The Tsar lost the support he had left on Bloody Sunday; several strikes and protests forced the Tsar to yield to their demands. (John Wright 19) The Tsar was able to gain back the support he lost when he issued The October Manifesto. He gave the peasants more voice and the creation of Dumas and the right to form political parties. These promises secured most of the middle class and the majority of the peasants, (Jogn Wright 19) and adding to these was that many celebrated the Romanov’s 300 rule, however the support gained was short lived. (Ben Walsh 107) The Dumas were unsuccessful as it was heavily restricted, and with the rise of Rasputin in the court. Rasputin was infamous for being a drunkard and a womanizer. The image of the Tsar autocracy was being tainted with rumors of an affair between the Tsarina and Rasputin. Furthermore, when the Tsar left the running of the country to his wife, it seemed that Rasputin was actually in charge. (Ben Walsh 107)
When Russia entered World War 1, the Tsar and the conscripts were very enthusiastic, as they felt very patriotic towards the country. It was believed by many that with huge Russia’s huge army, the war would be over by December. (Ben Walsh 108) Contrary to this, when Russia joined the war, it was ending the rule of the Tsars. The army stood little chance against the Germans, they made severe loses at the start. With more peasants being conscripted to the army, the industries were severely affected, as they did not have enough manpower to cope with the demands of the war. (John Wright 32) The war crippled the industries and brought unrest among the people. With lost of so many lives, the Tsar did not help himself when he went to the front lines to command the army. He was not an effective leader, and what he accomplished was merely being solely responsible for the disgrace of the army and the troubles that the war has caused. (Ben Walsh 108)
Evaluation of Sources
Ben Walsh’s ‘GCSE Modern World History’ provides clear explanations to what caused the Russian Revolution. Its purpose was that it provided several key concepts such as tensions building up before the war and what happened during the course of the war itself. Furthermore, the book gave me several time periods where key events such as ‘The Bloody Sunday’ took place and briefly what happened during that event. This book has helped me understand the several factors that are involved in the revolution. It has also given me several insights on the extent of the effects of World War 1 on Russia. However, this book is limited in the sense that the explanations are not being substantiated enough as it does not have enough details about how the war affect Russia. This book was only able to give me several ideas on what actually took place. This book is very reliable; it has several quotes from primary sources from letters between the Tsar and his people. Furthermore, a GCSE assistant examiner wrote this book.
Secondly, ‘The Russian Revolution and Soviet Union 1910-1991’ by Steve Waugh and John Wright provides a very clear account of what were the causes of the Russian Revolution. The book’s purpose is to substantiate the ideas developed from the previous book with detailed explanations, such as the political effects from the war. The book is easy to understand; hence it creates a vivid image of the events during the World War. However the limitations to this is that it does not provide more information on the background of the Tsar government, and the ones provided are difficult to link with each other. This book is very reliable as it is being used in international examinations.
Analysis
When Russia joined World War 1, the revolution was inevitable. Although the Tsar was able to make progress by giving the people what they wanted, this was not enough. Nicholas was already very incapable of leading, and so with the devastation that rocked the whole of Russia, the people believed that it was finally time to make the Tsar leave.
During the period before the war, the Tsar was able to find ways to gain support, and the support can be seen from the crowds celebrating their 300th year rule. The Tsar showed that he was capable enough to restrain any serious political upheavals with the support of the army. The Tsar also showed that he could make changes that benefited some of the people. Even with so much hardships, many of the peasants still believed in the Tsar as the Roman Orthodox Church taught them. It taught that the Tsar was Gods chosen representative on Earth; hence many believed the Tsar to be divine.
However these were all lost in the events during the war. In the process of fighting the Germans, the Russians lost to numerous humiliating defeats, losing almost half of its army. These were because most of the soldiers lack in discipline and equipment. In fact the defeats made by the Russian army were too much that it was very common for soldiers to dessert the war effort. The war carried a huge strain on the people and this had far reaching effects that outweigh the problems faced by the Russians before the war.
The most important of these are the political effects. At first the war seemed to improve the government as it encouraged the Tsar to work with the dumas, but after the tsar’s decision to take command everything fell apart. This implied that the running of the country fell into the hands of the Tsarina, who was a German. The people grew to hate Germans, they believed the Tsarina was a spy and caused so much devastation in the front lines. Not only was the Tsarina also unwilling to ask for advice, she turned to Rasputin for help, whom was considered by many the one who brought so much slander to the court.
Aside from this, the war caused seven prices rises; less food was produced because most of the peasants were conscripted into the army. In total about 14 million men were called up to serve the army. Not only were the food affected, the industries too suffered from the lack of workers and raw materials. Russia’s transport system could not cope with the high demand as the trains were mostly used for transporting of men to the front lines along with their supplies. Hence consumer goods became very expensive. This worsened the condition of the people. They were asked to work longer hours and fuel and food became scarce, even though there were several areas in Russia, which were abundant with food, it was unable to transport the essential supplies to those suffering from hunger, as the transport system was very ineffective. Furthermore, Russia experienced its coldest winter at the height of the food crisis; this did not help the mood of the people towards the Tsar.
By the end of 1916, Russia was on the verge of defeat, and everyone blamed the Tsar for what happened. In contrast to before the war, where they celebrated the Tsar’s 300th rule, now they were discontent and cursing at the Tsar.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Russian Revolution occurred due to the Tsar’s incompetence in leading his government and eventually his army. Although the people were undergoing severe hardships such as terrible working conditions and the unequal distribution of land, it was due to the Tsar’s weakness in controlling the country in the most important time that caused the Russian Revolution. It can be noted that without the role of World War 1, the people would not have opened their eyes and realize that their Tsar was truly incapable of leading them. The continuous oppression of the people made them want change, the Tsar was able to satisfy the people for a short while, however the same problem would resurface due to the Tsar’s inability to lead. The stage was ready for change with discontent among the people rising, all it needed was a catalyst that everyone could connect to and bring about change, hence there was a Russian Revolution.
Bibliography:
(04/08/11)
(03/08/11)
The Russian Revolution and Soviet Union 1910-1991 (0340889020) by John Wright, Steven Waugh
GCSE Modern World History (9780719577130) by Ben Walsh
