Was the World War I the Main Cause of the March 1917 Revolution in Russia?

Throughout his time as ruler the Tsar had made many mistakes but the worst of all would have to be the slaughter of hundreds of his own people. At the beginning of 1905 a peaceful strike made its way towards the Tsar’s winter palace in the hopes of speaking with the Tsar about proposed changes to be made in Russia. They never saw the Tsar though as they were promptly shot down and hacked to pieces by the army and the Cossacks. This was the final straw as far as the people were concerned; if their Tsar would not listen to them then something had to be done.

By the time the First World War began Russia had hit breaking point. The country had united against the Tsar and was ready to begin the revolution. In this respect the war was a god send for the Tsar. For the first time in years Russia and the Tsar were united, if Nicholas had handled the situation correctly he could have turned his predicament around, however it seemed that no matter what happened Nicholas was doomed to fail. And fail he did, by the end of 1914, less than a year into the war, one million Russian men were dead. By March 1917 this figure had risen to a staggering eight million. The soldiers that had survived had done so by living in appalling conditions. Short of guns and ammunition, at least one third of the Russian army had to wait for their comrades to fall before being able to obtain a weapon and fire against the enemy. Boots and first aid supplies were also in short stock. A soldier lucky enough to survive being wounded would be taken to the local army hospital, consisting of state of the art straw mattresses and hygienic dirt covered floors, where they would only have to wait for five days before being treated.

It is of no surprise then that when the revolution finally began the army almost immediately switched sides and fought with the people against the Tsar.

The army were not the only ones affected by the war. Conditions back home were worsening by the minute. Shortages of supplies meant that prices were rising dramatically whereas wages did not,  not to mention the fact that many factories were closing forcing hundreds of people into unemployment and poverty, so if it was difficult to buy food before it would be hell to afford it now. Food was not the only thing Russia was short on, coal was hard to come by and during those cold Russian winters it was important that houses could be kept warm, without heating however this became increasingly difficult.

Coming back to the question ‘was the first world war the main cause of the revolution?’ my answer is no. I believe that although the war did have a part to play, it only sped things up. Russia was already heading towards revolution due mainly, I think, to the Tsars inability to rule. War or not the same outcome would have eventually come to be.