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The Bolshevik seizure of power in October 1917 was just the beginning. For the next three years, Russia was torn apart by a brutal and chaotic Civil War. The new Bolshevik government (the Reds) was fighting for its very survival against a vast and diverse collection of enemies (the Whites), who were supported by foreign powers. On paper, the Reds should have lost. They were surrounded, outnumbered, and hated by many. Yet, they won. How did this happen? The answer is that the Russian Civil War was a contest between a ruthless, unified, and brilliantly led Red Army and a…