The Fall of Tsarism: Beyond the First World War

to why the popularity of the Tsar decreased greatly during the war.After he took direct command of the army he became solely responsible for these failings. However, if the army had perhaps been better equipped and the Tsar had appointed better leaders, these failings may have been successes, for which the Tsar would be celebrated, rather than blamed. The failings in the war also lowered morale amongst the Russian people who, in 1914, had cheered when Nicholas announced Russia was at war but by 1917 had become angry at defeatist at the news of casualties from the front line.Another important reason for why the war damaged Tsarism was the fact that it caused inflation in Russia, which lead to extreme poverty and high food prices.

In 1914, Russia's economy had been strong but between 1914-1917 government spending rose from 4 million to 30 millions roubles, causing severe inflation by 1916. The government tried to stop this by increasing taxation and borrowing heavily from other countries, but these were not successful in raising the money it needed.This inflation made trading unprofitable meaning in 1916, Russia's grain yield began to fall, so peasants were choosing to hoard their grain, rather than sell it. Also, the army had priority of the food produced, as well as the transport, which made it difficult to transport food across Russia. This lead to food shortages, which lead to hunger and famine across Russia, especially in cities such as Petrograd, which had a large population but was far from the food-producing regions of Russia. By 1917, people in Petrograd were receiving less than a quarter of the amount of food that had

been available in 1917.

However, there is more evidence to suggest that the war was not the main cause of the fall of Tsarism in 1917 but simply made worse the existing problems in Russia. Perhaps the most important of these problems is the problem of the Tsar's ineffective leadership, which had been a problem since he took power. In 1905 Russia experienced what is often referred to as the 1905 revolution, strikes in the cities because of a lack of food lead to the Tsar being forced to make concessions in order to retain power.In October 1905 he published the October Manifesto, accepting the creation of a legislative parliament or duma, which pleased the liberals. However, then in April 1906, he published the fundamental laws which stated that he still had overall control over Russia.

Also, throughout the years 1905-1917 there were a number of dumas, all set up and subsequently dissolved by the Tsar when he believed they were getting to powerful. Also, in early 1917 236 of the duma's 422 deputies formed the 'Progressive Bloc' along with other supporters of the Tsar, such as the Kadets, Octobrists, Nationalists.The Bloc tried to persuade the Tsar to make concessions in order to retain his power but typically he was unwilling to listen. Listening to the Bloc at this point could have saved Nicholas and therefore the rule of Tsarism but his inability to trust his ministers and take their advice meant he his supporters quickly became opposers, weakening his rule at this crucial time.

Another reason for the fall of Tsarism in 1917 that was highlighted but not caused by the war is the fact

that Russia was a difficult country to run.Russia's economy was backward compared to those of other Western countries, 4/5 of it's population were peasants, who were more often than not illiterate and lived in severe poverty. Although by 1917, improvements had been made to the economy, for example wages had risen, Russia was still economically backward. Also, Stolypin had cancelled the high mortgage payments crippling the peasants and worked to encourage them to join together their farms, in order to end the ineffective strip farming system used at the time, he needed 20 years in order for them to work but was fired by the Tsar in 1911.This is another example of the Tsar's reluctance to change, something which made him increasingly unpopular during his reign. Not only did he not trust the duma, who were effectively on his 'side,' he also didn't trust the ministers that he had appointed and who had done great things for Russia.

After he fired Stolypin in 1911 he appointed a series of unimaginative, inept politicians who's only course of action was further repression of the people.Other existing problems exacerbated by war were the problems in transport and communications across Russia, due mainly to the size, which again made Russia difficult to control. During the war problems with transport and communications lead to failures in the war which, as the Tsar took control of the army, could be seen as triggers to the downfall of his reign. However, these had been problems for years in Russia and were merely highlighted by war when there was more at stake.

Therefore, there is sufficient evidence for why it could be argued

that the First World War was the reason for the downfall of Tsarism.There were great failings in the war, making the Tsar, who was in direct command of the army, unpopular and lowering morale amongst the Russian people. Food shortages and inflation caused hunger and poverty, angering the Russian people, who blamed the Tsar, and crippling Russia's economy. However, the war simple exacerbated the problems that already existed in Russia and therefore became the trigger to the downfall of Tsarism. Russia was a country difficult to run, because of it's size and backwardness. This meant it needed strong leadership, something Nicholas the second could not provide.