To what extent was the Revolution of February/march, in Russia 1917, due to the nature of Tsarism and the policies of Nicholas

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To what extent was the Revolution of February/March, in Russia 1917, due to the nature of Tsarism and the policies of Nicholas II?

        At the turn of the 20th century Russia was a vast, however, backward empire with an undemocratic political system. The Romanov dynasty had ruled for several centuries as an absolute monarchy, with the Tsar being the supreme autocrat ruler. His power was unquestionable, as it was alleged that God had given him the divine right to rule as desired. The Tsar exercised his power through a great bureaucracy, an army sworn to loyalty to the tsar and oppressive political policies. The tsarist regime repressed freedom of speech and press, freedom to form political parties, and generally most human rights. Its policies consisted of subordination of many ethnic minority groups and persecuting or exiling political opponents to Siberia.

        By the time Tsar Nicholas II came to power in 1894, Russian society had never been more divided, nor had any ruler been so estranged from his people as Nicholas the II. Having never shown particular interest or ability to rule, Nicholas II was much more of a family man, however the sudden death of his father, Alexander III, resulted in the responsibility forced upon him. Nicholas II was a hesitant, reactionary and incompetent ruler, and was unable to provide the strong leadership his backward nation needed desperately. He avoided direct involvement with public opposition, and instead commanded his army or secret police to eliminate problems. The consequence of this method was to create great resentment and tension amongst the public.

        The Royal family was supported by a small yet powerful noble class who owned the majority of the land. This nobility had been granted to them at the expense of the exploitation of the bulk of the people – the peasants. As industrialization and modernization were beginning to take place, so was the development and growth of new social classes, such as the proletariat, and middle-class capitalists, such as factory owners. The proletariat lived and worked in the cities under harsh conditions, with low wages and appalling living standards, and were often subjected to work over-time without compensation. This resulted in growing unrest and discontent amongst the workers, and their demands for better living/working conditions and right to form trade unions were repressed. The effect of this was to inspire interest and support for revolutionary activity, and as they were a large number of people concentrated in small areas, their potential to become a threatening mob increased. The Tsar struggled with this dilemma of having to modernize to keep up with the rapidly modernizing western nations, whilst still asserting his absolute power over the people who wanted more modern political policies, such as democracy.

        The Tsar’s approach to dealing with problems failed terribly. In 1904 the tsar decided to declare war on Japan, in hopes that a small military victory would unite the country again. This had the opposite effect as not only did it increase the strains on Russian economy and create food shortages, but Russia ended up suffering a humiliating defeat against Japan with a high number of deaths and casualties amongst the Russian solders, which only created further enmity towards the government.        

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        As the unrest and discontent grew amongst the public, several opportunities arose where the Tsar could have quieted this and prevented the escalating problems he was to face, had he been more in touch with his people and willing to compromise. A poignant example of this is an event known as ‘Bloody Sunday’, where a crowd of over 10,000 peaceful demonstrators led by Father Gapon, made their way to the Winter Palace, in January 1905, carrying a petition asking for better working conditions. Following their orders to eliminate any problems, the police opened fire on the crowd - killing ...

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