The prices had risen so much that transport was limited, so not much food could reach Petrograd before it was rotting. The Russians were furious losing the support for their leader. Nicholas was appointed after his father died to be the autocratic ruler of Russia. Nicholas by this time of the late 19th Century when he came into power should’ve realized that he
A lot of workers went on strike for better working conditions, in February 1905, there were 400,000 people striking, however, by the end of 1905, 2.7 million were striking. From 30th September to 20th October, there was a general strike which included the public sector of Russia. This is showing that the February Revolution was inevitable. These strikes may have also occurred because of Bloody Sunday, which could have led to the Revolution. Another contributory factor to the February Revolution could have been the Russo Japanese War, this important event undermined the Tsar’s power; Firstly, Russia suffered a great of humiliation when the Japanese forces defeated the Russian army is Manchuria, followed by Russia being defeated at the Battle of Tsushima; these were two big humiliating wars that Russia lost.
Loyal army has been replaced with around 15 million peasants, the army had sympathised with workers and themselves along with the navy began mutiny against a government they had no wish to fight and die for with the Bolsheviks rioting. In addition, the peasants could not plough, sow or bring harvest as the young men were of fighting in the war. And they were still heavily in debt after the freeing of the serfs – they had to buy their freedom over Fifty years, and many were still serfs. The situation in the countryside caused problems in the cities, because of lack of harvest they were starving, and in the army the peasants in uniform wanted to go back to
Assess the reasons for opposition and unrest in Russia from 1894 to 1905 During 1894-1905 Russia faced much opposition to its dictatorship rule by Tsar Nicholas II. There was social unrest throughout Russia within this time period, which was created by economic troubles, the loss in the Russo-Japanese war and political problems. The Tsar was also a very weak figure and there was Opposition to the autocratic system. Industrialisation in Russia helped Russia’s economy grow massively and in 1914 it was one of the causes of opposition and social unrest in Russia, as industrialisation caused a gap between the rich and poor. This caused the division of society between the countryside and towns.
This protest took place in St Petersburg and was peaceful and contained, however due to Tsar Nicholas II’s drastic predetermined demands the order to kill caused the death of up to 1000 people including women and children. This resulted in the Tsar’s image shifting from the ‘little father’ to ‘Bloody Nicholas’, and most importantly swayed the working class of Russia from being most loyal and respectful of the throne to revolt and rebel. This statement from Anderson, Keese and Low quotes “This incident has created a deep gulf, which will not be easily bridged, between the Emperor and the working classes”, this source reflects the destructive impact of Bloody Sunday on the Russian people’s and the Tsar’s once firm relationship with the Russian people. As well as WW1, Bloody Sunday was fundamental and key to the demise of Tsarist autocracy as it heavily impacted the relationships of the working class and Tsar Nicholas II. The arrival of Grigori Rasputin played a crucial role in the demise of autocratic Russia.
The Tsar was then visited by members of the State Duma and asked to abdicate, which he did, and which he also did on behalf of his haemophiliac son, Alexei. The First World War was undoubtedly an important factor that contributed to this decision – but were there others, and which was the most significant? The First World War was responsible for the downfall of the Romanovs in four main ways. Firstly, the loss of agricultural workers and horses to the army, combined with the takeover of railway lines by the army, led to food shortages in towns and cities due to poor internal communications. Moscow, for example, had been receiving 2,200 railway wagons of grain per month in 1914, but by Christmas 1916, this figure was down to around 300 wagons.
The Tsar was then visited by members of the State Duma and asked to abdicate, which he did, and which he did on behalf of his hemophiliac son, Alexei. The First World War was without a doubt an important factor that contributed to this decision. The First World War was responsible for the downfall of the Romanovs in four main ways. Firstly, the loss of agricultural workers and horses to the army, combined with the takeover of railway lines by the army, led to food shortages in towns and cities due to poor internal communications. Moscow, for example, had been receiving 2,200 railway wagons of grain per month in 1914, but by Christmas 1916, this figure was down to around 300 wagons.
There were many factors that contributed to the downfall of the Romanovs – and Tsar Nicholas II was not responsible for all of them. Some of the issues that caused the collapse of the Romanovs’ reign had begun even before he had come into power. However, the many mistakes he made during his reign undoubtedly sealed their fate. Problems with Russia’s monarchy had begun long before Nicholas II came to the throne. For example, a large contributor towards the Romanovs’ steady deterioration was the dissatisfaction of the people of Russia, particularly the peasants.
The rebuilding of the local areas was a job for the Zemstva, however, none of the peasants ‘knew what was meant by the Zemstvo’ yet ‘the Zemstvo was blamed for everything- for the arrears, and for the oppressions, and for the failure of the crops’. ‘ It affected between fourteen to twenty million people, of which 375,000 to 400,000 died, mostly of disease’. The fact that the Zemstvo had been blamed could present a change in the way they ran their government. Although the source could be affected as it is an extract from Anton Chekhov who was well known for his dramatised descriptions of things and therefore could be indeed exaggerating how bad the situation was and whether or not the Zemstvo were actually being blamed for ‘everything’. However, the Zemstvo failed to make a dramatic
They had no trade unions for protection. Their homes were crowded and poorly built. Economic recession between 1899 and 1903 had also led to growing unemployment throughout the Empire. This was evident through the Petition to the Tsar presented by Father Capon. This petition was a kind approach taken by the working seeking “truth, justice and protection from [the Tsar]” because they were “treated as slaves… not recognized as people….