It was 26 Jan. 1918 when the Bolshevists dissolved the Constituent Assembly in Petro grad, met to malce a constitution, and took the direction of affairs. At that time no armed opposition to the government existed. The Tsarists, largely an officer class, had made no attempt against the revolution. But oppo sition to the Bolshevists appeared in several quarters. In the first place, the suppressed races on the western border, Poles, Finns and Baltic people, had assumed independence and were in arms to defend themselves against re conquest They were not anti-Bolshevist so much as anti-Russian, but they served to weaken the Bolshevists while others were fight ing them. Elsewhere the Bolshevists were op posed by three large groups of armies who fought in the name of anti-Bolshevist Russia. In them. were various kinds of Russians, some of them supporters of the Duma, the republican government which sprang up after the tsar was forced to abdicate. Some were defenders of the old bureaucracy, and others were Socialists who rejected the communism of the Bolshe vists. Between these widely cfifferent elements was at first a tendency to subordinate differ ences and give all their efforts to the one aim of defeating Lenin. But in time jealousies grew up and seriously weakened the efforts that were put forth.
The strongest of these forces was that which Admiral Kolchalc corrunanded in Siberia. When the revolution occurred a Socialist gov ernment was set up in Siberia, but after the fall of Kerensky it was replaced by a Bolshe vist government, witich might have continued to exist but for the appearance of the Czecho slovaks. These people were a body of prison ers taken from the Austrians, who fought in the last days of the old Russian regime against Austria, whom hated. When the Russian front gave waytheJey were left to their ovrn resources. They dared not go back to Austria, where they were considered traitors. They were opposed to the Bolshevists and were at tadced by them. Defending themselves they moved into the region east of Moscow and finally were promised that they might go thiough Siberia to Vladivostok and thence by water to Italy, where they would be thrown against Austna, their most hated aunty. The Bolshevists soon repented of this promise and opposed their deparmre, so that the Czecho slovaks had to cut their way out of Russia in Europe. They managed to capture $200:000,000 in gold from the Bolshevists at Kazan and car ried it with them to Omsk. While they WC7C falling back a meeting of anti-Bolshevist fac tions was held 24 Sept. 1918 at Ufa and an All Russian Directory WEIS created. Soon after it made Omsk its headquarters. Here there was an Omsk government already organized on a broad basis, that is, it embraced all who fa vored the overthrow of the Bolshevists and it had, in general, a leaning toward liberal gov ernment. The Directory, however, was
strongly Socialist and retained in its array the committees which. had broken down the disci pline of the old army. The natural result was a clash and on 28 November a group bf Cossack officers arrested the leading directors and de clared the government non-existent. In their place they proclaimed Admiral Kokhak supreme regent This exeellent officer had come to Omsk from Vladivostok and thrown in his fortunes with the Omsk governnient. He soon showed good organizing ability and for a time was the hope of the anti-Bolshevists in Siberia. He was, howeve.r, essentially a military snan. Although he promised the people who sup ported him a constitutional form of govern ment, he did not keep his word for many months. He accordingly was distrusted as a reactionary and eventually lost the cordial sup port of many of his own followers. He took no steps to settle the land question, probably because to do so would alienate either the landlords or the peasants, both of whom he needed as supporters. Nor did he call a Con stituent Assembly, probably for the same rea son. He did, however, declare for universal suffrage, but it was evident that the Constitu ent Assembly when it met would not be bound by such a declaration. For over a year after his elevation he ruled effectively. He received large quantities of supplies from the Allied Powers, and the Czechoslovak forces were or dered by the Allies to stay where they were and keep the Trans-Siberian Railroad safe front local Bolshevists, while a joint Japanese-Ameri can force that was landed in Vladivostoic kept the port open for communication with the outside world. A force of American engi neers under Mr. John F. Stevens kept the trans-continental railroad in repairs. Kol chak's government conscripted the men of fighting age or received them as volunteers, and British and French officers trained them into an army. In the spring of 1919 he began an advance into European Russia and nearly reached Samara, where the railroad crosses the Volga, less than 600 miles from Moscow and more than 1,000 miles from Omsk. While he was advancing, other anti-Bolshevist forces were also pressing back their foes, so that he seemed to be on the verge of victory. But it was impossible to conduct a catnpaign against a niunerous enemy with only one railroad to bring up supplies more than 1,000 miles, and he was forced to fall back. Some of his con scripted Siberians were not loyal and deserted to the Bolshevists. The enemy followed him across the Ural Motintains,, and by auttunn they were threatening Omsk itself.