This Anglo-French treaty divided southern Russia into spheres of influence and laid the groundwork for Allied military intervention in the Russian Civil War.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 23 December 1917
- Signatories
- United Kingdom and French Third Republic
- British zone
- Caucasus, Don and Kuban regions
- French zone
- Ukraine, Bessarabia and Crimea
- Context
- Followed October Revolution and Russo-German armistice
Cause → Event → Consequence
The October Revolution brought the Bolsheviks to power, who sought a separate peace with Germany. The Allies feared Russia's vast natural resources would fall into German hands, undermining the Allied blockade and bolstering the Central Powers' war effort, prompting urgent reassessment of Allied policy toward Russia.
On 23 December 1917, the United Kingdom and France signed the Convention on Activity in Southern Russia, formally dividing the former Russian Empire's southern territories into British and French zones of influence to coordinate support for anti-Bolshevik groups including the nascent White movement, Cossacks, and pro-independence movements willing to continue fighting the Central Powers.
The treaty provided the diplomatic and organizational foundation for the subsequent Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. It directed British efforts toward the Caucasus, Don, and Kuban, and French efforts toward Ukraine, Bessarabia, and Crimea, shaping the early structure of external support for forces opposing both the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers.
Political Outcome
Southern Russia divided into British and French zones of activity; basis established for Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War.
No coordinated Allied policy toward post-revolutionary Russia
Formal Anglo-French spheres of influence in southern Russia to support anti-Bolshevik forces