During the period, he also faced a Russian Bolshevik military action: just before Averescu came to power, as Russia's Leon Trotsky negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, the "Rumcherod" administrative body in Odessa, led by Christian Rakovsky, ordered an offensive from the east into Romania. In order to prevent further losses, Averescu signed his name to a much-criticized temporary armistice with the "Rumcherod"; eventually, Rakovsky was himself faced with a German offensive (sparked by the temporary breakdown of negotiations at Brest-Litovsk), and had to abandon both his command and the base in Odessa.