Araam Borhanian: Collapse from Within

It's obvious that the February Revolution was a result of bad moves made by the government. In other words, a collapse from within. During World War One, Tsar Nicholas II would decide to become the leader of the military (Source 1). The reasoning behind this was simple; to improve his image. If the war were to start to turn out well, then he would get the credit. Of course, the flip side was true as well, where if the war started going bad, then he would look bad too(Source 2). It wasn't likely that he would have much success though in this position because he didn't have knowledge in the military area. He would most likely look bad to his citizens, which would lead to a revolt occuring against him. Not only this, but he would also not help with problems that were going on at home, such as the food shortage. According to Alexandra Fyodorovna in a letter to Nicholas II, the "youngsters and girls are running around shouting they have no bread" (Source 1). Because he wouldn't address this issue, the citizens would get riled up and would look for a different government to support, which would lead to the February revolution. The citizens would want to get rid of the government because of this need not being met, and would decide that getting rid of the czar would be the quickest way to do it. He didn't leave the government unkept, but instead left his German wife in charge (Source 1). Not only was a woman leading the government, but she was German. The Russians did not look favorably towards the Germans at the time, so this upset the citizens. Also, the fact that she went to Rasputin, the "mad monk" (Source 1), for advice would cause the citizens to become discontent with the government's actions, because Rasputin wasn't considered trustworthy. And though Czar Nicholas II would create the Duma, and he would say that he would grant liberties to the civilians, in reality the Duma wasn't listened to, and the liberties weren't granted to the citizens (Source 2). In Source 1, Michael Rodziano has sent telegrams to Czar Nicholas II stating the condition of mother Russia, saying that it was "growing worse. Measures should be taken immediately." What was Czar Nicholas II's response? According to the message he wrote to his wife, "Again, that fat-bellied Rodzianko has written me a load of nonsense, which I won't bother to even answer." (Source 1) This statement alone shows that not only does Czar Nicholas II not pay attention to the Duma, he also doesn't think of them on a similar level, throwing an insult at the president of the Duma (Source 2). The Duma would represent the people, so by disrespecting the Duma, Czar Nicholas II showed that he didn't care about the people, though that was already shown through Bloody Sunday (Source 2), which was the reason he created the Duma. Again, the government's actions would cause the citizens to ignite the fury against the government, and start the February Revolution.