Russia and The War Effort +Economic and Social state

Question 1

How big was Russia’s army at beginning of war?

Answer 1

1.4 million soldiers

3 million reservists = biggest in Europe

Question 2

What did military reforms in 1908 lead to?

Answer 2

10 year programme to modernise army including introduction to military aircraft

Question 3

What were some of the key weaknesses in the Russian army?

Answer 3

Incompetent general help senior positions due to their family connections - not skill
Russian soldiers least educated of any European army
Russian industry underdeveloped so arms production = comparatively inefficient

Question 4

How did WW1 expose the weaknesses of the Russian army?

Answer 4

Initial victories = short-lived
Russian defeat at Battle of Tannenberg let to ‘Great Retreat’ of 1915
Attempts to regain initiative through ‘Brusilov Offensive’ in 1916 also ended in failure

Question 5

What was the key economic problem in WW1?

Answer 5

Inflation - by 1917 it had reached 200%

Price of flour rose by 500%

Question 6

What was the grain problem?

Answer 6

By Jan 1917 Petrograd only getting 48% of it’s grain requirements = army forced to reduce rations from 4000 calories a day to 2000

Question 7

How much did the population rise by and why?

Answer 7

Petrpgrad = 2.1 million in 1914 but 2.7 million by 1917 because growth of war economy meant more workers were employed in factories in cities

Question 8

What two other key supply problems did Russia face?

Answer 8

Munitions crisis - By 1915 artillery units limited to 3 shells a day = military setbacks
Russia’s transport stuggled to cope with need to transport troops, munitions and food = exacerbated food shortages in cities and munition shortages on the front line

Question 9

In did the Tsar do in August 1915?

Answer 9

Took personal command of the army becmong ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the Russian armed forces

Question 10

For what two reasons did the absence of the Tsar undermine faith in the government?

Answer 10

Rumours circulated that the Tsar’s wife was in charge of the government - she was born in Germany so many believed she was a German agent (and having an affair with Rasputin)
Rumours suggested the Tsar and Tsarina were under the influence of Grigori Rasputin (reputation of a drunken womaniser) damaging authority of royal family

Question 11

What were Rasputin and the Tsarina accused of doing during the 1916 ‘ministerial leapfrog’?

Answer 11

Giving jobs to their favourites as they replaced four prime ministers, three foreign secretaries, three ministers of defence and six interior ministers

Question 12

What happened when members of the aristocracy became aware of the impact gossip about Rasputin was having on the government?

Answer 12

Prince Felix Yusupov (in December 1916) working with other aristocrats and politicians assassinated Rasputin but this failed to change public opinion

Question 13

What was the Progressive Bloc?

Answer 13

A political alliance of Duma deputies united by their desire for constitutional reform

Question 14

What happened in the summer of 1915 when the Tsar recalled the Duma?

Answer 14

236/442 Duma deputies formed the progressive bloc demanding a ‘government of confidence’ (new government comprising leading members of the Duma which could manage the war effort competently)
The Tsar refused to collaborate with the Progressive Bloc believing Duma had no right to play a role in government

Question 15

What happened at the start of war?

Answer 15

August 1st Nicholas persuaded to declare war on Germany, invaded Germany soo after but success short lived and two Russian armies didn’t communicate and used out of date maps, suffered succession of heavy defeats

Question 16

What two significant consequences did Nicholas II’s decision to take command of the army have?

Answer 16

1) he would be responsible for military failures

2) he was removed from the capital

Question 17

Who warned the Tsar of the unrest and when did he eventually abdicate?

Answer 17

Rodzianko warned of severe unrest and need for immediate action but the Tsar preferred to listen to the letters of his wife who only described minor incidents that would pass. He was more concerned about his childrens measles than ‘children running about and screaming that they have no bread’ and he reassured his wife it would calm down
When he realised severity of situation it was too late and on March 1st he was forced to abdicate

Question 18

Why caused Russia to join the war?

Answer 18

In June 1914, the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a young Slav in Sarajevo (part of the Austro-Hungarian empire). The assassination was a protest against Austria’s rule over many slav people so the austro-Hungarian empire held the Serb government responsible. Russia identified with the Balkan state of Serbia (a fellow slav nation)
Pan-Slavism (belief slav races should unite) was strong in European Russia so in July 1914 the Tsar mobilised his armies in support of Serbia and since Germany allied Austria Hungary, Russia were soon drawn into a war with Germany

Question 19

Did Russia’s allies get involved?

Answer 19

Britain and France also declared war they fought largely on the Western front leaving Russia to struggle alone against Germans and Austro-Hungarians on the eastern front

Question 20

Was the decision to go to war popular?

Answer 20

Initially popular, supported by anti-German sentitment
Social and political disorder from throughout Nicholas’s reign ceased and having voted for war credits the duma dissolved itself not wanting to be a political burden in war time
Capital changed name to Petrograd

Question 21

What surprised Germany initially?

Answer 21

The speed at which the Russian army was able to assemble and get to the front line

Question 22

What was the spirit of national solidarity dampened by?

Answer 22

Reports of military incompetence
When initial victories gave way to defeat at the hands of Germany in the battle of Tannenburg in East Prussia 1914, leaving 300,000 dead or wounded and thousands were taken prisoner
Subsequent defeat at the Mansurian lakes in September forced the Russian army into a temporary retreat from East Prussia
(Russia had greater success in south against A-H)

Question 23

Was the Russian army efficient?

Answer 23

Russian government managed to mobilise around 12 million men 1914-1917 but it was unable to provide for them (mainly conscript peasants)
Problems grew worse with soldiers sent fighting without suitable weaponry and lacking warm clothing

Question 24

What was Russian weapon supply like (especially early on)?

Answer 24

In 1914 the infantry had only two rifles per two soldiers
In 1915 it wasn’t unusual for Russian artillery to be limited to two to three shells per day
In early years the, the soldiers had to rely on the weapons of fallen comrades in order to fight at all

Question 25

What was the Brusilov offensive?

Answer 25

An attempt to push westwards from Ukraine and break through the Austro-Hungarian lines in June 1916)

Question 26

What was the situation at the time of the Brusilov offensive?

Answer 26

Deficiencies in equipment had been party rectified but the loss of experienced officers (killed early), continuing casualties and the deteriorating economic and political situation in Russia led to a fall in morale and 1.5 million desertions by the end of that war

Question 27

1914-1917 what was a major dispute over the organisation of the war effort?

Answer 27

The Tsarist government had set up ‘military zones’ in which all civilian authority was suspended and the military assumed command
This was opposed by liberal zemstva who believed the people needed to play a major part running the war
Zemstva had established a union of Zemstva to provide the medical facilities which the state seemed to neglect while factory owners and businessmen set up a Congress of Representatives of Industry and business (including duma members and workers) to help coordinate production

Question 28

What happened in June 1915 with the Zemstva?

Answer 28

It joined with municipal dumas to form Zemgor (the all Russian union of Zemstva and cities)
It was chaired by Prince Lvov and claimed the right go help the Tsars government in the war effort
Nicholas shunned it and it turned into a focus for liberal discontent

Question 29

What was Nicholas given the chance to do in August 1915?

Answer 29

Institute political reform and save his position by transferring responsibility for the war effort to a civilian government.
Over half the fourth duma deputies formed the progressive bloc but Nicholas refused to consider such a change

Question 30

What happened in September 1915?

Answer 30

Defeats in Galicia led to Nicholas making the decision to take on the role of ‘Commander in Chief’ of the army and navy and to travel to the front line

Question 31

Despite showing bravery what were the problems with Nicholas taking this position have?

Answer 31

He had already lost the support of the Russian General staff and didn’t possess the military experience to transfer the war effort - it just made him appear more responsible
Also allowed Rasputin to meddle in politics

Question 32

What did Prince Yusupov (a nephew by marriage to the Tsar) do in an attempt to save the reputation of the monarchy?

Answer 32

Murdered Rasputin in December 1916

Question 33

What were some of the economic problems with funding war?

Answer 33

To pay for it government increased taxes and raised he loans at home and from abroad
The damage done to industry and grain exports produced massive inflation
Money was virtually worthless by 1917 and prices rose much more steeply than wages

Question 34

What were the problems with conscription?

Answer 34

The millions conscripted left a shortage of men in the countryside
Supplied of food to the towns feel due to a shortage of workers in the fields (as well as peasants hoarding it and inadequate transport systems)

Question 35

What damaged Russian trade?

Answer 35

Poland and other parts of western Russia were overrun by the Germans removing important industrial capacity
Naval blockades of the Baltic and Black sea ports as well as the loss of overland routes to Europe damaging Russian trade
Rationing scarcely helped and the war years were of acute hunger if not famine

Question 36

What else virtually collapsed under the strain of war?

Answer 36

The railway system - they were used to transport men and goods to the front while railway locomotive production halved 1913-1916 and there were severe fuel shortages
Food meant for the cities rotted at railways due to lack of transport + grain sent to front line at the expense of townsmen

Question 37

What were the problems in urban centres like Petrograd and Moscow?

Answer 37

Unemployment soared as non-military factories (deprived of vital supplies) were forced to close
Lock outs and strikes (often encouraged by German government) financially ruined what little industry remained
300% rise in cost of living
Rising death rates due to inadequacies in diet and insanitary lodgings

Question 38

What did the poor conditions lead to in January 1917?

Answer 38

30,000 workers went on strike in Moscow and 145,00 in Petrograd

Question 39

What are war credits?

Answer 39

The raising of taxes and loans to finance war

Question 40

Despite clear problems within the Russian army what should not be underestimated?

Answer 40

Russia’s military capacity - they managed to tie down Germany armies on the Eastern front for three years and in 1916 manufactured more shells than G (Russian military failure therefore shouldn’t be overemphasised as cause of Feb rev)

Question 41

By Feb 1917 what was clear?

Answer 41

Loss of confidence in Tsarist regime in all levels of society - despite still being Patriotic, the peoples struggle to survive lost sympathy for the Tsar
There were many strikes, riots or violence against employers or landlords

Question 42

What was discontent like in the army?

Answer 42

Anger led to desertion
Committed soldiers faced horrendous casualties on the front line and operating conditions were horrendous in winter 1916-17 when temp fell to -35 so peasant conscripts lost any will to fight

Question 43

How did political discontent become apparent?

Answer 43

Guchkov (one of the founders of the progressive bloc) engaged in talks with senior army officers about a possible coup to force the Tsar’s abdication
Milyukov openly accused the Tsar’s ministers of seeking peace with G behind the dumas back in Nov 1916
Prince Lvov indirectly asked the Tsar’s uncle whether he would be willing to take over the throne

Question 44

What was the view of the left towards the end of the Tsar’s reign?

Answer 44

There was less direct challenge as most of the leaders were in exile and there were differences of opinion among socialists about supporting the war effort
Lenin (living in Switzerland) rejected the majority view and wanted war to be turned into civl war of the proletarian soldiers against the government
While radical socialist agitators within Russia helped to stir up discontent it must be remembered that Lenin had no more than 10,000 followers there