The Kornilov Affair

The Powder Keg (1894-1917)
(Very Simplified) The Russian Empire under Tsar Nikolai II was a rapidly deteriorating state. Plagued with political and economic stagnation, the country was on the brink of collapse for over a decade. After the abortive revolution of 1905, following Russia's embarrassing loss in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the Russian Government implemented a Duma. This acted more like the Tsar's puppet than an actual parliament and only further destabilized the empire, and planted a seed of mistrust among the Russian peasantry regarding Nikolai II and his rule. Once war broke out with Germany and Austria-Hungary, and later Bulgaria and the Ottomans, Russia experienced a surge of nationalism, however, it wouldn't last. The Russian Army's losses outweighed it's victories, as the German and Austrian Armies encroached further and further into the Russian heartland, culminating in the February Revolution, and the abdication of Tsar Nikolai II, leaving Russia under the rule of a provisional government.