The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Russian Civil War.

The Russian Civil War () was fought across the territory of the former Russian Empire from November 1917 until 1923, between the Bolshevik government and the anti-Bolshevik forces known collectively as the White movement, together with a shifting array of peasant insurgents, nationalist governments in the borderlands, and Allied expeditionary forces.

Overview Russian Civil War – the 1917–1923 war that was triggered by the October Revolution. Central Asian Front of the Russian Civil War – theater in the old imperial provinces of Turkestan, Khiva, Bukhara and Transcaspia; the longest-running theater, opening in 1916, with organized resistance continuing until 1934. Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War – theater against Kolchak's forces and the Czechoslovak Legion, active from May 1918 to June 1923. Eastern Transbaikalian Front – theater in the Transbaikal region, where Soviet partisans fought Semyonov's forces from April 1919 to October 1920. Far Eastern Front in the Russian Civil War – theater in Siberia and the Russian Far East, active from late 1917 to late 1923, fought by a succession of White commanders alongside Japanese and American expeditionary units. Southern Front of the Russian Civil War – theater against the Volunteer Army and Armed Forces of South Russia led by Lavr Kornilov and later Anton Denikin, active from November 1917 to April 1921.

Related conflicts Estonian War of Independence – Estonia's war against Soviet Russia and the Landeswehr. Finnish Civil War – war between Reds and Whites in Finland, January–May 1918. Latvian War of Independence – Latvia's war against Soviet, German and Bermontian forces. Lithuanian Wars of Independence – Lithuania's wars against Soviet, Bermontian and Polish forces. Polish–Soviet War – war between the Second Polish Republic and Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine, 1919–1921. Ukrainian War of Independence – the wars fought over Ukraine, 1917–1921.

Background Eastern Front (World War I) – the Russian theater of World War I. October Revolution – the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917, known in Soviet historiography as the Great October Socialist Revolution. It was planned and carried out by the Bolsheviks under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin. Russian Revolution – the revolutionary period of 1917, comprising the February Revolution and the October Revolution. World War I – major armed conflict between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. Russia suffered social upheaval during the war, followed by a political and military collapse in 1917 that led to the abdication of Nicholas II and the revolution.

Military events

1917: seizure of power and armed conflicts

Campaigns Civil War on the Don (8 November 1917 – 27 March 1920) – Don Cossacks and the White movement fought Bolshevik forces for the Don Host Oblast.

Uprisings Aleksandrovsk Bolshevik Uprising (25 December 1917 – 2 January 1918) – Workers took up arms against the Central Rada in Oleksandrivsk. Dubno Garrison Revolt (3–4 October 1917 [O.S. 20–21 September]) – The garrison of Dubno in Volhynia, just behind the World War I front, mutinied. Junker mutiny (11 November 1917 [O.S. 29 October]) – Cadets of the Petrograd military schools rose against the Bolsheviks. Kerensky–Krasnov uprising (8–13 November 1917 [O.S. 26–31 October]) – Kerensky's attempt to reverse the October Revolution and take back power. Kiev Bolshevik Uprising (8–13 November 1917) – Bolshevik and Central Rada forces drove the Provisional Government's garrison out of Kiev; power in the city passed to the Rada. Kiev November uprising (1917) (11–12 December 1917 [O.S. 29–30 November]) – Bolshevik attempt to overthrow the Central Rada in Kiev. Moscow Bolshevik Uprising (7–15 November 1917) – Bolshevik rising in Moscow, where the longest fighting of the October Revolution took place. October Revolution (7 November 1917 [O.S. 25 October]) – Bolshevik rising in Petrograd under Lenin, which overthrew the Russian Provisional Government. Odesa Arsenal November Uprising (11–12 December 1917 [O.S. 30 November – 1 December]) – Bolshevik attempt to overthrow the Odessa council of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Semyonov's Rebellion (November–December 1917) – Cossack captain Grigory Semyonov's revolt against Soviet rule in Transbaikal. Tashkent rebellion (1917) (September – 13 November 1917) – Fighting in Tashkent between revolutionary forces and troops loyal to the Provisional Government. Vinnytsia Bolshevik Uprising (10–12 November 1917 [O.S. 28–30 October]) – Bolshevik rising in Vinnytsia during the October Revolution.

Southern Front: Don, Kuban, Ukraine, Crimea Campaigns Advance on Moscow (1919) (3 July – 18 November 1919) – The White drive on Moscow, which Denikin expected to decide the war. Donbas-Don operation (8 January – 25 February 1918) – Red forces under Antonov-Ovseyenko attacked Kaledin's Cossacks and Volunteer detachments in the Donbas and on the Don. Iași–Don March (11 March – 7 May 1918) – Drozdovsky's volunteers marched from Iași on the Romanian front to the Don to join Kornilov. Ice March (22 February – 13 May 1918) – First Kuban Campaign; the Volunteer Army retreated from Rostov into the Kuban, hoping the Kuban Cossacks would join it. Katerynoslav March (27 November 1918 – 2 January 1919) – The Ukrainian State's 8th Corps moved from Katerynoslav to Crimea to join Denikin. Kuban Offensive (22 June – November 1918) – Second Kuban Campaign; the outnumbered Whites took the Kuban. Northern Taurida Operation (6 June – 3 November 1920) – Reds and Wrangel's Whites fought for Northern Taurida, the mainland north of Crimea. Steppe March (25 February – 18 May 1918) – Don Cossacks under Ataman Popov withdrew to the river Sal rather than follow the Volunteer Army into the Kuban.

Battles and operations Battle for the Donbas (1919) (12 January – 31 May 1919) – Whites held off Red attacks on the Don Host Oblast and occupied the Donbas after heavy fighting. Battle of Dolakovo (February 1919) – Ingush detachments fought Denikin's Volunteer Army at Dolakovo and Kantyshevo as the Whites pushed on Vladikavkaz. Battle of Kiev (December 1919) (10–16 December 1919) – The last of the year's battles for Kiev, in which Bolshevik troops drove the Whites out. Battle of Obytichnyi Spit (15 September 1920) – Naval battle in the Sea of Azov. Battle of Tsaritsyn (July 1918 – January 1920) – Reds and Whites contested Tsaritsyn, a port on the Volga. Capture of Kiev by the White Army (30–31 August 1919) – The White Army took Kiev from the Red Army without a fight. Cherek Campaign (1919) (February–March 1919) – White counter-insurgency operation in the Cherek Gorge. Donbas operation (1919) (18 December 1919 – 6 January 1920) – The Red Southern Front retook the Donbas from the Armed Forces of South Russia. Evacuation of Novorossiysk (March 1920) – Whites and refugees were evacuated from Novorossiysk; thousands were left behind and killed by Red Army and Green forces. Evacuation of the Crimea (13–16 November 1920) – Wrangel's army and civilians left Crimea by sea, ending the fighting on the Southern Front. Kharkiv Operation (December 1919) (24 November – 12 December 1919) – Yegorov's Southern Front attacked Denikin's troops at Kharkiv. Kharkiv Operation (June 1919) (20–25 June 1919) – Whites captured Kharkiv, an industrial center, in preparation for the drive on Moscow. Khopyor–Don Operation (20 November – 8 December 1919) – Red 9th Army offensive against the Don Army to reach the Don and secure the Southern Front's left wing. Manych Operation (1919) (April–May 1919) – Red 10th Army pushed across the Manych at the flank and rear of the Whites holding Rostov-on-Don. North Caucasus Operation (1920) (17 January – 7 April 1920) – Caucasian Front offensive that broke White resistance in the North Caucasus, after which the remnants of the Volunteer Army sailed to Crimea. Northern Caucasus Operation (1918–1919) (December 1918 – March 1919) – The Whites overran the North Caucasus and the Reds fell back on Astrakhan and the Volga delta. Odessa Operation (1919) (20–24 August 1919) – White amphibious landing at Odessa, supported by an anti-Bolshevik rising inside the city. Odessa Operation (1920) (11 January – 8 February 1920) – The Reds retook Odessa, capturing many White soldiers despite an evacuation by sea. Orel–Kursk operation (11 October – 18 November 1919) – Red offensive around Orel and Kursk which halted the Volunteer Army's drive on Moscow. Rostov–Novocherkassk Operation (6–10 January 1920) – Red advance on the Don which split the White army in two. Siege of Perekop (1920) (7–17 November 1920) – Red assault through the Perekop and Chongar defenses into Crimea. Sinking of ships of the Black Sea Fleet in Tsemes Bay (18 June 1918) – Warships were scuttled in Tsemes Bay off Novorossiysk rather than handed to Germany. Southern Front counteroffensive (14 August – 12 September 1919) – Red August counteroffensive against Denikin. Ulagay's Landing (14 August – 7 September 1920) – Wrangel's seaborne raid into the Kuban under Sergei Ulagay. Voronezh–Kastornoye operation (1919) (13 October – 16 November 1919) – Red offensive by the 8th and 13th Armies on the left wing of the Southern Front. Voronezh–Povorino Operation (January 1919) – Fighting between Reds and Whites around Voronezh and the railway station at Povorino.

Uprisings Vyoshenskaya Uprising (11 March – 8 June 1919) – Upper Don Cossacks rose against the Bolsheviks under Pavel Kudinov, centered on the village of Vyoshenskaya.

Eastern Front: Volga, Urals, Siberia, Far East Campaigns Eastern Front counteroffensive (28 April – July 1919) – Red counterattack that turned Kolchak back permanently. Great Siberian Ice March (14 November 1919 – March 1920) – winter retreat of Kolchak's army from Omsk to Chita. Khabarovsk Campaign (November 1921 – March 1922) – Molchanov's White advance on Khabarovsk and its reversal. Spring offensive of the White Army (4 March – 29 April 1919) – Kolchak's drive west toward the Volga. Starving March (winter 1919–1920) – Dutov's Orenburg Army retreated across Kazakhstan toward the Chinese border.

Battles and operations Battle of Barnaul (1918) (13–15 June 1918) – Three days of fighting between Siberian factions for Barnaul. Battle of Lake Baikal (16 August 1918) – Naval action fought by Czechoslovak forces on Lake Baikal. Battle of Lipyagi (4 June 1918) – Čeček's legionaries beat Bolshevik troops at a Volga railway station. Battle of Makanchi (28 July – 2 August 1918) – White and Red fighting near Makanchi in eastern Kazakhstan. Battle of Volochayevka (5–14 February 1922) – Red victory at Volochayevka station that decided the Far Eastern Front. Capture of Kazan by the White Army (1–7 August 1918) – Whites and the Legion took Kazan on the Volga. Chita Operations (10 April – 31 October 1920) – Far Eastern Republic attacks to clear the White hold on Chita in Transbaikal. Kazan Operation (5–10 September 1918) – Red counter-offensive that retook Kazan from the Legion and Komuch. Perm Operation (1918–19) (29 November 1918 – 28 January 1919) – Kolchak's capture of Perm, known to the Reds as the Perm catastrophe. Simbirsk Operation (September 1918) – Red offensive against Kappel's People's Army and the Legion at Simbirsk. Spassk operation (7–9 October 1922) – Storming of Spassk, part of the last major operation of the war. Syzran–Samara Operation (14 September – 9 October 1918) – Red offensive that broke the People's Army of Komuch.

Uprisings 1918 Yakut revolt (28 February – 1 July 1918) – Yakut rejection of Bolshevik rule and a short-lived Yakut republic. 1921 Yakut revolt (2 September 1921 – 16 June 1923) – Final set of military engagements of the Russian Civil War.