Causes of Russian Revolution Essay Example

"Russia is a cauldron of boiling water, tightly closed and placed on a fire that is becoming hotter and hotter. I fear an explosion." (As It Was Lived: 4-18) This very sentence was spoken by a French traveler who visited St. Petersburg. The dramatic change of government from an absolute monarchy to a communist government in Russia came to be because of a variety of different reasons. The revolution came about through a long phase of repression, unrest, and poverty for the average working-class Russian of the 20th Century. A long line of tyrannical Tsars had ruled the country self-interestedly for many centuries, and over 95% of the country lived under severe economic and social conditions. Like a bridge that has too much weight pressing down on it, the Russians were starting to break from the heavy burden of oppression and abysmal standard of living they were forced to endure. Tsar Nicholas II's reaction to the peaceful protest the workers staged, his inability to meet the demands of his people, and the rising prices and lowering conditions that came with World War I all led to the inevitable- a revolution. "Peasants burned the estates of their landlords, destroying everything they could get their hands on." (As It Was Lived: 4-18) This was an accurate portrayal of the behavior of the peasants after the events of the 1905 revolution, also called ‘Bloody Sunday'. The causes of this were severe food shortages, deteriorating living standards, and the fact that the Tsar did not allow any political involvement of the peasants. Famines and land shortages caused suffering of thousands. Also, Russia was losing the Russo- Japanese war, where the Russian army endured a series of defeats as they were ill-equipped, badly-armed, and poorly trained. The corruption and inefficiency of the government were exposed. Transportation broke down and the prices of bread soared. The monarchy was totally shamed in the eyes of the Russians. To combat their living condition, the Russian