Causes & Impacts of Russian Revolutions

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The Causes and Impacts of the Revolutions of 1917 – Joe Ewbank Part One 'Bloody Sunday' took place on 22nd January 1905, when around 200,000 peasants protested about working conditions led by Father Gapon. They marched peacefully to the Winter Palace, where the Tsar lived, to give him a petition. The men guarding the palace panicked as Tsar Nicholas II was not home, and open fired at the protesters, killing hundreds and wounding thousands. This lost the Tsar huge amounts of popularity; before they were protesting to work with the Tsar, later against him. The Tsar lost popularity for many reasons between 1905 and 1914. Firstly, the 1905 revolution, where his men open fired at peaceful protesters, killing and wounding thousands. This lost him support from nearly the whole country, as he was blamed for his men killing the petitioners. No matter how big the country is, it affected all the people of Russia, as friends, family and loved ones were killed. Secondly, the fact that he introduced the Duma, but gave them near to no power, contributed to him becoming so disliked. He issued the October Manifesto on 17th October 1907, promising an elected government, but he gave himself the power to make the Duma resign, to control all that they did and to basically make them do what he wants. This again lowered the people's support for the Tsar, as he promised to make Russia more of a Democracy, as the proletariat and peasants wanted, but continued to rule it as an Autocracy, doing it the way he wanted. A third reason Tsar Nicholas II lost popularity during those nine years, is the influence of Rasputin. Rasputin was originally introduced into the Romanov family because he claimed he had religious powers and could cure the Tsar's son Alexi. He worked his way up to being good friends with the Tsar and his wife and, eventually, he became one of the Tsar's main
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