Soviet Russia Leaves the War at Brest-Litovsk

On March 3, 1918, representatives of Soviet Russia signed a separate peace treaty with the Central Powers at the fortress of Brest-Litovsk. The pact marked Russia's formal exit from the First World War, concluding months of tense negotiations that followed an initial Eastern Front armistice arranged in December 1917. For the young Bolshevik administration, which had assumed power after the October Revolution, ending the ruinous conflict had become an urgent priority, even if peace required accepting sweeping territorial losses.

Negotiations opened in late December with Soviet diplomat Adolph Joffe promoting a settlement without annexations or financial indemnities. The Central Powers, headed diplomatically by German Foreign Minister Richard von Kühlmann and Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Ottokar Czernin, insisted that regions occupied by their armies had the right to separate from Russia under the principle of self-determination. When Leon Trotsky assumed leadership of the Soviet delegation, he attempted to delay the proceedings, hoping that revolutionary uprisings would erupt across Central Europe. This strategy culminated in February with Trotsky declaring a stance of no war, no peace, abruptly halting formal talks without signing an agreement.