1. Mismanagement and Failures of the War
1.1. It turned the people, more importantly the soldiers, against the Tsar
2. The Army and the Duma Abandoned the Tsar
2.1. Army abandoned the Tsar
2.1.1. 8th March 1917- Riots in Petrograd about food shortages and the war
2.1.2. On 12 March the Army abandoned the Tsar – the soldiers mutinied and refused to put down the riots. The government lost control of the country.
2.2. Duma Abandoned the Tsar
2.2.1. On 13 March members of the Duma went to Nicholas to tell him to abdicate.
2.3. In March 1917 crowds rioted on the streets. The soldiers joined them. Then the members of the Duma joined the rebellion; they forced the Tsar to abdicate.
3. Russian Weaknesses
3.1. Russia had been humiliated in a war with Japan- 1904
3.2. There were many different nationalities, languages, races; the only unity were the Romanovs
3.3. 125 million people were in Russia at that time- There wasn't any form of communicating from the government to the Russian population
3.4. Russia were just starting to industrialise
3.5. Tsar Nicholas was an autocrat – Nicholas carried out all the business of government alone, without even a secretary, an impossible load He was a weak Tsar. At first he refused to compromise then, in the crisis of 1917, failed to act.
4. The First World War
4.1. The army was badly led and poorly equipped
4.2. The Russian defeats at Tannenberg and Mansurian lakes
4.3. They lost 200,000 men
4.3.1. Lost support of the government and the army
4.4. The war took 15 million people from farms and trains had to be used for the war so there was no food coming into the country leading to strikes
4.4.1. The winter of 1916-17 was the worst. The food shortages got worse and there was a famine
5. Tsar's Mistakes
5.1. He took personal command of the army
5.1.1. Did not help the war efforts as he was completely incapable of leading and army
5.1.2. Meant he was blamed for the defeats
5.2. He left the Tsarina in charge
5.2.1. She was incompetent
5.2.2. She let Rasputin run the government
5.2.3. She was German
5.2.3.1. Rumours began to circulate that the Tsarina was trying to help Germany win.
5.2.3.2. She already had low popularity among the Russians; She was making everything worse
5.3. By February 1917, the government was in chaos
5.3.1. Tsar Nicholas II failed to do anything about the chaotic scene in the Russian Government
5.3.1.1. He was abdicated that year.