The Soviet government signs the Treaty of...

The Petrograd Soviet creates its Military Revolutionary Committee

16 Oktober 1917

The committee organized the defense of the Soviet and coordinated garrison units. Trotsky helped lead it as the Bolsheviks contested the Provisional Government; the MRC became the operational center...

The October insurrection transfers power to the Soviet Congress

25 Oktober 1917

The Military Revolutionary Committee occupied key points and overthrew the Provisional Government in Petrograd. Trotsky was central to the operation, while the transfer of power was contested across...

Trotsky becomes People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs

8 November 1917

The new Soviet government appointed Trotsky to lead foreign affairs. He published secret treaties and called for an immediate democratic peace, challenging imperial diplomacy while navigating the...

Trotsky announces “neither war nor peace” at Brest-Litovsk

10 Februari 1918

Trotsky ended negotiations without signing Germany’s terms and declared that Soviet Russia would demobilize but not continue fighting. German forces soon resumed their advance, exposing the risks of...

Trotsky explains the Soviet government’s withdrawal from Brest-Litovsk

1 Maart 1918

After refusing to sign the imposed terms and Germany resumed its advance, Trotsky defended the decision to accept a harsh treaty as necessary to preserve the new Soviet government. This was a...

👉 The Soviet government signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Huidig

3 Maart 1918

After the German offensive, the Soviet government accepted a treaty that ceded Ukraine, the Baltic provinces, Finland, and other territories. Trotsky had opposed signing under those terms but...

Trotsky is appointed chairman of the Supreme Military Council

13 Maart 1918

Trotsky took charge of rebuilding military capacity as civil war and foreign intervention widened. The new army drew on former imperial officers under political supervision, a pragmatic decision...

Trotsky speaks on building a new Red Army

22 April 1918

He argued for creating a disciplined regular army as civil war expanded, a break with older socialist militia expectations. The policy relied on conscription and former imperial officers, raising...

Trotsky leads the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic

2 September 1918

The government created a centralized command for the Red Army and appointed Trotsky to lead its Revolutionary Military Council. The civil-war state relied on conscription, discipline, and political...

Trotsky addresses the Central Executive Committee on military crisis

2 September 1918

The speech defended emergency mobilization after anti-Bolshevik forces and foreign intervention threatened the Soviet state. It documents his argument for centralized command while exposing the...

Trotsky issues a Red Army order after the capture of Kazan

10 September 1918

The order celebrated a battlefield reversal and called for discipline and renewed mobilization. Its language shows how Trotsky fused revolutionary political claims with military command. The civil war...

The Soviet government signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Personen in deze gebeurtenis

Leon Trotsky

Vladimir Lenin

Soviet and Central Powers delegations

Organisaties in dit Evenement

Soviet government

Central Powers

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