Red Terror

The Red Terror was a series of punitive measures carried out by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War (1917–1923) against social groups declared as class enemies, as well as individuals accused of counter-revolutionary activities. It was part of the repressive state policy of the Bolshevik government, implemented both through legislative acts and beyond any legislative framework. It served as a means of intimidation against both anti-Bolshevik forces and the population that did not participate in the Civil War. Bolsheviks widely used terror and violence against "class enemies" even before the official decree of September 5, 1918, "On the Red Terror." F. E. Dzerzhinsky, the initiator and leader of the terror, defined the Red Terror as "intimidation, arrests, and elimination of enemies of the revolution based on their class affiliation."