THE IMPACT OF WAR Historiography

War can initiate change:

Optimist view View stresses the viability of Tsarist Russia War made a real difference to the political system of Russia This view believes that the Tsarist system had the capacity to survive, e.g. survived attempted Rev of 1905 (despite embarrassing military defeat in the RussoJapanese war)

War can accelerate the pace of change: Pessimist view War was not the key factor because all the reasons for the fall of the Tsarist system were in place before the War In this analysis Russia was inadequately governed the War merely released latent tendencies

THE IMPACT OF WAR An example

War
War caused political upheaval/food shortages/distribution problems Thus the March 1917 revolution was successful because of the suffering caused by the war The Bolshevik Rev was successful because of the War

Tsarist system Ever since 1906 Nicholas had attempted to undermine the Constitutional changes Opposition did not emerge during the War but had been present before

THE IMPACT OF WAR

Tsarist system Therefore you could argue that Autocracy was failing to come to terms with the Constitutional demands thus ensuring its own demise. The War merely accelerated this

Possible conclusion?
The War may not have been a catalyst that caused the Rev but it could be argued it did ensure the pattern of Rev would eventually be the Bolshevik one. The Oct Rev was the direct result of the distortion of the March Rev by the War.

Marxist Perspective
Rev was inevitable but the War did make it possible to speed up the process of the Rev.

Examples
Thematically
1/3 essay addressing change generated* by war. *change generated = initiated, accelerated, reversed etc
Social change initiated / accelerated* by war Economic change initiated / accelerated* by war x2/3 wars in chronological order

x2/3 wars in chronological order

Political change initiated / accelerated* by war

Wars that reversed* socio-economic / political change

x2/3 wars in chronological order

x2/3 wars in chronological order

Reading
CORE

1. Evans, D., and Jenkins, J., (2008). Years of Russia: The USSR and the Collapse of Soviet Communism. 2. Lee, S., (2010). Russia and the USSR, 18551991. 3. Waller, S., (2009). Tsarist Russia, 1885-1917. 4. Wells, M. and Fellows, N., (2008). OCR History A: Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964.
RECOMMENDED WIDER READING Waldron, P., (1997). The end of Imperial Russia, 1855-1917 Reference library!