Compare And Contrast The Chinese And Russian Revolutions

The Chinese and Russian Revolutions were both very influential in their government and overall cultures. In 1917, there were two revolutions in Russia, ending the Romanov Dynasty and imperial rule, and beginning political and social changes in the government ("Russian Revolution"). While in China, there were also two revolutions spanning out over a period of about 60 years, beginning in 1911, ending the Qing Dynasty and imperial rule as well.
By 1917, most Russians had lost faith in the tsar, Czar Nicholas II. He was a bad leader, with a corrupt government, an economy remaining backwards, and Nicholas repeatedly dissolving the Duma, the Russian parliament, when it was against what he wanted. However, the immediate cause of the February Revolution
Russia was no match for Germany and Russia had had more casualties than any nation in any other war. Because of that, the economy lost a lot of money because of the war effort, resulting in mass food and fuel shortages. Then moderates joined Russian radicals in calling for the overthrow of the czar ("Russian Revolution"). By February 1917, the government was in chaos. The February Revolution began on March 8, 1917 [February 23 on Julian calendar], when people took to the streets to the Russian capital of Petrograd. The protesters clashed with police but refused to leave the streets. The head of the Duma informed Nicholas that things had got very bad for the royal family and that soldiers brought in to put down the rioters had, instead, joined them! Nicholas then ordered that the Duma was no longer to meet, again. However, the Duma disobeyed Nicholas ("Why Was There...). The imperial government was forced to resign, and the Duma formed a provisional government that settled with the Petrograd Soviet and took the place of the tsar for control of the revolution. On March 15, Czar Nicholas II was kicked out of the throne and replaced with his brother Michael, but he refused the
After their loss in the Sino-Japanese War, Imperial China was forced to give up Taiwan, parts of Manchuria, and Korea. Then in the Russo-Japanese War (Ledovsky) Japan had claims to the Northeast and even further weakened Qing rule. As Qing rule fell into decline, it made efforts at constitutional reform. Even then, millions of Chinese living overseas wanted widespread reform or outright revolution ("The Chinese Revolution…). Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao emerged as leaders of those proposing the creation of a constitutional monarchy. Sun Yat-sen led both groups and formed the Revolutionary Alliance. The Revolutionary Alliance wanted to replace Qing rule with a republican government; Sun was a nationalist with some socialist tendencies (Ledovsky). The Revolutionary Alliance attempted seven or more different revolts against the Qing in the years leading up to the revolution. Finally in October of 1911, a group of revolutionaries in southern China led a successful revolt against the Qing Dynasty, establishing in its place the Republic of China and ending the imperial system. The Qing court elected Sun as the provisional president of the newly