Why Did The Tzar Survive The 1905 Revolution And Not That of February 1917?

        The 1917 revolution was different and many lessons had been learnt by the revolutionaries from the1905 revolution. Its causes started when war broke out with Austria-Hungary in 1914. Joining the war was risky following their previous defeat against Japan but Russia had to keep its influence in south-east Europe. The Russian people thought there would be no problem in winning this war and it became very popular with the Russian public, but soon after the war had begun the Germans destroyed the Russian advance and advanced into Russia. By the end of 1914 over 1million Russian soldiers had been either killed, wounded or captured due to lack of equipment and ammunition. Also officers were being chosen for their nobility instead of ability causing a lack of skilled command. During the war 15 million soldiers were called to fight. This meant there were not enough peasants to grow the food to feed the country. Also as the Russian army retreated the peasants on the wrong side of the frontline were forced to flee to nearby towns so there were more hungry mouths to feed on less land. The transport system was so poor that food meant for the army rotted in sidings instead of feeding the frontline. This meant that the soldiers in the retreating frontline were becoming more miserable because they were getting no food. Soldiers began to desert and lost loyalty to the Tzar. Industry was used to manufacture equipment for the army so there was nothing for the peasants to buy with the money they got from selling their crops. Therefore farmers started to grow food for themselves with no surplus because there was no point. In March 1917 severe strikes in the Petrograd factories caused industry to come to a halt. Good weather encouraged protesters onto the streets and the soldiers were ordered to fire upon the demonstrators.  Many soldiers were peasants and were starving in similar conditions  and held the same beliefs as the protesters. By the 12th  the army supported the riots and many government buildings were ransacked in Petrograd.

                This revolution was far more successful than in 1905.  In 1905 the Tzar had something to fall back on. The Russian public had no idea of his thoughts. They had nothing in the past to base it on. When he created a democratic parliament he pleased the masses. It got even better for him when he cancelled the field repayments for the peasants.  This may have saved him in 1917 if he did something similar for the factory workers in the towns. Instead he repressed them and in 1906 over 1000 people were executed and a further 21,000 were sent to prison camps. In the following four years a further 1800 were hanged. The Duma had little power and was seen to have its speech controlled by the Tzar. This was achieved by the Tzar because the revolution was not properly organised and its main aim was not to overthrow the Tzar but to tell him the country’s problems.

        The 1917 revolution was very different. It had great political organisers such as Lenin. People knew that if the revolution failed massive repression would follow. This made the protesters wary of what the Tzar can do. He now had no backup plans. He couldn’t dissuade the protesters by saying the Duma would have more power because they wouldn’t believe him. Industry was now a far bigger part of Russian economics and the Tzar needed those workers to manufacture equipment for his army. The army was mainly fighting Germany on the frontline and the rest was sympathetic to the revolution. They began to disobey the Tzar and support the revolution.

        The army was suffering and drastically needed something to keep it together.  Food was short and they were unwilling to fight. There was little respect for senior officers due to their lack of skill and experience. Many soldiers deserted and joined the revolution.  The Tzar thought he could rectify these problems by going to the fronline to take charge of the army. With the revolution’s increasing strength and the collapse of Tzarism leaving his wife in charge of the country wasn’t a good idea. Things were made worse when he called for the dissolution of the Duma which caused the middle class to join the revolution.

        On the 15th march the Tzar abdicated. The Bolsheviks had won the day. They decided Nicholas II was the last Tzar to rule.

        In this essay you can see that the Tzar was put in an impossible position. This does not mean that the Tzar was not to blame, he made many mistakes. Leaving his wife to run the country was a bad idea. Firstly the Tzarina was German and Russia was at war with Germany. Also she was under Rasputin’s influence who she thought was a miracle worker because she thought he cured her son of haemophilia. The government was run under Rasputin’s influence which enraged the country further. The Tzar couldn’t help this dilemma because he went  to control the army directly. Now if there was any problem with the army the Tzar had no-one else to blame but himself. Then he tried to dissolve the Duma which was the only thing that people still partly respected him for and when he tried to dissolve it all the middle classes that were undecided on the revolution joined it. He put himself in an impossible position after the 1905 revolution. The repression was meant to teach the country a lesson in 1905 but unfortunately for the Tzar this made the protesters determined to win.

             The Tzar made major political mistakes in the aftermath of the 1905 revolution, leading up to and continuing into 1917.   This, combined with the quality leadership of the 1917 revolution  ensured its success instead of 1905’s failure.