How was European colonialism weakened by the Great War?

Answer 1

Additionally Russia had a despotic government, arguably the most oppressive on the planet. Nonetheless, the western Democracies of France and Britain preferred this tyranical Dictatorship to the cultured and civilized German nation. Thus they allied themselves to Russia and sent what aid they could. Much aid did reach Russia, albeit not enough for them to stay in the war. Additionally, much of these supplies sat rotting in the arrival ports as the Russians lacked the logistical ability to disperse them.

Russian military leadership was lacking during the war. Instead of seeking quality leaders through proven battle experience, as did the Germans and French, the Russians promoted via political connection. The Czar himself, hardly a military wizzard, stayed near the front and made many important military decisions.

Thus with the military situation in deterioration, the economy in shambles, and the people resentful at the lack of civil liberties, the nation was ripe for revolution. Germany saw the opportunity to eliminate the Russians as a military foe and did what they could to encourage the total collapse of the central Russian government.

The Russian revolutionary Lenin, long in political exile in Switzerland, was spirited across Europe in a sealed train by the German government. His arrival in St. Petersburg quickly escalted an already volative situation into outright revolt. The Czar was forced to abdicate, the monarchy destroyed, and the military largely went AWOL.

Instead of signing a peace treaty with Germany/Austria the new Russian 'government' just decided to stop the fighting. German units wished a more formal end of the conflict so they pressed forward, occupying parts of the Ukraine and Latvia. Not wishing to see further territorial losses, the Russians at last agreed to sign a treaty with Germany ending the fighitng.

The treaty, signed in the city of Brest-Litovsk, was amazingly lenient on the Russians. Basically the Germans just asked the Russians to stop killing German troops and to give up a few colonial possessions in the west. The liberated colonies included Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine. The Soviets took most of these lost lands back in the 1930's but eventually all were freed during the Soviet collapse in the 1990's. Russia was allowed to keep all her vast colonial empire in central and East Asia. No reparations were required. The country was not stripped of dignity by being forced to accept responsiblity for the war. Although the Germans did loot some grain supplies from Ukraine, there was no systematic attempt to deny the Russian population basic food supplies.