Assess the Role of the Tsar in the Fall of the Tsarist Regime free essay sample

In Russia, Tsarism had been the system of government since 1547, the country being ruled as an autocracy. For many years the Tsars had been powerful, strong and had the qualities needed to be a great leader, though in 1917, the Tsarist regime came to an end, with Nicholas Romanov II as the country’s current monarch. Tsar Nicholas played a great role in the fall of Tsarism; his incompetency and lack of leadership skills lead to downfall and created a communist Russia. Nicholas made many mistakes which triggered the collapse, which include failure to make the duma work and address the October Manifesto, his role in World War 1 and his decline in authority and support. Another point to consider was the Tsars’ decline in authority; this was a major factor which influenced the role of the Tsar in the regime. After Bloody Sunday Nicholas’ reputation had been damaged and his hold over the Russian public was starting to wane. We will write a custom essay sample on Assess the Role of the Tsar in the Fall of the Tsarist Regime or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since becoming the Tsar in 1894, Nicholas had failed to embody any attributes of a strong leader. The Tsar had no interest in politics and ruling, as well as no knowledge as to how to rule a country; he did not understand his people especially the peasants whom suffered the most and were the majority of his people. This ultimately led to the fall of the Tsarist Regime as he did not know how to run the country in the first place. One of the first ways that Nicholas II brought on the fall of the Tsarist regime was his failure to address the problems that had arisen before and during the 1905 revolution. The citizens of Russia had disagreed with the way that he had been governing the country, and in result the people rebelled. The peasants who were made up the majority of the population had suffered years without recognition or support in their day to day lives. They took to the streets in an attempt to present their issues to their beloved Tsar, and the originally peaceful protest was made a bloodbath with over 1000 protesters killed. The position of the Tsar had been weakened and image as a much loved father figure was damaged. To repair the situation he created the October Manifesto which met the demands of some of the population to rectify the circumstances, but this had just made the situation worse. He had promised freedom of speech, person, conscience, assembly and union, the right to vote and a Duma (government) to assist with decision making, but none of these addressed the problems of the peasants who were the people who needed it most. He also had no desire for reform, and the Duma was only a consultative body, in which he could choose to take advice from. He also implemented fundamental laws which. Many Russians felt that this reform did not go far enough and were still very unhappy with the Tsar and his reign. In addition to the previous arguments, the Russo-Japanese war and World War One also played major roles in the fall of the Tsarist regime. In 1905, Russia entered the war with Japan with the impression that it would be an easy win, though it was the complete opposite. Hoping to rally the people around the tsar in a display of patriotism but instead it ultimately created a divide between Nicholas and his people. This was because the loss of the Russo-Japanese war lead people to feel negatively towards the government and hence the start of a revolution. The humiliation that such a large, ‘strong’ country lost to a much smaller, inferior country was strongly felt by Nicholas, as well as Russia as a whole. Nicholas’ involvement and role in World War One also influenced the fall of tsarist regime, and though the Russo-Japanese war had maddened many citizens, WW1 pushed many to breaking point, and in result the vicious battle took away any remaining support or respect for the Tsar. Nicholas went into battle entirely unprepared for what was to come, relying on the large numbers of the defense forces; he did not account for any other aspects of the war. By late 1914, there were already high casualty rates and it was clear that they were fighting a losing war; the Russian army was fighting a twentieth century battle with ninetieth century training and weaponry. Due to poor financial planning the Tsar sent men into battle with inadequate supplies, there were only enough rifles for two thirds of the whole army, many soldiers were not given the adequate clothing needed to survive the harsh weather and there were food shortages all over the nation, this meant that if the men didn’t die in battle they would surely either freeze or die of starvation. In addition to the many hardships of the soldiers on the battlefield, peasants also found it difficult to survive the many months. There were extreme food shortages all over the nation which resulted in price increases averaging 300%, and though wages increased the living standards dropped with many having to constantly withstand malnutrition and unsanitary conditions. Nicholas played a major role in the fall of the Tsarist Regime in Russia, through his poor leadership skills and naivety he caused one of the biggest government falls in the history of Russia. While in power he lost 2 wars, caused two revolutions and created a government which he later dissolved, and was the largest downfall in the history of Russia.