Describe three factors in pre-1917 Russia that may have influenced people to flock to communism.

Before the Russian Revolution in 1917, there were many factors that drove people to oppose the tsar, Nicholas II, and support communism. One was the wounded nationalism of Russians that resulted from their losses in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and the crushing defeats they were encountering along the Eastern Front in World War I. While the Bolsheviks ended Russian participation in World War I with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, there is no...

Before the Russian Revolution in 1917, there were many factors that drove people to oppose the tsar, Nicholas II, and support communism. One was the wounded nationalism of Russians that resulted from their losses in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and the crushing defeats they were encountering along the Eastern Front in World War I. While the Bolsheviks ended Russian participation in World War I with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918, there is no doubt that Russian communism became a vehicle for nationalist feeling. In other words, while Russia did not fight in World War I after it became communist, many Russians saw the Bolsheviks as promising a more powerful, more nationalist Russia after the country had suffering staggering defeats.

Another factor that drove people to support communism in Russia was widespread food shortages. The February Revolutions in 1917 that led to the abdication of the tsar were sparked by food rioters, who were then joined by striking industrial workers. Because World War I interfered with railroad lines, people could not get enough food and were facing widespread privation and starvation.

Finally, there was widespread dislike of the tsar, Nicholas II. In 1915, he had appointed himself commander-in-chief of the army--a job to which he was not at all suited. As a result, he was increasingly disliked, and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra (who was German) was left in charge of the country. People thought she was not loyal to Russia, and they hated her advisor, Rasputin (who was assassinated by Russian nobility in 1915). The Duma, or Russian Parliament, kept pressuring Nicholas II to form a constitutional government, but he refused. Therefore, the military, the duma, and the people all disliked the tsar and were ready to embrace communism.