WWI

WWI PERSPECTIVE/ TSAR'S MISTAKES

// **Mistakes Pre-War ** // As the Russian people had been oppressed for decades, there was always cause for change. However, this dream of change turned into an aggressive demand for reform when the **industrial revolution** began to impact Russia and the world. This revolution affected the country by causing many economical and social changes. There was now a need for safety standards and labour legislation; however, any requests for these were ignored. This was a critical error as the Russian people would not be appeased on this issue; evidently they were going to get the rights they wanted, it was just a matter of how.

The **Russo-Japanese War** was an extreme error in judgement and demonstrated Nicolas II’s inability to lead a country. The War was a battle over Manchuria, China. Russia was confident they would win due to their size; however, the war resulted in a victory for Japan. Consequently, Russian morale was poor and everyone was blaming Nicolas II for the Treaty of Portsmouth (which cost them their entire eastern naval fleet and eastern bases).

In January 1905, during the Russo-Japanese war, thousands of Russians workers led a peaceful protest. They wanted the war to be over as well as the right to vote and other rights in the workplace. These were not radical revolutionaries; they even sang patriotic songs to show that they did not want to overthrow the government. However, Nicolas was so opposed to any change that he saw this protest as a huge threat and sent the //Okhrana// to shut it down. As a result, more than a thousand were killed or wounded and the event became known worldwide as **Bloody Sunday**.





The// Duma //was then created, which was a good decision in theory; however in reality it did little to appease the public. The idea was to give the Russians a voice in government, but the **Duma** was elected by wealthy individuals who represented less than ten percent of the country. As well, the Duma was not allowed to oppose the Tsar and any laws they proposed had to be approved by Nicolas. The Tsar should have allowed the public to have a true say in the government; had the representatives of the Duma been elected by the peasants, and had they been able to propose reforms, the majority of Russians would have been satisfied. Once again, Nicolas had made a fatal error in being unable to address the needs of his people.

// **Outbreak of War, Russia’s Position ** // When Austria-Hungary first declared war on Serbia, Russia was obligated to become involved as Serbia was there ally. When World War I first broke out, there was an impressive amount of patriotic support. However, in then end the Great War would be the immediate cause of the inevitable Russian Revolution. The people of Russia already had a number of complaints involving work conditions and wages, and all of these were worsened by the war. Additionally, although Russia began the Great War with a couple of small victories, soon they would suffer crushing defeats at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes. They suffered a great number of losses at both battles, leaving the survivors demoralized. Conditions for remaining soldiers were very poor as they suffered from hunger and did not have adequate equipment. This was soon felt among the cities of Russia, making all citizens **anti-war**.

The War was also hurting Russia’s economy. Their industrial output fell by 50% as the peasants working the factories were not properly trained and therefore inefficient and inadequate. Also, with so many people being drafted, and many of those being killed, there was a shortage of labourers. This in turn led to a shortage of food and consequently rapid inflation.

// **Mistakes during War ** // Participating in the Great War was a mistake from the outset as Russia was experiencing so many economical and social reforms. They were not in good shape to fight against such strong armies due to the changes happening within their country as well as their lack of modern equipment and supplies. Additionally, the Russian people prioritized government reforms over imperialism and were not as interested in gaining control of the Balkans as the Romonovs were. However, it would have been extremely hard for Russia to remain neutral considering their relationship with Serbia and other European countries.

One of the first mistakes the Tsar made after the outbreak of the war was to make himself **supreme commander** of the armed forces in August of 1915. This position made him responsible for all of Russia’s horrible defeats and deaths. He was the sole receiver of blame for the mass destruction imposed on the country to their entrance into World War I. If he had allowed someone else to take the role he could have separated himself a bit from the controversy surrounding the war and he would have had more time to address the issues erupting all over Russia.



Another error in judgement was Nicolas II and his family’s relationship with **Rasputin**. Rasputin was a monk (often referred to as the “mad monk”) who was believed to have some form of mystical powers. He first entered into the family’s life when he heard that Alexei Romanov, Nicolas II’s son, was ill with haemophilia. After a number of doctors were unable to help, Nicolas II recruited Rasputin to help. Alexei did in fact get better mysteriously, some suspect it was through hypnotism. This gained the respect of the royal family and many feel he had great influence over them, in the last few years of their reign. Alexandra was especially influenced by him which led to great controversy as she was in charge of the imperial government while Nicolas II was commanding the army. Rasputin was not well-like by other nobles or by peasants as he had a horrible reputation as a womanizer and was known for encouraging scandalous deals. It was also Rasputin who suggested that Nicholas should become commander in chief of the army. In December 1916 he was murdered by a group hoping to save the dynasty; however, by this time it was too late to reverse the damage.