1. The First World War Flashcards
What was St Petersburg changed to?
Petrograd (As it previously sounded too German)
Why was the war popular at the beginning?
Support for the Tsar was strong
in the Duma, only 21 socialist deputies didn’t vote for the extra taxes
What problems were there during the war?
Russia was huge, and had poor transport systems and its inefficient industry and agriculture
the army was huge- but badly trained and equipped
Became so bad that the Russian soldiers were sent without any riffles, and were told to pick up from the dead soldiers
What did the Germans do in 1915?
The Germans pushed the Russian army back
it lost over 2 million men (killed, wounded or taken prisoner)
large parts of four provinces, including a major coal mining district
What happened in September 1915 regarding the war?
The war was going bad, so the Tsar took personal command of the army
The Tsar was blamed for the problems
He also left his wife, who happened to be German as his deputy back in Petrograd (Rasputin)
Her mistakes made the Tsar even more
The effects of the war in Russia?
The war made Russia’s existing problems worse
By 1917, over 15 million had joined the army- mostly were conscripted
Conscripting millions of peasants and trained factory workers into the army made it harder to grow enough food and to keep industrial production up
Horses were taken from farms to the army
Fertiliser production collapsed, factories moved to war work
Food shortages in the cities much worse
Why were people ready to revolt?
Workers in the north suffered most during the war
Peasants had to buy food or not eat
1914-16 amount of food fell by 25% while infant mortality doubled
1917 crime rate was three times as great in the cities as in 1914
What did the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks do?
They were quick to respond to the worsening conditions and the growing lack of government control
They held meetings about the shortages, deaths, government incompetence
The talked about revolution, workers listened
Ppl didn’t give loyalty to the Tsar
Made excuses he was ‘badly advised’
