'Brushed aside the hand that was offered them’ this was said by Milyukov, Kadet leader. It can be argued that the most important reason of the cause of the 1917 revolution was the tsar’s political failings, where he lost his last opportunity of saving the Romanov dynasty. However in this essay one will argue that the economic problems caused be World War 1 was the most important; looking at the food shortages, transport problems and inflation. One will also discuss World War 1’s political problems; the tsar’s long absences, Rasputin and Alexandra’s felt hatred from the public and wide-spread strikes. Finally, one will discuss the spark of the revolution when the tsar ‘brushed away’ his supporters, turning them against him. Overall in this essay one will argue the economic problems caused by World War 1 were the most significant cause of the 1917 revolution.
In this paragraph one will argue that the economic problems caused from World War 1 were the most significant in causing the 1917 revolution. This can be deduced by the food shortages Russia went through during the war. For example the military took over horses and fertilisers; consequently this made it difficult for the average peasant to sustain agriculture. This was made worse by the 15million peasants that were fighting in the war. Therefore in Russia bread rationing in Petrograd in 1917 only received a ¼ of what they needed and Moscow only a 1/3. This can also be shown by the most important problem caused by the war; transport problems. For example, Russia attempted to transport millions of troops and supplies which caused unbearable pressures. Consequently, there large signalling system which the railway depended broke down. Thus there were blocked lines, trains left stranded and a lack of coal. As a result the trains stranded added to the strenuous food problem as food was rotting in the trains. Also, by 1916 575 stations were no longer capable of handling