The Extent to Which the March 1917 Revolution in Russia was Caused by World War One

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The Extent to Which the March 1917 Revolution in Russia was Caused by World War One

In March 1917, a revolution arose in Russia after it had been

struggling with social, political and economical problems. Workers

began riots in the streets and soon after soldiers joined too. The

Tsar had lost all power over Russia, and on the 2nd of March, was

forced to abdicate on a train outside of Russia, not able to go back.

This essay will look at the involvement of WWI in causing the

revolution of 1917 since there were other factors too. World War 1

started in 1890, the year Russia joined the war, and ended in 1914.

Russia did not come out of it successful, unlike the predictions of

the Tsar. Russia lost land and people, the Tsar lost support and

credibility; with that, losing his power over Russia.

In history, when regarding the involvement of WWI in causing the

revolution, historians split up into two categories: Optimists and

Pessimists. The Optimists believe that Russia was becoming a more

modern industrialised state before 1914; therefore they believe the

revolution might have been avoided if there had been no war. The

Pessimists say that Nicolas II did not follow the October Manifesto

and was not fit to rule so the revolution was bound to happen.

WWI was disastrous for Russia; the Tsar was to blame for that since he

was not a good leader, but rather an inexperienced, confused and weak

leader. The war made a big impact on Russia since it was highly

technological compared to the Russian army. The war caused many

economical, political and social problems in the front and in Russia

at home.

The army was unprepared so suffered a lot of defeats, which in turn

led to low morale in the army; in February 1917 there were already 6

million dead soldiers and 4.2 million seriously wounded. The numerous

deaths among officers led to the promotion of many middle class people

who were not very loyal to the Tsar or experienced.

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