What truly makes a powerful and respected monarchy? The Russian monarchy was not just like any other monarchy in Europe. It was not as fearsome as the British monarchy or as elegant France but, they had their own path that they carved for themselves. The Monarchy was first established as an absolute monarchy in 1721 and lasted for over two centuries. The monarchy was actually one of the last ones in Europe to last as an absolute monarchy. The people of Europe were tired of the power hungry kings and queen that oppressed their supposed people. The first wave of this change was the American Revolution that broke away from the British empire. That change then led to the French Revolution that overthrew the Bourbon family that had left their people …show more content…
The war where the lack of skill was truly evident for the Russians in War World I. ““Militarily, imperial Russia was no match for industrialized Germany, and Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by any nation in any previous war. Meanwhile, the economy was hopelessly disrupted by the costly war effort, and moderates joined Russian radical elements in calling for the overthrow of the czar” (Russian Revolution). Russia was losing the war but the Czar refused to exit. The people suffered more taxes to support the war in the unstable economy and that warranted change in their eyes. Russian were willing to accept any leader that would get them out of war, which they eventually did. The pain of the war was just the start of the reasons that the Czar decided to step down though the Czar did not really have a choice in the matter. The DUMA, or Russian parliament, took over the government. The people were relieved because they thought the war was over. The DUMA foolishly continued with the war which opened the gates to Vladimir Lenin and his communist ideals to Russia. The defeat of the monarchy and DUMA showed how serious the people were about getting out of the war. Unfortunately for Russia, the war wasn’t the only problem faced in the early 20th century. The people also had to face the working conditions in
During the 19th century, Russia was experiencing a series of changes with its entire nation and society overall. The government was trying to adapt themselves to them at the same time. It was not an easy time period for Russia whatsoever. Vladimir Lenin helped change this.
No war is fought without the struggle for resources, and with Russia still rapidly lagging behind in the international industrialisation race by the turn of the 20th century, the stage was set for social unrest and uprising against its already uncoordinated and temporally displaced government. With inconceivable demands for soldiers, cavalry and warfare paraphernalia, Russia stood little chance in the face of the great powers of World War One. Shortages of basic human necessities led to countless subsistence riots and the eventual power struggle between the ruling body and its people. From the beginnings of WWI to 1916, prices of essential goods rose 131 percent in Moscow and more than 150 percent in Petrograd. Additionally, historian Walter G. Moss stated that in September 1915 that “there were 100,000 strikers in Russia; in October 1916, there were 250,000 in Petrograd alone.” Moss continues to exemplify the increasing evidence of social unrest and connects the riots to a lack of resources when he goes on to point out that “subsistence riots protesting high prices and shortages… also increased.” ...
Understanding the role Bolsheviks play in affecting Britain's soldiers and citizens during World War One first requires background information on both Russian interests and Russia's relationship to Germany. Russia entered World War One after Germany declared war against Russia due to an alliance system between Germany and Austria. The Russians had little success in repelling the Germans, illustrated by the disaster at Tannenberg where more than 30,000 Russians soldiers died (Sherow). Germany subsequently made large gains into Russian territories. Tsar Nicholas II had no choice but to abdicate the throne in March 1917, allowing the Bolsheviks to take power (Sherow). It is very important to note that the Germans allowed "prominent Bolsheviks like Lenin and Trotsky" to pass by rail through their country "to start a revolution and knock Russia out of the war" (Simpson). Due to the Bolshevik revolution not completely coming from a democratic mandate from the people, Britain shows extreme suspicion towards Russian motives henceforth.
...he Russo-Japanese War. Despite the changes, Russia remained technologically inferior to the rest of the world. It was due to its great resources and population that Russia was able to compete with the other world powers in war and in commerce. Russia did not have the succession of leaders that supported industrialization like Japan did. Therefore, Russia, with Alexander II as czar, made few reforms to encourage industrialization. It was only through the multiple peasant revolts that Russia began to change. Both of these nations experienced changes in government, an increase in economic strength and transportation, and radical changes in the structure of the social classes.
lt of a variety of factors and reasons but the far-reaching effects of the war were to have devastating results in both social and economic quarters. Moreover, the war on help increase the opposition to the government and led to their downfall in October 1917. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] John Reed, Ten Days That Shook the World (1919) [2] Maxim Gorky, letter to his son (April, 1917) [3] E.H. Wilcox was very impressed with Kerensky and praised him in his book, Russia's Ruin (1919) [4] Morgan Philips Price, My Three Revolutions (1969) [5] Extract from an interview of Alexander Kerensky by Harold Williams [6] Extract from an interview of Alexander Kerensky by Harold Williams [7] Leon Trotsky, statement made to the Petrograd Soviet (24th October, 1917)
When the war first began in 1914 the tension between the Tsar and his people eased immensely from the extreme burst of patriotism. In the early stages of the war Russia’s efforts were met by success but by August 1914 Russia had started its decline. By the fall of 1915 Russian forces had been completely driven out of Poland and in September 1915 the Tsar decided to appoint himself as commander-in-chief of the Russian Army. This meant that the performance of the Russian Army now completely reflected back on Nicholas II himself. Not only was there trouble on the Eastern Front but the war was causing trouble on the home front as well. Russia’s National Budget rose eightfold between 1913-1916, financed out of higher taxes, loans and borrowing from allies Britain and France. In order to maintain the war effort the Russian government started to print more money causing inflation with prices rising over two hundred percent between August 1914 and Christmas 1916. The huge loss of life and military humiliations undermined domestic support and in 1917 Russian government was facing a massive crisis and you can see how this seriously took a toll on the Tsarist regime.
The Importance of Russian Weakness in World War One in Explaining the Start of the Revolution in 1917
Russia's overthrows and shortage caused revolutionary upheaval and massive inflation, which led to deprived infrastructure. During World War I, Russian society naturally caused great dissatisfaction among the serfs. As the revolution wore on, numerous reform and Tsar Nicholas II, a ruler, tried to change Russia's social structure and government. Among the masses, there was discontentment with Russia's social system and living conditions. Laborers worked and lived in horrendous conditions, which played a crucial role in aggravating the condition of workers and peasants. As a result, peasants starved and Russia’s armies were overpowered on the battlefield because much of its terrain was occupied by enemies. Hence, Imperial Russia was a catastrophe. Some scholars believe that despite the Russian empire's undeveloped economic, social, and political weakness during World War I, Russian empire's economic and social advances occurred decades before World War I, which shows that World War I was not a crucial reason of the Russian Revolution. Although a reason of the Russian Revolution was possibly Tsar's deprived governance because of his misconduct towards inhabitants, the main cause of the Russian Revolution was World War I because The First War demonstrated poor infrastructure in the Russian government politically and economically.
The Russian revolution of February 1917 was a momentous event in the course of Russian history. The causes of the revolution were very critical and even today historians debate on what was the primary cause of the revolution. The revolution began in Petrograd as “a workers’ revolt” in response to bread shortages. It removed Russia from the war and brought about the transformation of the Russian Empire into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, replacing Russia’s monarchy with the world’s first Communist state. The revolution opened the door for Russia to fully enter the industrial age. Before 1917, Russia was a mostly agrarian nation. The Russian working class had been for many years fed up with the ways they had to live and work and it was only a matter of time before they had to take a stand. Peasants worked many hours for low wages and no land, which caused many families to lose their lives. Some would argue that World War I led to the intense downfall of Russia, while others believe that the main cause was the peasant unrest because of harsh living conditions. Although World War I cost Russia many resources and much land, the primary cause of the Russian Revolution was the peasant unrest due to living conditions because even before the war began in Russia there were outbreaks from peasants due to the lack of food and land that were only going to get worse with time.
The main fact that must not be forgotten when answering this question is that Russia emerged successful from the Second World War, despite its problems. It could not have done this without the achievements and developments of the industrial 1930s. An industrial decade underpinned by the violence of the Great Terror. Without this motivating fear, neither the Five Year Plans nor collectivisation could have succeeded to the extent that they did, and as a consequence the Soviet Union would have been defeated. Politically, dictatorship and the purging of factions created unity and brought tighter control over the party.
Russia lost many men in the battle which made them lose the war and they had to pay back. When they lost this caused the Russian economy to crash and by that caused the Russian revolution. The Russian Revolution began in 1917 after Russia lost many wars which made the economy weak. During the 1914 in World war 1 Russia had lost many supplies and military men and Russia lacked good leadership. Tsar Nicholas was in control of Russian government and the army and he refused to share his power with the masses. Then the Duma Parliament in the summer of 1915 demanded the government with democratic values and to show responsibility to the citizens in the country that needed help. However, later that year Nicholas eliminated the Duma and went to war. Tsar Nicholas left the country to be destroyed. Then the government was taken over by Tsarina Alexandra Nicholas wife. She attempted to rule absolutely in her husband’s absence by firing and electing officials of her
Throughout history, revolutions have developed in response to a variety of conditions. These revolutions have often resulted in significant political, economic, and social change. As the 1900’s rolled in, European nations were at peace, that is until the darker forces were pushing Europe toward war. Those darker forces included nationalism and alliance systems that would help fuel the Great War or World War I. The effects of World War I were massive including the Treaty of Versailles and the enormous amount of human casualties as well as economic losses. During World War I, another revolution broke out in Russia, removing Russia from the war and transformed the Russian empire into the first Communist state. There were many causes of the Russian Revolution including the weakness of the Czar and World War I. Finally, there were many effects of the Russian Revolution, two of which included the establishment of a communist government as well as a new economic policy.
Few people had enough to eat or support themselves and were on the brink of death. On top of that, Czar Nicholas II, the leader of Russia, often abused his position in order to violate the Russian constitution called Duma and change laws to his own benefit and to help his friends and supporters get into the top governments. When World War One started, unlike most other countries, war production did not help get the country back on its feet. Instead, war production ensured that those at home in Russia did not get enough to eat while those fighting abroad got the food and supplies needed to fight. As agriculture’s worth kept on decreasing, more and more Russians left their country farms to work in weapon making factories and shops.... ...
An Analysis of the Absolute Monarchy of France in the 17th Century This historical study will define the absolute monarchy as it was defied through the French government in the 17th century. The term ‘absolute” is defined I the monarchy through the absolute control over the people through the king and the royal family. All matters of civic, financial, and political governance was controlled through the king’s sole power as the monarchical ruler of the French people. In France, Louis XIII is an important example of the absolute monarchy, which controlled all facts of military and economic power through a single ruler. Udder Louis XIII’s reign, the consolidation of power away from the Edicts of Nantes to dominant local politics and sovereignty
These are some of the many reasons, along with the Romanov family’s inability to lead either troops in modern warfare or the Russian population into a modern industrialised society, that brought about the inevitability of the 1917 Russian revolution and thus, the USSR.