Blacksacademy Symbol blacksacademy.net
contact
SIGN IN  |   VIDEO LIBRARY  |   PRICES  |   REVIEWS  |   CONTACT

Russia During the Great War and the Collapse of Tsardom

The Coming of the War

Russian expansion in the Balkans obviously ran the risk of antagonising Austria-Hungary. Russian chief minister Stolypin recognised this, but Foreign Policy was poorly coordinated. There was a rapprochement with Japan. Both powers wanted to keep other powers out of China, so they agreed at a convention in 1907 to divide Manchuria into two spheres of influence. Russia allowed Japan to annex Korea. The Russians sought to make Mongolia into a puppet state, and aimed for increased influence in China's most westerly state, Xingjiang (Sinkiang).
The French sponsored a rapprochement between Russia and Britain. In 1907 an Anglo-Russian convention agreed that (a) Tibet fell in the Chinese sphere of influence; (b) Afghanistan fell in the British sphere; (c) Persia (Iran) should be divided into three spheres — a Russian, a British and a neutral sphere. This effectively created the Triple Entente, an alliance of Britain, France and Russia to counter the growing threat of German expansion. [The Dual alliance between France and Russia was formed in 1895; the Entente Cordial between France and Britain was established in 1904; the Anglo-Russian agreement was reached in 1907.]
The 'Young Turk' revolution of July 1908 in Turkey upset the power balance in Europe. This revolution also increased Russian concerns to gain control of Constantinople and the Straits. The Russian foreign minister, A.P. Izvol'sky made an agreement with the Austrian foreign minister, Count von Aehrenthal, in which Austria would support Russian annexation of the Straits in return for Russian support of Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. But Austria made the annexation unilaterally. The annexation of Bosnia fuelled Serbian nationalism, and Russia felt as the leader of the Christian Slavs, a duty to support Serbia. Austria issued Russia an ultimatum and Russia in 1909 decided to withdraw from open confrontation. Germany had insisted on Russia stating that it supported the move, which it had to agree to; Izvol'sky was dismissed, and this enflamed the nationalists within Russia.
The Russian envoy to Belgrade, N.G. Hartvig, was instrumental in bringing about the formation of the Balkan league (Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece). This league was intended by Russia to be a defensive pact against Austria, but the League decided to attack Turkey and in 1912 successfully conquered Macedonia. However, in the Second Balkan war the Bulgarians attacked Serbia and Greece. Serbia and Greece won the support of the Romanians, and the Bulgarians were defeated, and thereafter allied with the Central Powers.
The Balkan wars of 1912-13 improved the Russian position by strengthening Serbia and weakening the allies of Austria, which were Romania and Bulgaria. But clashing European interests in the Balkans had not been resolved.
However, relations between Russia and Germany were not strained at first. In June 1912 Nicholas and Wilhelm II met, and the mood was friendly. Yet relations began to be strained in 1914 when a German general was appointed commander of Turkish forces on the Bosporus. There were hostile responses in the Russian press.
Following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, the Russians sought to put pressure on the Serbians to compromise, even after the receipt of the Austrian ultimatum of 23 July. The First World War had begun.
The tsarist government probably did not seek war in 1914, having burnt its fingers with Japan. The triple alliance with France & Britain was defensive in character. The Balkan crisis made it impossible for Russia to avoid conflict, and Austria-Hungary was viewed as a threat. But Russia had (1) a 'mission' to emancipate the Christian people of the Balkans; (2) a policy aim of access to the Mediterranean and closure of the Bosphorus.
Russia hoped its mobilisation would deter Austria from further aggression. There were two forms of mobilisation 'partial' and 'full'. They both depended on detailed railway timetabling and were mutually exclusive. Mobilising only along the Austrian border would expose Russia to German attack, hence Russia adopted the 'full' plan. The German contingency plans made war unavoidable for them in the event of full Russian mobilisation. On 1 August Germany declared war on Russia; Austria declared war on 5 August.
Tsar Nicholas had not wanted the war, but after it was declared he became a symbol national resistance. All members of the duma, except the five Bolsheviks, declared their support for it. Socialist parties of all belligerents committed themselves to the war. Lenin, in exile in Poland, went, with Austrian help, to Switzerland. The capital's name was changed to Petrograd since St. Petersburg was felt to be sound too Germanic.

The progress and impact of the war

Russia was poorly equipped for war. In 1914 there was only one machine-gun for every 1,000 men; and rifles were also in short-supply. Commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nicholas, and chief of staff, Yanushkevich, were not adequate to the task. There were heavy casualties and troop morale was fragile. Many experienced NCOs and junior officers fell in the first engagements, and were replaced by inexperienced men from civilian life who were critical of authority. The Central Powers controlled the Baltic and Black Seas, so supplies could only be shipped via the Artic Ports or Vladivostok — the trans-Siberian railway was still single-track. The Russians responded to French pleas and launched a badly prepared attack on East Prussia, which resulted in their being routed at the battle of Tannenberg (August 1914). They made gains against Austria, but the defeat at Tannenberg forced them to retreat across the whole front, with further heavy loss of life. The battle of Tannenberg resulted in 100,000 Russian prisoners of war. The Germans advanced into Russian Poland. The front line stabilized along a line from the Baltic coast to the Romanian border.
The Allies agreed in secret treaties in 1915 that Russia should acquire the Straits should they be victorious in the war.
In May 1916 General Brusilov launched an offensive against the Austrians. The Romanians joined the Allies. But the gains were short-lived. Romania was overrun by the Central Powers, and this merely extended the Eastern front down to the Black Sea. The Russians won a victory against the Turks in Anatolia, taking Erzerum in February 1916.
Nicholas assumed the post of commander-in-chief in August 1915, and moved to army headquarters at Mogilev. Alexandra was left to govern in Moscow. Suffering from a persecution complex, she was convinced that senior ministers would have to be replaced by supporters of Rasputin, and the Tsar concurred with many of her suggestions.
The war effort shook the economy. The supply of consumer goods diminished and prices rose faster than wages. There were outbreaks of cholera and typhus. Whilst only 170,000 working days were lost owing to strike action between August and December 1914, by 1915 the equivalent figure was 1.7 million, and by 1916 it was 4.7 million. By 1916 severe shortages of bread, fats, sugar and other goods were developing in the northern provinces.
The strain of the war was too much for the Russian economy: 17bn roubles were spent on the war between 1914 and 1917; the national budget increased 8 fold from 4 million roubles in 1913 to 30 million in 1916. The gold system was abandoned and more notes were circulated, resulting in inflation, particularly in 1916. Between 1914 and 1916 prices went up 4 times while average earnings increased 2 times.
Yet by 1916 the Russian army comprised 14 to 15 million men. However, by this time 8 million men had been either killed, wounded or taken prisoner. So the full-scale mobilisation removed 15 million men from the land. There was a decline in food production. Grain production began to fail in 1916. The work-force in Russian factories and mining had increased by 40% between 1914 and 1916. Peasants began hording. The military control of the railways made food distribution inadequate. The decline in food production meant troop rations were not maintained. The daily bread ration fell from 2.7 lbs in January 1916 to 1.8 lbs in March 1917.
The railway network came under severe pressure. The railways had grown from 21,000 km in 1881 to 70,000 km in 1914, but it was not sufficient for the war. Lines became blocked and by 1916 the system had almost collapsed with 575 stations no longer able to deal with freight. Goods stockpiled at Archangel and food rotted there. Moscow was seriously undersupplied.
There was also the problem of refugees flooding into Russia from the battle areas; many of these were Jews and Poles.
During the winter of 1915-16 fixed prices for grain purchases were introduced. Under the circumstances there was a favourable harvest in 1916, which was only 10% below the record levels of 1909-13. The German naval blockade of the Black Sea meant that food could not be exported, making more available for domestic consumption.
However, there were shortages of food supplies in the cities. The war effort meant that there were a shortage of industrial goods for the agricultural sector. The budget could not be balanced, so money was printed, leading to inflation. There was nervousness in the banking sector resulting in a credit squeeze in 1916. Russia's still underdeveloped industry and banking system was not be able to withstand the strains of a protracted war.
The government resorted to repression. Marxist representatives at the Duma were arrested in November 1914. The Okhrana broke up major strikes across the country during 1915 and 1916. However, workers were allowed to elect a War-Industry Committee lead by Octobrist leader Alexander Guchkov. In 1915 the municipal councils and provincial zemstva were allowed to create a central body called the Zemgor, led by Prince Lvov.
Working-class organisations and newspapers were suppressed in 1914. Progressive industrialists created a Central War Industries Committee in order to coordinate efforts and boost production. Workers were represented in the Labour Group of this Committee, and the net effect was no improvement in efficiency and the provision of a forum for dissent. Many representatives were Mensheviks.
The socialists were divided in their response to the war. A small minority followed Plekhanov in backing the war; Lenin denounced the war from the start; in the middle there were socialists who supported a defensive war to bring about a negotiated peace.

The Character of Tsarina Alexandra

Nicholas II married Princess Alexandra in November 1894, soon after the death of his father. From the first the Tsarina was unpopular with the family, and isolated since she initially could not speak Russian, and speaking German was forbidden at court. She also took a morally high tone with regard to St. Petersburg society, and she cancelled balls at the Winter Palace. She gave birth to four daughters between 1895 and 1901, and was deeply distressed at the lack of a male heir. She gave birth to a son in August 1904, but it was soon discovered that this boy was haemophilic. As time went on, Alexandra became more and more prone to nervous disorders. She suffered from hysteria, which produced psychosomatic symptoms of dizziness and heart palpitations. She spent most of her time lying on a chaise longue. She also became convinced that a “holy man” Grigory Rasputin, was the only person capable of saving her haemophilic son's life. The Great War had a positive effect on the Tsarina, who overcame her nervous disorders and assisted in hospital work during the second part of the war, once the Tsar had left for the front.

The Growth of Political Opposition and the February Revolution

In August 1914 the duma accepted its prorogation, but within a year it was pressing for a recall, and the tsar permitted the duma to reassemble in August 1915. The government refused to cooperate completely with non-governmental agencies. The tsar refused to replace his ministers so as to create a more competent administration. This forced 236 of 422 duma representatives to unite into a 'Progressive Bloc' - of the Kadets, Octobrists, Nationalists and Progressive Industrialists. The SRs did not join the bloc but did vote with it. Despite changes in prime-minister, foreign secretary, defence and interior ministers, there was no improvement in administration.
Nicholas moved to the front in order to supervise the conduct of the war, thus associating himself irrevocably with the conduct of the war. He left the government in the hands of his wife, Alexandra. The tsarina, Alexandra, became dependent on Rasputin, a self-ordained holyman with a reputation for sexual excesses. She came to believe that Rasputin had the power to cure her son, Alexei, who had haemophilia. She and Rasputin became the effective government in Russia. She was vilified as 'German' and blamed for whatever went wrong, especially as Rasputin's influence increased. Nicholas's mother, the Dowager Empress Marie, warned him to dismiss Rasputin, and when he did not, she moved to Kiev. Members of the Imperial family also put pressure on Nicholas to make concessions before it was too late. Grand Duke Paul asked him to make a declaration indicating that he would grant the constitution of 1905, but, under Alexandra's influence, Nicholas refused, stating that when he was crowned he had sworn an oath to the Absolute Power, and he intended to bequeath this oath intact to his son. Paul then requested that the incompetent ministers, Sturmer and Proptopopv, should be dismissed, and that Rasputin should be sent away.
Rasputin was assassinated in December 1916 by a group of right-wing aristocrats, led by Vladimir Purishkevich, an extreme right-wing deputy of the Duma and the self-styled “champion of orthodox absolutism”, Prince Felix Youssupov and the son of Grand Duke Paul, Dmitri. Rasputin took a lot of killing — eating poisoned cakes, he was shot by Youssupov, but revived, and being further kicked unconscious he was dumped in the ice-cold river Neva. The killers were not executed, but were exiled.
However, with the death of Rasputin, the Empress still did not relinquish power, and the Tsar also refused to make her do so. Moves came from within the family for a change of Emperor. Grand Duchess Vladimir saw the President of the Duma, Rodzianko, in January 1917 advising him that the Tsarina had to be removed.
Guchkov sounded out generals during the winter of 1916-17 about the possibility of a coup d'etat. Although he was not denounced, none were willing to actively support him. Brusilov's successful offensive in 1916 showed the Russians that the Germans could be defeated. There was an opinion that the war could be more successfully pursued without Nicholas II.
Small and medium-sized businesses were struggling, and many went into liquidation during this period. This was another cause of discontent. The mood was not, however, rebellious. Peasants were also not active. Some did well out of the war. But there was no compensation for the loss of sons.
Industrial conflict resumed in February 1917. This was probably brought on by the effect of declining real wages — by 1917 wages had probably fallen 15-20% in real terms from their pre-war level.
By the winter of 1916-17 the crisis had worsened. Soldiers in rear garrisons would mutiny rather than be sent to the front. There was a strike by 145,000 workers on 9th January 1917, the anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday'. On 26th January the interior minister had most members of the Labour Group arrested.
On 18th February workers at the Putilov steel works in Petrograd went on strike. This was followed by a lockout on 22 February. Mobs formed on the streets alarmed at rumours of disruption of bread supplies; in fact, the bread supply was still sufficient. On the 23 February, to mark International Woman's Day, thousands of women came out on to the streets. By 25th there was a general strike in effect. The Reserve Cavalry, in response, fired on demonstrators, killing 9. Nicholas ordered the Petrograd military governor to 'end disorders'. There were heavy casualties in the subsequent action. The garrison mutinied. A revolution was in motion.
The tsarina understated the seriousness of the situation in her reports to Nicholas, who was 400 miles away at his military headquarters at Mogilev. He ordered the Petrograd garrison commander to restore order. But the order for martial law could not be printed and most of the troops deserted. Rodzyanko telegraphed the tsar to tell him that he would have to make a 'political concession' in order to restore imperial power, but Nicholas ordered the Duma to dissolve instead. 12 of the members refused and formed a Provisional Committee. Their leader, Alexander Kerensky, an SR (Social Revolutionary) called on the tsar to abdicate. On 27th February there was the first meeting of the Petrograd Soviet, also at the Tauride Palace, where the duma committee met. The Soviet was led by Menshevik, Shylyapnikov. The duma committee and the soviet became the effective government of Russia. The Soviet started to publish the Izvestiya (the News) and declared its resolve “to wipe out the old system completely.” The tsar's cabinet fled; Rodzyanko advised the tsar to abdicate. The tsar attempted to return to Petrograd on 28th February but his train was stopped and diverted. His generals also advocated abdication. On 1st March Grand Duke Paul prepared a manifesto for the Tsar to sign that would grant a Constitution. The Tsarina refused to ratify it, and it was signed by Paul, Michael (the Tsar's brother) and Cyril, son of Grand Duke Vladimir. However, Nicholas abdicated instead in favour of his brother Michael, which Michael refused to accept. The duma committee was the only effective authority - and it proclaimed itself on 3 March. There was only conflict in Petrograd. However, there were about 1500-2000 people killed in fighting during February in Petrograd.
There is the view that the instigators of the February revolution were the generals and aristocratic members of the duma, and the February revolution was successful because the ruling power lost the will to survive. The tsar was not very bright and did not fully appreciate what was happening. His weak leadership was arguably the main cause of the revolution; the nationality of his German wife, or the business with Rasputin were not in themselves sufficient to bring down the dynasty. However, appraisal of this thesis requires a full examination of all the structural aspects of Russian society. It is a hypothesis that the collapse of the economic system and the ineffective ministries brought down an incompetent tsar, whose government could not command loyalty.