The rebellion of the sailors from the naval base of Kronstadt near Petro-grad was the first major internal up-rising against Soviet rule in Russia after the Civil War (1918 - 20).

The sailors had supported the Bolsheviks in 1917 but they became disillusioned when the Soviet government was unable to provide an adequate food supply to urban populations.

When the workers organized strikes and demonstrations, the Kronstadt sailors sympathized with them and formed a Provisional Revolutionary Commitee.

Leon Trotsky led a force that crushed the rebels, but the uprising greatly influenced the Communist Party's decision to adopt a New Economic Policy (NEP) which brought necessary economic relief to Soviet Russia.