The Fall of Russia

The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of the Russian empire were a result of a government that was slow to change,  social and economic tensions, and a series of military defeats. At the start of the twentieth century , Russia remained as the only absolute monarchy in the western world, and without a national parliament, legal political parties, or any elections, its citizens lived under an oppressive government. Several political parties and movements were created in an effort to overthrow the tsar and demand change. The Russian’s defeat in the Sino-Japanese war and the consequences of World War I only added to the people's dissatisfaction with the government  and led to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the fall of an Imperial Russia.

    In Russia , change was slow and often initiated by the state in an effort to catch up with other European powers. Military defeat at the hands of the French and British in the Crimean war once again simulated change brought on by the Russian state with the abolition of Serfdom in 1861. The Emancipation Edict given by Alexander II abolished serfdom, but it did little good for the serfs themselves. The serfs were given small plots of land which they had to pay the government for, making it hard to improve on  their land. To many Russians, the country’s  economic and industrial backwardness held back the the country just as much as serfdom had, so the state began a program of industrial development. Many of the serfs who had had a difficult time headed to the cities in order to work in many of the developing industries. In the cities they also faced harsh conditions, such as ruthless discipline, disrespect from superiors, unsanitary conditions and long working hours, as the industrial reforms in other Western countries were slow to reach Russia. These harsh working conditions led to a shared sense of injustice among workers, and without any political parties or unions,their grievances were made known through large scale strikes.

As the country became more industrialized, its political system experienced more strain. A growing middle class of businessmen and professionals objected to the conservatism of  tsarist Russia, and wanted a greater role in politics, but at the same time, depended on the government for jobs, contracts, and suppressing the growing radicalism of  the workers. A small number of growing educated Russians turned to Marxist socialism as a way of understanding changes that they witnessed and hope for a revolutionary upheaval of workers. In 1898, they created the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party illegally, and became involved in workers’ education, union organizing , and eventually became involved in revolutionary action. The government remained conservative as attempts were made by the lower class to gain more freedoms, and the inadequacies of the autocratic tsarist rule was becoming increasingly evident.

In an effort to unite the Russian people, the reigning tsar, Nicholas II, went to war with Japan over Manchuria in 1904. Both countries had been interested in dividing up China since the 1890s, but could not agree on who got control of which part. Russia had control over the Liaodong Peninsula, south of Manchuria, and Port Arthur at the end of the peninsula had been fortified as a major naval base and included a line of the Trans-Siberian Railway to carry supplies to the port. For the Japanese Port Arthur was a crucial point to control if they were to conduct operations in Manchuria. The Japanese sent an ultimatum to the Russians and broke off diplomatic relations before launching a surprise attack on Port Arthur. The Russians had gravely underestimated the Japanese naval force and were defeated in the Russo-Japanese war after a series of victories by Japan. The war did not have the effect on the people that Nicholas II had hoped for. Instead of uniting the people, it only helped to create more social unrest. The war was taking place hundreds of miles from the majority of the population, and many people would have felt removed from it. The political parties felt that there was no justification for the war; the Social Revolutionaries indulged in terrorism and the Social Democrats were staging strikes.

In an event that would come to be known as Bloody Sunday, moderates marched on the tsar’s palace in a protest in order to encourage him to enact Enlightened ideas, but Nicholas felt threatened and ordered his troops to fire on them. The 1905 revolution, although it was suppressed, forced the tsar’s regime to make more substantial reforms. It granted a constitution, legalized trade unions and political parties and permitted the election of a national assembly called the Duma. Censorship was eased and and industrial development continued at a rapid rate. The political reforms were granted with reluctance and failed to tame working class radicalism or bring social stability. The Duma was intended to represent the people, but every time the Duma was critical of the tsar, it was immediately disbanded. As a result people had a limited voice in politics and even the representatives of the upper classes had become so alienated that many felt that a revolution was inevitable. Revolutionary groups published pamphlets and newspapers, organized trade unions and spread their message among workers and peasants .

    World War I provided the perfect opportunity for the Russian Revolution. The Russian army suffered many defeats at the hands of Germany and the war proved to be a complete disaster. Many soldiers and civilians suffered and were looking for someone to blame. Nicholas II decided to take personal command of the army in 1915 in order to inspire his army, but he did not know about commanding and organizing large militaries and the army continued to be defeated. The Russians viewed his decision to take charge as having a personal responsibility for the military disaster. Nicholas II ‘s departure meant that the government came under the control of the Tsarina Alexandra, who influenced the appointment of ministers to the government. She didn’t want anyone to challenge the authority of her husband and as a result members of the government tended to be weak and ineffective. From the start of the war, Russia’s economy had been steadily growing worse. Russias industry suffered has raw materials could no longer reach Russia and the army faced a shortage of supplies and weapons. Many peasant farmers were conscripted into the army and led to a decline in agricultural production, shortage of food and the increase in the price of food. The infrastructure that russia had could not keep up with the demands. The railway system had to deal with moving troops and supplies to the battlefronts which made it more difficult to keep the cities supplied with food.

All of these issues sparked the Revolution of 1917. Rioting in the capital city of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) began in February and strikes and demonstrations took place and even the soldiers began to join in. The tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, and his brother Michael declined the throne, bringing an end to the Romanov dynasty. A provisional government led by liberals and moderate socialists was established under Alexander Kerensky, but was ineffectual because it shared power with the local councils called soviets, who represented the interests of workers, peasants, and soldiers. The provisional government wanted to continue war against Germany so that Russia could secure its borders and become a liberal democracy. Soviets did not support a defensive war because they wanted to end the conflict through general peace. The soviets rallied behind a socialist party called the Bolsheviks and Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the party mobilized the support of the workers and soldiers. The Bolsheviks were able to overthrow Kerensky and take power.

The fall of the Russian empire was caused by a government that was stuck in the past and changed slowly. The people had a small voice when it came to politics and were not pleased with the government at all and wanted change. They slowly made their voice heard through protests, political parties, and reforms. The government tried to change and catch up to other countries when it realized it was falling behind, but change came too late. World War I provided the Russians with a window of opportunity for change and they took it, overthrowing the government and eventually bringing the Bolsheviks into power.