Answer to Question #168960 in History for Sisasenkosi

Question

Briefly discuss the causesame of the February and October revolution your main focus must be

Money

Social life

Politics

Answer 1

By 1917 the bond between the tsar and most of the Russian people had been broken. Governmental corruption and inefficiency were rampant. The Tsar’s reactionary policies, including the occasional dissolution of the Duma or Russian parliament, the chief fruit of the 1905 revolution, had spread dissatisfaction even to moderate elements. The Russian Empire’s many ethnic minorities grew increasingly restive under Russian domination.

It was the government’s inefficient prosecution of World War I that finally provided the challenge the old regime could not meet. Ill-equipped and poorly led, Russian armies suffered catastrophic losses in campaign after campaign against German armies. The war made revolution inevitable in two ways: it showed Russia was no longer a military match for the nations of central and Western Europe, and it hopelessly disrupted the economy.

Riots over the scarcity of food broke out in the capital, Petrograd and, when most of the Petrograd garrison joined the revolt, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. When his brother, Grand Duke Michael, refused the throne, more than 300 years of rule by the Romanov dynasty came to an end.

Tsar Nicholas II was also unable to rule effectively. He made poor decisions that led to worsening relations with the government and increased hardship for civilians and soldiers alike. He refused to accept any reduction in the absolute power he held. He was detached from the plight of the Russian people and his policies also alienated ethnic minorities. When the Duma was recalled during World War 1, a group of Octoberists and Cadets established the Progressive Bloc. This group wanted to have more control over the war. In response, in 1915, Nicholas closed the Duma. This alienated many liberals.

As a result, Nicholas declared himself Commander in Chief of the army and departed for the Eastern Front to take control of operations. However, he was not well educated in the tactics of war and his absence left a weakened government in Petrograd.