It was unwilling to respond positively to demands for reform
When forced to reform in 1905 it did everything it could to restore the autocracy
This drove moderate reformers away from the regime
Even economic reform had to be forced on the regime
The emancipation of the peasantry and Stolypin’s land reforms were inadequate: agriculture remained inefficient
And agriculture had to become efficient for industrialisation to really take-off
Whilst the lives of the peasants and workers were intolerably harsh and downright miserable, the ambitions of the small middle class and those progressives amongst the upper class were being frustrated
The Crimean War and the Russo-Japanese War showed that Russia was lagging behind other powers, but these warnings were ignored
The economic, social and political problems were brought to crisis point by total war
Economic: Military supplies, although they improved, were to begin with criminally poor and were always inadequate
Economic: Russian agricultural, always inefficient, failed to adequately feed its people
Economic: The Russian transport system all-but collapsed
Economic: As the government printed more and more money to help finance the war, inflation quickly spiralled out of control
Social: serious peasant unrest in the countryside and strikes in the cities increased as the war went on with the military increasingly used to suppress them
Social: The small yet important middle class as well as reform-minded aristocrats gave up on the Tsarist regime
Political: the Duma was consistently frustrated in its attempts to influence the government
Political: the work of Zemgor served to show up the inadequacies of the regime
Political: ultimately all Russians gave up on Tsar Nicholas