Was World War One Responsible for Nicholas Ii’s Downfall?

Emily Hawkins How far do you agree that Nicholas II’s downfall was caused by World War 1? 1914 was a devastating year for many countries of the world, as world war one began to take full effect. But as world war one shook the world; it began to question Nicholas II’s ability to rule Russia. In this essay i will discuss the extent of world war one’s responsibility in Nicholas II’s downfall, and the extent of other contributing factors. I will argue that Nicholas II’s own traits as a leader were the main reason for his downfall.On the one hand, world war one had a huge impact on the Tsar and his country. Firstly, the cost of the war was placing a huge strain on Russia’s economy. Taxes increased hugely and the cost of living rose by 300%, so in order to try and help the economy through the struggling times of world war one, the government printed more money, making all money worthless. The people of Russia were now struggling even more than they were before the war had begun. Secondly, the Germans were forcing the Russians to retreat and they were therefore losing a lot of land.The impact of the battle of Tannenburg, where 30,000 troops were killed and 95,000 captured had a huge impact on the army’s moral, and by the end of 1916, 2 million soldiers had left the army. The commander in chief shot himself because of how bad the country and the army were doing, and soon after, the Tsar himself took on the role of commander in chief, although he lacked ability and knowledge. Also, the military had a lack of resources, in each regiment in the army; there was one gun per three people; the Tsar was blamed for many of the military downfalls, and this was one of them.The Russian transport system was also facing serious problems, and the ammunitions being made in the factories weren’t getting to the front line. Thirdly, world war one was causing huge food shortages; in Moscow in 1914, Russia was receiving 2200 wagons of grain and by Christmas 1916, the number of carts was down to just 300. This was because of distribution problems; nobody could sort the carts out properly. They were prioritized to the front line, so that the soldiers got the first carts.But after the front line had been sent their grain, there was nobody sorting out the rest of it; there were carts found with bread rotting away, bread that the starving Russian people were missing out on. Although world war one was not the sole reason for Nicholas’ downfall, it did act as a catalyst. It increased the severity of the existing problems that Russia was facing. It also highlighted that the Tsar and the Romanov dynasty was no longer capable of ruling the country and that they didn’t have the support and determination to rule the country through a world war.On the other hand, there were many other reasons that the Tsar’s downfall occurred. Firstly, the strikes and demonstrations in Moscow and Petrograd were causing h uge disruption, and when the Tsar tried to return to Petrograd, his train was stopped and he realised that he couldn’t control the protestors; a major sign that he had no control of Russia and its people. Secondly, the revolutionary parties were spreading their radical ideas around the country, and also highlighting the weaknesses of the Romanov dynasty.The Tsar’s downfall was prone because of the amount of opposition that he faced and his loss of support to the other political parties. Parties such as the Bolsheviks, Social Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Populists educated the peasants and working-class people on the need for a new type of leadership; this encouraged strikes and discontent. Many of the strikes were purely because of the appalling living and working conditions, and for a while, the people united together because of the war, but when the Russian people began to feel the true cost of the war, the protests began to re-occur and more support for the Tsar was lost.Thirdly, because of the troops refusing to shoot at protestors on 25th of February, the army felt no longer obliged to be loyal to the Tsar. As long as the Tsar was not supported by the army, he had no chance of successfully running Russia. The Duma also refused orders to dissolve, and 12 of its members formed a committee that planned to take over Russia; the called themselves ‘The Provisional Government’. The soviets also issued ‘Order number 1’ which demanded that all officers in the army be elected by their men, proving that the Tsar had lost all of his power.Therefore, there were many factors involved in the Tsar’s downfall, such as the political opposition, strikes and the disloyalty of the army and the Duma. Once people started to support the other political parties, they lost all loyalty for the ‘God appointed’ Tsar. The strikes highlighted the weaknesses of the Tsar’s leadership skills and proved that he couldnâ⠂¬â„¢t no longer control and rule Russia. The disloyalty of the army and the Duma completely removed all of his power, meaning that Nicholas could no longer be Tsar.I personally believe that Nicholas II was responsible for his own downfall. Although there was definitely contributing factors, his naive attitude and inability to effectively rule a country caused his downfall. Nicholas failed to trust key advisors such as Witte and Stolypin and despite him issuing the October Manifesto; he preserved his own autocratic power through the fundamental laws, which the Russian people didn’t like. He failed to think and plan ahead to create a better future for Russia, he didn’t think like a leader should.Even though the war was already a huge strain on Russia, and on Nicholas, he still felt it necessary to take over the role of commander in chief of the army; although he had no experience or knowledge of the role. He was blamed for many of the army’s failure, and people s topped believing in him. By Christmas 1916, the Russian army were struggling and with Nicholas II as an unqualified leader, poor communications and shortages of food and supplies led to problems and Nicholas was blamed for the 1. million soldiers who died, the 3. 9 million wounded and the 2. 4 million who were now prisoners. As Nicholas was busy trying to incapably run the army, he left his wife in charge of Russia, his wife that nobody liked. As she was German born, the Russian people thought that she was sympathetic to the enemy, and they deeply mistrusted her. The Russian people looked at their leadership and saw the ineffectiveness; they began to look for alternative leaders.Also, people disliked the Tsar, as he took key advice from Rasputin, who was disliked by the population for making many ministerial changes, and they thought that he was having an affair with the Tsarina. Some radical parties began to plot the death of Rasputin as the Russian people looked for alternatives t o the Romanov dynasty. Therefore Nicholas was responsible for his own downfall. People began to dislike him after he failed to listen to his key advisors and improve Russia. This was made worse by his inability to share power with the Dumas or any other political opposition.Russian people also hated the fact that Nicholas had taken the role of commander in chief of the army. He was unable to run the country, let alone the army as well. He had almost run Russia into the ground, and then he left it in the hands of someone that none of the population liked or trusted, so that he could take up a role he knew nothing about; which he failed at miserably, letting the country and the army down. Therefore, i believe that Nicholas was responsible for his own downfall.There were many other things to blame though, such as world war one, the disloyalty of the army, and his political opposition. As soon as world war one started, the Russian people began to see that Nicholas was incapable of runni ng Russia and they looked towards the opposition for a way out of the autocratic state they had suffered so long. Once the loyalty of the army was lost, Nicholas had no chance of getting Russia back to how it was 100’s of years before. He knew that his time of autocracy, and the time of the Romanov dynasty was up.

Piracy

Piracy and Copyright Infringement are major issues that have developed through the use of the Internet and file transfer servers. Developments and advances in these areas over past two decades have my generation within a mouse click of their destination. However, these opened doors have been overrun with a large exchange of pirated material. The present issue involves the nations excessive illegal downloading of unlicensed products.The trend of previous litigations involving piracy and copyright cases in federal courts has ruled against the consumer, and has involved the rewriting of many laws, yet it becomes harder to pinpoint copyright violators as decryption advancement mimics closely the timeline of security encryption. I feel that it is imperative for all software products to receive a restrictive license tag, enabling software companies and music artists to maintain a living and economic interests. I disagree with the form/process in which these files are distributed, allowing for piracy of files, rerecording and redistribution.The use of patents began in the early 19th century, and would ultimately lead to the current system of licensing and copyright of products that can be reproduced. These initial patents were intended to allow artists to make a living and survive off their pieces of artwork. The year 1880 marked an important year for the patent in the case Diamond versus Chark Barty who were disputing the patent of a single-cell bacterium used in breaking down crude oil. The Supreme Court ruled that patents could be granted for this purpose.The main purpose of a patent is to promote and encourage investors in society to make new ways to assist society and economy and provide the inventor with royalties. Patenting is a system that involves product branding or other signs of ownership to provide the public with reliability in new forms of intellectual property, while still protecting the owner/ inventor. Copyrights give authors complete ownership and r ights to their creations during extended period of time, and in most cases fall the under the rights of a solo beneficiary. Today the act of sharing files promotes global exchange between users.This global networking between countries provides business solutions that not only reduces prices on sales and purchases, but also allows large companies to make more accurate marketing decisions with documented transactions. For the home user programs like Kazaa and Limewire, implement these large ‘peer to peer’ networks that are hosted on FTP servers, and share files. In developing cases where music files and software are being illegally copied, there are always disagreements on what exactly is protected and what is an original work.For example, the website Priceline. com has attempted to make patents on their ideas that would seem to be common belief and not unique, such as trying to patent an auction site with auctions that have reserve prices. Therefore, one of the more prec edent matters is the issue regarding what exactly is ‘intellectual property’, and how does music fall under that stance of copyright. Intellectual property can be defined as any creation of human intelligence that is new, unique, and has market value. Copyright places limits on use of speech, print, and performance.This idea of intellectual property is not common knowledge to most people who compile large networks. It is evident that not all people realize the implications of stealing files and copying music. Many defend piracy as a form of promotion of software, which would have otherwise been ignored by certain consumers that never buy certain software in the first place. Most software copies are shared because their users don’t think of lending software or lending music as a crime, or at least not one taken seriously. Of course the elimination of digital songs/sources would not hold up.On a business level online trade, exchange, and purchase lowers transaction costs significantly, and for the music business actually makes up a big part of their remaining buyers. One of the main differences between piracy of music and software is the fact that newly available technology today is more advanced and friendly to forms of copying, which allow top quality music between each copy and user. In the past, qualities of copied cassettes were not as good or of equal quality and didn’t involve the Internet, whereas online and digitized songs are more readily available and easier to simply copy, and then e-mail to a friend. Copying music from a CD to a cassette or to your computer is legal and accepted only because you own the original copy of the CD and the music files are not being used for commercial purposes†. The first attempt by a person who uploaded an album of songs online was not at first a major problem as it was easier to trace/locate the source since early networks were primitive and did not involve as many users. In 1999, a 19- year-old, Shawn Fanning, invented a program called Napster, which users could download and exchange musical recordings for free over the Internet.This program was considered a gateway to loss government control and launched multiple similar uncontrolled networks. There have been many steps taken in response to Internet piracy, however, it seems as though most have been lackluster and are not sufficient to produce visible and significant results. The music industry has turned to making formatting music files that can only be copied or reproduced in certain prescribed circumstances like . m4p. This defensive technology sometimes takes away from a user’s number of legitimate uses and transfers, however it seems to be on the road to improving safe transfers.Unfortunately, with each announcement of new protective software, a counter program almost instantly is created, matched, and supported through counter hacking technology that makes files available to these large copying netwo rks. Any person with knowledgeable code in computers is capable of decoding these files. This desire to ‘liberate’ files by many hackers is only a sign to show that the industry should be developing ways to work with the technology and not against it. The Recording Industry Association of America recently filed lawsuits against four college students, running ftp servers on campus networks.A federal judge in California settled the case quickly, and despite the fact that the students never actually accepted responsibility, they settled to pay $12,000 to $17,500 in fines. A case that ended without a clearly defined verdict proves that it is difficult to have a true scapegoat for responsibility of piracy violations and copyright infringement. â€Å"The internet is like one gigantic copying machine,† says David Nimmer, a lawyer who spends most of his time with disputes in Intellectual property. â€Å"Once on the internet, copying becomes effortless, costless, widespr ead, and immediate. Nimmer is an experienced lawyer who is well aware of the easy access to the copied files and has trouble himself challenging illegality in certain situations. Copyright law does not make a distinction between public use and private use, such as buying a book from a store like Borders, versus borrowing it from a library and copying. More recently the United States congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which updated copyright laws to include these widespread international servers and allow the set up of a system to control the Internet. Unfortunately, only 22 countries are on oard for the ratification process and make it increasingly difficult for any visible change. Many countries consider these laws would impede on the freedom of the Internet in its original creation, if forced under a universal control involving the U. S. However, at this point copyright-based industries generate more revenues internationally than any other U. S. industry, more t han the aircraft, agriculture, and automobile industries. Without global support, a server can be created in any country to house large FTP sites, like Kazaa which is has a large base in Singapore.For an artist, the main purpose of a copyright is to protect. A majority of artists feel that the free song-sharing epidemic is affecting their careers and profits as artists. Many artists and songwriters who write original music and have only the music to directly profit from. Downloading off these sites affects them negatively; specifically songwriters, record labels, producers, managers, and any others involved in production of music, who cannot rely on performance profits. Artists can sell and profit off merchandise, whereas songwriters lack that ability.Generally the belief is that the pirating music solely affects the artists, when in reality it affects the industry as a whole, including all the people who have jobs connected to these artists. The process in which a record company ga ins complete control of a band has shortened the length of an artist’s career, again ultimately hurting economy. Music industry should try and not dishearten online music consumers that promote artists, but rather develop new ways to work with the evolving technology.Software companies make money through businesses, because instead of copying a CD, a business must register each computer or client separately so that each has its own separate license. It is suggested that despite counter acting efforts, 90% of all computer software is counterfeit similar to most music. There are many solutions to existing problems involving copyright infringement and illegal piracy of music. Despite these problems I do not support the copyright laws full intention and I feel that there is a need for reform of distribution.Interesting enough, it is assumed that the issue is clear and obvious to all people who steal music. While the music industry does see music sharing as piracy, the youth major ity does not see this topic on quite the same black and white level. The record company’s actual costs are low, and yet a CD’s cost to a consumer is not. The reasoning of the average teenager is that why would they want to spend $20 on a CD with one good song on it, $200 dollars on software that they must have for academic requirement, when they can upload it for free.Lack of communication in a time where everyone is connected seems like a waste and stunt to new advancing technology. Piracy is not right, and a corrective measure can only come from recognizing that the problem originates from not recognizing more than just the new ease of file transfer. Piracy is of course a wide addressing issue, including a rapidly increasing amount of people from a conglomeration of age groups. There needs to be a redistribution of wealth within in the music industry and software industries. Once issues like these are addressed, a solution can be found.

A Time When Something Unexpected Happened Essay

I would hate to be famous. When you’re famous, you don’t have any privacy. Also, there’s too much criticism. Lastly, it can harm my safety. Being famous isn’t all that great, like you think it is. Many people who are famous have many problems and sometimes wish that they weren’t famous at all. I do not want to be famous. First, when you’re famous, you do not have any privacy. Paparazzi will follow you, and take pictures of every single thing you do. The paparazzi are very aggravating. Also, fans will always be running up to you and asking for autographs or pictures. Lastly, people will always want to know where you’re at and what you’re doing. Second, when you are famous, you have to take a lot of criticism. Critics will always be judging you. They’ll judge you on what you’re wearing, what you’re doing, and even what you’re eating sometimes. Also, haters will have mean remarks or comments. They will also spread rumors about you. Finally, being famous can harm your safety. You might have some mega, crazy fans that may stalk you. Myriad famous people also receive threats, and their lives are put in danger. Super haters may dislike you so much, that they actually attempt to murder you. Many celebrities have been murdered due to hate of the famous person. In conclusion, being famous would be atrocious. Celebrities cannot have a sequestered life what so ever, they are criticized, and they are not safe. You don’t need fame to have an opulent life. Living without fame is just fine, and I have fun without it. I do not want to be famous.

Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Response - Essay Example Such changes may manifest in terms of sweating, inconsistent tonal variation, missed stanzas and inability to capture the attention of the audience. Recitation is very important both to the victim and the audience, and prompt actions ought to be put in place to ensure that the behavior is rekindled during study. Technology has changed the attitude and minds of many readers and poets. They all want to utilize technology in all circles. Other poems are records in the media too. They want to simplify their work. In addition, others are not motivated to recite the poems loudly. They want to utilize technology such as microphone and loudspeakers. Technology limits the poem recitation process. One feels that having a copy of a poem or notes in audio form is enough. However, recitation offers immense benefits. Understanding the benefits will act as a motivating tool to those whose recitation habit is dying away. Reciting the poem aloud creates good attention due to the clear volume, modulation of voice, intonation, and pacing. The habit is especially very beneficial to young children, since it builds up their memory from the very tender age. Consequently, there are immense advantages that accompanied reading poems loudly, hence should undergo the adoption process (Gates, pg.

Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis Assignment

Personal Exploration of Knowledge Paper-epistemological analysis - Assignment Example This paper discusses various types of knowledge such as knowledge how, for instance how to drive; knowledge that, which is also known as propositional knowledge, such as knowing that P is P and knowledge by acquaintance, which is knowing a person or a place. Epistemology is mainly concerned with propositional knowledge. When trying to analyze knowledge, epistemologists often distinguish between a priori and a posteriori forms of knowledge. A priori form of knowledge that is independently known that is it does not come from ones experience or senses. This type of knowledge is acquired from sources outside experience such as reason and is usually arrived at beforehand. On the other hand, a posteriori knowledge refers to the type of knowledge that is acquired from experience. It is also known as empirical knowledge and is not known before hand from ones previous experiences. Most of the scientific knowledge is empirical in nature as it is based on previous experiences. Here are various sources of knowledge identified by philosophers. According to Feldman, a renowned philosopher, there are five major types of knowledge, which include perception, memory, expert testimony, introspection, and reasoning. (Feldman, 2003). Perception refers to the type of knowledge derived from one’s senses. It is based on ones sensual perceptions and on the view that the primary source of knowledge is one’s experience. Perception is also referred to as empiricism. Reason is the other source of knowledge. His type of knowledge is acquired a priori, that is outside the realm of senses. This source of knowledge is based on pure reason where truths are deduced based on existing knowledge, for instance mathematical truths. The opinion that reason is the primary source of knowledge is often referred to as rationalism. Introspection has also been widely acknowledged as a major source of knowledge among philosophers. This type of knowledge is acquired through personal internal sel f evaluation (Feldman, 2003). Through introspection, one can know that they are tired of hungry for instance. Some philosophers recognize the similarities between introspection and perception but have widely accepted it as an independent source of knowledge. The other source of knowledge is memory. This refers to knowledge acquired from information stored in one’s brain based on knowledge previously learnt either from current information of past events. Testimony on the other hand is a source of knowledge acquired through communication we get from others (Cooper, 1999). Some philosophers have raised concern about testimony as a source of credible knowledge and have proposed that knowledge derived this way must be verifiable in order for it to be trusted and believed as knowledge. All these sources of knowledge have gained support throughout epistemology and philosophy in general. However some

Managerial Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Managerial Decision Making - Essay Example Therefore, this report seeks to discuss how employee empowerment is essential for the employees themselves and how it is a good business to the organization (Farheen & Sidrah, 2011). It also gives the reason as to why employees must be empowered. First, an organization has to give up some of its power in favor of employee autonomy. This will give employees a sense of free environment in contributing ideas and methods by which they will fulfill their tasks. Secondly, invite feedback from employees by installing a suggestion box (Huq, 2010). By doing so, an organization will understand how best to aid their empowerment. Thirdly, opening doors to employees and asking for opinions in meetings will help employees know that they are cared about and that their opinion matter to the organization. In addition, promote employee education by allowing them to get the necessary education. Also, arrange for them to attend career development seminars. By so doing, the organization gains employee loyalty and improve employee performance (Farheen & Sidrah, 2011). Lastly, acknowledging employee achievements by recognizing and congratulating employees on a good job done. This will motivate employees to improve their responsibilities and work m uch harder to deliver efficient and effective outcomes. Employee empowerment is very important to the employees because firstly it brings satisfaction and motivation leading to increased productivity (Sandri, 2011). Secondly, freedom of expression will lead to creativity and innovation. Thirdly, the employees will feel efficient and there will be a lesser need of supervision. Hence this tool of not being supervised, gives employees a freelance attitude and they become more customer friendly, which is a big boost to an organization. Lastly, empowerment will create a sense of ownership hence encouraging employees become more enterprenual. Research has shown that empowering employees is the best

The role of social media in building lasting valuable customer Essay

The role of social media in building lasting valuable customer relationships - Essay Example 1). Interactive market entails appreciating the experiences customers through communication channels whereby customers have a significant experience with the internet in the form of flow (Shankar and Malthouse, 2009, p. 1). Through following their preferred brands and retailers on social media platforms, consumers can get access to an insider view of commodities and the companies that produce them while at the same time looking at new releases, promotions and giveaways among other things. The present retail environment is in a new social norm with more and more people utilizing social networks every day. According to the Digital Consumer Report almost sixty-four percent of people who use social media tap into sites at least once every day on their computers, while almost fifty percent of social media subscribers access social networks through their smartphones. Progressive business entities such as Apple, Dell, Starbucks as well as Nike among other have adopted social channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as a means of boosting their bottom-line results (Safko, 2012, p. 27). Numerous brands have started realizing that social media can be employed as a powerful instrument in driving in-store engagement as well as sales. For most of the consumers, social media can be the source of inspiration on various ways of decorating space, planning an outfit or seeing how it fits on a real person rather than the conventional model. However, the participation of retailers in social channels is not supposed to end the moment when the customer pays for the commodity he or she is buying (Sparrow, 2010, p. 33). In order to drive continuous sales while promoting prolonged loyalty, forward thinking businesses employ social media networks to foster ongoing relationships and give value to their customers through time. Even though social media can assist in promoting quick sales and short-term goals of spreading the