Russia was an autocratic government for 300 years under the Romanov dynasty before the revolution of 1917. When the troubles began in the early 1900s, most of the people were serfs who had been freed about 20 years earlier. In 1914, during World War I, Tsar Nicholas II decided to stay at war with Germany despite what the rest of his country thought. Nicholas was a distraction from the country's problems. His plan was to keep his soldiers away from the horrible living conditions of Russia by remaining at war with Germany and starting a war with Japan in the hope that it would lead his country to victory; both wars were lost, giving Russian citizens even more reason to be angry. The Russian army was extremely weak, composed mainly of peasants, and the cost of the war fell on Russian citizens. In reality, Nicholas II had no aptitude for government and proved politically incapable of governing a country. Hunger and poor living conditions dotted the streets of homeless families. Many people were unemployed and those who did faced terrible conditions while working. National discontent with the Tsar had spread, and people begged for him to be dethroned. The country attempted to industrialize, but this only brought more problems and left the country more distraught than ever, at this point they were behind the rest of the world in every way. The war with Germany was over, but Russia faced a period of economic crisis. Later four groups were formed against the Tsar and his form of government, only one group of people, the White Russians, were still loyal to him. . Liberals were people who wanted democratic controls on the Tsar, instead of total dictatorship. Nationalists wanted more in...... middle of document ....../srcx/retrieve.do?subjectParam=Locale%2528en%252C%252C%2529%253AFQE%253D%2528su%252CNone%252C18% 2529Russian %2Brevolution%2524&contentSet=GSRC&sort=Relevance&tabID=T001&sgCurrentPosition=0&subjectAction=DISPLAY_SUBJECTS&prodId=SRC-4&searchId=R1¤tPosition=5&userGroupName=glen46605&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&sgHi tCountType=None&qryS erId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%.“The Russian Revolution ”. Gale Resource Research Center. Ed. Marie Hacht and Dwayne D. Hayes. Np, 2008. Web. 25 December 2010. .Vini, Michael. “1917: The Year of Russia's Revolutions.” New York Times March 12, 2007: n. page GENTLEMEN Discoverer. Network. December 26. 2010.