IB History 1917 Revolutions Notes

Long-Term Causes of the 1917 Revolutions

1. Russia was ruled by an absolute autocracy. The Tsar held unlimited power with no elected parliament, no free press, and no legal political parties until 1905.
2. Russia's rapid industrialisation from the 1890s created a large urban working class concentrated in cities like Petrograd and Moscow, working in appalling conditions.
3. By 1914, Petrograd had over 400,000 factory workers, many working 11-hour shifts in unsafe, overcrowded factories with no trade union rights.
4. The 1905 Revolution forced Tsar Nicholas II to issue the October Manifesto, creating a parliament (Duma) and promising civil liberties. But the Tsar retained ultimate power and dissolved Dumas that challenged him.
5. Over 80% of Russia's population were peasants, many living in poverty. Land hunger was intense: a small number of nobles and the Church owned vast estates.
6. Prime Minister Stolypin's land reforms (1906-1911) aimed to create a loyal class of prosperous peasants, but progress was slow and Stolypin was assassinated in 1911.

The Impact of World War I

1. Russia suffered catastrophic military defeats, including at Tannenberg (August 1914) and the Masurian Lakes, losing over 300,000 men in the first months.
2. By 1917, Russia had suffered approximately 1.7 million killed, 5 million wounded, and 2.5 million captured. Morale among soldiers collapsed.
3. The war disrupted food supplies to cities. By early 1917, Petrograd was receiving only one-third of its required grain. Bread queues became a daily reality.
4. Nicholas II personally took command of the army in September 1915, making himself directly responsible for defeats and leaving the government in Petrograd under the influence of Tsarina Alexandra and Rasputin.
5. Rasputin's influence over ministerial appointments (the so-called "ministerial leapfrog") discredited the government. He was murdered by nobles in December 1916, but the damage was done.
6. Inflation soared: food prices rose by 300% between 1914 and 1916, while wages rose by only 100%. Workers and their families faced hunger and desperation.

The February Revolution (23 February - 3 March 1917)

1. On 23 February (8 March new calendar), International Women's Day, thousands of women textile workers in Petrograd went on strike, demanding bread.
2. Within days, over 200,000 workers joined the strike. Factories shut down across the city. Demonstrators chanted "Bread!" and "Down with the autocracy!"
3. On 26 February, troops fired on demonstrators, killing around 40. But the next day, soldiers of the Volynsky Regiment mutinied and joined the protesters.
4. By 28 February, the Petrograd garrison of 170,000 soldiers had largely gone over to the revolution. The Tsar's authority in the capital collapsed.
5. Nicholas II attempted to return to Petrograd but was stopped by railway workers. On 2 March 1917, he abdicated in favour of his brother Michael, who refused the throne.
6. The February Revolution was spontaneous, not planned by any political party. Neither the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, nor Socialist Revolutionaries led it; it came from below.