World War I's Responsibility for the Collapse of the Provisional Government in 1917

Another reason for the Tsar’s downfall was the impact the war had in Russia. There was increased inflation and there were seven price rises from 1913 to 1917. As so many people were fighting in the war, there were not enough people to work on the land which meant less food. This meant even more starvation amongst the poor. The people blamed the Tsar for not doing enough to help

The fall of the Romanov Dynasty in 1914 proved that the Tsar could not handle the problems of Russia. Ironically, he would have been ideal as a constitutional monarch, but was adamant against the idea. As the First World War started Russia’s problems arises, from short-term and long-term causes. The war brought back inflation which led to “demonstrations over food shortages combined with workers’ grievances,” (Hosking, 2012, p. 91) thus this destroyed Nicholas’s image as Father of Russia. Military became ineffective as the transport system was not adequate, thus leading to food supplies decreasing in key cities such as Petrograd. Historians believe the impacts of the First World War led to Russian society becoming unstable and was ultimately the main reason of the downfall of the Tsar. However other factors, such as the Tsarina placing large amounts of trust into Rasputin who was notorious for his reputation as an alcoholic and a womanizer (Westwood, 2002, p. 215) and the role of the revolutionaries due to Lenin promising peace, land and bread, eventually leading to the growth of the Bolsheviks Party. Although, it can most rightfully be deemed that the impact of the war was the main reason for the fall of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917.

In March, 1917, Tsar Nicholas resigned from the throne. New laws were passed by the new government called the ‘Provisional Government’, many Russians faced by poverty were expecting changes, but the laws did not pass their expectations. This government did not last long. Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks travelled to Russia and was dissatisfied with the new government and made a bid for power. In October, the Bolsheviks led another revolution, which remove the Provisional Government from power. With Lenin, now the ruler of Russia, he went about completely altering Russia into a Communist society.

When started the Provisional Government was an interim government which was to govern Russia until a new constitution was drawn up. But as soon as the Provisional Government was put in charge it faced the immediate problem of legitimacy. It was made up of members of the Duma and was dominated by members of the Octoberist and Kadet parties, who were minorities with only one radical member, Alexander Kerensky. This would give the Provisional Government the problem of not truly representing the people. If it was made up of minorities how can it represent the majority? The Provisional Government also faced the problem of the All-Russia Soviet. The

Following WWI, sever strain was placed on Russia's weak government and economy, resulting in mass shortages and hunger. The people and soldiers turned against the Tsar, losing faith in his authority and power due to the mismanagement and failure of the war, his decision to take personal command of the army seemed to make him responsible for the defeats. Discontent grew amongst the people where they In March, growing civil unrest and discontentment erupted into open revolt and strikes in Petrograd, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar. The Duma then assumed control and declared a provisional government.  Eight months later, the radical Bolshevik party seized power from the Provisional government.

World War 1 was the first war that included many countries from all around the world and was the deadliest war. This war erupted with the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There were two main groups of countries going against each other, the Central Powers and the Allied Powers. The countries that consisted of the Allied Powers included Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States. The countries that consisted of the Central Powers are Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. This war lasted four years from 1914 to 1918.

In order for a great leader to succeed, he/she must recognizes the aspirations of his/her people and maintain an efficient government. Leaders who do not achieve those will most likely to rule poorly and often lead to destruction of their regimes. Their failures as leaders included policies that either pleased or benefited the people. During the early 18th century, tsar Nicholas II, took reign and caused chronic discontents brewing throughout Russia. His actions were seen as obstinate such as his managements of society and economy. With Russia’s poor economy resulted from WWI and increasing burden of tsar for industrial workers and soldiers, the provisional government was at stake. Growing civil unrest, coupled with chronic food shortages, erupted into revolts of peasants, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II. By the end of the nineteenth century, the economy, social organizations and military were at great decline, ending Russia’s long term imperial rule. It became the least advanced of the major European nations in political and social developments. However, some historians believed that the Revolution was caused by the government’s political oppression, while others claimed that it was the inability of tsar to fulfill Russia 's aspirations. While the utter political failures of WWI escalated paths to the Revolution, the primary cause for the Russian Revolution of 1917 was the revival of socio-economic tensions and

World War I was a global war that was centered in Europe and started on July 28, 1914 and continued to November 11, 1918. It was a war that resulted in millions of casualties, but it paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many nations involved in the war. Militarism, alliances, and imperialism were the major causes creating tensions which began one of the most violent and deadly war of European history.

The lack of political reform can accountably be taken in as one of the main reasons for the outbreak of revolution in 1917. The union of zemstva provided medical facilities for the army; however the government did not know how to incorporate them into its own war effort. Moreover, the progressive Bloc called for a government of public confidence in which the ministers would be responsible for the Duma. However, Tsar Nicholas refused to listen to any of their demands, this resulted in the ministers who campaigned for change and reform; were either dismissed or resigned. Due to the fact that no reform was made, all the blame was directed to the Nicholas. Reform was needed greatly at this time yet no reform occurred, this accumulated the ever rising dissatisfaction of the Russian people. Furthermore, as a result of Nicholas’s lack of political reform

As with many important historical events throughout history the dissolution of the Soviet Union had many contributing forces. However, most historians agree that the main contributor was Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and the many radical reforms he implemented during the six years he was the leader of the USSR. Even though the official dissolution took place in December 1991, the Soviet Union’s demise began to take form in the 1980s. In order to understand why the Soviet Union dissolved it is important to have a clear picture of its history and political climate.

Were the Tsar's failures as a leader the main cause of the Russian Revolution in 1917? In 1917 things were tough for the Russian civilians. Food shortages were ripe after the war, coupled with the fact they had to pay reparations to the Germans. Because of the Tsar's incompetence the country was in disarray and this led to a revolution in 1917.

With the direction the war was headed, revolution was inevitable. The Russian economy had virtually collapsed and the world learned that Russia was no longer a military rival against anyone. In Saint Petersburg in 1917, mass demonstrations resulted in armed clashes with police before the police slowly abandoned Nicholas. In the last few days before the Russian monarch fell, the last of the royal forces, including politicians and generals, sided with the revolutionaries. Nicholas now had no support from anyone outside of the royal family. When Parliament called for his abdication, he had no choice but to agree and relinquish his power. He agreed to abdicate in favor of his brother, who within hours abdicated himself. Within one week, Russia had fallen. After 304 years of rule, the Romanov dynasty ended. The Tsar was replaced by a Russian Provisional government. When the Provisional Government first took control, there was an alliance between the liberals and the socialists who wanted political reform. For the first time, the people were in power. This meant that the workers, the sailors, the soldiers, the farmers, the middle

During the later years of the Cold War and after 1991 especially this narrative of failure began to change. Textbooks like David Saunders’ published in 1992 Russia in the Age of Reaction and Reform 1801-1881 presented students with a much more complex narrative of the reforms. He postulated that the reforms were not an isolated incident, but rather a part of the greater narrative of government reform. The Great Reforms in Saunders’ book are less noticeable as a delineation in Russian history. Saunders does not use the term “Great Reforms” until the very end of his discussion to emphasize this point. Rather reforms were orchestrated by many different parts of society that had been influencing the tsar for almost a century. These reforms were

The folly of the provisional government led by the untrusted Alexander Kerensky caused the people of Russia to move towards the various revolutionary groups. Bolsheviks gained large amounts of support from the military for their movement to end the war, which was a long-time request of the people declined by the provisional government. The Bolshevik effort was bolstered even further with the failure of Kornilov’s coup, which weakened the government even more; this caused

The first world war started on 28 July, 1914. Throughout the past years many events had taken place leading up to the war.