Welcome to a history of Europe, the interwar years.

This is the Russian Civil War, Part 2 of 4.

Part 1 gave background, including Russia's involvement, Part 2 of 4.

Part 1 gave background, including Russia's involvement in the First World War,

the fall of the monarchy, the provisional government,

in the October Revolution of 1917. On a superficial level, the Russian Civil War was one between two sides.

The armies of the Reds and the Whites.

In fact, it involved much more than that,

a massive breakdown of all the normal ties linking different groups of society.

The empire dissolved into separate regions and ties between towns and villages were shattered,

leaving most of the population in desperate poverty, doing their best just to survive.

It is estimated that 300,000 men were killed in action during the Civil War and the related Polish-Soviet War.

Perhaps as many as 10 million people died overall as a consequence of the Civil War and overwhelming majority civilian casualties.

In the next three weeks, I plan to tell the story of events of the war and its significance.

It deserves to be more well known.

Following the October Revolution, Lenin was fully aware that the Bolsheviks' grasp on power was tenuous to say the least. It was necessary to consolidate the regime throughout the Russian lands, no easy task

given the vast lands and populations involved. Among the most critical challenges for the Bolsheviks

were how to preserve their power,

how to improve the economy and feed the people,

how to deal with the fact that the country was in the midst of the First World War,

as well as what to do about their numerous opponents,

which included the so-called white armies,

...