Russian Revolution

Hey,

I've just finished studying Russian rev. and I love history so here's to hoping I can be of some assistance. Most of the info I have for you is from 1905 up to the death of the Tsar (king).

So, basically, the Russian rev. centers around the fall of the Romanov dynasty. The last Tsar (king) of Russia was Nicholas II who the people called 'The Little Father' because he was so short. He was crowned in 1894 and was only in power for 23 years, after which he was removed and taken prisoner but more of that later.

Nicholas wasn't the best ruler. He became king way to early with out having the leadership skills to successfully rule the country. I'm not sure, so don't quote me on this, but I think the reason he became king so early was because his father was assassinated by the people because they were sick of the way the country was being run. Basically they wanted a Duma, which is a democratic government (at this time Russia was an Autocracy - run by one person), and he wasn't giving it to them so they blew him up. The ironic thing is the day before he was assassinated he had drawn up plans for a Duma, which Nicholas ripped up as soon as he discovered who was responsible for the assassination.

Another obstacle Nicholas had to face was the size of his kingdom. Russia spans thirteen time zones and only 40% of the population spoke Russian as their first language, so you get a little bit of an idea of what he had to face as a new, inexperienced king.

So, Russia was ruled by Autocracy. This meant that one man, the Tsar, had full and absolute power. He believed that God had placed him in that position and the Russian church supported his view. However, about 1.5% of Russian society made up the Aristocracy. Out the Millions of people who lived in Russia this 1.5% owned 25% of the land. The Aristocracy is important because they were a key part to the Tsar's government, often acting as local officials.

the cartoon attached shows basically how the whole country worked. the witting around it explains what it's about but it's in Russian so I'll translate.

The top layer: the Royal family - 'We rule you'
next layer down: The church - 'We mislead you'
Middle layer: The capitalists - 'We do the eating'
Second bottom: The army - 'We shoot you'
Bottom Layer: The workers (in many other versions the workers are holding the whole structure up)

To fully understand the message being sent across through this cartoon you have to understand the different classes Russia had. There were The Peasants who accounted for 80% of the population. They were dirt poor. The worked land for a living but got hardly any money for it. Their living conditions were atrocious but many remained loyal to the Tsar because of their religion. The church had a huge influence on what the people thought. They told the people that the Tsar was put in charge by God and that stopped people questioning his rule. The army, well they're the army. They would shoot you if you stepped to far out of line. The capitalists were the middle to upper class. Again don't quote me on this but I think they were like the Aristocracy.

OK. Sorry that's all I can give you right no. I have to go do my own history work but if there's any specific info you need PM me. I'm always up for some history :wink:

and sorry if this didn't help at all.

Thanks

BeckFletch. xx

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