In May, after the revolt of the Don Cossacks and the German advance into the region as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the republic was overthrown and its leaders fled.

Between 9 and 14 April, a regional congress of soviets elected a Central Executive Committee (CEC) of 26 Bolsheviks and 24 Left Socialist Revolutionaries for the republic.

Voitsekhovskii nationalized the mines and factories, organized forced collectivization of food, extorted money from the bourgeoisie, and introduced a reign of terror.

[2] The Don Soviet Republic began to lose support as a result of its food requisitions and executions of suspected "counterrevolutionaries".

In April, a general revolt of the Don Cossacks began, and from 1 May German troops also entered its territory, as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.