In an attempt to increase their wages, industrial workers went on strike. The Tsar’s indecisiveness, the reality of him continuing the war against Germany although there were many thousands of casualties and the rest of Russia was starving due to the bad transportation systems, and the fact that he had broken his promises from the October Manifesto after the
In 1904 where negotiations between Japanese and Russia broke down, Japan declared war on Russia and the Japanese Navy attacked the Russian Eastern fleet at Port Arthur. The Russian’s naval force was destroyed at Tsushima Bay and Russia’s only all year naval bases in Port Arthur were captured in January 1905. When news of these defeats reached back to Petrograd and Moscow, it stimulated the social unrest, which had already been present in Russia; a failed military campaign did look good for Nicholas II. The Russo-Japanese War was a disaster for Russia not just military but both socially and
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.
The months before and during the Bolshevik revolution, as well as the signing of the peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk cause turmoil among the socialists and brought Russia into civil war. The Provisional Government of Russia treated the middle and lower class citizens of Russia very poorly, ignoring their needs, as well as dragging them into World War I and two civil wars in a little over two decades. The workers of Russia wanted a democratic republic, or any government that would have allowed them to make a difference, and one that would help them as much as their current government was against them (Wade 27). In 1917, Russia was at war in World War I and was suffering economically because of it, as well as loosing the lives of many of their young men in battle. The people of Russia desired to leave World War I as smoothly and as quickly as possible (Wade 29).
When war was declared in 1914, much of the Russian population rallied behind the Tsar and the monarchy in a wave of patriotism. However, the war weariness in the face of 'Total War' soon gripped the country, as the war exacerbated the domestic difficulties of Russia and highlighted the governments structural issues. Losses such as the 'Brusilov offensive' demoralised the army, which in turn weakened the standing of the Tsar and the faith the public placed in him. Poor organisation lead to major casualties, as by Christmas of 1916, 1.6 million soldiers were dead and 3.9 million were wounded with 2.4 million taken prisoner. This lack of organisation also lead to food shortages and issues with transport.
Political and social unrest increased however, with the revolutionary Bolsheviks gaining widespread support. During the July Offensive, the Russian Army was soundly defeated by the German and Austro-Hungarians, leading to the collapse of the Eastern Front. The Russian Army was on the verge of mutiny and most soldiers had deserted the front lines. Kerensky's government was overthrown in October 1917, and the Bolsheviks assumed power. The Russian Civil War began in the wake of the collapse of the provisional government.
History Essay – Russia To what extent did Witte achieve economic modernisation in Russia? Russia saw a lot of changes in the years 1881-1903. A lot of these were due to Witte. The Russian empire wasn’t strong as it seemed and it was certainly not modern. Witte tried to change this with a series of projects, to help the economy and industry of Russia.
The years 1881 to 1914 were a time of great turbulence in Tsarist Russia. The 1905 revolution almost toppled the Tsarist regime. Political assassinations were common and military defeat became somewhat the norm. In the late 19th century, Russia was one of Europe’s Great Powers. This status had depended on military power but by the 1890s military power was becoming increasingly linked to economic power.
This turned into great violence across the empire, with peasants even attacking officials. Fights between strikers and troops of the army were common, and students would also protest and partake in demonstrations throughout Russia. The violence caused Russia to lose 500,000 in the Russian-Japanese, which had a major consequence. Russia was in a civil war. Not only was it the population of the Russian empire that turned against the Tsars, but the Army too.
This resulted in risings such as the Spartacist rising where communists fuelled by the success of the Russian revolution almost occupied nearly every major city in Germany. However, the Reichstag led by the SPD had stepped into a power that was left by the Kaiser, and as a result of this it had no real option but to accept the Versailles Treaty. The most irritating part for the German people was the to pay reparations to Britain and France. Germany's failure to pay her debt led to the invasion of the Ruhr, resulted in very little success for France but did succeed in the complete collapse of the German economy. This led to the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 Hitler aided by General Lundendorff and a few hundred supporters marched on the Munich town hall as a pretext to a national revolution, unfortunately for Hitler this attempt failed and he was sent to prison.