War Is the Midwife of Revolution

"War is the midwife of revolution"

It isnÐ'Ò't just an unlicky coincidence that both, the 1905 revolution and the 1917 revolution(s), took place slightly after the Russo-Japanese War in the first case, and during the Great War in the second one. Both cases prove that "war is the midwife of revolution" and that it is a direct cause for this uprisings.

In 1904 Russia went to war with Japan. They were fighting for control of Korea and Manchuria in the Far East. Right from the start of the war the Russian army suffered one terrible defeat after another. This, apart from weakening the position of Tsar Nicholas in the throne, made conditions for working people worse than before. Food supplies to the cities broke down and factories closed as raw materials ran short. Workers found themselves out of work and out on the streets.

This situation led to the marching of 200,000 workers led by Father Gapon, asking for better working and living conditions and an end to the war with Japan. When the marchers reached the centre of St. Petersburg they were massacred by the TsarÐ'Ò's armed forces. This incident became known as "Bloody Sunday". From then on caos took control of Russia and "Bloody Sunday" was followed by the Potemkin incident, the rebellion of peasants from their landlords and finally, the beginning of a general strike in September 1905. War had caused revolution for the first time in Russia.

In March 1917 things were almost the same as in 1905, and the food shortages and suffering produced by the war led to revolution once again. But this time, Tsar Nicholas didnÐ'Ò't even have the support of his loyal Cossacks. I will try to show you how conditions came to be so terrible in Russia.

Russia went to war in August 1914, and the war was very popular among the Russians for it was supposed to last just a couple of months. But as war continued in 1915, the Russian economy began to collapse. This was due to the lack of workers (for many men were in the front), the deficiency of transport to carry the raw materials and food supplies to the cities, and the devaluation of the rouble which made poor workers to have even less purchasing power. Moreover, in 1916 the Tsar went to the front leaving Rasputin and Alexandra home to govern. The government was losing its authority at gigantic steps.

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