War and Revolution 1914-1917 Flashcards
What 3 developments in Europe alarmed Russia?
- Growth of a united Germany in 1871
- Formation of the Austo-Hungarian Empire in 1867
- Decline of the Ottoman Empire
What was Russia’s European diplomacy like in the quarter century before 1914?
Defensive
What was Russian foreign policy like after 1905?
Defensive = Russo-Japanese war had made them wary of putting Russia at risk again
Why did Russia join the Triple Entente?
As a means of safe guarding herself against the alliance of Central Powers
Who did Russia perceive to protect?
The Slavic nations
How did the outbreak of war in 1914 strengthen the Tsars position?
Became the symbol of the nation’s resistance in its hour of need
Why was the start of the war bad for the Bolsheviks?
Socialists in Russia and warring countries abandoned their policies and committed themselves to the national war effort
What was inflation like 1914-1916?
Wages doubled while the prices of food quadrupled
How much food were Petrograd’s inhabitants receiving by 1917?
Bread rationing meant they were receiving less than a quarter of the amount that had been available in 1914
What happened to the Russia railway system?
Two years after the war began it had virtually collapsed
What was the problem with Russia’s army?
Lacked efficient equipment
= due to poor administration and lack of liaison between the government departments responsible for supplies
Why did NII take direct command of Russia’s armed forces?
The intention was to rally the nation around the Tsar
What did soldiers begin to do by 1916?
They were ill-equipped and under-fed so began to desert
By 1916 what was the shared view of the Tsar?
That he was an inept political and military leaders, incapable of providing the inspiration that the nation needed
What happened to the Duma during the war?
First had shown total support for the Tsar by voting for its own suspension BUT reassembled in July 1915 due to demanding its own recall
How did NII loose the chance to retain the support of progressive parties?
By rejecting the proposal that his ministers be replaced by a ‘ministry of national confidence’
How many Duma members formed the progressive bloc?
236 of 422
What did the progressive bloc do?
Initially just tried to persuade the Tsar to make concessions but the Tsar saw the bloc as an enemy so it eventually became a source of political resistance
While NII was at war who practically headed the government?
Alexandra and Rasputin
What made February 1917 different to the other challenges to Tsardom?
The range of opposition and the speed with which events turned from protest into revolution
What set the February revolution in motion?
The desertion by those closest to the Tsar
Who started the full-scale strike on 18th Feb?
The employees at the Putilov steel works, the largest and most politically active factory in Petrograd
- joined by workers over the next 5 days who had been angered by rumours of further bread rationing
Why did thousands of women join the workers on the street?
As 23rd Feb was international women’s day
What state was Petrograd in by 25th Feb?
Paralysed by a city-wide strike
