In 1915, Tsar Nicholas II took over command of the troops during the First World War. But he did not do a good job, and the army lost battles in embarrassing ways. Nicholas II did not get along well with the elected Duma. Nicholas II ignored the advice of his former Minister of Finance Sergei Juljewitsch Witte, who recommended comprehensive reforms. The frequent defeats combined with food shortages and the catastrophic supply situation to cause the revolution. The increasing anger of the population showed up in the Duma, which was dominated by representatives of the middle class and the aristocracy. In the Duma of 1915, the progressive block was the strongest parliamentary opposition. 