Internal Problems

• Spending on the war rose from 1,500 million roubles in 1914 to 14,500 million in 1918, but the real cost was far greater. 
• The rural and industrial workforce was severely affected and production slumped at a time when the country needed to to be producing more, not less, to feed and supply its armies.
• Poland, and other parts of western Russia, were overrun by the Germans, removing important industrial capacity. Naval blockades of the Baltic and Black Sea ports, together with the loss of overland routes to Europe, brought Russian trade to a virtual standstill
• In the countryside, some did well out of the war those with horses or surplus grain could make money by supplying the military. However, in general, the prices offered by the government were low, tools and equipment were in short supply, and it was hard to find essential household goods. As a result, some hoarded what grain and foodstuffs they produced, exacerbating an already dificult situation.
• Railways had been taken over to transport men and goods to the front line. Foodstuffs that should have found their way to the cities were left to rot beside railway sidings and huge cargoes of grain would be sent to the front line, leaving none for the desperate townsfolk. This made life hard for the town populations, which swelled as factories sought more workers for essential war industries. 
• The recruitment drive meant that though armament manufacture improved in 1916, when rifle production doubled and heavy artillery production quadrupled, this was all at the expense of civilian needs.
• In urban centres, particularly in Petrograd and Moscow, unemployment soared as non-military factories, deprived of vital supplies, were forced to close. Strikes, (some directly encouraged by the German government in a deliberate attempt to undermine) financially crippled what little industry survived. 
• There was a 300% rise in the cost of living, and rising death rates because of the workers insanitary lodgings and the inadequacies of their diets, left thousands living on the brink of starvation. In such circumstances, in January 1917 30,000 workers went on strike in Moscow and 145,000 in Petrograd.