In 1917, during the chaos of World War I and Russia’s revolutions, stories of a massive bunker collapse spread, but no major historical event matches that exact description. Instead, the year saw literal and figurative collapses across Russia that shook the world, from military defeats to the fall of empires. Let’s break it down simply.
Russia entered World War I in 1914 full of hope, but by 1917, the front lines had crumbled under poor leadership, endless battles, and starving soldiers. The Eastern Front saw huge losses, with millions dead or wounded, leading to desertions and mutinies. This military collapse weakened Tsar Nicholas II’s rule so much that riots broke out in Petrograd in February, forcing him to step down. A temporary government took over, but it kept fighting the war, making things worse.https://podcasts.apple.com/kh/podcast/origin-story/id1624704966[3]
Then came the October Revolution. Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power, promising peace and land. Their takeover was like a sudden bunker giving way—old structures collapsed overnight, ending centuries of tsarist control. But war and revolution also caused economic bunkers to fail. Russia’s massive gold reserves, over 1200 tons, one of the world’s largest, vanished amid the turmoil. Trains loaded with gold were moved for safety, but much was lost to theft, hidden deals, or Bolshevik grabs during the civil war that followed.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8lfGA3fCao[6]
On the Western Front, 1917 brought more collapses for the Allies. The Nivelle Offensive in April failed badly, causing French troops to mutiny after heavy losses against German lines. Britain tried breakthroughs at Messines and Passchendaele, but mud and machine guns turned them into disasters, with little ground gained at huge cost.https://www.britannica.com/event/Western-Front-World-War-I[2]
Across the ocean, Germany’s submarine attacks pushed the U.S. to declare war in April 1917, after years of neutrality. Events like the 1915 Lusitania sinking had built tension, but unrestricted U-boat warfare sealed it. This shifted the war’s balance, as fresh American troops helped prevent total Allied collapse.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania[1]https://docsteach.org/document/declaring-war-germany/[4]
Warnings from 1917 even predicted future Russian collapses after failed wars, a pattern seen in tsarist downfalls and echoed in later history.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubFxu4ot7NU[5]
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania
https://www.britannica.com/event/Western-Front-World-War-I
https://podcasts.apple.com/kh/podcast/origin-story/id1624704966
https://docsteach.org/document/declaring-war-germany/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubFxu4ot7NU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8lfGA3fCao
