Russian revolution what was it

The response to the massacre crippled the nation with strikes, and Nicholas released his October Manifesto, promising a democratic parliament the State Duma to appease the people. However, the Tsar effectively nullified his promises of Democracy with Article 87 of the Fundamental State Laws, and then subsequently dismissed the first two Dumas when they proved uncooperative. These unfulfilled hopes of democracy fuelled revolutionary ideas and violence targeted at the Tsarist regime.

It appears as though Tsar Nicholas II never really considered Russia a constitutional state and invariably held on to his strong inclination towards an Autocratic Russia. Beside the economic and social problems plaguing the country, the Russian Empire was still recovering from a humiliating defeat at the Russo-Japanese War of One of Nicholas's reasons for going to war in was his desire to restore the prestige that Russia had lost during that war.

Nicholas also wanted to galvanize the diverse people in his empire under a single banner by directing military force at a common enemy, namely Germany and the Central Powers.

He believed by doing so he could also distract the people from the ongoing issues of poverty, inequality, and poor working conditions that were sources of discontent. Instead of restoring Russia's political and military standing, World War I would lead to horrifying military casualties on the Russian side and undermined it further.

From the beginning the troops were not adequately supplied with weapons, or were led by incompetent generals and officers. Logistics were also a problem, since Russia's poorly maintained roads and railroads inhibited communication and distribution of supplies. Almost everywhere Russian forces were matched against German forces who had a superior advantage in weaponry, military talent, and logistics. World War I Russia's recent history was a litany of military failures.

Most of Russia's fleet was sunk by the Japanese in that war. While the Russian army enjoyed some initial successes against Austria-Hungary in , Russia's deficiencies — particularly regarding the equipment of its soldiers and the lack of advanced technology aeroplanes, telephones, poison gas became increasingly evident. Russia's first major battle of the war was a disaster.

In the Battle of Tannenberg , over , Russian troops were killed, wounded, or captured, while Germany suffered only 20, casualties. Whatever nationalistic or patriotic support the Russian government had gained in the initial time frame leading up to the war had been lost. In , things took a critical turn for the worse when Germany shifted its focus of attack to the Eastern front. The superior German army - better led, better trained, better supplied - was terrifyingly effective against the ill-equipped Russian forces.

By the end of October , Russia had lost between 1. These were staggering losses. Mutinies began to occur, and in reports of fraternizing with the enemy started to circulate. These land reforms were designed to foster a conservative, monarchist peasantry than would serve as a counterweight to urban workers, who repeatedly demonstrated for better working conditions and compensation and were more likely to be drawn to Bolshevism.

The term Bolshevism came from the Russian word bolshinstvo, meaning majority. Adopted by a splinter faction of Russian revolutionaries advocating for a Marxist-inspired uprising of the working class, the Bolsheviks had their ideological roots in the pamphlet The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Russia, as the traditional protector of other Slavic peoples, including the Serbs, mobilized its armies. Sixteen million soldiers were mobilized on the Eastern Front over the course of the conflict including 40 percent of all men between the ages of 20 and Despite the enthusiasm and rapid mobilization, the Russian war effort was beset with problems from the start. The wages for workers in the munitions factories did not keep up with the increased cost of living, exacerbating the discontent that existed prior to the outbreak of hostilities.

Industrial and transportation infrastructure was inadequate to the task of providing the necessary supplies for the troops.

Minister of War Vladimir Suklominov was accused of corruption and Nicholas ultimately removed him from office for failure to provide necessary munitions, sentencing him to prison for two years.

In contrast, the practice had disappeared in most of Western Europe by the end of the Middle Ages. In , the Russian Empire finally abolished serfdom. The emancipation of serfs would influence the events leading up to the Russian Revolution by giving peasants more freedom to organize. Russia industrialized much later than Western Europe and the United States. When it finally did, around the turn of the 20th century, it brought with it immense social and political changes.

Between and , for example, the population of major Russian cities such as St. Petersburg and Moscow nearly doubled, resulting in overcrowding and destitute living conditions for a new class of Russian industrial workers.

Large protests by Russian workers against the monarchy led to the Bloody Sunday massacre of The massacre sparked the Russian revolution of , during which angry workers responded with a series of crippling strikes throughout the country. After the bloodshed of , Czar Nicholas II promised the formation of a series of representative assemblies, or Dumas, to work toward reform.

Their involvement in the war would soon prove disastrous for the Russian Empire. Militarily, imperial Russia was no match for industrialized Germany, and Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by any nation in any previous war. Food and fuel shortages plagued Russia as inflation mounted.

The economy was hopelessly disrupted by the costly war effort. Czar Nicholas left the Russian capital of Petrograd St. Petersburg in to take command of the Russian Army front. During this time, her controversial advisor, Grigory Rasputin , increased his influence over Russian politics and the royal Romanov family. By then, most Russians had lost faith in the failed leadership of the czar. Government corruption was rampant, the Russian economy remained backward and Nicholas repeatedly dissolved the Duma , the toothless Russian parliament established after the revolution, when it opposed his will.

Demonstrators clamoring for bread took to the streets of Petrograd. Why does the October Revolution have a November date? In , Russia used the Julian calendar, which placed the date for the October Revolution on October Soviet Union. More Dates in History January. Media Credits The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

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