Question

Explain the five causes leading to the outbreak of Russian Revolution?

Answer 1

Answer:

1. The "liberals, social democrats, social revolutionaries, peasants and workers" demanded a constitution in which the Tsar was also included and subjected to the parliament.  

2. The Social System  

The "Russian Society" was divided into "two classes" before the Revolution. The two classes being the "nobles" and the "working class".  

3. Workers plight:  

The "working class" was further divided into sections based on their skills. The workers had to work "at least 12 hours" a day, had low wages and poor working conditions. In 1904, inflation caused people’s income to fall which led to widespread protests by the workers. This was one of the main reasons that gave flame to the Russian revolution.  

Inflation: There was such a high rise in inflation that the real wages dropped down by 20%  

Influence of Industrial Revolution  

The "Industrial Revolution" added fuel to the "Russian revolution" as due to the formation of workers’ unions, workers became more aware of their rights and started "demanding increase in wages, 8 hours of work and better working conditions".  

Answer 2

Explanation:

Autocratic rule of Tsars:

• ‘In 1914’, “Tsar Nicholas II” was the Russian emperor.

• He battled several wars which has expand the empire of himself in Europe's north and west. He bore war spending by taxing Russia's common individuals.

Conditions of peasants:

• Most of the “Russians were farmers”. Most of the land belonged to ‘nobles and clergy’, and these farmers worked on daily salaries as farmers.

• They were paid less and worked more and they were not even paid salaries, sometimes under debt.

Status of industries:

• Industry in pockets has been discovered. St. Petersburg and Moscow were major industrial regions.

• Much of the manufacturing was undertaken by craftsmen, but there were big factories alongside craft workshops.

• With the expansion of Russia's rail network, foreign investment in sectors increased.

Conditions of workers in the industries:

• Private industrialists owned most sectors. Although the government oversaw the workers 'working hours and wages of the factories', the rules were still broken.

• Women employees also received fewer payments than males. In times of unemployment and economic hardship, some employees created associations to assist employees.

‘Formation of socialist parties’:

• Before 1914, all political parties in Russia were illegal. In 1898, Marxist established the “Russian Social Democratic Workers Party”.

• But it had to function secretly as an illegal organization due to public policies.

• A newspaper was set up, employees mobilized, and strikes were organized.