Russian Revolution Writing Assignment
Within the year of 1917, two revolutions took place in the country of Russia. The two revolutions were known as the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The first revolution happened in February of 1917, the Autocracy that was ruling Russia was overthrown and a provisional government was put in its place. The Second revolution happened in October 1917, the provisional government was overthrown and dismantled by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). After much violent inner conflict within the new ruling government it was finally decided in 1922 that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) would be in control of Russia (Dewdney). The two revolutions that occurred in 1917 are grouped together and simply called The Russian Revolution of 1917. One of the most influential causes of The Russian Revolution of 1917 was the many battle defeats Russia experienced during WW1. Right before the war, the Russian people had full confidence in Nicholas II and the Russian military to defeat the Germans. Russia had a very large army compared to Germany, however because of poor leadership and inadequate guns and equipment Russia experienced many catastrophe losses. During the war, the tsar Nicholas II decided he would lead the military directly from the front lines after Russia had experienced many battle losses (Trueman). This decision was heavily opposed by Nicholas II’s advisors because if he was leading the military then if any battles were lost, the blame would be fully with him. The Tsars advisors’ fears came true because even with Nicholas II leading the military, the Russian military kept being defeated and the victories that were achieved were nothing compared to the losses. These constant losses cost Nicholas II much of the loyalty of both the Russian military and Russian people (Llewellyn). When …show more content…
The war had drained the Russian economy. Inflation jumped to incredibly high rates as “the value of the rouble had fallen substantially, leading to soaring price” ("The causes of the February Revolution."). There were massive food shortages within cities, as very little food was being transported to them to feed their large populations. To make matters worse, workers were not being paid enough to buy food. Unable to buy food and desperate for help many riots, protests, and worker strikes broke out as people didn’t have enough food ("The impact of the First World War on …show more content…
Nicholas II’s rash decision making forced Russia into a war that it may have won if the Russian troops had more training, been better equipped and had better leadership on the battlefield. An old saying that rings truth to this situation is “quality over quantity.” If Russia had focused more on training and equipping troops instead of filling ranks they may have won the war or at least properly defended their homeland. I believe it was mistake for Nicholas II to take to the battlefield when he was most needed at home. He should have instead focused on helping his starving people. If he had never left his home, his country may have been able to reconcile a solution to the problems that he left to his unprepared wife. However, the past cannot be changed and because of the decisions made and lack of proper leadership Russia had a series of two revolutions that would cause the country much suffering and pain for quite a long
Within the year of 1917, two revolutions took place in the country of Russia. The two revolutions were known as the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The first revolution happened in February of 1917, the Autocracy that was ruling Russia was overthrown and a provisional government was put in its place. The Second revolution happened in October 1917, the provisional government was overthrown and dismantled by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). After much violent inner conflict within the new ruling government it was finally decided in 1922 that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) would be in control of Russia (Dewdney). The two revolutions that occurred in 1917 are grouped together and simply called The Russian Revolution of 1917. One of the most influential causes of The Russian Revolution of 1917 was the many battle defeats Russia experienced during WW1. Right before the war, the Russian people had full confidence in Nicholas II and the Russian military to defeat the Germans. Russia had a very large army compared to Germany, however because of poor leadership and inadequate guns and equipment Russia experienced many catastrophe losses. During the war, the tsar Nicholas II decided he would lead the military directly from the front lines after Russia had experienced many battle losses (Trueman). This decision was heavily opposed by Nicholas II’s advisors because if he was leading the military then if any battles were lost, the blame would be fully with him. The Tsars advisors’ fears came true because even with Nicholas II leading the military, the Russian military kept being defeated and the victories that were achieved were nothing compared to the losses. These constant losses cost Nicholas II much of the loyalty of both the Russian military and Russian people (Llewellyn). When …show more content…
The war had drained the Russian economy. Inflation jumped to incredibly high rates as “the value of the rouble had fallen substantially, leading to soaring price” ("The causes of the February Revolution."). There were massive food shortages within cities, as very little food was being transported to them to feed their large populations. To make matters worse, workers were not being paid enough to buy food. Unable to buy food and desperate for help many riots, protests, and worker strikes broke out as people didn’t have enough food ("The impact of the First World War on …show more content…
Nicholas II’s rash decision making forced Russia into a war that it may have won if the Russian troops had more training, been better equipped and had better leadership on the battlefield. An old saying that rings truth to this situation is “quality over quantity.” If Russia had focused more on training and equipping troops instead of filling ranks they may have won the war or at least properly defended their homeland. I believe it was mistake for Nicholas II to take to the battlefield when he was most needed at home. He should have instead focused on helping his starving people. If he had never left his home, his country may have been able to reconcile a solution to the problems that he left to his unprepared wife. However, the past cannot be changed and because of the decisions made and lack of proper leadership Russia had a series of two revolutions that would cause the country much suffering and pain for quite a long