Preview

Russian Revolution

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
549 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Russian Revolution
By 1917, most Russians had lost faith in the leadership ability of Czar Nicholas II. Government corruption was rampant, the Russian economy remained backward, and Nicholas repeatedly dissolved the Duma, the Russian parliament established after the 1905 revolution, when it opposed his will. However, the immediate cause of the February Revolution--the first phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917--was Russia's disastrous involvement in World War I (1914-18). 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.

February Revolution: 1917
The February Revolution (known as such because of Russia's use of the Julian calendar until February 1918) began on March 8, 1917 (or February 23 on the Julian calendar), when demonstrators clamoring for bread took to the streets in the Russian capital of Petrograd (now called St. Petersburg). Supported by huge crowds of striking industrial workers, the protesters clashed with police but refused to leave the streets. On March 10, the strike spread among all of Petrograd's workers, and irate mobs destroyed police stations. Several factories elected deputies to the Petrograd Soviet, or council, of workers' committees, following the model devised during the 1905 revolution.

On March 11, the troops of the Petrograd army garrison were called out to quell the uprising. In some encounters, regiments opened fire, killing demonstrators, but the protesters kept to the streets and the troops began to waver. That day, Nicholas again dissolved the Duma. On March 12, the revolution triumphed when regiment after regiment of the Petrograd garrison defected to the cause of the demonstrators. The soldiers subsequently formed committees that elected deputies to the Petrograd Soviet.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    In March 1917 (Gregorian calendar) the Russian Tsarist government collapsed and was replaced by a provisional committee of 12 former duma members and a soviet (union) of workers and soldiers councils in a revolution ending over 300 years of Romanov rule, which was celebrated in 1913. This was due to a combination of events such as the Putilov factory strike; beliefs such as the views of the duma and what evidence suggests is the most important, the circumstances in Russia such as severe consumer shortages by the start of 1917.…

    • 1980 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    By 1917 most Russians had lost faith in the leadership of Tsar Nicholas II. The first part of the Russian Revolution of 1917 was Russia's terrible involvement in World War I (1914-1918). Militarily, imperial Russia was no match for industrialized Germany, and the Russian death toll was greater than those sustained by any nation in any previous war. ("History.com"). The February Revolution started March 8, 1917 when rioters rioted for bread took to the streets in the Russian capital of Saint Petersburg. Troops were sent to Saint Petersburg to stop the riots; they opened fire and killed the people. In response to the way the riots were being handled Tsar Nicholas II gave up the throne on March 15. The October Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin who launched a nearly bloodless battle against the ad hoc government ("History."). The Bolsheviks and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in Saint Petersburg, and soon formed a new government with Lenin as its head; he became the virtual dictator of the first Marxist state in the world.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Strike at Petrograd

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages

    On January 9th, 1917, 140,000 workers went on strike in Petrograd to commemorate Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday was on January 22nd, 1905, more than 3,000 unarmed, peaceful demonstrators, led by Father Gapon, were marching to present a petition to Czar Nicolas II. The Imperial Guard fired warning shots and then fired directly into the crowd, killing 96 and injuring 333. Later on February 14th, 1917, over 140,000 people went on strike in Petrograd because of food shortages, which were a very big problem at this time. Four days later on February 19th the government announces that bread will be rationed starting March 1st, this causes panic buying. On February 26th the number has grown to over 200,000, troops are ordered to fire into the crowd. They cause tens of causalities but later stop and go against the Czar’s orders. In March the Czar abdicated himself in order to help the war and peace.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The February revolution was a big turning point in Russian history; demolishing the Tsarist autocracy and breaking the Romanov dynasty that had ruled Russia for hundreds of years. Due to many factors, involved in the war or long standing issues before the war, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate to Grand Duke Michael, desperate to keep the rule of Russia in the Romanov family. Grand Duke Michael stated he did not want to rule, therefore ending the absolute monarchy. This essay will explore the main reason for the February revolution of 1917, questioning whether the war started the revolt among the Russian people or simply acted as a catalyst for a result of long standing issues and opinions dating back to the previous revolution of 1905.…

    • 1389 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This situation led to the marching of 200,000 workers led by Father Gapon, asking for better working and living conditions and an end to the war with Japan. When the marchers reached the centre of St. Petersburg they were massacred by the Tsar´s armed forces. This incident became known as "Bloody Sunday". From then on caos took control of Russia and "Bloody Sunday" was followed by the Potemkin incident, the rebellion of peasants from their landlords and finally, the beginning of a general strike in September 1905. War had caused revolution for the first time in Russia.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The final catalyst to the revolution in 1905 was the events of Bloody Sunday. The December 1904 strike at Putilov arms works contributed to further sympathy strikes and more workers willing to strike, also the news of the unfortunate situation of Russia at war and the news of Russia losing created more unrest in people. Finally a planned procession on Sunday 9th of January by Father Gapon to present the Tsar with liberal petition resulted in the troops firing on the on crowd killing many workers making Russian people more anti-tsarist as Alexander III had lost his favour due to the events of Bloody Sunday creating an uprising of the people of Russia calling for a changed in the…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    February 23-27 (March 8-12 NS) - The February Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd (also called the March Revolution if following the Gregorian…

    • 3824 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the ‘Bloody Sunday’ episode – and many other cases after it – clearly showed, during 1905 Revolution the army’s loyalty still belonged to the Tsar and his family. Soldiers would shoot on innocent people at cold blood, and although some occasional mutinies did occur in some units, most of the army only followed the Tsar’s orders. However, with the army’s support on their side, 1917 revolutionaries had a much bigger chance of success. More and more units started doubting the efficiency of the Tsar’s ruling, and refused to do as they were ordered. Unit after unit, the Tsar was losing his most powerful weapon against popular opposition, and soon had to face the fact that the Romanov family’s days were over. It may not seem as obvious and significant an event if we do not take into account the army’s policy that threatened of execution whoever mutinied. The understanding of this law is fundamental to fully comprehend why the Tsar’s loss of loyalty from the Armed Forces was so decisive, because once mutinied soldiers needed this revolution to succeed, and thus did anything in their possibilities to make it a success, otherwise they would have all paid with their…

    • 945 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Based on events in history, the main cause of the Russian Revolution was the state that the government was in and the conditions the working class was in. The Czar gave up his throne and the government began to be corrupt along with the build up of repression from the working class, who suffered for many years before, about to burst. These events set the basis for the revolution and grew with the circumstance of instability throughout the government and Dumas. Even before and after the abdication of the czar Dumas have formed and dissolved adding to the instability of the government as a whole. We see this here, “These disorders… Forced the government to promise the establishment of a consultive Duma, or assembly, elected by limited franchise.” (“Russian Revolution”) Along with this workers rioted for their working conditions and rations, soon enough the military refuse to break up the protesters and rioters involved. It now turned chaotic and violent. A peaceful protest gone bad was the influence for most of the violence because it was a weak spot to the government. The revolution caused an outcome of twelve years in suffering from a transaction of a different political standing. Negotiations came forth and at ended with Germany cutting in.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Russian Revolution

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the early 1900’s, the Russian Revolution occurred. There were many causes for the revolution, including the government and the things people needed. This revolution affected Russia and led to change. Although some changes were helpful, some of them did not resolve the initial problems that caused the Russian Revolution.…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    By early 1917, the existing order in Russia was on the verge of collapse. The spark to the events that ended tsarist rule was ignited on the streets of Petrograd in March 1917. Driven by shortages of food and fuel, crowds of hungry citizens and striking workers began spontaneous rioting and demonstrations. The Rominov dynasty was to end after 304 years, bought down by the March 1917 revolution. There were many long term causes such as the Nicholas personal ruling style, the Russian economy, and general feeling of discontent, but ulitimaly the outbreak of revolution was the caused by Russia entering World War I.…

    • 2462 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although there were uprisings before the revolution, and attempts at change, the revolution of February 1917 was significant and different because of the huge range of opposition and the speed at which it became a full blown revolution. It occurred between 18th February, and 4th March, and resulted in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, due to the loss of support from his own elites, who abandoned him and urged him to abdicate. It can be attributed to various different factors: Nicholas himself and the failure to reform politically, the middle class, the working class, the peasantry, the situation of Russia both on the eve of and during the First World War, and the revolutionary parties, to name a few.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Tsarist Regime

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Military failures, due to rampant nepotism, caused Russia heavy losses in both tactical position and the deaths of 1,700 million men (Mougel, 2011). This caused mass hatred for the Tsar, and his officials. In August 1915, Tsar Nicholas assumed control of the army and as a result was therefore “personally responsible” for his military failures (????). The strain the War placed on the economy and supply lines caused very poor living conditions in Russia (Wormald, 2017). Those living in Moscow and Petrograd experienced many food shortages, prices for daily amenities inflated exponentially, and all of the built up resentment was directed towards the Tsar (????). At the same period in time Bolshevik and Menshevik policies were becoming more popular with the gradually radicalising population, Socialist propaganda was spread across the front, illustrating the Tsar as a puppet of the Germans (Malone, 2004) and Tsarina Alexandra (Nicholas II’s wife) as a German spy (Wormald, 2017). The impact of the Tsar’s poor military decisions, and its subsequent effect on Russian society coupled with the rise of socialist support crippled Tsarism beyond…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The October Manifesto

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As the Duma was only a consultative body, many Russians felt that this reform did not go far enough. Leon Trotsky and other revolutionaries denounced the plan. In December, 1905, Trotsky and the rest of the executive committee of the St. Petersburg Soviet were arrested. Others followed and gradually Nicholas II and his government regained control of the situation.…

    • 527 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In February of 1917 the people of Russia had grown tired of its tsardom, and as a result the citizens rose against the Tsarist autocracy in a revolution allowing members of imperial parliament to form the Russian Provisional Government. While…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays