In the months following the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, the new government faced an immediate and pressing challenge, that being how to survive. Russia remained at war, its economy was collapsing and opposition to Bolshevik rule was growing rapidly across the former Russian Empire. For Vladimir Lenin, the priority was clear. The war had to end. Without peace, the new regime would not last. Negotiations began with Germany, with Leon Trotsky, the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs, playing a central role. The terms offered were severe. Russia would lose vast territories in Eastern Europe, land that contained significant industry, agriculture, and population. Many within the Bolshevik leadership saw this as unacceptable.
Trotsky attempted a compromise, declaring a policy of “neither war nor peace,” wherein Russia would withdraw from the fighting but refuse to sign a treaty. The strategy failed. German forces resumed their advance, meeting little resistance and pushing deeper into Russian territory. Faced with the possibility of total collapse, Lenin insisted that the terms be accepted. In March 1918, the Bolsheviks signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Russia exited the war, but at a heavy cost. Large areas of land were ceded, and the decision proved deeply unpopular. For many, it confirmed fears that the new government was willing to sacrifice the country to maintain power.
At the same time, opposition to Bolshevik rule was hardening into armed resistance. Across the former empire, a wide range of groups, such as monarchists, liberals, moderate socialists, and regional separatists, began to organise against the new regime. These forces would come to be known collectively as the White movement. What united them was opposition to the Bolsheviks. Beyond that, they shared little. Some wanted to restore the monarchy, others to establish a democratic republic, and still others fought primarily for regional independence. This lack of unity would prove to be one of their greatest weaknesses.
The Bolsheviks, by contrast, moved quickly to consolidate control. Their forces, known as the Red Army, were reorganised under the leadership of Trotsky as People’s Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs. Drawing on former Tsarist officers, strict discipline, and control of key transport networks, Trotsky transformed what had been a loose collection of militias into a more effective fighting force. Geography also favoured the Bolsheviks. They held the central regions of Russia, including major cities such as Moscow, which became the new capital in 1918, and Petrograd. This gave them control over industry, railways, and communication lines, allowing them to move troops more efficiently than their opponents, who were scattered across distant fronts.
As the civil war intensified, the Bolsheviks also turned to more extreme measures to maintain control. Policies later known as “War Communism” were introduced, including the forced requisition of grain from peasants to feed the army and cities. At the same time, a campaign of political repression, often referred to as the Red Terror, targeted suspected enemies of the regime. Amid this growing conflict, the fate of the former Tsar became a matter of increasing concern.
Nicholas II and his family were being held under guard in the city of Yekaterinburg, at the Ipatiev House. As anti-Bolshevik forces advanced in the region, there were fears that they might capture the Romanovs and use them as a symbol to rally support. In July 1918, the decision was made to eliminate that possibility. During the night of July 16–17, Nicholas, his family, and several loyal attendants were taken to a basement room under the pretext of relocation. There, they were executed by Bolshevik guards. The killings were carried out quickly but chaotically, and the bodies were later disposed of in secret. The exact chain of command remains debated, but the event marked a definitive end to any realistic restoration of the monarchy.
The conflict soon expanded beyond Russia’s borders. Several Allied powers, including the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, sent limited forces to support anti-Bolshevik elements. Their aim was partly to reopen the Eastern Front against Germany and partly to prevent the spread of revolutionary ideas. However, this intervention was fragmented and ultimately insufficient to turn the tide. By 1919 and 1920, the civil war reached its most intense phase. White forces launched major offensives from multiple directions, but their lack of coordination and conflicting goals undermined their efforts. The Red Army, operating from a central position and benefiting from unified leadership, was able to defeat these advances one by one.
By 1921, organised resistance had largely collapsed. The Bolsheviks emerged victorious, though at an enormous cost. The country had been devastated by years of war, famine, and economic breakdown. In 1922, the Bolsheviks formally established a new state: the Soviet Union. The revolution that had begun with the collapse of Tsarist rule had now culminated in the creation of a new political system, one that would endure for much of the 20th century. Yet the victory in the civil war also shaped the nature of that system. The centralised power, reliance on force, and suppression of opposition that had developed during the conflict did not disappear with peace. Instead, they became defining features of the new state that had emerged from the ruins of the Russian Empire.