|
White Russians, name given to members and supporters of the counterrevolutionary White armies, which fought against the Bolshevik Red Army in the Russian Civil War (1918-1921). Following the 1917 Russian Revolution that overthrew the monarchy, resistance was quickly organized against the Bolshevik forces commanded by Leon Trotsky. The White forces were initially led by former imperial officers, General Lavr Kornilov and General Anton Denikin, and was supported by socialist revolutionaries and right-wing social democrats. Fearful of the spread of Communism, Britain, the United States, Italy, and Germany intervened on the White side, supplying military and financial support. Despite this combined force, the White forces were unable to gain victory over the Red Army. Kornilov was killed in April 1918, and following major defeats under Denikin the leadership of the White forces passed to General Pyotr Wrangel, in April 1920. Further defeats followed, and during 1920 the Red Army took Caucasia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. The Whites were finally defeated in 1921, due to their own lack of unity and because the Red Army had ruthlessly implemented the policy of “War Communism,” which included seizing food from the peasantry and other property important to the war effort without payment. After the defeat of the Whites, the Bolsheviks established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
| 
