Causes Of Russian Revolution Essay, Research Paper

Russia’s involvement in World War I is noted as one of the causes of the Communist Revolution. During World War I, Russian armies were badly defeated; many Russian soldiers were killed or captured. Soldiers were sent into battle without proper war materials because industry was in such a poor state during the war prices began to rise and people began to starve.

Nicholas II took felt it was his obligation to take control of the military, because Russia was losing the war so badly, much of the blame fell on him. When he went to the front lines, he was relying on his wife, Alexandra, to keep him informed situations. Alexandra was not well liked by the Russian people because she was German, and to make matters worse she began a friendship with Rasputin, a peasant priest. Rumors began to fly that Alexandra and Rasputin were having an affair. Rasputin was murdered and the Tsar was forced to abdicate and a Provisional Government took over. The Tsar and his family were eventually exiled and killed.

Since the Provisional Government did not view itself as a permanent structure, it did not want to make any major decisions such as ending the war with Germany, as the Russian people wanted. These weaknesses led to the take over by Lenin and the Bolsheviks.