White Terror (Russia)

White Terror

Execution of the members of the Alexandrovo-Gaysky District regional Soviet by Cossacks under the command of Ataman Alexander Dutov, 1918.
Native name	Белый Террор
Duration	1917-1923
Location	Former Russian Empire
Type	Mass killings, executions, pogroms, political violence, genocide
Perpetrator	White Army
Deaths	20,000-100,000

The White Terror (Russian: Белый Террор, romanized: Belyy Terror) in Russia refers to the violence and mass killings carried out by the White Army during the Russian Civil War (1917–23). It began after the Bolsheviks seized power in November 1917, and continued until the defeat of the White Army at the hands of the Red Army. The Red Terror started a year after the initial White Terror in early September 1918^[1][2] in response to several planned assassinations of Bolshevik leaders and the initial massacres of Red prisoners in Moscow and during the Finnish Civil War.^[3] According to some Russian historians, the White Terror was a series of premeditated actions directed by their leaders.^[4][5][6] although this is contested by most Russian historians who view it as spontaneous and disorganized.^[7][8][9] Estimates for those killed in the White Terror vary between 20,000 and 100,000 people.^[10]

According to historian Ronald Suny, total estimates for the White terror are difficult to ascertain due to the role of multiple administrations and violence perpetrated by undisciplined, independent anti-Bolshevik forces. However, Suny did highlight the higher proportion of anti-semitic attacks by the White military forces, who were responsible for 17% of pogroms throughout the Russian Civil War.^[11] Suny stated that the casualties of the White Terror would have exceeded the Red Terror with the inclusion of anti-Soviet violence and Jewish pogroms into the death toll.^[11] According to the Whitaker Report of the United Nations, the various pogroms which occurred during the White Terror in Russia were an act of genocide.^[12]