WW1

Question 1

social impacts

Answer 1

• Lack of food; people starving
• Factories closing; out of work
• Rising discontent - millions of peasants conscripted
• Peasants reluctant to see produce
• Rising strikes amongst urban population
• Serious over crowding and declining living standards in the city
• 2 million Russian soldiers dead as a result of WW1
• Military suffered great loss and led to massive shortages of ammunition, equipment and medical supplies
• Increasing number of deserters in the military
  Ban of sale of vodka angered the people

Question 2

economic impacts

Answer 2

• Shortage of raw materials
• Shortage of goods (most industries had been converted to help the war effort)
• Underdeveloped railway system that could not cope with demands (needed to transport troops therefore unable to keep up with supplying city with food)
• Signalling/communications collapsed
• Trains left stranded
• When war materials were available, often not where they were needed due to supply issues
• Price of food and fuel quadrupled (wages only doubled)
• Agricultural sector still very behind in methods; relied on peasants - millions were conscripted into the army and therefore led to shortage of workers for the land
• By 1916 inflation was rampant and had reached 200% (had started to print money)
  Increase in debt from borrowing money to fund war effort

Question 3

political impacts

Answer 3

• Tsar took on role of Commander-in-chief; therefore assumed responsibility for all the loss and defeats
• Tsarina (and influenced by Rasputin) made poor decisions and appointment incompetent people to positions of power (ministerial leapfrog)
• Duma decided to re-assemble despite orders not to; created Progressive bloc and then the Provisional government

Question 4

How did the crisis of World War One help create a revolutionary situation in Russia

Answer 4

· The policies of Nicholas’ government were exposed
o the gravity of the domestic situation
o inflation, shortages and unemployment
o economic hardships made life unbearable for industrial workers, peasants and their families
o inefficiency and breakdown of the transport system
· Tsar lost the loyalty of most sections of the population
o military failures resulted in many members of the army and the families of the conscripted losing faith in the Tsar
o allowing the Tsarina and Rasputin to control internal political affairs from 1915 onwards disillusioned the ruling elite and middle class intelligentsia
· The war compounded the existing military, political, economic and social problems under Nicholas
o Russia was in no position to fight a large scale war (due to lack of rifles and ammunition) and had not adapted to modern warfare
o military losses resulted in greater government spending on financing the war (by 1916 the war was costing nearly five times more than had been budgeted in 1913)
o poor internal organization and socialist propaganda all resulted in disastrous demoralisation among the troops