Russian Revolution Essay -- Russian History

Russia had been an autocratic government for 300 years under the Romanov Dynasty before the revolution of 1917. When problems started in the early 1900’s most people were serfs that had been freed about 20 years before. In 1914 during World War One, Czar Nicholas II decided to stay in war with Germany despite what the rest of his country thought. Nicholas posed a distraction from the countries problems. His plan was to keep his soldiers minds off of the horrible living conditions of Russia by staying in war with Germany and starting a war with Japan in hope that he would lead his country to a victory; both wars were lost, giving Russian citizens more to be upset about. Russia’s Army was extremely weak, made mainly of peasants, and the cost of war was weighing down on the citizens of Russia. In reality, Nicholas II had no aptitude to be a ruler, and proved himself to be politically incapable of governing a country. Starvation and poor living conditions lined the streets of homeless families. Many people were unemployed, and those who were faced terrible conditions when they were working. Nation-wide discontent for the czar had set in, people begged for him to be dethroned. The country attempted to industrialize, but this just brought more trouble and left the country more distraught than ever, at this point they were behind the rest of the world in every aspect. The war with Germany was over, but Russia was left with a period of economic downfall to deal with. Four groups were later formed against the czar and his form of government, only one group of people, the white Russians, were still loyal to him. Liberals were people who wanted democratic checks on the czar, instead of total dictatorship. The Nationalists wanted greater in... .../srcx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C18%2529russian%2Brevolution%2524&contentSet=GSRC&sort=Relevance&tabID=T001&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=SRC-4&searchId=R1 ¤tPosition=5&userGroupName=glen46605&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHitCountType=None&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%. â€Å"The Russian Revolution.† Gale Resource Research Center. Ed. Marie Hacht and Dwayne D. Hayes. N.p., 2008. Web. 25 Dec. 2010. . Wines, Michael. â€Å"1917: Russia’s Year of Revolutions.† New York Times 12 Mar. 2007: n. pag. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 26 Dec. 2010.