Some peasants left to work in the cities as the Tsar wanted Russia to be an industrial power, however the living conditions there hardly improved, which matched their dreadful working conditions. This poor treatment is what led to the 1917 strikes that helped force the Tsar to abdicate from the throne. This was an important factor in bringing down the Tsar because with so many people opposing him (over the years, because of food shortages and war failures, they were supported by women and army members, and the number of workers on strike rose to 250 000), he had no choice but to give up. However, I believe there is more causes behind this so I wouldn’t label it the most important factor of the Tsar’s abdication. Russia’s poor performance in WW1 played a very significant role in bringing down the Tsar too.
Was The 1905 Revolution An important Turning Point In Russian History? The 1905 Russian revolution was meant to be a peaceful protest from 15,000 unarmed people and a Russian Orthodox priest or Father Gapon. The protest took place in the snowy and cold streets of St. Petersburg. They were protesting about the lifestyle the poorer people had and the way the Tsar was running Russia. These people were not at all against the Tsar, in fact, the opposite.
A crucial quantity of Russians had lost their faith on Czar Nicholas II leadership, believing that ceding his command would lead them for more efficacious war outcomes. In January 9th, 1917, over 14,000 workers decided to strike in Petrograd, immortalizing the Bloody Sunday. The situation became worse in February 22nd, 1917, when more than 100 thousand workers decided to strike in the Petrograd, and the Duma reassemble, deciding to be in favor of the population and attack the government. It became known as the February Revolution, in behalf of more and more people joining the cause; in order to reorganize Russia to an enfranchised and fair
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.
Stalinist Russia during the late 1930’s experienced extreme changes and suffering in all sectors of society, including the military. The weakening of Russia’s military strength under Stalin’s rule is aptly described by Mary Leder in the novel “My Life in Stalinist Russia.” “No matter what the answer may be, it is an irrefutable fact that the Soviets did not use the two-year break to build up their defenses. On the contrary, Stalin continued to undermine the army by arresting its most talented leaders. He strengthened Germany by selling it the raw materials it needed to conduct the war. [1]” Through sources such as first hand accounts like the statement above, along with in-depth textbooks, I was able to understand the linear timeline of the Red Terror, and how the Red Terror was inextricably tied to the Russian casualties and suffering in World War II.
During this time, Russian cities were dying because all the workers and peasants were focused on rebelling against the government and seizing the land of their landlords, instead of working in the factories and living the life of a peasant or urban worker. The Russian Revolution of 1905 only decreased the strength of the empire further but a positive outcome for the people of Russia was instituted. Sergei Witte suggested an elected legislative assembly and after the Revolution of 1905, The Duma, a parliamentary institution, was established. Although the Revolution was officially over, violence and tension continued,
In Poltava and Kharkov provinces, mass impoverishment of the peasants, which was exacerbated by the poor harvests of 1901 led to 40,000 peasants took part in an uprising where they also ransacked 150 landlord properties. The barricade between the peasants and landlords strengthened in the years of the Red cockerel 1903-4 where peasants set fire to landlord barns. This peasant unrest was supplemented by the fact that the price of grain increased due to hyper during the Russo-Japanese war in 1904 due and the wages of peasants failed to increase with it therefore many peasants were left to starve and were angered hence more likely to revolt. It was evident that introducing new policies which would avoid bad harvests thus preventing mass starvation would oppress opposition. Also, there was a need to lower the price of grain to make it affordable to impoverished peasants as they were most likely to revolt.
All threats of revolution were taken seriously. The authorities hastily assembled an extensive spy network. The most famous threat of a revolution was in August 1819 when a large crowd assembled at St Peter’s Fields in central Manchester to hear a pro-reform speech from Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt. Fearing uncontainable disorder, and perhaps even revolution, the Manchester authorities over-reacted and sent in troops to disperse the crowd by force. Eleven people were killed and the radicals were given a huge propaganda boost by referring to the event as ‘Peterloo’, in a grim analogy with the Duke of Wellington's famous victory over Napoleon at Waterloo four years earlier.
In the battle of Tannenburg the loss was very drastic; 30000 men wounded or killed, 95000 captured and 500 guns. This portrays the heavy defeat that Russia and this dropped moral in the army and at home in Russia. This shows the losing of the battle created a growth in opposition against the Tsar due to the public of Russia blaming the Tsar as he commanded the troops to go to war. Peasants felt annoyed and angry and Nicholas. This strengthened the opposition against the Tsar.
DBQ: Evaluation of Stalin’s Leadership Loved and hated by many, Joseph Stalin is one of the most controversial leaders in world history. Joseph Stalin transformed the Soviet Union into a modern superpower between 1928 and 1941. His rule is characterized by the creation of Collectivized Agriculture, Rapid Industrialization like the Five Year plan, and the many aspects of life under a totalitarian regime like purges, censorship, propaganda, and the cult of personality. In 1917, Russia was crumbling into pieces. The World War I was draining all of Russia’s resources.