Food shortages were a key problem in Russia as it meant the people were starving and desperate. It has consistently been a problem to the rulers of Russia such as the Provisional government. The people wanted change but they also wanted grain to feed themselves and their family. It was important that the food crisis would be solved by the Bolsheviks in order to gain the support of the people; however, due to Russia’s poor transport and little fertile land, it was simply an impossible job for any party or rulers of Russia especially due to the high demand of the huge populace. The demand for food has always been high in Russia which meant that no matter what reforms or radical changes a party can bring in, if they can’t feed the people there will always be bitterness which can and did result in opposition to Lenin and his Bolsheviks.
This meant trade to other countries went down bringing the economy to yet another low and this lack of agricultural workers meant a lack of food across Russia, especially in towns and cities where there was no easy access to farms; and as is with most things in demand, the prices went through the roof, leaving peasants starving on a mass scale. The only short term fix that was established for this whole issue, was a series of loans from Russia’s allies, Britain and France; these loans are especially important when it comes to the provisional government’s role in the second revolution in 1917. The other major issue that was gained from the World War is the amazing show of incompetence from Russian military leaders, most notably Nicholas II. This led to a decreasing
Following the Auxiliary Service Law in December 1919, which required all able-bodied Germans to work for the war effort, there was a sharp increase of social unrest as Germans felt their rights being curtailed. The winter of 1916-17 was the peak of discontent as the severe food and fuel shortages were at their worst. Civilian deaths from starvation and hypothermia increased from 121,000 in 1916 to 293,000 in 1918 and infant mortality increased by over 50% over the duration of the war. This led to huge resentment among Germans as they questioned the injustice of the loss of lives. 16% of the 1.8million who died at war were conscripted and all families were somehow impacted by the war, which consequently led to a decline in the popularity of the Royal Family.
Having a war caused inflation, government spending rose from 4-30 million, taxation increased, and money became practically worthless and the price of food and fuel quadrupled. This made people angry as they could not afford supplies for themselves and their families, which made them, turn to the Tsar for help but he wasn’t seen to be doing much about the effects of war on the people at home. Furthermore, as well as not being able to
Russia’s poor performance in WW1 played a very significant role in bringing down the Tsar too. Much of the army was made up of conscripts from the countryside. After a while of
His army also consisted of millions of poor, starving peasants with bad equipment, poor supplies of rifles and ammunition. In 1916, two million soldiers were killed or seriously wounded, and one third of a million taken prisoners. The Russian population was horrified. They considered the Tsar irresponsible for taking over the army and held him responsible for everything; as a result instability was growing at an alarming rate for the Tsar who had once held himself so assuredly in power. Nicholas II took this course of action to assure himself he still had complete control of Russia.
Bartering had been common in medieval times which show how people resorted to previous looked down upon activities. Pensioners on fixed incomes suffered as pensions became worthless. Restaurants did not print menus as by the time food arrives…the price had gone up! The poor became even poorer and the winter of 1923 meant that many lived in freezing conditions burning furniture, or in some cases, banknotes, to get some heat. The group that suffered a great deal - proportional to their income - was the middle class.
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.
As it was them who started the protest which turned into a revolution and also they were the ones behind the mutiny of the troops. However, the military was having many problems such as the war was going horribly wrong with many casualties, poor commanding from officers and limited military resources and equipment. The peasants were doing the fighting and the dying. So this could be a small contributing factor to the fall of the Romanov's on several different reasons. Firstly the tsar did not help the peasants personally, but instead leave the burden to the prime ministers when they cannot rule like a democracy today.
“BLOODY SUNDAY WAS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CAUSES OF THE 1905 REVOLUTION” To what extent do you agree? Although Bloody Sunday marked the breakdown of the Tsar and autocratic government, there were many other long and short term causes that provided the build up of tension and ultimately led to the revolution of 1905; Bloody Sunday was the final straw for the peasants and the other groups in Russian life, rather than a key cause. The most significant causes were mostly long term. Firstly, there was the terrible work and living conditions of the peasants, alongside the low wages they received. The lack of usable land in Russia and the subdivison of land between families both resulted in an incredibly low income, especially for larger families.