How important a reason for the outbreak of revolution in 1917 was Russias involvement in the First World War?

The most important long term factor for the 1917 revolution was the large anti-Tsarist attitude amongst all of the groups in Russia.  The middle class, peasantry and urban working classes all had reasons for wanting rid of the Tsar.  The middle class believed that there should be a genuine system of constitution government and the Tsarist war effort was poorly managed.  The peasantry wanted a change as they wanted a greater respect for their freedoms and liberties.  They also went on to complain about the conscription to the army when 14million were called up.  The urban working classes wanted a change in the terrible working and living conditions.  They also complained about inflation and food shortages.  Therefore this sustained attitude would make the tensions increase between the people and the leaders.

The most important medium term factor for the 1917 revolution was the impact of the First World War on Russia.  Tensions grew for several reasons during the war.  The army had poor training, equipment and munitions.  Russia also found it hard to transport the supplies around to the widely spread war.  The Russian army also incurred large casualties including by early 1917 1.6m dead, 3.9m wounded and 2.4m captured as prisoners of war.  Also the withdrawal of the army led to millions of refugees.  There were also specific incidents within the war including the Brusilov offensive which cost 1m lives.  Overall, there were many aspects to Russia’s involvement in the war which could have caused a revolution.  

The next most important medium term factor which contributed to the Russian Revolution in 1917 was the economic state of the country and food issues.