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Condition of Russia before the revolution of feb/march 1917 - Coggle…
Condition of Russia before the revolution of feb/march 1917
The tsar political authrority
Nicholas II believed in autocracy (absolute rule given by God). He resisted sharing power even after the 1905 Revolution forced him to create a parliament.
Key weaknesses examiners like:
Poor judge of ministers → constant changes, lack of direction.
Preferred military matters to government.
Out of touch with urban hardship.
Limited reform after 1905
The October Manifesto created the State Duma, but:
The Tsar could dismiss it.
Electoral laws were rigged to favour conservatives.
Real power stayed with him.
So Russia looked more modern, but autocracy survived.
Alexandra & Rasputin
When Nicholas left for the front in 1915, government in the capital fell to Alexandra Feodorovna.Her reliance on Grigori Rasputin wrecked the regime’s credibility.
Rumours of corruption, treason and incompetence were everywhere → elites, nobles and politicians lost confidence in the monarchy.
Progressive Bloc
By 1915 many Duma deputies formed the Progressive Bloc, asking for a government of public confidence.Nicholas refused.This is key: even moderates turned against him.
War effort
At first there was patriotism. Then disaster.
Military problems
Massive casualties (millions killed/wounded/captured).
Shortages of rifles, shells, boots.
Poor transport & leadership.
The army lost faith in the regime.
Nicholas takes command (1915)
He made himself personally responsible for defeat.Every loss now damaged the monarchy directly.
War = economic collapse
The army got priority on fuel and railways → cities starved.
Economic state
War placed impossible strain on an already fragile system.
Industry
Not enough raw materials or labour.
Inflation rocketed → wages couldn’t keep up.
Strikes multiplied (huge rise by 1916).
Transport
Railways focused on the front.Food piled up in the countryside while Petrograd and Moscow went hungry.
By winter 1916–17
Bread rationing, factory closures, freezing temperatures.Urban life was close to breakdown.
Conditions and discontent
Workers
Long hours, falling real wages, food shortages → increasingly militant.
Strikes became political, not just economic.
Peasants
Still angry about land.
War casualties hit villages hard.
Many soldiers were peasants in uniform → unrest in army linked to countryside
Middle class
Lost faith because of incompetence, Rasputin scandals, and refusal of reform
Tension in 1917
Brutal winter.
Bread queues.
Lockouts in factories.
Rumours of hoarding and government failure.
When strikes began in Petrograd in February/March, authority collapsed faster than anyone expected.