The long-term policies of Russification imposed by the Tsar in the 1880s, caused a lot of political unrest within Russia and these contributed to the 1905 revolution. Russia was the only country within Europe with no elected national parliament. The only form of elected representation (what the Tsar referred to as ‘senseless dreams’) was the “Zemstva”. The Union of Liberation demanded in December 1904, that a parliament should be set up because they felt the Russian population needed an outlet to express their views. At the time, the formation of political parties was illegal but despite this, they still existed.
During the beginning of the 1900s, there were plenty of revolutions and violence that took place. The Chinese revolution in 1911 and Russian Revolution in 1917 shared similar goals, they wanted to end the power of their current leader and establish a new one. For Russia, it was Tsar Nicholas II and for China it was the Qing Dynasty, Russia wanting a functioning communist government and Chinese revolutionaries wanted a democratic government. The first outcome is different in that China relied on agriculture to maintain its economy and Russia relied on industry to fuel its economy. The second outcome of the revolutions was that the countries were dramatically changed, two great powers were stopped and communist leaders eventually took over in the two countries.
As a result of these combination of factors, WWI was the ‘straw that broke the camels back’ and resulted in the downfall of the tsarist regime in 1917. The ruler of Russia was called the Tsar Nicholas the 2nd was an autocratic leader with few skills to rule 32 million Russians. He was politically naïve and granted himself with absolute power over the
A study of Russian governments in the period 1855 – 1964 suggests that Russia simply exchanged one form of autocracy for another after 1917. How far do you agree? When the February revolution brought an end to Tsarist rule, there was a strong belief that the instatement of the Provisional Government would lead to a more democratic Russia. However in deposing the Provisional Government, the October Revolution had removed any such hope. The totalitarian Government of the Communist Party continued and intensified many aspects of the Tsarist regime including use of the secret police and an intolerance for opposition and democracy in general.
“Opposition to Russian governments was ineffective in the period from 1855 to 1964”. How far do you agree with this view? Opposition throughout the period from 1855 to 1964 can be seen as any group of people opposing, criticising or protesting against the Government. There was significant opposition to Russian governments across the period and there were several different forms of opposition. The effectiveness of these groups can be judged in terms of the outcomes of their actions.
The War also had massive social and economic impacts on Russia that resulted in a strike that ended with a revolution. The Tsar going to the front was the start of the clear path that lead to the revolution in February 1917; he had left his wife the Tsarina in charge of Russia and relied on her to tell him how things were going at home. While police reports in 1916 were saying that the country was in complete social unrest, on the brink of a revolution, while the Tsarina was sending letters to the Tsar saying that the unrest was merely some of the population acting like a bunch of teenagers and they would get over it. The Tsarist Autocratic system had managed to survive a revolution in 1905 but now that the Tsar did not really know what was happening it was doubtful that there wouldn’t be a revolution soon. The Brussolov offensive caused a major blow to Russia because the Tsarina advised the Tsar not to send any troops to the north as Rasputin had foreseen their failure in the north.
Zoom in Page Previous 1 2 3 Next Level: AS and A Level Subject: History Document length: 1660 words Save + View my saved documents Submit similar document Share this Get Full Access Now Assess the reasons why opposition to Russian Governments was rarely successful in the period 1855-1964. Introduction Assess the reasons why opposition to Russian Governments was rarely successful in the period 1855-1964. In 1855, opposition to the Tsarist regime lacked an effective unifying ideology. This remained the case throughout the 1855-1964 period, even once the communists had seized power. The lack of unity opposition possessed was a key factor in its failure throughout the period.
Trotsky described war as the ‘locomotive of history’. How far can it be argued that change in Russia in the period 1855-1964 was caused only by involvement in wars? During this period the biggest change that happened was the move from Tsarist autocracy to communist dictatorship as well as the short lived provisional government, which was a form of democracy. Furthermore there were changes to economic policy, which had a great impact on society. The wars that occurred did bring change but were not the only causes of change.
To what extent does the First World War explain the outbreak of two revolutions in 1917? 27/10/2011 22:10 To a certain extent, the First World War was a major contributing factor to the two revolutions that took place in 1917. The war worsened the issues that already existed in Russia and also highlighted the incompetence of the Tsar and the Provisional Government both as competent rulers and, in the case of the Tsar, a military commander. However, World War One was not the only reason that the revolutions took place; Russia was already undergoing social, political and economical problems that largely contributed to the fall of the Tsar and later the Provisional Government. The war was a large mistake for the Tsar.
Both soldiers and civilians blame the defeats in the war and the growing crises on the home front on Tsar. Even the Tsars only army stated it wouldn’t support him if a revolution occurred. Explain the importance/significance of World War 1 to the downfall of the Tsar WWI was a very significant event on the rule of Tsar Nicholas 11. Although it initially bolstered his position, it then became a large factor that contributed to Nicholas’ downfall. The Country was ecstatic when the Tsar made the announcement that Russia was going to fight against Germany in WWI.