WW1 - Political Impact

• At first, the declaration of war proved popular with the vast majority of Russians and there was a wave of patriotism.
• The Duma immediately voted in favour of war credits to finance the war effort.

  • The capital city was renamed Petrograd because it sounded far more Slavic than the German sounding St Petersburg.
• The Tsar insisted on contemplating military control of the war effort.

  • He was determined to maintain autocracy which meant it did not take long for political opposition to grow.
• Most of Western Russia was put under military rule.

  • This also included Poland, Finland and the Baltic States.
• In June 1915, representatives of the zemstva and municipal dumas came together to form the All-Russian Union of Zemstva and Cities.

  • This is also known as the ZemGor.
• ZemGor and the State Duma itself became the focus of liberal political discontent with the Tsar's handling of the war effort and his refusal to allow them any role in the war effort.
• ZemGor and the State Duma itself became the focus of liberal political discontent with the Tsar's handling of the war effort and his refusal to allow them any role in the war effort.

  • Despite this, the zemstva did a better job than the Tsarist system in providing medical relief to the people.
• In September 1915, Nicholas II decided to assume personal control of the armed forces as Commander-in-Chief.

  • The Tsar himself could now be personally blamed for any military setbacks that Russia suffered which was highly likely.
  • The Tsar's military headquarters were in Western Russia which meant that his German wife Alexandra was in charge of the government in Petrograd.
  • Alexandra was increasingly under the influence of Rasputin and together their erratic decision making further undermined confidence in tsarist autocracy.
• In August 1915, the Kadets, Octobrists and Progressives in the Duma had formed a new block which demanded a government which possessed "the confidence of the public".

  • In response, the Tsar suspended the Duma until January 1916 but this did not stop opposition.
• By November 1916, the liberals had decided on a more uncompromising attitude towards the government.

  • On 15 November, Paul Miliukov who was Head of the Progressive Bloc, delivered a charge of "official incompetence in the Duma".
  • He concluded that "we have lost faith in the ability of this government to achieve victory".
• By January 1917, some leading liberals had even prepared plans to force Nicholas II to abdicate in favour of his son.
• Most of the radical opposition leadership such as Lenin were in exile at this point and therefore the main opposition came from the liberals.