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The causes of the 1917 Russian Revolution (World War 1 (Poor Performance…

- - - - 1.7 million Russians killed, 5 million wounded
        
        This was because the Russian army had put their trust in the Tsar to lead them to victory in the war but because of his weak leadership and poor military skills there was confusion over when to mobilise and the army ended up losing million of men through the tsar’s lack of experience
      - Tsar was not a particularly able commander and had weak leadership qualities
        
        The Tsar was narrow minded and poorly prepared to face the problems of leading a less industrialised country into war.
    - - By the start of 1917, Russia’s domestic economy had collapsed and both food and fuel were critically scarce in Russian cities. This triggered the February Revolution, an uprising that led to the abdication of the tsar and, by the end of 1917, the rise of a socialist government in Russia.
        
        Food was in short supply and this led to rising prices.
        
        By January 1917 the price of commodities in Petrograd had increased six-fold. In an attempt to increase their wages, industrial workers went on strike and in Petrograd people took to the street demanding food.
    - - The failure to Reform. In 1905 the tsar had made concessions to the people that he would provide a provisional government and he would let them do some of the ruling and deciding.
      - These factors indicate a poor and outdated political system.
      - The 1905 loss to Japan in war meant that the Russians were deprived of their resources and weren't ready to go to war.
    - - The war lost the tsar the army’s support which was very important to him because they helped him to quell the revolution of 1905 and without them he stood no chance against the people of Russia.
    - - In August 1916, local governor of the village of Grushevka reported that the war had killed 13% of the village's total population.
      - This lead to many widows and orphans needing state war pensions which they did not always receive.
  - - - Millions of male peasants were in the army so there was a shortage of farmers so less food was being produced. Food was not getting to the cities as the railway system was being used to carry war supplies to the battle front.
      - Factories closed leading to unempolyemt and even greater poverty
      - Lack of coal production meant that people in cities were freezing.
      - Because of the shortages, the prices of goods were rising continually but wages were hardly going up, so workers were being asked to work longer hours.
    - - The middle class were appalled by the way the wounded soldiers were being treated and thus set up their own medical organisations. These organisations were far more affective than the government ones.
      - Many industrialists complained that they could not fulfil the requirements of the productions needed for the war as they ere short on supplies.
      - In 1915 Duma politicians requested the Tsar to work with them in a more representative style of government. The Tsar dismissed the Duma a month later
    - - The situation was so bad by 1916, the council of United Nobility was calling for the Tsar to step down.
      - The conscription of 13 million peasants threatened the aristocrats's livelihoods as they had no workers to work for their estates.
- - - - Winter 1916 was a bad one. The railway lines were too iced up the food or fuel could not be delivered to Petrograd.
      - To the Russian people, Rasputin symbolised everything that was wrong with imperial government. The court and the imperial family became objects of ridicule, to be despised. Rasputin's murder, at the end of 1916, came too late to undo the damage he had caused.