Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917?
The fundamental reasons for the outburst of the Russian Revolutions in1917, which take us back to 1905, are vast and diverse. For centuries,oppressive and autovratic tsars ruled the country, while most of the Russiancitizens managed to survive under dreadful economic and social conditions.Several political movements, which were created during the 19th and early20th century, aimed at dethrowing the repressive Tsar, Nicholas the II. Theembarrassing string of defeats in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-1905 and theRussia’s badly organized and unsuccessful involvement in the First World War (1914-1918) added to popular dissatisfaction with the government’sineffectiveness and corruption. All these events culminated in the fall of theTsar and the formation of a Bolshevik government in the fall of 1917.Unrest and criticism of the government’s policies reached a climax in1904, when there was a general strike and an attempted revolution withincreasing demands regarding constitutional reforms and a more democraticRussia. Furthermore, workers, who had organized a peaceful demonstration todenote their demands to the Tsar, were killed by the guards of the Winter Palace. Actions like this, alongside the defeat in the war against Japan at thattime, resulted into series of protests and clearly suggested the discontent with Nicholas the II.
Luckily, Nicholas, trying to stabilize his regime, agreed to makereforms, such as the constitution of the Duma (1906) and land reforms byStolypin and managed to remain in charge for 13 more years.Furthermore in 1914, almost every single European state went to war.Achknowledging a possible confrontation with Germany, Nicholas II signedthe Triple Entente with Great Britain and France. In reality however, Russiawas not at all well-prepared due to the incompetent and corrupt organization aswell as lack of armory, food and transportation. What is more, the Duma, thearistocracy and the army turned against Nicholas as they believed that arevolution could be evaded apart from the lower classes. By January 1917,everyone was disappointed in the Tsar and demanded the end of the war.Therefore, in view of the fact that the war ended in 1918 only with losses for Russia, caused mutiny in the Russian army. After losing faith in the war, thesoldiers stopped fighting. Hence, the Tsar not only had no one to support himwith the riots, but had also lost his protection against strikes and riots.Additionally, the reputation of the royal family was stigmatized by twofactors, with one of them being Gregory Rasputin. The peasant from
