Zebedis: An Overthrow from Without because of the Collapse from Within

The February Revolution took place in Russia in 1917 while Czar Nicholas II was trying to win a world war, keep the trust of his people, and keep the Romanov Dynasty intact. However the Czarist government in Russia was overthrown from without during the February Revolution because the government was collapsing from within.
The actions of the Czar before and during World War I are what eventually led to the collapse of the government. The loss Russia suffered to Japan in the Russo-Japanese war in 1904-1905 was a major impact on Russia’s nationalistic pride (2). Russia was seen in the eyes of the world as a dominating world power. The people of Russia saw themselves as the most dominating nation in the east and a loss to an Asian power was devastating to morale. Russia losing to the Japanese was the first time ever a European Power lost to an Asian country and the people turned their frustrations on the Czar. The Czar knew that he had to regain his people’s trust and his country’s pride and the only way he thought to do that was to enter World War I (2). Even though Russia had the largest military in the world, they also had one of the most inexperienced. Throughout the war, the military had, “inadequate equipment and a shortage of materials” and at one point the “army was demoralized and nearing collapse” (1). A country can’t win a war with a military that is on the brink of collapsing all together. The military is a direct reflection on the actions of the Czar and a failing military is seen by the people as a failure of the Czar. When the military was failing on the front, the Czar decided to leave his position in the government and go command his soldiers to victory on the battlefield and “he left running Russia to his wife, Alexandra” (1). I believe that this decision by the Czar was the main one that eventually led to his overthrow. While he was trying to gain support of his troops, he left his starving and deteriorating country in the hands of his GERMAN born wife. The Russian people were already not pleased with the Czar’s decisions and leaving his wife, who was born in the country Russia was at war with, in charge of the country led to even more animosity between the Czar and his people. The Czar and his wife were put into leading positions that neither had any experience in. The Czar did not know how to lead a military into battle and Alexandra did not know how to run a country on the brink of a Revolution. With the people of Russia already furious by the results of the Russo-Japanese War, a loss in The Great War would only result in a revolution taking place immediately.
With the government collapsing, the people saw the time as a perfect opportunity to overthrow the Czarist Regime. With the war as the Czars top priority, the people of Russia hardly had anything to eat or drink. The Russian people began rioting in the streets saying, “Give us bread, down with the war, down with the Romanovs, down with the government, and down with the Tsar!” (3). The decision of the Czar to enter World War I with a under equipped military is what led to the starving citizens of Russia. All of the government’s attention was geared to winning the war effort and the slow collapsing of the government is what led to the overthrow of the Czar from without. In a letter to the Czar from Alexandra Fyodorovna, Fyodorovna explains to the Czar that, “strikers and rioters in the city are now in a more defiant mood than ever” (1). With the country falling apart, the people turned towards violence in an attempt to bring better leaders to the power of government. The Duma was a cabinet that the Czar created so that the people of Russia could be represented in government affairs (2). However, the Czar created the Duma to settle the people and completely ignored the Duma after their creation. The Czar completely shutting out the Duma is an example of a collapse from within, but the Czar not giving the Duma a say in governmental matters is what led to the hostility of the people and the Duma towards the Czar. When the February Revolution took place in 1917, it was the Duma that ended up seizing power in Russia. After the Czar stepped down, the Duma became the Provisional Government in Russia.
The overthrow of Czar Nicholas II was achieved during the February Revolution because the Czar Government regime was collapsing. The decisions made by the Czar during World War I and the loss to Japan in the Russo-Japanese war led to the people of Russia revolting. The Czar also ignored the people’s voice in the Duma, which became the new Russian government following the overthrow.