THE FALL OF THE MONARCHY AND THE DISSOLUTION OF THE EMPIRE: THE CASES OF RUSSIA AND AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS.

As a result of the social revolutions, the monarchies in Russia and Austria-Hungary fell, that led to the disintegration of the empires because of the dynastic character of their statehood and the desire of nations to selfdetermination. In the Russian case, the monarchy fell due to the abdication of Nicholas II, but in the case of Austria-Hungary, Karl I(IV) did not abdicate at all, he only declared the sovereignty of nations, trying to transform the Dual Monarchy into a federal state. The Russian Empire collapsed because of internal factors, especially, Bolshevism accelerated the process of its dissolution. In the case of Austria-Hungary, on the contrary, the external factor played a significant role, for instance, non willingness of the Entente to conclude the peace treaty with the Habsburg Monarchy and recognition of the Czechoslovak and Yugoslav Committees as the governments of the independent states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]