write the causes behind Russian Revolution in 150-200 words.
Answers
Answer:Before 1905, Russia was a country that was led by a Czar who held full power and control over the country and its inhabitants. The people of the country suffered greatly under the regime of the many of the Czars through reforms, incompetence and general disregard of the needs of the people. Repression and unrest with the peasants in Russia were the cause on the 1905 Russian Revolution.
There were many causes of the 1905 Russian Revolution in which some can be traced back to 1861 under the rule of Czar Alexander II and his series of reforms, such as, the Emancipation of the serfs, and creating the Zemstva1. The Emancipation of the serfs was a reform which allowed serfs the freedom of civil rights and allowed them to own land2. There were many problems with this reform. The peasants paid more money to the monarchy than they did to landlords, and nobles kept the best lands for themselves resulting in the peasants to have land which was difficult to farm3. The reform, which was intended to help the peasants and help industrialize the country, did not actually help the peasants at all but increased their impoverish state. With an increase of population, land prices rose while income wages were kept low4.
With the growth of Industrialization, the peasants were forced to find jobs in factories, and with the building of railways they were able to travel great distances for work5. This aided in an increase in literacy as items such as books and news papers were more accessible to peasants. The governmental body, the Zemstava was established in 1864 and held responsibilities such as social welfare6. The Zemstava consisted of intellects such as doctors, teachers, nurses and lawyers who often opposed intellectual values of the state. Some members of the Zemstava even had thought of a constitutional monarchy in place of a ruling Czar7. Due to these liberal changes where elected people we given some power, people began to think they could question the authority of the Czar. These reforms, along with other reforms, were still not solving the problems for the people within Russia. The people were still quite discontented and within intellectual classes and secret societies began to for8.
When Alexander II died in 1881, his son Alexander III took the throne. In 1891 a great famine occurred, due to rapid industrial growth. During this crisis the Czar displayed incompetence and ill regard towards the peasants that made up the majority of the Russian population9. The government attempted to deal with the famine and mass starvation, but was slowed down by its bureaucracy and a transportation system that was unable to cope10. Politically, it was a disaster as it presented the government as irresponsible, torpid and incompetent. There were many instances that perceived the government as uncaring, as such; widespread rumors of food deliveries being held back until ‘statistical proof was given11 showing the people were unable to feed themselves, often too late for actual help; relief work schemes set up to employ peasantry who where on their death beds; and the removal and quarantine of people who had contracted cholera, which resulted in riots from the public12. The biggest mistake the government made was the postponement of cereal exports which did not come into effect until late into the crisis. The respite of the ban was seen by the people as the main cause of the famine13. Not only did the government fail to help the people, but it was also forbidden for newspapers to publicly name the problem, even though they printed the stories anyway. November 1891, the government finally issued an imperial order asking for volunteers to help with the crisis they were unable to deal with14.
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