[Stalinin]

After Vladimir Illytch Lenin came to power after the Oktober revolution of 1917 there was a violent civil war.The reds were in the east and the whites were in western russia.Who were the whites,who were they lead by and what were their beliefs?

[kami321]

The reds were in the east and the whites were in western russia

False.

Who were the whites,who were they lead by and what were their beliefs?

Try this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_civil_war

[Sakura]

who were they lead by and what were their beliefs?

The Rad Army, as far as I know, was led by Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky plus a few ex-czarist officers. They were Marxist.

The White Army was not as organised. They were a loose collection of Monarchists, Social Democrats, Cossacks, and other Anti-Communists. They were backed by the West and Imperial Japan. They later established communities in Manchuria, Turkey, France, Britain and the U.S., for a "Spring Offencive", after their defeat.

[Doomhammer]

The Rad Army, as far as I know, was led by Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky plus a few ex-czarist officers. They were Marxist.

The Red Army was founded by Leon Trotsky. He alone deserves the credit. They were marxists, but more specifically, they were Bolsheviks.

The White Army was not as organised. They were a loose collection of Monarchists, Social Democrats, Cossacks, and other Anti-Communists.

... and Menshaviks.

I heard several years ago from a friendabout this one regiment which was the Czar's personal guard. 50,000 Czech elite Czech soliders. These guys decided to fight and unite Russia with Czechoslovakia or something. Darndest thing I ever heard.

[Theodore]

The Red Army was founded by Leon Trotsky. He alone deserves the credit. They were marxists, but more specifically, they were Bolsheviks.

Actually, Trotsky was first the Commissar of External Affairs, and only then the Commissar of Defence. Also, Lef-SRs participated in the Soviet government and Red Army until they went berzerk and tried to start a war with Germany.

I heard several years ago from a friendabout this one regiment which was the Czar's personal guard. 50,000 Czech elite Czech soliders. These guys decided to fight and unite Russia with Czechoslovakia or something. Darndest thing I ever heard.

This is the Czech Legion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Legion

[Doomhammer]

Actually, Trotsky was first the Commissar of External Affairs, and only then the Commissar of Defence. Also, Lef-SRs participated in the Soviet government and Red Army until they went berzerk and tried to start a war with Germany.

Oh, I thought he was in charge of founding the Red Army. Ok.

This is the Czech Legion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Legion

That's so cool. I wish I had a Czech legion to command

[The Immortal Goon]

Oh, I thought he was in charge of founding the Red Army. Ok.

I think you're right. Everything I had ever read says this, and when I did a quick google search, every article on the first page says this as well.

I think it's pretty fair to say that he was.

-TIG

[Theodore]

He was in charge of much of the organisation and bringing in former Imperial Army officers, but the basis for the RKKA - the Red Guards - had already been formed and saw combat. I'm not denying that Trotsky was crucial to the formation of the Red Army, but to say that it was exclusively his achievement is oversimplifying things a bit.

[I]

I'm not denying that Trotsky was crucial to the formation of the Red Army, but to say that it was exclusively his achievement is oversimplifying things a bit.

Given the demands for a pure proletarian army (like the Red Guards) amongst the Bolsheviks, isnt the oversimplifying actually quite handy as it focuses on Trotsky's role in deciding the nature of the Red Army's organisation (which also impacted on the state apparatus in general)?

[Theodore]

Lenin had consented to the recruiting of former imperial officers, and influenced the RKKA organisation (if I remember correctly the Revolutionary Military Committee was his idea). Besides, the officers brought in didn't have much of an impact on the state apparatus.

[I]

Here's a snip of what I based my comment on:

The Bolshevik party had always supported the ideal of a 'class' army- one dominated by the proletariat, as opposed to an army based upon military service. Although the rapid escalation of the civil war in the summer of 1918 had forced the Bolsheviks to adopt the latter principle, many in the party continued to express their belief that a small but 'pure' proletarian army...would prove more reliable and effective than a mass conscript army infiltrated and weakened by non-proletarian elements. This was one of the central arguments of the Military Opposition in the Bolshevik party to Trotsky's policy of constructing a regular conscript army commanded by 'bourgeous' military specialists under the political supervision of Bolshevik commissars...These issues went far beyond the question of military organisation. The principes upon which the Red Army was built served as a model for the rest of the Soviet system. The centralisation of the Bolshevik state apparatus ran parallel to similar changes in the Red Army's political and command structure

[Theodore]

Hm... the SovNarKom and much of the state apparatus was created in 1917, before the Red Army. The organisation of the economy was influenced by the organisation of the Red Army, but that had more to do with centralism (which was promoted by Lenin as well as Trotsky), and not as much with the new officers.

[I]

Trotsky's view on strict centralisation was certainly crucial for the development of the nature of the Red Army. He does, however, display a certain level of (required?) inconsistency. For example, after losing patience with "criminal red-tape-ism", he advocates private trade to overcome shortages.

[Sniperwolfe]

Trotsky was responsible, he was placed as the chairman of the revolutionary military council. He was also responsible for the defense of Leningrad from the White Army, while Stalin was in the South near Ukraine (Stalin was the People's Commissar of Ukraine no?), and I forgot the general who commanded the Siberian front.
Trotsky was also responsible for the "easy" Red victory, with his policy for inevitable death for retreat with death squads in the back of armies. Trotsky was the greatest military influence during the war, at least from what I know.
Oh, and it was also Trotsky idea to have the localized structure of the Red Army..