Declining Confidence in the Tsarist Regime: 1914-17

Rasputin and the Tsarina had been believed to have been in control of the Tsarist regime in the years 1914-17 during the Tsars absence in its entirety. But this was in fact not the case in all respects, such as the control of the armed forces, which were still very much under the control of generals as it had been in the time beforehand. Although Rasputin and the Tsarina seemed to have control over this, it was obvious that Tsar Nicholas II would not leave his army under the control of people who were not qualified, especially under the likes of Rasputin. Some people believe that Rasputin was able to influence the Tsar through the Tsarina who was highly fond of him for his ‘healing’ of her ill son, but this can be argued as wrong due to the fact that the Tsar, although he listened to almost everything his wife had to say, did not always actually use her advice in his acts as the Tsar, even if they could sometimes be persuading in his decisions.

Another way in which the confidence in Tsarist rule could have been affected is by the fact that those who did criticise Rasputin usually exaggerated their points in order to actually be heard by the public, falsifying most of their arguments, although it still caught traction amongst the public in Russian cities. The reason as to why Rasputin was so close to the Tsar and Tsarina was due to the fact that he was believed to heal their son’s haemophilia, which coincidently, began to get better once Rasputin started treating him, overwhelming the Tsarina with admiration for Rasputin. This weakness in which their son had was kept from the public, which is why suspicion aroused as to the aim of the tsar for letting a Siberian peasant to live in the palace near his family. The people of Russia al...

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... confidence in the government as they showed that they were still willing to accept some input from the public of Russia, even if it was due to intense pressure.

Overall, I think that each of these factors played a fairly equal role in the declining confidence in the Tsarist regime over 1914 – 17. Mainly due to their impact on the attitudes within Russia itself. But I think that the reason which stood out as to the main factor of declining confidence in the Tsarist regime is the fact that the economy broke down over the wartime. Everything, no matter how much you may think otherwise, always ends up with money being a culprit at some point or another, which is why inflation and the munitions crisis pushed their way to the top factors as to why the Russian citizens thought the government was lacking in competence and preparation skills for any even in which my happen.