A2, key topic 2 - War and the February Revolution, 1914–17

War Undermines Tsarism

When Russia entered the First World War in 1914, many people initially supported the war. That did not last. The war exposed old weaknesses in Russia's government, economy, transport system and army. It also made Nicholas II more personally responsible for failure.

The effects of war can be separated into three connected pressures:

Petrograd was especially vulnerable. It was a huge industrial capital that depended on rail deliveries of food and fuel. Russia could still produce large quantities of food, but getting grain into the cities at affordable prices became harder. This mattered because an urban food crisis could become a political crisis very quickly. Hungry workers did not only blame shopkeepers or railway delays; many blamed the government and, increasingly, the Tsar.

Nicholas made the political danger worse in September 1915 when he took personal command of the army. He hoped this would inspire loyalty and improve morale. Instead, it tied him more closely to military failures. If the army lost ground, lacked supplies or seemed badly led, Nicholas could no longer blame generals from a distance.

At home, the government also refused to share real power with the Duma or with voluntary organisations that wanted a more effective war effort. This turned wartime cooperation into political frustration. Liberal politicians and many educated Russians wanted a government that could command public confidence. Nicholas saw that as a threat to autocracy.

So the war did not cause revolution by itself in a simple way. It created a chain: military pressure strained the economy; economic strain produced social anger; social anger became political opposition because the Tsarist system seemed too rigid and incompetent to respond.

Rasputin And Royal Authority

Rasputin's influence mattered because it damaged confidence in the monarchy at the worst possible time. He was not the main cause of Russia's military defeats or food shortages, but he became a symbol of a court that seemed corrupt, secretive and detached from the country.

This private family crisis had public consequences. Alexandra trusted Rasputin, and when Nicholas left Petrograd to command the army, Alexandra had far more influence over domestic government.

The problem was partly reality and partly perception. Rasputin did influence appointments and encouraged hostility towards ministers who opposed him or Alexandra. Ministers changed frequently in what critics called "ministerial leapfrog". That made the government look unstable and unserious during a national emergency.

Rumour made the damage worse. Alexandra was German-born, so wartime suspicion made some Russians falsely imagine she was working for Germany. Rasputin's reputation for scandal, drinking and sexual misconduct fed the belief that the royal court was morally rotten. Even loyal monarchists became alarmed because Rasputin made the dynasty look ridiculous and dangerous.

Rasputin was murdered by conservative aristocrats in December 1916. Their aim was not to start a revolution; they wanted to save the monarchy by removing a discrediting influence. But the murder showed how deep elite opposition had become. If members of the ruling class believed the court itself was a threat to the monarchy, Nicholas was losing support from above as well as below.

Rasputin's significance, then, was political trust. He did not make the February Revolution happen on his own. He helped convince Duma politicians, generals, nobles and ordinary citizens that the Tsarist system could not reform itself.

Misconception to avoid: do not write that Rasputin ruled Russia alone. A stronger answer says that his influence over Alexandra and ministerial appointments discredited the monarchy and intensified opposition during wartime crisis.

Petrograd February Crisis

The February Revolution is named after the Russian calendar used at the time. In the Western calendar it took place in March 1917. For clarity, many historians give both dates: 23 February Old Style was 8 March New Style.

The immediate crisis began in Petrograd, not across the whole empire at once. Petrograd had a large industrial workforce, long food queues, severe winter conditions and a garrison full of reserve soldiers who were often unwilling to be sent to the front. That combination made the capital highly unstable.

The slogans mattered because they joined different grievances together. "Bread" expressed the social and economic crisis. Demands for an end to war showed exhaustion with the First World War. Attacks on autocracy turned suffering into a direct challenge to Nicholas II.

No single organisation controlled the first days. Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries and liberals all existed, but the February events were more spontaneous than a party-led coup. That is important for Edexcel source work. If a source suggests that one party simply organised the whole revolution from the start, you should test that claim against the wider evidence of food queues, strikes, women workers and garrison mutiny.

Nicholas was not in Petrograd. He was away at military headquarters and then became stranded while trying to return. This distance mattered. The capital was slipping out of control while the Tsar relied on reports, orders and assumptions that no longer matched reality.

By 27 February, two centres of authority were forming in the Tauride Palace: the Duma's Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. This did not yet mean the October Revolution or Bolshevik rule. It meant the old Tsarist government was collapsing and new political bodies were trying to fill the gap.

For an 8-mark source-support task, compare what both supplied sources say, then explain where their content or emphasis differs. Agreement on an outcome may give only limited support to a different explanation of that outcome. Use these comparisons to judge the extent of support. This task assesses cross-reference of the sources; it does not require own knowledge or a reliability judgement.