Why did the tsarist autocracy collapse in 1917

February Revolution – Tsar Advised to Abdicate • In the workers quarters, in February 1917, there was a deep shortage of food, due to heavy snow and exceptional frost in the very cold winter months. • The Tsar wanted to dissolve the Duma, but the elected Parliamentarians wanted to retain the elected government. • Duma was suspended by the Government on 25th February. • On 26th February, there were large demonstrations on the streets, politicians were against this action of suspending the Duma. • People were out in the streets raising slogans about democracy, better working hours, better wages and bread. Police headquarters were ransacked. • To control the situation which was spiraling out of control, the Government summoned the cavalry. They did not want to fire on the demonstrators. • There was mutiny by three regiments, who went on to join the workers. • In the same building where Duma met, the striking soldiers and workers gathered together to form a ‘council’ or the ‘Soviet’. This was the Petrograd Soviet. • The Tsar was advised by his Military commanders to abdicate. As a result the Tsar abdicated on 2nd March. • To run the country, a Provisional Government was formed by the Duma leaders and Soviet leaders. • On the basis of universal adult suffrage, Russia’s future would be decided by an elected constituent assembly. • The Monarchy was brought down in February 1917 by the February Revolution, led by the Petrograd. First World War – Tsar Loses Support • ...

• Treatment of various ethnicities The Russian Empire was very large and contained very different groups of people. This occurred due to various wars that Russia had led since the mid.1700s. As a result of these wars the Russian Empire had a lot of people who had differing religious beliefs. For example, some of such groups were the Buddhists of the Kalmykia region, Shamanists of various Siberian regions, such as the Buryat region, and the Jews who who were mostly settled in large cities, like Moscow and St Petersburg. Just as the religious beliefs were different, so were the ethnicities. For example, the Russian Empire contained the Ukrainians (or New Russians as they were known contemporaneously), Latvians, Lithuanians, Belorussians to name a few of them. This is a map of the Russian Empire in 1917. The marks represent either important cities or the regions that are mentioned in the text. (CC: Wikimedia Commons) Throughout the 18 th and 19 th centuries the Russian Crown did not treat these minorities well. For instance, under Socialist Revolutionary Party. Such groups rapidly gained support and played important roles in 1905 and 1917 revolutions, ultimately overthrowing the tsarist regime. • • SOURCE TIME: Here are two primary sources. Source on the left is taken from memoirs written by a Jewish emigrant from the Russian Empire, Mary Antin. She emigrated to the USA in 1912. In this source she describes the Crown’s policies against the Jewish population. Source on the rig...

• v • t • e Tsarist autocracy царское самодержавие, tsarskoye samoderzhaviye), also called Tsarism, was a form of Alternative names [ ] Imperial autocracy, History [ ] After chaotic Peter's reforms provoked a series of palace coups seeking to restore the power of the nobility. The system was abolished after the Features [ ] The tsar-batyushka ("tsar-dear father"). Furthermore, contrary to the movement for separation of church and state in West European monarchies, the Russian Empire combined monarchy with the supreme authority on religious issues (see Another key feature related to The tsarist autocracy had many supporters within Russia. Major Russian advocates and theorists of the autocracy included writer Influences [ ] Some historians see the traditions of tsarist autocracy as partially responsible for laying groundworks for the Some historians have pointed to a Criticism of the concept [ ] Historians of different backgrounds have criticised the concept of tsarist autocracy in its various forms. Their complaints range from the different names of the model being too vague, Regarding the substance of the autocracy model, its equation with despotism and its supposed origins in Mongol rule, as well as its supposed rise in medieval Muscovy, have been heavily debated. In order to reconcile the non-socioeconomic nature of absolutism with Marxist theory, Soviet scholar Alexander N. Chistozvonov proposed to group the Russian monarchy with the Prussian and Austrian ones, forming ...

The condition of Russian people, especially those of the working population like the farmers and the factory workers was highly miserable. It was mainly due to the autocratic government of the Tsar Nicholas II who antagonized these people day-by-day by his corrupt and oppressive policies. As a result of such policies, his autocracy collapsed in 1917. The following points indicate the background of the miserable condition of the working population of Russia which was also the main reasons for the collapse of the Tsarist autocracy in 1917: • The peasants worked as serf on the land and much of their produce went into the hands of landowners and the privileged classes. Land hunger among farmers was a dominant factor. Due to the various oppressive policies and out of frustration, often they refused to pay rent and even murdered landlords. • The condition of the workers was also very deplorable. They could not form any trade unions and political parties to express their grievance. Most industries were run by the private industrialists. Many times these workers did not get even the minimum fixed wages. There was no limit of working ours as a result of which they had to work from 12 – 15 hours a day. • The autocratic rule of the Tsar had become quite inefficient. He was a self-willed, corrupt and oppressive ruler who never cared for the welfare of the people or the country. • The teachings of Karl Marx also encouraged the people to raise a standard revolt. • The revolution of 1905...

Why did the Tsarist autocracy collapse in 1917 The Tsar’s autocracy collapsed on 1917 due to the interplay of many factors- social, economic and political. The Russian state under Tsar Nicholas II was completely unsuited to the needs of modern times. The Tsar still believed in the autocratic absolute rights of the king. The bureaucracy that the Tsar recruited was top heavy, inefficient and inflexible. Members were recruited on the basis of privileges and patronage, not on merit. The hopes and efforts at gradual changes and democratic constitutional government after the Revolution of 1905 ended in disappointments and failure. The peasants and workers who formed large section of the population were miserable, deprived and frustrated. The Tsar was totally ignorant, indifferent to their conditions and needs. The Tsar had built a vast empire and imposed Russian language and culture on diverse nationalities. The only people who supported the Tsar were the nobility and upper layers of the clergy and bureaucracy. The rest of the population was hostile to the Tsar. Russia’s participation in World War I exposed the economic bankruptcy of the government and increased liabilities on the already impoverished population. The liberal ideas of the west and growth of socialist ideology led to the formation of many socialist groups. These groups infused the workers and peasants with a revolutionary spirit. The autocratic rule of the Tsar, decadence of royalty, demoralising effect of defeats...

Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917? ‘By the beginning of 1917, tsarism was rotting from within. ’(1) Romanov’s had ruled Russia since 1613 but people were unhappy and the Tsarist regime was due to collapse for and it was inevitable that it would happen soon, it finally did under Tsar Nicholas II in 1917. There were many factors as to why the Tsarist regime collapsed some of the most important were Tsar’s personality, political opposition ,peasants and workers and The World War I. One of the factors that lead the tsarist regime to collapse was Tsar’s personality. Nicholas II was coronated in 1894 but he wasn’t ready to be a Tsar because just in 1881 he witnessed his granddads, Alexander II’s assassination when his carriage was blown up. Nicholas was not a strong character and he didn’t want to be a Tsar but he was religious and both he and his wife Alexandra believed they were chosen by God and couldn’t challenge his decision. ‘He had intelligence... faith and courage but he was... ignorant about governmental matters. Nicky had been trained as a soldier. He had not been taught statesmanship and... as not a statesman. ’ (2) Also he was more of a family man rather than a ruler and was a devoted husband and father who looked good in the eyes of his people but he didn’t really bother about what happened to Russia and didn’t really do what he was meant to do; rule the country, which weakened him significantly. Although he was a good father he was unhappy as his only son...

The Tsarist autocracy collapsed in 1917 because of public mistrust and a growing dissatisfaction with the Tsar’s policies. The Tsar, Nicholas II imposed restrictions on political activity, changed voting laws and dismissed any questioning of or restrictions on his authority. At the beginning of the First World War, he did not consult the main parties in the Duma. Anti-German sentiments were gaining ground, and Tsarina Alexandra’s German origin, Rasputin and the German name of the city St.Petersburg did nothing to remedy the situation. The Russian army lost battles, but would destroy crops and dwellings on retreat. Thisled to the presence of3 million refugeesin Russia, which in turnworsened theconditions. Industry was badly affected by the First World War. Imports were cut off due to German control of the Baltic sea. Industrial equipment started disintegrating and the railway lines were broken by 1916. Due to conscription, able-bodied men went to the army and this resulted in labour shortage. Riots in bread shops became a common sight. On 26 February, 1917, the government suspended the Duma. This was the last straw and put the Tsar’s regime in complete jeopardy. The Tsar was forced to abdicate on 2 March, 1917, therebymarking the end of his autocracy.

• History • Tsarist and Communist Russia • Russian Autocracy Russian Autocracy The Tsar: a monarch, a leader... a father figure? Autocracy gave Russia's leaders absolute power and the role of a father to the Russian Empire. This system of governance shaped Russia and helped create the environment for Stalin to establish his dictatorship years later.Nineteenth-century Russia was a vast empire, covering one-sixth of the world's surface (around 21 million square kilometres). It… Russian Autocracy • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •...