Russian supply efforts in America during the First World War

"When Russia entered World War I, its government was unprepared for the strains that modern warfare would impose on its industrial resources. Russia turned to foreign suppliers, most significantly the United States, and made extensive purchases largely financed by loans from the British.". "The Imperial Russian government's efforts to procure much-needed military supplies in the American market before and after America's entry into World War are the focus of this work. It reveals the disorder that characterized the first Russian purchasing efforts in America in 1914 when the full demand had not yet been felt, and how these efforts were transformed by the shell crisis of 1915 and the involvement of representatives of the zemstvos and industry in the formal overseas purchasing process. It also looks at Russia's dependence on the British for funding, the mature phase of purchasing in mid-1916, a single order placed by the zemstvo movement with the American Locomotive Company, the Russian Supply Commission's struggle to deal with America's entry into the war, and the collapse of Russia's Imperial and Provisional governments."--BOOK JACKET.