Which treaty ended Russia's involvement in World War I?

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia’s involvement in World War I. Soviet Russia signed the separate peace treaty with Germany and the other Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918, after the Bolshevik Revolution brought a government committed to leaving the war.

Russia had already agreed to an armistice with the Central Powers in December 1917. The final treaty was extremely harsh: Russia renounced control of Finland, the Baltic territories, Ukraine, and other areas, losing roughly a quarter of the former Russian Empire’s population and industrial capacity. Lenin supported signing because he believed the new Bolshevik government needed time to survive.

The treaty is sometimes confused with the Treaty of Versailles, but Versailles was imposed on Germany by the victorious Allies after the war. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk dealt specifically with Russia’s withdrawal from the conflict. It was also distinct from the Treaty of Brest, which is not the standard name of the 1918 settlement.

Brest-Litovsk did not remain in force for long. Germany’s defeat on the Western Front led the Armistice of 11 November 1918 to annul it, and Soviet authorities formally cancelled the treaty soon afterward.