To what extent was Nicholas II himself responsible for the collapse of the Tsarist state in February 1917?
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abbieclements (student)
To what extent was Nicholas II himself responsible for the collapse of the Tsarist state in February 1917?The First World War put the Tsar Regime under a lot of pressure. It was possible that Tsardom may turn into a constitutional monarchy in co-operation with Duma's between the 1905 revolution and the war outbreak. During the war Russia suffered a huge amount of losses and military defeats. This brought tension to the city workers as they had shortages of many resources, which led to a general strike in Petrograd. The troops who were sent out in order to stop these strikes joined them. After the stare had lost all his supporters his government plainly collapsed and the Tsar was forced to abdicate.After the outbreak of the war in 1914 the Russian army began to disintegrate. One of the army's biggest weaknesses was a lack of clear command. Russia had a number of able commanders, however there were others who were highly incompetent and careless. The commanders were served by poor staff, many who were unsuitable and inexperienced. Artillery and equipment were also behind western standards. Reserve of rifles and ammunition for the inadequately trained conscripts were insufficient, the industry in Russia was just poorly developed which led to the Russian army to disintegrate. The battles of
Tannenberg and the Masurain Lakes were probably the most decisive in Russia's war effort. They revealed just how superior the German's military strategy was. Over two million men had been lost, this finally broke the spirit of the army. The succession of colossal military defeats, the food shortage situation in Petrograd, growing indiscipline in the armies and seething political discontent were at the heart of the Tsar's regime's failure. As the army were disintegrating the Tsar decided to take command of the military.In August 1915, the Tsar made a mistake. He took personal command of the armed forces, but had ...
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Tannenberg and the Masurain Lakes were probably the most decisive in Russia's war effort. They revealed just how superior the German's military strategy was. Over two million men had been lost, this finally broke the spirit of the army. The succession of colossal military defeats, the food shortage situation in Petrograd, growing indiscipline in the armies and seething political discontent were at the heart of the Tsar's regime's failure. As the army were disintegrating the Tsar decided to take command of the military.In August 1915, the Tsar made a mistake. He took personal command of the armed forces, but had very little experience, so as commander he was held personally to blame for any and every defeat. The day to day business was left in the hands of the Tsarina and Rasputin as his new responsibilities keep him away from Petrograd. The Tsar was bombarded with letters from the Tsarina, insisting he should follow Rasputins advice and ignore the Dumas suggestions. Like Nicholas, Rasputin held a strong influence over the Tsarina and he used this to get church and government positions for his friends. Ministers were sacked regularly. The government was in chaos and the aristocracy, who made up most of its personnel, was beginning to lose faith in the regime as an instrument for preserving power. As Martin McClogan puts it “this decision was to prove a serious error of judgement by the Tsar. Thereafter, he was directly and personally responsible for Russia's performance in the war”.During the war the Tsar had the chance to make some concessions to the political reform that might have saved him. The pressure would have been taken off of him personally if Russia had slipped into a constitutional monarch. The Duma were fully behind the Tsar in fighting the war. The “Progressive Bloc” formed, suggesting to the Tsar that he should establish a “government of public confidence.” This basically meant to let them run the county. Their aim was to prevent the country slipping into revolution by persuading the Tsar to appoint a new government capable of winning the peoples support. This was the only way, they said, could lead the country to victory. They had daily reports of defeats on the front industrial strikes and growing social chaos, so they saw this as the last real chance and bent over backwards trying to make the Tsar accept the proposals. On August 28th, the “revolt of ministers” came to a head with a direct appeal to the Tsar to appoint a new ministry enjoying the confidence of the Duma. But by September 2nd he order dissolution of the Duma, he wanted to rule as a autocrat. This let to a two-day strike the Petrograd. The “revolt of the ministers” was over and the monarchys final chance to save itself by political means had now been thrown away. This had brought tension to the workers in the cities.It was now clear that the support for Tsar Nicholas had collapsed and that there was very few people left wanting the Tsar and his family running the countries. The main constraint were the city workers. They all had an intense hatred for the Tsar after suffering a cold and hard winter in 1916. Food shortages, fuel shortages and other materials – caused by the war had inflated prices. Levels of tension had been created by strikes and lock-outs in Petrograd. There was mass unemployment. After the news of bread rationing was introduced the streets of Petrograd were turned into riots in order to get the remaining bread stocks. As Orlando Figes put it “The February revolution was born in the bread queue.” This was making the tsar more and more unpopular, ultimately leading to his downfall. The troops were the next in line to stop being loyal to the Tsar.In early March 1917, the strikes that had been building up during the war came to a head. On International Women's day many women from Petrograd joined with workers from Putilov factory. Around 200,000 were protesting in the streets of Russia. As more and more people joined the protest it turned into a general strike. The demands were not just more food, but to end the war and remove the Tsar. The Tsar called the troops to seize the strike, but the troops refused, and instead joined the protests. When the tsar lost his army, his government had effectively collapsed. This forced the Tsar to abdicate. Three hundred years of Romanov rule was over.In conclusion, Nicholas 11 was responisble for the collapse of the Tsarist state in February 1917 to the extent that the army began to disintegrate and the officers were incompetent. The found themselves losing many battles and this was due to the face that the Tsar made the mistake of becoming the commander- in -chief, which made him responsible for any defeat. The “progressive bloc” was then introduced which meant to let the Duma run the the country. Soon the Tsar dissolved this and was back to running as an autocrat. All of this led to tension in the cities as they had food, fuel and other essential shortages. This tension led to the workers rioting and when the troops were sent into stop the riots they joined in. The Tsar had lost his army, which forced him to abdicate. Although the Tsars mistake was part of the reason the Tsarist state collapsed, the world war was the main reason for it.
