Russian prisoner tied to a pole by his German captors, ca. 1915

Russian prisoner tied to a pole by his German captors, ca. 1915.

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Photograph belonging to @drakegoodmanofficial.
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Today 106 years ago, on December 15, 1917, an armistice was signed between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers, ceasing hostilities on the Eastern Front for the time being.
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Following the Russian October Revolution in November 1917, the Socialist Bolsheviks had taken control of the country and immediately sought peace terms with the Central Powers, to end the war that the old Russian tsarist regime had entered.
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The Central Powers, especially the Germans, were also very keen on ending the war on the Eastern Front, which would free millions of troops for deployment to the Western Front, and potentially gain the Germans access to Ukrainian wheat fields.
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On November 26, 1917, three Russian emissaries holding white flags crossed the frontlines on the Eastern Front and entered the German trenches. It was decided peace negotiations would be held in the city of Brest-Litovsk in modern-day Belarus, which was the headquarters of the Central Powers.
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The Russian delegate was led by diplomat Adolph Joffe, a devoted socialist who had studied in Berlin before the war. The Central Powers delgate was led by German General Hoffmann and Foreign Secretary Kühlmann, with prominent representatives from Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire present too.
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On December 12, negotiations began and after three days, a 28-day Armistice was signed on December 15, 1917, ending all hostilities on the Eastern Front from December 17.
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Negotiations for a permanent peace treaty began on December 22, but an agreement could ultimately never be reached. The Germans sought huge annexations from Russia in the Baltics, Poland and Ukraine, while the majority of Russians sought a peace without any indemnities or territorial cessations.
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Although the Armistice period was extended, on February 9, 1918, the Germans signed a separate peace treaty with an Ukrainian government, whose independence they recognized. As a result, on February 10, the Russians pulled out of the peace negotiations and hostilities continued on the Eastern Front for the time being.

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