However, the troops and armed forces still loyal to the Tsar remained in majority and crushed any disturbances thought to be part of the Revolution. This was also mainly due to the lack of unity and coordination among the radicals and revolutionaries, as their outbreaks, though spontaneous, were sparse and unorganised which meant the armed forces and police could easily suppress them one by one. It was difficult for the revolutionaries to be united because their different aims meant they were divided and often fought amongst them selves; the Liberals wanted to share power with the Tsar, the Social Revolutionaries wanted peasant ownership over land, and the Social Democrats wanted a complete change of society and removal of the Tsar. Furthermore the October Manifesto, a carefully crafted franchise, saw the Tsarist government try to reassert its authority and control by splitting up its opposition; appealing to the less extreme revolutionaries such as the liberals, who accepted the manifesto, it promised reforms and the creation of an elected national Parliament. Though the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks remained unsatisfied, this was surely the turning point whereon the Tsar began to regain control - the Revolution had failed to topple his government because of its ability to react to increasingly problematic factors.
Like the attempted Revolution in 1905, the February Revolution was almost completely leaderless and spontaneous. By 1917 patriotism within Russia was dangerously low; the heavy defeats during the First World War at Tannenburg and the Masurian Lakes led to lack of confidence and popularity with the Tsar’s government. Furthermore the continued effort in the war made for a rise in support of the Marxist theory that said Tsarism was outdated and would not support the decisions of its people. On top of this, strikes to mark the anniversary of Bloody Sunday had broken out, along with protests about food shortages and poor working conditions. The country underwent a major food shortage because of the effort in the war; the soldiers needed supplies and resources, and nothing was done about it because the Tsar was absent of Petrograd; fighting in the war. This sparked major protest, beginning with international women’s day and developing into demonstrations about the people’s discontent with the Tsar, which even the Tsar’s own Cossacks and Duma became a part of. This left his government vulnerable to attack, which is eventually what happened as the people believed the absent Tsar cared more about winning the war than the welfare of his country and its people. On 2nd March 1917 the Tsar was asked my members of the State Duma to abdicate the throne, which he agreed to.
The knock on effect that the war created on food shortages, poor conditions and public protests was the main factor of the Tsar’s eventual abdication and the support people showed for his disposition.
On balance, there were many similarities between the revolutions of 1905 and 1917; both were initially unplanned, sparked protests and strikes, and showed little presence of any specific revolutionary leaders. However the two inconsistent factors between the revolutions were the magnitude of warfare and the presence of the Tsar. The constant defeat against Germany leading up to the February Revolution left Russia in a state of desperation, with little reason to be patriotic, and led to a widespread requisite for change. This requisite was also shown by the Tsar’s own Duma and Cossacks; they had previously stayed loyal and obeyed the word of the Tsar but began to disobey him upon his order to fire at the protestors in Petrograd and, eventually, they turned on him altogether, ultimately intercepting his train and suggesting that he abdicate.
In conclusion, I believe the reason for the downfall of Tsarism in the revolution of 1917 but not that of 1905, was due to the uncalculated detriment of the Tsar’s absence for fighting in the First World War. The war itself created a worse enough situation in Russia, but the absence of the Tsar meant that he could not readily react to any problematic uprising like he could during the revolution of 1905, this left his government wide open to rebellion and led to the eventual end of his reign.
