Molly Bandelli
Period: 6
Global Perspectives
Russian Revolution
Since the 16th century, the Czars have successfully ruled Russia. In 1894, Alexander III had unexpectedly died and his son, Nicholas II had to ascend to the throne. Although he was a well-educated young man, he was not prepared to take on the important role of the Czar. Nicholas's reign was marked with embarrassment and tragedy from the start, but without the mistakes of Nicholas II Russia would never be where it is at today. The failure of Nicholas II to adequately address the economic and social circumstances of the masses led to the transformation of Russian society.
After the reign of Alexander III, the economic conditions of Russia spiraled downward. During this time, nearly 70% of the population was poverty stricken. The people of Russia were struggling, living in conditions that those of the medieval times suffered from, while Nicholas II watched and did nothing.
The nobles and he were living an luxurious life, so it did not matter to him how the working class was.
The working class of Russia was just able to afford the food they needed. The women of Russia would have to wait in line for hours, sometimes even days to get bread. "Many of them sleeping outside bakeries overnight to be first in line because so many bakeries had closed" (Figes, Orlando). On February 23, 1917, which happened to be International Women's day, the bread riot in Petrograd broke out due to being 'fed up' with waiting for bread. They marched through the working districts of the city gathering men from other factories and occupied the streets. "About a 100,000 people were in the fashionable downtown districts of Petrograd that day," (Figes, Orlando). As the days continued to pass, more and more people flooded the...