Dissent and Revolution
Pre-1917
The Tsar and political authority:
- The Romanov dynasty had ruled Russia since 1613
- His reactionary father, Alexander III was determined to uphold Tsarist
power
- Tsar Nicholas II’s reformist grandfather, was blown up by a
revolutionary bomb
- Tsar Nicholas II was naturally shy and awkward in public and struggled
to make clear political decisions
- He pitted his ministers against each other to keep them weak and
preserve his own authority
- Rasputin’s influence over the Tsar extended to interference with
government appointments – known for womanising and drunkenness –
damage his reputation
The Russian War effort:
- Initially a popular decision to go to war and supported by anti-German
sentiment
- The capital ‘St. Petersburg’ became the less German name ‘Petrograd’
- August 1914 Battle of Tannenburg in East Prussia left 300,000 dead or
wounded – was disastrous
- 12 million men mobilised between 1914 and 1917 but no suitable
weaponry – 1914 there were 2 rifles for every 3 soldiers
- June 1916 Brusilov Offensive initial success
- 1.5 million desertions by the end of 1916
Economic and social state:
- Increased taxes to raise money for the war effort
- Shortage of men in the countryside
- Railway system virtually collapsed during the war
- Discontent caused by long queues to get bread in Petrograd was an
important factor in the 1905 revolution
- 300% rise in the cost of living
, Discontent:
- Anger directed at those immediately above peasants – employers or
landlords
- Operating conditions on the front lines in 1916 and 1917 were –35
degrees
- Political discontent: Aleksandr Guchkov (founder of the Progressive
Bloc) engaged in talks about a possible coup, Pavel Milyukov accused
the Tsar’s ministers of seeking peace with Germany behind the Duma’s
back in November 1916
February Revolution
Causes of the revolution:
Monday 14 February - 100,000 workers from 58 different factories
were on strike
- Long queues for bread and police attacked
Wednesday 22 - 20,000 workers locked out of the Putilov Steel
February Works by management after pay talks
collapsed – workers in other factories went on
strike in support
Thursday 23 - 90,000 workers were on strike and 50 factories
February closed
(International - 240,000 workers out on the streets of
Women’s Day) Petrograd
- March for International Women’s Day
Friday 24 February - 200,000 workers were on strike
- Crowds overturned Tsarist statues, waved red
flags, wore red rosettes
Saturday 25 - 250,000 people were on strike (over half the
February city’s workforce)
- Band of civilians killed by soldiers
Sunday 26 February - Rodzianko, the Duma President sent the Tsar a
telegram warning of the serious situation
- Nicholas ignored the warning and ordered the
Duma to dissolve the next day
Monday 27 February - The Tsar ordered Major-General Khabalov,
Commander of the Petrograd Military District
to restore order by military force
- Mutiny began in the Volynskii regiment where
a sergeant shot his commanding officer
- 66,000 soldiers mutinied and joined the
protestors, armed with 40,000 rifles
Pre-1917
The Tsar and political authority:
- The Romanov dynasty had ruled Russia since 1613
- His reactionary father, Alexander III was determined to uphold Tsarist
power
- Tsar Nicholas II’s reformist grandfather, was blown up by a
revolutionary bomb
- Tsar Nicholas II was naturally shy and awkward in public and struggled
to make clear political decisions
- He pitted his ministers against each other to keep them weak and
preserve his own authority
- Rasputin’s influence over the Tsar extended to interference with
government appointments – known for womanising and drunkenness –
damage his reputation
The Russian War effort:
- Initially a popular decision to go to war and supported by anti-German
sentiment
- The capital ‘St. Petersburg’ became the less German name ‘Petrograd’
- August 1914 Battle of Tannenburg in East Prussia left 300,000 dead or
wounded – was disastrous
- 12 million men mobilised between 1914 and 1917 but no suitable
weaponry – 1914 there were 2 rifles for every 3 soldiers
- June 1916 Brusilov Offensive initial success
- 1.5 million desertions by the end of 1916
Economic and social state:
- Increased taxes to raise money for the war effort
- Shortage of men in the countryside
- Railway system virtually collapsed during the war
- Discontent caused by long queues to get bread in Petrograd was an
important factor in the 1905 revolution
- 300% rise in the cost of living
, Discontent:
- Anger directed at those immediately above peasants – employers or
landlords
- Operating conditions on the front lines in 1916 and 1917 were –35
degrees
- Political discontent: Aleksandr Guchkov (founder of the Progressive
Bloc) engaged in talks about a possible coup, Pavel Milyukov accused
the Tsar’s ministers of seeking peace with Germany behind the Duma’s
back in November 1916
February Revolution
Causes of the revolution:
Monday 14 February - 100,000 workers from 58 different factories
were on strike
- Long queues for bread and police attacked
Wednesday 22 - 20,000 workers locked out of the Putilov Steel
February Works by management after pay talks
collapsed – workers in other factories went on
strike in support
Thursday 23 - 90,000 workers were on strike and 50 factories
February closed
(International - 240,000 workers out on the streets of
Women’s Day) Petrograd
- March for International Women’s Day
Friday 24 February - 200,000 workers were on strike
- Crowds overturned Tsarist statues, waved red
flags, wore red rosettes
Saturday 25 - 250,000 people were on strike (over half the
February city’s workforce)
- Band of civilians killed by soldiers
Sunday 26 February - Rodzianko, the Duma President sent the Tsar a
telegram warning of the serious situation
- Nicholas ignored the warning and ordered the
Duma to dissolve the next day
Monday 27 February - The Tsar ordered Major-General Khabalov,
Commander of the Petrograd Military District
to restore order by military force
- Mutiny began in the Volynskii regiment where
a sergeant shot his commanding officer
- 66,000 soldiers mutinied and joined the
protestors, armed with 40,000 rifles
