Question

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION
What situation did Russia face during the First World War?

Answer 1

(i) Russia faced a very tough situation during the First World War. The war on the eastern front' differed from that on the 'western front'.
(ii) In the west, armies fought from trenches stretched along eastern France.
(iii) In the east, armies moved a good deal and fought battles leaving large casualties.
(iv) Defeats were shocking and demoralising. Russia's armies lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916.
(v) There were over 7 million casualties by 1917. As they retreated, the Russian army destroyed crops and buildings to prevent the enemy from being able to live off the land.
(vi) The destruction of crops and buildings led to over 3 million refugees in Russia. The situation discredited the government and the Tsar. Soldiers did not wish to fight such a war.
(vii) Russia's industries were badly affected. The country was cut off from other suppliers of industrial goods by German control of the Baltic sea.
(viii) By 1916, railway lines began to break down. There was acute shortage of bread and flour in cities. Riots at bread shops were common by the winter of 1916.