All Russian governments in this period faced strong opposition to their regime with the period as a whole punctuated by riots, disturbances and revolutions. Political change was expected in Russia during this period, particularly during the Tsarist regime where the growth of the revolutionary intelligentsia, ironically an effect of the Great Reforms, led many to question the need for a Tsar or a royal family at all. The first main success of political opposition is widely considered to be the assassination of Alexander II at the hands of the People’s Will in 1881. Although they assassinated their Tsar, it is very likely this did not actually lead to their desired outcome, it being greater political freedom/democracy. Many historians have said Alexander II was considering the formation of a parliament in Russia.
Stalin did this on his own; he lied to the people and accused the government of being enemies of the people. In February 1917 after the people of Russia already had lost faith in their leadership and the Imperial government was forced to resign. A provisional government was formed and worked with the Petrograd Soviet for control of the revolution. In March the Petrograd Soviet forced the Russian soldiers obey the orders that did not conflict with the directives of the Soviet. This led to Czar Nicholas to step down from his throne.
The October Manifesto, though not actually creating significant change in Russian political policies, officially signified the end of Russia’s autocratic government. The manifesto also raised expectations of political representation which were crushed through the Fundamental State Laws of 1906 and electoral changes in ’07. Through this, Nicholas lost the confidence of his supporters and the people of Russia and from 1906 to 1917, he was gradually abandoned by the bureaucracy, the ruling classes and the church. Despite this, however, Nicholas remained stubbornly unwilling to recognise the isolation of his government. This was demonstrated when he assumed that him taking personal control of the army during the First World War would unite the nation.
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.
Gareth Parker How important was the Bolshevik threat to Tsardom in the reign of Nicholas II? The threat to Tsardom is complex and needs to be understood from different viewpoints. Initial examination of the Bolsheviks is vital from formation to the growing strength of revolutionaries such as Lenin and Trotsky and their influence on the downfall of Tsarism. Nicholas II was key to his own demise, not only his poor leadership but also his alienation from his own people and the average Russians way of life. There can be no ignoring the effect that World War I had on Russia, with the crippling affects of a major war and the resulting breakdown of infrastructure within the Russian Empire.
They feared of a future German invasion. Also, they wanted control over the Baltic states (countries bordering Russia) because in both world wars Germany invaded Russia through those states because they were weak. They wanted their people in the governments of those countries so they could be relied upon. But U.S. and Britain wanted those countries to be independent, but really they did not want communism to expand. And the U.S. and Germany could not agree upon what to do with Germany, so it ended up being divided: West Germany to U.S. and Great Britain and West Germany to the Soviets.
How far do you agree that the main reason for the failure of the Provisional Government was the decision to continue fighting in the First World War? With only seizing to last 8 months, the Provisional Government was faced with many burdens from the very beginning of their reign. The government had economic and political problems resting on their shoulders, with having to effectively take over the running of the country, due to Nicholas leaving Russia in shambles. Political unrest, lack of authority and general discontent in the people of Russia meant the Provisional Government could be seen as doomed from the very beginning. However, although these factors were important in contributing to the decline of the Provisional Government, it was ultimately their internal decisions, one deciding to continue fighting in the war, that lead to the failure of it.
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.
This question focuses on the events which took place in Russia leading up to 1905 to cause a Revolution. The events which took place were either long term factors which built up over a period of time or medium term factors which were less long term or short term factors which triggered the revolution. Arguably the most important factor which led to the 1905 revolution was down to Russia’s incompetent government. The main reasons for the incompetence of the government was that it always had the same views as the Tsar as the appointed governors were appointed by the Tsar and dismissed by him as he pleased. This made the government not original so the country could not benefit from it.
The increasing pressures of World War 1 combined with years of injustice, lead to the fall of Russian Romanov Tsar Nicholas 2 in March 1917. Forced to step down from power, Nicholas was replaced by a Provisional government committed to continuing the war. However there was increasing losses and fear of German advance on Moscow showed what little support remained for the war and, undermined the provisional government’s authority. Hoping to aggravate the uproar, the Germans were said to have secretly transported, an exile Vladimir Lenin from Switzerland to Russia. In November Lenin led a group of Bolsheviks from the Russia's Social Democrat Party, in a successful attempt to gain power in St. Petersburg.