The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916-1931

by Adam Tooze

Lenin’s regime was teetering on the edge of a complete capitulation to Germany. And this impression was only reinforced when on 27 August 1918 the two sides finalized the Supplementary Treaty to Brest-Litovsk. In exchange for German protection, the Soviet regime offered indemnities not included in the original Brest Treaty to the sum of 6 billion marks ($1.46 billion). The Governorates of Livonia and Estonia were formally removed from Russian territory, consolidating German hegemony in the Baltic. The Communists also agreed to recognize the independence of Georgia, Germany’s protectorate in the Caucasus, and to supply at least 25 per cent of the oil from Baku to the Central Powers once Azerbaijan was back in Soviet hands.