Stavka

The Stavka was created at the start of the war, when Grand Duke Nicholas became commander-in-chief; in mid-August 1914 it set up at Baranovichi. From there the fronts were directed, including the fighting in the Polish lands. After the Great Retreat it moved to Mogilev in August 1915, and in September the Tsar took command. In practice the army was run by his chief of staff, General Mikhail Alekseyev.

In 1917 the Stavka changed chiefs almost every few weeks: after the Tsar's abdication they were Alekseyev, Brusilov, Kornilov, Kerensky and Dukhonin. It was a centre of resistance to the revolution, especially during the Kornilov affair. On 3 December 1917 the Bolsheviks took it over and General Dukhonin was lynched by a mob. It was dissolved in 1918, after the Peace of Brest-Litovsk and the demobilisation of the old army.