How far was Rasputin responsible for the collapse of the Tsarist regime?
The Tsarist regime collapsed in March 1917 when Nicholas II abdicated. By the time of the abdication the Tsarist regime had already been damaged by a number of factors that could be held responsible for the overall downfall of Tsar Nicholas II. One of these factors is the influence that Rasputin, a monk who convinced the Tsarina that he could cure her son of his haemophilia. Rasputin’s influence over the royal family made him widely hated, especially by the aristocracy. Other short term factors include the discontent amongst the Russian people due to the Tsarinas leadership during the First World War, this discontent stemmed from the fact that the Tsarina was German and …show more content…
However, there are many longer term factors that could be held responsible for the collapse of the Tsarist regime, Russia was also a very backward nation and because of that it suffered many long-term social and economic problem such as extreme poverty and inequality, which led to a rise in opposition to the Tsarist regime and many revolutionary groups.
Grigori Rasputin was introduced to Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra in 1907 in hope that he could cure their son Alexei who was suffering from internal bleeding as a result of his haemophilia B. He had been invited to the imperial court because the Tsarina was desperate for a cure for her son and had heard that Rasputin had extraordinary gifts of healing. Rasputin did appear to help Alexei with his condition, but, ‘Rasputin did not, of course, have the magical or devilish powers that the more superstitious claimed for him, but he was a very good amateur psychologist’ 1 (this is a reliable source …show more content…
Peasants made up 80% of the Russian population at the time and although they manly were loyal followers of the Tsar, many supported the Social Revolutionaries as there was a large discontent over land as most of the land was owned by the aristocracy (who made up only 1.5% of the population) and the church. This strained relationship between the Tsar and his people was shown when in 1903 rules on censorship and repressive measures were relaxed, which lead to ‘an explosion of anti-government pamphlets, books and newspapers’ 8 this shows that many people were unhappy with the way the Tsar ruled. An example of the people protesting against the way the Tsar ruled was on Sunday, 22 January 1905, also known as Bloody Sunday. On this day 200,000 protesters who were mainly workers, led by the priest Father Gapon marched to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with a petition for the Tsar, all carrying pictures of the Tsar to show respect. The Tsar was not at the Palace at the time and the army opened fire on the peaceful protesters killing 1,000 people according to modern estimates. This only increased the tension between the Tsar and his people as ‘a notable feature of the 1905 revolution was how minor a part was played by the revolutionaries’ 9 this means that there should have been no reason for the peaceful protesters to even
The Tsarist regime collapsed in March 1917 when Nicholas II abdicated. By the time of the abdication the Tsarist regime had already been damaged by a number of factors that could be held responsible for the overall downfall of Tsar Nicholas II. One of these factors is the influence that Rasputin, a monk who convinced the Tsarina that he could cure her son of his haemophilia. Rasputin’s influence over the royal family made him widely hated, especially by the aristocracy. Other short term factors include the discontent amongst the Russian people due to the Tsarinas leadership during the First World War, this discontent stemmed from the fact that the Tsarina was German and …show more content…
However, there are many longer term factors that could be held responsible for the collapse of the Tsarist regime, Russia was also a very backward nation and because of that it suffered many long-term social and economic problem such as extreme poverty and inequality, which led to a rise in opposition to the Tsarist regime and many revolutionary groups.
Grigori Rasputin was introduced to Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra in 1907 in hope that he could cure their son Alexei who was suffering from internal bleeding as a result of his haemophilia B. He had been invited to the imperial court because the Tsarina was desperate for a cure for her son and had heard that Rasputin had extraordinary gifts of healing. Rasputin did appear to help Alexei with his condition, but, ‘Rasputin did not, of course, have the magical or devilish powers that the more superstitious claimed for him, but he was a very good amateur psychologist’ 1 (this is a reliable source …show more content…
Peasants made up 80% of the Russian population at the time and although they manly were loyal followers of the Tsar, many supported the Social Revolutionaries as there was a large discontent over land as most of the land was owned by the aristocracy (who made up only 1.5% of the population) and the church. This strained relationship between the Tsar and his people was shown when in 1903 rules on censorship and repressive measures were relaxed, which lead to ‘an explosion of anti-government pamphlets, books and newspapers’ 8 this shows that many people were unhappy with the way the Tsar ruled. An example of the people protesting against the way the Tsar ruled was on Sunday, 22 January 1905, also known as Bloody Sunday. On this day 200,000 protesters who were mainly workers, led by the priest Father Gapon marched to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg with a petition for the Tsar, all carrying pictures of the Tsar to show respect. The Tsar was not at the Palace at the time and the army opened fire on the peaceful protesters killing 1,000 people according to modern estimates. This only increased the tension between the Tsar and his people as ‘a notable feature of the 1905 revolution was how minor a part was played by the revolutionaries’ 9 this means that there should have been no reason for the peaceful protesters to even