how and why Soviet republics rose and fell in Europe
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Civil wars and the restructuring of the state system in the first third of the 20th century took place not only in Russia: in addition to Eastern Europe, Soviet republics also arose in Western Europe. 105 years ago, in April 1919, against the background of the revolutionary upsurge in Germany, which unfolded under the influence of the October Revolution in Russia, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Munich. However, it lasted only a month. How and why Soviet republics arose and collapsed in Europe – in the Kommersant material.
Alsatian: 12 days
The November Revolution in Germany in 1918 stopped the First World War, destroyed the Kaiser’s empire and raised hopes in Moscow for the victory of communism throughout the world, causing a sharp intensification of the radical left throughout Europe, where Soviet republics began to form. One of the first to be proclaimed was the Alsace Soviet Republic – on the lands of Alsace-Lorraine, torn away by Germany from France following the results of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871.
After the fall of the German monarchy, 15 thousand sailors who served in the imperial fleet returned to Alsace. The demonstrations and rallies with their participation culminated in the creation of the Strasbourg Workers’ and Soldiers’ Council on November 10, which declared independence from Berlin. A red flag, hastily made from the flag of the Ottoman Empire, was hung at the town hall. The slogans corresponded to the ideas of the Bolsheviks: “We have nothing in common with the countries of capital. We say – neither Germans, nor French, nor neutrals. Long live the world revolution!”
Revolutionary councils were formed in 30 cities. The new government issued decrees on the abolition of ranks and titles, amnesty for prisoners and freedom of speech and press, meetings and demonstrations. Despite the protests of the enterprise owners, the workers’ demands for higher wages were immediately satisfied. 30 commissions were organized to organize transport, food supplies, demobilization, financial management and law enforcement.
The Alsatian Soviet Republic existed for 12 days – already on November 17, French troops under the command of General Henri Gouraud entered Alsace; on November 22, the Strasbourg Council resigned, its decisions were annulled. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 secured the territory of Alsace-Lorraine to France.
Bremenskaya: 31 days
Meanwhile, in various cities of Germany, councils of sailors, soldiers and workers began to form, who sought to take power into their own hands. In December 1918, the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was founded, and already in January 1919, its supporters, together with members of the radical left-wing Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (NSPD), raised an uprising in Berlin, which was suppressed by the government of Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert. KPD leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were arrested and killed without trial on their way to prison.
Despite this, temporary success awaited the communists in the regions: on January 10, 1919 in Bremen, where anti-war demonstrations had been held since 1916 and Marxist newspapers had been published, the Council of Workers and Soldiers proclaimed the Bremen Soviet Republic.
The central authorities were the Council of Workers’ Deputies and its executive committee, which included communists and representatives of the NSDPD, and the Social Democrats were declared “social traitors.” Armed workers’ detachments were responsible for order on the streets. A demand for the resignation of Friedrich Ebert was sent to Berlin, and a telegram with words of support and an expression of solidarity of Soviet Russia was sent to Moscow.
The newly formed state lasted a month. The desire to nationalize enterprises was dashed by bank refusals to issue loans, and the indignant Berlin public insisted on suppressing the revolution. A decision was soon made to military suppress the Bremen Soviets, which were overthrown by government forces on February 9, 1919.
Bavarian: 28 days
In Munich, like Bremen, the Council of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies was created in November 1918. At one of its meetings, NSDPD representative Kurt Eisner announced the deposition of the Bavarian king Ludwig III and the formation of a provisional government of Bavaria, taking over the posts of prime minister and foreign minister. In January 1919, the NSDPD failed in the elections to the Bavarian Landtag, and a month later Eisner was assassinated by a monarchist, which led to street riots.
As a result, on April 6, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed, the government of which was initially headed by a member of the NSDPD, writer Ernst Toller. A few days later, he ceded leadership in the government to the communist native of St. Petersburg, Evgeniy Levin. He announced the nationalization of banks, the establishment of workers’ control at enterprises, and also established an Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, modeled on Soviet Russia, and created the Red Army.
From the greeting to the Bavarian Soviet Republic from the citywide conference of the Moscow Union of Metalworkers, April 1919:
“We are happy to greet you in the days of your victories over the old bourgeois world. We believe that the proletarians of all Germany will soon follow your example… The ghost of communism is becoming a reality, and the red star of the all-world Soviet Republic is clearly visible in the horizon of suffering humanity. The proletariat can look to its future with faith and cheerfulness. Full steam ahead towards communism. Long live Soviet Bavaria.”
At first, the Red Army acted successfully against Freikorps detachments – volunteer units sent to Bavaria by the Berlin government. Soon, internal disagreements arose within the government of the republic itself, which was exploited by the commander of the Bavarian Freikorps, Colonel Franz Xaver von Epp. On May 1 he entered Munich and the Bavarian Soviet Republic was overthrown. The actions of the Freikorps and government troops from Berlin were accompanied by mass terror directed against the communists and those suspected of sympathizing with them.
Member of the German Communist Party Paul Freulich wrote about the main reason for the defeat of the Soviet republic in Bavaria:
“It arose in a region with predominantly agricultural production, concentrated in the hands of a prosperous peasantry… The peasant class that in Russia could become a revolutionary ally of the workers is completely absent – a class of disenfranchised, exploited, starving, land- and bread-hungry poor peasants… Towards the socialization of estates the reigning house, princes, barons and bishops, the peasantry is indifferent… The workers of the enterprises are only a small part of local residents. Most are newcomers. The locals are of very petty-bourgeois origin, imbued with petty-bourgeois views.”
Hungarian: 133 days
Soon leftist ideas spread from Germany to neighboring countries. On March 21, 1919, the Hungarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in Budapest, which lasted longer than all the republics formed in Europe in 1918–1919. The de jure head of the republic was the socialist politician Sandor Garbai, but its de facto leader was Bela Kun, who combined the posts of People’s Commissar for Foreign and Military Affairs, who had previously taken part in the Civil War in Russia on the side of the Bolsheviks. Through radiotelegraph he maintained direct contact with Vladimir Lenin.
In Budapest, decrees were issued on the abolition of ranks and aristocratic titles, the separation of church and state, freedom of speech and assembly, and the universal right to free education. Enterprises, housing, transport, financial and medical institutions, cultural institutions and land holdings exceeding 40 hectares were subject to nationalization. The left launched Red Terror against those who disagreed with the innovations.
Created on the model of the Workers ‘and Peasants’ Red Army, the Hungarian army successfully developed not only defense, but also offense. With its support, the Slovak Soviet Republic was proclaimed in June 1919, but already in July, when the Red Army soldiers were forced to return to Hungary, it fell under the blows of the Czechoslovak army. A month later, Romanian troops entered Budapest, putting an end to the history of the Hungarian Soviet Republic itself. White terror was launched against her supporters.
Bela Kun soon found himself back in Soviet Russia: in November 1920, after the establishment of Soviet power in Crimea, he was appointed chairman of the Crimean Revolutionary Committee, becoming the organizer of mass executions.
Limerick: 12 days
In the wake of anti-monarchist national liberation movements in Europe, the struggle of the Irish people for their independence from Great Britain began. In 1919, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was founded, which launched active military operations against British troops and police.
In January 1919, in the Irish city of Limerick, English authorities arrested telephone union member Robert Byrne and sentenced him to a year in prison for weapons possession. In prison, he went on a hunger strike, after which he was sent to hospital, from where IRA fighters unsuccessfully tried to free him: during the liberation, Byrne died.
The funeral was accompanied by a large demonstration and riots. The British authorities declared the city a special military zone, entry and exit were allowed only with passes. At the same time, many residents of workers’ settlements in his district remained cut off from jobs in the city. In response, trade unions declared a general strike in County Limerick, and on April 15, with the support of employers, declared its territory a Soviet republic.
The Limerick Trade Union Council began to control the distribution of products, the setting of prices for goods, the printing of newspapers in which they called for a general national strike, and their own banknotes, each of which bore the inscription: “Against British Militarism.”
Seeing the hopelessness of the current situation, the British government made concessions, offering to lift all restrictions in exchange for ending the strike. Since the rest of the Irish did not support Limerick’s socialist initiatives, on April 27, 1919, it was announced that the strike was ending and Soviet power was being abolished.
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