Between 1914 and 1921 the number of Russians killed in war runs into the millions, with many more wounded. Disaster quickly followed the decision of Nicholas II to enter the First World War. Early defeats in 1914 at the battles of Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes indicated that the Germans outmatched the Russian army. This proved to be the case and although there were some improvements and successful campaigns against the Austro-Hungarian and Turkish armies the war was a failure. By 1917 the Germans were advancing deep into Russia and had occupied all of Russian Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. Defeats, desertions and food shortages sparked revolution and in February 1917 the tsar abdicated.
Many workers and soldiers greeted the Provisional Government that took over Russia in February 1917 with enthusiasm. Unfortunately, in June it made the mistake of launching a summer offensive that went badly wrong. Prime Minister Alexander Kerensky saw his support ebbing away as he faced threats from the army (an attempted coup by General Kornilov in September) and the Bolshevik and Socialist Revolutionary parties.
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