Why exit WWI?

Russia was not doing well in the war and in early 1918 signed a treaty with the Germans that allowed them to exit the war. The question is why?

There are several reasons for the Russian exit from the war:

1. Lack of preparation for the war

2. The Russians did not have competent military leaders; Czar Nicholas II led the Eastern Front of the war even though he had a lack of military training.

3. Due to poor industry in Russia they had an inability to produce the weapons needed by the army. Soldiers did their training with broomsticks instead of rifles.

4. In battles the Russians suffered high casualties: Two million soldiers were killed between 1914 and 1916, and another 4 to 6 million were wounded or captured. By 1917 the Russian will to fight had vanished.

5.Czar Nicholas II was an autocratic ruler (single ruler in a country that held all the power) who relied on the military for his power. Once the army began to suffer huge casualties his power began to falter.

6. March 1917 Revolution

a. 10,000 women who were supporting the war effort strike in Petrograd because the Czar instituted bread rationing this causes all the factories to shut down

b. Nicholas orders soldiers to fire upon the striking workers...they refuse

c. On March 12th the Duma established a provisional (temporary government) and urges the Czar to step down.

d. Because he no longer had the support of the army Nicholas II reluctantly agreed and stepped down on March 15th, ending the 300 year old Romanov dynasty

7. Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, his group the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and on March 3, 1918 Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest- Litovsk with Germany ending the Russian involvement in WWI