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A wave of patriotism and support for the tsar as ‘our Holy Father’ spread across Russia at the start of the war. By the end of 1914 there were 6.5 million soldiers in the Russian army. In 1915 Nicholas assumed supreme command of the army – which meant he wasn’t in Russia.
What effect do you think this news had on people in Russia?
But there were only four million rifles, not all of which had any bullets. A soldier would have to wait for the man in front of him to be killed, and then he would take his rifle from him.
What effect do you think news of events such as this would have on the way people felt about the government?
A soldier’s home was destroyed and his family killed by government forces, it was reported yesterday. The family withheld food to prevent his little sister from starving to death.
What effect do you think news of events such as this would have on the way people felt about the government?
Sacked Petrograd steel workers have been demonstrating in the streets after being locked out of work for going on strike. Their families starve in bread queues that have no bread.
30,000 men locked out of the Pitilov Steel Works for asking for a pay rise
What effect do you think news of events such as this would have on the way people felt about the government?
Revolutionary ideas being spread by soldiers and workers distributing leaflets encouraging people to rebel against the tsar. Soldiers are deserting from the army in their thousands.
The soldiers refused to fire on the crowds. The chairman of the Duma told Nicholas that a change of government was needed. The crowd were refusing to disperse and they could not be controlled.
Which of these things would you have done if you were Nicholas II, and why would you have done this?
This would probably have been the sensible thing to do if he’d done it on the 26 February. Nicholas might have been able to restore some order and show himself to
This was almost impossible. Their simply wasn’t enough food to go around, and even if there was, there weren’t good enough methods of distribution. Nicholas
also didn’t want to be seen to be giving in.
Give the crowd some of their
demands?
But Nicholas didn’t do any of these things. Look at the next slide to see the decision that he made.
On the 26 February the members of the Duma disobeyed the tsar and met anyway.
The Russian Revolution had begun.
Mr Rodzyanko, chairman of the Duma: I’m going
to close you down and rule
by myself.
I’m not having the Duma or the
people telling me what to do.
25,000 troops mutinied and marched towards the Tauride Palace where the Duma was meeting, not to attack the Duma but to support it in its stand against the tsar.
Nicholas tried to return to Petrograd by train to take control of the situation on 2 March. A group of army generals stopped the train and told him it wasn’t safe for him to return as the troops might fire on him. They said he would have to give up power and hand it over to his son Alexi. Nicholas said Alexi was too ill and suggested his own brother the Grand Duke Michael.
The generals refused and so the tsar abdicated (gave up his power).
The Romanov Dynasty, which had lasted for over 400 years in Russia, had come to an end in a few days.
Below are some reasons why Nicholas fell from power in February 1917. Rearrange them into order of importance and then add evidence to back up each one.