Why did no one see what was brewing in the late 19th century?

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by BugsyPal

Said this before in other WWI thread; it all came down to national interests and the *stupidity* (if that is the correct word) of Nicholas II, Czar of All The Russias. If Russia had not mobilized (goaded on by Germany in the form of Wilhelm II), the whole affair may had just died down.


Plagued by problems/unrest at home, and coming off a humiliating defeat by Japan, Russia needed a distraction and to set her fortunes right. Sadly for the Romanovs they bet a "quick" war with that country on winning side would give them a boost at home. If they only could have known then how badly things were going to turn out not just for themselves but Russia as a whole.


Some to say regardless WWI was going to break out sooner or later, it was the last gasp of an old order fighting off changes that were coming regardless.

Goes even further back to Nicholas I's humiliation in the Crimean War. His belief in Russia as a "world-power", in the wake of the defeat of Napoleon, was belied by its almost total lack of industrial or social progress since. I read somewhere that most of his troops had to drill with sticks instead of rifles, while those who had them (outmoded flintlock muskets) were issued a bullet each. Manpower they had, but were poorly equipped and even worse led. Not much had changed by the time of Nicholas II. Little is more dangerous than a misguided sense of national honor.

[BugsyPal]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

Goes even further back to Nicholas I's humiliation in the Crimean War. His belief in Russia as a "world-power", in the wake of the defeat of Napoleon, was belied by its almost total lack of industrial or social progress since. I read somewhere that most of his troops had to drill with sticks instead of rifles, while those who had them (outmoded flintlock muskets) were issued a bullet each. Manpower they had, but were poorly equipped and even worse led. Not much had changed by the time of Nicholas II. Little is more dangerous than a misguided sense of national honor.

Quite right!


Aside from a few visionaries (Peter the Great was one) Romanov rulers of Russia never could see the forest for the trees. The last handful in particular Nicholas II (egged on by his hysteric consort) refused to understand feudalism in Russia had vastly outlived its run.