What effect did World War I have on the legitimacy of the Tsarist government?

• A. War-weariness and shortages eroded legitimacy.
• B. Strengthened legitimacy.
• C. Economic growth improved legitimacy.
• D. No effect.

Answer: (A)

World War I tested the regime’s claim to govern by protecting and providing for the people in a crisis. As the war wore on, Russia suffered huge casualties and military defeats, while the home front faced severe food and fuel shortages, rising prices, and general exhaustion. This war-weariness and the inability to secure basic needs or victory undermined belief that the autocracy could effectively rule or protect the nation.

The tsar’s decision to take personal command in 1915, and the subsequent reliance on the Tsarina and Rasputin, worsened perceptions of incompetent or detached leadership, further eroding legitimacy. These pressures culminated in growing unrest and contributed to the revolutionary upheaval of 1917. So the effect was a clear erosion of legitimacy, not strengthening it, not economic growth, and not no effect.