[2] Problems with food supply in the Russian Empire did not so much arise from a fall in production, which undoubtedly there was, but rather as regards how grain was transported to the cities.
Output had fallen by 10 million tons by 1916, but this had been offset by the cessation of a similar amount of grain being exported.
[3] The problem was rather that the railways were subject to military priorities, which meant that food did not consistently reach the cities.
Likewise coal production had actually increased, but was disproportionately absorbed by the expanding war industries, so that frequently the trains were not able to run effectively.
[5] Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Rittikh was responsible for the introduction of grain requisitions in late 1916, before the Bolsheviks came to power, albeit in a less than efficient fashion.