1)
DISSENT
AND
REVOLUTION
1917
***
CAUSES
OF
THE
DOWNFALL
OF
THE
TSAR
NICHOLAS
II/
THE
FEBRUARY
REVOLUTION
1917?
POLITICAL
1. The
incompetence
of
Nicholas
II
• ‘There
was
no
real
leadership
on
the
people’s
side’
(Figes)
• Tsar
Nicholas
II
was
unable
to
rule
effectively.
He
made
poor
decisions
that
led
to
worsening
relations
with
the
government
and
increased
hardship
for
civilians
and
soldiers
alike.
• Nicholas
refused
to
accept
any
reduction
in
the
absolute
power
he
held.
• He
was
detached
from
the
plight
of
the
Russian
people
and
his
policies
also
alienated
ethnic
minorities.
• When
the
Duma
was
recalled
during
World
War
1,
a
group
of
Octoberists
and
Kadets
established
the
Progressive
Bloc.
This
group
wanted
to
have
more
control
over
the
war.
In
response,
in
1915,
Nicholas
closed
the
Duma
in
rejection
to
retain
autocracy.
This
alienated
many
liberals
and
arguably
the
Progressive
Bloc
could
have
saved
his
position.
• Nicholas
declared
himself
Commander
in
Chief
of
the
army
and
departed
for
the
Eastern
Front
to
take
control
of
operations.
• However,
Nicholas
was
not
well
educated
in
the
tactics
of
war.
Moreover,
his
absence
left
a
weakened
government
in
Petrograd.
• Graham
Darby
stated
that
Nicholas
II
was
removed
by
his
own
class.
The
generals
removed
the
Tsar
so
the
people
would
be
satisfied.
2.
The
role
of
the
Tsarina
and
Rasputin
• The
departure
of
Nicholas
II
to
the
front
left
his
wife,
Tsarina
Alexandra,
in
control.
Alexandra
was
not
hugely
popular.
She
was
a
German
princess
and
some
were
suspicious
as
to
where
her
loyalties
lay
in
the
war.
• Alexandra
influenced
appointment
of
ministers
to
the
government.
She
was
determined
that
no
member
of
the
government
should
ever
be
in
a
position
to
challenge
the
authority
of
her
husband.
She
appointed
less
threatening,
incompetent
ministers
to
replace
those
who
knew
how
to
govern.
This
led
inevitably
to
disaster
for
the
monarchy
and
for
Russia.
• Rasputin
was
a
monk
from
Siberia,
who
was
rumoured
to
be
a
member
of
an
extreme
underground
sect
that
had
split
from
the
Orthodox
Church.
He
was
infamous
for
his
drunkenness
and
for
womanizing.
• To
the
Russian
people,
Rasputin
symbolised
everything
that
was
wrong
with
imperial
government.
The
court
and
the
royal
family
became
objects
of
ridicule,
to
be
despised.
Rasputin's
murder
by
royalists
at
the
end
of
1916,
came
too
late
to
undo
the
damage
he
had
caused.
3.
Revolutionary
groups
• The
membership
and
influence
of
revolutionary
groups
had
been
severely
reduced
by
1914,
mainly
through
the
repressive
tactics
of
Stolypin
and
the
Okhrana.
But
radical
opinion
was
not
wholly
defeated:
• Revolutionary
groups
survived
underground
and
continued
to
attract
support.
• Revolutionaries
managed
to
assassinate
Stolypin
in
1911.
DISSENT
AND
REVOLUTION
1917
***
CAUSES
OF
THE
DOWNFALL
OF
THE
TSAR
NICHOLAS
II/
THE
FEBRUARY
REVOLUTION
1917?
POLITICAL
1. The
incompetence
of
Nicholas
II
• ‘There
was
no
real
leadership
on
the
people’s
side’
(Figes)
• Tsar
Nicholas
II
was
unable
to
rule
effectively.
He
made
poor
decisions
that
led
to
worsening
relations
with
the
government
and
increased
hardship
for
civilians
and
soldiers
alike.
• Nicholas
refused
to
accept
any
reduction
in
the
absolute
power
he
held.
• He
was
detached
from
the
plight
of
the
Russian
people
and
his
policies
also
alienated
ethnic
minorities.
• When
the
Duma
was
recalled
during
World
War
1,
a
group
of
Octoberists
and
Kadets
established
the
Progressive
Bloc.
This
group
wanted
to
have
more
control
over
the
war.
In
response,
in
1915,
Nicholas
closed
the
Duma
in
rejection
to
retain
autocracy.
This
alienated
many
liberals
and
arguably
the
Progressive
Bloc
could
have
saved
his
position.
• Nicholas
declared
himself
Commander
in
Chief
of
the
army
and
departed
for
the
Eastern
Front
to
take
control
of
operations.
• However,
Nicholas
was
not
well
educated
in
the
tactics
of
war.
Moreover,
his
absence
left
a
weakened
government
in
Petrograd.
• Graham
Darby
stated
that
Nicholas
II
was
removed
by
his
own
class.
The
generals
removed
the
Tsar
so
the
people
would
be
satisfied.
2.
The
role
of
the
Tsarina
and
Rasputin
• The
departure
of
Nicholas
II
to
the
front
left
his
wife,
Tsarina
Alexandra,
in
control.
Alexandra
was
not
hugely
popular.
She
was
a
German
princess
and
some
were
suspicious
as
to
where
her
loyalties
lay
in
the
war.
• Alexandra
influenced
appointment
of
ministers
to
the
government.
She
was
determined
that
no
member
of
the
government
should
ever
be
in
a
position
to
challenge
the
authority
of
her
husband.
She
appointed
less
threatening,
incompetent
ministers
to
replace
those
who
knew
how
to
govern.
This
led
inevitably
to
disaster
for
the
monarchy
and
for
Russia.
• Rasputin
was
a
monk
from
Siberia,
who
was
rumoured
to
be
a
member
of
an
extreme
underground
sect
that
had
split
from
the
Orthodox
Church.
He
was
infamous
for
his
drunkenness
and
for
womanizing.
• To
the
Russian
people,
Rasputin
symbolised
everything
that
was
wrong
with
imperial
government.
The
court
and
the
royal
family
became
objects
of
ridicule,
to
be
despised.
Rasputin's
murder
by
royalists
at
the
end
of
1916,
came
too
late
to
undo
the
damage
he
had
caused.
3.
Revolutionary
groups
• The
membership
and
influence
of
revolutionary
groups
had
been
severely
reduced
by
1914,
mainly
through
the
repressive
tactics
of
Stolypin
and
the
Okhrana.
But
radical
opinion
was
not
wholly
defeated:
• Revolutionary
groups
survived
underground
and
continued
to
attract
support.
• Revolutionaries
managed
to
assassinate
Stolypin
in
1911.
