1917 revolution

Question 1

Intro - Ku

Answer 1

By 1917, the people of Russia were becoming concerned with the Tsar’s ability to lead the country, especially during WW1 when the country was facing major problems that affected the majority of the Russian population, such as food shortages.

Question 2

Intro - Ku

Answer 2

This caused tensions to rise in Russia, especially after the Tsar took the role of the ‘commander-in-chief’, leaving all the military defeat to fall onto him, causing anti-Tsarist views to spread throughout Russia, which eventually began the February revolution.

Question 3

The Role of Nicholas II - Ku

Answer 3

Nicholas II was the sole ruler during 1917 and struggled to cover the vast empire, which included many different languages and cultures, which he enforced Russification on, forcing people in Russia to speak the Russian language and give up their own culture.

Question 4

The Role of Nicholas II - Ku

Answer 4

In 1915 the Tsar left home to take control of Russia’s army, leaving the Tsarina in charge. He did this to boost morale of the army, hoping they would perform better in battles, as recently the army was struggling.

Question 5

The Role of Nicholas II - Positive Analysis

Answer 5

This was important in causing the revolution because when the Tsar took over the ruling of the army, this left him personally responsible for military defeats, causing resentment towards him when Russia were defeated in battles during WW1 and this contributed to the loss of control of the army.

Question 6

The Role of Nicholas II - Negative Analysis

Answer 6

owever, this was not the most important factor because we would have seen the revolution happen earlier if the Tsar’s ruling over the country was the sole reason, as his ability to rule Russia had already been questioned in the past, so another reason must have sparked the 1917 revolution.

Question 7

The Role of Nicholas II - Evaluation

Answer 7

Overall, this was the most important factor because the Tsar provided a place for Russian people to direct their hate towards, encouraging them to cause a revolution to get him out of power after he continuously failed to rule the country effectively, in the war and economically.

Question 8

The Role of the Tsarina - Ku

Answer 8

The role of Tsarina Alexandra was quite an important factor in causing the 1917 revolution. When the Tsar left to rule the army, he left his wife in charge, however she was not welcomed as their leader. This was because at the time, Russia was at war with Germany during WW1 and the Tsarina was from Germany.

Question 9

The Role of the Tsarina - Ku

Answer 9

People were also very suspicious of her, as she was very close to Rasputin. Rasputin had a bad reputation such as womanising and drinking, which meant the people of Russia were untrustworthy towards him and did not like that he was influencing the Tsarina, or that he had so much influence over the decision making in the government

Question 10

The Role of the Tsarina - Positive Analysis

Answer 10

This was an important factor in causing the revolution as she proved to be an ineffective leader and she was distrusted by the Russian people, so by leaving her in charge, the Tsar further weakened his reputation

Question 11

The Role of the Tsarina - Negative Analysis

Answer 11

However, this factor was less important in causing the 1917 revolution as she had also been around for years, similarly to the Tsar, so if this was the most important factor, it would have happened a long time before it did. People also argue that the Tsarina did not have much of an influence on the country and was not that important of a political figure, not important enough to start a revolution.

Question 12

The Role of the Tsarina - Evaluation

Answer 12

Overall this factor was important, but not the most important as she did help develop the country’s distrust towards the state, especially because she was German, but she did not gain as much negative attention as the Tsar did.

Question 13

The impact of WW1 - Ku

Answer 13

The impact of WW1 and military defeat also contributed to the beginning of the February 1917 revolution. This was because the war was not going very well for Russia and the army suffered many defeats, such as Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes in 1914, causing the Russian people to question the country’s ability to fight in wars.

Question 14

The impact of WW1 - Ku

Answer 14

The army also lacked the materials needed such as medical resources and enough food which led to much higher casualties and there were claims of incompetant officers which led to many avoidable defeats.

Question 15

The impact of WW1 - Positive analysis

Answer 15

This was an important factor as the constant defeats led to low morale and the loss of support towards the army. This helped cause the revolution as the army had previously been used to keep afloat the Tsarist government, but the people of Russia and soldiers had become discontent, not only because they’re living conditions had worsened due to high prices and food shortages, but also because higher ups like generals began to criticize the Tsar, reinforcing the public’s views.

Question 16

The impact of WW1 - Negative analysis

Answer 16

This could not have been the most important factor however, because the war started on the homefront, showing the war wasn’t the main cause as it began due to problems in Russia.

Question 17

The impact of WW1 - Evaluation

Answer 17

Overall, this factor was not the most important because the role of the Tsar was what the people of Russia directed the disappointment and anger towards during the war, when Russia was not doing so well.

Question 18

Discontent Amongst Workers - Ku

Answer 18

the discontent among workers was also a reason for why the February 1917 revolution began. During 1916, the middle class workers faced a much harder time as 1916 was a very cold winter, along with the war causing shortages of food, resulting in the cost of bread multiplying ten times.

Question 19

Discontent Amongst Workers - Ku

Answer 19

This eventually led to the rationing of bread in 1917, which again caused anti-tsarist feelings to develop. A secret police report in 1916 also showed that workers in Petrograd were becoming radicalised due to the rise in living cost, which went up by 300%.

Question 20

Discontent Amongst Workers - Positive Analysis

Answer 20

This was an important factor in causing the revolution in 1917, as many had reached their breaking point after facing the impact of war, increased tax and food shortages. Stolypin’s reforms added overcrowding on top of these problems, which caused further distaste towards the government.

Question 21

Discontent Amongst Workers - Negative Analysis

Answer 21

This was less of an important factor in causing the revolution as the discontent among workers was fuelled by other factors, such as the role of the Tsar, which left many Russian’s feeling abandoned and uncared for by the Tsar. Without these, the worker’s discontent would not have reached the point it did.

Question 22

Discontent Amongst Workers - Evaluation

Answer 22

Overall, this factor was less important as the workers weren’t the sole reason for the revolution beginning and were only effective because of other factors such as the role of the Tsarina, which added to Russian’s suspicion of the Tsar and his ability to run the country.