Student Essay on The First World War Caused the Feb/March Revolution

The First World War Caused the Feb/March Revolution

Summary:   This essay discusses the reasons why the first world war was to a greater extent the cause of the Feb/March revoultion.

World War one operated as a catalyst and emphasized the regimes political economic and physiological weaknesses. In other words the war simply brought to the surface the regimes weakness to efficiently deal with the strain. Consequently the downfall of the regimes was attributed to political reasons rather than the war, which merely sparked social unrest.

In particular Nicholas destroyed the very last opportunity he had of securing the support of the liberals. He kept interfering with the Dumas and the electoral system making himself and the government the target of political resistance and kept rejecting liberal demands for political concessions. The military failure also played a role in the causes of the Feb/March revolution. Heavy defeats along with the persistence of Czar Nicholas II to take personal command also make him a target and personally responsible for millions of deaths, thus aggravating the Dumas and the lower classes. Another factor is the Czarina along with Rasputin was in charge of government and performed poorly in running it. Ministers were continuously shuffled and alienated by the Duma; consequently the empire was lacking political stability and administrative efficiency. Furthermore the war caused great distress since there was a shortage of supplies, both in urban and rural areas causing missive strikes and demonstrations. Workers and peasants were becoming more hostile toward the regime as a result of the lawlessness, the shortage of supplies and the breakdown of transportation caused hyper-inflation responsible for further discontent.

By 1917 there was an apparent hostility and alienation between the government and the Duma which attributed to Nicholas refusal to grant concessions which contributed to the cause of the Feb/March regime. Although Nicholas had granted some fundamental reforms in 1906 he kept curtailing these drastically, it was evident that Nicholas was not prepared to establish a constitutional government. The revolutionary parties boycotted the Duma but after a difficult beginning although the Duma managed to accomplish some productive reforms. The liberals in 1906 had argued that the new constitution was inadequate and pressed for more demands yet Nicholas resisted. Nevertheless the political progressive bloc consisting of Cadets, Octoberists and Progressionists challenged the government's capability to come up with a conciliatory policy according to Pipes. In 1914 the bloc did not challenge the Czarist authority, in fact supported its involvement on the war. However after 1915 the Czarist government attempted many times to bridge the gap between government and Duma, but to no avail. These attempts were considered as a sign of weakness by the liberals according to pipes. The hostility between the Duma and the government reached its peak in 1916 because the government appeared incapable of producing concessions. Pipes claims that the government appeared to be reluctant to grant concessions during wartime fearing that after the war the progressive bloc would manage to take over the government and reduce the Czarist powers. By 1917 it was apparent that the fall of the Romanoff dynasty came about because Nicholas, according to lynch abandoned his traditional supporters in a time of crisis. Pipes argues that the intellectuals by 1917 realised that any political or military victory of the regime would pose a serious threat to the development of democracy in Russia. In other words he argues in contrast to what lynch claimed that there was never national unity in Russia. He also concludes that this hostility in time of war proved fatal.

It can be argued that between 1915 and 1917 the Czarina and Rasputin proved to be incompetent and incapable of maintaining stability at a time of crisis which in turn was another factor that contributed to the cause of the Feb/March revolution. With Nicholas away and involved in the military campaigns, the Czarina was in charge however, Alexandra being of German decent soon became a target and source of negative criticism simply because she was associated with the enemy. The Czarina's public image was further damaged with her involvement and connection with Rasputin. These two appeared to have an unbreakable bond according to Bromley because of Czar Nicholas II son's condition, this occasion however Bromley states proved to been more catastrophic for the monarchy. Alexandra, under Rasputin's influence in just two years dramatically changed the efficiency of the empire. The result was the shuffling and appointing of ministers who were neutral to the Duma. These changes produced a government that was lacking public confidence. Bromley reports how the Duma openly criticised the new government arguing that the empire was torn apart by stupidity and treason. The Duma in August 1914 accepted the Czar's decision for WWI involvement as a patriotic gesture. However with Nicholas's involvement in the war effort in 1915, the situation changed. Nicholas was criticized by the Duma for not providing a strong central leadership. Another fatal mistake that Nicholas committed was he refused to co-operate with the elected bodies such as 'Zernstra' and the town councils which at the beginning appeared supportive of the war effort. By 1916 lack of success was blamed entirely on Nicholas, it is important to note however that the empire's military capacity was substantial. This statement is supported by the fact that Russia contributed in tying down the 'superior' German army for 3 years on the Eastern Front. It is also interesting how Russia's military weakness was greatly exaggerated because by 1916 Russia had manufactured more shells than Germany. Furthermore Norman stone states that the Bolsheviks were not responsible for the disintegration of the army. Between 1914 and 1915 the Russian moral disintegrated because of the number of deaths during the war according to Bromley. The Czar was personally responsible for this outcome besides it is always appalling for a government to lose a war. Therefore the Feb/March revolution should not be blamed entirely on the fatigue of WWI on the contrary Russia wanted to pursue an effective war provided that the Czarina was removed and the Duma would appoint new government members and reorganise the war effort.

WWI was responsible for the breakdown of transport which caused serious problems in delivering food supplies and fuel to the Northern cities which in turn created many riots over food causing further discontent for intervention of Russia in WWI.

Corin states that there was a serious disruption in the delivery of food supplies and materials which caused the closure of hundreds of factories and left hundreds of thousands of workers unemployed. Prices dramatically increased causing inflation and the lack of fuel as a result left the people hungry and cold. Peasants in the countryside were angry with the conscription because many young men were drafted and never returned. It is also apparent that the food output was decreasing because of the conscription of peasants which left woman and the elderly to work on the farms. Stolypin introduced land reforms which were aimed at increasing agrarian land production but these reforms did not go as planned so by 1914 an influx of poor peasants migrated to the cities in order to work in the factories. As for industry between 1906 and 1914 there was an important increase in coal, iron and oil output which caused the Russian economy to grow. Although business people prospered and workers did not simply because of the fact that the average wage did not increase and these elements radicalised the workers who were disillusioned and kept striking till 1917.

Lynch argues that the peasants were extremely hostile towards the regime and the industrial workers were willing to go on 'hunger riots,' the proletariat became even more radical towards the regime because the Okrana kept prosecuting workers who participated in trade unions and kept suspending labour laws. The President of the Duma had warned Nicholas about the serious social unrest. It seems that by February the accumulated suffering reached a breaking point. It is interesting how there were rumours regarding bread shortages, when it is argued that bread supplies were sufficient for the capitals needs. Finally Nicholas was briefed regarding the disturbances in Petrograd and had ordered general Kabalov to restore order. However Kabolov had suggested a martial law which could not restore ordinary life in the capital. Instead, facing a hopeless situation the main bulk of the troops maintained to restore order.

Considering the contributing factors it is rather apparent that Czarism collapsed from within as lynch states. It should also be emphasised that the February revolution succeeded because of a sequence of events which were triggered by WWI. In 1914 the Duma and the elected bodies' whole heartedly supported the war effort. However a year later Nicholas became personally involved and led the campaign. His personal involvement initiated a process which eventually led to his demise. The Czarina and Rasputin were entrusted with the empires command and during 1915 and 1916 the shuffling of ministers and the lack of administrative efficiency alarmed the Duma which by 1916 was alienated. News of painful military defeats had reached Petrograd and had created a great deal of discontent. By 1917 steel workers had joined in strikes with other workers and during the same period and there were disturbing reports from the countryside referring to peasant forces that were confiscating and vandalising land. The Czar was informed by Rodzynko regarding disturbances and had sent troops to Petrograd. The main Bulk of troops deserted. Rodzynko as a last attempted tried to convince Nicholas to grant political concessions and Nicholas rejected the offer and dissolved the Duma. Hence, a number of Duma members refused to comply and formed a committee and by 28 Feb 1917 Rodzynko advised the Czar to abdicate.

In conclusion WWI caused a great deal of economic and social dislocation and aggravated further and deeper concerns which existed long before the outbreak of the war. It was simply accelerated the process which signified the collapse of the regime. The war involvement appears to be the spark rather than the cause for the downfall. This period of crises brought to the surface a number of problems which Nicholas refused to acknowledge. His unwillingness to grant political reforms, the irresponsible appointment of the Czarina as head of state, along with the economic disruptions and social unrest brought about the demise of the regime. As lynch claimed Czarism collapsed as within.