This also meant that the land was not used to it full potential, all these factors lead to the famines and causing peasants to up rise using violence against government officials. This was on the verge of the revolution. The deep resentment from the peasantry towards the Tsar increased after the war as lots of money had being invested in the war and Russia had lost. Moreover, Sergei Witte had tried to improve the economy of Russia but it was to make sure that the Russian social order stayed the same. Due to industrialisation, factories were built which lead to rapid growth of population in the towns and cities for example from 98 million in 1885 to 125 million in 1905.
Nicholas II fell from power in February 1917, there are many reasons for the collapse of Tsarism but to what extent was World War 1 the most important reason? World War 1 seems to be the most contributing factor to why Tsarism collapsed in 1917; the huge effects and problems that the War had on Tsarism was able to overturn the monarchy, that before then, had never died. This is due to the impact of War on Russia’s Political state. In 1915 Nicholas II as Tsar toke power of the Russian army, this had a huge effect on the outcome of World War 1 on Russia. Despite this, the collapse of Tsarism could be blamed on different factors of Russia, such as the civilians; the percentage of peasantry in Russia was extremely high, not only the percentage but also the conditions of peasants was awful.
HOW ACCURATE IS IT TO SAY THAT THE GROWTH OF REFORMIST GROUPS IN THE YEARS FROM 1881 WAS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE 1905 REVOLUTION? (30) The growth of reformist groups across a large section of Russian society – the middle (landed) class and the lower classes consisting of peasants and workers, was to a large extent seen as the main cause of the 1905 revolution. This was because the increasing number, scale and violence of strikes, combined with a greater sense of political direction that came from the core of these groups, put the majority of the population in direct confrontation with the tsarist regime, putting Russia on the brink of revolution. However, there were also other causes which were arguably of equal, or greater, significance. This included the Tsar’s incompetence which led to failures both in foreign policy and domestically, as well as the severe human consequences that resulted from the slow and inefficient development of agriculture and industry – a fruitless attempt to keep up with the other Great Powers.
Prior to 1917, Russia was run by a Tsar, and its system of government was based on autocracy. There was much dissatisfaction with the Tsar during World War One, which led to his abdication – the March revolution. The provisional government took charge of Russia, whose authority and power was taken over by Lenin’s Bolsheviks in the second revolution in October. The Romanov family had been ruling Russia since 1613, but in March 1917, Nicholas Romanov II was forced to abdicate. Nicholas was a sensitive man with high pride and always preferred to be with his family rather than to involve himself in the running of his nation.
How Accurate is it to Say that the Growth of Reformist Groups in the Years from 1881 was the Main Cause for the 1905 Revolution? Following Alexander II’s assassination in 1881, Russia was faced with their worst nightmare which was faced with their worst nightmare which was a truly repressive Tsar, Alexander III. His unpopularity was caused by his extremely backwards ideology that left the Russian population dissatisfied without their ‘Tsar Liberator.’ Alexander III found himself battling with millions of people who wanted their previous freedom restored and autocracy destroyed. I personally feel that the main cause for the 1905 revolution was Alexander III himself in the long term. Alexander was hopelessly out of touch with the emerging realities of a modern Russia.
How far do you agree that the first world war was mainly responsible for the February revolution of 1917? To fully understand to what extent the first world was was responsible for the February revolution of 1917 we must look further than the war itself. Other factors such as the actions of the Tsar Nicholas alongside the social and economic strains the was placed upon the country can also be identified as important. The war played a large part in influencing the revolution. When war was declared in 1914, much of the Russian population rallied behind the Tsar and the monarchy in a wave of patriotism.
In particular, he released the serfs, which is generally seen as one of the most significant social reforms of the nineteenth century. Yet, the fundamental inconsistency between Alexander II's commitment to autocracy and his moves towards liberal reform isolated him from both reformers and conservatives. The growth of radical political opposition during his reign, was arguably given momentum by the liberal reforms he made which still left some radical groups pushing for revolution and eventually led to his assassination by terrorist of 'The People's Will' group in 1881. A great obstacle was that compared to Western Europe, Russia was backward economically, socially and politically in the late 19th Century. Russia was determined to not set up a new system by which the government were modernized and autocratic in which this stopped Russia from industrialising.
How far was the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905 due to the consequences of the RussoJapanese War of 1904–1905? Eminent Historian Abraham Ascher contends that had Russia not provoked a war with Japan in 1904 then the 1905 revolution may not have happened. The war seemed to symbolise for many Russians the deep problems within Tsarist Russia, However the war alone cannot take all the blame as there were many longstanding problems which existed in Russia which help to create the conditions necessary for revolution. It can be argued that the 1905 revolution has it’s roots in the late 19th Century. Strikes and peasant revolts were common in the 1890s.
According to the author Sidney Harcave, who wrote The Russian Revolution of 1905, there were four problems in Russian society at the time that had led to the revolution. These are the agrarian problem, the nationality problem, the labor problem, and the educated class as a problem. While individually these may have not made a difference, the combination of these problems created the conditions for a potential revolution. [1] "At the turn of the century, discontent with the Tsar’s dictatorship was manifested not only through the growth of political parties dedicated to the overthrow of the monarchy but also through industrial strikes for better wages and working conditions, protests and riots among peasants, university demonstrations, and the assassination of government officials, often done by Socialist Revolutionaries. "[2] The government finally recognized these problems, albeit in a shortsighted and narrow-minded way.
Lenin had a great impact on Russia and the Russian people with his range of policies and events that took place during his time in power. These had huge political and economic effects and had both short-term and long-term impacts. Even in exile, Lenin’s time in Germany did not stop him from organizing yet another Bolshevik uprising in Russia in October 1917. He put the Bolshevik Central Committee under massive pressure and their final decision to hold an uprising shows Lenin’s power and influence within the party. This was only a temporary victory for the Bolsheviks as they lost support of the majority of the Russian population.