To What Extent do you Agree with the View that the end of Tsarism was due to the First World War? The Impact of the First World War on Russia and the Tsar was immense. The Russian ‘Steamroller’ suffered disastrous losses at Tannenburg and the Masurian Lakes not to mention the ruinous affect of the war on home Russian soil. The war exacerbated the frustrations of Russian Civilians as the loss of young men working in the country was sorely felt. Food was scarce and prices soared.
Some of the things they spent it on were golden statues of themselves, banquets that were very expensive and clothes made out of the finest, unique fabrics instead of trying to develop the infrastructure of Rome. By spending so much money on themselves, they had to raise the taxes so they could carry on paying for their own well-being. As they raised the taxes, less people could pay for their well-being such as food, which caused another problem, poverty. Furthermore, another problem was how much money the Roman Empire spent on creating new buildings, which were built on people’s land. But the empire were very inconsiderate and silly as people were paying the taxes by growing and harvesting crops which they would sell to the markets in order to pay for the taxes.
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
This was terribly inconsiderate of the military as the other 82% of the nation was left to starve as the military was the government’s top priority. This led to extreme cases of hunger across Russia which soon became famine. Food shortages were at their worst in the towns and cities, Petrograd suffered particularly badly due to the remoteness from the food-producing regions. Secondly, transportation was a key pre- existing war condition; it was the disruption of the transport system rather than the decline in food production that was the major cause Russia’s wartime shortages. The attempt to transport millions of troops and masses of supplies to the war fronts created unbearable pressure on the Russian transport system, and it bucked under the pressure.
The reactionary reign of Alexander III led to a tightening of government control and the persecution of minority groups, such as Jews, within the Empire. Another long-term cause of the 1905 Revolution was the worsening conditions of both peasants and urban workers. The famines in 1897, 1898 and 1901 had led to shortage and distress in the countryside. Living and working conditions in Russia’s industrial towns were no better. Workers worked in poorly ventilated factories for long hours and little pay.
In result of this, this cause loads of deaths. To conclude the actions from the officers were a very important factor in causing a high death toll in World War One. This was mainly down to their naivety, ineptness and how out of touch they really were. There loss of seeing things for how they really were, was another reason why there army lost so many of their men. In some cases it seemed the army were being sent in blind, as the officers refused to change their old fashioned
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.
Before the PG came into power, the already dire economic, agrarian and social problems were getting worse and worse as the war continued and as a result, the majority of Russians opposed the war effort. This meant that from the beginning of their reign, the PGs decision to carry on with the war made them unpopular as food shortages and the economy got worse and worse. For example, by 1917, the price of bread had doubled while the rations halved from their original figures in 1914. This discontent was proven as early as April the 20th as a riot broke onto the streets demanding that Milyukov, the head of Russian foreign affairs and key war minister, was sacked. This was significant as it meant that in the times of potential danger for the PG, they couldn’t rely on the people to support them.
This effectively weakened the success of a revolution because of the lack of organization and co-operation. Every group had their own agenda, so each group revolted individually. The growth of resentment in the Russian population had been harboring for many years. Due to the centuries of repression the people had decided that the autocratic system in Russia was old fashioned. The redemption payments that were to be payed for 49 years were an example of the unfair taxation's that were put on the peasants.
The first revolution in 1917 overthrew the Tsar, hoping that a new government would be formed, and that this new government would end the war. The war had caused the price of food to be multiplied by seven, had weakened the government, which received less money since alcohol sale had been forbidden, and the state had a monopoly on alcohol. The soldiers sent to the front were exhausted and had lost hope, and many of them did not want to fight anymore. Thus, when the Provisional Government came to power and did not do anything to end the war, people were still hungry and angry. This is very important because food is one of the most important and basic things people want, and lots of revolutions broke out because of famine.