Kiev Offensive (1920)

The military and political developments elicited a sharp response in Russia, where [[Vladimir Lenin]] and [[Leon Trotsky]] appealed to national sentiments and called for total war with expansionist Poland. General [[Aleksei Brusilov]], former chief commander of the [[Russian Empire]]’s tsarist army and from 2 May chairman of the new Council of Military Experts, appealed to his former officers to re-enlist with the Bolshevik forces and 40,000 of them complied. A large army of volunteers had also been raised and sent to the [[Western Front (RSFSR)|Western Front]]; the first units departed Moscow on 6 May.<ref name=”Wojna polsko-radziecka 28–33″/><ref name=”Wojna polsko-radziecka 56–58″/>

The military and political developments elicited a sharp response in Russia, where [[Vladimir Lenin]] and [[Leon Trotsky]] appealed to national sentiments and called for total war with expansionist Poland. General [[Aleksei Brusilov]], former chief commander of the [[Russian Empire]]’s tsarist army and from 2 May chairman of the new Council of Military Experts, appealed to his former officers to re-enlist with the Bolshevik forces and 40,000 of them complied. A large army of volunteers had also been raised and sent to the [[Western Front (RSFSR)|Western Front]]; the first units departed Moscow on 6 May.<ref name=”Wojna polsko-radziecka 28–33″/><ref name=”Wojna polsko-radziecka 56–58″/>

The Soviet leaders considered the Polish attack in Ukraine a stroke of good fortune. They saw Poland as falling into its own trap and expected military victory. Moscow had masterfully unleashed psychological war in Russia, Poland, and Europe. A new [[Great Patriotic War (term)|Great Patriotic War]] was declared and Russian society mobilized accordingly. For Russian and Soviet publicists, the Kiev Expedition had become synonymous with the Polish politics of aggression and political thoughtlessness. Such image of Poland would be exploited for many years, most significantly in 1939 and during [[World War II]].

[[File:After Lenin Speech 1920.jpg|right|thumb|224x224px|[[Vladimir Lenin]], Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Russian SFSR, delivers a speech to motivate the troops to fight in the Soviet–Polish war, 1 May 1920]]

[[File:After Lenin Speech 1920.jpg|right|thumb|224x224px|[[Vladimir Lenin]], Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Russian SFSR, delivers a speech to motivate the troops to fight in the Soviet–Polish war, 1 May 1920]]