What were the causes of the March Revolution in Russia?

There were a number of reasons for the Russian population to be dissatisfied with Czar Nicholas in 1917. For one, he was not a very good leader and was not in touch with the needs of his people. His handling of Russian involvement in World War I was considered disastrous as the death counts skyrocketed. The war also caused severe food and fuel shortages for the people. Suffering through a Russian winter without food or heat was enough to anger even the most patient of souls. When the peasants and factory workers protested their conditions, at best they were ignored. Often times they were met with violent resistance.

Another thing that caused misery for the Russian population was the heavy burden of taxation. In an effort to become more modern, the Czar wanted to industrialize. He taxed the peasants to raise capital for heavy industries. The factory workers were also not happy with the meager wages they received and often went on strike. These strikes were frequently met with violence by the government.

In the midst of all of this misery was a strong current of socialism and communism. Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky called for a worker's revolution that would start in Russia and spread around the world. There efforts would eventually result in Russia becoming a communist state.