---

Beginning in fall 1919, the White movement rapidly collapsed. The Allies began to withdraw their soldiers from Russian soil, and even lift the blockade of Russia.

The Civil War was a natural consequence of the Bolshevik seizure of power. But the White movement was never as well organized as the Reds, and lacked an ideology that could attract a broad base of support.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

In the Steppes of Central Asia
Composed in 1880 by Alexander Borodin. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

---

The Bolsheviks began the year 1919 thinking the White movement was all but defeated. They were wrong.

Anton Denikin’s Armed Forces of South Russia would give them a nasty surprise, advancing hundreds of miles over the summer, until they were only about 200 miles from Moscow.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Mlada
Composed in 1890 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Performed by The University of Chicago Orchestra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

---

The Allies invested in the anti-Bolshevik movement in Russia, in the hope of overthrowing Lenin and getting Russia back into the Great War.

Once the armistice was signed, though, the calculus changed. But the West couldn’t just abandon the White movement, could it?

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

The Seasons
Composed in 1876 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Public domain.
Performed by Peter Bradley-Fulgoni, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

During the first half of 1918, the new Bolshevik government in Russia and the western Allies maintained a cordial, if not exactly friendly, relationship. Mutual dislike of Germany helped keep them together.

But that ended after the assassination attempt on Lenin. By the end of the year, the Allies had over 100,000 soldiers on Russian soil and were aiding the anti-Bolshevik “White” movement.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Études Tableaux
Composed in 1911 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Public domain.
Performed by Peter Bradley-Fulgoni, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Apart from Poland and Finland, the three Baltic States were the only Imperial Russian territories to win their independence after the Great War.

This despite a Red Army effort to reclaim them in 1919, which was opposed by an uneasy coalition: the Allies, the Germans, Poland, anti-Bolshevik Russian, and of course, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian nationalists.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
Composed in 1876 by Edvard Grieg. Public domain.
Performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Map created by Wikipedia User Renata3 and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Finland was fortunate enough to win its independence from Russia peacefully, following the October Revolution.

Unfortunately, though, political tensions within Finland led to a bloody civil war.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Finlandia
Composed in 1899 by Jean Sibelius. Public domain.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The second of two episodes on the re-birth of Poland. When the borders of Poland were finally settled, the nation was larger than most had anticipated, including lands to the east that had substantial minority populations.

All this territory came at a price: warfare and poor relations with the new neighbors.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Mazurka in A Minor
Composed ca. 1840 by Frédéric Chopin. Public domain.
Performed by Olga Gurevich. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The first of two episodes on the birth of Poland. Here, Poland arises from the chaos in the east following the Armistice.

This is a bonus episode, released on Christmas Day as a gift to my listeners.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Minuet in G
Composed in 1887 by Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Public domain.
Performed by Markus Staab and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

We conclude our series on post-war Austria-Hungary by considering the births of the new nations of Austria and Hungary.

Also, the lives of two young Hungarians of the time who became influential figures in the US motion picture industry.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

Frühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring)
Composed in 1882 by Johann Strauss II. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

String Quartet No. 2
Composed in 1917 by Béla Bartók. Public domain.
Performed by Luis Sarro and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

In the second of our three-part series on post-war Austria-Hungary, we look at the creation of Yugoslavia and the transfer of Transylvania to Romania.

Romania’s Queen Marie (above) played an important role in the peace talks.

• Listen now:

• Download.

• Transcript.

---

Playlist:

Fanfare

Opening Theme

“Himna Kraljevine Jugoslavije” (The national anthem of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.)
Composed in 1918 by Davorin Jenko and Josef Runjanin. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Romanian Folk Dances, No. 2
Composed in 1915 by Béla Bartók. Public domain.
Performed by Papalin. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme 

---

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some music and sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.