Why did the empires that existed in Europe before the world war collapse?

World War I led to the collapse of 4 empires: German, Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian. At the end of the war, the population of these countries, driven to despair by the protracted hostilities, openly began to express their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs. Many peoples, taking advantage of the current state of affairs, declared their independence: Serbs, Croats, Hungarians, Poles, Finns. The failure of governments to resolve conflicts in their empires led to their overthrow.