Changes Throughout Russia And Germany During The 20th Century

During World War 1, Russian causalities were high and soldiers deserted in large numbers. Whilst previous wars had got a somewhat “positive” backing from the public, people were desperate for this to end whilst it also drained Russian of its resources and held over 14 million men in active service. The Great War drove already unhappy people to revolt against the regime before the war had even officially ended showing its severity. Some would argue here however it still shows how important the economy was, as it was a crippling one surrounding a mass scale war that caused the people to revolt. This also echoes another important factor in both revolutions of 1905 and 1917 in that ‘life in Russia’ including during war was a strain whilst food, fuel and raw materials remained short.

This demonstrates that since the stress of waging war was tremendous, it should be no surprise that the first war could be a primary cause of the Russian Revolution. Moreover, the major powers of Europe hurt Russia in World War I; yet, by 1917, all the combatants horrifically suffered from the strains of war economically, proving this to be a long-term cause. This was, to a great extent, considerable because the military defeats and social strains of World War I had created a crisis in Imperial Russia. Before, Russia had some military accomplishments and they were on their way to being successful. Nevertheless, their triumphs were not long-standing; hence, Russia was not able to be victorious due to the fact that Russia decreased in economy because of the limitations in Russia. Similarly, restraints included the shortage of food and the huge problems with getting the obligatory materials for the army during World War I, which shows that this was momentous. Along with Russia being defeated and having a scarcity of supplies, Russia also showed economic oppression due to the pressure in jobs workers faced.

The First World War was seen as a devastating impact on Tsardom and is seen as the main reason for the fall of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917. “The effect of the war was

The argument that the First World War led to the downfall of the Tsardom in Russia is supported by how unprepared the military were from the outset and throughout the war. Poor conditions and lack of weaponry led to low morale. Production of weapons was seriously flawed as seen in the Russian front at Gorlice, where “many soldiers had no rifles and had to wait for a comrade to be killed before taking his weapon”3. “By the end of December 1914, 6,554,000 men had been mobilized with only 4,652,000 rifles available to them”4. Furthermore the appalling conditions that were reported in the Russian trenches caused outbreaks of diseases such as typhoid and cholera creating tensions amongst Russia's “indestructible army”5. The dreadful conditions caused soldiers to turn against their

Another reason for the fall of Tsarism in 1917 that was highlighted but not caused by the war is the fact that Russia was a difficult country to run. Russia's economy was backward compared to those of other Western countries, 4/5 of it's population were peasants, who were more often than not illiterate and lived in severe poverty. Although by 1917, improvements had been made to the

While some may like it and others may not, change is inevitable. This falls very true for countries such as Russia, China, Japan, and Ottoman Turkey in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Of course a region will be affected by even the slightest bit of change as they develop, but these regions were all majorly affected by Western influence at this time. From technologies to land ownership, regions would be changed forever, no matter how much they may have tried to resist. Despite massive efforts by some, Russia, China, Japan, and Ottoman Turkey were all greatly influenced by the West, in many aspects.

‘The optimists believe that imperial Russia was ruined by the First World War. The pessimists maintain that the war provided merely the last mighty push to bring the whole rotten structure tumbling down.’ When Russia become engulfed in World War I, the Russian army mobilized 15.5 million men and suffered great casualties. This leads to the shortage of workers for the factories and farms and thus cause a widespread shortages of food and materials. As supply decreases and demand is increasing, this causes the prices of goods to increase dramatically, causing unrest among people, leading to revolt and labor riots. Soon, famine hit Russian cities. The worst of all is that Nicholas II held fast to his anachronistic political faith in unfettered

The Romanov Dynasty held the Russian Empire as one of the most powerful European states for over three centuries. In 1917, during Nicholas II’s opposed reign, a revolution began that transformed the empire into the first ever communist nation, replacing the infamous autocratic rule and introducing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. The First World War acted as a catalyst for change and exacerbated any existing grievances to the point at which they overpowered all loyalty to the Tsar and destroyed the monarchy. The war brought many of Russia’s underlying social, political, economic, and military problems into sharp focus which were destructive forces leading to the downfall of the Russian dynasty. On a military scale Russia was no match

Russia was ruled by the imperial Romanov family, The first official Russian emperor of Russia was Peter the Great in 1721. During the reign of Peter the Great he established a rule of absolute Monarchy until 1917. In 1917 the Russians citizens weren't content of Nicholas the 2nd rule. Under the reign of Nicholas the 2nd Russia the citizens had to work long hours and worked six days a week, but were payed a small amount of money which barely payed for food, clothes, water, houses and other necessities. In 1917 Russia was participating in World War 1 but was losing large amount of infantry. These infantry were peasants which weren't trained and wasn't given the correct equipment such as weapons, clothing or training. Due to the lack of weapons,

The Russian empire, at its peak held a landmass occupying almost 9 million square miles across 3 continents (Eastern Europe, Asia, and modern day Alaskan territory) and was rivaled in size only by the British and Mongol empires of olden times. Officially founded in 1721 after a warring period with the neighboring Swedish, Ottoman and Persian Empires and the signing of the Treaty of Nystad. This mighty Tsar ruled land survived as a global power for nearly 4 centuries. Unfortunately, as history has shown time and time again, no Empire, no matter how large or influential, may last forever. Internal instabilities and a waning support of the people meant the once glorious Empire was on its last legs, and soon the time arrived when a “restructuring” was on the horizon.

As World War II came to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union both emerged as two superpower nations who had vastly different ideas for political and economic systems. These differences are what ultimately led to the Cold War which began in 1945. Germany became a hotspot during the Cold War where the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to decipher which political and economical system would work the best with the new international order. With the numerous events that occured in Germany between the end of World War II and the establishment of the Berlin Wall, they all helped illustrate Europe’s new international order during the Cold War.

In the early 1900s, Russia was under the rule of Nicholas II. Under his rule, the government became a dictatorship. Also, there was no representation for the people in the government. He also used a secret police force to make sure that everyone would obey him. On top of that, Russia fell behind from the rest of the world. Most of the country’s economy was based on subsistence farming, and lacked a modern form of transportation. Most of the people were in the peasant class, which resulted in a small wealthy class, and most of the people worked under these wealthy people on farms. This lasted for 18 years, and ended after the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and took control of the government.

Germany and Russia, as two powerful entities in 19th century’s Europe, had great impact in the west world at that time. But they did take a lot of difference in ways like political, religious and scientific worldviews. And these difference may also lead to the opposite positions for these two powerful and world-known countries in World War I.

For three centuries before the revolution, life in Russia was not peaceful. It was cold, hard, and bitter instead. “The end of serfdom was a major event in Russia; yet it just wasn 't enough.”, in 1861. Serfdom, under feudalism, is the the status of peasants in which they are bound to a lord, or master, works on their land, and can be sold like property. Despite serfs being given ‘freedom’, Russia was mostly ruled by the czar and nobles. The average person was, and stayed, poor. Therefore, World War I was not the main cause of the Russian revolution. This outdated feudal class structure, inability to modernize, lack of peace, and czars’ inept leaderships lead to the Russian Revolution.

The First World War became the Tsars worst nightmare. Russia joined the war in many ways to keep peoples minds of Russia’s backwardness and badly run government, and onto the war effort itself. But within the first year of the war people’s minds began to wander away from troop moral and toward the Tsar and his control.