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A Costly War for Russia
Over the first two and a half years of the war, Russia had experienced costly defeats against Germany, but at the same time had significant successes against Austria-Hungary. However, the war had become hugely unpopular at home. The Russian death toll was enormous, Russia was continuously losing territory, and the war had sparked food shortages throughout the country. Most Russians felt that the country had little to gain in the war and much to lose. Popular confidence in Tsar Nicholas II was also at an all-time low, with numerous underground organizations springing up over the previous few decades to oppose the tsar and his policies. More recently, labor strikes had begun wreaking havoc upon Russian industry.
The February Revolution
In early March 1917 (late February by the Julian calendar, used by Russia at the time), the tsar’s entire regime unexpectedly collapsed after a series of large demonstrations in the Russian capital of Petrograd. Under pressure from both the military and the parliament, Nicholas II abdicated.
As the struggle for control of the country began, the military was divided. Parts continued the fight on the eastern front, others quit fighting altogether, and others even fought each other. Germany quickly recognized an opportunity and made arrangements to help Russian revolutionaries in Europe, including Vladimir Lenin, to get back to Russia in order to fuel the political chaos there.
The Last Russian Offensive
After the developments of March 1917, participants on all sides watched Russia closely to see what it would do without a tsar. Although a new provisional government was officially in charge, the situation in Russia remained highly unstable, especially in the military. On July 1, Russian forces opened several new offensives along the eastern front—an action ordered as part of an effort to boost morale in the army. On the same day, however, a huge antiwar rally clogged the streets of Petrograd.
Although the Russian advances initially showed promise against Austrian forces in Galicia, the Russian troops fled when German reinforcements arrived. Sporadic fighting along the eastern front continued throughout July and August, but growing desertions, infighting, and general disorder throughout the Russian military increasingly diminished its effectiveness.
The Bolshevik Revolution
Russia’s position in the war remained in question throughout the summer and fall of 1917. Officially, the country was still at war and fighting continued. However, there was intense disagreement in the country over whether Russia should remain at war, and if not, under what conditions it should leave the conflict. The provisional government favored remaining in the war but were vigorously opposed by other factions who wanted to end Russia’s involvement. Among the most radical were the Bolsheviks, who wanted the country to exit the war immediately, no matter the cost.
The debate continued throughout the summer and fall until the October Revolution, when the Bolsheviks seized control of the country with the help of the military. The next day, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin issued his first decree, declaring Russia to be at peace. Though he ordered the Russian military to cease all hostilities, the country’s formal exit from the war would be somewhat more complicated.
Russia’s Ceasefire
On November 26, 1917, the Bolsheviks issued a call for a halt to hostilities on all fronts and requested that all sides immediately make arrangements to sign an armistice. This idea was not well received by France and Britain, who still intended to push the Germans out of their lands. When Russia received no response, it made another call, warning that if no one responded, Russia would make a separate peace. When there still was no response, the Bolsheviks, to embarrass the Allied nations, published a series of secret treaties between Russia and the Allies.
After several days of negotiations, a ceasefire was declared on December 15, 1917. A formal peace treaty, however, proved more difficult to achieve. It took months of negotiations, and Russia lost an enormous amount of territory. Russia’s land losses included Finland, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Bessarabia, and the Caucasus region, along with some of the coal-mining regions of southern Russia.
The Fallout from Russia’s Exit
Russia’s departure from the war posed a serious danger to the Allied forces, effectively closed the eastern front and sending some 900,000 additional German troops to the western front. The United States provided the only possible hope to counter this sudden turning of the tables, but they were not expected to begin major combat operations until the summer of 1918. On the whole, one might argue that Russia’s pullout likely extended the conflict by enabling Germany and Austria-Hungary to focus their entire attention on the west and south.
For Russia itself, the exit from the war cost most of the territorial gains the country had made since the reign of Peter the Great in the early 1700s. The war had also drained Russia: 1.7 million of its soldiers had died in battle, and 3 million Russian civilians had perished. Moreover, the country was left in chaos, as the new Bolshevik rulers faced fierce opposition. Some sought to bring back the tsar; others favored a democratic government akin to the one promised by the provisional government that the Bolsheviks had overthrown. In the end, though Russia got out of World War I, the civil war that soon started within the country turned out to be even more costly for its people than World War I had been.
Events Timeline
Note: All dates are according to the modern, Gregorian calendar instead of the Julian calendar that was used in Russia at the time.
March 8, 1917
Riots in Petrograd develop into the beginning of the February Revolution
March 15
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates
April 16
Lenin arrives in Petrograd from Germany
July 1
New Russian offensive opens on eastern front
Antiwar riot in Petrograd
November 6–7
Bolshevik (October) Revolution
November 8
Lenin declares peace, though sporadic fighting continues
November 26
Bolsheviks call for end to hostilities on all fronts
December 15
Russian ceasefire declared
Key People
Vladimir Lenin
Bolshevik revolutionary who seized power in November 1917 and declared Russia to be at peace
Nicholas II
Russian tsar who lost power in the revolutions of 1917
