R4 - Causes of February Revolution 1917

Question 1

From 1613, Russia had been ruled…

Answer 1

by the Romanov dynasty

Question 2

however on the 2 March 1917…

Answer 2

the Tsar abdicated his throne and a provisional government assumed control of Russia.

Question 3

A year later…

Answer 3

the Tsar and his family were murdered by the Cheka during the Russian Civil War.

Question 4

In the years leading up to 1917…

Answer 4

social unrest was growing in Russia and this led to the February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar.

Question 5

There were several reasons for the outbreak of the February Revolution including…

Answer 5

World War 1, worker and peasant discontent, the role of Nicholas II and the role of the Tsarina

Question 6

Although many factors played a part…

Answer 6

the impact of World War 1 was undoubtedly the most important factor which led to the February Revolution, 1917.

Question 7

The war was costing Russia…

Answer 7

17 million roubles a day, causing the National Budget to increase eightfold between 1913 and 1916 and increased taxation led to inflation which created huge levels of poverty.

Question 8

why did the cost of the war arguably lead to revolution?

Answer 8

the considerable economic problems Russia faced put further strain on the Empire and by 1917, the Russian people were war weary and living in poverty, increasing discontent and causing strikes and protests, which triggered the outbreak of the revolution.

Question 9

The top commanders of the Russian Army…

Answer 9

had very little experience of war and all came from a very narrow circle of aristocratic cavalrymen. They were merely appointed for their loyalty to the Tsar.

Question 10

why did a weakness in leadership arguably lead to the revolution?

Answer 10

This weakness in leadership arguably led to the February revolution because the officers proved their incompetence on the front lines, for example one commander ordered artillery to fire on his own infantry’s trenches which was humiliating and caused criticism towards the government to grow.

Question 11

how can it be argued that the war did not lead to the February revolution

Answer 11

Russia witnessed an 1000% growth in the output of artillery and shells and by 1916, the Russians were matching the Germans in shell production, showing that the war effort was not the failure that it may have seemed to be.

Question 12

military defeats in the First World War was the most important factor in causing the February revolution because although

Answer 12

the Russian Army were successful against Austria and played a vital role in the Allied victory by launching attacks on the Eastern Front to relieve pressure on the Western front

Question 13

‘The Great Retreat’ led to…

Answer 13

a million men surrendering to the Germans, causing a severe blow to the morale of the Russian troops and rumours to spread of treason in the Tsar’s court, clearly showing that a revolution was brewing.

Question 14

the war, more than any factor, led to the February revolution 1917 as…

Answer 14

the government’s inability to defend the Russian people was made clear.

Question 15

Worker discontent was a somewhat important factor in causing the outbreak of the February revolution. As the war progressed…

Answer 15

there were falls in grain production due to agricultural workers and horses helping in the war effort

Question 16

falls in grain production led to…

Answer 16

food shortages which were worsened due to Russia’s inefficient transport system and priority being given to military traffic.

Question 17

why did food shortages arguably lead to revolution?

Answer 17

food shortages caused huge amounts of anger, causing unrest and hostility towards the Tsarist government for their incompetency with the war effort.

Question 18

how can it be argued that worker discontent did not lead to revolution?

Answer 18

the discontent the worker’s felt was a direct consequence of the First World War. It was the war which worsened the worker’s conditions and therefore without the war they would have been far less likely to take action.

Question 19

worker discontent was a somewhat important reason behind the outbreak of the revolution because although…

Answer 19

it can be argued that without the hardship of the war, the conditions faced by workers would not have been as severe so a revolution would have been less likely

Question 20

discontent resulted in bread riots…

Answer 20

which broke out in February 1917 and caused International Women’s Day demonstrations to become much more political. These strikes were the spark which ignited the revolution.

Question 21

(WD) on the other hand, military defeats in the First World War was clearly the most important factor because…

Answer 21

Russia suffered one of its worst defeats at the Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914 after key messages had been intercepted. This caused mass humiliation and increased criticism towards the government, ultimately leading to revolution.

Question 22

Before the 1905 revolution, peasants…

Answer 22

had very poor living and working conditions, with long hours and poor wages as well as overcrowded accommodation. Very little had improved by 1917 and the war only burdened poor families further by conscripting 15 million peasants by February 1917.

Question 23

why did peasants living/ working conditions and conscription lead to revolution?

Answer 23

peasants became so fed up with their situation that they began hoarding grain and seizing land from landowners which are examples of revolutionary behaviour.

Question 24

The huge numbers of Russian casualties was felt most among the peasants as

Answer 24

almost 3 million peasants were dead by 1917

Question 25

how did the numbers of peasant casualties lead to revolution?

Answer 25

it contributed greatly to the misery the peasants already felt and caused an open rebellion against the autocracy.

Question 26

the discontent amongst the peasantry was a particularly important factor in contributing to the February revolution because although

Answer 26

their discontent was also a direct consequence of the first world war and arguably the peasants would have been far less likely to rebel and seize land without the war

Question 27

peasants were extremely angry that the Tsar had

Answer 27

failed to acknowledge their situation and had done nothing to alleviate the famine and starvation that they faced.

Question 28

(PD) On the other hand, the First World War should be considered the most important factor because

Answer 28

the war was expected to be over by Christmas 1914 so by 1917, Russians were suffering from severely low morale. This led people to being desperate for the war to end and they knew that the Tsar was not sympathetic to their cause so the only solution was revolution.

Question 29

Tsar Nicholas II firmly believed in…

Answer 29

the autocracy and thought that democracy and political reform would lead to the downfall of Russia.

Question 30

how did the Tsar’s belief in the autocracy lead to revolution?

Answer 30

his refusal to adjust to a modern way of ruling which was seen in countries such as Britain and Germany caused the Russian people to feel a strong sense of anger towards him and they demanded that the autocracy should be overthrown.

Question 31

In September 1915, the Tsar…

Answer 31

sacked the popular Grand Duke Nicholas and replaced him by taking the role himself and assuming control of the Russian army which turned out to be a grave mistake.

Question 32

how did the Tsar taking control of the army lead to revolution?

Answer 32

the Tsar’s lack of military knowledge became clear, losing him support from the Russian troops and officers as well as contributing to the perception of him as weak and incompetent which ultimately caused the Russian people to completely lose faith in him.

Question 33

the role of the Tsar was a significant reason for the February revolution 1917 because although…

Answer 33

he was described as genuinely wanting to bring happiness and prosperity to the Russian people and the events of the war arguably made a revolution inevitable

Question 34

the Tsar left the Tsarina to run the Empire from St Petersburg and leaving…

Answer 34

an unstable government without capable ministers meant that the Russian people were facing inevitable military defeats, food shortages and growing unemployment without any way of fixing these problems, triggering a revolution.

Question 35

(Tsar) On the other hand, the military defeats in the first world war was clearly the most important factor in causing the February revolution because

Answer 35

as the conditions at the Front worsened and mortality rates increased, the army’s morale and discipline completely fell apart, causing an internal war between the soldiers and officers and leading to the outbreak of the revolution.

Question 36

Gregory Rasputin was a priest and mystic who the Tsarina believed…

Answer 36

could heal her haemophilic son, the Tsarevich. Rasputin became very close with the Tsarina and rumours of an affair began to spread.

Question 37

how did Tsarina/Rasputin relationship lead to revolution?

Answer 37

Russians began to question Rasputin’s influence in government matters and his reputation as a womanizer and a drunk contributed to the public opinion turning sharply against the Tsar and Tsarina, undermining the credibility of the Tsarist regime.

Question 38

Between 1915 and 1916 Russia had…

Answer 38

four Prime Ministers, five Ministers of Interior, four Ministers of Agriculture and three Ministers of War. This became known as “Ministerial Leapfrog”.

Question 39

how did ‘ministerial leapfrog’ cause the revolution?

Answer 39

as it added to the Russian public’s distrust of the Tsarina. As a German, the Tsarina was not fully liked or trusted, and many believed that she was a German spy who was plotting to destroy the government which clearly damaged the reputation of the Tsarist regime.

Question 40

How did the role of the Tsarina and breakdown of government not lead to revolution?

Answer 40

it can be argued that Tsar Nicholas II was the one who foolishly left his wife in charge without any consideration of the consequences so therefore the Tsarina’s actions herself may not have led to the February revolution.

Question 41

the role of the Tsarina and the breakdown of government was an important reason for the February revolution because despite…

Answer 41

it being the Tsar’s decision to take control of the army that lead to the public’s distrust of the Tsarina and if the Tsar had remained in Petrograd, this outrage may not have occurred

Question 42

the middle classes could no longer tolerate…

Answer 42

the incompetence of the government and now coordinated with revolutionary groups to remove the Tsar from power

Question 43

(Tsarina) the events of the first world war is clearly the most important factor in causing the February revolution because…

Answer 43

by 1917 officers had entirely lost faith in the Tsar and army generals advised the Tsar to abdicate from his position, clearly showing a revolution was on the horizon.

Question 44

Overall, it is clear that the impact of the First World War was the most important reason for the February Revolution because…

Answer 44

economic problems caused by the war, weakness in the leadership of officers and extremely high mortality rates put a huge strain of the Russian empire and caused social unrest to grow and a revolution to begin.