OverviewHow did World War I lead to revolution in Russia and the disintegration of several once-powerful empires? (The Earth and Its Peoples, 776) World War I, also known as the Great War or "the war to end all wars", had a profound impact on societies around the world, particularly on the industrialized nations of Europe and the United States. States. At the start of the war in 1914, Russia had an army larger than any other nation in the world, although it was under-equipped and insufficiently trained. More than anything else, Russia's economy and national spirit were hit hard by the war. The Ottoman Empire was also devastated. Being in a politically fractured and economically struggling state, it was ill-prepared for real competition. It had been in slow decline since the 1820s and was now the "sick man of Europe". The “Great War” devastated the Russian state. Its economy in 1921 was one-sixth of what it was before the war. When the war began, his national army, a force of more than eight hundred thousand, the largest at the time, mobilized. Its size, however, created difficult administrative situations. Such a large force requires a significant amount of food and other resources to be sustained. Because of this, the country's railway and agricultural systems have been strained, leading to widespread shortages of fuel and food. These shortages exposed government mismanagement and corruption. In 1917, the capital Petrograd ran out of bread. Factory workers staged massive protests, angry at an ineffective and deceptive government. Russian soldiers, also upset, joined the workers to form soviets (councils). These groups have become a political-military force, seizing government buildings. ...... middle of paper ......e. What does a comparison between Hennerberg's painting and the English munitions worker poster suggest about changing views of the role of women during the war and in society in general? (The Human Record, 374) The painting, originally an insert in a German magazine in August 1914, is as described above – a glorious farewell from a woman to a man. Women are depicted as kind and docile servants. However, in the English poster, the woman pictured wears a somewhat somber look while donning work clothes. She is on the same level as a male soldier in the image, which could imply gender equality. I think the difference in mood between these two images highlights the overall change in attitude of the belligerents during the war. It began with boundless optimism, only to turn into a bloody stalemate, epitomized by the Western Front...