Was Imperial Russia Ruined By World War I?

The fall of the Romanov Dynasty in 1914 proved that the Tsar could not handle the problems of Russia. Ironically, he would have been ideal as a constitutional monarch, but was adamant against the idea. As the First World War started Russia’s problems arises, from short-term and long-term causes. The war brought back inflation which led to “demonstrations over food shortages combined with workers’ grievances,” (Hosking, 2012, p. 91) thus this destroyed Nicholas’s image as Father of Russia. Military became ineffective as the transport system was not adequate, thus leading to food supplies decreasing in key cities such as Petrograd. Historians believe the impacts of the First World War led to Russian society becoming unstable and was ultimately the main reason of the downfall of the Tsar. However other factors, such as the Tsarina placing large amounts of trust into Rasputin who was notorious for his reputation as an alcoholic and a womanizer (Westwood, 2002, p. 215) and the role of the revolutionaries due to Lenin promising peace, land and bread, eventually leading to the growth of the Bolsheviks Party. Although, it can most rightfully be deemed that the impact of the war was the main reason for the fall of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917.

The Great War began in the early days of August 1914. Russia fought alongside its allies Britain, France, Austria Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Germany. During the initial stages of war, there was a high level of patriotism among the Russian people. The decision of the Romanov government to go to war undermined any remaining loyalty the people felt towards Nicholas. The war brought heavy casualty numbers and injuries. In addition there was also inadequate medical care, shortages of food, guns and bullets, loss of land and lost access to supplies and markets through both the Baltic and Baltic Seas. The Tsar’s poor decision making caused the Russian soldiers to suffer. The ammunition among the soldiers were rationed. Many soldiers lacked the proper clothing and equipment they required if they were to survive the bitterly cold conditions of the winter. The loss of men and animals from the villages disrupted the food production. The main priority was to supply the soldiers with food and this took precedence over food supply of the cities. This caused further disruptions within Russia, leading to the end of the Tsarist regime. Inadequate transport saw the already limited city food supplies left rotting at rural railway stations. Russia’s enemy, Germany, was a well-trained industrial nation, while the Russians were underprepared, and had inadequate equipment. As a result the war brought extreme economic strains, and hence the Tsar decided to ban alcohol during the times of War. The new restriction caused the government to lose 33 per cent of its tax revenue and by 1916, the war alone was costing nearly five times the initial 1913 budget allowance. As the war progressed the quality of the soldiers began to decrease as most of the officers were killed and replaced by conscripts with little military training. All of this contributed to low morale amongst the

Overall, the hardships of World War I on Russia and its people due to poor economic and logistical planning for the war, resulted in increased resentment towards the Tsarist regime which would eventually evolve into massive instability and Nicholas’

While Germany’s power grew in the West, the Eastern giant of Russia was awaking as well. It would be unavoidable for the two to collide in war. Like Germany, the Soviet Union had established a new nation and created a large military power in the aftermath of World War I. Czarist Russia had converted into the immense Soviet Union and transformed into a world superpower also in the wake of the Great War. For centuries before the war the man with complete control over the Motherland would always be the Czar. But the total power of Russia’s monarchy would eventually lead to its demise. During World War I, Czarist Russia went through famine and economic breakdown. The demoralized Russian army suffered several severe military losses and many of the troops deserted the front lines. Discontentment with the monarchy and its policy of continuing the war effort rose, and soon the present Czar was forced to step down. Soon after that, a revolution began and the Party of the Soviet Union, led by Vladimir Lenin, took political control. Yet there were many who opposed the new majority of the Communists and civil

Russia was ruled by the imperial Romanov family, The first official Russian emperor of Russia was Peter the Great in 1721. During the reign of Peter the Great he established a rule of absolute Monarchy until 1917. In 1917 the Russians citizens weren't content of Nicholas the 2nd rule. Under the reign of Nicholas the 2nd Russia the citizens had to work long hours and worked six days a week, but were payed a small amount of money which barely payed for food, clothes, water, houses and other necessities. In 1917 Russia was participating in World War 1 but was losing large amount of infantry. These infantry were peasants which weren't trained and wasn't given the correct equipment such as weapons, clothing or training. Due to the lack of weapons,

In Tsar Nicholas II’s early rule, his main objective was to uphold the European status quo. In the 1890s they began to expand their industries and the following year the Trans-Siberian railways were under construction. The strength of the Romanov rule was the church, army, political parties, and the secret police. Although they supported Tsar Nicholas II, soldiers joined riots against him and church’s supported him, but did not approve of his ways. The weakness of Tsar Nicholas II outweighs his strengths, being his incompetence of problems, economic and social, in Russia at the time.

Under the poor leadership of Tsar Nicholas II, Russia's peasants were suffering and unrest was widespread in the country. In hopes to rally the Russian people and bring out their nationalist spirit, Tsar Nicholas II, declared war on Japan for challenging Russia for control of Korea and Manchuria.  was facing has suffered huge losses during its war with Japan.  Japan defeated the Russian easily and it was a humiliating loss for the empire. As World War exploded between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, Russia was drawn into the war because of the alliance system, Bolsheviks and other groups in Russia did not like the fact that Tsar Nicholas II decided to enter another costly war.

Tsar Nicholas II, to a relatively large extent, however not entirely, failed to effectively bring political and economic stability to Russia by 1914, and World War 1, instead managed to provide a fragile veneer of stability over the empire. There were a number of reasons for this. Firstly, the revolutionary events of 1905 we’re never adequately recovered from, and while Nicholas II manages to appease some groups, he fails to appease many of those against the Tsarist regime. Further, while Stolypin’s economic reforms gained relative ground in terms of agricultural reform, they ultimately failed to invigorate Russia’s industry and provide the economic

The first World War, also known as the Great War or “the war to end all wars”, had a profound impact on the societies across the globe, especially the industrialized nations of Europe and the United States. At the start of the war, in 1914, Russia had a larger military than any nation in the world, albeit underequipped, and inadequately trained. More than anything else, Russia’s economy and national spirit were hit hard by the war. The Ottoman Empire was also devastated. Being in a fractured state politically, and hurting economically, it was ill prepared for true competition. It

Plagued by a history of social uprisings and insurgents, Russia’s history validated the many years of negligence towards its people. Time and time again Russia had seen their lower class people desperate. The Russian people, on multiple occasions, were desperate for rights and food. With each passing day of the Romanov administration overlooking their people, the people’s faith and loyalty began to waver. Through Nicholas’ incompetence in dealing with social reforms and foreign policies, the tragic assassination of his family was irrevocable.

World War I was a major event that could that caused the training reaction of things primitive to the Russian revolution to happen due to the effects that occurred because of it. The role that Russia played caused various issues as the fee of Germany was still in stalemate and cause Russia to spend more of its supplies of weapons. Industrialization was prevalent in terms of the increased shortage of supplies catering to the militants in contributed to the alienation of their territorial states,which included the feet to Germany,further digressing their influence of national affairs. Infliction on Russia as a unit presented a greater mass of degradation with, “it's a huge losses of men and dislocation of the economy magnified all of Russia's

Russia’s social problems included those of agriculture, labor, and nationality, socioeconomic inequality, society’s cultural split, and the low standard of living—even though it had risen. These problems were being dealt with successfully, but they had not been solved. Let us remember that the burden of the war that even Germany, which was modernized in all respects, was unable to withstand, proved to be very severe. Russia had the prerequisites for emerging from the war victorious (together with its allies) if it had not been for the increasingly fierce struggle for power between the monarchy and the radical liberal opposition, which, under the conditions of a very difficult war, criminally encouraged the people to overthrow Nicholas II. The Revolution went forward in accordance with the classic scenario: the crisis of the “Old Regime”; the establishment of the power of the “moderates”; the victory of the radicals who created “a kingdom of terror and virtue”; and Thermidor, or the counterrevolutionary coup and post revolution dictatorship. As a result of the irresponsible behavior of the liberal and revolutionary elites the country was plunged into chaos for a number of years. (Mironov 94).

Nicholas went into battle entirely unprepared for what was to come, relying on the large numbers of the defense forces; he did not account for any other aspects of the war. By late 1914, there were already high casualty rates and it was clear that they were fighting a losing war; the Russian army was fighting a twentieth century battle with ninetieth century training and weaponry. Due to poor financial planning the Tsar sent men into battle with inadequate supplies, there were only enough rifles for two thirds of the whole army, many soldiers were not given the adequate clothing needed to survive the harsh weather and there were food shortages all over the nation, this meant that if the men didn’t die in battle they would surely either freeze or die of starvation. In addition to the many hardships of the soldiers on the battlefield, peasants also found it difficult to survive the many months. There were extreme food shortages all over the nation which resulted in price increases averaging 300%, and though wages increased the living standards dropped with many having to constantly withstand malnutrition and unsanitary conditions.

The outbreak and entirety of WWI, serves as an example of how many individual players, and their actions, contributed to the overall outcome of an all-out war. In class, we discussed how there were a number of major players whom helped contribute to the outbreak and subsequent events of WW1. One of the key actors we examined, was the Emperor to Russia at the time, Nicholas II, and the qualities attributed to him as an individual. These are the qualities which may have not only led to Russia’s involvement in WWI, but also can be attributed to Russia’s loss in Russo-Japanese War, further destabilization of Russia’s central government under Nicholas II, and ultimately the collapse of the Russian Monarchy, all culminating in the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Russia was a rural country that once had regime. The majority of Russia was profoundly poor and the few that were rich were extremely wealthy. Their last ruler had been Tsar Nicholas II who was not a natural leader; in fact most people could describe him as a reluctant and feeble monarch. Russia suffered numerous revolutions and defeats in wars under the regime. As a result their country was damaged, economically and socially. Russia was poverty stricken particularly in the countryside where the peasants lived. There were food shortages and a demand for land from the peasants. By 1900 industrialisation took its toll and many peasants moved from the country side to work in factories. Still there was unhappiness: workers demanded better