Issue 4 : Reasons for the February Revolution

Intro Background – Stolypin attempted to strengthen Tsarism from 1906 but this did not work in the long term. World War One started in 1914 and in February 1917, the Tsar was overthrown. Factors – Defeats in WW1, Mistakes of the Tsar, Social and Economic Problems (Home Front) Argument – Decide which factor is most important.

Defeats in WW1 Russian army suffer heavy defeats from the start – Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes, September 1914 – Huge casualties (KU) 1915 – Great Retreat – Russia losing land to Germany (KU) Many troops were not trained properly, were not equipped with guns and the breakdown of the transport system made it very difficult to get supplies to the front (KU) Morale plummeted and many soldiers deserted the army as they were no longer loyal to a Tsar who did not care about them (A)

Poor Command The Tsar appointed incompetent generals. He ignored good generals such as Brusilov (KU) Eventually, Brusilov spoke out against the Tsar claiming that Russia would not win the war under the current circumstances. This undermined the Tsar and is evidence that he was losing the support of the upper class (Brusilov is a noble) (A)

Tsar takes control After 1915, the Tsar took personal control of the army. It was hoped that he could go to the front and boost morale (KU) Huge mistake – No military experience and he was now in a position where he could be blamed for the war (A)

Defeat in WW1 evaluation Defeats in WW1 were a massive reason for the February Revolution as it made the army lose faith in the Tsar. He had always had support of the army and could rely on the army to stop any revolutions. This time the army joined in the revolution. It was the Tsar’s generals who forced his abdication in March clear evidence that he had lost support.

Role/Mistakes of the Tsar Nicholas II was a poor leader – He believed in the autocracy and was very resistant to change. He also failed to realise the severity of situations. (KU) This is clearly evident as he was advised to return to Petrograd from leading the army when trouble started and refused to – did not deal with the situation (A+ - Linking factors) Figes – ‘Nicholas was the source of all problems’ – Argues that he was the main reason for revolution. (A+ - Historiography)

Mistakes of Tsar – Leaving Tsarina in charge A further effect of the Tsar leaving for war was that the Tsarina, his wife, was left in charge. (KU) She was also an ineffective leader and was distrusted by the Russian people as she was German – leaving her in charge further weakened the Tsar’s reputation (A+ - Linking factors)

Mistakes of Tsar - Rasputin Rasputin had large influence over Tsar and Tsarina. (KU) Claimed to cure their son’s haemophilia (KU) Made Tsarina make changes to Government, firing ministers randomly (KU) Rumours spread of an affair between Tsarina and Rasputin and the Russian people felt he had too much influence – Public opinion then turned against the Tsar and Tsarina (A)

Evaluation Overall, the Tsar’s mistakes were a huge part in the revolution. Leaving for war had disastrous impact at home. In particular, he further alienated the nobility (after Brusilov spoke out) by giving Rasputin too much power. Rasputin is murdered in 1916 by Tsar’s nephew – a noble – which clearly shows that the upper classes, key supporters of Tsarism, were starting to turn against him.

Discontent leads to political problems Much discontent spreads due to economic problems which causes political discontent for the Tsar

Peasant discontent Problems with land and farming still remained with peasantry – Many of the conscripts in the army were peasants and horses were requisitioned by the army (KU) This led to problems with farming – amount of produce dropped because there was not enough men to farm – Led to shortage of food and money. (A) Economic As well as this, the defeats and casualties in WW1 impacted the peasants the most and many peasant soldiers deserted the army – WW1 made them lose faith and turn on the Tsar (A+ - Linking factors)

Working Class discontent WW1 made living and working conditions even worse than they were before Food shortages due to breakdown of transport system (KU) – Many were angry at Tsar because food was available but nothing was being done to solve the problem. (Economic) Overcrowding became even worse as refugees fled the East of Russia as Germany marched in because of Great retreat (A+ - Linking factors) Inflation (rise in prices of food – quadrupled) made money worthless and affected all classes (Economic) All of this leads to numerous strikes – Putilov Engineering, female textile workers (A). (Political problems)

Bourgeoisie (Upper Class) discontent Tsar is not doing a good job of running the war effort – Prince Lvov and other nobles set up Zemstvo Union – Town councils that run the war effort in Russia and set up soup kitchens to help those starving in the cities. (KU) This showed that the Tsar and his system was ineffective and undermined the Tsars authority (A) Further evidence of the Tsar losing support of nobility after Brusilov speaks out about him being incapable (A+ - Linking factors)

Bourgeoisie (Upper Class) discontent Upper class go on spending spree (champagne, luxury goods) as their money if becoming worthless due to inflation – savings are worthless and it is better to spend it before all money becomes worthless. (KU) This reinforces the idea that a change is inevitable in Russia – there is a feeling that this is the end of the current system (A).

Economic and Political problems The war caused inflation in Russia, as well as a reduction in agricultural produce. This failure of farming was made further worse by the winter of 1916 which led to starvation throughout Russia. These economic problems affected all classes in Russia in some way. Due to this, all classes turned away from the Tsar and pushed for revolution.

Conclusion (My argument) Overall, most important factor was ineptitude of the Tsar. His reluctance to change, poor decisions and failure to realise the severity of the problem all led to the Feb Revolution. His decision to take over the army led to a number of problems. Leaving for war allowed him to be blamed for defeats and turned the army against him. Leaving the Tsarina in charge further alienated the nobility and not returning to Petrograd when the home front was starting to deteriorate due to economic problems made him unable to try and solve the issue and led to all classes losing faith in him.