The establishment of the Soviet regime in Russia evoked strong reaction in the western countries

The establishment of the Soviet regime in Russia evoked strong reac­tion in the western countries. They saw in the Russian Revolution a preclude to the world revolution and were, therefore, naturally determined to destroy it.

The decision of new Russian Government to withdraw from the war without consulting her allies also made them furious. Above all, the announcement by the Bolshevik leaders that they would not pay the foreign debts of the former government and open advocacy of world revo­lution also greatly irritated the western powers, and they started looking for an opportunity to oust the Communists. The opportunity was provided when trouble broke out in Soviet Russia following refusal by the Czecho­slovak Brigade (formed during the early years of First World War to fight against Germany) to give up their arms as demanded by the Soviet Government.

Trotsky, the Soviet People’s Commissar for war ordered their forcible disarming and detention. However, the Soviet forces were not strong enough to implement these orders and the Czechoslovaks with the support of the anti-Communist force captured Chelyabinsk on 26 May, Tomsk on 31 May, Omsk on 7 June, Samara on 8 June and Vladivoistok on 29 June.

The Czechs, also extended support to various local govern­ments which were set up at various places. Encouraged by these initial successes of the Czechs, the Allied Powers extended necessary help with a view to oust the Communists. The initiative in this regard was taken by France which called upon the Czech troops to abandon their plans for leaving Russia and encouraged them to acquire complete control over the Trans-Siberian Rail-road.

On 2 July 1918 the Allied Supreme War Council approved the plan for armed intervention in Russia. As per plan additional Allied troops landed at Vladivostok and moved westward to give support to the Czech and anti- Communist Russians. It may be noted that with the exception of the Japanese, the Allied forces in Russia did not directly take part in fighting and merely extended material and financial support to the anti-Bolshevik armies.

It may be noted that the Allied intervention in Russia began as a war measure against Germany but speedily assumed the character of a domes­tic and foreign crusade against the revolutionary dictatorship.

The Allied powers won some initial advantage and towards the close of 1918 and throughout 1919 it appeared that Lenin’s governments would not be able to cope with the foreign intervention and domestic revolt. The Allied troops with the help of Russian malcontents captures Archangel in the north and the Crimean peninsula in the south.

They also over ran the greater part of Siberia from the East. But gradually the Communists gained an upper hand over the adversaries which suffered from chronic dissensions and uncertainties. In contrast to this, says Hayes, “There was no like uncertainty among the Bolsheviks as to what they expected to do, and with singleness of purpose they combined a fanaticism, a ruthlessness, and withal an adroitness of popular propaganda and an adeptness at mili­tary organization which were of inestimate advantage to them.”

After being convinced that Bolsheviks could not be defeated through the civil war, the Allies decided to withdraw their troops from Russia. The French left Odessa in April. The British withdraw from Caucasus in summer.

However, a small British force remained in Batum upto July 1920. Similarly, the British, American and European troops were with­drawn from Siberia in the autumn of 1919. The Japanese were the last to withdraw from Russia. They remained in Vladivostok until 1922 and in Sakhalin until 1925. It is noteworthy that before evacuting Russia the Japanese secured concessions for exploitation of oil and coal.

By 1920 the Allied effort to destroy Russian Communism had failed. The foreign governments had been so badly shattered by the war that they were not in a position to conduct extensive military operations in Russia. Germany was virtually impotent.

France which was too war-weary and pre-occupied with the idea of penalizing Germany was not in a position to undertake forceful debt collection in Russia even though she had substan­tial financial investments in the country. Great Britain also became less enthusiastic because of her own imperialist problems and the pacifist atti­tude of the Labour Party. Similarly, Japan was more interested in obtain­ing privileges in near-by China than in overthrowing a government in Russia.

Similarly, the Russian ambition to bring about a world revolution also did not succeed. It did encourage outbreaks in Germany and Hungary in 1919 but the same were quickly suppressed. The Comintern at Moscow, despite every possible encouragement to Communist parties in other countries, could not secure Communist governments in any of these countries.

It was only in Outer Mongolia that Moscow succeeded in installing a puppet Communist Government in 1924. By and large the Russian leaders were convinced that the Soviet Union would have to live side by side with the non-Communist world.