We publish information, the topic of which has already been raised more than once on the pages of the Virtual Brest portal. The author's view on the topic of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, new-old photos of Brest of those years, historical figures on our streets...
Surrender at Brest-Litovsk
Brest Peace, Brest-Litovsk (Brest) Peace Treaty - a separate peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918 in Brest-Litovsk by representatives of Soviet Russia, on the one hand, and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria) - on the other. It marked the defeat and exit of Russia from the First World War.
On November 19 (December 2), the Soviet delegation, headed by A. A. Ioffe, arrived in the neutral zone and proceeded to Brest-Litovsk, which housed the Headquarters of the German command on the Eastern Front, where it met with the delegation of the Austro-German bloc, which included also representatives of Bulgaria and Turkey.
The building where the peace talks were held 
Armistice negotiations with Germany began in Brest-Litovsk on November 20 (December 3), 1917. On the same day, N. V. Krylenko arrived at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in Mogilev, who assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief.
Arrival of the German delegation to Brest-Litovsk
the truce is concluded for 6 months;
hostilities are suspended on all fronts;
German troops are being withdrawn from Riga and the Moonsund Islands;
any transfer of German troops to the Western Front is prohibited.
As a result of the negotiations, an interim agreement was reached:
the truce is concluded for the period from November 24 (December 7) to December 4 (17);
troops remain in their positions;
all transfers of troops are stopped, except for those that have already begun.
Peace talks in Brest-Litovsk. Arrival of Russian delegates. In the middle is A. A. Ioffe, next to him is secretary L. Karakhan, A. A. Bitsenko, on the right is L. B. Kamenev
Peace negotiations began on December 9 (22), 1917. The delegations of the states of the Quadruple Union were headed by: from Germany - Secretary of State of the Foreign Office R. von Kühlmann; from Austria-Hungary - Minister of Foreign Affairs Count O. Chernin; from Bulgaria, Minister of Justice Popov; from Turkey - Chairman of the Majlis Talaat Bey.
The officers of the Hindenburg headquarters meet the arriving delegation of the RSFSR on the platform of Brest in early 1918
The conference was opened by the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, and Kühlmann took the chair.
Arrival of the Russian delegation
The Soviet delegation at the first stage included 5 commissioners - members of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee: the Bolsheviks A. A. Ioffe - the chairman of the delegation, L. B. Kamenev (Rozenfeld) and G. Ya. Sokolnikov (Brilliant), the Socialist-Revolutionaries A. A. Bitsenko and S. D. Maslovsky-Mstislavsky, 8 members of the military delegation (Quartermaster General under the Supreme Commander of the General Staff, Major General V. E. Skalon, General Yu. N. Danilov, who was under the Chief of the General Staff, Rear Admiral V. M. Altvater, head of the Nikolaev Military Academy of the General Staff, General A. I. Andogsky, Quartermaster General of the Headquarters of the 10th Army of the General Staff, General A. A. Samoilo, Colonel D. G. Fokke, Lieutenant Colonel I. Ya. Tseplit, Captain V. Lipsky), secretary of the delegation L. M. Karakhan, 3 translators and 6 technical employees, as well as 5 ordinary members of the delegation - sailor F. V. Olich, soldier N. K. Belyakov, Kaluga peasant R. I. Stashkov, worker P. A. Obukhov , warrant officer of the fleet K. Ya. Zedin.
The leaders of the Russian delegation arrived at the Brest-Litovsk station. From left to right: Major Brinkmann, Joffe, Mrs. Birenko, Kamenev, Karakhan.
The resumption of armistice negotiations, which involved agreeing on conditions and signing a treaty, was overshadowed by the tragedy in the Russian delegation. Upon arrival in Brest on November 29 (December 12), 1917, before the opening of the conference, during a private meeting of the Soviet delegation, a representative of the Stavka in a group of military consultants, Major General V. E. Skalon, shot himself.
Armistice in Brest-Litovsk. Members of the Russian delegation after arriving at the Brest-Litovsk station. From left to right: Major Brinkman, A. A. Ioffe, A. A. Bitsenko, L. B. Kamenev, Karakhan.
Proceeding from the general principles of the Decree on Peace, the Soviet delegation already at one of the first meetings proposed to adopt the following program as the basis for negotiations:
No forced annexation of territories captured during the war is allowed; the troops occupying these territories are withdrawn as soon as possible.
The full political independence of the peoples who were deprived of this independence during the war is being restored.
National groups that did not have political independence before the war are guaranteed the opportunity to freely decide the question of belonging to any state or their state independence through a free referendum.
Cultural-national and, under certain conditions, administrative autonomy of national minorities is ensured.
Refusal of contributions.
Solution of colonial issues on the basis of the above principles.
Prevention of indirect restrictions on the freedom of weaker nations by stronger nations.
Trotsky L.D., Ioffe A. and Rear Admiral V. Altvater are going to the meeting. Brest-Litovsk.
After a three-day discussion by the countries of the German block of Soviet proposals on the evening of December 12 (25), 1917, R. von Kuhlmann made a statement that Germany and its allies accept these proposals. At the same time, a reservation was made that nullified Germany's consent to peace without annexations and indemnities: “It is necessary, however, to indicate with complete clarity that the proposals of the Russian delegation could be implemented only if all the powers involved in the war , without exception and without reservation, certain period pledged to strictly observe the conditions common to all peoples.
L. Trotsky in Brest-Litovsk
Noting that the German bloc had joined the Soviet formula of peace "without annexations and indemnities," the Soviet delegation proposed a ten-day break, during which one could try to bring the Entente countries to the negotiating table.
Near the building where the negotiations were held. Arrival of delegations. Left (with beard and glasses) A. A. Ioffe
During the break, however, it turned out that Germany understands a world without annexations differently than the Soviet delegation - for Germany, we are not at all talking about the withdrawal of troops to the borders of 1914 and the withdrawal of German troops from the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire especially since, according to the German statement, Lithuania and Courland have already declared themselves in favor of secession from Russia, so that if these three countries now enter into negotiations with Germany about their future fate, this will by no means be considered an annexation by Germany.
Peace talks in Brest-Litovsk. Representatives of the Central Powers, in the middle Ibrahim Hakki Pasha and Count Ottokar Czernin von und zu Khudenitz on their way to negotiations
On December 14 (27), the Soviet delegation at the second meeting of the political commission made a proposal: “In full agreement with the open statement of both contracting parties that they have no conquest plans and that they want to make peace without annexations. Russia is withdrawing its troops from the parts of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Persia it occupies, and the powers of the Quadruple Alliance from Poland, Lithuania, Courland and other regions of Russia. Soviet Russia promised, in accordance with the principle of self-determination of nations, to give the population of these regions the opportunity to decide for themselves the question of their state existence - in the absence of any troops, except for national or local militia.
German-Austrian-Turkish representatives at the talks in Brest-Litovsk. General Max Hoffmann, Ottokar Czernin von und zu Hudenitz (Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister), Mehmet Talaat Pasha (Ottoman Empire), Richard von Kühlmann (German Foreign Minister), unknown participant
The German and Austro-Hungarian delegation, however, made a counterproposal - the Russian state was invited to "take note of the statements expressing the will of the peoples inhabiting Poland, Lithuania, Courland and parts of Estland and Livonia, about their desire for complete state independence and for the allocation of from Russian Federation and recognize that "these declarations, under the present conditions, must be regarded as an expression of the will of the people." R. von Kuhlmann asked if the Soviets would agree to withdraw their troops from all of Livonia and from Estland in order to give the local population the opportunity to connect with their fellow tribesmen living in the areas occupied by the Germans. The Soviet delegation was also informed that the Ukrainian Central Rada was sending its own delegation to Brest-Litovsk.
Peter Ganchev, Bulgarian representative on the way to the place of negotiations
On December 15 (28) the Soviet delegation left for Petrograd. The current state of affairs was discussed at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), where by a majority of votes it was decided to drag out peace negotiations as long as possible, in the hope of an early revolution in Germany itself. In the future, the formula is refined and takes the following form: "We hold on until the German ultimatum, then we surrender." Lenin also invites the People's Commissariat Trotsky to go to Brest-Litovsk and personally lead the Soviet delegation. According to Trotsky's memoirs, "the prospect of negotiations with Baron Kuhlmann and General Hoffmann was not very attractive in itself, but "to drag out the negotiations, you need a delayer," as Lenin put it.
The Ukrainian delegation in Brest-Litovsk, from left to right: Nikolay Lyubinsky, Vsevolod Golubovich, Nikolay Levitsky, Lussenty, Mikhail Polozov and Alexander Sevryuk.
At the second stage of the negotiations, the Soviet side was represented by L. D. Trotsky (leader), A. A. Ioffe, L. M. Karakhan, K. B. Radek, M. N. Pokrovsky, A. A. Bitsenko, V. A. Karelin, E. G. Medvedev, V. M. Shakhrai, St. Bobinsky, V. Mitskevich-Kapsukas, V. Terian, V. M. Altvater, A. A. Samoilo, V. V. Lipsky
The second composition of the Soviet delegation in Brest-Litovsk. Sitting, from left to right: Kamenev, Ioffe, Bitsenko. Standing, from left to right: Lipsky V. V., Stuchka, Trotsky L. D., Karakhan L. M.
The memoirs of the head of the German delegation, State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry Richard von Kuhlmann, who spoke of Trotsky as follows, have also been preserved: “not very large, sharp and piercing eyes behind the sharp glasses of glasses looked at his counterpart with a boring and critical look. The expression on his face clearly indicated that he [Trotsky] would have been better off ending the unsympathetic negotiations for him with a couple of grenades, throwing them over the green table, if this was somehow consistent with the general political line ... sometimes I wondered if he generally intends to make peace, or he needed a platform from which he could propagate Bolshevik views.
During negotiations in Brest-Litovsk.
A member of the German delegation, General Max Hoffmann, ironically described the composition of the Soviet delegation: “I will never forget the first dinner with the Russians. I was sitting between Joffe and Sokolnikov, then Commissar of Finance. Opposite me sat a worker, who, apparently, a lot of appliances and utensils caused great inconvenience. He clutched at one thing after another, but he used the fork exclusively for brushing his teeth. Diagonally from me, next to Prince Hoenloe, sat the terrorist Bizenko [sic], on the other side of her was a peasant, a real Russian phenomenon with long gray curls and a beard overgrown like a forest. He caused a certain smile in the staff when, when asked whether he prefers red or white wine for dinner, he answered: “Stronger” ”
Signing of a peace treaty with Ukraine. Sitting in the middle, from left to right: Count Ottokar Czernin von und zu Khudenitz, General Max von Hoffmann, Richard von Kühlmann, Prime Minister V. Rodoslavov, Grand Vizier Mehmet Talaat Pasha
On December 22, 1917 (January 4, 1918), German Chancellor H. von Gertling announced in his speech at the Reichstag that a delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada had arrived in Brest-Litovsk. Germany agreed to negotiate with the Ukrainian delegation, hoping to use this as leverage both against Soviet Russia and against its ally, Austria-Hungary. Ukrainian diplomats, who held preliminary negotiations with the German General M. Hoffmann, the chief of staff of the German armies on the Eastern Front, first announced claims to join the Kholmshchyna (which was part of Poland) to Ukraine, as well as the Austro-Hungarian territories - Bukovina and Eastern Galicia. Hoffmann, however, insisted that they reduce their demands and limit themselves to one Kholm region, agreeing that Bukovina and Eastern Galicia form an independent Austro-Hungarian crown territory under the rule of the Habsburgs. It was these demands that they defended in their further negotiations with the Austro-Hungarian delegation. Negotiations with the Ukrainians dragged on so much that the opening of the conference had to be postponed to December 27, 1917 (January 9, 1918).
Ukrainian delegates communicate with German officers in Brest-Litovsk
The Germans invited a Ukrainian delegation to the next meeting, which took place on December 28, 1917 (January 10, 1918). Its chairman, V. A. Golubovich, announced the declaration of the Central Rada stating that the power of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Russia does not extend to Ukraine, and therefore the Central Rada intends to independently conduct peace negotiations. R. von Kuhlmann turned to L. D. Trotsky, who headed the Soviet delegation at the second stage of negotiations, with the question of whether he and his delegation intended to continue to be the only diplomatic representatives of all of Russia in Brest-Litovsk, and also whether the Ukrainian delegation should be considered part of Russian delegation or it represents an independent state. Trotsky knew that the Rada was actually at war with the RSFSR. Therefore, by agreeing to consider the delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada as independent, he actually played into the hands of the representatives of the Central Powers and provided Germany and Austria-Hungary with the opportunity to continue contacts with the Ukrainian Central Rada, while negotiations with Soviet Russia were marking time for another two days.
Signing of documents on a truce in Brest-Litovsk
The January uprising in Kyiv put Germany in a difficult position, and now the German delegation demanded a break in the meetings of the peace conference. On January 21 (February 3), von Kuhlmann and Chernin went to Berlin for a meeting with General Ludendorff, where they discussed the possibility of signing peace with the government of the Central Rada, which does not control the situation in Ukraine. The decisive role was played by the dire food situation in Austria-Hungary, which was threatened with starvation without Ukrainian grain. Returning to Brest-Litovsk, the German and Austro-Hungarian delegations on January 27 (February 9) signed peace with the delegation of the Central Rada. In exchange for military assistance against the Soviet troops, the UNR undertook to supply Germany and Austria-Hungary by July 31, 1918 with one million tons of grain, 400 million eggs, up to 50 thousand tons of cattle meat, lard, sugar, hemp, manganese ore, etc. Austria-Hungary also undertook to create an autonomous Ukrainian region in Eastern Galicia.
Signing of a peace treaty between the UNR and the Central Powers on January 27 (February 9), 1918
The signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Ukraine - the Central Powers was a major blow to the Bolsheviks, in parallel with the negotiations in Brest-Litovsk, did not abandon attempts to Sovietize Ukraine. On January 27 (February 9), at a meeting of the political commission, Chernin informed the Russian delegation about the signing of peace with Ukraine represented by the delegation of the Central Rada. Already in April 1918, the Germans dispersed the government of the Central Rada (see Dispersal of the Central Rada), replacing it with the more conservative regime of Hetman Skoropadsky.
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At the insistence of General Ludendorff (even at a meeting in Berlin, he demanded that the head of the German delegation stop negotiations with the Russian delegation within 24 hours after the signing of peace with Ukraine) and by direct order of Emperor Wilhelm II, von Kühlmann presented Soviet Russia in an ultimatum form with a demand to accept the German peace conditions. On January 28, 1918 (February 10, 1918), at the request of the Soviet delegation how to resolve the issue, Lenin confirmed the previous instructions. Nevertheless, Trotsky, violating these instructions, rejected the German terms of peace, putting forward the slogan "Neither peace, nor war: we do not sign peace, we stop the war, and we demobilize the army." The German side stated in response that Russia's failure to sign a peace treaty automatically entails the termination of the truce. After this statement, the Soviet delegation defiantly left the negotiations. As A.A. Samoilo, a member of the Soviet delegation, points out in his memoirs, the former officers of the General Staff who were part of the delegation refused to return to Russia, remaining in Germany. On the same day, Trotsky gives the Supreme Commander Krylenko an order demanding that the army immediately issue an order to end the state of war with Germany and general demobilization, which was canceled by Lenin after 6 hours. Nevertheless, the order was received by all fronts on 11 February.
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On January 31 (February 13), 1918, at a meeting in Homburg with the participation of Wilhelm II, the Imperial Chancellor Gertling, the head of the German Foreign Office von Kühlmann, Hindenburg, Ludendorff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Vice Chancellor, it was decided to break the truce and launch an offensive in the Eastern front.
On the morning of February 19, the offensive of the German troops rapidly unfolded on the entire Northern Front. Through Livonia and Estonia to Revel, Pskov and Narva (the ultimate goal is Petrograd), the troops of the 8th German Army (6 divisions), a separate Northern Corps stationed on the Moonsund Islands, as well as a special army unit operating from the south, from Dvinsk, moved . For 5 days, German and Austrian troops advanced 200-300 km deep into Russian territory. “I have never seen such an absurd war,” Hoffmann wrote. - We were practically on trains and cars. You put a handful of infantry with machine guns and one cannon on the train and you go to the next station. You take the station, arrest the Bolsheviks, put more soldiers on the train and go on.” Zinoviev was forced to admit that "there is evidence that in some cases unarmed German soldiers dispersed hundreds of our soldiers." “The army rushed to run, leaving everything, sweeping away in its path,” N.V. Krylenko, the first Soviet commander-in-chief of the Russian front-line army, wrote about these events in the same 1918.
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After the decision to accept peace on German terms was made by the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), and then passed through the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the question arose of the new composition of the delegation. As Richard Pipes notes, none of the Bolshevik leaders was eager to go down in history by putting his signature on a treaty shameful for Russia. Trotsky by this time had already resigned from the post of People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, Sokolnikov G. Ya. proposed the candidacy of Zinoviev G. E. However, Zinoviev refused such an “honor”, proposing in response the candidacy of Sokolnikov himself; Sokolnikov also refuses, promising to leave the Central Committee in the event of such an appointment. Ioffe A. A. also flatly refused. After long negotiations, Sokolnikov nevertheless agreed to head the Soviet delegation, the new composition of which took the following form: Sokolnikov G. Ya., Petrovsky L. M., Chicherin G. V., Karakhan G. I. and a group of 8 consultants (among them, Ioffe A. A., former chairman of the delegation). The delegation arrived in Brest-Litovsk on March 1, and two days later signed the contract without any discussion.
Postcard depicting the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the German representative, Prince Leopold of Bavaria. Russian delegation: A.A. Bitsenko, next to her A. A. Ioffe, as well as L. B. Kamenev. Behind Kamenev in the form of captain A. Lipsky, secretary of the Russian delegation L. Karakhan
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The German-Austrian offensive, which began in February 1918, continued even when the Soviet delegation arrived in Brest-Litovsk: on February 28, the Austrians occupied Berdichev, on March 1, the Germans occupied Gomel, Chernigov and Mogilev, and on March 2, Petrograd was bombed. On March 4, after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, German troops occupied Narva and stopped only on the Narova River and the western shore of Lake Peipus, 170 km from Petrograd.
A photocopy of the first two pages of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, March 1918
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In its final version, the agreement consisted of 14 articles, various annexes, 2 final protocols and 4 additional agreements (between Russia and each of the states of the Quadruple Union), according to which Russia was obliged to make many territorial concessions, also demobilizing its army and navy.
The Vistula provinces, Ukraine, provinces with a predominantly Belarusian population, Estland, Courland and Livonia provinces, the Grand Duchy of Finland were torn away from Russia. Most of these territories were to become German protectorates or become part of Germany. Russia also pledged to recognize the independence of Ukraine represented by the UNR government.
In the Caucasus, Russia conceded the Kars region and the Batumi region.
The Soviet government ended the war with the Ukrainian Central Council (Rada) of the Ukrainian People's Republic and made peace with it. The army and navy were demobilized. The Baltic Fleet was withdrawn from its bases in Finland and the Baltic. The Black Sea Fleet with all the infrastructure was transferred to the Central Powers. Russia paid 6 billion marks in reparations, plus the payment of losses incurred by Germany during the Russian revolution - 500 million gold rubles. The Soviet government pledged to stop revolutionary propaganda in the Central Powers and allied states formed on the territory of the Russian Empire.
Postcard showing the last page of signatures on the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
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The appendix to the treaty guaranteed a special economic status for Germany in Soviet Russia. Citizens and corporations of the Central Powers were removed from the scope of the Bolshevik decrees on nationalization, and those who had already lost their property were restored to their rights. Thus, German citizens were allowed to engage in private business in Russia against the background of the general nationalization of the economy that was taking place at that time. This state of affairs created, for a time, the opportunity for Russian owners of enterprises or securities to evade nationalization by selling their assets to the Germans.
Russian telegraph Brest-Petrograd. In the center is the secretary of the delegation L. Karakhan, next to him is Captain V. Lipsky
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Dzerzhinsky F.E.'s fears that “By signing the conditions, we do not guarantee ourselves from new ultimatums” are partially confirmed: the advance of the German army was not limited to the boundaries of the zone of occupation defined by the peace treaty. German troops captured Simferopol on April 22, 1918, Taganrog on May 1, and Rostov-on-Don on May 8, causing the fall of Soviet power on the Don.
A telegrapher sends a message from a peace conference in Brest-Litovsk
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In April 1918, diplomatic relations were established between the RSFSR and Germany. On the whole, however, Germany's relations with the Bolsheviks were not ideal from the outset. In the words of Sukhanov N. N., “the German government feared its“ friends ”and“ agents ”quite well: it knew very well that these people were the same“ friends ”to it, as well as to Russian imperialism, to which the German authorities tried to“ palm off ”them keeping them at a respectful distance from their own loyal subjects." From April 1918, the Soviet ambassador Ioffe A.A. engaged in active revolutionary propaganda already in Germany itself, which ends with the November Revolution. The Germans, for their part, are consistently eliminating Soviet power in the Baltic States and Ukraine, providing assistance to the “White Finns” and actively contributing to the formation of a hotbed white movement on the Don. In March 1918, the Bolsheviks, fearing a German attack on Petrograd, transferred the capital to Moscow; after the signing of the Brest Peace, they, not trusting the Germans, did not begin to cancel this decision.
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While the German General Staff came to the conclusion that the defeat of the Second Reich was inevitable, Germany managed to impose on the Soviet government, in the context of the growing civil war and the beginning of the intervention of the Entente, additional agreements to the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty. On August 27, 1918, in Berlin, in the strictest secrecy, a Russian-German supplementary treaty to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and a Russian-German financial agreement were concluded, which were signed on behalf of the government of the RSFSR by Plenipotentiary A. A. Ioffe, and on behalf of Germany - von P. Ginze and I. Krige. Under this agreement, Soviet Russia was obliged to pay Germany, as compensation for damage and expenses for the maintenance of Russian prisoners of war, a huge indemnity - 6 billion marks - in the form of "pure gold" and credit obligations. In September 1918, two "gold echelons" were sent to Germany, which contained 93.5 tons of "pure gold" worth over 120 million gold rubles. It didn't make it to the next shipment.
Russian delegates buying German newspapers in Brest-Litovsk
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Trotsky is learning to write. German caricature of L.D. Trotsky, who signed the peace treaty in Brest-Litovsk. 1918
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Political cartoon from the American press in 1918
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Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Austro-Hungarian troops enter the city of Kamyanets-Podilsky after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
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Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: German troops under the command of General Eichhorn occupied Kyiv. March 1918.
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Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Austro-Hungarian military musicians perform on the main square of the city of Proskurov in Ukraine
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Consequences of the Brest peace: Odessa after the occupation by the Austro-Hungarian troops. Dredging in Odessa port
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Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Austro-Hungarian soldiers on Nikolaevsky Boulevard. Summer 1918
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Photo taken by a German soldier in Kyiv in 1918
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The Brest peace is one of the most humiliating episodes in the history of Russia. It became a resounding diplomatic failure of the Bolsheviks and was accompanied by an acute political crisis within the country.
Peace Decree
The "Peace Decree" was adopted on October 26, 1917 - the day after the armed coup - and spoke of the need to conclude a just democratic peace without annexations and indemnities between all warring nations. It served as the legal basis for a separate agreement with Germany and the other Central Powers.
Publicly, Lenin spoke about the transformation of the imperialist war into a civil war, he considered the revolution in Russia only the initial stage of the world socialist revolution. In fact, there were other reasons as well. The warring peoples did not act according to Ilyich's plans - they did not want to turn bayonets against the governments, and the allied governments ignored the peace proposal of the Bolsheviks. Only the countries of the enemy bloc that were losing the war went for rapprochement.
Terms
Germany declared that it was ready to accept the condition of peace without annexations and indemnities, but only if this peace was signed by all the belligerent countries. But none of the Entente countries joined the peace negotiations, so Germany abandoned the Bolshevik formula, and their hopes for a just peace were finally buried. The talk in the second round of negotiations was exclusively about a separate peace, the terms of which were dictated by Germany.
Betrayal and necessity
Not all Bolsheviks were willing to sign a separate peace. The left was categorically opposed to any agreements with imperialism. They defended the idea of exporting the revolution, believing that without socialism in Europe, Russian socialism is doomed to perish (and the subsequent transformations of the Bolshevik regime proved them right). The leaders of the left Bolsheviks were Bukharin, Uritsky, Radek, Dzerzhinsky and others. They called for a guerrilla war against German imperialism, and in the future they hoped to conduct regular military operations with the forces of the Red Army being created.
For the immediate conclusion of a separate peace was, above all, Lenin. He was afraid of the German offensive and the complete loss of his own power, which, even after the coup, was largely based on German money. It is unlikely that the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was directly bought by Berlin. The main factor was precisely the fear of losing power. Considering that a year after the conclusion of peace with Germany, Lenin was ready even for the division of Russia in exchange for international recognition, then the terms of the Brest Peace would seem not so humiliating.
Trotsky occupied an intermediate position in the inner-party struggle. He defended the thesis "No peace, no war." That is, he proposed to stop hostilities, but not to sign any agreements with Germany. As a result of the struggle within the party, it was decided to drag out the negotiations in every possible way, expecting a revolution in Germany, but if the Germans present an ultimatum, then agree to all conditions. However, Trotsky, who led the Soviet delegation in the second round of negotiations, refused to accept the German ultimatum. Negotiations broke down and Germany continued to advance. When the peace was signed, the Germans were 170 km from Petrograd.
Annexations and indemnities
Peace conditions were very difficult for Russia. She lost Ukraine and Polish lands, renounced her claims to Finland, gave away the Batumi and Kars regions, had to demobilize all her troops, abandon the Black Sea Fleet and pay huge indemnities. The country was losing almost 800 thousand square meters. km and 56 million people. In Russia, the Germans received the exclusive right to freely engage in entrepreneurship. In addition, the Bolsheviks pledged to pay the royal debts of Germany and its allies.
At the same time, the Germans did not comply with their own obligations. After signing the treaty, they continued the occupation of Ukraine, overthrew the Soviet regime on the Don and helped the White movement in every possible way.
Rise of the Left
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk almost led to a split in the Bolshevik Party and the loss of power by the Bolsheviks. Lenin hardly dragged the final decision on peace through a vote in the Central Committee, threatening to resign. The split of the party did not happen only thanks to Trotsky, who agreed to abstain from the vote, ensuring the victory of Lenin. But this did not help to avoid a political crisis.
The Brest Peace was categorically rejected by the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party. They left the government, killed the German ambassador Mirbach and raised an armed uprising in Moscow. Due to the lack of a clear plan and goals, it was suppressed, but it was a very real threat to the power of the Bolsheviks. At the same time, in Simbirsk, the commander of the Eastern Front of the Red Army, the Social Revolutionary Muravyov, raised an uprising. It also ended in failure.
Cancellation
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on March 3, 1918. Already in November, a revolution took place in Germany, and the Bolsheviks annulled the peace agreement. After the victory of the Entente, Germany withdrew its troops from the former Russian territories. However, Russia was no longer in the camp of the winners.
In the coming years, the Bolsheviks were unable to return power over most of the territories torn away by the Brest Peace.
Beneficiary
Lenin received the greatest benefit from the Brest Peace. After the annulment of the treaty, his authority grew. He gained fame as a farsighted politician, whose actions helped the Bolsheviks gain time and hold on to power. After that, the Bolshevik party consolidated, and the Left Socialist-Revolutionary party was crushed. The country has a one-party system.
The conclusion of the Brest Peace with Germany
At the end of October 1917, there was a change of power - it passed into the hands of the Bolsheviks, and they made the main slogan of Russia's foreign policy "peace without annexations and indemnities." At the first and, ironically, the last convocation of the Constituent Assembly, the Bolsheviks presented their Decree on Peace, which assumed a cessation that had already taken on a protracted character.
The armistice, initiated by the Soviet government, was signed on 2 December. And from that moment on, the soldiers began to spontaneously leave the front - most of them were rather tired of the fighting, and they wanted to go home, behind the front line, where most of the country's population was busy dividing the land. They left in different ways: some - without permission, taking weapons and ammunition with them, others - legally, asking for leave or on business trips.
Signing of the Brest Peace
A few days later, in Brest-Litovsk, negotiations began on a peace agreement, at which the Soviet government offered Germany to conclude a peace under which Russia would not pay indemnities. Never before in its entire history has our country paid this kind of payment, and the Bolsheviks wanted to continue to adhere to this policy. However, this did not suit Germany at all, and at the end of January 1918 an ultimatum was presented to Russia, as a result of which the Russians were deprived of Belarus, Poland and, in part, the Baltic states. This turn of events put the Soviet command in a difficult position: on the one hand, such a shameful peace could not be concluded in any case, and the war should have continued. On the other hand, there were no forces and means left to continue fighting.
And then Leon Trotsky, who was at the head of the Soviet delegation, delivered a speech at the negotiations that said that Russia would not sign peace, but also did not intend to continue the war; she will simply disband the army and withdraw from the war zone. This statement by Russia threw all the participants in the negotiations into confusion: it was hard to remember that someone else was trying to end the military conflict in such, to put it mildly, extraordinary way.
But neither Germany nor Austria-Hungary was satisfied with such a resolution of the conflict at all. Therefore, on February 18, they went on the offensive, going far beyond the front line. Nobody resisted them: cities, one after another, surrendered without a fight. The very next day, the Soviet leadership came to the realization that the most difficult conditions put forward by Germany would have to be accepted and agreed to conclude this peace treaty, which was signed on March 3, 1918.
Terms of the Brest-Litovsk peace with Germany
Under the terms of the Brest Peace:
1) Russia lost Ukraine, the Grand Duchy of Finland, partly - Belarus, Poland and the Baltic states.
2) The Russian army and navy were to be demobilized.
3) The Russian Black Sea Fleet was to withdraw to Germany and Austria-Hungary.
4) Russia lost part of the land in the Caucasus - Batumi and Kars regions.
5) The Soviet government was obliged to stop revolutionary propaganda in Germany and Austria, as well as in the countries allied to them.
Among other things, Russia was obliged to pay reparations to Germany and the losses incurred by it during the revolutionary events in Russia.
However, even after the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, the Soviet government still did not rule out that German troops would continue their advance across the country and occupy Petrograd. As a result of these fears, it moved to Moscow, thus making it the Russian capital again.
Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany
The humiliating peace agreement with the Germans met with a strong negative reaction both in Russia itself and among the former allies in the Entente. However, the consequences of the conclusion of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany were not as serious as first thought. The reason for this was the defeat of the Germans in World War I. On November 13, the peace treaty was annulled by the Bolsheviks, and Lenin, their leader, gained a reputation as a political seer. However, many believe that by concluding the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and accepting humiliating conditions, the “leader of the world proletariat” and his comrades simply paid off Germany for the patronage that they received during the years of preparation for the struggle for power.
Brest peace, Brest-Litovsk (Brest) peace treaty - a separate peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918 in Brest-Litovsk by representatives of Soviet Russia, on the one hand, and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria) - on the other . It marked the defeat and exit of Russia from the First World War.
Panorama of Brest-Litovsk
On November 19 (December 2), the delegation of the Soviet government, headed by A. A. Ioffe, arrived in the neutral zone and proceeded to Brest-Litovsk, where the Headquarters of the German command on the Eastern Front was located, where they met with the delegation of the Austro-German bloc, which included also included representatives from Bulgaria and Turkey.
The building where the peace talks were held.
Armistice negotiations with Germany began in Brest-Litovsk on November 20 (December 3), 1917. On the same day, N. V. Krylenko arrived at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in Mogilev, who assumed the post of Commander-in-Chief.
Arrival of the German delegation to Brest-Litovsk
On November 21 (December 4), the Soviet delegation laid out its terms:
the truce is concluded for 6 months;
hostilities are suspended on all fronts;
German troops are being withdrawn from Riga and the Moonsund Islands;
any transfer of German troops to the Western Front is prohibited.
As a result of the negotiations, an interim agreement was reached:
the truce is concluded for the period from November 24 (December 7) to December 4 (17);
troops remain in their positions;
all transfers of troops are stopped, except for those that have already begun.
Peace talks in Brest-Litovsk. Arrival of Russian delegates. In the middle is A. A. Ioffe, next to him is secretary L. Karakhan, A. A. Bitsenko, on the right is Kamenev.
Peace negotiations began on December 9 (22), 1917. The delegations of the states of the Quadruple Union were headed by: from Germany - State Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Department R. von Kuhlmann; from Austria-Hungary - Minister of Foreign Affairs Count O. Chernin; from Bulgaria - Minister of Justice Popov; from Turkey - Chairman of the Mejlis Talaat Bey.
Officers of the Hindenburg headquarters meet the arriving delegation of the RSFSR on the platform of Brest in early 1918.
The Soviet delegation at the first stage included 5 commissioners - members of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee: the Bolsheviks A. A. Ioffe - the chairman of the delegation, L. B. Kamenev (Rozenfeld) and G. Ya. Sokolnikov (Brilliant), the Socialist-Revolutionaries A. A. Bitsenko and S. D. Maslovsky-Mstislavsky, 8 members of the military delegation (Quartermaster General under the Supreme Commander of the General Staff, Major General V. E. Skalon, General Yu. N. Danilov, who was under the Chief of the General Staff, Rear Admiral V. M. Altvater, head of the Nikolaev Military Academy of the General Staff, General A. I. Andogsky, Quartermaster General of the Headquarters of the 10th Army of the General Staff, General A. A. Samoilo, Colonel D. G. Fokke, Lieutenant Colonel I. Ya. Tseplit, Captain V. Lipsky), secretary of the delegation L. M. Karakhan, 3 translators and 6 technical employees, as well as 5 ordinary members of the delegation - sailor F. V. Olich, soldier N. K. Belyakov, Kaluga peasant R. I. Stashkov, worker P. A. Obukhov , warrant officer of the fleet K. Ya. Zedin
The leaders of the Russian delegation arrived at the Brest-Litovsk station. From left to right: Major Brinkmann, Joffe, Mrs. Birenko, Kamenev, Karakhan.
The conference was opened by the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Front, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, and Kühlmann took the chair.
Arrival of the Russian delegation
The resumption of armistice negotiations, which involved agreeing on conditions and signing a treaty, was overshadowed by the tragedy in the Russian delegation. Upon arrival in Brest on November 29 (December 12), 1917, before the opening of the conference, during a private meeting of the Soviet delegation, a representative of the Stavka in a group of military consultants, Major General V. E. Skalon, shot himself.
Armistice in Brest-Litovsk. Members of the Russian delegation after arriving at the Brest-Litovsk station. From left to right: Major Brinkman, A. A. Ioffe, A. A. Bitsenko, L. B. Kamenev, Karakhan.
Proceeding from the general principles of the Decree on Peace, the Soviet delegation already at one of the first meetings proposed to adopt the following program as the basis for negotiations:
No forced annexation of territories captured during the war is allowed; the troops occupying these territories are withdrawn as soon as possible.
The full political independence of the peoples who were deprived of this independence during the war is being restored.
National groups that did not have political independence before the war are guaranteed the opportunity to freely decide the question of belonging to any state or their state independence by means of a free referendum.
Cultural-national and, under certain conditions, administrative autonomy of national minorities is ensured.
Refusal of contributions.
Solution of colonial issues on the basis of the above principles.
Prevention of indirect restrictions on the freedom of weaker nations by stronger nations.
Trotsky L.D., Ioffe A. and Rear Admiral V. Altvater are going to the meeting. Brest-Litovsk.
After a three-day discussion by the countries of the German block of Soviet proposals on the evening of December 12 (25), 1917, R. von Kuhlmann made a statement that Germany and its allies accept these proposals. At the same time, a reservation was made that nullified Germany's consent to peace without annexations and indemnities: “It is necessary, however, to indicate with complete clarity that the proposals of the Russian delegation could be implemented only if all the powers involved in the war , without exception and without reservation, within a certain period of time, pledged to strictly observe the conditions common to all peoples.
L. Trotsky in Brest-Litovsk.
Having stated the accession of the German bloc to the Soviet formula of peace "without annexations and indemnities", the Soviet delegation proposed to announce a ten-day break, during which one could try to bring the Entente countries to the negotiating table.
Near the building where the negotiations were held. Arrival of delegations. Left (with beard and glasses) A. A. Ioffe
During the break, however, it turned out that Germany understands a world without annexations differently than the Soviet delegation - for Germany, we are not talking about the withdrawal of troops to the borders of 1914 and the withdrawal of German troops from the occupied territories of the former Russian Empire, especially since, according to the statement Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Courland have already declared themselves in favor of secession from Russia, so that if these three countries now enter into negotiations with Germany about their future fate, this will by no means be considered an annexation by Germany.
Peace talks in Brest-Litovsk. Representatives of the Central Powers, in the middle, Ibrahim Hakki Pasha and Count Ottokar Czernin von und zu Khudenitz, on their way to negotiations.
On December 14 (27), the Soviet delegation at the second meeting of the political commission made a proposal: “In full agreement with the open statement of both contracting parties that they have no conquest plans and that they want to make peace without annexations. Russia withdraws its troops from the parts of Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Persia occupied by it, and the powers of the Quadruple Alliance - from Poland, Lithuania, Courland and other regions of Russia. Soviet Russia promised, in accordance with the principle of self-determination of nations, to provide the population of these regions with the opportunity to decide on their own the question of their state existence - in the absence of any troops other than national or local militia.
German-Austrian-Turkish representatives at the talks in Brest-Litovsk. General Max Hoffmann, Ottokar Czernin von und zu Hudenitz (Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister), Mehmet Talaat Pasha (Ottoman Empire), Richard von Kühlmann (German Foreign Minister)
The German and Austro-Hungarian delegation, however, made a counterproposal - the Russian state was invited to "take note of the statements expressing the will of the peoples inhabiting Poland, Lithuania, Courland and parts of Estland and Livonia, about their desire for complete state independence and for the allocation from the Russian Federation" and acknowledge that "these statements under the present conditions must be regarded as an expression of the people's will." R. von Kuhlmann asked if the Soviet government would agree to withdraw its troops from all of Livonia and from Estland in order to give the local population the opportunity to connect with their fellow tribesmen living in the areas occupied by the Germans. The Soviet delegation was also informed that the Ukrainian Central Rada was sending its own delegation to Brest-Litovsk.
Peter Ganchev, Bulgarian representative on his way to the place of negotiations.
On December 15 (28) the Soviet delegation left for Petrograd. The current state of affairs was discussed at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), where by a majority of votes it was decided to drag out peace negotiations as long as possible, in the hope of an early revolution in Germany itself. In the future, the formula is refined and takes the following form: "We hold on until the German ultimatum, then we surrender." Lenin also invites the People's Commissariat Trotsky to go to Brest-Litovsk and personally lead the Soviet delegation. According to Trotsky's memoirs, "the prospect of negotiations with Baron Kuhlmann and General Hoffmann was not very attractive in itself, but "to drag out the negotiations, you need a delayer," as Lenin put it.
The Ukrainian delegation in Brest-Litovsk, from left to right: Nikolay Lyubinsky, Vsevolod Golubovich, Nikolay Levitsky, Lussenty, Mikhail Polozov and Alexander Sevryuk.
At the second stage of the negotiations, the Soviet side was represented by L. D. Trotsky (leader), A. A. Ioffe, L. M. Karakhan, K. B. Radek, M. N. Pokrovsky, A. A. Bitsenko, V. A. Karelin, E. G. Medvedev, V. M. Shakhrai, St. Bobinsky, V. Mitskevich-Kapsukas, V. Terian, V. M. Altvater, A. A. Samoilo, V. V. Lipsky
The second composition of the Soviet delegation in Brest-Litovsk. Sitting, from left to right: Kamenev, Ioffe, Bitsenko. Standing, from left to right: Lipsky V. V., Stuchka, Trotsky L. D., Karakhan L. M.
The memoirs of the head of the German delegation, State Secretary of the German Foreign Ministry Richard von Kuhlmann, who spoke of Trotsky as follows, have also been preserved: “not very large, sharp and piercing eyes behind the sharp glasses of glasses looked at his counterpart with a boring and critical look. The expression on his face clearly indicated that he [Trotsky] would have been better off ending the unsympathetic negotiations for him with a couple of grenades, throwing them over the green table, if this was somehow consistent with the general political line ... sometimes I wondered if he generally intends to make peace, or he needed a platform from which he could propagate Bolshevik views.
During negotiations in Brest-Litovsk.
A member of the German delegation, General Max Hoffmann, ironically described the composition of the Soviet delegation: “I will never forget the first dinner with the Russians. I was sitting between Joffe and Sokolnikov, then Commissar of Finance. Opposite me sat a worker, who, apparently, a lot of appliances and utensils caused great inconvenience. He clutched at one thing after another, but he used the fork exclusively for brushing his teeth. Across from me, next to Prince Hoenloe, was the terrorist Bizenko, on the other side of her was a peasant, a real Russian phenomenon with long gray curls and a beard overgrown like a forest. He caused a certain smile in the staff when, when asked whether he prefers red or white wine for dinner, he answered: “Stronger” ”
Signing of a peace treaty with Ukraine. Sitting in the middle, from left to right: Count Ottokar Chernin von und zu Khudenitz, General Max von Hoffmann, Richard von Kuhlmann, Prime Minister V. Rodoslavov, Grand Vizier Mehmet Talaat Pasha.
On December 22, 1917 (January 4, 1918), German Chancellor H. von Gertling announced in his speech at the Reichstag that a delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada had arrived in Brest-Litovsk. Germany agreed to negotiate with the Ukrainian delegation, hoping to use this as leverage both against Soviet Russia and against its ally, Austria-Hungary. Ukrainian diplomats, who held preliminary negotiations with the German General M. Hoffmann, the chief of staff of the German armies on the Eastern Front, first announced claims to join the Kholmshchyna (which was part of Poland) to Ukraine, as well as the Austro-Hungarian territories - Bukovina and Eastern Galicia. Hoffmann, however, insisted that they reduce their demands and limit themselves to one Kholm region, agreeing that Bukovina and Eastern Galicia form an independent Austro-Hungarian crown territory under the rule of the Habsburgs. It was these demands that they defended in their further negotiations with the Austro-Hungarian delegation. Negotiations with the Ukrainians dragged on so much that the opening of the conference had to be postponed to December 27, 1917 (January 9, 1918).
Ukrainian delegates communicate with German officers in Brest-Litovsk.
The Germans invited a Ukrainian delegation to the next meeting, which took place on December 28, 1917 (January 10, 1918). Its chairman, V. A. Golubovich, announced the declaration of the Central Rada stating that the power of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Russia does not extend to Ukraine, and therefore the Central Rada intends to independently conduct peace negotiations. R. von Kuhlmann turned to L. D. Trotsky, who headed the Soviet delegation at the second stage of negotiations, with the question of whether he and his delegation intended to continue to be the only diplomatic representatives of all of Russia in Brest-Litovsk, and also whether the Ukrainian delegation should be considered part of Russian delegation or it represents an independent state. Trotsky knew that the Rada was actually at war with the RSFSR. Therefore, by agreeing to consider the delegation of the Ukrainian Central Rada as independent, he actually played into the hands of the representatives of the Central Powers and provided Germany and Austria-Hungary with the opportunity to continue contacts with the Ukrainian Central Rada, while negotiations with Soviet Russia were marking time for another two days.
Signing of documents on a truce in Brest-Litovsk
The January uprising in Kyiv put Germany in a difficult position, and now the German delegation demanded a break in the meetings of the peace conference. On January 21 (February 3), von Kuhlmann and Chernin went to Berlin for a meeting with General Ludendorff, where they discussed the possibility of signing peace with the government of the Central Rada, which does not control the situation in Ukraine. The decisive role was played by the dire food situation in Austria-Hungary, which was threatened with starvation without Ukrainian grain. Returning to Brest-Litovsk, the German and Austro-Hungarian delegations on January 27 (February 9) signed peace with the delegation of the Central Rada. In exchange for military assistance against the Soviet troops, the UNR undertook to supply Germany and Austria-Hungary by July 31, 1918 with one million tons of grain, 400 million eggs, up to 50 thousand tons of cattle meat, lard, sugar, hemp, manganese ore, etc. Austria-Hungary also undertook to create an autonomous Ukrainian region in Eastern Galicia.
The signing of a peace treaty between the UNR and the Central Powers on January 27 (February 9), 1918.
The signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Ukraine - the Central Powers was a major blow to the Bolsheviks, in parallel with the negotiations in Brest-Litovsk, did not abandon attempts to Sovietize Ukraine. On January 27 (February 9), at a meeting of the political commission, Chernin informed the Russian delegation about the signing of peace with Ukraine represented by the delegation of the government of the Central Rada. Already in April 1918, the Germans dispersed the government of the Central Rada (see Dispersal of the Central Rada), replacing it with the more conservative regime of Hetman Skoropadsky.
At the insistence of General Ludendorff (even at a meeting in Berlin, he demanded that the head of the German delegation stop negotiations with the Russian delegation within 24 hours after the signing of peace with Ukraine) and by direct order of Emperor Wilhelm II, von Kühlmann presented Soviet Russia in an ultimatum form with a demand to accept the German peace conditions. On January 28, 1918 (February 10, 1918), at the request of the Soviet delegation how to resolve the issue, Lenin confirmed the previous instructions. Nevertheless, Trotsky, violating these instructions, rejected the German terms of peace, putting forward the slogan "Neither peace, nor war: we do not sign peace, we stop the war, and we demobilize the army." The German side stated in response that Russia's failure to sign a peace treaty automatically entails the termination of the truce. After this statement, the Soviet delegation defiantly left the negotiations. As A.A. Samoilo, a member of the Soviet delegation, points out in his memoirs, the former officers of the General Staff who were part of the delegation refused to return to Russia, remaining in Germany. On the same day, Trotsky gives the Supreme Commander Krylenko an order demanding that the army immediately issue an order to end the state of war with Germany and general demobilization, which was canceled by Lenin after 6 hours. Nevertheless, the order was received by all fronts on 11 February.
On January 31 (February 13), 1918, at a meeting in Homburg with the participation of Wilhelm II, the Imperial Chancellor Gertling, the head of the German Foreign Office von Kühlmann, Hindenburg, Ludendorff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Vice Chancellor, it was decided to break the truce and launch an offensive in the Eastern front.
On the morning of February 19, the offensive of the German troops rapidly unfolded on the entire Northern Front. Through Livonia and Estonia to Revel, Pskov and Narva (the ultimate goal is Petrograd), the troops of the 8th German Army (6 divisions), a separate Northern Corps stationed on the Moonsund Islands, as well as a special army formation operating from the south, from Dvinsk . For 5 days, German and Austrian troops advanced 200-300 km deep into Russian territory. “I have never seen such an absurd war,” Hoffmann wrote. - We conducted it practically on trains and cars. You put a handful of infantry with machine guns and one cannon on the train and you go to the next station. You take the station, arrest the Bolsheviks, put more soldiers on the train and go on.” Zinoviev was forced to admit that "there is evidence that in some cases unarmed German soldiers dispersed hundreds of our soldiers." “The army rushed to run, leaving everything, sweeping away in its path,” N.V. Krylenko, the first Soviet commander-in-chief of the Russian front-line army, wrote about these events in the same 1918.
After the decision to accept peace on German terms was made by the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), and then passed through the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, the question arose of the new composition of the delegation. As Richard Pipes notes, none of the Bolshevik leaders was eager to go down in history by putting his signature on a treaty shameful for Russia. Trotsky by this time had already resigned from the post of People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs, Sokolnikov G. Ya. proposed the candidacy of Zinoviev G. E. However, Zinoviev refused such an “honor”, proposing in response the candidacy of Sokolnikov himself; Sokolnikov also refuses, promising to leave the Central Committee in the event of such an appointment. Ioffe A. A. also flatly refused. After long negotiations, Sokolnikov nevertheless agreed to head the Soviet delegation, the new composition of which took the following form: Sokolnikov G. Ya., Petrovsky L. M., Chicherin G. V., Karakhan G. I. and a group of 8 consultants (among them, Ioffe A. A., former chairman of the delegation). The delegation arrived in Brest-Litovsk on March 1, and two days later signed the contract without any discussion.
Postcard depicting the signing of the ceasefire agreement by the German representative, Prince Leopold of Bavaria. Russian delegation: A.A. Bitsenko, next to her A. A. Ioffe, as well as L. B. Kamenev. Behind Kamenev in the form of captain A. Lipsky, secretary of the Russian delegation L. Karakhan
The German-Austrian offensive, which began in February 1918, continued even when the Soviet delegation arrived in Brest-Litovsk: on February 28, the Austrians occupied Berdichev, on March 1, the Germans occupied Gomel, Chernigov and Mogilev, and on March 2, Petrograd was bombed. On March 4, after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, German troops occupied Narva and stopped only on the Narova River and the western shore of Lake Peipus, 170 km from Petrograd.
A photocopy of the first two pages of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk between Soviet Russia and Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, March 1918.
In its final version, the agreement consisted of 14 articles, various annexes, 2 final protocols and 4 additional agreements (between Russia and each of the states of the Quadruple Union), according to which Russia was obliged to make many territorial concessions, also demobilizing its army and navy.
The Vistula provinces, Ukraine, provinces with a predominantly Belarusian population, Estland, Courland and Livonia provinces, the Grand Duchy of Finland were torn away from Russia. Most of these territories were to become German protectorates or become part of Germany. Russia also pledged to recognize the independence of Ukraine represented by the UNR government.
In the Caucasus, Russia conceded the Kars region and the Batumi region.
The Soviet government ended the war with the Ukrainian Central Council (Rada) of the Ukrainian People's Republic and made peace with it.
The army and navy were demobilized.
The Baltic Fleet was withdrawn from its bases in Finland and the Baltic.
The Black Sea Fleet with all the infrastructure was transferred to the Central Powers.
Russia paid 6 billion marks in reparations, plus the payment of losses incurred by Germany during the Russian revolution - 500 million gold rubles.
The Soviet government pledged to stop revolutionary propaganda in the Central Powers and allied states formed on the territory of the Russian Empire.
Postcard showing the last page of signatures on the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 
The appendix to the treaty guaranteed a special economic status for Germany in Soviet Russia. Citizens and corporations of the Central Powers were removed from the scope of the Bolshevik decrees on nationalization, and those who had already lost their property were restored to their rights. Thus, German citizens were allowed to engage in private business in Russia against the background of the general nationalization of the economy that was taking place at that time. This state of affairs for some time created an opportunity for Russian owners of enterprises or securities to get away from nationalization by selling their assets to the Germans.
Russian telegraph Brest-Petrograd. In the center is the secretary of the delegation L. Karakhan, next to him is Captain V. Lipsky.
Dzerzhinsky F.E.'s fears that “By signing the conditions, we do not guarantee ourselves from new ultimatums” are partially confirmed: the advance of the German army was not limited to the boundaries of the zone of occupation defined by the peace treaty. German troops captured Simferopol on April 22, 1918, Taganrog on May 1, and Rostov-on-Don on May 8, causing the fall of Soviet power on the Don.
The telegraph operator sends a message from the peace conference in Brest-Litovsk.
In April 1918, diplomatic relations were established between the RSFSR and Germany. On the whole, however, Germany's relations with the Bolsheviks were not ideal from the outset. In the words of Sukhanov N. N., “the German government feared its“ friends ”and“ agents ”quite well: it knew very well that these people were the same“ friends ”to it, as well as to Russian imperialism, to which the German authorities tried to“ palm off ”them keeping them at a respectful distance from their own loyal subjects." From April 1918, the Soviet ambassador Ioffe A.A. engaged in active revolutionary propaganda already in Germany itself, which ends with the November Revolution. The Germans, for their part, are consistently liquidating Soviet power in the Baltics and Ukraine, providing assistance to the "White Finns" and actively contributing to the formation of a center of the White movement on the Don. In March 1918, the Bolsheviks, fearing a German attack on Petrograd, transferred the capital to Moscow; after the signing of the Brest Peace, they, not trusting the Germans, did not begin to cancel this decision.
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While the German General Staff came to the conclusion that the defeat of the Second Reich was inevitable, Germany managed to impose on the Soviet government, in the context of the growing civil war and the beginning of the intervention of the Entente, additional agreements to the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty. On August 27, 1918, in Berlin, in the strictest secrecy, a Russian-German supplementary treaty to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and a Russian-German financial agreement were concluded, which were signed on behalf of the government of the RSFSR by Plenipotentiary A. A. Ioffe, and on behalf of Germany - von P. Ginze and I. Krige. Under this agreement, Soviet Russia was obliged to pay Germany, as compensation for damage and expenses for the maintenance of Russian prisoners of war, a huge indemnity - 6 billion marks - in the form of "pure gold" and credit obligations. In September 1918, two "gold echelons" were sent to Germany, which contained 93.5 tons of "pure gold" worth over 120 million gold rubles. It didn't make it to the next shipment.
Russian delegates buying German newspapers in Brest-Litovsk.
Consequences of the Brest peace: Odessa after the occupation by the Austro-Hungarian troops. Dredging works in Odessa port.
Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Austro-Hungarian soldiers on Nikolaevsky Boulevard. Summer 1918.
Photo taken by a German soldier in Kyiv in 1918
"Trotsky learns to write." German caricature of L.D. Trotsky, who signed the peace treaty in Brest-Litovsk. 1918
Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Austro-Hungarian troops enter the city of Kamenetz-Podolsky after the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
Consequences of the Brest Peace: Germans in Kyiv.
Political cartoon from the American press in 1918.
Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: German troops under the command of General Eichhorn occupied Kyiv. March 1918.
Consequences of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk: Austro-Hungarian military musicians perform on the main square of the city of Proskurov in Ukraine.
