White movement

The White movement is a general term for Russian political and military forces that opposed the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and in particular during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. They also fought against the nationalist Green Army. The adepts of the White movement are sometimes referred to as White Russians. The terms White army (Белая Армия), the Whites (Белые, Беляки), the White Guard (Белая Гвардия), and White Guards (белогвардейцы) refer informally to a loose confederation of counter-revolutionary forces. Strictly speaking, no monolithic "White Army" existed, since the White forces lacked central coordination; one could speak more correctly of White armies. The designation White had two meanings. First, it stands in contradistinction to the Reds of the revolutionary Red Army of supporters of the Soviets and Bolshevism. Second, the word "white" had monarchist associations: historically each Russian Tsar was solemnly called the white tsar, and the monarchist ideal during the civil war was known as the white idea. The officer core of the White army upheld monarchist ideals. However the White army drew support from representatives of many other political movements: democrats, social revolutionaries, and others who opposed the October Revolution. The rank-and-file troops included both active opponents of the Bolsheviks (many cossacks, for example) and enlisted apolitical peasants. At times the Western Allies of the Triple Entente and interventionist foreign forces provided substantial assistance to White army units. \n\nThe text above the picture reads, "Peace and Liberty in Sovdepiya".\n