Leon Trotsky's Relationship to the Reds and Greens

During the Russian Civil War (1918-1921), Leon Trotsky's role defined the conflict's central dynamics. His relationships with the major factions are summarized below.

The Reds

Identity: The Reds were the Bolshevik (Communist) government and its Red Army.

Trotsky's Role: As People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, Trotsky was the supreme leader and organizer of the Red Army. He was the second-most important figure after Lenin.

Relationship: Trotsky was a Red. He was the embodiment of the centralized, disciplined force fighting to secure the Bolshevik Revolution.

The Greens

Identity: The Greens were primarily peasant-based insurrectionary armies that fought against both the Reds and the Whites, motivated by localism and defense of their land.

Trotsky's Relationship: It was one of outright hostility and military suppression. Trotsky saw them as a destabilizing "third force" that undermined central control and had to be crushed.

The Makhnovist Exception: Trotsky temporarily allied with Nestor Makhno's Ukrainian anarchist army in 1919 to defeat the White General Denikin. Once the threat receded, Trotsky supported the brutal suppression of these former allies.

Summary of Relationships

Group	Ideology/Composition	Trotsky's Role/Relationship
REDS	Bolshevik Government & Red Army (Centralized, Communist)	Leader & Commander. He was their chief organizer and strategist.
GREENS	Peasant Insurrectionaries (Localist, anti-conscription/requisitioning)	Enemy & Suppressor. Seen as a destabilizing force to be crushed.
Makhnovists	Ukrainian Anarchist Insurgent Army (Organized, ideological)	Temporary Ally, then Primary Enemy. Allied against the Whites, then ruthlessly eliminated.

Key Takeaway

Trotsky's relationship to these forces defines the Bolshevik strategy in the Civil War: He was the Red commander, building a centralized army to win the war. He saw the Greens and similar movements as major internal obstacles to be eliminated. His actions show the Civil War was a two-front struggle—against the open counter-revolution (Whites) and against any alternative revolutionary forces (Greens, Anarchists) that challenged Bolshevik control.