Hi I'm new to the forum and wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I am finishing off my History coursework.
Was size the most important reason in making the Russian Empire of Tsar Nicholas 11 so difficult to rule in the years before the outbreak of the first world war. I am getting on quite well and think I have covered most of the points we discussed in class; Tsar being an autocrat, dissatisfaction of the population an the uneven distributiion of land/wealth, social structure, the size of Russia and the different nationalities that made it up, climate crop failure, large part of country not suitable for farming etc. What I am looking for is something a bt extra. I mean something that would make my essay a bit better. If anybody would be kind enough to give suggestions for further research I would be very grateful. Thanks

Have you checked out the zemstvos?
With such a huge country to govern, the relationship between the tsar and the local government councils (zemstvos) was critical.
After you have checked out all the other reasions for the collapse of the government, part of the answer to your question lies there, I would suggest.
Did he lose his influence over the local councils?

Here's another question for you.
Was the Russia of Nicholas II much huger than the government of Alexander II and Alexander III?
And of it wasn't, why did it collapse under Nicholas II rather than them - when communications were better in 1914 than in 1855?
Surely that is an issue if you are wondering whether size alone was the cause of the government's collapse.

Thank you very much Mr Clare for giving me some other points to think about. I think the Russians were already pretty fed up with the way they had been ruled by the previous tsars. I have found some info where it implies Nicholas 11 always believed he was right and would not listen to people who did not agree with him. He had the Okhrama who censored information and seemed to be very brutal. I'm not sure whether the previous tsars employed the same tactics, but it made Nicholas 11 very unpopular with the peasants/workers. Did all the Tsars think they had been appointed by God or was it just this one?

Not half as brutal as the Bolshevik government which followed him!

All of them.

Thanks Mr Clare. Now I am more used to this site I have been searching past posts and have come across some very useful sites and lots more ideas. Trouble is I'm not so happy with the coursework now and think I will change some of it. At least when its word processed its easy to do

The interesting thing is the enthusiasm with which the peasants greeted the tercentenary celebrations of the Romanov dynasty in 1913; and Nicholas enjoyed a huge wave of popularity when he went to war in 1914.
If you ask me, all the signs are that the revolution was the result of the disastrous war, NOT because of a peasant/worker uprising in protest at the government.
The weaknesses of the tsar's government were not important inasmuch as they angered the proles, but in that they meant that the government was utterly unable to run the war.

And have you seen this?

Mr Clare thank you very much for that latest link, it does help to organise your thoughts better. I think the problem for me is that I now have so many other ideas I sort of wander off the actual question. Still it is lovely to be doing coursework where you feel you have so much to write rather than struggling for words and repeating yourself

Oh no now I'm about 1000 words over what I'm supposed to be

Have a look at this thread. I have sorted out this thread so it should send you to the right place.

Otherwise, go through and delete anything which does not answer the question. Sometimes it is helpful to get someone else (not on your course) to read it through to see if it makes sense.

Hope that this helps. Remember, do not assume that the word-limit is advisory.

Thanks Mr Bryant. I've got rid of about 500 words and my cousin who is at uni is going to read through it for me. (couldn't open your last link bit just went to my last post. I am very grateful to Mr Clare and yourself for giving so many good suggestions.