How far was military defeat responsible for the fall (abdication) of the Tsar in Feb 1917?

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How Far Was Military Defeat Responsible For The Fall (Abdication) of the Tsar In Feb 1917?

By 1917 Russia had been at War for three years and the strains on the both the army and the country itself were becoming more and more established as time went on and people were beginning to question the Tsar's rule. Previous to 1917 the Tsar had suffered many setbacks as ruler of Russia. The most significant of these were the economic and political problems prevalent in Russia, the prominence of revolutionary groups and their activities and the gradual loss of support for the Tsar. Further factors were the industrialisation of Russia, the 1905 revolution and the October Manifesto and creation of the State Duma.

Some of these causes were long term, whilst others were fairly short term. However, it was the huge Military defeats suffered by Russia that set the 1917 Russian Revolution off. At the end of 1914 the Russian army had lost half a million men and they were running low on ammunition and arms. They also had problems with uniform and food. Desertion became more and more frequent and some soldiers even deliberately inflicted injury upon themselves so they could avoid military service. Nobody could understand why the Russian leaders had engaged the country in such a pointless war. In the summer of 1915 the Russians lost 3,400,000 men, 300,000 were killed and 1,500,000 were taken prisoner.

The appalling numbers of death were yet another issue which affected the lower classes of Russia. For a long time the peasants of the land had suffered poor living conditions and their living standards were falling constantly. Although they had been freed from Serfdom in 1861 they did not get the land they thought they were entitled to and through a scheme of periodic redemption payments they were forced to buy land which they believed was owned by them anyway. Although in the half century following emancipation the peasant lived miserable, unsuccessful lives, there were no serious peasant disturbances until around 1900 when there were widespread riots.

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The workers had similar problems when the industrialisation of Russia in the late nineteenth century meant that they were working longer hours, in poorer conditions with less pay and no social services or insurance. They had no outlet as Trade Unions were banned, therefore they couldn't organise to defend their interests. This led to rioting, striking and increased frustration towards the Tsar, which culminated with the 1905 revolution. On 20 January 1905, 150,000 workers and their families and children marched to the Tsar's Winter Palace in St Petersburg to present with a petition, campaigning for freedom of the press, religious ...

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