted, in 1956, after Stalin’s death.
Who led the storming of the Winter Palace?
That day Ovseenko led the storming of the Winter Palace, the seat of the provisional government, while Lvov and his three sons sought to join the anti-Bolshevik forces – known as the White Army – that had mobilised south of Moscow.
Who were the leaders of the Bolsheviks?
While the Bolsheviks had Lenin as their leader, no one person was in charge of the White forces. The Whites had several leaders - Yudenich, Kolchak, Deniken and Wrangel. All wanted glory for themselves. While trying to defeat the Reds, they were also often in competition with each other.
What were the reasons for the victory of the Reds in the Russian Civil War?
Reasons for the victory of the Reds in the Civil War. In Lenin and Trotsky, the Bolsheviks had strong leaders. They used ruthless tactics and propaganda to great effect. Geographical position also contributed to the Reds victory in the Russian Civil War. Part of.
What were the problems of the White Armies during the Civil War?
However, as the Civil War developed, the White Armies began to face major problems and difficulties in organising their campaigns. Against the drive and ruthless energy of the Bolsheviks, their campaigns faltered.
What were the advantages of the White Armies in the Civil War?
The White Armies appeared to have a number of advantages in the Civil War: Their leaders were experienced military commanders. They controlled huge areas of Russia. They had the Bolsheviks surrounded. They had the active support of foreign countries, which intervened in the Civil War on their behalf.
What was the Tsarist government's uniform during the Civil War?
During the years of the World War I, the Tsarist government stockpiled huge amounts of military uniform, with no shortage of greatcoats, shirts and footwear.
What color was Budenovka's brow?
Intended to inspire the troops through association with legendary heroes of old, the pointed, brimmed budenovka had folded earflaps that buttoned under the chin in cold weather. A large star was sewn on its brow, dyed red for infantrymen, blue for cavalry and orange for the artillery.
What badge did the Red Army use to identify enemy?
To identify friend or foe, the Red Army introduced a badge showing interwoven laurel twigs set on a red star.
When did the Army remove the insignia?
In 1924, all sewn-on insignia were removed, and only an officer’s lapels showed his rank, also using squares, triangles and diamonds, but now smaller and made of metal. A flat peaked cap with a red star replaced the budenovka for all branches and ranks, and line units were issued 1916 design imperial army metal helmets.
What was the White Terror?
The White Terror in Russia refers to the organized violence and mass killings carried out by the White Army during the Russian Civil War (1917–23). It began after the Bolsheviks seized power in ...
When did the Bolsheviks take power?
It began after the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917, and continued until the defeat of the White Army at the hands of the Red Army. The White Army fought the Red Army for power, which engaged in its own Red Terror.
What did Kornilov say during the Ice March?
During the Ice March in the south of Russia, Kornilov said: "I give you a very cruel order: do not take prisoners! I accept responsibility for this order before God and the Russian people.". He promised, "The greater the terror, the greater our victories.".
How many people were buried alive in Alekasandrov Gai?
On May 9, 1918, after Ataman Dutov captured Alekasandrov-Gai village, nearly 2,000 men of the Red Army were buried alive. More than 700 people of the village were executed. After capturing Troitsk, Orenburg, and other cities, a regime of terror was installed.
How many Jews were killed by Denikin's army?
In the small town of Fastov alone, Denikin's Volunteer Army murdered over 1,500 Jews, mostly the elderly, women, and children.
What did Russian authors write about?
In literature. Many Russian authors wrote about the heroism of the Russian people in combating the White Terror. Novels include Furmanov's Chapaev, Serafimovich 's The Iron Flood, and Fadeyev 's The Rout. Many of the early short stories and novels of Sholokhov, Leonov, and Fedin were devoted to this theme.
How many people died in the White Terror?
Estimates for those killed in the White Terror vary, from between 20,000 and 100,000 people as well as much higher estimates of 300,000 deaths.
A Diverse Group
Formation
- Anti-Bolshevik militias and military units were formed in piecemeal fashion in mid-1918, prompted by the uprising of the Czech Legion. This occurred haphazardly with no planning or coordination. Units were often formed spontaneously in response to local conditions, events or Bolshevik actions. They became known as the Whites, an umbrella term that described any group or militi…
Leadership
- Most White forces were led by former tsarist commanders of varying skill and expertise. The infamous General Kornilov commanded a White force in southern Russia before his early death in April 1918. His successor, General Anton Denikin, attempted an assault on Moscow in 1919, before being pushed back toward Crimea. Also leading a White army in the south was Pyotr Wra…
Kolchak: Siberian Dictator
- Kolchak was a career naval officer and polar explorer who became the dictatorial leader of White-held Siberia. Anti-Bolshevik forces established a coalition government in Siberia in 1918, before Kolchak was installed as leader following a British-back coup. Kolchak quickly assumed dictatorial powers and became the closest thing Russia had to a ‘White tsar’. He promised to dri…
Whites in Propaganda
- These White generals were often mocked or satirised in Soviet propaganda. The most common accusation was that they were anti-Russian agents or being bribed by the capitalist governments of Britain, France and the United States. One Viktor Deni cartoon, Dogs of War, shows Denikin, Kolchak and Yudenich controlled by a leash wielded by these foreign powers. The Whites thems…
Why Did The Whites Fail?
- By 1921, most White armies had either disbanded, been defeated or scattered into disarray. The failure of the Whites and their commanders can be summarised in three points. First, for the duration of the Civil War, White forces were divided, geographically separated and either unable or unwilling to coordinate their efforts. White generals did work together at times but for the most …
Lack of Hope and Vision
- White leaders, it seemed offered no clear vision for the future. The Bolsheviks were able to exploit this to good effect. Bolshevik propaganda highlighted the tsarist origins of many White commanders, suggesting a White regime would return Russia to tsarism or something close to it. Third, the White armies often treated ordinary Russians appallingly. Many White commanders rel…
Overview
The White movement also known as the Whites (Бѣлые / Белые, Beliye), was a loose confederation of anti-communist forces that fought the communist Bolsheviks, also known as the Reds, in the Russian Civil War (1917–1922/1923) and that to a lesser extent continued operating as militarized associations of insurrectionists both outside and within Russian borders in Siberia until roughly World War II (1939–1945). The movement's military arm was the White Army (Бѣлая …
Structure and ideology
In the Russian context after 1917, "White" had three main connotations:
1. Political contra-distinction to "the Reds", whose revolutionary Red Army supported the Bolshevik government.
2. Historical reference to absolute monarchy, specifically recalling Russia's first Tsar, Ivan III (reigned 1462–1505), at a period when some styled the ruler of Muscovy Albus Rex ("the White King").
Theatres of operation
The Whites and the Reds fought the Russian Civil War from November 1917 until 1921, and isolated battles continued in the Far East until 1923. The White Army—aided by the Allied forces (Triple Entente) from countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Italy and the United States and (sometimes) the Central Powers forces such as Germany and Austria-Hungary—fought in Siberia, Ukraine, and the Crimea. They were defeated by the Red Army due to military a…
Post-Civil War
The defeated anti-Bolshevik Russians went into exile, congregating in Belgrade, Berlin, Paris, Harbin, Istanbul, and Shanghai. They established military and cultural networks that lasted through World War II (1939–1945), e.g., the Russian community in Harbin and the Russian community in Shanghai. Afterward, the White Russians' anti-Communist activists established a home base in the United States, to which numerous refugees emigrated.
Prominent people
• Mikhail Alekseyev
• Vladimir Antonov
• Nicholas Savich Bakulin
• Pavel Bermondt-Avalov
• Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz
Related movements
After the February Revolution, in western Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared themselves independent, but they had substantial Communist or Russian military presence. Civil wars followed, wherein the anti-Communist side may be referred to as White Armies, e.g. the White Guard-led, partially conscripted army in Finland (valkoinen armeija). However, since they were nationalists, their aims were substantially different from the Russian White Army proper; for inst…
See also
• 1st Infantry Brigade (South Africa)
• Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
• Basmachi movement
• Czechoslovak Legions
External links
• Anti-Bolshevik Russia in pictures
• Museum and Archives of the White Movement
• (in Russian) Memory and Honour Association
• (in Russian) History of the White Movement