Organization of Material Support for the Enlisted Men of the First World War Families and its Influence on the Development of Protest Moods in Petrograd

Abstract

Questions revealing the contradictions which led the country to the revolutionary upheavals of February 1917 are considered. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that it identifies new factors that complement the overall picture of the social crisis caused by government policy in the war. Particular attention is paid to the issue of the state system of measures of social support for the families of soldiers caught up in the front during the First World War. It was concluded that the huge expenses of the treasury were to ensure the stability of the belligerents' moods. It is emphasized that the social policy of the state was aimed primarily at families that were left without breadwinners, but the organization of material support was in conflict with departmental interests. The issue of the effectiveness of government measures is being raised. The author dwells on the problem of the mass resettlement of the inhabitants of the province to Petrograd because of the difference in the amount of benefits in the capital, compared to other areas of the empire. The novelty of the study is seen in the fact that, based on archival documents first introduced into scientific use, the features of mood formation in the rear on the eve of the February revolution are illustrated. The characteristic features of the interaction of power and society, generated by the contradictions caused by the First World War, are revealed.

Keywords

• first world war
• the february revolution
• the law on social assistance to families of enlisted men
• allowance
• guardianship
• inflation