1917 Revolutions Flashcards
1
Q
Causes for Russian involvement in WW1
A
- June 1914, Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a member of a Serbian nationalist group
- Russia had obligation to protect Serbia as a fellow Slavic state against possible Austrian retaliation
- Russia mobilised on July 30th in the hope of deterring Germany and Austria-Hungary from acting, but is failed and was quickly followed by the implementation of the German Schlieffen Plan and further built on by the establishment of an Eastern Front
- This rapid escalation of the conflict was what the bulk of Russian leaders had feared the most
2
Q
Key events during WW1
A
August 1915: Nicholas II took personal command of the Russian forces, although advised against this
June 1916: Brusilov Offensive was launched with the intention of gaining lost ground and appeasing discontent that was spreading at home, there was some initial success but the Germans defeated the threat
December 1917: Peace talks at Brest-Litovsk resulted in the signing of a treaty (1918), Trotsky claimed that the conditions amounted to a diktat
3
Q
Impacts of WW1
A
Defeats
Losses
Economic dislocation
Food shortages
Transport problems
Inflation
4
Q
Defeats and Organisation
A
- Best chance of Russian military success was at start of war, however the terrible defeats at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes resulted in the lowering of morale of the Russian troops
- Russian soldiers fight well but they were low down by the poor strategic decision making of generals
- By the end of 1915, Stavka, the command centre for the Russian army, blamed lack of military progress on the lack of munitions reaching soldiers fighting on the frontlines (‘shells crisis’) - implication of this was that industry was struggling to keep up with the demands of the army and therefore workers had to put much more effort into increasing munitions production
- However, industry was already working near to full capacity, Norman Stone has argued that the problem was not a deficit of munitions, but the military administrators did not have the ability to cope with the logistical challenges posed by the war
5
Q
Losses
A
- Russians lost twice as many troops as the enemy during the early campaigns and the hope at home that Russia would score an early victory due to their sheer numbers, described as the ‘Russian steamroller’ waned
- Russian casualties for the whole of the war were around 8 million, including 1.7 million dead and 2.4 million captured
6
Q
Economic dislocation
A
- Whole of the Russian economy was shifted to a war economy, this had a negative impact on the lives of the Russian people, as industry and agriculture could not cope with the demands of the war and simultaneously support the population
7
Q
Food shortages
A
- Rising population, food requisitioning by the army, a fall in availability of fertilisers and transport problems all worked together to create food shortages, especially after 1916
- In St Petersburg (renamed Petrograd to appear less German and more Russian) the bread ration fell 25% in the first three months of 1916
8
Q
Transport problems
A
- Food issue was made worse by communication and transport problems, was not surprising that stockpiling of supplies occurred
- Piles of foodstuffs rotted away and at Archangel (in northern Russia) in the ‘mountains’ of hardware were so great that they began to sink into the ground
9
Q
Economic: Dislocation and Inflation
A
- Total cost of the war was in the region of 3 billion roubles, which far exceeded levels of government expenditure during peacetime
- In 1913, government expenditure was about 1.5 billion roubles, cost was met partly through borrowing (foreign loans, war bonds), increases in tax (income, excess profits) and printing more money
- Some of these measures were partly responsible for rampant inflation, by 1917, prices had risen 400% from the start of the war, those on fixed incomes (low-paid and elderly) suffered greatly
- Whole economy was shifted to a war economy,
10
Q
How did WW1 impact Alexandra (Nicholas II’s wife)
A
- She was the German granddaughter of Queen Victoria, which caused suspicion among the Russian people,
- She had inherited the haemophilic gene and passed it on to her son Alexa, which was significant as it influenced her relationship with Rasputin
- From 1915, Nicholas II took control of the Russian military and was away at the Eastern Front for much of the time, leaving the governance of Russia in the hands of Alexandra and Rasputin
- This caused discontent within the government, a Progressive Bloc has emerged which put pressure on the Tsar to take firmer control of proceedings
11
Q
Rasputin
A
12
Q
The Fourth Duma
A
- Final Duma was dominated once more by politicians from the far right, its rule coincided with heightened and brutal repression of civil disorder
- Characterised by state police killing striking miners at the Lena Goldfields (1912), the murders outraged many Duma members who viewed this as a retrograde step by the government in its attempt to deal with Russia’s economic and social problems
- Guchkov, leader of the Octobrists warned the tsar and ministers that the Russian people had become revolutionised by the actions of the government and that they had lost faith in its leaders
- Final Duma became infamous for putting pressure on Tsar to abdicate and went on to form the backbone of the Provisional Government
