The causes of the 1917 russian revolution
The overthrow of the Russian Tsarist autocracy by the urban proletariat in 1917 was arguably the single most important event in the history of Russia. But, as with many revolutions, it was in no way spontaneous. Since the inception of industrialization in Russia in the late nineteenth century a number of crucial events had taken place which would inevitably compound to cause a revolt against the Tsarist regime. Following the fall of the Russian imperial autocracy a Provisional Government was self-established to maintain the leadership and infrastructure of the colossal state of Russia until elections for a permanent representative government could be held. In Petrograd a Soviet of socialist leaders had also been established, which, under the leadership of the Bolshevik political party, existed in opposition to the Provisional Government. But, because of the inherent weaknesses of the Provisional Government it was only able to hold on to a semblance of power for seven months before the cogent Bolsheviks led a successful second revolution to overthrow them. The great underlying force that stimulated political change throughout Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was industrialization. Industrialization in Russia was
Stolypin's boldest move was his peasant reform program. It encouraged, and sometimes forced, the breakup of communes, while allowing the peasants the right of full property ownership. Stolypin hoped that this would create a class of conservative, prosperous, landowning farmers (kulaks) loyal to the Tsar while destroying the communes, which were seen as a potential basis for socialism. Most peasants however did not want to leave the security of the communes, as well as the simple fact they did not wish to change from the traditions of Russian peasantry. By 1914 only 10% of all communes had been dissolved, which while failing to convert the general peasantry from one system to another, managed to create a kulak class of which the poorer peasant majority were both jealous and angry towards. However the economy managed to recover and grow impressively in the 1907-1914 period. While overall Stolypin's ministerial techniques brought social and political stability, this was in truth merely an impression, as his choice to force reforms and to use repression as a means to gain stability had only encouraged greater and more widespread anti-government sentiment and thus provided the grounds for a possible later revolution. In 1911 a double agent who was both a Social Revolutionary and a police agent assassinated Stolypin. The Finance Minister Vladimir Kokostov, who was very able in his position, but could not compete with the powerful court factions that dominated the government, replaced him. From the death of Stolypin until the revolution the government lacked true leadership. Nicholas II appointed himself as the Commander-in-Chief, a move that seriously weakened Russia's war effort, because of Nicholas's inexperience and lack of strategic ability. The incompetent military leadership below him compounded his poor command. Because of the continuing strikes of 1914 and heavily reduced food production the Russian army was not only poorly trained and equipped, but under-supplied as well. Russian inefficiency lead to the ineffective distribution of what little supplies the Russian Army had at its disposal. The Russian army was no match for the most modern army in the world - Germany's - and was decimated, losing battle after battle, one of the greatest included the huge Russian defeat at Tannenburg. Such military disasters shattered the morale of Russia and its army, causing staggering numbers of desertions. The appalling casualties, which left no one unaffected, caused the general population to hate the war, despite their nationalist tendencies. In response to the widespread disorder in late 1905 Witte pressured Tsar Nicholas II to issue the "October Manifesto", which gave Russia a constitution and proclaimed basic civil liberties for all citizens. In an effort to stop liberal factions, the constitution included most of their demands, including a ministerial government responsible to the Tsar, and a national Duma, a representative parliament to be elected, but under such conditions as to favour the likelihood of a conservative majority. The day before the first Duma was scheduled to be held the government announced the 'Fundamental Laws', which reserved autocratic powers for the emperor and essentially made the Duma have only conditional authority. The regime continued to function, eventually restoring order in the cities, the countryside, and in the army. Because the government had been able to restore order and secure a loan from France, after the formation of the Triple Entente, Tsar Nicholas II was in a strong enough position to enable him to replace the Witte with the much less independent Stolypin as chief minister. After Alexander II's assassination in 1881 his son, Alexander III, ascended the throne. Alexander III's immensely strong belief in the preservation of the autocracy led to the imposition of rigid censorship and the police supervision of intellectual activities. The power of the Zemstvos was also drastically curbed
Some common words found in the essay are:
Provisional Government, Nicholas II, Alexander II, Petrograd Soviet, Government Soviet, February March, Manifesto Russia, Alexander III's, Bodiabo River, Eastern Front, provisional government, petrograd soviet, constituent assembly, nicholas ii, tsar nicholas, russian army, tsarist regime, alexander ii, tsar nicholas ii, provisional committee, provisional committee duma, failures war, third fourth dumas, elections constituent assembly,
Approximate Word count = 4015
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)
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