To what extent does the impact of World War I explain the outbreak of two revolutions in 1917?

The immediate effect of the war was overall positive; the Tsar’s popularity and status was enhanced and the Bolshevik opposition was weakened but it created a huge number of problems for Russia. The transport system broke down completely as a result of the war which led to food shortages as well as not being able to transport the armed forces efficiently across the country. There were huge rises in inflation and morale was damaged due to huge losses on the front line. Rasputin, an Orthodox Monk, became adviser to the Tsarina whilst she was in control of the government. He was seen to have influenced the Tsarina to implement many unpopular ministerial changes. All of these factors made the Russian population increasingly angry and unhappy with their current situation, leading to the first revolution of 1917 in February

According to Orlando Figes, Tsar Nicholas II’s disorganisation and poor leadership seemed to be the main reasons for the February Revolution 1917 and his eventual downfall; “Nicholas was the source of all the problems.  If there was a vacuum of power in the centre of the ruling system, then he was the empty space. In a sense, Russia gained in him the worst of both worlds: a Tsar determined to rule from the throne yet quite incapable of exercising power”.

It seems as though the effects of World War I had a huge impact on the outbreaks of the February Revolution, yet during the October Revolution, it appears that other factors had a considerable effect on the outcomes.

After the abdication of the Tsar, a Provisional Government formed and took over the running of the country. The new government was made up of a mixture of liberals—mainly Octobrists and Kadets. The Provisional Government introduced some important early reforms “which it hoped would lay the foundations for a new liberal, democratic Russia”. These included freedom of the press, the release of all political prisoners and the preparation of the calling for a Constituent Assembly which would hopefully draw up a new democratic constitution for Russia. Despite these new improvements, they made the mistake of deciding to continue to keep Russia fighting in the war along with the Allies. Although this decision was destructive to the development of the democratic Provisional Government, it was somewhat unavoidable due to the Allies threatening to cut off loans to Russia, which were beneficial to the country at the time; therefore the Government was put in an extremely difficult position. However, it led to the government being seen as ‘illegitimate’ and they had no respect from the Russian people. In addition, the Russian economy was still struggling, inflation was still prevalent and there was an increase in taxation, which angered the Russian people further.

Besides the failure of the Provisional Government, opposition in the form of the Bolshevik faction of the Social Democrat party was becoming stronger under the leadership of Lenin who was appealing to much of the Russian population, including the proletariat following his April Thesis, where he promised “Peace, Land and Bread”. Additionally, after the Kornilov Affair, Russian citizens feared that a right-wing military takeover was imminent and “as a result, the Bolsheviks were no longer seen as a threat but as defenders of the Revolution”. This newfound support for the Bolsheviks, who were later known as Communist party, was exactly what they needed to take over from the current Provisional Government and transform Russia from a Republic to a Communist state.

Richard Pipes describes the Bolshevik takeover as “a classic coup d’état, rather than a popular revolution, and the Bolshevik’s victory was attributed not to their popular support but to their superior organisation and greater ruthlessness”.

Although the war still contributed to the October Revolution, the Bolshevik takeover was more related to the poor leadership of the Provisional Government and the strong opposition and timing of the ‘coup’. Michael Lynch highlights this point by explaining that “In the October Revolution of 1917, they (Bolsheviks) had cleverly exploited the troubled situation in Russia that followed the fall of tsardom in February to outmanoeuvre their opponents and seize power”.

The First World War was unquestionably a huge factor in the outbreak of the two revolutions, yet it is important to assess the other, perhaps equally important components which helped to eventually bring the Bolsheviks to power. In addition to their increasing popularity their leader, Lenin, who was a pioneer of Marxist ideology, was relatively important to the coup. However, John Laver suggests that “Lenin’s role in the coup itself was not crucial”, and that it was in fact Trotsky, famously known for being an excellent orator and organiser, who was essential to the October Revolution.

The extent at which the First World War was responsible for the two revolutions in 1917 has to view each revolution separately, as the main causes for each were completely different. For the February Revolution, the First World War made the biggest contribution to the downfall of the monarchy and autocracy in 1917. However, despite the same problems being present in October due to the impact of the war, this revolution or ‘coup’ was more due to the failure of the Provisional Government to provide solutions and the timing of the Bolshevik uprising. The role of Lenin and Trotsky were also paramount to the Bolshevik take over, therefore it can be said that the First World War was responsible for the February Revolution to a large extent but in October 1917, less so, as other factors were contributed more substantially to the coup.

Bibliography

Edexcel AS History Unit 1—Russia in Revolution 1881-1924: From Autocracy to Dictatorship, Derrick Murphy. Published in 2008, Pearson Education.

Lenin: Liberator or Oppressor? John Laver. Published in 1994, Hodder & Staughton

Bolshevik and Stalinist Russia 1918-56, Michael Lynch. Published in 2005, Hodder Murray

Three Whys of the Russian Revolution, Richard Pipes. Published in 1997, First Vintage Books Edition

A People’s Tragedy, Orlando Figes. Published in 1997, Pimlico

 Spartacus Educational, Rasputin. © Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd.