Military Opposition
군사야당
A faction within the Bolshevik Party (1918–1919) that opposed Trotsky's method of building the Red Army, reaching its peak at the Eighth Party Congress in March 1919. Composed largely of former Left Communists and frontline commanders, it resisted the introduction of tsarist military specialists (voenspetsy), formal discipline, and hierarchical ranks in favor of partisan methods and elected commanders. Though defeated 174–95 at the Congress, it won concessions: expanded training of 'red commanders' and strengthened political commissar authority.
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Sources
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian Wikipedia: composition, demands, vote count (174–95), and compromise resolution at VIII Congress
- Wikipedia (EN) English Wikipedia: faction origins, Left Communist background, key figures, and legacy through 9th and 10th Congresses
- Marxists Internet Archive Trotsky, My Life, Ch. XXXVI: firsthand account of the Military Opposition, its partisan-warfare ideology, and its eventual dissolution as 'the Red army was winning on all fronts'