Yeah and if peasants didn't have that bloated stomach that people ironically get when constantly starved, they were shot because they "must have been hiding food."
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Well that continued war is not their want, of course they want peace after taking the government. "Bread" at that time means actual bread. And there would be no bread without peace.
Pushing back the Polish forces that attacked them in Belarus and Ukraine and were in control of Kiev and Minks just a few months before?
It was Poland who launched an offensive in the East in 1919 and 1920, and also ended up with a favorable peace treaty. Soviets were hardly what I would call helpless victims and of course were probably more than willing to use that chance to expand further westward, but at least in that occasion it was Poland who started it.
I mean, maybe the Soviets would have tried something on Poland even without Polish aggression, it's not like they were nice people, but still, that's not what happened.
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That was nothing like the "Polish agression" actually. Poland did advance toward Kiev in 1920 indeed, but with the cooperation of Ukrainian forces (well, some of them, because there was quite a plenty of different parties there
), but earlier it was rather the mutual clash of both the Poles and Soviets trying to gain as much land they claimed as possible. The Kiev offensive was just a part of it. Prior to it the Soviets were the agressor in the rest of Ukraine BTW.- 1
This discussion reminds me of an interesting question: Was Lenin a German agent?
The general opinion is negative, that the Germans used him, but he made no promises. But one detail pushed me into a doubt. The argument among communist leaders over peace with Germany (leading to Brest-Litovsk) was heated and difficult. And it was Lenin, who (like never before or after) threatened with resignation if his stance - i.e. peace at all cost - were not accepted.
His quite extraordinary behaviour on this particular issue leaves a shadow of doubt... What if the Germans held some documents compromising him?
The general opinion is negative, that the Germans used him, but he made no promises. But one detail pushed me into a doubt. The argument among communist leaders over peace with Germany (leading to Brest-Litovsk) was heated and difficult. And it was Lenin, who (like never before or after) threatened with resignation if his stance - i.e. peace at all cost - were not accepted.
His quite extraordinary behaviour on this particular issue leaves a shadow of doubt... What if the Germans held some documents compromising him?
Peace talk cancelled because of Leon Trotsky's mistake, and the Germans advance right to Petergrad. The next talk bring even more worse than first propose. At this time I think everyone see the mistake of Trotsky.
Moreover it is not hard for a good leader in 1918 to predict German will surrender and any pact with it can be reversed.
What was Trotsky's mistake?
And with regard to Germany's collapse then that is hindsight. Germany could well have won the war if the spring 1918 offensive had been successful and IIRC that offensive actually almost succeeded.
He is the head of the Soviet delegation, and he withdraw from peace talk. From wiki:
the Central Powers... in the next fortnight seized most of Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic countries.
..On 23 February, the Central Powers sent new terms for peace. These terms included cession of Dünaburg, Livonia, and Estonia to Germany; cession of western Armenia to Turkey; recognition of an independent Ukraine; immediate evacuation of Russian troops from Finland and Ukraine; and complete demobilization of the Russian Army
...Thus the new Soviet government agreed to terms worse than those they had previously rejected.
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They thought German will be collapse by revolution. Actually Trotsky and many others think the collapse of Germany will be much faster so they opposed the peace in the first place!
On the other hand, Germany also didn't get peace in the new conquered land, and still more than 1 million troops need to be held there when they should be on the western front.
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