Treaty of Brest-Litovsk | World War I

The Brest-Litovsk Treaty (also known as the Peace of Brest in Russia) ended Russia's participation in World War I. It was contracted on March 3, 1918, between the new Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, German Empire and the Ottoman Empire). After two months of discussions, the pact was signed in German-controlled Brest-Litovsk (since 1945, Brest, currently in modern Belarus). The Russians consented to the deal in order to prevent future invasion. According to the treaty, Soviet Russia failed to honor all of Imperial Russia's obligations to the Allies, and eleven states in Eastern Europe and Western Asia gained independence. The treaty gave Germany authority over the Baltic States, which were supposed to become German vassal states ruled by German princelings. Russia also recognized Ukraine's independence and transferred its region of Kars Oblast in the South Caucasus to the Ottoman Empire. "The German General Staff had drafted exceptionally tough terms that surprised even the German negotiator," historian Spencer Tucker writes. Congress Poland was left out of the treaty because the Germans refused to acknowledge the existence of any Polish representatives, prompting Polish objections. When Germans later protested that the Treaty of Versailles in the West of 1919 was too harsh on them, the Allies countered that it was kinder than the Brest-Litovsk terms. The 11 November 1918 Armistice, in which Germany surrendered to the western Allies, revoked the treaty. However, the renunciation of Russia's claims on modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania provided some comfort to the Bolsheviks, who were already fighting the Russian Civil War (1917–1922) following the 1917 Russian Revolutions. It is thought to be the earliest film of a diplomatic treaty.

During World War I, on the Eastern Front, Germany and Imperial Russia were stuck in a stalemate by 1917, and the Russian economy had nearly collapsed under the burden of the war effort. The February Revolution erupted as a result of the enormous number of war losses and continuous food shortages in the major cities, forcing Emperor (Tsar/Czar) Nicholas II to resign. The conflict was resumed by the Russian Provisional Government, which took over from the Tsar in early 1917. Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov promised the Entente Powers that the Provisional Government would continue the war with the same aims as the former Russian Empire in a telegraph known as the Milyukov note. The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, as it is known, is a self-proclaimed Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, commanded by communist troops, resisted the pro-war Provisional Government. Its Order No. 1 mandated that soldier committees, not army officers, be given the ultimate mandate. In March 1917, the Soviet Union began to develop its own paramilitary force, the Red Guards. Due to the ongoing war, the German government agreed to support the opposition Communist Party (Bolsheviks), who advocated for Russia's exit from the conflict. As a result, Germany brought Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin and thirty-one supporters from exile in Switzerland to Finland Station, Petrograd, aboard a sealed train in April 1917. Upon his arrival in Petrograd, Lenin issued his April Theses, which contained a demand that all political authority be transferred to workers' and soldiers' soviets (councils) and that Russia is removed from the war immediately. Around the same time, the US entered the war, potentially tipping the war's balance in favour of the Central Powers. Bolsheviks demanded the toppling of the Provisional Government and the termination of the war throughout 1917. The Russian army's discipline deteriorated dramatically after the devastating failure of the Kerensky Offensive. Soldiers would violate orders and form soldiers' committees to assume control of their units once the officers were deposed, typically under the influence of Bolshevik agitation. Anti-government riots erupted in Petrograd during the "July Days" of 1917 as a result of the defeat and enduring hardships of the war. The Winter Palace was taken over by the Red Guards and the Provisional Government a few months later, on November 7, in what is known as the October Revolution (25 October old style). The newly formed Soviet leadership made ending the conflict a significant priority. Vladimir Lenin signed the Decree for Peace on November 8, 1917 (October 26, 1917, O.S.) after the Second Congress of the Soviet of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies adopted it. The Decree urged "all belligerent nations and their governments to immediately begin peace negotiations" and suggested Russia's exit from World War I. In the new Bolshevik administration, Leon Trotsky was named Commissar of Foreign Affairs. Leon Trotsky nominated his excellent friend Adolph Joffe to represent the Bolsheviks at the peace conference in preparation for talks with representatives of the German government and the other Central Powers.

An armistice was signed between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers on December 15, 1917. Peace talks in Brest-Litovsk began on December 22. General Max Hoffmann, the Central Powers' Chief of Staff Eastern Front Forces, was in charge of planning the meeting (Oberkommando-Ostfront). The delegations in charge of negotiating the armistice were strengthened. Richard von Kühlmann, Germany's foreign minister, and Count Ottokar Czernin, Austria-foreign Hungary's minister, as well as the Ottoman grand vizier Talaat Pasha and Foreign Minister Nassimy Bey, were notable contributions on the Central Powers' side.

Minister of Justice Popoff led the Bulgarian delegation, which was later joined by Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov. Adolph Joffe led the Soviet delegation, which had already led their armistice negotiators, but his group was made more cohesive by removing most of the representatives of social groups, such as peasants and sailors, and adding tsarist general Aleksandr Samoilo and noted Marxist historian Mikhail Pokrovsky. Anastasia Bitsenko, a former assassin who represented the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who were at odds with the Bolsheviks, was still present. Since the city had been burned to the ground by the retreating Russian army in 1915, the negotiators met at the fortress in Brest-Litovsk, and the delegates were housed in makeshift wooden shelters in its courtyards. Prince Leopold of Bavaria, the German commander of the Eastern Front, greeted them warmly and sat at the head table with Joffe at the opening feast with a hundred guests. Both sides continued to have dinner and supper together in the officers' mess, as they had done during the armistice discussions. When the meeting began, Kühlmann asked Joffe to convey the Russian peace requirements. He proposed six points, all of which were variations on the Bolshevik slogan of "no annexations or indemnities" for peace.

The Central Powers agreed to the principles "but only if all belligerents [including the Entente nations] pledge themselves to do the same without exception." They had no intention of annexing territory that had been taken by force. Joffe informed Petrograd of the wonderful news. Colonel Friedrich Brinckmann, one of Hoffmann's aides, discovered that the Russians had optimistically misread the Central Powers' intentions thanks to an informal conversation in a mess. At a luncheon on December 27, Hoffmann clarified the situation: Poland, Lithuania, and Courland, which had already been captured by the Central Powers, were resolved to secede from Russia based on the concept of self-determination, which the Bolsheviks had supported. Joffe "appeared to have taken a blow to the head." Pokrovsky sobbed as he questioned how they could talk about "peace without annexations" when Germany was ripping eighteen regions from the Russian state. The Germans and Austro-Hungarians planned to acquire parts of Poland and form a rudimentary Polish state out of the rest. Client states administered by German princes were to be established in the Baltic regions. Czernin was furious at the stumbling block in the discussions; self-determination was anathema to his government, and they needed grain from the east quickly since Vienna was starving. He advocated a separate peace treaty.

Kühlmann said that if they negotiated separately, Germany would withdraw all of its troops from the Austrian front immediately; Czernin backed down. The Vienna food crisis was eventually alleviated by "forced imports of grain from Hungary, Poland, and Romania, as well as a last-minute contribution of 450 truckloads of wheat from Germany." They agreed to a twelve-day break in the discussions at Russia's request. The Soviets' main hope was that time would convince their friends to join the negotiations or that the western European proletariat would revolt; therefore, prolonging the negotiations was their best approach. "To postpone negotiations, someone must undertake the delaying," wrote Foreign Minister Leon Trotsky. As a result, Trotsky took over as leader from Joffe. Significant political realignments occurred, on the other hand. The Kaiser insisted on Hoffmann revealing his thoughts on the future German-Polish boundary on New Year's Day in Berlin. He argued for a tiny chunk of Poland, although Hindenburg and Ludendorff want far more. They were upset with Hoffmann because he had broken the chain of command and demanded that he be removed and assigned to head a division.

The Kaiser refused, but Ludendorff stopped talking to Hoffmann over the phone because they were now communicating through an intermediary. The German Supreme Commanders were likewise enraged that annexations were not allowed, claiming that the peace "must boost Germany's material power." They slandered Kühlmann and campaigned for more land acquisitions. “To protect my left flank in case the next conflict breaks out," Hindenburg said when asked why they wanted the Baltic States. The most significant change was the arrival to Brest-Litovsk of a delegation from the Ukrainian Rada, which had declared independence from Russia. They would make peace and supply much-needed food if they were handed the Polish city of Cholm and its surroundings. Czernin was no longer in a hurry to reach an agreement with the Russians. When they met again, Trotsky turned down the request to see Prince Leopold and ended sharing lunches and other friendly interactions with Central Powers representatives.

Trotsky "engaged Kühlmann in dispute day after day, escalating to sophisticated discussions of first principles that stretched well beyond the actual territorial questions that split them." Even after the Russians had retaken Kiev, the Central Powers signed a peace pact with Ukraine on the night of February 8–9. To support the Rada, German and Austro-Hungarian troops entered Ukraine. Finally, Hoffmann was able to break the impasse with the Russians by focusing the conversation on future boundary maps. “Germany and Austria-Hungary are taking off more than 150,000 square kilometres of land from the ancient Russian Empire's territories," Trotsky summarized their predicament. He was given a nine-day break to allow the Russians to decide whether or not to sign the document. Trotsky pushed vehemently against signing in Petrograd, proposing instead that “They should declare the war to be over and demobilize without signing any peace treaties."

After a few extra weeks of military humiliation, Lenin decided to sign rather than have an even more disastrous pact forced upon them. Germany, Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria, according to the "Left Communists" led by Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek, were all on the edge of revolution. While they awaited the upheavals, they hoped to continue the struggle with a newly formed revolutionary force. As a result, when the negotiations reconvened on February 10, 1918, Lenin accepted Trotsky's premise, which might be summarized as "no war – no peace." The Soviets believed their stalling was working until Hoffmann informed them on February 16 that the war would restart in two days, and fifty-three divisions would advance against the nearly empty Soviet lines. On the night of February 18, the Central Committee voted seven to five in favour of Lenin's resolution to sign the treaty. Hoffmann persisted until February 23rd, when he submitted new proposals that included the removal of all Soviet soldiers from Ukraine and Finland.

The Soviets had 48 hours to begin discussions with the Germans and another 72 hours to finish them. "You must sign this terrible peace in order to save the world revolution," Lenin warned the Central Committee. He would quit if they did not reach an agreement. Six members of the Central Committee voted for him, three voted against him, and Trotsky and three others abstained. Left SRs mocked Lenin as a traitor during the All-Russian Central Executive Committee debate. By a vote of 116 to 85, the measure was passed. Georgy Chicherin took over as Foreign Minister after Trotsky quit. When Sokolnikov arrived in Brest-Litovsk, he said, "We are going to sign the treaty offered to us as an ultimatum as soon as possible, but we will refuse to consider its conditions." On March 3, 1918, at 17:50, the pact was signed.

Signing

On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed. On one side, Soviet Russia, signed by Grigori Sokolnikov, and on the other, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire. Russia's complete withdrawal from World War I as an enemy of her co-signatories was recognized by the pact. Overall, the pact took away land that included a quarter of the old Russian Empire's population and economy, as well as nine-tenths of its coal mines.

Territorial Cessions in Eastern Europe

All territorial claims in Finland (which it had already acknowledged), the Baltic nations (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), the majority of Belarus, and Ukraine were relinquished by Russia. The region of the Kingdom of Poland was not defined in the treaty since Russian Poland had been a property of the white movement rather than the Bolsheviks. "Germany and Austria-Hungary want to determine the future fate of these areas in consultation with their citizens," the pact said. The majority of the regions were effectively given to Germany to make economic and political dependent. The ruling class would be made up of the many ethnic German residents (Volksdeutsche). In Lithuania and the United Baltic Duchy, new kingdoms were established (which comprised the modern countries of Latvia and Estonia). The rulers were German nobility Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach (in Lithuania) and Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (in the United Baltic Duchy).

"German prestige necessitates that we retain a firm protecting hand, not only over German citizens but overall Germans," German Colonel General Erich Ludendorff wrote in his plan. The annexation of Western Russia proved to be a costly blunder for Berlin, as over one million German troops remained idle from Poland to the Caspian Sea, depriving Germany of much-needed human resources in France. The dreams of using Ukraine's grain and coal were dashed, and the local population grew increasingly irritated with the occupation. Revolts and guerilla warfare erupted across the conquered region, many of which were sparked by Bolshevik agents. German troops were also called upon to engage in the Finnish Civil War, and Ludendorff was increasingly concerned that propaganda originating from Moscow would damage his men, which was one of the reasons he was hesitant to move divisions to the Western Front. Under German leadership, an attempt to form an independent Ukrainian state was also fruitless.

Ludendorff, on the other hand, absolutely dismissed the concept of marching on Moscow and Petrograd to depose the Bolshevik government. For the 1918 Spring Offensive, Germany sent hundreds of thousands of veteran troops to the Western Front, shocking the Allies but eventually failing. Later, several Germans blamed the occupation for thwarting the Spring Offensive. Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine gained independence, while Bessarabia was absorbed into Romania. Russia lost 34% of its people, 54% of its industrial area, 89 per cent of its coalfields, and 26% of its railways during the Cold War. A fine of 300 million gold marks was also imposed on Russia.

Territorial Cessions in the Caucasus

The pact stated that the area Russia captured from the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), notably Ardahan, Kars, and Batumi, would be returned at Talaat Pasha's request. This territory was effectively controlled by Armenian and Georgian soldiers at the time of the treaty. The districts of Kars, Erdehan and Batum, will likewise and without delay be evacuated of Russian forces, according to paragraph 3 of Article IV of the pact. Russia will not intervene in the reconstruction of these districts' national and international ties. Still, it will leave it up to the people of these areas, in cooperation with neighbouring states, to do so, notably the Ottoman Empire. The treaty was rejected by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, who declared independence instead. They founded the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, which lasted only a few years.

Soviet-German Financial Agreement of August 1918

Following the Soviet rejection of Tsarist bonds, the nationalization and confiscation of foreign-owned property, and the invasion of Entente forces on Russian soil, the Soviets and on August 27, 1918, Germany signed a new pact. The Soviets promised to compensate Germany for its losses by paying six billion marks. In addition, Russia will pay Germany six billion marks in compensation for damages suffered by Germans as a result of Russian actions; comparable claims on Russia's part will also be considered, following the signing of the peace treaty, the worth of supplies confiscated in Russia by German military forces will be determined. It was a total of 300 million rubles. In addition, the Soviets agreed to sell Germany 25% of the output of the Baku oil resources. Three secret sections called for German military action on Russian soil against Entente forces, as well as the removal of British soldiers from Baku.

The treaty meant that Russia was now assisting Germany in winning the war by "relinquishing much of Russia's food supply, industrial foundation, fuel supplies, and communications with Western Europe" and by "freeing up a million German men for the Western Front." The Allies believed, according to historian Spencer Tucker, that "The Treaty of Versailles was the greatest betrayal of the Allies' cause, laying the groundwork for the Cold War. With Brest-Litovsk, the spectra of German dominance in Eastern Europe loomed large, prompting the Allies to seriously consider military involvement [in Russia]." The terms that Germany placed on Russia were seen by the Western Allied Powers as a warning of what would happen if the Central Powers won the war.

Between Brest-Litovsk and the moment when the situation on the Western Front grew desperate, some German government and high command officials began to support providing the Allies more liberal terms in exchange for acknowledgement of German successes in the east. The treaty signified a major reduction in the territory that the Bolsheviks controlled or could claim as the Russian Empire's effective heirs. While they had already acknowledged Poland's independence in theory, and Lenin had signed a paper admitting Finland's independence, the loss of Ukraine and the Baltics offered potential grounds for anti-Bolshevik military activity in the later Russian Civil War (1918–1922). Bolshevik control of Ukraine and Transcaucasia was shaky or non-existent at the time. The Bolsheviks' treaty adoption enraged many Russian patriots and revolutionaries, who banded together to fight them. Non-Russians who lived on the Bolshevik-acquired lands the modifications were viewed by Russia as an opportunity to establish autonomous states in the pact. Lenin moved the Soviet administration from Petrograd to Moscow shortly after the pact was signed. The bourgeoisie, social revolutionaries, Tsarist diplomats, Tsarist bureaucrats, "the Kerenskys, Tseretelis, and Chernovs," the Tsarist state, and the "petty-bourgeois compromisers," according to Trotsky, were all to blame for the peace treaty.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk created a lasting schism between the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries in Russia. The Left SRs assassinated German Ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach in July 1918 in the hopes of persuading Germany to repeal the Treaty of Versailles, sparking the Left SR Uprising. Russia's relations with the Central Powers were tumultuous. In May 1918, the Ottoman Empire violated the Treaty of Lausanne by invading the newly formed First Republic of Armenia. Joffe was appointed as the Soviet Union's ambassador to Germany. His top objective was to disseminate misinformation in order to spark the German revolution. "The Soviet courier's packing case had 'gone to pieces'" in a Berlin railway station on November 4, 1918; it was stuffed with insurgent documents. On November 5, 1918, Joffe and his employees were evicted from Germany in a sealed train. One paragraph of the 1918 Armistice that concluded World War I annulled the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. On November 13, 1918, the Bolshevik legislature (VTsIK) invalidated the treaty, and the text of the VTsIK Decision was published the next day in the journal Pravda. A year after the ceasefire, the German Army withdrew its occupying soldiers from the region gained at Brest-Litovsk, according to a timeline agreed by the victorious.

Over the next three and a half years, violent and chaotic fights determined the fate of the region and the placement of the Soviet Union's final western border. The Polish-Soviet War was exceptionally abusive, and it ended in 1921 with the Treaty of Riga. Although the majority of Ukraine fell under Bolshevik control and subsequently became one of the Soviet Union's constituent republics, Poland and the Baltic states regained their independence. Germany recognized the Treaty of Rapallo's nullification in April 1922, and the two powers agreed to drop all war-related territorial and financial claims against each other. This situation persisted until 1939. The Soviet Union stretched its frontiers westward as part of the secret protocol of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact by invading Poland in September 1939, annexing the Baltic States and Romania (Bessarabia) in 1940, and capturing a tiny section of Finland in November 1939. With the exception of Finland's central region, western Congress Poland, and western Armenia, it reversed practically all of the territorial losses suffered at Brest-Litovsk.

Richard von Kühlmann invited Emil Orlik, a Viennese Secessionist artist, to attend the meeting. He created portraits of all the attendees, as well as a series of caricatures. These were compiled into a book, Brest-Litovsk, which every one of the participants received a copy of.