What caused the 1917 Russian Revolution.

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A major cause of the 1917 Russian Revolution, was the living conditions of the Peasants and the Proletariat. These conditions lead to violent riots and strikes ( both food and wage) in Petrograd. There were a number of food, housing and fuel shortages. The people were suffering for many years and as they were illiterate, they knew no better.

 

Leading up to 1917, there were various famines in Russia. People were starving , whilst the Tsar had plenty of food to spare. The famines threatened the large cities that were increasing due to urbanisation. Demonstrations  were  held, with the main demand being for bread. These demonstrations were supported by 90, 000 striking men and women.

   The freezing winter of 1916  brought terrible conditions. There were power cuts, poor transport and a bad harvest making it difficult to find bread. This hit the urban areas hard. One Petrograd observer noted “Long queues of men and women waiting for the bread that never came”. What sort of life was it for the city workers?

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   How could the factories have continued production if the people were starving? Basically, the factories couldn’t. Factories were few and insufficiently productive. Mobilizations disrupted industrial and agricultural production. The food supplies continued to decrease. The transport system became disorganised. For example, the railway network was carrying military supplies and couldn’t  serve cities.

   Nicolas II owned more than half the land in Russia. The Tsar and the landlords together owned 95% of the land. With this, the price rises and shortage of heating material, there was little or no way for the two lower classes to escape from ...

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