What was the main cause of the Russian revolution?

What was the main cause of the Russian revolution?

“The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917. In the second revolution, during October, the Provisional Government was removed and replaced with a Bolshevik government.” (Wikipedia.com).
There are several causes of the Russian Revolution. The poor economy and week leader is couple of them but the main cause was the impact of World War I on Russia. Russia had a huge but terribly led and poorly equipped military force.
(www.schoolhistory.co.uk). By the end of 1916 over 14 million men had been mobilized in the empire.   The most significant pressure fell on the peasantry: nearly 50 percent of the male rural labor force had been called up by the end of 1916, in most of the Russian regions anything from one-third to two-thirds of the peasant houses had lost their male workers.  Wartime development requirements brought about an increase in the amount of factory workers in the big cities: there were 242,600 workers in Petrograd in 1914 and 391,800 in 1917; in Moscow, during the same period, the factory labor force increased from 153,223 to 205,919. Russian military losses were tremendous.by the end of October 1916 the Russian army had lost between 1.6 and 1.8 million killed, with another two million as prisoners of war and over one million more 'missing'. Early in 1916 there had been reports of troops fraternizing with the opponent. (www.schoolhistory.co.uk).
The Russian army did not provide its troops with guns, because there was a shortage of guns, so only a third of the troops were armed. Another reason why the Russian army lost so many of its troops were because most of the people involved in fighting in the war were not trained. Most were farmers or factory workers who were recruited to fight in the war. (Essaydepot.com). Military leadership of Tsar and generals increasingly disillusioned troops. Growing agitation by small number of Bolsheviks within the army took place setting the scene for a revolution. (www.casahistoria.net).World war one was not the only war where the Russians lost land and military force; in fact The Russians were defeated in the Russo-Japanese war as well. This was a disgrace for the Russian Nationalists because it was the first time that a white Nation had lost a war to a non-white nation. After this, the Nationalists believed the power of the Tzar was weak and he didn't have the power normally associated with his office. (http://sointoprem.blogspot.dk/).
Another essential cause of the Russian revolution was the weak economy as it resulted in poverty, misery and exploitation of the peasants by the aristocracy. Prior to the revolution, 75% of Russians resided in villages. Until 1861 these peasants had belonged to their masters, who could buy and sell them like cattle. The peasants were liberated in 1861 and given small sizes of land for which they had to pay back the government. They therefore had small farms and hefty debts, with the result that they were very poor.
Most of the peasants could not read or write, so they knew very little about how to improve the land. They still used the old farming methods, working by hand on their plots.   They envied the nobles with their huge estates (johndclare.net/). Because of the weak economic system 70% of the Russian inhabitants were illiterate. The royal family owned most of the farming land. 70% of the peasants possessed between three and ten acres of land. In inclusion the peasants were required to use primitive tools, implements and methods of cultivation, which were not very productive and modern machinery was not provided.
 The laborers were treated roughly and were not given medical relief in case of an emergency in the course of their work time, which was 12 to 14 hours a day. These workers were given incredibly minimal wages and were not granted a weekly holiday. Great discontent and displeasure among the farmers generated, as they had to pay huge chunks of rent and tributes to their landlords every year. In order to end this economic and social system, these peasants were ready to rebel against the Tzarist government. (pinkmonkey.com. “The War took 15 million men from the farms in response; industrial workers went on strike and effectively paralyzed the railway and transportation networks. What few supplies were available could not be effectively transported. As goods became more and more scarce, prices skyrocketed.” (quizlet.com) (sointoprem.blogspot.dk/). And In the winter of 1916–17 there was famine and starvation. So it created the unrest, which unseated the monarchy – on 8th March the women went on a Bread March, which turned into riots. (www.bbc.co.uk/).If the leader is unable to see the problems his subjects are facing then he cant possibly solve them. A very significant cause of the Russian revolution was that, Russia’s emperor was blind to the issues in his country. In my opinion, Tsar Nicholas II was a decent man but a lousy emperor. He found the daily work of a monarch intolerably boring.  He could not stand listening long or seriously to ministers’ reports, or studying them. He never had a viewpoint of his own, constantly accepting the judgment of the last individual he spoke to. Nicholas would rather devote time with his loved ones than cope with governmental matters. He could be cruel and merciless.  He would not stand for resistance.  His answer was always the same – violence. Nicholas believed completely in autocracy.  He thought that democracy with elections and parliaments would lead to the failure of Russia.  Nicholas knew very little about the people.  He did not pay a visit to factories or villages, or go on tours.  His information about what was going on came from a small number of people, who were quite happy to protect him from the facts of life in Russia. Nicholas had no understanding of the world of men, of politics or government to help him make the major decisions that in the Russian system the Tsar alone ought to make. (docstoc.com) (ngfl-cymru.org.uk).
The Russian Revolution consisted of numerous causes, but I believe That the main cause was the effect of World War I on Russia as this had a major impact on the economy during mobilization and increase in the prices of goods, it also influenced the social structure as poverty increased and people started hating the emperor because he was throwing untrained and poorly equipped men into the war. In my opinion, Tsar Nicholas II was a decent man but a lousy emperor. finally, they all decided to revolt against the king, and improve their lives. This cause is important because this was a significant factor, which led to the Revolution in Russia.WORK CITED-"Causes of the Russian Revolution." Essay on. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.essaydepot.com/doc/34247/Causes-Of-The-Russian-Revolution>."Russian Revolution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2012. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution>.
"How Did World War I Bring about the Fall of Nicholas II? - Interactive Diagram - Www.SchoolHistory.co.uk." How Did World War I Bring about the Fall of Nicholas II? - Interactive Diagram - Www.SchoolHistory.co.uk. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/lessons/russia/impact_wwi.shtml>.
"PinkMonkey.com World History Study Guide - 12.1 Causes of the Russian Revolution." PinkMonkey.com World History Study Guide - 12.1 Causes of the Russian Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2012. <http://www.pinkmonkey.com/studyguides/subjects/worldhis/chap12/w1212101.asp>.
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