Why the Bolsheviks signed the shameful Brest Peace. The signing of the Brest peace
The conclusion of the Brest Peace took place on March 3, 1918. The parties to the agreement were: Russia - the first party, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey - the second. This peace treaty was short-lived. it lasted a little over nine months.
It all began with the first negotiations in Brest, where representatives from the Russian Bolsheviks were L.B. Kamenev and A.A. Ioffe, as well as S.D. Mstislavsky, L.M. Karakhan. At the last minute before leaving for this border town, it was decided that the participation of representatives of the people was necessary. These were the soldier, worker, sailor and peasant who were lured by large business trips. Of course, the opinion of this group was not taken into account during the negotiations and was simply not heard.
During the negotiations, the fact was revealed that the German side, in addition to signing the peace, wants its conclusion without indemnities and annexations, and also wants to get from Russia the right of nations to self-determination, thus planning to get Ukraine and the Russian Baltic states under its own control. It became obvious that Russia could lose Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, as well as the territory of Transcaucasia.
The signing of the Brest Peace was only a temporary truce in hostilities. Lenin, Sverdlov and Trotsky worried that if the conditions of the German side were fulfilled, they would be overthrown for treason, since the bulk of the Bolsheviks did not agree with the policy of Vladimir Ulyanov.
In January 1918, the second stage of negotiations took place in Brest. The delegation was headed by Trotsky without the presence of representatives of the people. The main role in the course of this round belonged to the Ukrainian delegation, whose main demand was the detachment of the lands of Bukovina and Galicia from Austria-Hungary. At the same time, the Ukrainian side did not want to know the Russian delegation. Thus, Russia has lost an ally in the person of Ukraine. For Germany, the latter was beneficial by the deployment on its territory of a significant number of warehouses with weapons and military uniforms. Brest Peace, due to the impossibility of reaching common points of contact, ended in nothing and was not signed.
The third stage of negotiations began, during which the representative from the Russian delegation, Trotsky L.D. refused to recognize representatives from Ukraine.
On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. The result of this agreement was the rejection of Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Crimea, Ukraine and Transcaucasia from Russia. Among other things, the fleet was disarmed and handed over to Germany, an indemnity of six billion marks in gold was imposed, as well as one billion marks to compensate the German citizens who suffered during the revolution. Austria-Hungary and Germany received warehouses with weapons and ammunition. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk also imposed an obligation on Russia to withdraw troops from these territories. Their place was taken by the armed forces of Germany. to the peace treaty stipulated the economic situation of Germany in Russia. Thus, German citizens were endowed with the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity on the territory of Russia, despite the process of nationalization taking place there.
The Peace of Brest-Litovsk restored the customs tariffs with Germany established in 1904. Due to the non-recognition of the Tsarist ones by the Bolsheviks, according to this agreement, she was forced to confirm them to countries such as Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Germany and begin to pay off these debts.
The countries that were part of the Entente bloc did not approve of the Brest Peace and in mid-March 1918 declared their non-recognition.
In November 1918, Germany withdrew from the terms of the peace agreement. Two days later, it was canceled by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. A little later, German troops began to leave the former
1918 BREST WORLD - a peace treaty between Soviet Russia and the countries of the Quadruple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria). Signed in Brest-Litovsk on March 3, 1918, ratified by the Extraordinary Fourth All-Russian Congress of Soviets on March 15, approved by the German Reichstag on March 22 and ratified by the German Emperor Wilhelm II on March 26, 1918. On the Soviet side, the treaty was signed by Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs G. Ya. Sokolnikov, Deputy People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs GV Chicherin, People's Commissar for Internal Affairs GI Petrovsky and secretary of the delegation L. M. Karakhan; from the German side - German Foreign Minister R. Kühlmann, General Hoffmann and others, from Austria-Hungary - Foreign Minister O. Chernin, as well as representatives of Bulgaria (A. Toshev, P. Ganchev, T. Anastasov) and Turkey ( I. Hakki, Zeki).
On October 26 (November 8), the 2nd Congress of Soviets adopted a Decree on Peace, in which the Soviet government invited all the belligerent states to begin immediately negotiations on concluding an armistice. On November 8 (21), 1917, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs addressed the Entente countries with a note, in which he proposed to start negotiations. However, none of the Entente countries responded to the peace proposals of the Soviet Republic. On November 10 (23), the chiefs of the military missions of the Entente countries at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief N.N.Dukhonin protested against any peace negotiations and the suspension of hostilities, threatening Soviet Russia with the most severe consequences of a military, political and economic nature. On November 11 (24), the British Deputy Foreign Minister Lord R. Cecil announced that Great Britain did not recognize the Soviet government. On November 18 (December 1), US Secretary of State R. Lansing instructed his ambassador to Russia not to enter into any relations with the Soviet government and not to negotiate peace. At the same time, the countries of the German-Austrian bloc at the end of November agreed to negotiate an armistice and peace with representatives of the Soviet Republic. They hoped to impose a predatory peace on Soviet Russia, achieve the seizure of a large territory, liquidate Soviet power and, concentrating their forces on the Western Front, create a turning point in the war in their favor. In view of the refusal of the Entente countries to begin negotiations, Soviet Russia November 20 (December 3) was forced to go to separate peace negotiations with the German-Austrian bloc. On November 24 (December 7), the Soviet government again invited the Entente countries to take part in the negotiations. This time, too, meeting a refusal, the Soviet Republic on December 2 (15) in Brest-Litovsk signed an armistice agreement with the German-Austrian bloc. On December 9 (22), peace negotiations began. The German delegation in the form of an ultimatum demanded that the territory of over 150,000 km 2 be torn away from Russia.
The internal and external situation in Soviet Russia demanded the signing of a peace. The country was in a state of extreme economic devastation, the old army actually collapsed, and the new one had not yet been created. The people demanded peace. In this situation, VI Lenin insisted on accepting even extremely difficult German conditions. A group of "left communists" headed by a member of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) NI Bukharin opposed the signing of the peace. They considered unacceptable any agreements between Soviet Russia and the capitalist world, demanded to break off the negotiations in Brest-Litovsk and declare a revolutionary war on international imperialism. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L. D. Trotsky also spoke out against the conclusion of peace. The "Left Communists" and Trotsky, using factional methods, fought against the Leninist line for peace in the Central Committee of the Party, the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The sentiment in favor of a revolutionary war also spread in some local party and Soviet organizations... In such a difficult situation, Lenin had to wage a decisive struggle for the immediate signing of the peace. Meanwhile, the German delegation led to a break in the negotiations. On February 9, 1918, Germany and its allies signed a peace treaty with the counter-revolutionary government of Ukraine (Central Rada), according to which, happy for Germany's military assistance against Soviet Russia, it pledged to supply Germany and Austria-Hungary with food and raw materials. On February 10, Germany and its allies presented an ultimatum to the Soviet Republic. Contrary to the instructions of Lenin and the Central Committee of the RCP (b) to immediately sign peace, Trotsky (head of the delegation) made a declaration that the Soviet delegation would stop negotiations, demobilize the army, but would not sign peace. Taking advantage of this, on February 18, 1918, German troops launched an offensive. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) on February 18, the opposition's resistance was broken and the proposal for an immediate conclusion of peace was adopted by 7 votes (V.I.Lenin, G.E. Zinoviev, I.T.Smilga, I.V. Stalin, Ya. M. Sverdlov, G. Ya. Sokolnikov, L. D. Trotsky) v. 5 (N. I. Bukharin, A. A. Ioffe, N. N. Krestinsky, G. I. Lomov, M. S. Uritsky) 1 abstention (E. D. Stasova). The SNK and the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs on February 19 sent a telegram to the German government expressing their consent to its peace terms. However, German troops continued their offensive. On February 21, the Council of People's Commissars issued a proclamation - "The socialist fatherland is in danger." The formation of the Red Army began, which blocked the way for the German troops to Petrograd. On February 22, the German government finally responded to the Soviet Republic by presenting new peace conditions, more difficult than the previous ones. On March 3, a peace treaty was signed in Brest-Litovsk. The 7th Congress of the RCP (b), held on March 6-8, approved the Leninist policy of signing peace.
The peace treaty consisted of 14 articles and various annexes and additions. Art. 1 established the end of the state of war between the Soviet Republic and the countries of the Quadruple Alliance. Large territories were torn away from Russia (Poland, Lithuania, part of Belarus and Latvia). The fate of these areas, according to the treaty, was to be determined by Germany and Austria-Hungary. At the same time, Soviet Russia had to cleanse Livonia and Estonia (sovretskaya Latvia and Estonia), where German troops were sent. Germany retained the Moonsund Islands and the Gulf of Riga. Soviet troops had to leave Ukraine, Finland, the Aland Islands, as well as the districts of Ardahan, Kars and Batum, the fate of which was passed into the hands of Turkey. In total, Soviet Russia (including Ukraine) lost about 1 million km 2. Soviet Russia pledged to carry out a complete demobilization of the army and navy, including units of the Red Army, to recognize the peace treaty of the Central Rada with Germany and its allies, and, in turn, to conclude an agreement with the Rada, which was supposed to determine the border between the Sov. Russia and Ukraine. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk restored the customs tariffs of 1904, which were extremely unfavorable for Russia; established the right of most favored nation in economic and trade relations, which opened up for Germany and its allies the possibility of importing, exporting and transporting goods to and from Russia without special restrictions. Russia pledged not to impose duties on the export of raw timber and all kinds of ores; goods passing through the territory of Russia were exempted from taxes. By this, Germany wanted to facilitate the export of its goods to the eastern countries. On August 27, 1918, a Russian-German financial agreement was signed in Berlin, which was an addition to the Brest Peace. Under this agreement, Russia was obliged to pay Germany in different forms indemnity in the amount of 6 billion marks. Thus, the Brest-Litovsk Peace, which was a complex of political, economic, financial and legal conditions, was a heavy burden for the young Soviet republic. However, it did not touch upon the main achievements of the Soviet power. Soviet Russia retained its independence and withdrew from the war, receiving a peaceful respite necessary to consolidate Soviet power, create the Red Army and restore National economy... On November 13, 1918, in connection with the revolution in Germany, the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was annulled by a resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
An analysis of both the domestic and international situation, the substantiation of the need to conclude the Brest Peace Treaty are given in the works of V.I. Lenin (see literature to the article) On the basis of the Marxist-Leninist methodology in the USSR in the 1920s and 1930s, the development of the question of Peace of Brest, collections of documents, books and articles devoted to this problem were published (A. Ilyin-Zhenevsky, Brest Peace and Party, "Krasnaya Chronicle", 1928, No 1 (25); V. Sorin, Lenin during the Brest period, M. , 1936; F. Miller, Peace of Brest and the Entente, "Historian Marxist", 1933, No. 1 (29); I. Mints, Struggle for the consolidation of Soviet power. Brest Peace, M., 1940, etc.). The authors of these works paid great attention to questions of the internal party struggle and did not sufficiently illuminate the problems of the international situation and the struggle of the Soviet Republic for peace.
In the 50s, the issues of the Brest Peace received wide coverage in a number of monographs, collections of articles published in connection with the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, in general courses(Ya. Temkin, Bolsheviks in the Struggle for Democratic Peace. 1914-18, M., 1957, S. Vygodsky, Lenin Decree on Peace, M., 1958, History of Diplomacy, vol. 2, M., 1945; History of the Civil War in the USSR, vol. 3, M., 1957; History of the USSR. The era of socialism. 1917-57, M., 1957).
In the works of progressive historians and publicists of capitalist countries - W. Foster "The Russian Revolution" (W. Foster, The Russian revolution, Chicago, 1921), A. Williams "Through the Russian Revolution" (A. Williams, Through the Russian Revolution, NY, 1923), J. Sadoul, "The Birth of the USSR" (J. Sadoul, Naissance de l "URSS, Charlot, 1946) and others - a true picture of the events of the October Revolution is shown, in particular the history of the struggle of the Soviet Republic for peace in the first years of the existence of Soviet power Representatives of the reactionary trend of bourgeois historiography were very active in studying the history of the Brest Peace and related issues. Large works devoted to the history of the Brest Peace were written by J. Wheeler-Bennett "Brest-Litovsk The Forgotten World. March 1918 "(J. Wheeler-Bennett, Brest-Litovsk. The Forgotten Peace. March 1918, 1938, reprinted in 1956), G. Kennan, Russia leaves the War, 1956), P. Warth, The Allies and the Russian Revolution, 1954, G. Rauch, The History of Bolshevik Russia (G. von Rauch, Geschichte des bolschewistischen Russland, 1954) and others. Bourgeois historians recognize the importance of the Brest Peace for the Soviet Republic, but they distort the goals and methods of the Soviet foreign policy... Denying the significance of the peace decree, they highlight it as a propaganda document. Realizing that the policy of the Entente countries, which refused to negotiate peace, failed, and Soviet Russia, having signed the Brest-Litovsk Peace, strengthened its forces, a number of bourgeois historians criticized the position of the USA, England and France during the Brest period, believing that a more skillful policy would allow these states to liquidate Soviet power and prevent Russia's withdrawal from the war. Criticism of the actions of Germany also occupies an important place in the works of historians from the United States, Britain and France. In the opinion of these authors, the refusal to conclude the Brest Peace Treaty would have allowed the ruling classes of Germany to avoid a revolution.
Soviet historical encyclopedia... In 16 volumes. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia... 1973-1982. Volume 2. BAAL - WASHINGTON. 1962.
A.O. Chubaryan. Moscow.
Literature:
Lenin VI, On the history of the question of an unhappy world, Soch., 4th ed., Vol. 26; him, On the revolutionary phrase, ibid., vol. 27; his, the Socialist Fatherland is in danger, ibid; his, Peace or War, in the same place; his, Report at a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on February 23, 1918, ibid; his, Unhappy world, in the same place; his, Heavy, but necessary lesson, in the same place; his, the Seventh Congress of the RCP (b). March 6-8, 1918, ibid; his, the main task of our days, in the same place; his, IV Extraordinary All-Russian Congress of Soviets on March 14-16, 1918, in the same place; Dock you are ext. Politics of the USSR, vol. 1, M., 1957; History of diplomacy, vol. 2, M., 1945; Mayorov S.M., The Struggle of Soviet Russia for a Way Out of the Imperialist. war, M., 1959; Vasyukov V.S., Chubaryan A.O., Struggle of the Bolshevik Party and the Soviet Government for the Revolution. way out of the war, in Sat: Pobeda Vel. Oct socialistic revolution. Sat. Art., M., 1957; Magnes Y. Z., Russia and Germany at Brest-Litovsk. A documentary history of the peace negotiations, N. Y., 1919; Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States 1918. Russia, v. one.
For more details, see the Peace Treaty between Soviet Russia, on the one hand, and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, on the other hand (Brest Peace). March 3, 1918
100 years ago, on March 3, 1918, a peace treaty was signed in Brest-Litovsk, documenting the loss of territory by Russia, in which a third of its population lived. From the time of Tatar-Mongol yoke Russia has not experienced disasters of a comparable scale. Our country managed to surpass the territorial losses dictated by the enemy in Brest only at the end of the 20th century. During negotiations in Brest-LitovskThe Brest-Litovsk peace was not a surprise: Russia was doomed to catastrophe by the events that preceded Brest exactly one year - the betrayal of the highest military leaders who forced the holy emperor Nicholas II to abdicate, which at that unfortunate time became a reason for all-estate jubilation. With the fall of the autocracy, the process of decomposition of the army inevitably began, and the country lost its ability to defend itself.
And so, when the anemic Provisional Government fell and the Bolsheviks seized power, on October 26 (November 8), the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets issued a "Decree on Peace" with a proposal addressed to all the belligerent states to conclude an armistice and start negotiations for peace without annexations and indemnities. On November 8 (21), the Council of People's Commissars sent a telegram to I. about. the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General N. N. Dukhonin, with the order to enter into negotiations with the command of the enemy troops about an armistice. The next day, the Commander-in-Chief had a telephone conversation with V. I. Lenin, I. V. Stalin and a member of the commissariat for military and naval affairs N. V. Krylenko on the same topic. Dukhonin responded with a refusal to the demand to immediately begin negotiations, citing the fact that the headquarters could not conduct such negotiations, which were within the competence of the central government, after which he was announced that he was leaving his post and. about. commander-in-chief and that Ensign Krylenko was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief, but he, Dukhonin, must continue to fulfill his former duties until the arrival of the new commander-in-chief at the headquarters.
NV Krylenko arrived in Mogilev, at headquarters, with his retinue and an armed detachment on November 20 (December 3). The day before, General Dukhonin ordered the release of generals L.G. Kornilov, A.I.Denikin, A.S. Lukomsky and their fellow prisoners from the Bykhov prison located near the headquarters of the Bykhov prison. Krylenko announced to Dukhonin that he would be taken to Petrograd, at the disposal of the government, after which the general was taken to the carriage of the new commander-in-chief. But after the release of Bykhov's prisoners, a rumor spread among the soldiers guarding the headquarters that L. G. Kornilov was already leading a regiment loyal to him to Mogilev in order to seize the headquarters and continue the war. Spurred on by provocative rumors, the brutalized soldiers burst into Krylenko's carriage, brought his predecessor out of there, while Krylenko himself either tried or did not try to stop them, and perpetrated a brutal reprisal against his yesterday's commander-in-chief: first they shot him and then finished off his bayonets - the mere suspicion that attempts were being made to keep the army from collapse and continue the war infuriated the soldiers. Krylenko reported the massacre of Dukhonin to Trotsky, and he found it inappropriate to initiate an investigation in connection with this incident, so as not to irritate the revolutionary soldiers and sailors.
11 days before the assassination of General Dukhonin, on November 9 (22), VI Lenin, catering to the "pacifist" moods of the front masses, sent a telegram to the troops: truce with the enemy. " This was an unprecedented case in the history of diplomacy - it was proposed to negotiate a peace agreement as a soldier's initiative. A parallel with this action was only the order of another leader of the revolution - L.D.Trotsky - on the publication of secret treaties and secret diplomatic correspondence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the aim of compromising both the Russian and other governments in the eyes of the public - Russian and foreign.
The People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, headed by Trotsky, sent a note to the embassies of neutral countries with a proposal to mediate in peace negotiations. In response, the embassies of Norway, Sweden and Switzerland only announced the receipt of the note, and the Spanish ambassador informed the Soviet People's Commissariat of the transfer of the note to Madrid. The proposal to start peace negotiations was all the more ignored by the governments of the Allied countries of the Entente, who firmly hoped for victory and had previously divided the skin of the beast they were going to finish off, seemingly anticipating the division of the skin of their allied bear yesterday. Naturally, a positive response to the proposal to start peace talks came only from Berlin and from Germany's allies or satellites. The corresponding telegram arrived in Petrograd on November 14 (27). The Governments of the Entente countries - France, Great Britain, Italy, the USA, Japan, China, Belgium, Serbia and Romania - the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars telegraphed the start of negotiations on the same day, offering to join them. Otherwise, it was said in the corresponding note, "we will negotiate with the Germans alone." There was no reply to this note.
The first phase of negotiations in Brest
Separate negotiations began on the day of the assassination of General N. N. Dukhonin. A Soviet delegation headed by A.A. Ioffe arrived in Brest-Litovsk, where the headquarters of the German command on the Eastern Front was located. It consisted of L.B. Kamenev, the most influential politician among the participants in the negotiations, as well as G. Ya. Sokolnikov, the Left Social Revolutionaries A. A. Bitsenko and S. D. Maslovsky-Mstislavsky and, as consultants, representatives of the army: General-Quartermaster under the Supreme Commander-in-Chief General V.E. Skalon, Generals Yu.N. Danilov, A.I. Andogsky, A.A. Samoilo, Rear Admiral V.M. Altfater and 3 more officers, the secretary of the delegation, the Bolshevik L. M. Karakhan, to whom the translators and technical staff were subordinate. The original feature in the formation of this delegation was that it included representatives of the lower ranks - soldiers and sailors, as well as the peasant RI Stashkov and the worker PA Obukhov. Delegations of Germany's allies were already in Brest-Litovsk: Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. The German delegation was headed by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs R. von Kuhlmann; Austria-Hungary - Minister of Foreign Affairs Count O. Chernin; Bulgaria - Minister of Justice Popov; Turkey - Grand Vizier Talaat Bey.
At the beginning of the negotiations, the Soviet side proposed to conclude an armistice for 6 months, so that hostilities would be suspended on all fronts, German troops would be withdrawn from Riga and the Moonsund Islands, and that the German command, using the armistice, would not transfer troops to Western front... These proposals were rejected. As a result of the negotiations, we agreed to conclude an armistice for short term, from November 24 (December 7) to December 4 (17), with the possibility of its extension; during this period, the troops of the opposing sides had to remain in their positions, so that there was no question of any abandonment of Riga by the Germans, and as for the ban on the transfer of troops to the Western Front, Germany agreed to stop only those transfers that had not yet begun ... In view of the collapse of the Russian army, this transfer was already carried out, and the Soviet side did not have the means to control the movement of enemy units and formations.
A truce was announced and put into effect. During the ongoing negotiations, the parties agreed to extend it by 28 days, starting on December 4 (17). It was preliminarily decided to conduct negotiations on the conclusion of a peace treaty in the capital of a neutral country - in Stockholm. But on December 5 (18), Trotsky informed the commander-in-chief Krylenko: “Lenin defends the following plan: during the first two or three days of negotiations, as clearly and sharply as possible, consolidate on paper the annexationist claims of the German imperialists and break off the negotiations for a week and resume them either by Russian soil in Pskov, or in a barrack on the neutral zone between the trenches. I subscribe to this opinion. There is no need to travel to a neutral country. " Through the Commander-in-Chief, Krylenko, Trotsky conveyed instructions to the head of the delegation, A. A. Ioffe: “The most convenient thing would be not to transfer the negotiations to Stockholm. This would greatly alienate the delegation from the local base and would make it extremely difficult to communicate, especially in view of the policy of the Finnish bourgeoisie. " Germany did not object to the continuation of negotiations on the territory of its headquarters in Brest.
Arrival of the German delegation to Brest-Litovsk The resumption of negotiations was, however, postponed due to the fact that upon the return of the delegation to Brest on November 29 (December 12) during a private meeting of the Russian delegation, the main military consultant Major General V. E. Skalon, a descendant of the mother the great mathematician Euler, committed suicide. According to the characterization of General MD Bonch-Bruevich, the brother of the Bolshevik, who then held the post of manager of the Council of People's Commissars, “the officer of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment, Skalon, was known at headquarters as an ardent monarchist. But he worked in the intelligence department, was a serious and well-versed officer in military affairs, and from this point of view he had an impeccable reputation. In addition ... his irreconcilable attitude towards everything that was even slightly to the left absolute monarchy, should have forced him to treat the negotiations with particular acuteness ... - to inform the stake in detail and thoroughly about the course of the negotiations. "
General Skalon, being an extreme monarchist in his views, continued to serve in the General Staff when he submitted to the Council of People's Commissars. A characteristic and typical detail of that era: generals of a liberal orientation, supporters of a constitutional monarchy or directly a republic, like Bykhov's prisoners, then considered it their duty to remain loyal to the allies who helped to overthrow the tsarist power, therefore the white struggle, which they led, was guided by the help of the Entente, in while consistent monarchists from military circles, who did not want to attach great importance to the differences in the political concepts of the Cadets, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks, subsequently either avoided participation in the Civil War, or continued to serve in the army that became Red, in the hope that Lenin and Trotsky , for all their adherence to utopian projects, the hand will be stronger than that of worthless interim ministers, and that they will create a regime in which control of the armed forces can be restored, or monarchically-minded generals fought with the Reds, relying not on the support of the Entente, but of the occupying German authorities like P. N Krasnov.
Arrival of the Russian delegation General V. Ye. Skalon, having agreed to the role of a consultant to the Soviet delegation, could not stand this role to the end and shot himself. Various opinions were expressed about the reasons for his suicide, the most convincing are the words spoken by a member of the German delegation, General Hoffmann, with which he addressed General Samoilo, who replaced Skalon: “Ah! It means that you are appointed to replace poor Skalon, whom your Bolsheviks were leaving! Poor fellow, I could not bear the shame of my country! Brace yourself too! " This arrogant tirade is not contradicted by the version from the memoirs of General M.D. Bonch-Bruevich, who believed that Skalon committed suicide, amazed by the arrogant demands and insolence of German generals. General Skalon was buried in the St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral in Brest. The German command ordered to post an honor guard at the burial and fire a salvo befitting a military leader. Prince Leopold of Bavaria, who came to the opening of the second phase of the talks, made a mourning speech.
During the renewed negotiations, the Soviet delegation insisted on the conclusion of a peace "without annexations and indemnities." The representatives of Germany and her allies expressed their agreement with this formula, but on condition that made its implementation impossible - if the Entente countries were ready to agree to such a peace, and they just waged a war for annexations and indemnities and at the end of 1917 firmly hoped to win. The Soviet delegation proposed: “In full agreement with ... the statement of both contracting parties that they have no plans of conquest and that they wish to conclude peace without annexations, Russia is withdrawing its troops from the parts of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Persia it occupies, and the powers of the Quadruple Alliance from Poland, Lithuania, Courland and other regions of Russia ”. The German side insisted that Russia recognize the independence not only of Poland, Lithuania and Courland, occupied by German troops, where puppet governments were created, but also of Livonia, part of which had not yet been occupied by the German army, as well as participation in peace negotiations. delegation of the separatist Kiev Central Rada.
At first, these demands, in essence, for the surrender of Russia by the Soviet delegation were rejected. December 15 (28) agreed to extend the armistice. At the suggestion of the Soviet delegation, a 10-day break was announced, under the pretext of trying to bring the Entente states to the negotiating table, although both sides thereby only demonstrated their peacefulness, perfectly understanding the futility of such hopes.
The Soviet delegation left Brest for Petrograd, and the question of the course of the peace negotiations was considered there at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). It was decided to drag out the negotiations with the expectation of a revolution in Germany. A new delegation, headed by the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L. D. Trotsky, was supposed to continue the negotiations. While showing off, Trotsky later called his participation in the negotiations "visits to the torture chamber." Diplomacy was generally uninteresting to him. He commented on his own activities as the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs as follows: “What kind of diplomatic work will we have? I’ll publish a few proclamations and close the shop. ” This remark fully agrees with the impression he made on the head of the German delegation, Richard von Kühlmann: “Not very large, sharp and piercing eyes behind the sharp glasses looked at his counterpart with a boring and critical gaze. The expression on his face clearly indicated that he ... it would have been better to end the negotiations that were not pleasant for him with a pair of grenades, throwing them across the green table, if this was somehow coordinated with the general political line ... sometimes I wondered if I had arrived he generally intends to conclude peace, or he needed a platform from which he could propagandize the Bolshevik views. "
K. Radek, a native of Austro-Hungarian Galicia, was included in the Soviet delegation; at the negotiations he represented Polish workers, to whom he really had nothing to do. According to the plan of Lenin and Trotsky, Radek was supposed to maintain the revolutionary tone of the delegation with his assertive temperament and aggressiveness, balancing the other participants in the negotiations - Kamenev and Ioffe, too calm and restrained, as it seemed to Lenin and Trotsky.
Leon Trotsky in Brest-Litovsk Under Trotsky, the resumed negotiations often took on the character of verbal battles between the head of the Soviet delegation and General Hoffmann, who also did not hesitate in expressions, demonstrating to the negotiating partners the impotence of the country they represent. According to Trotsky, “General Hoffmann ... brought a fresh note to the conference. He showed that he did not like the backstage tricks of diplomacy, and several times put his soldier's boot on the negotiating table. We immediately realized that the only reality that really should be taken seriously in these useless conversations is Hoffmann's boot. "
On December 28, 1917 (January 10, 1918), at the invitation of the German side, a delegation from the Central Rada arrived in Brest from Kiev, headed by V.A.Golubovich, who immediately announced that the power of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Russia did not extend to Ukraine. Trotsky agreed to the participation of the Ukrainian delegation in the negotiations, stating that Ukraine is actually in a state of war with Russia, although formally the independence of the UPR was proclaimed later, a "universal" of January 9 (22), 1918.
The German side was interested in the early completion of the negotiations, because it was not without reason that it feared the threat of disintegration of its own army, and even more so, of the troops of the allied Austria-Hungary - the "patchwork empire" of the Hapsburgs. In addition, in these two countries, the food supply of the population deteriorated sharply - both empires were on the verge of starvation. The mobilization potential of these powers was exhausted, while the Entente countries at war with them had unlimited possibilities in this respect, due to the large population in their colonies. In both empires, anti-war sentiment grew, strikes were organized, and soviets were formed in some cities, modeled on the Russian soviets; and these councils demanded an early conclusion of peace with Russia, so that the Soviet delegation at the talks in Brest had a well-known resource of pressure on partners.
But after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly on January 6 (19), 1918, the German delegation began to act more assertively. The fact is that until then there was still, at least virtually, the possibility that the government formed by the Constituent Assembly would end peace negotiations and resume allied relations with the Entente countries, which had been severed by the Bolshevik Council of People's Commissars. Therefore, the failure of the Constituent Assembly gave the German side confidence that in the end the Soviet delegation would agree to conclude peace at any cost.
Presentation of the German ultimatum and the reaction to it
The lack of a combat-ready army in Russia was, as they say now, a medical fact. It has become absolutely impossible to convince the soldiers, who had turned, if they had not yet fled from the front, all of the potential deserters, to remain in the trenches. Once, overthrowing the tsar, the conspirators hoped that the soldiers would fight for a democratic and liberal Russia, their calculations were beaten. The socialist government of AF Kerensky called on soldiers to defend the revolution - the soldiers were not tempted by this propaganda. From the very beginning of the war, the Bolsheviks campaigned for an end to the war of the peoples, and their leaders understood that the soldiers could not be kept at the front by appeals to defend the power of the Soviets. The Chief of Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, General MD Bonch-Bruevich, on January 18, 1918, sent a note to the Council of People's Commissars as follows: “Desertion is growing progressively ... Whole regiments and artillery go to the rear, exposing the front over considerable stretches, the Germans walk in droves along the abandoned position ... Constant visits enemy soldiers of our positions, especially artillery, and their destruction of our fortifications in abandoned positions are undoubtedly organized.
After a formal ultimatum presented to the Soviet delegation in Brest by General Hoffmann, demanding consent to the German occupation of Ukraine, Poland, half of Belarus and the Baltic states, an internal party struggle broke out at the top of the Bolshevik party. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), held on January 11 (24), 1918, a bloc of "left communists" was formed, headed by NI Bukharin, who opposed Lenin's capitulatory position. “Our only salvation,” he said, “lies in the fact that the masses will learn from experience, in the process of the struggle itself, what the German invasion is, when the peasants will be robbed of their cows and boots, when the workers will be forced to work for 14 hours, when they will take them to Germany, when the iron ring is inserted into the nostrils, then, believe me, comrades, then we will get a real holy war. " Bukharin's side was taken by other influential members of the Central Committee - F.E.Dzerzhinsky, who attacked Lenin with criticism for betraying them - not the interests of Russia, but the German and Austro-Hungarian proletariat, whom, as he feared, a peace treaty would keep from revolution. Opposing his opponents, Lenin formulated his position as follows: “An army is needed for a revolutionary war, but we do not have an army. Undoubtedly, the peace that we are forced to conclude now is an obscene peace, but if a war breaks out, then our government will be swept away and peace will be concluded by another government. " In the Central Committee, he was supported by Stalin, Zinoviev, Sokolnikov and Sergeev (Artem). A compromise proposal was put forward by Trotsky. It sounded like this: "no peace, no war." Its essence was that in response to the German ultimatum, the Soviet delegation in Brest would declare that Russia would end the war, demobilize the army, but would not sign the shameful, humiliating peace treaty. This proposal received the support of the majority of the members of the Central Committee during the voting: 9 votes against 7.
Before the delegation returned to Brest to resume negotiations, its head Trotsky received an order from the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars to drag out the negotiations, but in the event of an ultimatum to sign a peace treaty at any cost. On January 27 (February 9), 1918, representatives of the Central Rada in Brest-Litovsk signed a peace treaty with Germany - its consequence was the occupation of Ukraine by the troops of Germany and Austria-Hungary, who, having occupied Kiev, eliminated the Rada.
On February 27 (9 February), at the talks in Brest, the head of the German delegation R. von Kuhlmann presented an ultimatum to the Soviet side demanding an immediate renunciation of any influence on political life territories torn away from the Russian state, including Ukraine, part of Belarus and the Baltic states. The signal to tighten the tone during the negotiations came from the German capital. Emperor Wilhelm II said then in Berlin: “Today the Bolshevik government has directly addressed my troops with an open radio message, calling for insurrection and disobedience to their higher commanders. Neither I nor Field Marshal von Hindenburg can tolerate this state of affairs any longer. Trotsky must by tomorrow evening ... sign a peace treaty with the return of the Baltic to the Narva - Pleskau - Dunaburg line inclusive ... Supreme command armies of the Eastern Front must withdraw troops to the specified line. "
Trotsky at the talks in Brest rejected the ultimatum: “The peoples are looking forward to the results of the peace talks in Brest-Litovsk. The peoples ask when will this unprecedented self-destruction of mankind, caused by the self-interest and lust for power of the ruling classes of all countries, end? If ever a war was fought in self-defense, then it has long ceased to be such for both camps. If Great Britain takes possession of the African colonies, Baghdad and Jerusalem, then this is not yet a defensive war; if Germany occupies Serbia, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania and Romania and captures the Moonsund Islands, then this is also not a defensive war. This is a struggle to divide the world. This is now clearer than ever ... We are emerging from the war. We inform all peoples and their governments about this. We give the order for the complete demobilization of our armies ... At the same time, we declare that the conditions offered to us by the governments of Germany and Austria-Hungary are fundamentally contrary to the interests of all peoples. " This statement of his was made public, which was regarded as a propaganda action by all parties involved in the hostilities. The German delegation at the talks in Brest clarified that the refusal to sign a peace treaty would mean the breakdown of the truce and would entail the resumption of hostilities. The Soviet delegation left Brest.
Disruption of the truce and resumption of hostilities
On February 18, German troops resumed fighting along the entire line of their Eastern Front and began to rapidly advance deep into Russia. Within a few days, the enemy advanced about 300 kilometers, capturing Revel (Tallinn), Narva, Minsk, Polotsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Chernigov. Only near Pskov on 23 February was the enemy put up with real resistance. Together with the officers and soldiers of the not completely decomposed Russian army, the Red Guards who had arrived from Petrograd fought. In the battles near the city, the Germans lost several hundred soldiers killed and wounded. February 23 and later began to be celebrated as the birthday of the Red Army, and now as the Day of the Defender of the Fatherland. And yet Pskov was taken by the Germans.
There was a real threat of the seizure of the capital. On February 21, the Committee for the Revolutionary Defense of Petrograd was formed. A state of siege was declared in the city. But it was not possible to organize an effective defense of the capital. Only regiments of Latvian riflemen entered the defense line. Mobilization was carried out among the St. Petersburg workers, but the results were scanty. Of the hundreds of thousands of workers who voted for the Bolsheviks for the most part in the elections to the Soviets and the Constituent Assembly, a little more than one percent were ready to shed blood: just over 10 thousand people signed up as volunteers. The fact is that the Bolsheviks were voted for because they promised immediate peace. To spread propaganda in the direction of revolutionary defencism, as the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries did in their time, was a hopeless task. The head of the Bolshevik Party organization in the capital, G. Ye. Zinoviev, was already preparing to go underground: he demanded that funds be allocated from the Party treasury to support the underground activities of the Bolshevik Party Committee in Petrograd. In view of the failure of the negotiations in Brest on February 22, Trotsky resigned from the post of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs. A few days later, G.V. Chicherin was appointed to this position.
In the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) these days there were continuous meetings. Lenin insisted on resuming peace negotiations and accepting the demands of the German ultimatum. Most of the members of the Central Committee took a different position, proposing as an alternative to partisan war with the occupation regime in the hope of a revolution in Germany and Austria-Hungary. At a meeting of the Central Committee on February 23, 1918, Lenin demanded consent to the conclusion of peace on the conditions dictated by the German ultimatum, otherwise threatening with resignation. In response to Lenin's ultimatum, Trotsky declared: “We cannot wage a revolutionary war with a split in the party ... Under the circumstances, our party is unable to lead the war ... maximum unanimity would be needed; since he is not there, I will not take the responsibility to vote for the war. " This time Lenin's proposal was supported by 7 members of the Central Committee, four headed by Bukharin voted against, Trotsky and three more abstained from voting. Bukharin then announced his withdrawal from the Central Committee. Then the party decision on the adoption of the German ultimatum was carried out through a state body - the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. At a meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on February 24, the decision to conclude peace on German terms was adopted by 126 votes to 85, with 26 abstentions. The majority of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries voted against, although their leader, MA Spiridonova, voted for peace; against the peace the Mensheviks, headed by Yu. O. Martov, and of the Bolsheviks, NI Bukharin and DB Ryazanov, voted against the peace. A number of "left communists", including F.E.Dzerzhinsky, did not appear at the meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in protest against the consent to the German ultimatum.
Conclusion of a peace treaty and its content
The signing of the documents on the armistice in Brest-Litovsk On March 1, 1918, the Soviet delegation, this time headed by G. Ya. Sokolnikov, returned to Brest for negotiations. The negotiating partners, representing the governments of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, categorically refused to discuss the draft developed by the German side, insisting on its adoption in the form in which it was presented. On March 3, the German ultimatum was accepted by the Soviet side, and a peace treaty was signed.
In accordance with this treaty, Russia undertook the obligation to end the war with the UPR and recognize the independence of Ukraine, in fact transferring it to the protectorate of Germany and Austria-Hungary - the signing of the treaty was followed by the occupation of Kiev, the overthrow of the UPR government and the establishment of a puppet regime headed by Hetman Skoropadsky ... Russia recognized the independence of Poland, Finland, Estonia, Courland and Livonia. Some of these territories were directly included in Germany, others passed under a German or joint protectorate with Austria-Hungary. Russia also transferred Kars, Ardahan and Batum with their regions to the Ottoman Empire. The territory torn away from Russia under the Brest Treaty was about a million square kilometers, and up to 60 million people lived on it - a third of the population of the former Russian Empire. Russian army and the fleet was subject to radical reduction. The Baltic fleet was leaving its bases located in Finland and the Ostsee region. An indemnity in the amount of 6.5 billion gold rubles was imposed on Russia. And the annex to the treaty included a clause stating that the property of citizens of Germany and its allies was not subject to Soviet nationalization laws; the same of the citizens of these states who lost at least part of their property, it had to be returned or compensated. The refusal of the Soviet government to pay external debts could no longer apply to Germany and its allies, and Russia pledged to immediately resume payments on these debts. Citizens of these states were allowed to engage in entrepreneurial activities on the territory of the Russian Soviet Republic. The Soviet government committed itself to banning any subversive anti-war propaganda against the states of the Quadruple Alliance.
The peace treaty concluded in Brest was ratified on March 15 by the Extraordinary IV All-Russian Congress of Soviets, despite the fact that a third of the deputies, mainly from the Left Social Revolutionary Party, voted against its ratification. On March 26, the treaty was ratified by Emperor Wilhelm II, and then similar acts were adopted in the states allied with Germany.
Consequences of a peace treaty and reaction to it
A photocopy of the first two pages of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, March 1918 The end of the war on the Eastern Front allowed Germany to transfer about half a million of its soldiers to the Western Front and launch an offensive against the Entente armies, which, however, it soon drowned. For the occupation of the western territories torn away from Russia, mainly Ukraine, it took 43 divisions, against which it deployed under various political slogans guerrilla war which cost Germany and Austria-Hungary more than 20 thousand lives of soldiers and officers; the troops of Hetman Skoropadsky, who supported the regime of the German occupation, lost more than 30 thousand people in this war.
In response to Russia's withdrawal from the war, the Entente states undertook interventionist actions: on March 6, a British landing was landed in Murmansk. This was followed by the landing of the British in Arkhangelsk. Japanese units occupied Vladivostok. The dismemberment of Russia under the terms of the Brest Peace Treaty provided anti-Bolshevik forces of a non-separatist orientation with a wonderful slogan for organizing military actions aimed at overthrowing Soviet power - the slogan of the struggle for "a united and indivisible Russia." So after the signing of the Brest Peace Treaty, a full-scale Civil War began in Russia. The call put forward by Lenin at the beginning of the world war "to turn the war of the peoples into a civil war" was carried out, however, at the moment when the Bolsheviks least wanted it, because by that time they had already seized power in the country.
His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon could not remain an indifferent spectator of the tragic events taking place. On March 5 (18), 1918, he addressed the all-Russian flock with a message in which he assessed the peace treaty concluded in Brest: “Blessed is peace between nations, for all brothers, all the Lord calls upon everyone to work peacefully on earth, He has prepared for everyone His incalculable blessings ... And the Holy Church incessantly raises prayers for the peace of the whole world ... The unhappy Russian people, involved in a fratricidal bloody war, intolerably thirsty for peace, as once the people of God thirsted for water in the scorching heat of the desert. But we did not have Moses who would give his people miraculous water to drink, and not to the Lord, his Benefactor, the people called for help - people appeared who had renounced the faith, persecutors of the Church of God, and they gave the people peace. But is this the peace that the Church prays for, which the people yearn for? The peace now concluded, in which entire regions inhabited by the Orthodox people are torn away from us, and surrendered to the will of an enemy alien by faith, and tens of millions of Orthodox people find themselves in conditions of great spiritual temptation for their faith, a world by which even from time immemorial Orthodox Ukraine is separated from brotherly Russia and the capital city of Kiev, the mother of Russian cities, the cradle of our baptism, the repository of shrines, ceases to be a city of the Russian state, the world that gives our people and Russian land into heavy bondage - such a world will not give the people the desired rest and reassurance. The Orthodox Church will bring great damage and grief, and incalculable losses to the Fatherland. In the meantime, we continue to have the same strife that is destroying our Fatherland ... Will the declared peace eliminate these disturbances crying to heaven? Will it not bring more sorrow and misfortune? Alas, the words of the prophet are justified: They say: peace, peace, but there is no peace(Jer. 8, 11). The Holy Orthodox Church, which from time immemorial helped the Russian people to gather and exalt the Russian state, cannot remain indifferent at the sight of its death and decay ... In the debt of the successor of the ancient collectors and builders of the Russian land, Peter, Alexy, Jonah, Philip and Hermogenes, We call on .. to raise your voice in these terrible days and loudly proclaim before the whole world that the Church cannot bless the shameful peace that has now been concluded on behalf of Russia. This peace, forcibly signed on behalf of the Russian people, will not lead to fraternal cohabitation of peoples. It has no pledges of tranquility and reconciliation; seeds of malice and misanthropy are sown in it. It contains the seeds of new wars and evils for all mankind. Can the Russian people come to terms with their humiliation? Can he forget his brothers separated from him by blood and faith? .. The Orthodox Church ... can now only with the deepest sorrow, gaze at this semblance of a world that is not better than war... We call you, Orthodox people, not to rejoice and triumph over peace, but to repent and pray before the Lord bitterly ... Brethren! The time for repentance has come, the holy days of Great Lent have come. Cleanse yourself from your sins, come to your senses, stop looking at each other as enemies, and dividing your native land into warring camps. We are all brothers, and we all have one mother - our native Russian land, and we are all children of the same Heavenly Father ... Before the face of the terrible Judgment of God that is taking place over us, we will gather all around Christ and His Holy Church. Let us pray to the Lord that He softened our hearts with brotherly love and strengthened them with courage, that He Himself would give us men of reason and advice, faithful to the commands of God, who would correct the evil deed, return the rejected ones and gather the squandering ones. ... Convince everyone to pray fervently to the Lord, may He turn away His righteous anger, our sin moved on us for our sake, may strengthen our weakened spirit and raise us from grievous despondency and extreme fall. And the merciful Lord will take pity on the sinful Russian land ... ".
This was the first message of Patriarch Tikhon, dedicated to a political topic, while it did not touch upon issues domestic policy, there are no mentions of political parties and political figures, but, faithful to the tradition of patriotic service of the Russian Primates, the holy Patriarch expressed in this message his sorrow over the catastrophe experienced by Russia, called on the flock to repentance and end the fatal fratricidal strife and, in essence, predicted the course of further events in Russia and in the world. Anyone who carefully reads this message can be convinced that, drawn up on the occasion of an event a hundred years ago, it has not lost its relevance in our days.
Consequences of the Brest Peace: Austro-Hungarian troops enter the city of Kamenets-Podolsky after the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty Meanwhile, Germany, which forced Russia to surrender in March 1918, could not avoid the fate of the fallen Russian Empire. In April 1918, diplomatic relations were resumed between Russia and Germany. The Soviet ambassador A. A. Ioffe arrived in Berlin, and the German ambassador, Count Wilhelm von Mirbach, arrived in Moscow, where the seat of the government was moved. Count Mirbach was killed in Moscow, and A. A. Ioffe and the staff of the Soviet embassy did not stop the peace treaty from conducting anti-war propaganda in the heart of Germany itself. Pacifist and revolutionary sentiments spread from Russia to the armies and peoples of its former opponents. And when the imperial thrones of the Habsburgs and Hohenzollerns swayed, the Brest Treaty turned into a piece of paper that did not bind anyone to anything. On November 13, 1918, it was officially denounced by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR. But at that time Russia was already plunged into the abyss of a fratricidal massacre - Civil War, the signal for the beginning of which was the conclusion of the Brest Treaty.
The people of Russia were exhausted by the prolonged bloody war.
During the Great October Socialist Revolution, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets on November 8, 1917, adopted the Peace Decree, according to which the Soviet government invited all the belligerent countries to conclude an immediate armistice and begin peace negotiations. But the allies in the Entente did not support Russia.
In December 1917, negotiations were held in Brest on an armistice at the front between the delegations of Soviet Russia, on the one hand, and Germany and its allies (Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria), on the other.
On December 15, 1917, a temporary agreement on the cessation of hostilities was signed, and an armistice agreement was concluded with Germany for 28 days - until January 14, 1918.
The negotiations took place in three stages and lasted until March 1918.
On December 22, 1917, a peace conference began in Brest-Litovsk. The Russian delegation was headed by
A.A. Ioffe. The composition of the delegation was constantly changing, negotiations dragged on, and the parties did not come to a definite agreement.
On January 9, 1918, the second stage of negotiations began. People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs L.D. Trotsky was appointed chairman of the delegation of Soviet Russia. Germany and its allies in an ultimatum form presented tough conditions to Russia. On February 10, LD Trotsky rejected the ultimatum, proclaiming the famous thesis: "No war, no peace."
In response, the Austro-German forces launched an offensive along the entire Eastern Front. In connection with these events, the formation of the Red Army began in February 1918. Ultimately, the Soviet side was forced to accept the conditions put forward by Germany and its allies.
On March 3, 1918, the Peace of Brest was concluded in the building of the White Palace of the fortress. The agreement was signed by: on the part of Soviet Russia - G.Ya.Sokolnikov (chairman of the delegation), G.V. Chicherin, G.I. Petrovsky, L.M. Karakhan; Germany - R. Kühlmann and M. Hoffmann; Austria-Hungary - O. Chernin; Bulgaria - A. Toshev; Turkey - Khaki Pasha.
The agreement consisted of 14 articles. Under its terms, Russia was withdrawing from the war, while losing 780 thousand square meters. km of territory with a population of 56 million people.
The revolution that began in Germany made it possible for the Soviet government to annul the Brest-Litovsk Treaty on November 13, 1918.
On June 28, 1919, in Versailles (France), the victorious powers - the USA, the British Empire, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium and others (27 states in total) on the one hand, and defeated Germany - on the other hand, signed a peaceful the treaty that ended the First World War.
The signing of the Brest Peace
The Peace of Brest-Litovsk is a separate peace treaty between Germany and Soviet Russia, as a result of which the latter, in violation of its conscious obligations to Britain and France, withdrew from the First World War. The Brest Peace Treaty was signed in Brest-LitovskThe Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3, 1918 by Soviet Russia on the one hand and Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey on the other.
The essence of the Brest Peace
The main driving force of the October Revolution was the soldiers who were terribly tired of the war, which lasted for the fourth year. The Bolsheviks promised to end it if they came to power. Therefore, the first decree of the Soviet government was the Decree on Peace, adopted on October 26 according to the old style.
“The Workers 'and Peasants' Government, created on October 24-25 ..., invites all the belligerent peoples and their governments to begin immediately negotiations for a just democratic peace. A just or democratic peace ... The government considers an immediate peace without annexations (ie, without the seizure of foreign lands, without the forcible annexation of foreign peoples) and without indemnities. Such a peace is proposed by the Government of Russia to conclude all the belligerent peoples immediately ... "
The desire of the Soviet government headed by Lenin to conclude peace with Germany, albeit at the cost of some concessions and territorial losses, was, on the one hand, the fulfillment of its "pre-election" promises to the people, on the other hand, fears of a soldier's revolt
“Throughout the autumn, delegates from the front appeared daily at the Petrograd Soviet with a statement that if peace was not concluded before November 1, the soldiers themselves would move to the rear to secure peace by their own means. This became the slogan of the front. The soldiers left the trenches in droves. The October coup to some extent suspended this movement, but, of course, not for long "(Trotsky," My Life ")
Brest Peace. Briefly
First there was a truce
- 1914, September 5 - an agreement between Russia, France, England, prohibiting the conclusion of a separate peace or truce with Germany by the allies
- 1917, November 8 (old style) - The Council of People's Commissars ordered the commander of the army, General Dukhonin, to offer the opponents a prize. Dukhonin refused.
- 1917, November 8 - Trotsky, as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, appealed to the Entente states and the central empires (Germany and Austria-Hungary) with a proposal to conclude peace. There was no answer
- 1917, November 9 - General Dukhonin was removed from office. his place was taken by ensign Krylenko
- 1917, November 14 - Germany responded to the proposal of the Soviet government to begin peace negotiations
- 1917, November 14 - Lenin in vain addressed a note to the governments of France, Great Britain, Italy, USA, Belgium, Serbia, Romania, Japan and China with a proposal, together with the Soviet government, to begin peace negotiations on December 1
“The answer to these questions must be given now, and the answer is not in words, but in deeds. The Russian army and the Russian people cannot and do not want to wait any longer. On December 1, we begin peace talks. If the allied peoples do not send their representatives, we will negotiate with the Germans alone. "
- 1917, November 20 - Krylenko arrived at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief in Mogilev, retired and arrested Dukhonin. On the same day, the general was killed by soldiers
- 1917, November 20 - negotiations between Russia and Germany on an armistice began in Brest-Litovsk
- 1917, November 21 - the Soviet delegation outlined its conditions: an armistice is concluded for 6 months; hostilities are suspended on all fronts; the Germans cleanse the Moonsund Islands and Riga; any transfer of German troops to the Western Front is prohibited. To which the representative of Germany, General Hoffmann, said that such conditions can only be offered by the winners and it is enough to look at the map to judge who the defeated country is.
- 1917, November 22 - the Soviet delegation demanded a break in the negotiations. Germany was forced to agree to Russia's proposals. A truce was announced for 10 days
- 1917, November 24 - a new appeal of Russia to the Entente countries with a proposal to join the peace negotiations. No answer
- 1917, December 2 - the second truce with the Germans. This time for 28 days
Peace negotiations
- 1917, December 9 according to Art. Art. - a conference on peace began in the officers' meeting of Brest-Litovsk. The Delegation of Russia proposed to adopt the following program as a basis
- No violent annexation of territories captured during the war is allowed ...
- The political independence of those peoples is restored, which during the present war were deprived of this independence.
- National groups that did not enjoy political independence before the war are guaranteed the opportunity to freely resolve the issue .... about their state independence ...
- In relation to territories inhabited by several nationalities, minority rights are protected by special laws ....
- None of the belligerent countries is obliged to pay other countries the so-called military costs ...
- Colonial issues are resolved in accordance with the principles set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- 1917, December 12 - Germany and its allies accepted the Soviet proposals as a basis, however, with a fundamental reservation: "The proposals of the Russian delegation could be implemented only if all the powers involved in the war ... pledged to observe the conditions common to all peoples"
- 1917, December 13 - the Soviet delegation proposed to declare a ten-day break so that the governments of states that have not yet joined the negotiations could familiarize themselves with the developed principles
- 1917, December 27 - after numerous diplomatic demarches, including Lenin's demand to transfer negotiations to Stockholm, discussions of the Ukrainian question, the peace conference started working again
At the second stage of negotiations, the Soviet delegation was headed by L. Trotsky
- 1917, December 27 - The statement of the German delegation that since one of the most essential conditions that were presented by the Russian delegation on December 9 - the unanimous acceptance by all the warring powers of the conditions obligatory for all - is not accepted, then the document has become invalid
- 1917, December 30 - after several days of fruitless conversations, the German General Hoffmann declared: “The Russian delegation began to speak as if it were a victor who entered our country. I would like to point out that the facts just contradict this: the victorious German troops are on Russian territory "
- 1918, January 5 - Germany presented to Russia the conditions for the signing of the peace
“Taking out the map, General Hoffmann said:“ I leave the map on the table and ask those present to familiarize themselves with it ... The drawn line is dictated by military considerations; it will provide the peoples living on the other side of the line with a calm state building and the exercise of the right to self-determination. " The Hoffmann line cut off an area of over 150 thousand square kilometers from the possessions of the former Russian Empire. Germany and Austria-Hungary occupied Poland, Lithuania, some part of Belarus and Ukraine, part of Estonia and Latvia, the Moonsund Islands, the Gulf of Riga. This gave them control over the sea routes to the Gulfs of Finland and Bothnia and allowed them to develop offensive operations deep into Gulf of Finland, against Petrograd. The ports of the Baltic Sea passed into the hands of the Germans, through which 27% of all sea exports from Russia went. 20% of Russian imports went through the same ports. The established border was extremely disadvantageous for Russia from a strategic point of view. It threatened the occupation of all of Latvia and Estonia, threatened Petrograd and, to a certain extent, Moscow. In the event of a war with Germany, this border doomed Russia to the loss of territories at the very beginning of the war "(" History of Diplomacy ", volume 2)
- 1918, January 5 - At the request of the Russian delegation, the conference took a 10-day timeout
- 1918, January 17 - Conference resumed
- 1918, January 27 - a peace treaty was signed with Ukraine, which was recognized on January 12 by Germany and Austria-Hungary
- 1918, January 27 - Germany issued an ultimatum to Russia
“Russia takes note of the following territorial changes entering into force with the ratification of this peace treaty: the areas between the borders of Germany and Austria-Hungary and the line that runs ... will henceforth not be subject to the territorial supremacy of Russia. From the fact of their belonging to the former Russian Empire, no obligations towards Russia will follow for them. The future fate of these regions will be decided in accordance with these peoples, namely on the basis of the agreements that Germany and Austria-Hungary will conclude with them. "
- 1918, January 28 - in response to the German ultimatum, Trotsky announced that Soviet Russia was ending the war, but was not signing peace - "no war, no peace." The peace conference is over
Fight in the party around the signing of the Brest Peace
“The party was dominated by an irreconcilable attitude towards the signing of the Brest-Litovsk conditions ... It found its most vivid expression in the group of left communism, which put forward the slogan of a revolutionary war. The first broad discussion of disagreements took place on January 21 at a meeting of active party workers. Three points of view have emerged. Lenin was in favor of trying to drag out the negotiations still, but, in the event of an ultimatum, immediately surrender. I considered it necessary to bring the negotiations to a rupture, even with the danger of a new German offensive, in order to capitulate ... already before the obvious use of force. Bukharin demanded war in order to expand the arena of the revolution. Supporters of the revolutionary war received 32 votes, Lenin collected 15 votes, I - 16 ... More than two hundred Soviets responded to the Council of People's Commissars' proposal to the local Soviets to express their opinion on war and peace. Only Petrogradsky and Sevastopolsky spoke for peace. Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Kharkov, Yekaterinoslav, Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Kronstadt voted in favor of a break. This was also the mood of our party organizations. At the decisive meeting of the Central Committee on January 22, my proposal passed: to drag out the negotiations; in the event of a German ultimatum, declare the war ended, but not sign the peace; further act depending on the circumstances. On January 25, a meeting of the Central Committees of the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries took place, at which the overwhelming majority passed the same formula "(L. Trotsky "My Life")
Indirectly, Trotsky's idea was to disavow the persistent rumors of that time that Lenin and his party were agents of Germany sent to Russia to destroy it and withdraw it from the First World War (it was no longer possible for Germany to wage a war on two fronts) ... A submissive signing of peace with Germany would confirm these rumors. But under the influence of force, that is, the German offensive, the establishment of peace would look like a forced measure
Conclusion of a peace treaty
- 1918, February 18 - Germany and Austria-Hungary launched an offensive along the entire front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Trotsky suggested asking the Germans what they wanted. Lenin objected: "Now there is no way to wait, it means to hand over the Russian revolution for scrapping ... what is at stake is that we, playing with the war, are handing over the revolution to the Germans."
- 1918, February 19 - Telegram from Lenin to the Germans: “In view of the current situation, the Soviet People's Commissars sees himself compelled to sign the peace terms proposed in Brest-Litovsk by the delegations of the Quadruple Alliance "
- 1918, February 21 - Lenin declared the "socialist fatherland in danger"
- 1918, February 23 - the birth of the Red Army
- 1918, February 23 - new German ultimatum
“The first two points repeated the January 27 ultimatum. But otherwise, the ultimatum went incomparably further
- 1918, February 24 - The All-Russian Central Executive Committee accepted the German ultimatum
- 1918, February 25 - the Soviet delegation expressed a strong protest against the continuation of hostilities. And yet the offensive continued
- 1918, February 28 - Trotsky resigns from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1918, February 28 - the Soviet delegation was already in Brest
- 1918, March 1 - resumption of the peace conference
- 1918, March 3 - signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Germany
- 1918, March 15 - The All-Russian Congress of Soviets by a majority vote ratified the peace treaty
Terms of the Brest Peace
The peace treaty between Russia and the central powers consisted of 13 articles. In the main articles it was stipulated that —
Russia, on the one hand, Germany and its allies, on the other, declare the end of the war.
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Russia carries out a complete demobilization of its army;
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Russian military ships go to Russian ports until a general peace is concluded, or they are immediately disarmed.
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Poland, Lithuania, Courland, Livonia and Estonia departed from Soviet Russia under the treaty.
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In the hands of the Germans remained those areas that lay east of the border established by the treaty and were occupied by the time the treaty was signed by German troops.
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In the Caucasus, Russia yielded to Turkey Kars, Ardahan and Batum.
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Ukraine and Finland were recognized as independent states.
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With the Ukrainian Central Rada, Soviet Russia pledged to conclude a peace treaty and recognize the peace treaty between Ukraine and Germany.
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Finland and the Aland Islands were cleared of Russian troops.
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Soviet Russia pledged to stop all agitation against the Finnish government.
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Separate articles of the Russian-German trade agreement of 1904, which was unfavorable for Russia, came into force again.
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The Brest Treaty did not fix the borders of Russia, and nothing was said about respect for the sovereignty and integrity of the territory of the contracting parties.
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As for the territories that lay east of the line marked in the treaty, Germany agreed to clear them only after complete demobilization. Soviet army and the conclusion of a universal peace.
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Prisoners of war on both sides were released home
Lenin's speech at the Seventh Congress of the RCP (b): “You should never be bound by formal considerations in a war ... an agreement is a means of gathering forces ... Some definitely, like children, think: signed an agreement, it means that he sold himself to Satan, went to hell. It's just funny when military history says more clearly that the signing of a treaty in case of defeat is a means of gathering strength "
Cancellation of the Brest Peace
Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of November 13, 1918
Cancellation of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty
To all the peoples of Russia, the population of all occupied regions and lands.
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee of Soviets solemnly declares to everyone that the terms of peace with Germany, signed in Brest on March 3, 1918, have lost their strength and significance. The Brest-Litovsk Treaty (as well as the supplementary agreement signed in Berlin on August 27 and ratified by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on September 6, 1918) as a whole and in all points is declared destroyed. All obligations included in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty concerning the payment of indemnity or the cession of territory and regions are declared invalid….
The working masses of Russia, Livonia, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Finland, Crimea and the Caucasus, liberated by the German revolution from the oppression of a predatory treaty dictated by the German military, are now called upon to decide their own fate. The imperialist peace must be replaced by a socialist peace concluded by the working masses of the peoples of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary freed from the oppression of the imperialists. The Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic invites the fraternal peoples of Germany and the former Austria-Hungary, represented by their Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, to immediately begin to resolve issues related to the destruction of the Brest Treaty. The true peace of peoples can only be based on those principles that correspond to fraternal relations between the working people of all countries and nations and which were proclaimed by the October Revolution and defended by the Russian delegation in Brest. All occupied regions of Russia will be cleared. The right to self-determination will be fully recognized for the working nations of all peoples. All losses will be borne by the true culprits of the war, the bourgeois classes.
