The Russian Revolution Was Ultimately Caused By Bad Weather

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‘The Russian Revolution Was Ultimately Caused By Bad Weather.’ How Far Do You Agree With This Assessment Of The Causes Of The 1917 Russian Revolution?

The Russian Revolution in 1917 was a major turning point in history for the Russians. There were many causes leading up to the revolution however, was the main one bad weather?

        On the one hand, bad weather was extremely important. Without the bad weather, many other causes would not have occurred. There was no coal in the winter of 1915 and so the harsh conditions of the weather, hit the civilians with a massive blow. This angered them, and soon their anger was directed towards the Tsar. Bad weather also iced over the railway lines in 1916. This in turn made import of food into such cities as Petrograd extremely difficult. The slow import of food meant that food which was able to reach the cities, rose sky high in price. Unfortunately the workers weren’t able to afford these amounts and so many starved through the cold months. Often queues formed for bread however, there was no bread to be bought. The weather also affected soldiers fighting in the war. This led the soldiers to side with the workers during strikes and with their help, the workers were able to overthrow the Tsar.

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        However, on the other hand, there also many other factors which caused the revolution. Firstly, there was World War 1. Russia’s performance in the war was terrible. Their shocking defeats lowered the morale of both the civilians and the soldiers. This low morale was not helped by the fact that the war left drastic effects upon the people. There was no weaponry to use and so prices were raised on foods such as grain and wages were lowered. Farmers and workers were turned in to soldiers and so there was little food to be had and many factories ...

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