...century; surely a revolution would have occurred before the 20th century as most of Europe and America had experienced a mass cultural movement of emerging liberal ideas and reasoning, known as the 'Age of Reason' or 'The Enlightenment'. However this was not the case as the Russian regime under the Tsar had collapsed towards the end of the first World War when he was forced to abdicate from the throne; some would argue that it was inevitable due to the unpopular attitudes towards the social and economic conditions which left the majority of the population in severe poverty. Others may disagree with this inevitability due to such events that could not directly blame the Tsar such as 'Bloody Sunday' in 1905, the state that Russia had been left in by, Alexander III and most notably the role of Prime Minister, Pyotr Stolypin. The focus of analysis will be to explore key leaders/figures and events, and to create a judgement to which degree the Russian regime was strong or stable (or both) on the eve of World War One. The strength and stability of a regime simply refers to whether an existing system is powerful,effective and difficult to remove and is truly secure/consolidated within that society with little/no disruption of that regime. It is essential to take in to account and consider the events prior to the First World...
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...factor being his decision to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces during World War One. Russia was economically and socially ill-prepared for war and the effects and the outcome of the war had a devastating impact upon the Russian people. There had been a continual build-up of discontent towards the Tsar as a result of Russia’s failure in the Russo-Japanese War, the ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre and the failure of the Duma. However, it was World War One that was the ultimate factor in which the people acted upon their discontent toward the Tsar. Nicholas Romanov was appointed the Tsar of Russia in 1894 after the premature death of his father, Alexander III. Nicholas was thrust into being the Tsar of Russia at an extremely fast pace and was faced with the task of modernising the biggest country in the world to keep pace with the other super powers in the world such as Germany, Britain and the United States. Nicholas did not have the best of relationships with the people of Russia. Russia’s defeats in the Russo-Japanese war damaged the Tsar’s relationship with the people of Russia. ‘Bloody Sunday’ and the 1905 Revolution which followed, the failure of the Dumas, and the relationship that Rasputin had with the Tsar and Tsarina all led to a deteriorating relationship between the Tsar and the Russian people. Coupled with this, revolutionary groups were seriously challenging the Tsar’s position in Russia. The climax in his rule of Russia was when the Tsar appointed himself Commander-in-Chief...
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