Russia at war 1917 Flashcards

1
Q

Name 6 things that impacted Russia’s situation during the war

A
  1. Inflation
  2. Lack of food supplies
  3. Poor transport system
  4. The army (low morale and inept leadership of Tsar)
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2
Q

How did the war cause inflation?

A

1- Between 1914 and 1917, war costs meant that government spending rose from 4 to 30 mill roubles
2- To pay for war, gold standard was abandoned (this allowed gov to put more banknotes in circulation, enabled wages to be paid and trade to continue in short term_
3- In long term, money became worthless
4- Between 1914 and 1916, average earnings had doubled while the price of food and fuel had quadrupled (inflation was at its peak in 1917 e.g. in Jan 1917, price index was 398 whilst banknotes in circulation was 336)

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3
Q

`How did the war impact food supplies?

A
  1. Peasants found it impossible to sustain agricultural output due to requisitioning of farm horses & fertilisers by the military. This coupled with inflation made trading unprofitable and so peasants stopped selling food
  2. Military had first priority use of transport use, so food couldnt be transported to civilian areas easily (heavy shortages in Petrograd especially as it was a remote areas and had large population
  3. In early 1917, Bread rationing meant that Petrograd’s inhabitants were receiving less than a 1/4 of the amount that had been available to them in 1914
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4
Q

How was transport affected by the war?

A
  1. Attempts to transport millions of troops occasioned several pressures e.g. signalling system on which railway network depended broke down, so blocked lines and trains stranded by engine breakdown became common
    - e.g. food rotted in trains and goods sank into ground beneath weight of new supplies
  2. Transport problems meant that by the end of 1916, Petrograd and Moscow were receiving a third of their food and fuel requirements
    - Before the war, Moscow received an average of 2200 wagons of grain per month but by january 1917, this figure dropped to below 700
    - In Feb 1917, Petrograd were receiving 300 wagons of grain instead of the 1000 that it needed
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5
Q

How was the army affected by the war (well kinda governments fault too)?

A
  1. Serious equipment shortages after 1916 (poor administration and liason between government departments responsible for supplies e.g. Rodzianko refers to this as ‘the great evil’ of widespread disorganisation)
  2. Low morale Constant losses - in 1916, Brusilov offensive brought Hungary to verge of collapse but gains were never followed up and never enough to justify the large numbers of dead and wounded from Russian army)
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6
Q

How did the role of the Tsar exacerbate Russias problems?

A

Tsar, who had no experience as a military leader, made himself commander in chief in 1915. This meant he was directly responsible for military failures

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7
Q

How do we know that the people (including duma) saw the Tsarist as a real problem/threat?

A
  1. The aristocracy, the army, the civil servants, who had been te Tsar’s strongest supporters at the outbreak of war became too wearied by his incompetence to wish to save him or the system he represented
  2. The Duma shared the view that the Tsar was an inept political and military leader, incapable of providing the inspiration that the nation needed and from 1915, became a platform for increasingly vocal critics of the tsar and his government for their mishandling of the war
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8
Q

What mistake did the Tsar make regarding Zemstva/Zemgor?

A

The Tsar refused to fully-co-operate with the Union of Municial Councils (togeter making up Zemgor). He hardly delegated power to them even though were successful in treating the wounded, providing medical supplies and had been willing to work with the government in the national war effort

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9
Q

Who were the progressive bloc?

A

A group made up of 236 out of 422 duma deputies, which critices the governments handling of the war and were a focus of political resistance to the Tsar.

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10
Q

Why did the progressive bloc come together?

A
  1. Because of the tsar’s refusal to replace his incompetent cabinet with a ministry of national confidence
  2. Because of the Tsar’s bad handling of the war
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11
Q

Why did the Tsarina trust Rasputin?

A

She trusted Rasputin as he treated her son who had Hemophilia, and eased his condition

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12
Q

Why was the role of the Tsarina and Rasputin important in Russias position in the war?

A
  1. The Tsarina was German so the Tsar’s enemies portrayed her as a German agent.
  2. Rasputin had a stong influence on the Tsarina, and was suggested to be the driving force behind the Tsarinas decisions (e.g. ministerial leap frog)
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13
Q

What was the ministerial leap frog?

A

A period during the Tsarina’s rule (1915-1917), in which Russia had:

  • 3 Foreign Ministers,
  • 3 War Ministers,
  • 3 Ministers of Transport
  • 4 Prime Ministers,
  • 4 Ministers of Agriculture
  • 5 Ministers of the Interior,
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14
Q

How do we know that even members of government were wary of the Tsarina and Rasputin?

A

Rodzianko warned the tsar that Rasputin’s presence at court and influence over the Tsarina and the government threatened disaster (this was backed by a member of the royal family, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, who wrote to the Tsar)

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15
Q

What evidence is there to suggest that Rasputinwas NOT a key problem for Russia, during the war?

A
  1. Rasputin successfully reorganised the army’s medical supplies system, showing the administrative skill that Russia desperately needd and which his aristocratic superiors in government lacked
  2. Russias problems e.g. inflation still continued even after the murder of Rasputin in 1916.
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16
Q

What caused growth of opposition during 1917 (other than Russias key problems)?

A
  1. The Tsar’s unwillingness to work with progressive bloc
  2. Incompetent ministers
  3. Continuous military failures
  4. Court scandals associated with Rasputin
  5. Distrust of the ‘German woman’
  6. Duma’s dissatisfaction with Nicholas II