Short Term Causes

Nicholas II came to power as the tsar of Russia in 1894. His grandfather, Alexander II had been assassinated by extremists. Young Nicholas II had witnessed this event and it shaped how he ruled Russia. He ruled with an iron hand and was unyielding. He did not listen to the concerns of his people. He was not a popular ruler. In 1905, Japan and Russia engaged in a war that Japan won. This made Russia and the tsar look very bad. Also in 1905, a group of protesters peacefully marched to the tsar's palace to ask for better working conditions. Nicholas II had then fired upon and 100 people were killed. The Revolution of 1905 broke out, but Nicholas II made concessions to bring about the peace. As time passed, he began to rule more autocratically and was resented for this. His lack of popularity made it desirable to overthrow the government when the time was ripe.

Russia's involvement in World War I further caused Nicholas II's popularity to wane. The war dragged on for four long years. Russians soldiers were sent off to die. Most of the food and supplies were sent to the war front, therefore, people at home did not have enough to eat. Russians wanted peace.

The tsarina of Russia, Alexandra, who is pictured above, caused problems as well. She was German. During World War II, Russia was at war with Germany, therefore she was looked at as an enemy and a spy.

It did not help the tsar and tsarina that their son Alexis, pictured above, had hemophilia. They did not want anyone to know because he was the only male heir. This illness would be perceived as another weakness.

Because Alexis had hemophilia, a strange character in history named Grigory Rasputin was able to gain a prominent role in the government. He was a self-proclaimed holy man who had the ability to calm Alexis down and stop his bleeding. This power allowed him to become very close with the tsarina. The nobles were jealous of this relationship and rumors were rampant about Rasputin. He was another liability to the tsar and tsarina in terms of their popularity.

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