The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
History: KS3, topic 17.5.2
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
As Commissar for War, Trotsky’s role was to negotiate Russia’s exit from the First World War.
Background
- Trotsky wanted to end the fighting but did not want to surrender given the pressure the Germans were putting on the Russians.
- The capital was moved to Moscow as the Germans got closer to Petrograd.
- Wanting to continue the war against the Bolsheviks’ wishes, the Left SRs walked out of the government.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- In March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, making peace with Germany.
- Russia lost Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, and parts of Poland.
- It also lost huge amounts of industrial areas.
- Germany imposed reparations (fines) of 300 million Russian rubles.
Why did the Bolsheviks agree?
- The Bolsheviks agreed to this because they needed a quick end to the war to give them space to set up their own system of rule in Russia.
- They also needed to concentrate on dealing with the enormous amount of internal opposition they faced.
- The Bolsheviks did not believe the treaty would last long, as they predicted that revolutions would be sparked across Europe.
A humiliation
- In fact, the treaty was extremely humiliating for Russia and provided fuel for the Bolsheviks’ enemies who felt the government needed to be overthrown in order to restore Russian greatness.
- The nationalists were particularly offended at Russia's humiliation.
Test yourself on The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
How many rubles did Germany impose as reparations?