Political Authority At Wartime Flashcards
(39 cards)
Entry into war in 1914
-Tsar Nicholas II decided to go to war in 1914, supported by anti-German sentiment and Pan-Slavism.
-The Duma dissolved itself after voting for war credits, declaring that wartime was not a time for politics.
-st. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd to avoid the German-sounding name.
-Russia quickly mobilized a vast army, surprising the Germans with the speed of deployment to the Eastern Front.
-Early public enthusiasm for the war led to the suspension of strikes and the imprisonment of extremists accus
ed of lacking patriotism
Showed: war actually brought a sense of nationalism and was a factor against the revolt/ opposition
Early military setbacks for russia
-Battle of Tannenberg (Aug 1914): 300,000 Russian casualties (dead, wounded, or captured).
-Masurian Lakes (Sept 1914): Another major defeat and retreat from East Prussia.
-showed: Although Russia was more successful in the south against Austria-Hungary, the war wasn’t over quickly as anticipated, and military incompetence led to growing discontent AGAINST the government
Military zones
-July 1914: Military zones established—civilian control suspended.
-Decision met with opposition from liberal zemstva who felt sidelined.
Cvillian initiative (against military zones and the gov)
-peasants distilled their own vodka, showing initiative and robbing the gov of any tax revenue
-Union of Zemstva: Provided neglected medical care.
-Congress of Representatives of Industry and Business formed (included Duma, workers).
-June 1915: Zemstva + municipal dumas formed Zemgor, chaired by Prince Lvov in order to help the war effort. Zemgor became a liberal focus but had no real influence.
Progressive bloc
-august 1915
-Kadets, Octobrists, Progressives demanded political reform and a ‘government of public confidence’ which was a consitituonal monarchy
-Nicholas rejected reform; suspended Duma until Jan 1917.
Nicolas’poor decisions in the war
-in sept 1915 he took on chief of the army
-Seen as a disastrous decision—no military experience.
-Isolated from Petrograd; became more directly blamed for military failures.
Courtscandals with the tsar gone
-Rasputin in charge of Political appointments and policy decisions.
-Rumours of sabotage by Tsarina Alexandra (German-born).
-Frequent ministerial changes linked to Rasputin.
Murderof Rasputin
-Orchestrated by Prince Yusupov and Purishkevich TSARS NEPHEW to protect monarchy’s reputation.
-Multiple attempts to kill Rasputin; eventually shot, beaten, drowned.
-the event came too late
Nicolas’ignorance
-he wrote in feb 1917 that ‘this will all pass and quieten down’
- shows a serious lack of political aptitude
Supply issues in the early years of the war
-15 million conscripted (1914–1917), mostly peasants.
-By late 1914: severe shortages of rifles and ammo.
-1914: 2 rifles per 3 soldiers; 2–3 shells/day for artillery.
-Soldiers relied on weapons from fallen comrades.
Improvements in army supply
-Winter 1915–16: More training, better supplies as war was relatively quiet
Army in 1916
-majority of experienced officers had died in the early stages
-moral was incredibly low- 1.5 million desertions by end of 1916.
Industrial/ internal issues caused by WWI
-Spending rose from 1,500m to 14,500m roubles (1914–18).
-Workforce depleted; women and children couldn’t maintain production.
-Industry huegly lost in German-occupied territories (e.g. Poland)
Transport issues in wartime
-Blockades and route closures choked trade.
-Railways prioritised military use so cities food rotted at sidings making the peasants and proletariat starved
-Armament production rose in 1916 as townspeople were recruited rapidly but civilians were STARVED .
Food issues
-peasants with surplus grain could sell to gov but the prices were low and tools were scarce so they largely hogged their goods
-exported grain often was redirected to the army and those that was meant for cities often were left to rot as there were active fuel shortages on the railways
-towns increased due to recruitment drive which left even less food to share around
-300% rise in cost of living by early 1917 left thousands dying of starvation
Urban hardship and strikes in early 1917
-Jan 1917—30,000 in Moscow, 145,000 in Petrograd.
-Unemployment up as non-military factories closed
-lockout strikes financially crippled surviving industries
Some key strikes and protests in feb 1917
-women’s day march: 240K on the streets from factories and bread queues and are only quieted by night but then the next day 200K are back out on strike
-by the 25 250K (half of Petrograd workers) are on strike and all major factories and shops are closed
Mutinyfrom soldiers in feb 1917
-25th some Cossacks refuse to attack strikers against order
-on the 27th, 66K soldiers mutiny and arm the protestors with 40K rifles
-many soldiers were peasents and their junior commanders intelligentsia rather than nobility, though they were patriotic about the war they lay with the masses
-on the 27th the army’s high command side with the provisional gov
Tsarsignornace to the revolution
-on the 26th the duma president tells him the situation has broken down and there must be a new gov
- Nicolas writes ‘(rodzianko) has written some nonsense of which I shall not even bother to reply’ and asks the duma to stop meeting despite that being a sense of order
Formation of a provisional gov during February
-duma continually meets without the tsars orders
- on the 27th they set up a 12 man committee to take over the tsars government
Formation of the Petrograd Solveig
-formed on the 27th they too have the intention of taking over the government
-it meant ‘council’ and consisted of representatives from different regiments so popular it had 3000 members by march meaning most decisions were made by an expectative intelligentsia committee
Abdication of Nicolas
-Feb 28: Train diverted; pressured by generals to abdicate.
-Mar 2: Abdicates in favour of brother Mikhail, who refuses throne.
-Romanov dynasty ends after 304 years.
Rebellionbeyond Petrograd
-in cities workers killed bosses and set up their own regional soldiers
-the army, under the Petrograd soldier command, ignored orders and turned into indépendant bodies
-peasents attacked landlords (repeat of the year of the red cockerel)
-many minorities declared independence in the provinces
Blame for the rev
-inevitable class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoise
-some alleged post 1917 that the bolsheviks inspired the Petrograd soviet, but they were, as in 1905, largely in prison or exile (same as SD and Mensheviks)
-thus the revolution was a spontaneous built of class tensions
