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111-606: The museum was established in 1919 as Museum of the Estonian War of Independence . At the time of establishing, the Estonian War of Independence was not over (ended in 1920). 1921–1940, the leader of the museum was Taavet Poska . At this time, the museum was located in Tallinn Old Town at Vene Street 5. In 1940, the museum was closed. The museum was re-established in 2001. Due to the limited space around

222-454: A campaign highlighted by the implementation of the highly successful "soomusrongid" (armoured trains). This turn of events was swiftly followed by the liberation of the sizable town of Rakvere on 12 January. In liberating Narva, a 1,000-strong Finnish-Estonian force landed at Utria to the rear of the Soviet 6th Rifle Division on 17 January. In so doing, retreat eastward for the Soviet forces

333-868: A new Constitution of Russia was adopted. On 29 May 1990, at his third attempt, Boris Yeltsin was elected the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR . The Congress of People's Deputies of the Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian SFSR on 12 June 1990, which was the beginning of the " War of Laws ", pitting the Soviet Union against the Russian Federation and other constituent republics. On 17 March 1991, an all-Russian referendum created

444-798: A rapid offensive of the 2nd Division, spearheaded by its cavalry regiment, continued and on 6 June it crossed Daugava river and captured Jēkabpils , but the 3rd Division could not support the advance of the 2nd division anymore as it was now facing a new enemy: the Baltische Landeswehr . The war against the Baltische Landeswehr broke out on the southern front in Latvia on 5 June 1919. The Latvian democrats led by Kārlis Ulmanis had declared independence as in Estonia but were soon pushed back to Liepāja by Soviet forces, where

555-778: A settlement between the Bolsheviks and the Estonians, but Admiral Cowan threatened withdrawal of support to the Estonians unless they rejected the Hungarian offer. The Russians then publicly broached the subject of peace talks in a radio broadcast on 27 and 28 April. On 5 June the Estonian Commune was abolished. A subsequent broadcast by the Russians on 21 July led to the British journalist Arthur Ransome sounding out

666-553: A victory for Estonia and was concluded in the 1920 Treaty of Tartu . During the 1917 Russian Revolution , the newly elected provincial legislature ( State diet or Maapäev ) of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia proclaimed itself the highest sovereign authority in Estonia, instead of the new Bolshevik government of Russia. As a result, the local Bolsheviks soon dissolved the Maapäev and temporarily forced

777-573: The Azerbaijan SSR ( Azerbaijan ), Georgian SSR ( Georgia ) and Kazakh SSR ( Kazakhstan ) to the south. Roughly 70% of the area in the RSFSR consisted of broad plains , with mountainous tundra regions mainly concentrated in the east of Siberia with Central Asia and East Asia. The area is rich in mineral resources, including petroleum, natural gas, and iron ore. The Soviet government first came to power on 7 November 1917, immediately after

888-743: The Battle of Paju , the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion and the Finnish volunteers drove the Red Latvian Riflemen out of Valga on 31 January. The 7th Red Army was routed outside the boundaries of contemporary Estonia and the battle-front continued outwards into the ancient, historical Estonian settlement area. The second half of February saw the Estonian southward advance capture Salacgrīva and Alūksne . This advance

999-532: The Belovezh Accords . The document, consisting of a preamble and fourteen articles, stated that the Soviet Union no longer existed "as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality". However, based on the historical community of peoples and relations between the three states, as well as bilateral treaties, the desire for a democratic rule of law, the intention to develop their relations based on mutual recognition and respect for state sovereignty,

1110-737: The Communist Party of the Russian SFSR in the territory of Russia. On 6 November, he went further, banning the Communist Parties of the USSR and the RSFSR in the RSFSR. On 8 December 1991, at Viskuli near Brest (Belarus) , Yeltsin, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich signed the "Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States", known in media as

1221-601: The Constitution of the Russian SFSR . By 1918, during the Russian Civil War , several states within the former Russian Empire had seceded, reducing the size of the country even more, although some were conquered by the Bolsheviks. The Russian famine of 1921–22 , also known as Povolzhye famine, killed an estimated 5 million, primarily affecting the Volga and Ural River regions. The economic impact of

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1332-626: The Estonian Constituent Assembly was elected. The elections were won by the Left and Centre parties. The 120 members of the Constituent Assembly met at the opening session on 23 April and elected Social Democrat August Rei as chairman. The provisional government retired, and a new government headed by Otto Strandman was formed. On 4 June the assembly adopted a temporary Constitution of Estonia. On 10 October

1443-675: The Estonian Liberation War , was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom , against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the 1919 aggression of the pro–German Baltische Landeswehr . The campaign was the struggle of the newly established democratic state of Estonia for independence in the aftermath of World War I . It resulted in

1554-723: The First Congress of the Soviets of the USSR approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR , by which Russia was united with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic and Transcaucasian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic into a single federal state, the Soviet Union. The treaty was included in the 1924 Soviet Constitution , adopted on 31 January 1924 by

1665-682: The German VI Reserve Corps finally stopped their advance. This German force, led by general Rüdiger von der Goltz , consisted of the Baltische Landeswehr formed from Baltic Germans , the Guards Reserve Division of former Imperial German Army soldiers who had stayed in Latvia, and the Freikorps Iron Division of volunteers motivated by prospects of acquiring properties in the Baltics. This

1776-774: The Kazakh SSR (now Kazakhstan ) and Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic ( Kyrgyzstan ). The former Karakalpak Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic was transferred to the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic ( Uzbekistan ). The final name for the republic during the Soviet era was adopted by the Russian Constitution of 1937, which renamed it the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). Just four months after Operation Barbarossa ,

1887-853: The Krasnaya Gorka fort , while the Estonian 2nd Division attempted to destroy bridges over the Velikaya River and the Estonian 3rd Division attacked towards Pytalovo . The Northwestern Army approached to 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Petrograd, but the Red Army repulsed the White Russian troops back to the Narva River . Distrustful of the White Russians, the Estonian High Command disarmed and interned

1998-654: The Kuril Islands off the coast of East Asia, north of Japan , making them part of the RSFSR. The status of the southernmost Kurils, north of Hokkaido of the Japanese home islands remains in dispute with Japan and the United States following the peace treaty of 1951 ending the state of war. On 17 April 1946, the Kaliningrad Oblast – the north-eastern portion of the former Kingdom of Prussia ,

2109-584: The Land Reform Act was passed, which confiscated and redistributed the large Baltic German estates that covered more than half of the territory of Estonia. Estonia actively helped to organize White Russian, Latvian and Ingrian forces on the territory of the Republic. The White Russian Northern Corps had been organizing in Estonia since December 1918. On 18 February, an agreement was signed between Estonia and Latvia, which allowed formation of Latvian forces under Estonian command but using them only on

2220-752: The Russian flag , the Soviet Union was self-dissolved by the Soviet of the Republics on 26 December, which by that time was the only functioning parliamentary chamber of the All-Union Supreme Soviet (the other house, Soviet of the Union , had already lost the quorum after recall of its members by the several union republics). After the dissolution, Russia took full responsibility for all

2331-668: The Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR . One of the early ambitious economic plans of the Soviet government was GOELRO , Russian abbreviation for "State Commission for Electrification of Russia" ( Го сударственная комиссия по эл ектрификации Ро ссии), which sought to achieve total electrification of the entire country. Soviet propaganda declared the plan was basically fulfilled by 1931. The national power output per year stood at 1.9 billion kWh in Imperial Russia in 1913, and Lenin's goal of 8.8 billion kWh

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2442-614: The Soviet state on 7 November [ O.S. 25 October] 1917. This happened immediately after the October Revolution toppled the interim Russian Provisional Government (most recently led by opposing democratic socialist Alexander Kerensky (1881–1970)) which had governed the new Russian Republic after the abdication of the Russian Empire government of the Romanov imperial dynasty of Tsar Nicholas II

2553-424: The Soviet Union from 1922 to 1991, until becoming a sovereign part of the Soviet Union with priority of Russian laws over Union-level legislation in 1990 and 1991, the last two years of the existence of the Soviet Union. The Russian SFSR was composed of sixteen smaller constituent units of autonomous republics , five autonomous oblasts , ten autonomous okrugs , six krais and forty oblasts . Russians formed

2664-635: The Soviet form of government ), established citizenship of Russia and stated that the RSFSR shall retain the right of free secession from the Soviet Union. On 12 June 1991, Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007), supported by the Democratic Russia pro-reform movement, was elected the first and only President of the RSFSR, a post that would later become the Presidency of the Russian Federation . The August 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt in Moscow with

2775-882: The Tartumaa Partisan Battalion and the Kalevi Malev Battalion. The national government obtained foreign assistance. On 5 December, Finland delivered 5,000 rifles and 20 field guns along with ammunition. A British Royal Navy squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Edwyn Alexander-Sinclair arrived at Tallinn on 31 December and delivered 6,500 rifles, 200 machine guns, and two field guns. The squadron captured two Russian destroyers, Spartak and Avtroil , and turned them over to Estonia, which renamed them Vambola and Lennuk . On 2 January, Finnish volunteer units with 2,000 men arrived in Estonia. Three armored trains were built in Tallinn under

2886-762: The Ukrainian SSR . On 8 February 1955, Malenkov was officially demoted to deputy Prime Minister. As First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev's authority was significantly enhanced by Malenkov's demotion. The Karelo-Finnish SSR was transferred back to the RSFSR as the Karelian ASSR in 1956. On 9 January 1957, Karachay Autonomous Oblast and Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic were restored by Khrushchev and they were transferred from

2997-598: The United Kingdom and Finland , played a very important role during the early stages of war. British naval and air forces arrived in December 1918, after lobbying in London by Estonian politicians. At this time, the new Estonian government was weak and desperate, and the Estonian Prime Minister even asked that his state be declared a British protectorate , but Britain would not meet this plea. However,

3108-581: The Wehrmacht was quickly advancing through the Russian SFSR, and was approximately 10 miles (16 km) away from Moscow. However, after the defeat in the Battle of Moscow and the Soviet winter offensive , the Germans were pushed back. In 1942, the Wehrmacht entered Stalingrad . Despite a deadly five-month battle in which the Soviets suffered over 1,100,000 casualties, they achieved victory following

3219-400: The then existing Constitution of 1978 , and were retained as such in the subsequent 1993 Constitution of Russia . At a total of about 17,125,200 km (6,612,100 sq mi), the Russian SFSR was the largest of the fifteen Soviet republics, with its southerly neighbor, the Kazakh SSR , being second. The international borders of the RSFSR touched Poland on the west; Norway and Finland on

3330-722: The 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union) and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a loose replacement confederation. On 12 December, the agreement was ratified by the Supreme Soviet (the parliament of the Russian SFSR); therefore the Russian SFSR had renounced the Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union and de facto declared Russia's independence from the Soviet Union itself and

3441-421: The 7th Red Army managed to achieve some limited success. At the end of November, the situation on the front calmed, as the Soviets needed to replenish their forces. In order to pressure Estonia in the peace talks, intensive Soviet attacks restarted on 7 December. On 16 December, the situation became critical as forward units of the 15th Red Army crossed the Narva River. The next day, an Estonian counterattack pushed

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3552-508: The Baltische Landeswehr captured Cēsis . On 8 June, an Estonian counterattack was repelled. The first clashes demonstrated that the VI Reserve Corps was stronger and better equipped than the Soviets. On 10 June, with Entente mediation, a ceasefire was made. Despite the Entente demand for the German force to pull behind the line demanded by the Estonians, von der Goltz refused and demanded Estonian withdrawal from Latvia, threatening to continue fighting. On 19 June, fighting resumed with an assault of

3663-400: The Battle of Cēsis ( Võnnu lahing in Estonian) is celebrated in Estonia as the Victory Day . The Estonian 3rd Division continued their advance towards Riga. On 3 July, when the Estonian forces were at the outskirts of Riga, a ceasefire was made on the demand of the Entente and the Ulmanis government was restored in Riga. The German forces were ordered to leave Latvia, the Baltische Landeswehr

3774-460: The Bolshevik Soviet Russian armed forces moved against Estonia. On 28 November 1918, the Soviet 6th Red Rifle Division attacked the border town of Narva , marking the beginning of the Estonian War of Independence. The Soviet 6th Red Rifle Division attacked with 7,000 infantry, 22 field guns , 111 machine guns , an armored train , two armored vehicles, two airplanes, and the Bogatyr class cruiser Oleg supported by two destroyers. The city

3885-406: The British squadron delivered 6500 rifles, 200 machine guns, and two field guns. In addition, two Soviet destroyers were captured near Tallinn and turned over to Estonia. A Royal Navy squadron continued to provide artillery support on the coast and also protected the Estonian flank against the Russian Baltic Fleet . The United Kingdom remained Estonia's main supplier of arms and equipment throughout

3996-422: The Civil War was devastating. A black market emerged in Russia, despite the threat of martial law against profiteering. The ruble collapsed, with barter increasingly replacing money as a medium of exchange and, by 1921, heavy industry output had fallen to 20% of 1913 levels. 90% of wages were paid with goods rather than money. 70% of locomotives were in need of repair , and food requisitioning, combined with

4107-401: The Commissar for Foreign Relations Georgy Chicherin on the subject of peace talks. As a result, the Soviet government made a formal offer for negotiations on 31 August 1919. The Estonians accepted on 4 September, and delegations started talks on 16 September. Estonia then proposed to stop the negotiations until Latvia, Lithuania and Finland have agreed to participate in joint negotiations. In

4218-415: The Congress of People's Deputies of Russia approved the renaming of the RSFSR into the Russian Federation, by making appropriate amendments to the Constitution, which entered into force since publication on 16 May 1992. The Government was known officially as the Council of People's Commissars (1917–1946) and Council of Ministers (1946–1991). The first government was headed by Vladimir Lenin as Chairman of

4329-518: The Congress. At the same time, a number of prominent members of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries had assumed positions in Lenin's government and lead commissariats in several areas. This included agriculture ( Kolegaev ), property ( Karelin ), justice ( Steinberg ), post offices and telegraphs ( Proshian ) and local government (Trutovsky). Lenin's government also instituted a number of progressive measures such as universal education , healthcare and equal rights for women . On 25 January 1918, at

4440-407: The Council of People's Commissars of the Russian SFSR and the last by Boris Yeltsin as both head of government and head of state under the title of president. The Russian SFSR was controlled by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union until the 1991 August coup , which prompted President Yeltsin to suspend the recently created Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic . In

4551-404: The Estonian Provisional Government. On 16 November 1918, the provisional government called for voluntary mobilization and began to organize the Estonian armed forces, with Konstantin Päts as Minister of War, major general Andres Larka as the chief of staff , and major general Aleksander Tõnisson as commander of the Estonian army , initially consisting of one division. In late November 1918,

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4662-434: The Georgian SSR back to the Russian SFSR . In 1964, Nikita Khrushchev was removed from his position of power and replaced with Leonid Brezhnev . Under his rule, the Russian SFSR and the rest of the Soviet Union went through a mass era of stagnation . Even after Brezhnev's death in 1982, the era did not end until Mikhail Gorbachev took power in March 1985 and introduced liberal reforms in Soviet society. On 12 April 1978,

4773-471: The Iron Division on positions of the Estonian 3rd Division near Limbaži and Straupe , starting the Battle of Cēsis . At that time, the 3rd Estonian Division, including the 2nd Latvian Cēsis regiment under Colonel Krišjānis Berķis , had 5990 infantry and 125 cavalry. Intensive German attacks on Estonian positions continued up to 22 June, without achieving a breakthrough. On 23 June, the Estonian 3rd Division counterattacked, recapturing Cēsis. The anniversary of

4884-430: The Provisional Government was toppled and replaced with the pro-German puppet Provisional Government of Latvia led by Andrievs Niedra . Ulmanis took refuge aboard the steamship "Saratow" under Entente protection. The VI Reserve Corps pushed the Soviets back, capturing Riga on 23 May, continued to advance northwards, and demanded that the Estonian Army ended its occupation of parts of northern Latvia . The real intent of

4995-443: The Pskov offensive Estonian 2nd and 3rd divisions also started southward offensive into Northern-Latvia. By the end of May they had captured Alūksne and Valmiera . Due to simultaneous German-Latvian offensives in Western-Latvia, the situation was becoming very difficult for the Soviets. On 31 May, an Estonian cavalry regiment led by Gustav Jonson reached Gulbene , capturing large amount of rolling stock, including 2 armoured trains.

5106-434: The RSFSR became an integral part of the economy of the USSR. The economic program of the RSFSR (NEP) was continued in all union republics. The Gosplan (State General Planning Commission) of the RSFSR, which replaced GOELRO, was reorganized into the Gosplan of the USSR. His early task was to develop a unified national economic plan based on the electrification plan and to oversee the overall implementation of this plan. Unlike

5217-440: The Red Army together with Leonhard Ritt, commander of the 1st Estonian Rifle Division switched sides on the same day. An offensive destroyed the Estonian Red Army, captured Pskov on 25 May and cleared the territory between Estonia and the Velikaya River of Soviet forces. A few days later White Russian forces arrived in Pskov, but as they were unable to defend the town on their own, some Estonian forces remained in Pskov, while

5328-442: The Soviets back. The Estonian high command actively reinforced the 1st Division at Narva during the battles, sending in the headquarters of the 3rd Division. General Tõnisson became commander of the Viru Front. After suffering 35,000 casualties in heavy battles, the Red Army was completely exhausted by the end of December. On 19 November, the new government of Jaan Tõnisson decided to restart talks with Soviet Russia, even without

5439-464: The Soviets established what was referred to as the new 'Estonian' Red Army . This sizable force consisted upwards of 80,000 conscripts. In positions along the Narva River the Estonian 1st Division and their allied White Russian Northern Corps repelled the 7th Red Army's attacks. The Red Army heavily bombarded Narva, leaving about 2,000 people homeless yet ultimately failed to capture the city. The majority of Soviet forces were concentrated at and along

5550-428: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Many regions in Russia were affected by the Soviet famine of 1932–1933 : Volga , Central Black Soil Region , North Caucasus , the Urals , the Crimea , part of Western Siberia , and the Kazakh ASSR . With the adoption of the 1936 Soviet Constitution on 5 December 1936, the size of the RSFSR was significantly reduced. The Kazakh ASSR and Kirghiz ASSR were transformed into

5661-445: The VI Reserve Corps was to annex Estonia into a German-dominated puppet state. On 3 June, Estonian General Laidoner issued an ultimatum demanding that German forces must pull back southwards, leaving the broad gauge railway between Ieriķi and Gulbene under Estonian control. When Estonian armoured trains moved out on 5 June to check compliance with this demand, the Baltische Landeswehr attacked them, unsuccessfully. The following day,

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5772-566: The Viimsi Manor house, the potential new location for the museum may be in Patarei Sea Fortress in Tallinn. This article about a museum in Estonia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about the military of Estonia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Estonian War of Independence Estonian victory [REDACTED]   Estonia [REDACTED] White Movement 7 January 1919: 4,450 –16,500 Latvian-Estonian Crisis The Estonian War of Independence , also known as

5883-440: The Viru Front, including at the Battle of Utria . Finnish volunteers returned to Finland on March–April 1919, having lost 150 men. The Danish-Baltic Auxiliary Corps with approximately 200 men was formed under the command of Captain Richard Gustav Borgelin in April 1919. The company took part in battles against Bolsheviks in Latvia and near Pskov and 19 men were killed by the time their contract ended in September. R. G. Borgelin

5994-423: The West Russian Volunteer Army attacked Riga. Following the Latvian request to help, Estonia sent two armoured trains to aid repelling the German attack. The Estonian army also remained to support the defence of Latvia against Soviets by defending the front north of Lake Lubāns . Soviet Russia had been attempting to conclude a peace since the spring of 1919. On 25 April 1919, Hungarian Communists offered to mediate

6105-407: The authority of the Republic. The 49th Red Latvian Riflemen Regiment took the Valga railway junction on 18 December and the city of Tartu on Christmas Eve. Also on Christmas Eve, the 6th Red Rifle Division captured the Tapa railway junction, advancing to within 34 kilometers of the nation's capital Tallinn . Estonian Bolsheviks declared the Estonian Workers' Commune in Narva. By the end of

6216-436: The autumn, the Northwestern Army launched operation White Sword, a major effort to capture Petrograd . With the arms provided by Britain and France, and the operational support by the Estonian Army, Estonian Navy , and Royal Navy, the Northwestern Army began the offensive on 28 September 1919. Estonia supported the Northwestern Army due to the demands of the Entente. The Estonian forces made joint naval and land attacks against

6327-416: The campaign, nine were captured, and at least 27 were wounded. Concerned with having Bolshevik rule in the South, Finland delivered funds and weapons. Finland provided 5000 rifles and 20 field guns by 12 December. Finland also sent 3500 volunteers. Pohjan Pojat led by Hans Kalm fought at the Southern Front, including at the Battle of Paju , while I Suomalainen Vapaajoukko led by Martin Ekström fought at

6438-411: The command of sea captain Johan Pitka and Captain Karl Parts . By the beginning of 1919, the Estonian Army had increased its ranks to a total of 13,000 men, with 5,700 on the front facing 8,000 Soviets. The strengthened Estonian Army stopped the 7th Red Army's advance in its tracks between 2 and 5 January 1919 and went on the counter-offensive on 7 January. Tapa was liberated two days later in

6549-431: The democratically elected Estonian leadership underground in the capital Tallinn . A few months later, in February 1918, using the interval between the Red Army's retreat and the arrival of the Imperial German Army, the Salvation Committee formed by Maapäev issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence in Tallinn on 24 February 1918 and formed the Estonian Provisional Government . This first period of independence

6660-433: The denunciation of the union treaty was meaningless since it became invalid in 1924 with the adoption of the first constitution of the USSR . Although the 12 December vote is sometimes reckoned as the moment that the RSFSR seceded from the collapsing Soviet Union, this is not the case. It appears that the RSFSR took the line that it did not need to follow the secession process delineated in the Soviet Constitution because it

6771-476: The effects of seven years of war and a severe drought, contributed to a famine that caused between 3 and 10 million deaths. Coal production decreased from 27.5 million tons (1913) to 7 million tons (1920), while overall factory production also declined from 10,000 million roubles to 1,000 million roubles. According to the noted historian David Christian, the grain harvest was also slashed from 80.1 million tons (1913) to 46.5 million tons (1920). On 30 December 1922,

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6882-500: The electricity produced in the Soviet Union. By 1961, it was the third largest producer of petroleum due to new discoveries in the Volga-Urals region and Siberia, trailing in production to only the United States and Saudi Arabia. In 1974, there were 475 institutes of higher education in the republic providing education in 47 languages to some 23,941,000 students. A network of territorially organized public-health services provided health care. The economy, which had become stagnant since

6993-410: The first years of the existence of the RSFSR, the doctrine of war communism became the starting point of the state's economic activity. In March 1921, at the X Congress of the RCP (B), the tasks of the policy of "war communism" were recognized by the country's leadership as fulfilled, and a new economic policy was introduced at Lenin's suggestion. After the formation of the Soviet Union, the economy of

7104-423: The formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Tenth All-Russian Congress of Soviets , the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, being a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, devolves to the Union the powers which according to Article 1 of the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are included within the scope of responsibilities of the government bodies of

7215-413: The founding state of the German Empire (1871–1918) and later the German province of East Prussia including the capital and Baltic seaport city of Königsberg – was annexed by the Soviet Union and made part of the Russian SFSR. After the death of Joseph Stalin on 5 March 1953, Georgy Malenkov became the new leader of the USSR. In January 1954, Malenkov transferred Crimea from the Russian SFSR to

7326-403: The front approaching, the garrison of the Krasnaya Gorka fort mutinied. But the 7th Red Army received reinforcements and counterattacked, pushing the White Russians back, until the front was stabilised with the support from the Estonian 1st Division on the Luga and Saba rivers. The offensive of the Estonian Petseri Battle Group began on 24 May. The 600 troops of 1st Estonian Rifle Regiment of

7437-496: The interim Russian Provisional Government headed by Alexander Kerensky , which governed the Russian Republic , was overthrown in the October Revolution , the second of the two Russian Revolutions . The state it governed, which did not have an official name, would be unrecognized by neighboring countries for another five months. The initial stage of the October Revolution which involved the assault on Petrograd occurred largely without any human casualties . On 18 January 1918,

7548-411: The largest ethnic group . The capital of the Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union as a whole was Moscow and the other major urban centers included Leningrad (Petrograd until 1924), Stalingrad (Volgograd after 1961), Novosibirsk , Sverdlovsk , Gorky and Kuybyshev . It was the first socialist state in history. The economy of Russia became heavily industrialized, accounting for about two-thirds of

7659-495: The late 1970s under General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev , began to be liberalized starting in 1985 under Gorbachev's " perestroika " restructuring policies, including the introduction of non-state owned enterprises (e.g. cooperatives). On 7 November 1917 ( O.S. 25 October), as a result of the October Revolution , the Russian Soviet Republic was proclaimed as a sovereign state and the world's first constitutionally socialist state guided by communist ideology . The first constitution

7770-439: The nascent state of the Soviets of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies. Speakers of colloquial English coined the term "Bololand" to refer to the land of the Bolos (a term identified from 1919 onwards with the Bolsheviks). On 25 January 1918 the third meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets proclaimed the establishment of the Russian Soviet Republic . In July 1918, the fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted both

7881-399: The new name, Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR), and the Constitution of the Russian SFSR . Internationally, the Russian SFSR was recognized as an independent state in 1920 only by its bordering neighbors ( Estonia , Finland , Latvia and Lithuania ) in the Treaty of Tartu and by the short-lived Irish Republic of 1919–1922 in Ireland. On 30 December 1922, with

7992-494: The newly elected Constituent Assembly issued a decree, proclaiming Russia a democratic federal republic under the name "Russian Democratic Federal Republic". However, the Bolsheviks dissolved the Assembly on the following day and declared its decrees null and void. Conversely, the Bolsheviks also reserved a number of vacant seats in the Soviets and Central Executive for the opposition parties in proportion to their vote share at

8103-804: The northwest; and to its southeast in eastern Asia were the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( North Korea ), Mongolian People's Republic ( Mongolia ) and the People's Republic of China (China, formerly the Republic of China ; 1911–1949). Within the Soviet Union, the RSFSR bordered the Slavic states: Ukrainian SSR ( Ukraine ), Belarusian SSR ( Belarus ), the Baltic states: Estonian SSR ( Estonia ), Latvian SSR ( Latvia ) and Lithuanian SSR ( Lithuania ) (Included in USSR in 1940) to its west and

8214-625: The opposing Red armies were still active. The Estonian High Command decided to push their defense lines across the border into Russia in support of the White Russian Northern Corps. On 13 May, the Northern Corps went on the offensive at Narva, catching the Soviets by surprise and destroying their 6th Division. The offensive was supported along the Gulf of Finland 's coast by the British and Estonian navy and marines. With

8325-412: The participation of other Baltic countries. Negotiations began on 5 December, with the main point of dispute being territorial issues. Talks continued through December, with both sides pressing their territorial demands, while heavy fighting continued at Narva. The peace treaty was finally concluded on 31 December 1919, and the ceasefire came into effect on 3 January 1920. Foreign assistance, mostly from

8436-539: The parties agreed to the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States . On 12 December, the agreement was ratified by the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR by an overwhelming majority: 188 votes for, 6 against and 7 abstentions. The legality of this ratification raised doubts among some members of the Russian parliament, since according to the Constitution of the RSFSR of 1978 consideration of this document

8547-533: The post of President of the RSFSR and on 12 June, Boris Yeltsin was elected president by popular vote . During the unsuccessful 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt of 19–21 August 1991 in Moscow , the capital of the Soviet Union and Russia, Yeltsin strongly supported the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. On 23 August, Yeltsin, in the presence of Gorbachev, signed a decree suspending all activity by

8658-413: The previous March (Old Style: February). The October Revolution was thus the second of the two Russian Revolutions of the turbulent year of 1917. Initially, the new Soviet state did not have an official name and was not recognized by neighboring countries for five months. Anti-Bolsheviks soon suggested new names, however. By 1919 they had coined the mocking label Sovdepia ( Russian : Совдепия ) for

8769-469: The remains of the Northwestern Army that retreated behind the state border. The 7th and 15th Soviet Armies advancing behind collapsing White Russian forces continued to attack the fortified positions at the state border near Narva. The first clashes took place on Luga River on 16 November, starting the conclusive battles with 120,000 Soviets facing 40,000 Estonians. After repeated attacks,

8880-601: The rest returning to Sweden. Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ( Russian SFSR or RSFSR ), previously known as the Russian Soviet Republic and the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic , and unofficially as Soviet Russia , was an independent federal socialist state from 1917 to 1922, and afterwards the largest and most populous constituent republic of

8991-629: The rest were pulled back to the state border. The Northern Corps mobilised members of the local population in the Pskov region . On 19 June 1919, the Estonian Commander-in-Chief General Johan Laidoner rescinded his command over the White Russians, and they were renamed the Northwestern Army . Shortly afterwards, General Nikolai N. Yudenich took command of the troops. Simultaneously with

9102-608: The rights and obligations of the Soviet Union under the Charter of the United Nations, including the financial obligations. As such, Russia assumed the Soviet Union's UN membership and permanent membership on the Security Council , nuclear stockpile and the control over the armed forces; Soviet embassies abroad became Russian embassies. The 1978 constitution of the Russian SFSR was amended several times to reflect

9213-405: The rights and obligations of the USSR under the Charter of the United Nations, including the financial obligations, and assumed control over its nuclear stockpile and the armed forces; Soviet embassies abroad became Russian embassies. On 25 December – just hours after Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union – the Russian SFSR was renamed the Russian Federation (Russia), reflecting that it

9324-512: The same borders of the old Tsardom of Russia before the Great Northern War of 1700 to 1721. The RSFSR dominated the Soviet Union to a significant extent. For most of its existence, the Soviet Union was commonly (but incorrectly) referred to as "Russia". While the RSFSR itself was only one republic within the larger union, it was the largest, most powerful and most highly developed of the 15 republics. According to Matthew White it

9435-431: The southern front under the command of Major-General Ernst Põdder . At Võru, the situation became critical on 22 April when the Red Army approached to within 1.5 km of the town. Heavy fighting continued at the southeastern front up to the first half of May. On 25 April, the Red Latvian Riflemen captured Rūjiena , but were soon pushed back by the 3rd Division to Salacgrīva - Seda - Gauja line. On 5–7 April 1919

9546-592: The southern front. The North Latvian Brigade under the command of Jorģis Zemitāns was formed from the citizens of Latvia who had fled to Estonia. In March 1919, an agreement was signed with the Ingrian National People's Committee for the formation of an Ingrian battalion. By May 1919, there were 6,000 Russians, 4,000 Latvians and 700 Ingrians in their respective national units. Although the Estonian Army had attained control over its country,

9657-463: The southern front. The so-called 'Estonian' Red Army captured Alūksne , Setomaa , Vastseliina , and Räpina parishes by 15 March. Having received reinforcements, the Estonian 2nd Division counterattacked and regained Petseri by 29 March. Subsequently, the 'Estonian' Red Army was pushed behind the Optjok River. On 27 March, the Estonian 3rd Division was deployed along the western flank of

9768-630: The surrender of the last German troops near the Volga River , ultimately pushing German forces out of Russia by 1944. In 1943, Karachay Autonomous Oblast was dissolved by Joseph Stalin (1878–1953), General Secretary of the Communist Party , later Premier, when the Karachays were exiled to Central Asia for their alleged collaboration with the invading Germans in the Great Patriotic War ( World War II , 1941–1945), and territory

9879-491: The temporary brief internment of President Mikhail Gorbachev destabilised the Soviet Union. Following these events, Gorbachev lost all his remaining power, with Yeltsin superseding him as the pre-eminent figure in the country. On 8 December 1991, the heads of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belovezha Accords . The agreement declared dissolution of the USSR by its original founding states (i.e., renunciation of

9990-736: The third meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets , the establishment of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR) was proclaimed. On 3 March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed, giving away much of the westernmost lands of the former Russian Empire to the German Empire , in exchange for peace on the Eastern Front of World War I. In July 1918, the fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted

10101-595: The ties with the other Soviet republics. On 25 December 1991, following the resignation of Gorbachev as President of the Soviet Union (and former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ), the Russian SFSR was renamed the Russian Federation . The next day, after the lowering of the Soviet flag from the top of the Senate building of the Moscow Kremlin and its replacement by

10212-637: The time consisted of 2,000 men with light weapons and about 14,500 poorly armed men in the Estonian Defence League. The end of November 1918 saw the formation of the Baltic Battalion, primarily a mounted machine-gun company plus infantry. Estonia's Baltic German minority provided a sizable troop of volunteer militia for the Battalion, which was one of the first fighting units of the Estonian Army, and maintained staunch loyalty to

10323-457: The transition to democracy, private property and market economy. The new Russian constitution , coming into effect on 25 December 1993 after a constitutional crisis , completely abolished the Soviet form of government and replaced it with a semi-presidential system . Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) and Leon Trotsky (1879–1940), the Bolshevik communists established

10434-706: The treaty on the creation of the Soviet Union , Russia (the RSFSR), alongside the Transcaucasian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR, formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . The final Soviet name for the constituent republic, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, was adopted in the later Soviet Constitution of 1936 . By that time, Soviet Russia had gained roughly

10545-454: The war. While the British navy provided considerable support, the historian William Fletcher concludes that "the British naval force would have had little effect on the outcome of Baltic affairs had not the Estonians and Latvians provided a vibrant and disciplined land and sea force". The British contributed 88 ships to the Baltic campaign, of which 16 were sunk. 128 British servicemen died in

10656-531: The year, the 7th Red Army controlled Estonia along the front line 34 kilometers east of Tallinn, west from Tartu and south of Ainaži . Colonel Johan Laidoner was appointed Commander in chief of the Estonian armed forces. He recruited 600 officers and 11,000 volunteers by 23 December 1918. He reorganized the forces by setting up the 2nd Division in Southern Estonia under the command of Colonel Viktor Puskar , along with commando units, such as

10767-521: Was adopted in 1918. In 1922, the Russian SFSR signed a treaty officially creating the Soviet Union. The Russian SFSR's 1978 constitution stated that "[a] Union Republic is a sovereign [...] state that has united [...] in the Union" and "each Union Republic shall retain the right freely to secede from the USSR". On 12 June 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty , established separation of powers (unlike in

10878-406: Was an open secret that the country's federal structure was "window dressing" for Russian dominance. On 25 December 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union , which concluded on the next day, the RSFSR's official name was changed to the Russian Federation , which it remains to this day. This name and "Russia" were specified as the official state names on 21 April 1992, in an amendment to

10989-686: Was defended by men of the Estonian Defence League (Home Guard) (consisting partly of secondary school students) and Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405 of the German Army . The Reds captured Narva on 29 November and the Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 405 withdrew westwards. The Soviet 2nd Novgorod Division opened a second front south of Lake Peipus , with 7,000 infantry, 12 field guns, 50 machine guns, two armored trains, and three armored vehicles. Estonian military forces at

11100-518: Was extremely short-lived, as the German troops entered Tallinn the following day. The German authorities recognized neither the provisional government nor its claim for the independence of Estonia . After the German Revolution with the capitulation of Imperial Germany at the end of World War I , 11–14 November 1918, the representatives of Germany formally handed over political power to

11211-428: Was in the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR . However, by this time the Soviet government had been rendered more or less impotent, and was in no position to object. On the same day, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR denounced the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and recalled all Russian deputies from the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. A number of lawyers believe that

11322-704: Was incorporated into the Georgian SSR . On 3 March 1944, on the orders of Stalin, the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was disbanded and its population forcibly deported upon the accusations of collaboration with the invaders and separatism . The territory of the ASSR was divided between other administrative units of Russian SFSR and the Georgian SSR. On 11 October 1944, the Tuvan People's Republic

11433-609: Was joined with the Russian SFSR as the Tuvan Autonomous Oblast , becoming an Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1961. After reconquering Estonia and Latvia in 1944, the Russian SFSR annexed their easternmost territories around Ivangorod and within the modern Pechorsky and Pytalovsky Districts in 1944–1945. At the end of World War II Soviet troops of the Red Army occupied southern Sakhalin Island and

11544-586: Was not possible to secede from a country that no longer existed. On 24 December, Yeltsin informed the Secretary-General of the United Nations that by agreement of the member states of the CIS the Russian Federation would assume the membership of the Soviet Union in all UN organs (including the Soviet Union's permanent seat on the UN Security Council ). Russia took full responsibility for all

11655-437: Was now a sovereign state with Yeltsin assuming the Presidency . That same night, the Soviet flag was lowered and replaced with the tricolor . The Soviet Union officially ceased to exist the next day. The change was originally published on 6 January 1992 ( Rossiyskaya Gazeta ). According to law, during 1992, it was allowed to use the old name of the RSFSR for official business (forms, seals, and stamps). On 21 April 1992,

11766-684: Was possible because the terms of their armistice with the Western Allies obliged the Germans to maintain their armies in the East to counter the Bolshevist threat. The VI Reserve Corps also included the 1st Independent Latvian Battalion led by Oskars Kalpaks , which consisted of ethnic Latvians loyal to the Provisional Government of Latvia. The Germans disrupted the organization of Latvian national forces, and on 16 April 1919

11877-476: Was precluded. The following day Narva was liberated. Consequent to this the northeastern front stabilized along the Narva river. Within 11 days, the 1st Division had advanced 200 km. In the southern sphere-of-conflict, Tartu was liberated through the rapid deployment of armored trains and the Tartumaa Partisan Battalion. The 2nd Division continued to advance southwards facing increasing Soviet resistance. In

11988-602: Was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given Maidla manor in gratitude for his services. The Swedish volunteer unit under the command of Carl Mothander was formed in Sweden in early 1919. In March 1919, 178 volunteers took part in scout missions in Virumaa. In April, the company was sent to the Southern front and took part of the battles near Pechory. In May, the company was disbanded with some volunteers joining other units and

12099-618: Was put under the command of the Latvian Provisional Government and sent to fight against the Red Army. However, to circumvent Entente's orders, the troops of the disbanded VI Reserve Corps, instead of leaving, were incorporated into the West Russian Volunteer Army , officially hired by the German puppet Government of Latvia and led by Pavel Bermondt-Avalov . In October, fighting restarted when

12210-420: Was reached in 1931. National power output continued to increase significantly. It reached 13.5 billion kWh by the end of the first five-year plan in 1932, 36 billion kWh by 1937, and 48 billion kWh by 1940. Paragraph 3 of Chapter 1 of the 1925 Constitution of the RSFSR stated the following: By the will of the peoples of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, who decided on

12321-503: Was soon stopped by a Soviet buildup ostensibly for a new expansionist offensive into Estonia. On the first Independence Day of 24 February 1919, the pro-independence Estonian forces on the front consisted of 19,000 men, 70 field guns, and 230 machine guns. Estonia had become the first country to repel the Soviet westward offensive . In the second half of February, the Red armies started the new Soviet offensive to capture Estonia. To this end,

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