Winter as a contributing factor to military defeat Russians used skis in the third Muscovite–Lithuanian War (1507–1508). Russians call those muddy conditions rasputitsa, which occur with autumnal rains and spring thaws in Russia and make transport over unimproved roads difficult. Mud is a related contributing factor that impairs military maneuvering in Russia and elsewhere, and is sometimes personified as 'General Mud'. Russian Winter, sometimes personified as ' General Frost' or ' General Winter', is an aspect of the climate of Russia that has contributed to military failures of several invasions of Russia and the Soviet Union.
Winter in Russia in the context of military campaigns 'General Winter', from a 1916 front page illustration of the French periodical Le Petit Journal
