Q&A · 1:06:06-1:06:45

Would the tsar still rule Russia in 1920?

Without wartime losses, disruption, and Germany's return of Lenin, the imperial regime is more likely to survive to 1920.

Russian Empire Russian Revolution World War I

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Question

Would Russia still have a tsar in 1920 without the First World War?

Short answer

Probably, because the regime retains its reliable forces and Lenin is not returned through Germany under wartime conditions.

Notes

Reliable troops would remain available, while the wartime conditions that enabled revolutionary organization would be absent. Continued tsarist rule is therefore likely rather than certain, leaving room for domestic reform and instability.