The beliefs, attitudes and personality of the Tsar himself was a major factor contributing to his unpopularity. He had a limited understanding of the poverty within Russia which meant that he didn’t make the reforms needed and decreased his popularity with the peasant population, which made up 80% of the Russian population. He also relied heavily on advisors …show more content…
Nicholas refused the establishment of an elected, democratic parliament until this was forced upon him as a result of the 1905 revolution. Moreover, the Tsar had his own secret police otherwise known as the Okhrana who often used arbitrary arrest, detention and torture to gain information and this would have made the Tsar unpopular with ordinary Germans. The cossacks also forcefully suppressed strikes and protests adding to this and the Tsar himself encouraged pogroms against the Jews and supported the Black Hundreds. This is a conditional, political factor contributing to the unpopularity of tsarism.
The Tsarina often encouraged Nicholas to stay at home with his family rather than attending important meetings with his advisors or public events. This adds to his ineffectiveness as a leader. Moreover, the Tsarina was German and was therefore disliked by many of the Russian people. This is a political, contingent factor contributing to the Tsar’s …show more content…
This was a disastrous decision as Russia suffered a humiliating defeat as they hadn’t sufficiently prepared for the war and underestimated the Japanese seeing them as an ‘inferior nation’. They were able to out-maneuver Russia and the humiliating defeat of the Russo-Japanese war highlighted the incompetence of the government and the Tsar himself. This is a conditional, political cause for the unpopularity of Tsarism by 1905.
Overall, the unpopularity of Tsarism by 1905 can be explained mostly by the Tsar’s decisions and actions, such as the Russo-Japanese war and the trigger of Bloody Sunday and also the nature of his autocratic regime. It can also be explained by smaller factors that contributed to the public discontent at the time such as the Tsarina and the conditions of the workers and