Across:
   7. Written piece with points to express (5)
   8. Before song, largely swell up for central power (8)
  10. Hawk to interfere with quiet replacement of leader (6)
  11,12. Russian surrender ... Trotsky is left to brave reshuffle (6 2 5-7)
  15. State anger at striking article 331918 perhaps (7)
  16,24. Meantime, troop movements for 12 party (7 6)
  19. Ecouragement about Russia coming back with a nice solution initially ... but no one's taken in (12)
  22. Surrendering building over nothing (8)
  24. see 16
  25. I fired a rifle intially, surrounded by my force (8)
  26. Intended to be shot at men (5)
Down:
   1. Lab messed about getting ready for 9  (9)
   2. May dared to change vision (8)
   3,18. Southern country lost a little, then voraciously grabbed a big chunk of Europe (7-7)
   4. University turned out rogue, deviant beast (4)
   5. Philosopher so lost for means to contain things (6)
   6. Sort of key fellow in 25 (5)
   9. Mines get redeployed, many having been held at 12 (8)
  13. Atrocities of King surrounded by failures of power (8)
  14. Impede man's right to be free (9)
  17. Problem of obsessing about vessel that is being used (8)
  18. see 3
  20. Socialist who wrote fantastic legends with no end of good (6)
  21. Earliest of scenes of million men expended? (5)
  23. Returning some of Latvia to independence - but only a little bit (4)