Russia in early 1917

Question 1

What effect did WW1 have on Russia?

Answer 1

The First World War plunged Russia into chaos. Military defeats undermined trust in the ruling classes, especially when Tsar Nicholas II took charge of the army and navy. Economic, social and political effects increased tensions in the countryside and in the cities.

Question 2

In what way was Russia defeated in WW1 from a military standpoint?

Answer 2

Although Russia had the world’s largest army
in 1914, it was poorly led and badly equipped.
The German generals were able to move their
well-equipped and well-trained men around on
an efficient railway network, then strike at the
Russians where they were most vulnerable.
By 1917, large areas of the western Russian
empire had been lost to Germany.

Question 3

How was Russia economically affected by WW1?

Answer 3

• Germany blocked Russia’s trade routes, factories were starved of raw materials and economic activity dropped. Taxes had to rise to help pay for the cost of the war.
• To raise more money, the government arranged loans from its allies, increasing Russia’s national debt. Things were made worse by disrupted harvests, which reduced food supplies.
• The government printed more money to pay for the war. Inflation pushed up prices twice as fast as wages.

Question 4

How was Russia politically affected by WW1?

Answer 4

• The Duma (Russian parliament) had supported the war at first but, as the crisis deepened, Duma deputies criticised the failures of the tsar’s ministers.
• In 1915, the Duma requested that the tsar replace his ministers with new ones supported by the Duma.
• The tsar refused to share any power with the Duma. In response, the Duma became a centre of opposition to the tsar’s government.

Question 5

How was Russia socially affected by WW1?

Answer 5

• The conscription of 15 million peasant men and their horses to fight meant food production dropped. The army also requisitioned peasant crops and horses as well as prioritising the railway for the army. These factors meant there was less food for city populations as well as the countryside, leading to hunger and suffering.
• Possibly as many as 6 million refugees fled German occupation in the west. The government struggled to find them housing and food. Nationalist tensions increased.
• Economic problems meant many factory closures and job losses. Unemployment and food shortages meant growing social unrest.

Question 6

In August 1915, the tsar decided to take
command of the Russian armed forces as
commander-in-chief. What were the consequences of this?

Answer 6

• His ministers warned him that this was a
  huge risk. The Russian people would blame
  the tsar directly for any further defeats.
• The tsar left Petrograd in September 1915
  to move to army headquarters. He left
  his German wife, Tsarina Alexandra, as his
  regent – head of state in his absence.
• His actions lost him the respect of the
  military elite and the nobility – he had no
  military training and was away at war rather
  than in the capital.