Treaty of Brest Litovsk
After the decree asking for peace between Russia and the Central Powers was signed, Trotsky was appointed Commissar Of Foreign Affairs in the new Bolshevik Government to ask for an armistice. In preparation for the important conference between Russia and the Central Powers, Trotsky's best friend, Adolph Joffe, was appointed as Russia's representative. The official armistice was concluded on 10 November and signed the next day, with hostilities ceasing in effect on 15 November. That day, the last naval action saw a Russian destroyer damaged by an explosion, but it was suspected to be by a mine and peace negotiations were not affected.
Germany was represented by Foreign Secretary Richard Von Kuhlmann and chief of staff for Eastern Front armies Max Hoffmann, Austria-Hungary by Foreign Mister Ottokar Czernin and Turkey by one of the "three Pashas", Talaat Pasha himself. The Russian representatives were all radicals and supporters of world revolution. They were led by Joffe, a veteran Red agitator, and included Anastasia Bizenko, who had assassinated a high Imperial official.
At the start of the negotiations, the two sides were far apart.
German plans for Eastern Europe included annexing most of Russian Poland, with Austria to receive a smaller piece. A rump Polish state would be established to act as a buffer between Germany and Russia. In addition, Ukraine would be detached as an independent state under German protection, while the Baltic states were to be annexed directly into Germany and ruled by German princes. The Bolsheviks, however, declared that they sought a peace without any indemnities or territorial concessions. The Germans decided that they could leave the Ukraine alone when news of the Italian defeat at Caporetto and a convoy slipped through the British blockade when the cruisers were destroyed by a battlecruiser raid into the North Atlantic.
After a week of negotiations, the Central Powers delegation withdrew from the conference on November 28 to consider the Bolshevik peace proposals. Over December of 1917, the Central Powers released a declaration stating that they were in favor of the separate peace with all the Allies without indemnities and without annexations, provided the peace was immediate and all belligerents took part in the negotiations. But this did not supersede the demand for the "independence" of Poland and Lithuania. Reassurances from the German side that Berlin wished only for a peaceful, equitable resolution to the conflict met with an angry reply from Joffe, "Then why do you wish to tear eighteen provinces from us!?".
Lenin was in favor of signing this agreement immediately. He thought that only an immediate peace would allow the young Bolshevik government to consolidate power in Russia. However, he was virtually alone in this opinion among the Bolsheviks on the Central Committee.
For the second round of negotiations, Trotsky replaced Joffe as the head of the Soviet delegation. Meanwhile, Count Czernin announced that if negotiations between Berlin and Petrograd failed, then Austria would seek a separate peace with the latter. Kuhlmann then told the ambassador that such an action would result in Germany withdrawing all its divisions from the Austrian frontier, so Czernin promptly dropped that offer. He also asked General Hindenburg why exactly he sought the annexation of the Baltic states and was told, "To secure my left flank for when the next war happens and to ensure that our pride wouldn't be diminished".
The Bolsheviks had long espoused the right of national peoples to self-determination as a part of the anti-imperialist struggle.
However, while Lenin wanted peace immediately, others from the Bolshevik Central Committee were ambivalent or disagreed. The "Left Communists" faction of Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek wanted to continue the war until final victory or communist revolution and surrender of at least one of the Central Powers.
Von Kuhlman and Hoffmann now proposed independence for the Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine, as in accordance with the Soviets' own national self-determination doctrine. Indeed, the Germans were already negotiating with a separatist government in Ukraine. On January 9, 1918, Germany recognized that government and signed a treaty with it, the first Treaty of Brest Litovsk. Frustrated with continued German demands for cessions of territory, Trotsky on January 10 announced a new policy. Russia unilaterally declared an end of hostilities against the Central Powers, and Russia withdrew from peace negotiations with the Central Powers - a position summed up as "no war — no peace". Other Bolshevik leaders denounced Trotsky for exceeding his instructions and exposing Soviet Russia to the threat of invasion. Trotsky subsequently defended his action on the grounds that the Bolshevik leaders had originally entered the peace talks in the hope of exposing their enemies' territorial ambitions and rousing the workers of central Europe to revolution in defense of Russia's new workers' state.
The Central Powers denounced the treaty and continued their advance from Estonia on 25 January. In a week's time, they were in reach of Petrograd. The Central Powers then sent new peace terms, demanding not only the occupation of the Baltic states and Poland, but also Ukraine. With a threatened Petrograd, the Bolsheviks conceded to the German requests and the final peace treaty was signed on 8 February 1918. With the terms to be agreed to within 48 hours or their capture of Petrograd, the Bolsheviks hastily agreed. The Russian Army also disbanded itself and a final peace treaty was signed on 12 February with recently independent Ukraine. The treaty finally marked Russia's withdrawal from World War 1 as an enemy of the Central Powers in a humiliating manner. A quarter of Russia's population was gone, along with many coal mines.
As to territorial amendments, Russia relinquished control and claims over Finland, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. The treaty stated that "Germany and Austria-Hungary intend to determine the future fate of these territories in agreement with their populations." Most of these territories were in effect ceded to Germany, which intended to have them become economic and political dependencies. The many ethnic German residents (volksdeutsch) would be the ruling elite in these German puppet states. Two new monarchies were created: in Lithuania, and Latvia and Estonia, with German aristocrats as rulers. At the insistance of Talaat Pasha, former Ottoman provinces lost in the Russian Turkish War of 1877-78 were returned, especially Ardahan; Kars and Batumi. In the wake of Russian repudiation of Tsarist bonds, nationalisation of foreign-owned property and confiscation of foreign assets, Russia and Germany signed an additional agreement on August 27, 1918. Russia agreed to pay six billion marks to compensate for German losses.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_papiermark
For the Western Allies, the terms which Germany imposed on Russia in this treaty were considered a sign of what to expect if Germany and the other Central Powers won the war, at least with Paris and/or Calais in German hands. Between Brest-Litovsk and the point when the German military situation in the west became critical in 1919, some officials in the German government and high command began to favor offering more lenient terms to the Entente in exchange for their recognition of German gains in the east.
After the decree asking for peace between Russia and the Central Powers was signed, Trotsky was appointed Commissar Of Foreign Affairs in the new Bolshevik Government to ask for an armistice. In preparation for the important conference between Russia and the Central Powers, Trotsky's best friend, Adolph Joffe, was appointed as Russia's representative. The official armistice was concluded on 10 November and signed the next day, with hostilities ceasing in effect on 15 November. That day, the last naval action saw a Russian destroyer damaged by an explosion, but it was suspected to be by a mine and peace negotiations were not affected.
Germany was represented by Foreign Secretary Richard Von Kuhlmann and chief of staff for Eastern Front armies Max Hoffmann, Austria-Hungary by Foreign Mister Ottokar Czernin and Turkey by one of the "three Pashas", Talaat Pasha himself. The Russian representatives were all radicals and supporters of world revolution. They were led by Joffe, a veteran Red agitator, and included Anastasia Bizenko, who had assassinated a high Imperial official.
At the start of the negotiations, the two sides were far apart.
German plans for Eastern Europe included annexing most of Russian Poland, with Austria to receive a smaller piece. A rump Polish state would be established to act as a buffer between Germany and Russia. In addition, Ukraine would be detached as an independent state under German protection, while the Baltic states were to be annexed directly into Germany and ruled by German princes. The Bolsheviks, however, declared that they sought a peace without any indemnities or territorial concessions. The Germans decided that they could leave the Ukraine alone when news of the Italian defeat at Caporetto and a convoy slipped through the British blockade when the cruisers were destroyed by a battlecruiser raid into the North Atlantic.
After a week of negotiations, the Central Powers delegation withdrew from the conference on November 28 to consider the Bolshevik peace proposals. Over December of 1917, the Central Powers released a declaration stating that they were in favor of the separate peace with all the Allies without indemnities and without annexations, provided the peace was immediate and all belligerents took part in the negotiations. But this did not supersede the demand for the "independence" of Poland and Lithuania. Reassurances from the German side that Berlin wished only for a peaceful, equitable resolution to the conflict met with an angry reply from Joffe, "Then why do you wish to tear eighteen provinces from us!?".
Lenin was in favor of signing this agreement immediately. He thought that only an immediate peace would allow the young Bolshevik government to consolidate power in Russia. However, he was virtually alone in this opinion among the Bolsheviks on the Central Committee.
For the second round of negotiations, Trotsky replaced Joffe as the head of the Soviet delegation. Meanwhile, Count Czernin announced that if negotiations between Berlin and Petrograd failed, then Austria would seek a separate peace with the latter. Kuhlmann then told the ambassador that such an action would result in Germany withdrawing all its divisions from the Austrian frontier, so Czernin promptly dropped that offer. He also asked General Hindenburg why exactly he sought the annexation of the Baltic states and was told, "To secure my left flank for when the next war happens and to ensure that our pride wouldn't be diminished".
The Bolsheviks had long espoused the right of national peoples to self-determination as a part of the anti-imperialist struggle.
However, while Lenin wanted peace immediately, others from the Bolshevik Central Committee were ambivalent or disagreed. The "Left Communists" faction of Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek wanted to continue the war until final victory or communist revolution and surrender of at least one of the Central Powers.
Von Kuhlman and Hoffmann now proposed independence for the Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine, as in accordance with the Soviets' own national self-determination doctrine. Indeed, the Germans were already negotiating with a separatist government in Ukraine. On January 9, 1918, Germany recognized that government and signed a treaty with it, the first Treaty of Brest Litovsk. Frustrated with continued German demands for cessions of territory, Trotsky on January 10 announced a new policy. Russia unilaterally declared an end of hostilities against the Central Powers, and Russia withdrew from peace negotiations with the Central Powers - a position summed up as "no war — no peace". Other Bolshevik leaders denounced Trotsky for exceeding his instructions and exposing Soviet Russia to the threat of invasion. Trotsky subsequently defended his action on the grounds that the Bolshevik leaders had originally entered the peace talks in the hope of exposing their enemies' territorial ambitions and rousing the workers of central Europe to revolution in defense of Russia's new workers' state.
The Central Powers denounced the treaty and continued their advance from Estonia on 25 January. In a week's time, they were in reach of Petrograd. The Central Powers then sent new peace terms, demanding not only the occupation of the Baltic states and Poland, but also Ukraine. With a threatened Petrograd, the Bolsheviks conceded to the German requests and the final peace treaty was signed on 8 February 1918. With the terms to be agreed to within 48 hours or their capture of Petrograd, the Bolsheviks hastily agreed. The Russian Army also disbanded itself and a final peace treaty was signed on 12 February with recently independent Ukraine. The treaty finally marked Russia's withdrawal from World War 1 as an enemy of the Central Powers in a humiliating manner. A quarter of Russia's population was gone, along with many coal mines.
As to territorial amendments, Russia relinquished control and claims over Finland, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. The treaty stated that "Germany and Austria-Hungary intend to determine the future fate of these territories in agreement with their populations." Most of these territories were in effect ceded to Germany, which intended to have them become economic and political dependencies. The many ethnic German residents (volksdeutsch) would be the ruling elite in these German puppet states. Two new monarchies were created: in Lithuania, and Latvia and Estonia, with German aristocrats as rulers. At the insistance of Talaat Pasha, former Ottoman provinces lost in the Russian Turkish War of 1877-78 were returned, especially Ardahan; Kars and Batumi. In the wake of Russian repudiation of Tsarist bonds, nationalisation of foreign-owned property and confiscation of foreign assets, Russia and Germany signed an additional agreement on August 27, 1918. Russia agreed to pay six billion marks to compensate for German losses.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_papiermark
For the Western Allies, the terms which Germany imposed on Russia in this treaty were considered a sign of what to expect if Germany and the other Central Powers won the war, at least with Paris and/or Calais in German hands. Between Brest-Litovsk and the point when the German military situation in the west became critical in 1919, some officials in the German government and high command began to favor offering more lenient terms to the Entente in exchange for their recognition of German gains in the east.
Last edited: