What is a Civil War?
When someone In The United States hears the word Civil War, they think of the American Civil War between the North who wanted to abolish slavery and the South who wanted to keep it and formed a rebellious unrecognized government. But it is not the Civil War. Many civil wars have happened for many different reasons. A civil war is a domestic war. Rather than two countries fighting, two internal forces within the country are fighting each other. It can be between two groups for control of the state, ethnic or nation tensions against other groups, and a part of the country trying to gain independence. Civil Wars, Their Leaders, and Civil War Forces -American Civil War -Union -Confederacy -Russian Civil War -White Army -Red Army -American Revolution -13 Colonies -Great Britain -War of Independence/Anglo-Irish War -United Kingdom -Irish Republican Army -Chiang Kai-Shek -Mao Zedong -Abraham Lincoln -Lenin -Alexander Kolchak -King George III -Jefferson Davis Importance to the Russian Revolution The abdication of the Czar wasn't the beginning of communism in Russia. It took a long time for the Soviet Union to form. The provisional government put in place afterwards toppled and a civil war broke out. The two armies in the war were the White loyalist army and the Red Bolshevik army. The White army was made up of previous government officials and the Bourgeoisie. They made up about a fifth of the population, but had the access to better weapons and support from Western Europe and The United States that the Red Army didn't have. The Red Army was made up of the Proletariat and had a strong desire for power. They had the majority and a strong will. The Red Army eventually won in 1920 establishing a new government. But that government already had existed for awhile. They both had and claimed control over the whole Russian Empire, but were competing to see who is the sole power and force of the country. |