The Russian Revolution (RR1 & RR2)

What led to the February Revolution?

Political/Tsar’s mistakes
- Tsar was weak and indecisive: constantly made poor decisions that worsened
relations with the government and increased the hardships of the civilians and
soldiers
o He made himself Commander in Chief of the army in September 1914 (WW1)
 made Tsar directly responsible for battle losses. Tsar lacked any real military
experience, so he was not in the position to make the best military tactical
decisions  Additionally, his absence led to a weakened government in
Incompetence of Tsar

Petrograd
o Progressive Bloc: Tsar ignored Duma’s appeal to him to replace the cabinet,
and they pressured him into changing things  Tsar was not exactly working
with the existing political forces
o Unwilling to abandon autocracy and was very resistant to change 
unprepared to share power with the people or Duma [1905 Revolution/Bloody
Sunday] Poor command
- Tsar’s inability as chief of army caused him to appoint incompetent generals and
ignored good generals such as Brusilov
o Eventually, Brusilov (a noble) spoke out against Tsar claiming that Russia would
not win WW1 under the current circumstances. This undermined Tsar and
showed that he was even losing the support of the upper class.
- Tsar’s departure for the war left Tsarina in charge of Russia’s internal affairs
o Unpopular in Russia: she was German, making some suspicious as to where
her loyalties lay in the war
o Tsarina was no better equipped to run the country than Tsar had been. She
was also heavily influenced by Rasputin who had helped to heal her son in
Tsarina & Rasputin

1912  he advised her on appointments to the government and interfered in

important decisions  Tsarina was over reliant on him, and it seemed like the
Tsar regime was corrupt  people started thinking that Tsar was incapable of
running the country
o Thought that no member of the imperial government should be able to
challenge the authority of Tsar  appointed less threatening and incompetent
ministers to replace the current ones  weak and ineffective members of the
government  disaster for the monarchy and Russia (Tsar chose the wrong
people to be in charge while he was away)
Conclusion
- Tsar’s mistakes were a huge part of the February Revolution. The fact that he left for war left
a disastrous impact at home. He particularly alienated he nobility (Brusilov) by giving
Rasputin too much power instead of those who were actually capable.
 World War 1 impacts
Defeats in WW1

- The Russian army suffered many defeats from the start and there were a lot of casualties.
o Just in 1914, 4 million men were killed during the war. One reason for this is that many
troops were not trained properly, since many men were taken away from the
countryside and were conscripted. They were also not equipped with weapons and the
breakdown of the transport system also made it difficult to get supplies to the front. The
army used transport and had more priority; however, it was not well organized. Supplies
were overlooked in the transport of goods and all focused on the army but
unfortunately, these supplies sank into the ground and did not even get to the soldiers
(gone to waste).
o The morale of the soldiers also plummeted, and they soon left the army as they no
longer supported the Tsar who did not care about them.
o Conclusion: The defeats in WW1 made the army lose faith in Tsar, who always relied on
them to stop any revolutions.

Discontentment of the masses

- Peasants: They still faced problems with land and farming, which was worsened when many
of them were conscripted in the army and their horses were requisitioned by the army.
o This led to problems with farming, where food production drastically dropped as there
were not enough men to farm. This led to the shortage of food and money which caused
economic problems.
o The defeats and casualties in WW1 also impacted the peasants the most and they left
the army, making them lose faith and turn on Tsar.
- Working class: WW1 also worsened the living and working conditions.
o Food shortages were a result of the breakdown of the transport system, and many were
angry at Tsar since the food was available, but he did nothing to solve the problem.
o Overcrowding worsened as the refugees fled to the East of Russia when Germany
marched in due to the retreat.
o Inflation by 200% made money worthless and affected all classes (the prices of food
also quadrupled). Hence there was social unrest as masses could not afford to buy
goods and food.
- Upper class: Wanted more roles in governing the country
o Since Tsar did not do a good job of running the war effort, Lvov and other
nobles set up the Zemstvo Union, where town councils that ran the war effort
in Russia set up soup kitchens to help those starving in the cities. This showed
that Tsar and his system were ineffective.
 How did World War 1 lead to the downfall of the Tsar?
Political causes
- Military failures
o On September 1914, Tsar went to take personal command of the war by making himself the
chief of the Russian army, and this he was held responsible for subsequent Russian defeats.
However, Tsar’s lack of military experience and inability to rule the throne made the workers
unsatisfied with him (disillusionment and anger over the way the war was conducted)
o Huge losses of lives
- Failure to make political reforms
o As Russia suffered further setbacks in World War 1, the Duma (Progressive Bloc) suggested to
Tsar that they be given more power to help run the country. However, Tsar refused and instead
further strengthened his autocratic control of Russia with the help of the Tsarina and their
cronies
o Thus, many Russians saw the Tsar as inept yet unwilling to delegate the country’s
administration to possibly more capable people in the Duma and so Tsar would be responsible
for all the other troubles that Russia faced during World War 1
- Role of Tsarina and Rasputin
o Tsarina: ‘German’ princess
o Rasputin: Undue and harmful influence on the royal family
o Capable Ministers were dismissed in favor of those who could be under Rasputin’s control
Social causes
- Difficult Living conditions
o There was distress in large cities, especially Petrograd and Moscow. Food, goods and raw
materials were also in short supply. For example, the shortage of fuel caused many factories to
close down, leading to thousands being out of work
o Food supply decreased, leading to an outbreak of rioting and strikes in Russia (which also led to
the February Revolution that caused Tsar to abdicate)
o Immense cost of war led to dramatic price inflation in Russia, and wages rose slower than
prices, leading to more strikes by the end of 1916
o Countryside: The peasants were angry with the young men being conscripted into the army
- State of the Russian army
o WW1 caused Russia to have many defeats, since the soldiers were poorly equipped (lack of
proper weapons to fight with), and there were shortages of food supply and medical services
too.
o Many peasants were forced to join the army under the system of autocrat, even if they were
young, weak, sick or old. The poor war condition resulted in many deaths.
o The government insisted on continuing their involvement in WW1, but the morale of the
soldiers quickly declined. As a result, Tsar lost quite a lot of support as more soldiers wanted to
get out of the war.
 Political state of Russia after February Revolution
- DUMA: As a response to the upheaval of 1905, Tsar Nicholas II pledged to introduce basic civil
liberties, provide for broad participation in the State Duma, and endow the Duma with legislative
and oversight powers.
o However, Nicholas II was determined to retain his autocratic power. Just before the creation of
the Duma in May 1906, the Tsar issued the Fundamental Laws. It stated in part that Tsar's
ministers could not be appointed by and were not responsible to the Duma. Furthermore, the
Tsar had the power to dismiss the Duma and announce new elections whenever he wished.

Problems faced by PG

- Dual power (March-November 1917)

o Duma (Middle class): They were the elected parliament but had little real power and was not
truly representative of the masses (workers and peasants). Duma formed a special committee
made up of representatives of the main political parties which set about forming a provisional
government (PG), which was to run Russia until elections could take place. It was made up of
leading members of the Kadets and other liberal parties.
o Soviet (soldiers and workers): Representative the workers and soldiers. On Feb 27, the
Petrograd Soviet was formed (dominated by Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries).
demanded to be represented in the Soviet on 1 March, leading to Order No. 1 (members should
only obey PG if Soviet agreed to it) and the inclusion of soldiers. Petrograd Soviet then became
the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies. Soviet decided not to be involved in the
Provisional Government and set itself to be a ‘watchdog’. Soviet had control of railways,
telegraph station, soldiers in the Petrograd garrison, factories and power supplies.
- War: To continue WW1 or not? To fight or not?
o Pavel Milyukov (Minister of Foreign Affairs) wanted to continue WW1 and make territorial gains
from it. This angered socialists in the Soviet who wanted a defensive war. Milyukov was forced
to resign and the PG was in crisis.
o On 5 May, PG underwent a change to solve the crisis, where 5 socialist leaders joined the new
government. This included the leader of the Mensheviks (Tsereteli) and the leader of the
Socialist Revolutionary (Chernov).
o Leaders of the PG
 Pavel Milyukov: Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets)
 Viktor Chernov: One of the founders and leaders of the Socialist Revolutionary Party
 Irakli Tsereteli: one of the leaders of the Mensheviks
 Georgy Lvov: Prime Minister of Russia from March to July 1917
o The Summer Offensive of 1917: PG launched a major offensive against the Germans, which
started in 16 June to 19 June. This resulted in desertion, loss of lives and territories, and this
failure led to an armed uprising in Petrograd known as the July Days. As the people began to
turn against the government, they also started to support Lenin who attracted them with his
message: ‘Peace, bread, land.’
- Land: Immediate redistribution of land?
o In May 1917, there was significant unrest in the countryside. Liberals in PG wanted the land
redistribution to be carried out by the Constituent Assembly and for landowners to be
compensated. Socialist Revolutionaries in the Provisional Government also wanted the problem
 to be solved by the Constituent Assembly. Chernov tried to propose having peasants to use land
from private estates but this was blocked by the Liberals.
- Economy: How should the problem of food and fuel supply be solved?
o There were problems such as food shortages in the cities, unemployment and high prices which
had not yet been solved.
o The shortages of food and raw materials led to factories cutting their production or even
shutting down. to help reduce food shortage, in August 1917 PG increased its payment for grain
by 100% but this unfortunately did not persuade the peasants to bring grain to the cities. PG
sent out punishment brigades into the countryside to force the peasants to give up the grains.
This only made the peasants more hostile.
- Workers: How far should reforms in the living and working conditions for the workers go?
o There was no improvement for the living and working conditions of the Russian workers, who
demanded the government to set price controls and arrest profiteers. However, the liberals
were under pressure from industrialists not to fix prices and not to act against them. The
socialists in the government and the Soviet also found themselves unable to meet the demands
of the workers.
- National minority demands: Should the Russian Empire be broken up?
o The Finns and Poles called for outright independence when the Tsar regime collapsed. Other
areas wanted more autonomy such as Ukraine. It was an important part of Russia as it was near
to the frontlines and was a source of valuable farmland. However, socialists in PG made
concessions to the Ukrainians which upset the liberals.