Some people use 1918 as the starting date of the Russian Civil War because it marks the official overthrow of the Russian Provisional Government by the Bolsheviks in October 1917 and the subsequent outbreak of hostilities between the Red Army (Bolsheviks) and the White Army (anti-Bolshevik forces) in early 1918. This event is seen as the catalyst for the full-scale conflict that lasted until 1922.
