World at War  /  Conflicts  /  Recorded History
World at War

Russian Revolution & Civil War

1917–1922 Russia / Eastern Europe Status: ended Casualties: ~7–12 million (battle + famine + terror)

The October Revolution overthrew the Provisional Government. A brutal civil war followed. The Red Army prevailed by 1922, establishing the USSR. Famine and terror killed millions.

Open on the interactive globe → Wikipedia ↗

Belligerents

  • Bolshevik Red Army
  • White Army
  • Allied interventions
  • Green armies

Casualties

~7–12 million (battle + famine + terror)

Key events

  • 1918 — Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  • 1919 — White advances at peak
  • 1920 — Polish-Soviet War
  • 1922 — USSR founded

Aftermath

Founded the Soviet Union — first communist state, lasted 69 years. Established the model of single-party authoritarianism, secret police (Cheka → KGB), and industrialization-by-terror that would shape the 20th century. Birthed the global communist movement.

Weapons & matériel

  • Mosin-Nagant rifles
  • Maxim machine guns on tachanka carts
  • WWI-surplus artillery
  • Armoured trains
  • First Soviet tanks (mostly captured)
  • Cavalry (Red & White)

Cost

Russian economy contracted ~90% by 1921; war communism caused famine of 1921–22 (~5M dead)

Sources

  • Evan Mawdsley, The Russian Civil War
  • Orlando Figes
From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.