World War I

Question 1

How many Russian men are mobilised by the end of 1914? How many rifles had been issued?

Answer 1

6. 5 million men

4. 6 million rifles

Question 2

What was wrong with General Sukhomlinov’s approach to warfare?

Answer 2

Distrusted technology of modern warfare, preferred to use a large amount of troops than bayonets.

Question 3

When were Russian forces sent into battle at East Prussia?

Answer 3

Mid August

Question 4

When was the Battle of Tannenberg and what were the losses?

Answer 4

28 August 1914. Within four days 70,000 Russians were dead or wounded, 100,000 captured. Germans had only lost 15 000.

Question 5

How many Russians had died, been wounded, or taken prisoner by the end of 1914?

Answer 5

1.2 million

Question 6

Where were Russian forces crushed by the Germans on 2 May 1915?

Answer 6

Gorlice

Question 7

When did the Great Retreat begin and end?

Answer 7

Mid July to September 1915

Question 8

“For many soldiers this the vital psychological moment of the revolution - the moment when their loyalty

Answer 8

to the tsar finally snapped. A government which had dragged them into a war which they could not hope to win, had failed to provide them with adequate weapons and supplies, and was now in league with the enemy was certainly not worthy of further sacrifices. .” Figes on the Great Retreat

Question 9

How many Russians surrendered to the Austrians and Germans during the Great Retreat?

Answer 9

1 million

Question 10

How many Russians under German occupation by the end of 1915?

Answer 10

23 million

Question 11

What did Nicholas do on 21 August 1915? How was this received?

Answer 11

Relieved the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich of his position as commander-in-chief of Russian armed forces. Widely criticised by the duma and Council of Ministers

Question 12

What did General Brusilov say of the Tsar’s decision to become commander in chief of the army?

Answer 12

“Everyone knew that Nicholas understood next to nothing about military matters…he utterly lacked the charisma to bring that magic to life. Faced with a group of soldiers, he was nervous and did not know what to say.”

Question 13

What was the success of the Brusilov Offensive in 1916?

Answer 13

Russians actually all have rifles, and capture and kill almost one millions troops in ten weeks. Austrian army significantly weakened.

Question 14

Why were Russian forces still discontent despite victory in the Brusilov offensive?

Answer 14

Very cold, little food, army ridden disease.

Question 15

Figes: “As conditions at the Front worsened and the scale of the slaughter increased,

Answer 15

the army’s morale and discipline began to fall apart. The war in this sense was the social architect of 1917 as the army gradually turned into one vast revolutionary mob.

Question 16

Who were the replacements for the officers of the Russian army? Where did most of them come from?

Answer 16

NCO’s; 60% from a peasant background, most in their early twenties.

Question 17

How did Figes describe the NCO’s?

Answer 17

“This was the radical military cohort - literate, upwardly mobile, socially disoriented and brutalised by war - who would lead the mutiny of February, the revolutionary soldiers committees, and eventually drive the Soviet to power in 1917. “

Question 18

What were the three domestic organisations set up to coordinate the war effort?

Answer 18

All-Russian Union of Towns, All Russian Union of Zemstva, Central War Industries Committee

Question 19

Why did the Tsar not want to prepare the country for the war? What did Miliukov say of this, and when?

Answer 19

He believed it would pave the way for revolution. December 1916: “While the government persists in claiming that organising the country means organising a revolution and deliberately prefers chaos and disorganisation, then what is this: stupidity or treason? “

Question 20

When was the Progressive Bloc formed in the Duma? Who was it supported by?

Answer 20

Supported by the Central War Industries Committee, the Union of Towns, and the Union of Zemstva, some members of the Council of Ministers. Moderates in 1915

Question 21

What occurred on 25 August 1915?

Answer 21

Progressive Bloc releases a program for reform calling for a change in ministers, separation of military and civilian bureaucracies, and parliamentary democracies.

Question 22

How does the Tsar respond to the Progressive Bloc’s demands?

Answer 22

Cancels the duma.

Question 23

What did Figes say of the period from September 1915 and February 1917 when the Tsarina was in charge?

Answer 23

“Russia had four Prime Ministers, five Ministers of the Interior, three Foreign Ministers, three War ministers, three Ministers of Transport, and four Ministers of Agriculture.”

Question 24

How much did Russia spend on the war between 1914 to 1917?

Answer 24

1.5 billion roubles

Question 25

What was the effect of the government printing more notes to address the decline in living standards?

Answer 25

Temporarily relieved the system: resulted in inflation.

Question 26

What was the result of inflation?

Answer 26

Wages double but cost of basic food quadruple.
Peasants hoard the grain leading to more shortages
Calorie intake of an unskilled worker falls by a quarter.
Infant mortality and crime increased
Transport system collapsed

Question 27

What was the effect of inadequate railways during the war?

Answer 27

Supply to the front suffered, supply to the cities is cut back. 1916; Petrograd and Moscow receiving barely one third of their fuel and food supplies .

Question 28

In 1917, how many troops were dad, wounded, or taken prisoner?

Answer 28

1.7 million; dead
8 million; wounded
2.5 million; taken prisoner

Question 29

What does Figes say of the effect of the poor supplies to troops?

Answer 29

“Discipline broke down as soldiers refused to take up positions, cut off their fingers and hands to get themselves discharged, surrendered to the army and deserted to the rear.”

Question 30

How was the middle class affected by the war?

Answer 30

Savings were wiped out by inflation, and organisations they set up had been undermined by the tsar.

Question 31

How did Rasputin gain influence in the royal family?

Answer 31

Being able to treat the Romanov heir, Alexei, as he suffered from haemophilia.

Question 32

Why was Rasputin despised by the Russian politicians?

Answer 32

Pipes: It was widely believed that crossing Rasputin’s path meant a broken career. Rasputin was even suspected of meddling in military operations.

Question 33

Who was dismissed as a result of Rasputin?

Answer 33

Dzhunkovskii who reported that Rasputin had boasted that he could do anything he wanted with the Tsarina.

Question 34

When was Rasputin murdered?

Answer 34

December 1916

Question 35

When did rationing begin in cities?

Answer 35

February 19 1917

Question 36

How much did the calorie intake of an unskilled worker fall between 1914 and 1916?

Answer 36

A quarter

Question 37

How many hours was an average working woman spending in queues for provisions in the eve of 1917?

Answer 37

40 per week

Question 38

What was banned in cities that 10% of a workers income was spent on in 1914?

Answer 38

vodka

Question 39

When did grain have a fixed price?

Answer 39

August 1915

Question 40

When did compulsory requisitioning begin?

Answer 40

November 1916