Grigori Rasputin

He was born in a small village in Siberia called Pokrovskoye on January 22, 1869.

Source: Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs by Colin Wilson

Because Rasputin seemed to have a lot of influence on the czar and czarina and the people didn't trust him because he had inappropriate relations with many women.

The Russian people weren't worried about Rasputin. The aristocracy was worried about him. Rasputin was widely known and respected among peasants and Jews for helping the poor and for his healing abilities. When he began easing the pain and bleeding of the tsarevitch Alexei, he became a confidante to the Royal Family. The nobility didn't like a peasant being so close to the Tsar, especially because his advice of not getting involved in war, helping the poor by giving them land to farm, and giving equal rights to the Jews, were not in the best interests of the upper class. So, they spread rumors of mythical proportion about Rasputin's drunken behavior and womanizing (which unfortunately became accepted as history) to discredit him and, when that didn't work, they brutally murdered him. Of course, this didn't help their cause since, several months later, the Russian Revolution took everything from the nobles anyway. And, Rasputin had nothing to do with the revolution, which was really all about centuries of oppression and poverty for most of the Russian population. In fact, Rasputin had warned the Tsar that if he didn't do something to equalize the classes, there would be revolution. It is notable, too, that Rasputin never harmed a soul in his life, while the Romanovs (along with the rest of the extremely anti-Semitic aristocracy) were responsible for the senseless slaughter and torture of entire villages of Jews, simply because they were Jews. The Romanovs had blood on their hands; Rasputin did not. Even if all the stories of drinking and womanizing had been true, wouldn't that be more acceptable than brutally murdering thousands of people?

In the space of a few days in February 1917, Tsarist Russia came to an end. The Romanov family, who had ruled Russia since the seventeenth century, was overthrown and the monarchy was no more.

There are several reasons why this happened:

Military defeats

World War I was a total disaster for Russia. The Russian army suffered defeat after defeat at the hands of Germany.

· 1914 - The Russians actually invaded Eastern Germany with two large armies but they were totally routed by smaller German forces at the battles of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes.

· 1915 - Germany turned the full weight of its power against Russia and launched a series of offensives against the Russian army. The Russians were beaten and large areas of Russian territory were overrun.

· 1916 - For a time, the Russians did win some victories against the Austrians and regained some territory. But then the German army attacked in support of their Austrian ally and, again, Russia suffered a heavy defeat.

The effort and cost of waging war meant terrible suffering for soldiers and civilians alike. Best estimates state that almost two million soldiers were killed, as were a similar number of civilians, during the course of the war. Morale during this time was at a very low ebb and soldiers and civilians alike were looking for someone to blame.

Leadership

In 1915, Tsar Nicholas II took personal command of the army. He left St. Petersburg and moved to army headquarters in Russian Poland.

Nicholas II may have believed that, by taking charge, his army would be inspired and would fight with renewed vigour. Unfortunately, the Tsar knew little about the command and organisation of large military forces, and the series of defeats and humiliations continued.

The organisation of the Russian army deteriorated and there were massive shortages of ammunition, equipment, and medical supplies.

Nicholas II's decision to take charge meant that he was increasingly seen by the Russian people as having personal responsibility for the military disasters inflicted on Russia.

Government

As the war continued, it became increasingly obvious that the quality and effectiveness of the government of the Russian Empire was under serious question.

The departure of Nicholas II to the front meant that the effective government of Russia now came under the control of the Tsarina Alexandra. In particular, she gained increasing influence over the appointment of ministers to the government. She was determined that no member of the imperial government should ever be in a sufficiently strong position to challenge the authority of her beloved husband.

As a result, members of the government tended to be increasingly weak and ineffective men who owed their positions not to their ability and effectiveness, but to winning favour with the Tsarina. This would have been bad enough with Russia at peace. With the onset of the war, it led inevitably to disaster for the monarchy and for Russia.

Rasputin!

The bizarre career of Gregory Rasputin, and his influence over the imperial family is well known.

Rasputin was a very unorthodox monk from Siberia. Myths spread that Rasputin could perform amazing feats and miracles. He came to the attention of the royal family because their only son, the Tsarevitch Alexis, suffered from the blood disease, haemophilia. The Tsarina Alexandra became convinced that Rasputin could control the young boy's illness.

While there is still debate over the nature of his powers over the health of Alexis, it is very clear that his influence over the Tsarina was considerable: He advised the Tsarina on appointments to the government; he interfered in important decisions; he could do no wrong in the Tsarina's eyes - excuses were always made for his excessive, antisocial behaviour.

To the Russian people, Rasputin symbolised everything that was wrong with imperial government. The court and the imperial family became objects of ridicule, to be despised. Rasputin's murder, at the end of 1916, came too late to undo the damage he had caused.

The February Revolution

From the start of the war, Russia's economic problems grew steadily worse. By the beginning of 1917, the country was facing virtual economic collapse.

Industry

Russian industry moved into crisis during the war. Vital raw materials from overseas could no longer reach Russia. The shortages of both raw materials and finished goods grew worse. The army faced major shortages of supplies and weapons.

Agriculture

Millions of peasant farmers were conscripted into the army. This led to a serious shortage of manpower on the farms and a corresponding fall in production. By 1916, there were serious shortages of food in the city shops and the price of even the most basic foods was rising steeply.

Transport

The underdeveloped Russian railway system now had to cope with the pressures of moving large quantities of troops and supplies to the battlefronts. This made it more difficult to keep the cities supplied with food.

Inflation

By 1916, the value of the rouble had fallen substantially, leading to soaring prices. This made life increasingly difficult, particularly for poorer people.

A "hooligan movement"

In February 1917, rioting began in the capital city of Petrograd, formerly St. Petersburg, as crowds attacked bakeries in the desperate search for bread. In the following days, strikes and demonstrations took place and even soldiers began to join in the protests.

When informed of these events, Nicholas II dismissed it as a "hooligan movement" which would soon be over. Even as his regime met total collapse, the Tsar still showed his inability to face reality.

In his own capital city an independent Soviet of workers and soldiers was formed that rebelliously refused to acknowledge the authority of the Tsar.

Nicholas made an attempt to return from the war front to the capital and reclaim his authority but this met with total failure. Isolated and powerless without the support of his army, his reign as Tsar was over - the only option now was abdication.

Nicholas named his brother, the Grand Duke Michael, as his successor. Lacking the support of the people or the military, Michael refused the position. With that, the Romanov dynasty surrendered control of Russia.