Episode Overview

Podcast: New Books Network – Russian and Eurasian Studies
Host: Polina Popova
Guest: Colleen M. Moore
Book Discussed: The Peasants' War: Russia's Home Front in the First World War and the End of the Autocracy (McGill-Queen's UP, 2025)
Date: February 14, 2026

This episode features an in-depth interview with historian Colleen M. Moore about her new book, which explores the experiences, evolving consciousness, and political impact of Russia’s peasantry during World War I. The discussion investigates how the war transformed social relations, state-peasant dynamics, propaganda, conscription, and economic life, ultimately contributing to the collapse of the autocracy and shaping revolutionary events.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Colleen Moore’s Academic Path and Book Genesis

• Moore became interested in Russian history due to Cold War pop culture and the influence of an inspiring high school teacher.
• Combined her fascination with Russia and the First World War, noticing a lack of scholarship on Russian peasantry’s wartime experience despite their demographic importance.
• Mentor Ben Eklov inspired her focus on peasant histories and their documentation.
  • Quote [02:23]: “…if Russian peasants constituted about 85% of the population during World War I, then how is it that a study of their wartime experiences and their impact on the subsequent Revolution doesn’t exist?” — Colleen Moore

State Underestimation of Peasants and Nationalism [05:00]

• Nicholas II saw peasantry as unconditionally loyal and ignored evidence to the contrary.
• Military officials doubted peasants' national consciousness, believing only nationalism could drive war sacrifices—a notion Moore disputes.
• Moore’s argument: Peasants were not motivated by abstract nationalism but by the reality of their sacrifices and lack of state reciprocation.
  • Quote [06:38]: “I argue that it was actually the discrepancy between the sacrifices that the peasantry was making and the state’s treatment of the peasantry that awakened peasants to their collective bargaining power…” — Colleen Moore

Why World War I Was Different [08:57]

• First general mobilization under universal conscription; affected nearly every household.
• Widespread peasant exposure to frontlines fostered national consciousness and interest in news.
• The proliferation of newspapers, despite censorship, helps peasants recognize shared suffering and interconnectedness.
• Political reforms (Duma, political parties) encouraged peasants to seek rewards and rights for their wartime service.
• Wartime economic changes (inflation, shortages) deeply affected peasants due to their increased market dependency since late industrialization.
  • Quote [10:22]: “Despite wartime censorship, the number of newspapers proliferated during the war. And from scholars like Benedict Anderson, we know that newspapers are the key to creation of imagined community.” — Colleen Moore

The ‘Myth of the Tsar’ and Shifting Peasant Attitudes [14:04]

• The myth: The Tsar, as a ‘good father,’ would right bureaucratic wrongs if only he knew of peasant suffering.
• During WWI, peasants used the myth as leverage to claim more rights and compensation: the Tsar should now reward their service, not just pity them.
• This shift made the Tsar’s legitimacy conditional, opening the door to his overthrow.
  • Quote [15:23]: “Before the war, the Tsar protected the people because he was the tsar. But now the Tsar was the Tsar because he protected his people.” — Colleen Moore

State Propaganda and Peasant Reception [16:50]

• Propaganda aimed to promote self-sacrifice and loyalty among peasants.
• Lubki (illustrated broadsides) and sentimental poems/songs encouraged service as family duty.
• Most notable: state-sponsored booklet about Stefan Veremchuk, a peasant who died heroically—emphasizing that, regardless of communal neglect, the state would provide for his family.
  • Quote [19:36]: “The message was that your friends and neighbors might let you down, but the state never will. Your friends and neighbors may, may not value your sacrifices, but the regime does. And, and you’ll be rewarded and your family will be rewarded.” — Colleen Moore
• But state promises (pensions, scholarships) often failed in practice due to scale and inflation.

Wartime Hardships: Inflation and the Home Front [22:11]

• Wartime transport bottlenecks—shortages of trains/cars—caused delays and spoiled goods.
• Workers’ resistance to extra labor created backlogs, worsening shortages.
• Accusations of speculation: both state and general population blamed private traders for withholding goods and raising prices.

Alcohol Prohibition: Motives, Impact, and Resistance [25:18]

• State banned vodka sales to prevent reservist drunkenness and as a moral move (vodka sales were a major revenue source).
• Prohibition disproportionately targeted peasants; exceptions favored elites.
• Peasant resistance was intense: black markets, ransacking liquor stores, consuming dangerous substitutes.
  • Quote [29:14]: “Wartime prohibition deprived peasant reservists of the ability to partake in this custom, and also, I argue, insulted them by suggesting that they could be trusted with the defense of Russia, but not with responsible consumption of alcohol.” — Colleen Moore

Military Conscription: Exemptions, Repeals, and Urban Unrest [31:19]

• Numerous conscription exemptions existed for peasant family breadwinners.
• Repeal of family exemptions in 1915 (due to mounting casualties) provoked widespread anger.
• Moscow riot of 1915: sparked by rumors of police brutality against a peasant draftee; highlighted peasant-policemen animosity.
  • Quote [34:57]: “…it speaks to the tension and the animosity that had…reached this point between the population and the police, where the police are kind of seen as the antithesis of this peasant hero in uniform.” — Colleen Moore

Land Ownership: Precursor to Revolution [37:52]

• Peasant land hunger was worsened by emancipation's failures and population growth.
• Wartime: state floated rewarding peasant soldiers with expropriated land (from Germans, Austrians, etc.).
• Peasants pushed for universal redistribution—ultimately carried out locally, often led by soldiers’ wives (Soldatki), especially after the Provisional Government urged restraint.
• New laws enabled peasants to acquire and control farmland, paving the way for revolutionary land policies.
  • Quote [41:37]: “Peasants found legal workarounds to the Provisional Government’s…plea that they…wait for the Constituent assembly in order to continue to take land following the collapse of the autocracy.” — Colleen Moore

The Peasant as Consumer vs. Producer [44:03]

• By early 20th century, many peasants were more consumers than producers; they needed market goods.
• Grain price controls left peasants unable to afford manufactured necessities; state failed to set prices fairly for both food and goods.
• Peasants responded by withholding products, worsening shortages—even for themselves.
• Food shortages and market failures sparked protests and revolution in February 1917.

Contemporary Connections and Author’s Future Projects

• Peasant economic motivations—whether land in WWI or real estate today—often drive participation in wars.
• Moore plans research on harmonica (“mouth organ”) playing and peasant hooliganism; a possible book on the “potato riots” of the 1840s and comparative peasant resistance to state-imposed crops.
  • Quote [48:48]: “I love the opportunity to kind of bring the stories of these peasants to life and to make them full fledged historical actors in this story of war and revolution.” — Colleen Moore

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nicholas II’s Blind Faith:
  “Nicholas II was under the delusion that he possessed a special bond with the peasantry, that he was beloved by them and that they were unshakably loyal to him.”
  — Colleen Moore [05:05]

• On Peasant Nationalism:
  “I don’t think the working populations of any of the countries involved in the war was motivated by nationalism to make sacrifices.”
  — Colleen Moore [07:03]

• On Peasant Media Consumption:
  “Peasants…turned to Russia’s newspapers to kind of learn what was happening. Despite wartime censorship, the number of newspapers proliferated during the war.”
  — Colleen Moore [09:26]

• On Propaganda’s Emotional Appeals:
  “A collection of songs and poems…appealed to peasant soldiers primarily as husbands and fathers, asking them, you know, make sure you make your wives and children proud, don’t surrender or desert.”
  — Colleen Moore [18:10]

• On Resistance to Alcohol Prohibition:
  “Mobilized reservists ransacked liquor stores on their way to the front…peasants consumed all kinds of impotable substances, things like cologne, varnish, wood alcohol as surrogates for vodka, and often with fatal consequences...”
  — Colleen Moore [29:19]

• On Land Issues Bridging History and Today:
  “Often the most economically marginalized group are the ones who are…forced by circumstances…into providing military service.”
  — Colleen Moore [37:55]

• On Peasants’ Double Role:
  “By the early 20th century, more peasants in Russia were consumers than producers of grain.”
  — Colleen Moore [44:05]

Timestamps for Major Topics

• 00:57 – Moore’s academic history and motivation for book
• 05:00 – Underestimation of peasant power; state and military mindsets
• 08:57 – What made WWI transformative for Russian peasants
• 14:04 – The myth of the Tsar and its function/change in wartime
• 16:50 – State propaganda, lubki, and the Veremchuk story
• 20:58 – State inability to support families of fallen/sacrificed soldiers
• 22:11 – Economic hardship and rising prices: causes and effects
• 25:18 – Alcohol prohibition: reasoning, symbolism, resistance
• 31:19 – Conscription, exemptions, and the Moscow 1915 riot
• 37:52 – Land, soldier motivation, revolution, and Provisional Government policy
• 44:03 – Peasants as consumers: the “scissors crisis” and its revolutionary outcome
• 48:48 – Moore’s future research plans (harmonica and peasant protest, potato riots)

Tone & Style

The episode balances scholarly rigor with narrative storytelling—Moore infuses her responses with vivid anecdotes, empathy for the peasant perspective, and frequent references to both classic and contemporary historiography. The host encourages both big-picture synthesis and deep dives into fascinating specifics, ensuring a detailed yet accessible conversation.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Read the Book

This episode offers a comprehensive analysis of the crucial, often-overlooked role Russia’s peasants played in the unfolding of World War I and the collapse of the tsarist regime. It clarifies how everyday experiences of mobilization, economic hardship, government policy, and media transformed peasants from subjects to political actors—foregrounding their agency in history and drawing fascinating links to contemporary conflict and motivation.