The most important Central Committees mentioned in this book are:
_Union of Unions._ During the Revolution of 1905, Professor Miliukov and other Liberals established unions of professional men—doctors, lawyers, physicians, etc. These were united under one central organisation, the _Union of Unions._ In 1905 the _Union of Unions_ acted with the revolutionary democracy; in 1917, however, the _Union of Unions_ opposed the Bolshevik uprising, and united the Government employees who went on strike against the authority of the Soviets.
_Tsay-ee-kah._ All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies. So called from the initials of its name.
_Tsentroflot._ “Centre-Fleet”—the Central Fleet Committee.
_Vikzhel._ All-Russian Central Committee of the Railway Workers’ Union. So called from the initials of its name.
_Red Guards._ The armed factory workers of Russia. The _Red Guards_ were first formed during the Revolution of 1905, and sprang into existence again in the days of March, 1917, when a force was needed to keep order in the city. At that time they were armed, and all efforts of the Provisional Government to disarm them were more or less unsuccessful. At every great crisis in the Revolution the _Red Guards_ appeared on the streets, untrained and undisciplined, but full of Revolutionary zeal.
_White Guards._ Bourgeois volunteers, who emerged in the last stages of the Revolution, to defend private property from the Bolshevik attempt to abolish it. A great many of them were University students.
_Tekhintsi._ The so-called “Savage Division” in the army, made up of Mohametan tribesmen from Central Asia, and personally devoted to General Kornilov. The _Tekhintsi_ were noted for their blind obedience and their savage cruelty in warfare.
_Death Battalions._ Or _Shock Battalions._ The Women’s Battalion is known to the world as the _Death Battalion,_ but there were many _Death Battalions_ composed of men. These were formed in the summer of 1917 by Kerensky, for the purpose of strengthening the discipline and combative fire of the army by heroic example. The _Death Battalions_ were composed mostly of intense young patriots. These came for the most part from among the sons of the propertied classes.