On March 3, 1918, the Bolsheviks signed a peace treaty that effectively meant acknowledging defeat and exiting World War I unilaterally, despite Russia's participation in the Entente and obligations to its allies. This separate peace became known in history as the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, or Brest Peace, as it was concluded in the city of Brest-Litovsk.

Winston Churchill wrote about this event: "No country has experienced such cruelty of fate as Russia. Her ship sank when the harbor was already in sight. She weathered the storm when everything collapsed. All sacrifices had been made, all work completed. Despair and treachery seized power when the task was almost accomplished. Long retreats ended, shell hunger was overcome, armaments were arriving in abundance. A stronger and larger army, better supplied, held a vast front, while rear positions were overflowing with people. Alexeyev commanded the army, and Kolchak, the front. No complex actions were required; it was simply necessary to hold positions, applying pressure on the stretched positions of the German troops and maintaining the weakening forces of the enemy. That was all that stood between Russia and the fruits of a common Victory."

The first photo shows a bogatyr hat, part of the ceremonial uniform created based on the sketches of artist V. M. Vasnetsov for the Victory Parade in Berlin in 1917.