To what extent were opposition forces responsible for the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty?
e.g. One of the most significant opposing forces in Russia was the Socialist Rev. P. Chernov, leader of the party
asserted that for “ democracy on a national scale” to occur a “ blow… to Russian absolutism must be struck.
This indicates that as 1900, Marxist revolutionary zeal was directed at land reform. Thus, opposition such as
this hastened the demise of the Romanovs.
Growth of
opposition
Lenin – Trotsky
The opposition forces were equally responsible as the Romanovs themselves for the
downfall of the Dynasty. These forces included the Socialist Democratic Workers
Party, which was divided into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks, and the 1905
Russian Revolution. The Romanovs, particularly Tsar Nicholas II, proved to be
incapable leaders, evident from various decisions. These factors together with the
rise of Marxism and external influences will be analysed.
The Socialist Democratic Workers Party was founded by George Plekhanov who was considered the father of
Russian Marxism in 1898. This party broke into two factions which are the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. The
Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin and was known as the majority while the Mensheviks were led Julius
Martov and known as the minority. They were responsible for their strong leadership in directing the
opposition to overthrow the Tsar. For example, George Gapon, was the leader of the protest called the Bloody
Sunday where many were killed by the Okhrana. This was then used to get the poor peoples demands across
to the Tsar who reluctantly met the demands by initiating the October Manifesto. This made it easier to
overthrow the dynasty as the Tsar became vulnerable. The party was also responsible for their ideologies that
resonated with the majority of poor Russians who did not believe in the concept of absolute monarchy but
enjoyed the concept of Marxism. This led to the end of the Romanov Dynasty.
However, Tsar Nicholas II was also responsible for the downfall. This was because of his poor ruling and in
capabilities. His poor decisions were most downgrading as they led to many defeats. For example, one
decision that he made was to be commander in chief during the WW1. This created a deteriorating image for
himself as all the defeats were being blamed upon him. Another decision of his was putting Tsarina Alexandra
on the throne when they were at war with her home country, Germany. This was not good for Russia as many
thought she was favoring pro-German policy. This all then led to the downfall which was not in any way
favorable for the Tsar and his family but detrimental as this plummeted to their assassination.
Thus, the Tsar was just as responsible as the opposition forces in the downfall. In this essay the responsibility
of the Tsar and the opposition forces to the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty were assessed.
Sample Boxer essay
Boxer Rebellion sample response
Modern History




Useful Essay phrasing
It can be implied that _________________________________
__________(source) asserts that______________
Commenting about______________with any degree of certainty is problematical
According to the limited range of sources, any assessment is open to conjecture