972 Chapter 7
mutiny from the Murmansk Soviet against the Central Soviets provided opportunity
for the Allies to garrison Murmansk with forces, ostensibly for a future showdown
with the Bolshevik government. The first arrival of Allied forces in North Russia
came in May 24, 1918, with limited American participation. Once Trotsky accused the
Murmansk Soviet of treason and ordered its collective execution, the Allies pushed
forward with the landing at Murmansk on June 24. The North Russia campaign began
in earnest on July 1 and spread to Arkangelsk on August 1.
Once the campaign in North Russia was underway, the British pushed more for the
intervention in Siberia and, thus, pressured Wilson for participation in order to pose a
united Allied front. This followed both good and bad developments in North Russia.
The positives of the campaign in North Russia were its military successes against the
Bolsheviks, which were considerably weakened. The negatives involved the question-
able elements that the Allies were supporting in Murmansk and Arkangelsk. Amid
some questions about the justification of the campaigns in North Russia, the British
publicly pledged for a push into Siberia which was arguably where the Bolsheviks
were the weakest. The Czechoslovak Legion had already occupied Vladivostok, had
pushed west into the Urals, and were heading north toward Moscow.
War-weariness and disparate interests continually hampered the Allies. With the
war against Germany over and additional setbacks on the battlefields, the Allies even-
tually withdrew from North Russia and Siberia.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from November 21, 1917. Fatalities changed
from Missing.
MID#241
Dispute Number: 241
Date(s): March 31, 1923 to June 13, 1923
Participants: 365 Russia/200 United Kingdom
Outcome (and Settlement): Released (Negotiated)
Fatalities: None
Narrative: International law recognized state sovereignty three miles from shore, but
the new Soviet government claimed a 12-mile zone. From 1921 the British had naval
vessels in the area to protect British fishing interests with instructions to use force to
protect British vessels outside the three-mile limit. On or before April 2, 1923, the
Soviets seized the British trawler James Johnson in disputed waters, 12 nautical miles
from the shore at Murmansk. The crew received a hearing in a Soviet court on April
15, and the court confiscated their vessel and fined them 10 pounds. Then, on May 7,
the Soviets seized another British trawler, the Lord Astor, and its 13 crew members
in disputed waters off Teriberski on the Murmansk coast when their protective vessel,
the Godetia, was in port to refresh its coal and supplies.
Members of Parliament described Soviet actions as “piratical” and British diplo-
mats issued an ultimatum to Russia: end the seizures or suffer an end to their trading
with the United Kingdom. Parliament also brought up the unresolved issue of the
execution of a British man, Charles Davison, who had attempted to sell his clothes
in 1920. In reply, Trotsky said the Soviets would not be forced to do anything, and
the Soviet foreign ministry published a note that it had a right to widen its territorial