February 1917 Revolution

Question 1

Background Sentences

Answer 1

Before 1917, the Tsar had faced very little opposition to his power within his autocracy.

However, in February 1917, the Tsar was forced to abdicate as his army had mutinied against him whilst he was in the Eastern Front.

Question 2

Factors (only three)

Answer 2

Impact of WWI
Incompetence of Tsar Nicolas II
The Role of Tsarina Alexandra
Worker Discontent
Peasant Discontent

Question 3

What happened in 1914 and what happened to the army?

Answer 3

In 1914, Russian soldiers invaded the Eastern Front with two of their largest armies. Unfortunately, they were easily destroyed by the small German army at the battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. This caused the Russian soldiers to retreat and leave the Eastern Front.

Question 4

What happened in 1916?
What were Russia’ consequences because of previous losses?

Answer 4

In June 1916, at the Brusilov Offensive, Russia managed to gain one of their biggest victories against Austria-Hungary. Unfortunately, their victory didn’t last long as Russia wasn’t able to cope with its previous losses from the war and could only play defensive for the remainder of the war.

Question 5

What did the soldiers do in 1917?

Answer 5

In 1917, the Russian soldiers fighting at the Eastern Front decided to mutiny against the Tsar and return home.

Question 6

Impact of WWI - analysis

Answer 6

morale within Russia had decreased vastly after every defeat of the Russian army that the soldiers decided to mutiny and return home as they no longer had faith in the Tsar and his leadership. This meant that the Tsar was forced to abdicate as he had lost one of his pillars which helped him maintain power and control within Russia.

Question 7

Impact of WWI - analysis +

Answer 7

in the summer of 1916, Russia had evolved and made some changes during the Brusilov Offensive, which helped boost morale within the army. This meant that Russia was developing and changing for the better which brought more hope for the soldiers fighting which in turn restored more faith back into the Tsar.

Question 8

What did the Tsar do in 1905 which helped the people?

Answer 8

In 1905, the Tsar finally listened to the people of Russia and created a new government called the Duma, which listened to the people’s needs.

Question 9

What did Tsar Nicolas II do in 1906?

Answer 9

In 1906 Nicholas appointed a new Prime Minister, Peter Stolypin, to make sure there were no further outbreaks of revolution. Stolypin clamped down on terrorism by arresting and executing revolutionaries.

Question 10

What happened with the first Duma?

Answer 10

The first Duma met in May 1906. It only lasted seventy-five days before Tsar Nicholas surrounded it with troops and broke it up.

Question 11

Incompetence of the Tsar - analysis

Answer 11

because of the action that the Tsar took in appointing a new Prime Minister to make decisions for him. This only proved his incompetence and made many of the Russians turn against him. This meant that riots and protests against the Tsar spread throughout Russia protesting for the Tsar to step down as leader and provide Russia with better leadership.

Question 12

Incompetence of the Tsar - analysis +

Answer 12

the Tsar finally listened to the needs of the people in Russia and created a new government called the Duma in 1905 which was created to help improve the peoples lives in Russia. This meant that the public were beginning to trust the Tsar and his rulings as he was making improvements to their lives which overall made their lives so much better.

Question 13

How was the Tsarina connected to Rasputin?

Answer 13

Tsarina Alexandra was connected to Rasputin as she was determined that he could cure her son of his haemophilia in order for him to be seen as a strong and powerful man who was to be the future Tsar, especially during WWI when there were rumours of a relationship between the two.

Question 14

What was the Tsarina’s role during WWI?

Answer 14

Tsarina Alexandra was left with all the power over Russia whilst her husband was leading the Russian army in 1916. However, she was power hungry and refused to allow the upper class to gain more power as she feared that they could become in a position where they could overthrow the Tsar.

Question 15

Why did people believe the Tsarina wasn’t to be trusted?

Answer 15

Many Russians believed that the Tsarina wasn’t to be trusted due to her German roots during the war as they believed she was a spy and was the cause of Russia’s demise in WWI.

Question 16

The role of Tsarina Alexandra - Analysis

Answer 16

the Tsarina was hesitant as well as reluctant to make decisions on her own whilst she was left with all the power in Russia during WWI, leading to problems caused by WWI getting worse and worse in the cities and countryside, which lead to the February 1917 Revolution.

Question 17

The role of Tsarina Alexandra - analysis +

Answer 17

Rasputin was murdered in December 1916, months before the February Revolution broke out. This meant that his influence over the royal family, especially the Tsarina was then broken before the Revolution occured.

Question 18

Worker Discontent
What happened in cities when food was diverted away?

Answer 18

As the Tsar diverted vital resources away from the towns and cities towards the Eastern Front, food stopped reaching the cities, leaving workers with a limited supply.

Question 19

Worker Discontent
How much of its grain requirement did Petrograd receive?

Answer 19

Petrograd only received 50% of its grain requirements. Food prices for those in the cities rose by up to 200%.

Question 20

Worker Discontent
What happened on the 22nd February?

Answer 20

On the 22nd February, over 100,000 workers went on strike at the Putilov Iron Works in Petrograd. They marched the streets with signs such as ‘Down with the Tsar’ and ‘Bread’.

Question 21

Worker Discontent - analysis

Answer 21

protests spread across Petrograd, where workers rioted for the Tsar to abdicate and end the war as there was a lack of food available for the workers as most of the food was being sent to the Eastern Front.

Question 22

Worker discontent - analysis +

Answer 22

the strikes and protests from workers had little direction from revolutionaries and were not led by any single group. This meant that the protests were not strong enough to go up against the Tsar as there was no leader or authority in the protest to hold up against the Tsar, and there wasn’t any planning to go into the protests.

Question 23

Peasant Discontent
What did Land Captains do with the grain?

Answer 23

Land Captains appointed by the Tsar would seize the grain found and would deliver it to the Front, leaving no grain for the Peasants to eat.

Question 24

Peasant Discontent
What happened to food production due to conscription?

Answer 24

The army used conscription to raise the number of soldiers, the vast majority of conscripts came from peasant families. Most peasant families lost young, male workers to conscription to the army, which caused food production to decrease as they lost the majority of their workers to the war.

Question 25

Peasant Discontent
What did the Russians do as they retreated?

Answer 25

When Russian troops retreated they operated a ‘scorched earth’ policy and destroyed all the Russian farmland they retreated back over.

Question 26

Peasant Discontent - analysis

Answer 26

the numbers of protests increased against Land Captains as peasant life expectancy was decreasing due to the lack of food caused by the seizing of grain as well as the lack of fit and healthy male workers working the land, causing less food to be produced.

Question 27

Peasant Discontent - analysis +

Answer 27

the war economy allowed thousands of peasants to escape rural life and find employment in the big cities. This meant that the war enabled peasants a chance to find better work, which therefore gave them better wages. This helped make peasants’ lives better, for themselves and their families, ensuring that their family wouldn’t fall into poverty as quickly.