To What Extent Does The First World War Explain Th

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To what extent does the First World War explain the outbreak of two revolutions in 1917? 27/10/2011 22:10 To a certain extent, the First World War was a major contributing factor to the two revolutions that took place in 1917. The war worsened the issues that already existed in Russia and also highlighted the incompetence of the Tsar and the Provisional Government both as competent rulers and, in the case of the Tsar, a military commander. However, World War One was not the only reason that the revolutions took place; Russia was already undergoing social, political and economical problems that largely contributed to the fall of the Tsar and later the Provisional Government. The war was a large mistake for the Tsar. Although Russia obtained some successes at the beginning, they were facing one of the most advanced military powers in the world and were being led by incompetent Generals as well as being badly equipped Nicholas II made a grave error, when he fired the military commander and took command of the army. This was a mistake in the fact that he had no military experience whatsoever and from then on, the Tsar was seen as responsible for every failure and defeat that Russia suffered. It saw the loss of 200,000 men and around 15 million peasants were enrolled in the army from the farms. This would lead to the army losing their faith in the Tsar which was extremely vital, for as long as the army remained loyal to the him, they were able to put down any threat of revolution however, the poor conditions eventually led to them refusing to fire upon rioters. For these reasons, the First World War contributed majorly to the downfall of Imperial Russia. After his downfall, the War became increasingly unpopular. Popular demands for peace were growing intense, especially within the army. The Provisional Government attempted to regain the support of both the Russian
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