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88-614: After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk , the newly established Russo-German border was controlled on the Russian side, by the so-called Western Section of Curtain Troops (Западный участок отрядов завесы), or simply the Western Curtain. The curtain was a sparse and heterogeneous set of detachments. Its commander was Vladimir Egoryev . (His official rank was "military leader" (военный руководитель), since he

176-616: A Berlin railway station; it was filled with insurrectionary documents. Joffe and his staff were ejected from Germany in a sealed train on 5 November 1918. In the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I, one clause abrogated the Brest-Litovsk treaty. Next, the Bolshevik legislature ( VTsIK ) annulled the treaty on 13 November 1918, and the text of the VTsIK Decision was printed in

264-594: A call for turning all political power over to workers' and soldiers' soviets (councils) and an immediate withdrawal of Russia from the war. At around the same time, the United States entered the war, potentially shifting the balance of the war against the Central Powers. Throughout 1917, Bolsheviks called for the overthrow of the Provisional Government and an end to the war. Following the disastrous failure of

352-576: A document accepting the Finnish independence, the loss of Ukraine and the Baltics created, from the Bolshevik perspective, dangerous bases of anti-Bolshevik military activity in the subsequent Russian Civil War (1917–1923). However, Bolshevik control of Ukraine and Transcaucasia was at the time fragile or non-existent. Many Russian nationalists and some revolutionaries were furious at the Bolsheviks' acceptance of

440-422: A newly raised revolutionary force while awaiting these upheavals. Consequently, Lenin agreed to Trotsky's formula – a position summed up as "no war – no peace" – which was announced when the negotiators reconvened on 10 February 1918. The Soviets thought that their stalling was succeeding until 16 February when Hoffmann notified them that the war would resume in two days, when fifty-three divisions advanced against

528-584: A population, in 2021, of 38,680. The city is home to a branch of the Bryansk State University . It was founded in 1701 and was granted town status in 1809. Novozybkov was a major hemp supplier in the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly for the production of ropes for the Imperial Russian Navy . Following the Crimean War , the demand for hemp fell, and cultivation stopped altogether at

616-490: A rump Polish state with what remained. The Baltic governorates were to become client states ruled by German princes . Czernin was beside himself that this hitch that was slowing the negotiations; self-determination was anathema to his government and they urgently needed grain from the east because Vienna was on the verge of starvation. He proposed to make a separate peace. Kühlmann warned that if they negotiated separately, Germany would immediately withdraw all its divisions from

704-692: A unifying cause to the White movement and opening a rift between the Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries , whose representatives withdrew from the Council of People's Commissars after its signing and later rebelled in the Left SR Uprising . The treaty was annulled by the Armistice of 11 November 1918 , in which Germany surrendered to the western Allied Powers . Subsequent attempts by

792-416: Is in decline, with an average annual loss of 207 people between 1989 and 2021. Within the framework of administrative divisions , Novozybkov serves as the administrative center of Novozybkovsky District , even though it is not a part of it. As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as Novozybkovsky Urban Administrative Okrug —an administrative unit with the status equal to that of

880-512: The Chernobyl disaster . Today, these two areas remain the most contaminated in the Russian Federation as to the total contaminated area and the intensity of contamination (curies per km ). The area not suitable for human habitation (more than 40 Ci/km (1.5 MBq/m )) starts at 1 km west of Novozybkov city limits. As a result of the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, part of

968-550: The Kerensky offensive , discipline in the Russian army deteriorated completely. Soldiers would disobey orders, often under the influence of Bolshevik agitation, and set up soldiers' committees to take control of their units after deposing the officers. The defeat and ongoing hardships of war led to anti-government riots in Petrograd, the " July Days " of 1917. Several months later, on 7 November (25 October old style ), Red Guards seized

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1056-558: The Kingdom of Poland was not mentioned in the treaty, as the Germans refused to recognize the existence of any Polish representatives, which in turn led to Polish protests. The treaty stated that "Germany and Austria-Hungary intend to determine the future fate of these territories in agreement with their populations." Most of the territories were in effect ceded to Germany, which intended to have them become economic and political dependencies, where

1144-763: The Red Guards , in March 1917. The continuing war led the German Government to agree to a suggestion that they should favour the opposition Communist Party ( Bolsheviks ), who were proponents of Russia's withdrawal from the war. Therefore, in April 1917, Germany transported Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin and thirty-one supporters in a sealed train from exile in Switzerland to Finland Station, Petrograd. Upon his arrival in Petrograd, Lenin proclaimed his April Theses , which included

1232-641: The Western Rifle Division and units of the 2nd Area of Front Defense. By the end of 1918, the strength of the Western (16th) Army was around 19,000 men, but had little artillery or cavalry (8 guns and 261 horses total). Over the next few months the strength of the Army grew to 46,000 men due to conscription and the mobilization of Communist Party members. It was considered by the Soviet High Command to be one of

1320-676: The Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government in what is known as the October Revolution . A top priority of the newly established Soviet government was to end the war. On 8 November 1917 (26 October 1917 O.S) Vladimir Lenin signed the Decree on Peace , which was approved by the Second Congress of the Soviet of Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies . The Decree called "upon all

1408-612: The independence of Finland , which it had recognized in January 1918, and pledged to end its war with the Ukrainian People's Republic , which the Central Powers had recognized under the prior Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (9 February 1918). A supplementary protocol signed in August 1918 required Russia to pay Germany war reparations of six billion marks. The treaty was controversial in Russia, giving

1496-610: The 15th Army. In exchange, the army received the 48th and 56th Rifle Divisions, bringing it back up to its strength before the Battle of Warsaw, and its headquarters was located at Slonim . However, Pilsudski launched his attack, known as the Battle of the Niemen River , on September 21. Although the Soviet line initially held, Polish forces moved through Lithuania, then swept south into the rear of

1584-519: The 16th Army began a precipitate retreat to the east, but then were attacked in turn by troops from the Assault Group. As a result of these actions, the 8th and 10th Rifle Divisions were destroyed, while the 2nd Rifle Division suffered heavy losses. The 17th Rifle Division lost communication with the rest of the army in the chaos, leaving the Putna's 27th as the only intact unit in the army. Out of touch with

1672-487: The 16th Army fought against Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz 's troops. On December 7, the army received the troops of the disbanded 3rd Army . In March, the Gomel Fortified Region became part of the 16th Army. The army was disbanded on May 7, 1921, and its troops distributed to other Western Front units. The army was commanded by the following officers: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

1760-503: The 1939–1940 Winter War , and by invading and occupying Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania , and parts of Romania (Bessarabia and northern Bukovina) in 1940. During World War II the Soviet leadership was thus able to overturn the majority of the territorial losses incurred at Brest-Litovsk, except for the larger part of Finland, western Congress Poland , and Western Armenia . Emil Orlik , the Viennese Secessionist artist, attended

1848-503: The 27th Division, down to 25% strength, guarding the rear and covering the retreat of both the 16th Army and the Mozyr Group. On August 22, Białystok was captured by the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division , cutting off stragglers from the army and the Mozyr Group. The 27th Division launched a counterattack and briefly opened the road, but Putna left the area after a Polish counterattack retook

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1936-589: The Allied Powers but ultimately failed. Some Germans later blamed the occupation for significantly weakening the Spring Offensive. The Germans began slowly but steadily withdrawing personnel from the occupied territories from east to west as the troop transfers to the Western Front continued throughout 1918. Local independence movements, particularly those based in what is now Belarus and Ukraine, moved in to fill

2024-507: The Austrian front; Czernin dropped that threat. The food crisis in Vienna was eventually eased by "forced drafts of grain from Hungary, Poland, and Romania and by a last moment contribution from Germany of 450 truck-loads of flour". At Russian request, they agreed to recess the talks for twelve days. The Soviets' only hopes were that time would make their allies agree to join the negotiations or that

2112-763: The Baltic states re-emerged as independent nations. In the Treaty of Rapallo , concluded in April 1922, Germany accepted the Treaty's nullification, and the two powers agreed to abandon all war-related territorial and financial claims against each other. This state of affairs lasted until 1939, when after signing the secret protocol to the Nazi-Soviet pact , the Soviet Union was able to advance its borders westward by invading Poland in September 1939, by conquering parts of eastern Finland in

2200-510: The Berezina. Between July 4 and 23, the army fought in the July Offensive , the renewed Soviet offensive in the war. During the offensive, the army rapidly advanced through Belarus, capturing Igumen, Bobruisk , Minsk, Baranovichi , Slonim , and Vawkavysk . On July 25, the Soviet attack on Warsaw began, culminating in the Battle of Warsaw . The 16th Army continued to advance westward, and on

2288-484: The Bolsheviks at the peace conference. On 15 December 1917, an armistice between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers was concluded. On 22 December , peace negotiations began in Brest-Litovsk. Arrangements for the conference were the responsibility of General Max Hoffmann , the chief of staff of the Central Powers' forces on the Eastern Front ( Oberkommando-Ostfront, Ober Ost ). The delegations that had negotiated

2376-499: The Bolsheviks. Again, the negotiators met in the fortress in Brest-Litovsk, and the delegates were housed in temporary wooden structures in its courtyards because the city had been burnt to the ground in 1915 by the retreating Russian army. They were cordially welcomed by the German commander of the Eastern Front, Prince Leopold of Bavaria , who sat with Joffe on the head table at the opening banquet with one hundred guests. As they had during

2464-582: The Central Committee that "you must sign this shameful peace in order to save the world revolution". If they did not agree, he would resign. He was supported by six Central Committee members, opposed by three, with Trotsky and three others abstaining. Debate in the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was intense, with Left SRs jeering Lenin as a traitor. The measure passed 116 to 85. Trotsky resigned as foreign minister and

2552-506: The Central Powers, were determined to separate from Russia on the principle of self-determination that the Bolsheviks themselves espoused. Joffe "looked as if he had received a blow on the head". Pokrovsky wept as he asked how they could speak of "peace without annexations when Germany was tearing eighteen provinces away from the Russian state". The Germans and the Austro-Hungarians planned to annex slices of Polish territory and to set up

2640-611: The Entente Powers a telegram, known as the Milyukov note , affirming to them that the Provisional Government would continue the war with the same war aims that the former Russian Empire had. The pro-war Provisional Government was opposed by the self-proclaimed Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , dominated by leftist parties. Its Order No. 1 called for an overriding mandate to soldier committees rather than army officers. The Soviet started to form its own paramilitary power,

2728-496: The German government and the high command began to favour offering more lenient terms to the Allied Powers in exchange for their recognition of German gains in the east. The treaty marked a significant contraction of the territory controlled by the Bolsheviks or that they could lay claim to as effective successors of the Russian Empire. While the independence of Poland was already accepted by them in principle, and Lenin had signed

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2816-515: The Polish Kiev offensive , the May Offensive. In the counterattack, planned by front commander Mikhail Tukhachevsky , the 16th Army was to frontally attack the Polish 4th Army at Borisov and Igumen and keep it from moving to reinforce threatened Polish units, while the 15th Army , the main force, would advance southwest towards Molodechno, then wheel around and push the 1st Polish Army into

2904-533: The Polish city of Cholm and its surroundings, and they would provide desperately needed grain. Czernin no longer was desperate for a prompt settlement with the Russians. When they reconvened, Trotsky declined the invitation to meet Prince Leopold and terminated shared meals and other sociable interactions with the representatives of the Central Powers. Day after day, Trotsky "engaged Kühlmann in debate, rising to subtle discussion of first principles that ranged far beyond

2992-517: The Russian economy had nearly collapsed under the strain of the war effort. The large numbers of war casualties and persistent food shortages in the major urban centers brought about civil unrest, known as the February Revolution , that forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate. The Russian Provisional Government that replaced the Tsar in early 1917 continued the war. Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov sent

3080-649: The Soviet Western Army engaged various self-defence and militia groups from Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. Among scores of battles, the Battle of Bereza Kartuska on February 14, 1919 sparked the Polish–Soviet War . The army became part of the Western Front on February 19, and was renamed the Lithuanian-Belorussian Army on March 13. With this redesignation, the army officially became

3168-474: The Soviet northern flank, which began a disorganized retreat. In the center, the 15th and 16th Armies retreated in an orderly fashion thanks to the actions of the 27th Division, the southernmost of the 15th Army units. By October 1, the units of the two armies were holding positions in a line of old Russian World War I trenches, opposite the former Polish positions from before the July Offensive. The defense line

3256-622: The Soviets to restore power in the lost territories during the Russian Civil War (1917–1922) had mixed results, with the Red Army being defeated in the independence wars of the three Baltic countries and in the Polish–Soviet War , but achieving victory in its invasions of Azerbaijan , Armenia , and Georgia and in the Ukrainian–Soviet War . The border with Turkey established by the treaty

3344-514: The Western Bug. On August 8, Tukhachevsky issued his order for the capture of Warsaw, in which the 16th Army was to attack the city from the east, covered on its flank by the Mozyr Group of Forces . During the Battle of Radzymin between August 13 and 16, the army's 27th Omsk Rifle Division , commanded by Vitovt Putna , fought to capture Radzymin , which changed hands more than five times during

3432-763: The Western edge of the Southern Front , and was commanded by Andrei Snesarev . After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was annulled by the Soviets on November 13, 1918 the Western Defense Region was transformed into the Western Army (November 15, 1918), garrisoned in Smolensk . It was composed of: the Pskov Infantry Division (later the Lithuanian Rifle Division ), the 17th Vitebsk Rifle Division ,

3520-419: The armistice negotiations, both sides continued to eat dinner and supper together amicably intermingled in the officers' mess. When the conference convened Kühlmann asked Joffe to present the Russian conditions for peace. He made six points, all variations of the Bolshevik slogan of peace with "no annexations or indemnities". The Central Powers accepted the principles "but only in case all belligerents [including

3608-462: The armistice were made stronger. Prominent additions on the Central Powers' side were the foreign ministers of Germany, Richard von Kühlmann , and Austria-Hungary, Count Ottokar Czernin , both the Ottoman grand vizier Talaat Pasha and Foreign Minister Nassimy Bey. The Bulgarians were headed by Minister of Justice Popoff, who was later joined by Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov . The Soviet delegation

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3696-647: The army of the Lithuanian-Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic , a Soviet puppet state covering the territory of Lithuania and Belorussia. On June 9, it became the 16th Army after it was pushed out of Lithuania after retreating from Panevėžys in the Lithuanian War of Independence . Around the same time, the army headquarters was moved forward to Mogilev. The army continued to retreat until August, ceding Molodechno and Minsk to Polish troops, and in August took up defensive positions on

3784-433: The beginning of the 20th century. During World War II , Novozybkov was occupied by the German Army from 16 August 1941 to 25 September 1943. The Jewish population of Novozybkov, about 10% of the total population, were reported to have been rounded up and executed in Karkhovskiy Forest. On April 26, 1986, Novozybkovsky District and the neighbouring Krasnogorsky District were contaminated with radioactive fallout from

3872-447: The belligerent nations and their governments to start immediate negotiations for peace" and proposed an immediate withdrawal of Russia from World War I . Leon Trotsky was appointed Commissar of Foreign Affairs in the new Bolshevik government. In preparation for peace talks with the representatives of the German government and the representatives of the other Central Powers, Leon Trotsky appointed his good friend Adolph Joffe to represent

3960-419: The bourgeoisie, the social revolutionaries, Tsarist diplomats, Tsarist bureaucrats, "the Kerenskys, Tseretelis and Chernovs", the Tsarist regime, and the "petty-bourgeois compromisers". The treaty opened a permanent rift between the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries . In July 1918 the Left SRs assassinated German Ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach in the hopes that it would induce Germany to annul

4048-458: The concrete territorial issues that divided them". The Central Powers signed a peace treaty with Ukraine during the night of 8–9 February even though the Russians had retaken Kiev . German and Austro-Hungarian troops entered Ukraine to prop up the Rada. Finally, Hoffmann broke the impasse with the Russians by focusing the discussion on maps of the future boundaries. Trotsky summarised their situation "Germany and Austria-Hungary are cutting off from

4136-413: The conference, at the invitation of Richard von Kühlmann. He drew portraits of all the participants, along with a series of smaller caricatures. These were gathered together into a book, Brest-Litovsk, a copy of which was given to each of the participants. Novozybkov Novozybkov ( Russian : Новозы́бков ; Belarusian : Навазыбкаў ) is a historical town in Bryansk Oblast , Russia with

4224-487: The domains of the former Russian Empire territories more than 150,000 square kilometers in size". He was granted a nine-day recess for the Russians to decide whether to sign. In Petrograd, Trotsky argued passionately against signing and proposed that instead, "they should announce the termination of the war and demobilization without signing any peace." Privately, in correspondence with Count Otto von Czernin , Trotsky had expressed his willigness to relent to peace terms upon

4312-431: The expulsion of British troops from Baku. The treaty freed up a million German soldiers for the Western Front and allowed Germany to use "much of Russia's food supply, industrial base, fuel supplies, and communications with Western Europe" According to historian Spencer Tucker, the Allied Powers felt that The treaty was the ultimate betrayal of the Allied cause and sowed the seeds for the Cold War. With Brest-Litovsk,

4400-429: The fighting. At the same time, Polish leader Józef Piłsudski 's Assault Group began the counteroffensive. They quickly broke through the understrength Mozyr Group on 16th Army's flank, and on 18 August the army came under attack from both the three divisions of the Assault Group's 4th Army on its flank and the 10th and 15th Divisions advancing from Warsaw on its front. Under pressure, the three southernmost divisions of

4488-487: The future German-Polish border. He advocated taking a small slice of Poland; Hindenburg and Ludendorff wanted much more. They were furious with Hoffmann for breaching the chain of command and wanted him to be dismissed and sent to command a division. The Kaiser refused, but Ludendorff no longer spoke with Hoffmann on the telephone since the communication was now through an intermediary. The German Supreme Commanders were also furious at ruling out of annexations, contending that

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4576-430: The gains, leaving the stragglers to capture. Three days later, the division crossed the Niemen , moving towards Vawkavysk, away from the Polish forces. After withdrawing east of the Niemen back into Belarus, Tukhachevsky began preparations for renewing the offensive. As part of the resulting reorganization of the Red Army units of the front, the two best units of the 16th Army, the 2nd and 27th Divisions, were transferred to

4664-423: The least important armies in that period. Immediately after its formation, on November 17, 1918, the Western Army started a bloodless advance, following the retreat of the German forces, in the direction of Belarus and Ukraine . The purpose of the Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 was to take control over the territory abandoned by the German Army retreating from the Ober-Ost theater of operations. Later

4752-414: The line of the Berezina River . From August 14, it was commanded by Nikolai Sollogub . In September, the army headquarters was relocated back to Smolensk, but moved to Novozybkov from March and May 1920. Between March and April 1920, the army fought to capture Mozyr . In May, the headquarters moved back to Mogilev. From May 14 to June 8, 1920, the army fought in the Western Front counterattack against

4840-492: The local German-speaking minority would be the ruling elite. New monarchies were to be created in Lithuania and the proposed " United Baltic Duchy " (which was planned to comprise Latvia and Estonia). Later in 1918, German aristocrats Wilhelm Karl, Duke of Urach (for Lithuania), and Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (for the planned United Baltic Duchy), were nominally appointed, but in reality never became, rulers of these envisaged new pro-German countries. This plan

4928-406: The local population became increasingly hostile to the occupation. Revolts and guerrilla warfare began breaking out all over the occupied territory, many of them inspired by Bolshevik agents. German troops also had to intervene in the Finnish Civil War , and Ludendorff became increasingly concerned that his troops were being affected by propaganda emanating from Moscow, which was one of the reasons he

5016-503: The nations of the Entente] without exception pledge themselves to do the same". They did not intend to annex territories occupied by force. Joffe telegraphed the marvelous news to Petrograd. Thanks to informal chatting in the mess, one of Hoffmann's aides, Colonel Friedrich Brinckmann, realized that the Russians had optimistically misinterpreted the Central Powers' meaning. It fell to Hoffmann to set matters straight at dinner on 27 December: Poland, Lithuania and Courland , already occupied by

5104-429: The near-empty Soviet trenches. On the night of 18 February, the Central Committee supported Lenin's resolution that they sign the treaty by a margin of seven to five. Hoffmann kept advancing until 23 February when he presented new terms that included the withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Ukraine and Finland. The Soviets were given 48 hours to open negotiations with the Germans, and another 72 to conclude them. Lenin told

5192-500: The negotiations while awaiting revolutions in Central Europe. A renewed Central Powers offensive launched on February 18 forced the Soviet side to sue for peace. Under the terms of the treaty, Russia lost control of Ukraine, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and its Caucasus provinces of Kars and Batum . The lands comprised 34% of the former empire's population, 54% of its industrial land, 89% of its coalfields, and 26% of its railways. The Soviet government also confirmed

5280-404: The newspaper Pravda the next day. In the year after the armistice following a timetable set by the victors, the German Army withdrew its occupying forces from the lands gained in Brest-Litovsk. However, relations between Russia and the Allied Powers were also bad due to the Allied Powers' intervention in the Russian Civil War against the Soviet government of Russia and its allies. The fate of

5368-417: The next day, he was almost captured by Feliks Jaworski 's Polish cavalry brigade at his headquarters in Ostrożany . By this time, most of the army had fled across the Bug towards Białystok , with only the 27th Division holding a couple of crossings to allow stragglers to pass through. By August 21, the army's remnants were hurriedly retreating eastwards in small groups, mostly avoiding roads and towns, with

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5456-412: The night of August 1, the army attacked Polish general Wladyslaw Sikorski 's Polesie Group at Brest-Litovsk after crossing the Western Bug , and captured the town, breaching the fourth and final Polish defensive line in front of Warsaw. The army was unable to exploit its success by quickly advancing on Warsaw, however, because a counterattack by Sikorski in the first week of August threw it back across

5544-571: The one side and the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Ottoman Empire on the other. The treaty marked Russia's final withdrawal from World War I as an enemy of her co-signatories, on severe terms. In all, the treaty took away territory that included a quarter of the population and the industry of the former Russian Empire and nine tenths of its coal mines . Russia renounced all territorial claims in Finland (whose independence it had already recognized), Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , most of Belarus , and Ukraine . The territory of

5632-470: The peace "must increase Germany's material power". They denigrated Kühlmann and pressed for additional territorial acquisitions. When Hindenburg was asked why they needed the Baltic provinces he replied, "To secure my left flank for when the next war happens." However, the most profound transformation was that a delegation from the Ukrainian Rada , which had declared independence from Russia, had arrived at Brest-Litovsk. They would make peace if they were given

5720-407: The rear of the 4th, driving them into the Pripet marshes and destroying them there. The attack began on May 14, but failed when the Soviet advance was unable to build momentum and the 15th Army was counterattacked and forced into a disorderly retreat at the beginning of June. The 16th Army crossed the Berezina and created a bridgehead, but was itself counterattacked and forced to retreat back across

5808-425: The region, and the location of the eventual western border of the Soviet Union , was settled in violent and chaotic struggles over the course of the next three and a half years. The Polish–Soviet War was particularly bitter; it ended with the Treaty of Riga in 1921. Although most of Ukraine and Belarus fell under Bolshevik control and eventually became two of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union, Poland and

5896-420: The reorganization of the national and international relations of these districts, but leave it to the population of these districts to carry out this reorganization in agreement with the neighbouring states, especially with the Ottoman Empire. Armenia , Azerbaijan and Georgia rejected the treaty and instead declared independence. They formed the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic . In

5984-403: The resumption of a German offensive although with moral dissent. Lenin was for signing rather than having an even more ruinous treaty forced on them after a few more weeks of military humiliation. The " Left Communists ", led by Nikolai Bukharin and Karl Radek , were sure that Germany, Austria, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria were all on the verge of revolution. They wanted to continue the war with

6072-449: The same time corresponding claims on Russia's part are taken into account, and the value of supplies confiscated in Russia by German military forces after the conclusion of peace is taken into account. The amount was equal to 300 million rubles. The Soviets additionally agreed to sell Germany 25% of the output of the Baku oil fields . Three secret clauses provided for German military action against Entente forces on Russian soil, as well as

6160-480: The situation at the front due to Polish radio jamming, Tukhachevsky ordered Sollogub to create a defensive line between Radzymin and Brest-Litovsk with his southern divisions to prevent Polish troops from attacking the Soviet rear. For this purpose, the army's commander was given permission to draw on the 60,000 replacements near Grodno. Sollogub issued the orders on August 19, when army headquarters had lost contact with all of its units, so they were not received. Early on

6248-433: The spectre of German domination in Eastern Europe threatened to become reality, and the Allies now began to think seriously about military intervention [in Russia]. For the Western Allied Powers, the terms that Germany had imposed on Russia were interpreted as a warning of what to expect if the Central Powers won the war. Between Brest-Litovsk and the point when the situation in the Western Front became dire, some officials in

6336-547: The territory of Bryansk Oblast has been contaminated with radionuclides (mainly Gordeyevsky, Klimovsky , Klintsovsky , Krasnogorsky , Surazhsky , and Novozybkovsky Districts ). In 1999, some 226,000 people lived in areas with the contamination level above 5 Ci/km (0.19 MBq/m ), representing approximately 16% of the oblast's population. The population of Novozybkov was 38,680 ( 2021 Census ) ; 40,553 ( 2010 Census ) ; 43,038 ( 2002 Census ) ; 44,854 ( 1989 Soviet census ) . The population

6424-409: The treaty and joined forces to fight them. Non-Russians who inhabited the lands lost by Bolshevik Russia in the treaty saw the changes as an opportunity to set up independent states. Immediately after the signing of the treaty, Lenin moved the Soviet government from Petrograd to Moscow to prevent Germany from capturing the Russian capital in the event of an invasion. Trotsky blamed the peace treaty on

6512-594: The treaty declared that the territory Russia took from the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , specifically Ardahan , Kars , and Batumi , were to be returned. At the time of the treaty, this territory was under the effective control of Armenian and Georgian forces. Paragraph 3 of Article IV of the treaty stated that: The districts of Ardahan, Kars, and Batum will likewise and without delay be cleared of Russian troops. Russia will not interfere in

6600-480: The treaty, leading to the Left SR Uprising . Relations between Russia and the Central Powers did not go smoothly. The Ottoman Empire broke the treaty by invading the newly created First Republic of Armenia in May 1918. Joffe became the Russian ambassador to Germany. His priority was distributing propaganda to trigger the German revolution. On 4 November 1918, "the Soviet courier's packing-case had 'come to pieces ' " in

6688-415: The void the Germans left behind and established themselves in the newly freed territories. Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Poland , Belarus , and Ukraine became independent, while Bessarabia united with Romania. Russia lost 34% of its population, 54% of its industrial land, 89% of its coalfields, and 26% of its railways. Russia was also fined 6 billion marks. At the insistence of Talaat Pasha ,

6776-468: The wake of Soviet repudiation of Tsarist bonds, the nationalisation of foreign-owned property and confiscation of foreign assets, and Entente forces landing on Russian territory , the Soviets and Germany signed an additional agreement on 27 August 1918. The Soviets agreed to pay six billion marks in compensation for German losses. ARTICLE 2 Russia shall pay Germany six billion marks as compensation for losses sustained by Germans through Russian measures; at

6864-506: The western European proletariat would revolt and so their best strategy was to prolong the negotiations. As Foreign Minister Leon Trotsky wrote, "To delay negotiations, there must be someone to do the delaying". Therefore, Trotsky replaced Joffe as the leader. On the other side were significant political realignments. On New Year's Day in Berlin, the Kaiser insisted that Hoffmann reveal his views on

6952-568: Was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers ( Germany , Austria-Hungary , the Ottoman Empire , and Bulgaria ), by which Russia withdrew from World War I . The treaty, which followed months of negotiations after the armistice on the Eastern Front in December 1917, was signed at Brest-Litovsk (now Brest , Belarus ). The Soviet delegation

7040-414: Was a former Tsarist general ) The Western Curtain covered over 800 kilometres along the line Nevel – Polotsk – Senno – Orsha – Mogilev – Zhlobin – Gomel – Novy Oskol . Eventually the Western Curtain was arranged into seven detachments with over 20,000 troops. This number was actually very small in relation to the area it covered, and insufficient in case of any larger battle. Moreover, part of its manpower

7128-643: Was detailed by German Colonel General Erich Ludendorff , who wrote, "German prestige demands that we should hold a strong protecting hand, not only over German citizens, but over all Germans." The occupation of the western part of the former Russian Empire ultimately proved a costly blunder for Berlin, as over one million German troops lay sprawled out from Poland nearly to the Caspian Sea , all idle and depriving Germany of badly needed manpower in France. The hopes of using Ukraine's grain and coal proved abortive; in addition,

7216-421: Was initially headed by Adolph Joffe , and key figures from the Central Powers included Max Hoffmann and Richard von Kühlmann of Germany, Ottokar Czernin of Austria-Hungary, and Talaat Pasha of the Ottoman Empire. In January 1918, the Central Powers demanded secession of all occupied territories of the former Russian Empire . The Soviets sent a new peace delegation led by Leon Trotsky , which aimed to stall

7304-485: Was largely affirmed by the Treaty of Kars (1921). Under the Treaty of Rapallo (1922), Russia and Germany renounced all territorial and financial claims against each other. The Russian borders established by the treaty bear an almost exact similarity to the post-1991 borders established after the fall of the Soviet Union . By 1917, Germany and Russia were stuck in a stalemate on the Eastern Front of World War I and

7392-438: Was led by Adolph Joffe , who had already led their armistice negotiators, but his group was made more cohesive by eliminating most of the representatives of social groups, like peasants and sailors, and the addition of tsarist general Aleksandr Samoilo and the noted Marxist historian Mikhail Pokrovsky . It still included Anastasia Bitsenko , a former assassin, representing the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries who were at odds with

7480-579: Was moved to other bottlenecks of the Russian Civil War . Eventually, further recruiting by the Red Army allowed a reorganization of the detachments of the Curtain into regular divisions , and the Western Curtain was further reorganized into the Western Defense Region (Западный район обороны). It was created by the Revolutionary Military Council order #3/2 on September 11, 1918, headquartered at Kaluga . The Region extended from Petrograd to

7568-505: Was quickly broken through by the Polish advance, and by the time the Polish troops captured Minsk and reached the Berezina on October 15, the 16th Army had been reduced to a skeleton of its original size. The war ended on the next day when the cease-fire between Poland and the RSFSR took effect. On October 17, the army was reinforced with troops from the disbanded 4th Army . From October, it was headquartered at Mogilev. Between November and December,

7656-429: Was reluctant to transfer divisions to the Western Front . The attempt at establishing an independent Ukrainian state under German guidance was unsuccessful as well. However, Ludendorff completely ruled out the idea of marching on Moscow and Petrograd to remove the Bolshevik government from power. Germany transferred hundreds of thousands of veteran troops to the Western Front for the 1918 Spring Offensive , which shocked

7744-416: Was replaced by Georgy Chicherin . When Sokolnikov arrived at Brest-Litovsk, he declared "we are going to sign immediately the treaty presented to us as an ultimatum but at the same time refuse to enter into any discussion of its terms". The treaty was signed at 17:50 on 3 March 1918. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed on 3 March 1918. The signatories were Soviet Russia signed by Grigori Sokolnikov on

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