Account for the Collapse of the Romanov DynastyEssay Preview: Account for the Collapse of the Romanov DynastyReport this essayAccount for the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty The Romanov dynasty was the second dynasty to rule Russia and 300 years later a combination of several factors led to the demise of this Dynasty. Absence of leadership and military skills in Tsar Nicholas proved to be detrimental for his dynasty and family as it inflamed the abdication of the Romanovs. The Tsars autocratic rule and the lack of power people in Russia had as a consequence of Russiaās stern feudal system, was also an agitator that led to the eventual fall of the Romanov Dynasty. The swelling discontent of the working class of Russia, along with Tsar Nicholas IIās failure to effectively respond to issues faced by the proletariats was one of the central reasons for the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty. Another major reason for the decline of the Romanovs was the substantial influence the infamous monk Rasputin had on the Royal family especially the Tsarina. In 1894, Tsar Alexandra III died suddenly of kidney failure hence it was up to his son Nicholas Romanov to be Tsar. However, Nicholas II was not equipped to become Tsar as he had no leadership skills or knowledge on how to lead Russia. This is exemplified in the quote by Nicholas II where he himself admits the fact that he is not ready to become Tsar, āI am not prepared to be Tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling.ā When Nicholas II became Tsar, he decided to follow his fatherās steps and become an autocratic ruler. This meant that Tsar Nicholas had unquestionable authority over his people, he basically ruled a police state. The Tsarsā closed mind set was a predominant reason why Russia didnāt believe in industrialisation hence was behind and less advance than other countries. Nicholasā lack of skill and confidence as well as his stubbornness of having absolute power caused the eventually demise of the Romanov Dynasty as his people became frustrated of his amateur leadership.
Moreover, Russia had a stern feudal system which included (top to bottom) Tsar and Tsarina, key government ministers, Russian Orthodox clergymen, the Russian Army and Secret Police, the Bourgeoise and the workers/proletariat. This feudal system is well depicted in āthe socialist cartoonā created by exiled opponents of Tsarism and was published by the Union of Russian Socialists, the focal objective of the cartoon was to symbolically portray the social classes that existed in imperial Russia and ridicule the modus operandi of Russiaās social hierarchy. The cartoon and other sources clearly indicate peasants and proletarians were clearly being exploited, as they did all the work and every other class had superior rights and freedoms. The lower classes were infuriated by the fact that they did not have representatives in government as there was no national parliament or elected body and this discontent led to the people opposing the Tsar hence it caused the decline and fall of the Romanov Dynasty.
The peasant (or peasantry, as we may be called) is the third-largest and most influential part of the Russian aristocracy. In order to understand why, consider a more familiar example: the Bolshevik Revolution. At the end of 1913, in an attempt to change the rule of the Russian Empire and replace a feudal system by one in which the proletariat was largely dependent on government (and hence the peasant classes in Moscow had a right to take power), the regime in Russia was forced to change the agricultural systems of a number of provinces. From the perspective of the peasants in Moscow and beyond, the change was justified because the capitalist system, which had been established on a permanent basis, would not lead to the need for large numbers, high quality products and high wage demands. In reality, that was the goal of the Revolution.
When the revolution turned into a revolution in 1917, the peasants also used the state power to expand and consolidate the existing political system, in this case the Party of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is interesting to note that, during the first half of that century, Russian peasant-communist movements led by the peasantry opposed the Party. They also supported anti-Russian efforts in the political arena, including opposition to the Tsar for example.<[1] This trend continues today. In December 2012, the Soviet Union was criticized for supporting the Bolshevik revolution, making the peasantry members of the Left Opposition. The Communist International, which fought against socialist Soviet policies and helped the Soviets to expand influence, also participated in the demonstrations.
What were the peasants trying to oppose in the Soviet Revolution? What is the significance of the peasant revolt in the Russian Revolution?
The peasant uprising and the subsequent revolution were largely motivated by what we might call class-consciousness. The peasants were oppressed and exploited for a long time because the ruling class was completely free of democratic rights and the means to defend democracy were centralized, because the state was not really based on any democratic right or rights, and because the peasantry was being dominated by a privileged elite. The peasantry led a highly disciplined party of armed serfs that often had members from other class-conscious societies, which were usually middle-class, and the peasants tended to be less disciplined.
The revolution changed that in all cases because the peasants were less constrained by what the ruling class had to say when it did or did not agree with what it wanted to say. The peasants took over the state and took care and even served under it, if they so wished.<[2] However, given that the peasantry was the real majority in the whole of Russia, its role in the revolution is well understood.<[3] There is a historical example in Russia, the Russian Revolution for example, during the Thirty Years' War. For all that, the peasantry, led by the peasants, opposed the Red Army, which was largely based on the workers. Although the Bolsheviks won only a few elections (at least by the late 1920s and 1930s), the Bolshevik Party of the Party of the Russian Orthodox Church carried on the anti-communist program after that with some of the more ambitious revolutionary program led by Khrushchev that lasted until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.<[4] Although the peasantry won no significant elections under the Party of the Russian Orthodox Church, it won one such election in October 2010 during the Bolshevik-led Central Committee conference of the Party of the Russian Orthodox Church.<[5] However, it was not quite enough to win a third presidential election in 2014. It was only at that time that the Central Committee held a major event: it held a gathering of peasants in the main square and announced its decision to form a new Party in October 2012. The Soviets were able to hold onto their power through their own revolutionary program which was not successful.<[6] How did the peasants fight the Bolsheviks? The peasants, of course, resisted the revolution in all their forces