I believe the February Revolution was a collapse from within. First of all, the Tsar decided to take over Russia's army and lead the nation into WWI with no military experience to speak of (1). Source 3 explains, "Replacement troops were being trained without rifles and sent onto the battlefield, where they were to go among the dead and wounded to pick up the weapons they needed" (3). These poor military strategies and decisions made Tsar Nicholas II look foolish and only deflated support for the Romanov dynasty during the war (1). This display of ineffectiveness during WWI was entirely the Tsar's fault--he and his country stood no chance of succeeding in a war of such magnitude while being led by a bureaucrat with no military background. Such poor military strategy led his people to believe he was incompetent; if this man couldn't run the military effectively, then why should the Russian people have any reason to believe he could run the entire country effectively? This distrust in the Tsar is what initially sparked the uprisings in Russia, which caused further problems for the government and began the February Revolution. Because of the Tsar's unwise choices, he lost the trust of an entire nation. Had a different path been taken by the Tsar and the Tsar alone, the February Revolution may well have been avoided. Therefore, the February Revolution was a collapse from within.
Secondly, the Tsar created the Duma for the purpose of giving the people of Russia a voice in political matters, yet he ignored all the Duma's advice (2). Various members of the Duma specifically wrote to Tsar Nicholas II, expressing their concerns for the country and the well-being of its people (1). President of the Duma Michael Rodzianko told Nicholas, "The government is paralyzed; the transport service has broken down; the food and fuel supplies are completely disorganized. Discontent is general and on the increase." and "The situation is growing worse. Measures should be taken immediately as tomorrow will be too late" (1). In response to these letters, Tsar Nicholas wrote to his wife, "Again, that fat-bellied Rodzianko has written me a load of nonsense, which I won't even bother to answer" (1). By ignoring the Duma's warnings, and therefore ignoring the voices of the people of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II caused further confusion in Russia. Especially by calling Rodzianko " fat-bellied" does the Tsar reveal his true feelings. Why would the Tsar ignore the pertinent problems faced daily by Russians when he created a council for them to voice their concerns, and then insult the man who speaks and stands up for the people (when his job, as appointed by the Tsar himself, is to do just that)? The reason is simple: the Tsar clearly cared only about having power, not at all about the health and well-being of his constituents (the common people). This, again, shows the Tsar's incompetence. If he had listened to the Duma, the Tsar would have regained the trust he lost during WWI. Instead, he left his country poor and starving and, based on his love of power and bureaucratic ideals, viewing him as far-removed from peasant society. The chioce to ignore the Duma and the people of Russia was entirely within the Tsar's control, proving that the February Revolution was a collapse from within.
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I agree with you Sarah on Czar Nicholas’ II poor military strategies and leadership. Just by proving a mistake in one area of ruling, it makes the people be more precautious. The people obviously see the many mishaps and mistakes during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. Nicholas saw fit to create government of people to hear the voices of the people, so he created the Duma. The people of Russia a voice in political matters, yet he ignored all the Duma's advice (2). This shows what Sarah is talking about the distrust of the Czar. Many people saw the distrust and wanted to do something about it to make it better for them. But I have a question, do you think that there were some people who secretly were for the Czar but yet and still they went on and revolted anyway? And how did the people finally get the Czar to realize that maybe his way of ruling was the best after all?
ReplyDeleteSarah, I agree with you in that Tsar Nicholas's bad choices caused the February Revolution. Just to go off one thing you said ("Secondly, the Tsar created the Duma for the purpose of giving the people of Russia a voice in political matters, yet he ignored all the Duma's advice."), I don't think he had any honorable or good intentions in creating the Duma. (I realize I'm picking at tiny details here but just adding my thoughts...) I fully believe the creation of the Duma was a political move. As Brittney said, he completely ignored the Duma's (and by default, the people of Russia's) advice. His decision to create the Duma may have been one of his few good moves initially. It made the people feel like they had a voice. However, I think, based upon the way he treated them, he had no intention of ever listening to them (2). They ended up being just another group of people that the Tsar ignored in favor of his own opinion (1). The creation of the Tsar was never to give the people a voice, in my opinion; it was just to gain a little time. I think the Tsar knew his rule was almost over and the creation of the Duma was mainly to keep him tsar for just a little longer. I have a feeling you'd agree with me, Sarah, but still I'm asking: why do you really think he created the Duma?
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