- Formation of Eurasian Ecumene
- Barbarian Invasions
- Islamic Expansion
- Mongol Dominance
- Second Islamic Age
Unification of the Hemispheres
© 2003 David Koeller. All rights reserved.
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
1918
On November 7, 1918, after the fall of the Russian government of Alexander Kerensky, the new Soviet government resolved to make peace with the central Powers. On December 3, 1917, a conference between a Russian delegation, headed by Leon Trotsky and German and Austrian representatives began at Brest-Litovsk. Trotsky had the task of trying to end Russian participation in World War I without having to grant territory to the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria).
On February 10th, the Soviet government announced that it could not conclude peace due to the severity of the demands of the Central Powers. The Central Powers reopened hostilities: the German Army resumed its advance into Russia. On March 3, 1918, with German troops moving towards Petrograd, Trotsky was forced to accept the German terms. The Brest-Litovsk Treaty resulted in Russians surrendering the Ukraine, Finland, Poland, the Caucasus, and the Baltic provinces. In addition, Germany gained the ability to transfer more of its forces to fight against the French and British troops on the western front.
On November 11, 1918, under the terms of the armistice between Germany and the Allied powers, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was annulled.
Sources:
University of Durham. <http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dm10www/brestlit.htm> Brest-Litovsk. April 28, 2000.
Versaware Inc. <http://www.fwkc.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/b/b003002467f.html> Brest-Litovsk. April 28, 2000
Sullivan, Richard. A Short History of the Western Civilization. (McGraw-Hill Inc., 1966).
Edited, Researched and Written by:
Amy Jobst
Tresa Kappil
Minh Phu
May 1, 2000Text copyright 1996-9 by David W. Koeller. All rights reserved.
