Although some of the causes of the Tsar’s fall from power seem more important than others, it is hard to choose a most important cause because each cause links into another, which leads into another. However I have come up with two causes which I think were the most important in the downfall of the Tsar. One was a long-term cause, the foundations of all the other causes, without which the country would not have been in such a bad state. The second one is a short-term cause, which tipped the balance into the Revolution and subsequently the Tsar’s fall from power.
The long-term cause is, Rominov mis-rule, and the short-term trigger is the 1st World War. The mis-rule of Russia by the Rominov’s had been going on for many, many years, coming to a head with the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Rominovs especially Nicholas 2nd believed that they were appointed by G-d to rule the country, and that whatever they thought, must be right. This led them to rule the country for their own interests and for the interests of the rich and important, not for the interests of most of the population, the peasants. The Tsar didn’t listen to the peasants or most of his ministers, appointing and firing them at will. The Tsar, by not listening to his people or caring about their needs, helped Russia to stay very economically backwards when compared to the rest of the world.
This helps to link into the cause of social and economic hardships, another important cause. Many people believe that the influence of Rasputin was the reason that the Tsar fell from power, but I don’t agree. Rasputin was an important factor in the lead upto the revolution and consequently the downfall of the Tsar. He was a rough, smelly peasant, who indulged in lots of sexual acts. The peasants resented him because he seemed to represent what was wrong with Russia. He was uncouth, showing the poor economic state of Russia and the poorness of the majority of its population.
He was wild, showing the way that the Cossacks kept order and he was suspected of having an unfair with the Tsarina, degrading the royal family. However it was not Rasputin alone as some people think, that was the problems. It was the way that the media and Opposition groups portrayed him. However these still lead back to my original cause, Rominov mis-rule.
Had the Tsar listened to his advisors, and ministers then he would have seen the Rasputin was bad for his reputation, and what the effect that making Rasputin influential in his decisions would be. Opposition Groups were another important factor in the downfall of the Tsar. However they were nowhere near as important as any of the two factors that I have chosen. There has always been and always will be opposition to any leading government/ruler.
However Russia was the only government that suffered two revolutions in such a short space of time resulting in the downfall of the Tsar. Although it may be said that the Opposition groups were quite successful, this is mainly due to the fact that there were so many problems with the Tsar and the way that he ran the country, which comes back down to Rominov mis-rule, showing how all the factors are inter-linked and how Rominov mis-rule is the main underlying factor. As I said before, a factor, which I think was very important to the Tsar’s downfall, was the 1st World War. It was the final straw, the trigger that set off the fall of the Tsar. Why did the 1917 revolution end up with the Tsar’s downfall and not the 1905 revolution a few years before? The one main thing that happened was that there was a World War. In July 1914, Imperial Russia declared war upon Germany and Austria-Hungary.
The immediate effect of the outbreak of war, was that it helped get support for the monarchy. The Duma was suspended for some months and voluntary organisations were set up to help the war effort. Unofficial War Industry Committees were established in major cities and some provinces to bring together representatives
