In 1896, Nicholas II was crowned Tsar of Russia. Sergei Firsov, author of “Emperor Nicholas II as an Orthodox Tsar,” describes him in the following way:
“[Nicholas II] viewed his time on the throne of Russia as religious service. Nicholas was profoundly convinced that the crown had come to him not simply by right of inheritance but in accordance with Divine Providence. Nicholas was convinced that a gulf had opened between him and his subjects, and that the bureaucracy was to blame. He believed that his people loved their sovereign, however, and that the distance between them could easily be bridged. This misapprehension would later have grievous and irrevocable consequences, which played a tragic role in the fortunes of the Russian empire as a whole and of the royal family in particular.” 6.
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Nicholas II’s reign was fraught with war and discontent. In early 1917, “simmering public anger was fueled by the suffering caused by the war, increasingly desperate economic conditions, especially food shortages and rising prices, and state policies that seemed either unconcerned or inept.” 7. Nicholas did not understand the severity of the situation and “with a fatal mixture of overconfidence and impatience, [helped] to turn disorders into revolution.” 8. Eventually, Nicholas had to concede that his leadership was not helping his country’s cause and agreed to abdicate, leaving the throne to his brother Mikhail. Mikhail refused which ultimately “ended the Romanov dynasty and made the Russian empire a de facto republic. But the revolution was only beginning.”
Nicholas II was extremely strict when it came to his government and as a result forbade any form of democracy in Russia and imposed absolute autocracy on all the citizens. His domestic policy was so strict political parties were illegal to form and he even made the Okhrana, a secret police that arrested and imprisoned any political critics, rebels, or those who voiced a negative opinion against the Russian autocracy. As a result, the citizens, especially those of lower class, despised the government and would often attempt to revolt. However, since the revolts were unorganized and ineffective, Nicholas II was able to end them very swiftly. After the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Russia suffered extreme humiliation as well as economic decline.
Czar Ivan IV inherited the throne, which made him the ruler of Russia. He was considered an absolute monarch and killed those who opposed him. Czar Ivan rises to power by expanding Russian territory. By expanding the Russian territory, he accomplished in taking over the influential regions of Kazan and Astrakhan. The challenges that Czar Invan IV faced were drought, famine, and the loss of his wife, which left him mentally unstable.
Due to Nicholas’s failure to please the citizens, he was abdicated on March 15th and he brother refused the throne, ending the Romanov dynasty (“Russian Revolution of
Thus, Russia had finally become a great power, which would continue its conquests in Europe and Asia, primarily in Siberia.” (The Rise and Fall of a
Russian tsars are authoritative Christian monarchs which started in 1721 from one of the first emperors named Peter I the Great. This empire lasted until 1917 when Nicholas had to abdicate his throne due to many reasons and considered a backward country. There is also a speculation about two family members surviving the firing squad. The Russian tsars established in 1672 and Peter I the great was Russia’s first emperor.
During the 20th century, Russia was experiencing turmoil in war and the country was deeply affected with Tsar Nicholas’s wrong decisions and lack of experience in politics. After the 1917 revolution in Russia, Lenin became the ruler of Russia and the USSR and proved to be the best Russian ruler of the 20th century. Before then, Tsarism dominated and Nicholas II was in power until he foresaw many revolutions against his methods of ruling. He remained as the supreme ruler and did not take actions for reforms. However, after the 1917 revolution, which Lenin masterminded, the Tsar was overthrown and the Bolsheviks established a stable government which took control in Russia.
With no signs of the czar’s attempt to solve the complications, Russia banded together and filled the streets with strikes and riots. A revolution was peaking among the peasants. The uprising brought Nicholas ll no choice but to abdicate his throne. This was an opportunity
This lead to food shortages and inflation in Russia. (doc.1). What the tsar thought was going to happen did not and it lead to even more hatred towards the tsar.
Although Russia was once again in a terrible position for war the fought in the first World War and their country and its people faced further hardships. The people began to revolt and took over the government and then assassinated Nicholas II’s entire
Throughout Ivan the Terrible’s life and his reign, he had a strong mistrust of the boyars. He believed they had a hand in his mother’s death when he was a boy and that they had something to do with the death of his wife Anastasia. His paranoia went into overdrive and he left Moscow and was ready to abdicate the title of Tsar. The boyars and the people pleaded for his return. He agreed but said he would only come back if they agreed to give him absolute power.
However, we can see that Alexanders' attempts at reform had failed by 1914, as a result created more anger within the army that Nicholas was incapable. This anger that build up within the army is vital when looking at why political change happened in 1917, as it is the army soldiers and officers that are the beginning of the revolt against Nicholas. The soldiers go against what Nicholas tells them to do. They refuse to attack the civilians instead they go and join their side. Bloody Sunday in 1905, could have been the beginning of the change, but because the military remained loyal to Nicholas revolution was prevented in
Similarly, Czar Nicholas II was an unfit ruler since he was never properly taught how to rule. Due to both of their inability to rule, it resulted in the animals and people being neglected and forgotten
There was still wide spread hunger due to Russia’s huge size and lack of effective transport across the empire (This would also play a part in the unrest during the war). 1912’s Bloody Sunday showed the brutality of the regime and the public, most of whom looked up to Nicholas as the ‘Father’, suddenly began to lose faith in the
Rasputin: Peasantry to Notoriety Gregory Rasputin was notorious in the Russian Empire for cultivating a strong and manipulative relationship with imperial couple. He made this binding relationship by alleviating the pain of Alexi, their hemophilic son (43). His influence over Nicholas II and Alexandra, was a key factor in the collapse of the Romanov dynasty and consequently pinning Nicholas II as the final tsar of the Russian Empire (32, 39). The relationship was toxic to the reign of Nicholas II, because despite Rasputin’s shameful sexual pursuits and a questionable relationship with his wife, Nicholas continued to protect and support Gregory (62).
The Russian Revolution, which was started by Lenin and his followers, was a rebellion that occurred in 1917 which forced higher powers to act to the needs of the lower class. For instance, many citizens were worried for their protection in consequence to the lack of survival necessities due to an early drought. Furthermore, their current czar during the time was incapable for his position as a czar and made horrendous decisions as czar. For example, when the czar, Nicholas, entered in World War I, he sent untrained troops into countless battles of failure which costed in mass amounts of lost life (paragraph 23).