Trotsky's train

Article summary

(left) and the train at Petrograd, 1921. The commander on the right is wearing the train's special uniform, made entirely of red leather. During the Russian Civil War (1917–1922), Leon Trotsky, the Soviet People's Commissar of Defense from 1918 to 1925, used an armored train to travel between Red Army fronts and as a mobile command and propaganda center. In the course of the civil war, the train made 36 such trips to the fronts and traveled at least . The train was in action against White and other anti-Bolshevik forces on 13 occasions during the civil war and suffered 15 casualties (with an additional 15 missing), and was itself awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in deflecting the advance on Petrograd by White general Nikolai Yudenich in October 1919. Trotsky's train, which he simply referred to as "the train" and officially named the "Train of the Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic" ( ), was first formed in Moscow on 7 August 1918. It then consisted of 2 armored engines and 12 wagons, and was dispatched for Sviyazhsk on the Volga Front with a unit of Latvian Riflemen on board.…

Key claims

1. date of formation: 1918-08-07 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of formation is "1918-08-07". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

No sources recorded.