Russia and the First World War

Russia's involvement in the First World War (1914–1918) was a catastrophe that destroyed the Tsarist system. Military defeats, economic collapse, food shortages, and the Tsar's disastrous personal decisions combined to make revolution inevitable. This lesson covers Russia's war experience and its consequences for the AQA GCSE History specification.

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Russia Enters the War

Russia entered the First World War in August 1914 in support of its ally Serbia, after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and Germany declared war on Russia.

Initial Enthusiasm

• There was a wave of patriotic enthusiasm at the start of the war.
• St Petersburg was renamed Petrograd to sound less German.
• Strikes and protests temporarily ceased as workers rallied behind the war effort.
• The Tsar appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace to cheering crowds.

However, enthusiasm quickly faded as the scale of the disaster became apparent.

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Military Disasters

The Russian army suffered a series of catastrophic defeats.

Date	Event	Detail
August 1914	Battle of Tannenberg	The Russian Second Army was destroyed by the Germans; approximately 30,000 killed and 95,000 captured; General Samsonov committed suicide
September 1914	Battle of the Masurian Lakes	Another devastating defeat; the Russians were driven out of East Prussia
1915	The Great Retreat	The Russian army retreated across a 300-mile front; lost Poland, Lithuania, and parts of Latvia; over 1 million soldiers killed or wounded in 1915 alone
1916	Brusilov Offensive	A successful attack on Austria-Hungary, but at a cost of approximately 500,000 casualties; the army's last effective offensive

Why Did Russia Struggle Militarily?

Problem	Detail
Poor leadership	Many officers were aristocratic appointees chosen for loyalty rather than ability
Lack of equipment	Soldiers often lacked rifles, ammunition, boots, and even food; some units had one rifle for every three soldiers
Transport	Russia's railway system was inadequate for moving troops and supplies to the vast front
Communications	Poor communications meant orders were often delayed or intercepted by the enemy
Size of the front	The Eastern Front stretched over 1,000 miles, making coordination extremely difficult
Low morale	By 1916, desertion was becoming a serious problem

Exam Tip: The military failures are crucial for explaining why the Tsar lost support. The army's problems — lack of equipment, poor leadership, low morale — reflected the wider failures of the Tsarist system. Make sure you connect military failure to political consequences.

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The Impact on the Home Front

The war had a devastating effect on Russian civilians.

Economic Collapse

Problem	Detail
Inflation	Prices rose by approximately 400% between 1914 and 1916; wages did not keep pace
Food shortages	The army requisitioned food, horses, and transport; less food reached the cities; by 1916, the price of bread had tripled
Fuel shortages	Coal and wood became scarce; factories closed for lack of fuel
Transport breakdown	The railway system, already inadequate, was overwhelmed by military demands; civilian goods could not be transported
Labour shortages	Millions of men were conscripted; women and children worked in their place, but production fell

Social Impact

• By 1916, there were long queues for bread in Petrograd and Moscow.
• Strikes increased dramatically: over 1,000 strikes in 1916, compared to fewer than 100 in 1914.
• Crime and social disorder increased.
• Refugees from the western provinces flooded into the cities, increasing pressure on food and housing.

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The Tsar Takes Command

In September 1915, Nicholas II made the fateful decision to take personal command of the Russian army, moving to the military headquarters at Mogilev.

Why Was This a Disaster?

Reason	Detail
Direct blame	The Tsar was now personally associated with every military defeat
Absence from Petrograd	Nicholas was 500 miles from the capital, leaving the government in the hands of Tsarina Alexandra
Alexandra and Rasputin	The Tsarina came under the influence of Grigori Rasputin, a Siberian peasant mystic who claimed to be able to heal her haemophiliac son Alexei; Rasputin influenced government appointments, creating scandal and chaos
Ministerial leapfrog	Under Alexandra's influence, ministers were appointed and dismissed at an alarming rate — there were 4 Prime Ministers, 5 Interior Ministers, and 3 War Ministers between 1915 and 1917
Loss of respect	The Tsar's absence and Alexandra's unpopularity (she was German-born and widely suspected of being a German spy) destroyed respect for the monarchy

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Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin was one of the most extraordinary figures in Russian history.

Detail	Information
Background	A Siberian peasant and self-proclaimed holy man
Influence	Gained enormous influence over the Tsarina because he appeared to be able to stop the bleeding of her son Alexei, who suffered from haemophilia
Government interference	Advised the Tsarina on ministerial appointments; competent ministers were replaced by Rasputin's favourites
Scandal	Rasputin was notorious for heavy drinking and sexual misconduct; his relationship with the Tsarina became a source of damaging rumours
Assassination	On 30 December 1916, Rasputin was murdered by a group of nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov; he was poisoned, shot, and thrown into the frozen River Neva

Exam Tip: Rasputin's influence is often exaggerated, but his role is important for explaining why the Tsar lost the support of the nobility — the people who should have been the regime's strongest supporters. The Rasputin scandal made the monarchy a laughing stock.

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The Human Cost

Statistic	Figure
Soldiers mobilised	Approximately 15 million
Military deaths	Approximately 1.7 million
Wounded	Approximately 5 million
Prisoners of war	Approximately 2.4 million
Civilian deaths (from famine, disease, etc.)	Approximately 2 million

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Worked Q7 Paragraph: "The impact of the First World War was the most important reason for the fall of the Tsar in 1917." How far do you agree?