Russia in the late 19th / early 20th century was a massive empire, stretching from Poland to the Pacific, and home in 1914 to 165 million people of many languages religions and cultures. Ruling such a massive state was difficult, and the problems within Russia produced a revolution in 1917. which swept the old system away. Several key fault lines can be identified as long term causes, while the short term trigger is clearly World War 1.
