Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers
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On , an armistice was signed between the
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
on the one side and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, the
Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...
, the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
and the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
—the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
—on the other. The armistice took effect two days later, on . By this agreement Russia ''de facto'' exited
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, although fighting would briefly resume before the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace, separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russian SFSR, Russia and the Central Powers (German Empire, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of ...
was signed on 3 March 1918, and Russia made peace.


Ceasefires

The Bolsheviks came to power with the slogan "Bread and Peace". On three Russian emissaries under a white flag entered the German lines to arrange for negotiations which they agreed would be held at the headquarters of the Central Powers Armies at Brest-Litovsk. A local ceasefire agreement was reached at Soly on between the Russians and Germans on the Eastern Front (Russia's "Western Front"). It superseded any local ceasefires or truces already agreed to—without specifying what these were—and was to be in effect from 6–17 December. Notice of the agreement was published in ''
Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes ...
'' on . A fuller ceasefire encompassing all the Central Powers was signed at Brest-Litovsk on , the day after the agreement with Germany at Soly. This ceasefire came into effect a day later , but expired on the same date as the local agreement of 4 December. It was published in ''Izvestia'' on the day it came into effect. In
Soviet historiography Soviet historiography is the methodology of history studies by historians in the Soviet Union (USSR). In the USSR, the study of history was marked by restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Soviet historiography i ...
there is some dispute about whether any agreement was signed on 5 December, and the explicit reference in the text of the armistice to a ceasefire of that date is dismissed as an error. That the 5 December agreement is historical is generally agreed. One of the Russian negotiators,
Lev Kamenev Lev Borisovich Kamenev. (''né'' Rozenfeld; – 25 August 1936) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a prominent Soviet politician. Born in Moscow to parents who were both involved in revolutionary politics, Kamenev attended Imperial Moscow Uni ...
, wrote about the details of the agreement in ''Izvestia'' on ; and the German General
Max Hoffmann Carl Adolf Maximilian Hoffmann (25 January 1869 – 8 July 1927) was a German military strategist. As a staff officer at the beginning of World War I, he was Deputy Chief of Staff of the 8th Army, soon promoted Chief of Staff. Hoffmann, along w ...
discussed it in his war diary.


Armistice

The negotiations were organized by General
Max Hoffmann Carl Adolf Maximilian Hoffmann (25 January 1869 – 8 July 1927) was a German military strategist. As a staff officer at the beginning of World War I, he was Deputy Chief of Staff of the 8th Army, soon promoted Chief of Staff. Hoffmann, along w ...
, chief of staff of the Eastern Armies. His negotiating team consisted of five Germans, four Austro-Hungarians (led by
Kajetan von Mérey Kajetan Mérey von Kapos-Mére ( hu, kapos-mérei Mérey Kajetán) (16 January 1861 – 2 February 1931), was an Austro-Hungarian diplomat of Hungarian origin serving as ambassador at Rome at the outbreak of World War I. Life Kajetan von Mére ...
), three Ottomans (led by
Zeki Pasha Zeki Pasha İzzettin Çalışlar, ''On yıllık savaşın günlüğü: Balkan, Birinci Dünya ve İstiklal Savaşları'', Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 1997, ( tr, Zeki Paşa; 1862–1943), known as Mehmet Zeki Baraz Kolaç Kılıçoğlu after the 1 ...
) and two Bulgarians (led by Petar Ganchev). Russian overtures to their French, Italian, and British allies to join in were rejected with "an, angry stony silence". Foreign minister
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
assembled a Russian delegation of twenty eight, which one of them described as a menagerie because they were chosen to represent the social groups supporting the revolution, including soldiers, sailors, and factory workers. On the way to the railway station they realized that they lacked a peasant one was recruited from the street. The female representative was celebrated for having assassinated a general. They were led by
Adolph Joffe Adolph Abramovich Joffe (russian: Адо́льф Абра́мович Ио́ффе, alternative transliterations Adol'f Ioffe or, rarely, Yoffe) (10 October 1883 in Simferopol – 16 November 1927 in Moscow) was a Russian revolutionary, a Bo ...
, an experienced Bolshevik who had studied medicine in Berlin, supported by a tsarist lieutenant colonel as military adviser and the experienced revolutionaries Kamenev and
Lev Karakhan Lev Mikhailovich Karakhan (''Karakhanian'') Armenian Լևոն Միքայելի Կարախանյան, Russian Лев Михайлович Карахан (20 January 1889, Tiflis – 20 September 1937, Moscow) was a Russian revolutionary and a ...
. When they arrived at Brest-Litovsk they found the city a blackened ruin, burnt to the ground during the Russian retreat in 1915. The offices and common facilities of the headquarters were in the fortress which had survived the fire and lodgings were in temporary wooden buildings erected in its courtyards. The delegation was welcomed by Field Marshal
Prince Leopold of Bavaria Prince Leopold of Bavaria (Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf; 9 February 1846 – 28 September 1930) was born in Munich, the son of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria (1821–1912) and his wife Archduchess Augusta of Austria (1825–1864). He ...
, a younger brother of the King of Bavaria and supreme commander on the eastern front. The Russians ate in the officer's mess, where their hosts endeavored to establish friendly relations with their perplexing guests. After three days of negotiations they agreed on an armistice for 28 days, during which no German troops would leave the eastern front. The sticking point was that Joffe's instructions were to sign a general armistice for all of the fighting fronts, which Hoffmann rejected because obviously they had no such mandate from their allies. The talks were recessed for a week while Joffe obtained new instructions. The Russians returned without their symbolic soldier, sailor, worker, and peasant. On 15 December 1917, an armistice for thirty days was agreed, which would automatically be extended to thirty days until seven days after notice had been given by any party of its intention to resume hostilities. A supplement to the armistice was signed later the same day. It provided for a commission to be set up at
Petrograd Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to restore the postal system, trade relations and the transport of books and newspapers. They also agreed to reconvene to begin to negotiate a
peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
. On 10 February 1918, the treaty negotiations broke down. On 17 February, Hoffmann gave official notice that hostilities would be renewed on 18 February, when the final campaign of the Eastern Front began, forcing the Russians to give way and sign.


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * {{World War I World War I Russia and the Central Powers 1917 in military history 1917 in Russia December 1917 events 1917 documents