Although the war did seem to contribute to the Tsar’s misfortunes in 1917, the main problems that occurred during the war were largely caused by the Tsar himself. He handled the problems caused by the war ineffectively, and made a number of bad decisions. Russia seemed to be failing in the war, which in itself could have caused tension on the home front, but it was seen as the Tsar’s fault, as he had appointed himself head of the army in 1915. He had done this in an attempt to rally the nation around him, and so he could take credit for the army’s success. If the army had been successful in the war this would have been a triumph for the Tsar, as he would have been seen as a hero who won the war. However his plan backfired, as the army had very limited successes, and Nicholas was blamed when the army performed badly. This caused the Russian people to view him as weak leader, and they became more hostile towards him. This can be seen as one of the first mistakes the Tsar made to contribute to his own downfall in 1917.
As Nicholas was occupied with running the army from 1915, Russia lacked a strong leader, a significant cause of Nicholas misfortunes. While he was away at the army headquarters, the running of the country was left largely to his wife, Alexandra and one of his advisors, Rasputin. The Tsar’s decision to allow Rasputin’s influence in court to continue contributed to the increasingly negative public opinion of the Tsar. Most of the hatred that people felt for the Tsarist system was focused on Rasputin, who although he claimed to be a “holy man”, had a bad reputation and was viewed with suspicion from members of the imperial court. At times, Rasputin seemed to be more competent than the Tsar’s own ministers, which added to their hatred of him. His closeness with the Tsar’s wife led to the belief that he had too much influence over the monarchy, and the way that Russia was run. Rasputin made the Tsarist system extremely unpopular, and at a time when Nicholas was already hated by some of his people, he should have made more of an effort to improve public opinion of the monarchy. His decision to let Rasputin remain at court did the complete opposite of this, and the monarchy became even more unpopular and hated than before. This bad feeling would have contributed to the Tsar’s misfortunes in 1917.
The most significant cause of Nicholas’s misfortunes in 1917 was his refusal to accept any of the help that was offered to him. This started with his refusal to cooperate with the non-governmental organisations, such as the Union of Zemstovs, who were willing to help the Tsar and his government with the war effort. Thee elected bodies formed the Zemgor, an organisation which successfully handled the war effort and dealt with the wounded. The success of this organisation highlighted the government’s failures regarding the war, and was the sign that there could be an alternative to the Tsar. If the Tsar had co-operated, he could have taken some of the credit, and his position of authority wouldn’t have been questioned. Similarly, the Tsar didn’t co-operate with the reinstated Duma, as in his eyes this was also a non-governmental organisation. The Duma appealed to the Tsar to replace his cabinet of incompetent ministers, who had the right to veto the decisions of the Duma. It was proposed that members of the Duma would form a “ministry of national confidence”, which was what Russia needed during the period of war, especially as a revolution seemed to be immanent. However the Tsar rejected this idea, preferring to keep the cabinet he had selected. In doing this, the Tsar destroyed the last opportunity to gain support from the progressive parties of the Duma, leaving in him an unstable position.
The Tsar’s policy of ignoring the Duma led to the formation of the Progressive Bloc, as just over half the Duma joined together in an attempt to make their views heard, and tried to persuade the Tsar to make concessions. However Nicholas viewed the Progressive Bloc as an enemy, despite the fact that they were trying to protect his position by attempting to prevent a revolution. The Tsars refusal to listen to the advice given by the Progressive Bloc can be seen as contributing to his eventual downfall, as it went from being a supporter of Nicholas to becoming a source of political resistance. It was Nicholas’s stubbornness that led him to finally dissolve the Duma in February 1917. The Duma’s President, Rodzyanko, recognised that the situation in Petrograd had become serious, and warned the Tsar that the only way to stop a revolution taking place at this stage was to make a major political concession. Once again the Tsar ignored the advice given to him, and instead ordered the Duma to be dissolved. In doing this, the Tsar unwittingly allowed opposition to his position, as twelve members of the Duma formed the “Provisional Committee”, which was the first real constitutional opposition of the Tsar, which marked the start of his fall from power.
Although there were other factors involved, such as the war, Nicholas II was the author of his own misfortunes in 1917. The ineffective way in which he ruled Russia meant that all the anger of the Russian people, particularly the proletariat, became focused on him, making revolution far more likely to take place. It was his refusal to cooperate with or listen to the Duma that finally caused his downfall, as he was unable to prevent the February Revolution taking place.
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