Nicholas II inherited the throne when his father, Alexander III, died in 1894. Although he believed in an autocracy, he was eventually forced to create an elected legislature. Nicholas II’s handling of Bloody Sunday and World War I incensed his subjects and led to his abdication.
Who overthrew Czar Nicholas II?
During the February Revolution, Czar Nicholas II, was forced to abdicate the throne by the Petrograd insurgents, and a provincial government was installed to substitute him. Crowned on May 26, 1894, Nicholas was neither trained nor inclined to rule, which did not help the autocracy he sought to preserve in an era desperate for change.
How many children did Czar Nicholas II have?
The Romanovs must not be rescued. At 2:00 a.m. in the morning on July 17, 1918, Nicholas, his wife, and their five children, along with four servants, were awakened and told to prepare for departure. The group, led by Nicholas, who carried his son, was escorted to a small room downstairs.
What did Nicholas II do for Russia?
Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia and the son of Alexander III, took the throne swearing to preserve the autocracy. 2. He was intelligent and well-travelled but lacked both the demeanour and foresight to rule at a time of unfolding change.
What did Tsar Nicholas II do?
What good things did Nicholas II do? Nicholas aimed to strengthen the Franco-Russian Alliance and pursue a policy of European pacification. He initiated and convened the Hague Convention of 1899, designed to end the arms race and solve international disputes peacefully. What did Nicholas the First do for Russia?
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When did the reign of Nicholas II start?
November 1, 1894Succeeding his father on November 1, 1894, he was crowned tsar in Moscow on May 26, 1896.
What led to the overthrow of Nicholas II?
In March 1917, the army garrison at Petrograd joined striking workers in demanding socialist reforms, and Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. Nicholas and his family were first held at the Czarskoye Selo palace, then in the Yekaterinburg palace near Tobolsk.
Who was Nicholas II summary?
Nicholas II, Russian Nikolay Aleksandrovich, (born May 18, 1868, Tsarskoye Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia—died July 16/17, 1918, Yekaterinburg), Tsar of Russia (1894–1917). Son of Alexander III, he received a military education and succeeded his father as tsar in 1894.
What were the 3 main causes of the Russian Revolution?
Key Takeaways: Causes of the Russian Revolution Primary causes of the Revolution included peasant, worker, and military dissatisfaction with corruption and inefficiency within the czarist regime, and government control of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Was Tsar Nicholas II a good leader?
Czar Nicholas II He was widely seen as a politically weak and indecisive leader. His poor handling of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, subsequent 1905 uprising of Russian Workers—known as Bloody Sunday—and Russia's involvement in World War I hastened the fall of the Russian Empire.
Why was Nicholas II called Bloody Nicholas?
The royal couple visited the wounded the following day and promised generous compensation for the bereaved. However, on the evening of the tragedy, they attended a ball at the French Embassy which cost the Tsar his peoples' sympathy and contributed to his later nickname, 'Nicholas the Bloody'.
Why was Nicholas II a good leader?
He later pledged to uphold the autocracy bequeathed by his father and to preserve the monarchy for his own son. Nicholas had several admirable qualities. He was a nationalist who professed a love for Russia and its people; he had a strong sense of duty and a stilted affection for the peasantry.
What good things did Nicholas II do?
Nicholas aimed to strengthen the Franco-Russian Alliance and pursue a policy of European pacification. He initiated and convened the Hague Convention of 1899, designed to end the arms race and solve international disputes peacefully.
Who overthrew Tsar Nicholas II?
BolsheviksIn the spring of 1918, Russia was engaged in a civil war. On the night of July 16-17, 1918, Nicholas II and his family were murdered by Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, thus ending more than three centuries of the Romanov dynasty's rule.
Who replaced Nicholas II Russia?
The Emperor renounced the throne of the Russian Empire on behalf of himself and his son, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich.
How did Nicholas II contribute to the fall of the Romanov dynasty?
Tsar Nicholas II Downfall The release of the October Manifesto in 1905 was one of the key events that led to the end of Tsar Nicholas's rule over Russia. Tsar Nicholas's poor leadership in World War 1 as well as his weak-willed personality was also issues that further contributed to the collapse of the Romanov Dynasty.
How was Tsar Nicholas II responsible for the revolution?
The Tsar's lack of strategic judgement led to Russia losing 200,000 men in World War I, Additionally, over 15 million men were taken from their farms to fight in the war to end all wars, and the over reliance of the train system for transportation led to food shortages throughout the major Russian cities.
Who were Nicholas II’s parents?
Nicholas II’s father was Tsar Alexander III, and his mother was Maria Fyodorovna, daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark.
What was Nicholas II’s family like?
In 1894 Nicholas II married Alexandra, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. They had four daughters—Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia—and one son,...
How did Nicholas II die?
The Russian Revolution toppled the Romanov dynasty, and Nicholas II abdicated on March 15, 1917. The royal family was arrested by the Bolsheviks an...
How did Nicholas II change the world?
Nicholas II was an uncompromising autocrat, and this stance helped provoke the Russian Revolution of 1905. After Russia entered World War I, Nichol...
Why was Nicholas II's reign not easy?
Emperor Nicholas II’s reign was not easy because by the early twentieth century the ruling circles and intellectuals adopted a negative position on the fundamentals, traditions, and ideas of Russian society.
What was Russia's future like during the reign of Nicholas II?
Many predicted that Russia would have an important future and a more essential role to play in the world. It was in stark contrast to these predictions that the Empire came tumbling down in 1917 in ...
What was the economic growth of Russia under Nicholas?
Under Tsar Nicholas, Russia experienced tremendous growth in its economy, one that it had never known before. Here are some figures to prove the point. Economic growth rates were among the highest in the world. The tsarist government’s protectionist policy spurred home market development.
How to show independence in Russia?
Foreigners fear our hugeness. Avoid fighting wars. In your home policy, patronise the Church for it often saved Russia in the years of hardships. Strengthen the family, which is the basis of every state”.
How did Russia save Great Britain?
Fully honouring its pledges of an ally, Russia repeatedly saved Great Britain and France from crushing defeat at the cost of enormous sacrifices. The French Marshal Foch admitted that it was thanks to Russia that France had not been wiped off the map of Europe. In 1915, things on the front took a bad turn for Russia.
Who wrote about the Russian tsar?
The liberals and democrats tried to slander Nicholas II, to draw an unseemly picture of his rule. The former French president Emil Louber wrote this about the Russian Tsar in his memoirs, published in Paris in 1910, “It is held that the Russian Emperor falls under outside influence. This is absolutely wrong.
Which country attacked Russia in 1904?
Great Britain and the United States incited Tokyo to attack Russia, and it launched an assault on the Russian Pacific squadron off Port Arthur in 1904. Russia lost throughout the first year of fighting, but then Japan exhausted itself, while Russia collected its strength to wage a full-scale war.
What was Nicholas II's repression of Finland?
In Finland, Nicholas had become associated with deeply unpopular Russification measures. These began with the February Manifesto [ fr] proclaimed by Nicholas II in 1899, which restricted Finland's autonomy and instigated a period of censorship and political repression. A petition of protest signed by more than 500,000 Finns was collected against the manifesto and delivered to St. Petersburg by a delegation of 500 people, but they were not received by Nicholas. Russification measures were reintroduced in 1908 after a temporary suspension in the aftermath of the 1905 Revolution, and Nicholas received an icy reception when he made his only visit to Helsinki on 10 March 1915.
How much wealth did Nicholas II have?
Estimates of Nicholas II's personal wealth have been vastly exaggerated. As Emperor of All The Russias, and an autocrat, the resources under his command were virtually incalculable. However, the vast majority of this was owned by the state as Crown property; the Romanov family's personal wealth was only a small fraction of this. As monarch, the income of Nicholas was 24 million gold roubles per annum: this derived from a yearly allowance from the Treasury, and from the profits of Crown farmland. From this income, he had to fund staff, the upkeep of imperial palaces and imperial theatres, annuities for the royal family, pensions, bequests, and other outgoings. "Before the end of the year, the Tsar was usually penniless; sometimes he reached this embarrassing state by autumn." According to the Grand Marshal of the Court, Count Paul Benckendorff, the family's total financial resources amounted to between 12.5 and 17.5 million roubles. As a comparison, Prince Felix Yusupov estimated his family's worth in real estate holdings alone as amounting to 50 million gold roubles.
Why did the French government decline to accept the Romanovs?
The French government declined to accept the Romanovs in view of increasing unrest on the Western Front and on the home front as a result of the ongoing war with Germany. The British ambassador in Paris, Lord Francis Bertie, advised the Foreign Secretary that the Romanovs would be unwelcome in France as the ex-Empress was regarded as pro-German.
What was the significance of the Anglo-Russian Convention?
In 1907, to end longstanding controversies over central Asia , Russia and the United Kingdom signed the Anglo-Russian Convention that resolved most of the problems generated for decades by The Great Game. The UK had already entered into the Entente cordiale with France in 1904, and the Anglo-Russian convention led to the formation of the Triple Entente. The following year, in May 1908, Nicholas and Alexandra's shared "Uncle Bertie" and "Aunt Alix," Britain's King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, made a state visit to Russia, being the first reigning British monarchs to do so. However, they did not set foot on Russian soil. Instead, they stayed aboard their yachts, meeting off the coast of modern-day Tallinn. Later that year, Nicholas was taken off guard by the news that his foreign minister, Alexander Izvolsky, had entered into a secret agreement with the Austro-Hungarian foreign minister, Count Alois von Aehrenthal, agreeing that, in exchange for Russian naval access to the Dardanelles and the Bosporus Strait, Russia would not oppose the Austrian annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a revision of the 1878 Treaty of Berlin. When Austria-Hungary did annex this territory that October, it precipitated the diplomatic crisis. When Russia protested about the annexation, the Austrians threatened to leak secret communications between Izvolsky and Aehernthal, prompting Nicholas to complain in a letter to the Austrian emperor, Franz Joseph, about a breach of confidence. In 1909, in the wake of the Anglo-Russian convention, the Russian imperial family made a visit to England, staying on the Isle of Wight for Cowes Week. In 1913, during the Balkan Wars, Nicholas personally offered to arbitrate between Serbia and Bulgaria. However, the Bulgarians rejected his offer. Also in 1913, Nicholas, albeit without Alexandra, made a visit to Berlin for the wedding of Kaiser Wilhelm II's daughter, Princess Victoria Louise, to a maternal cousin of Nicholas, Ernest Augustus, the Duke of Brunswick. Nicholas was also joined by his cousin, King George V and his wife, Queen Mary .
What was the conflict between Russia and Japan?
A clash between Russia and the Empire of Japan was almost inevitable by the turn of the 20th century. Russia had expanded in the Far East, and the growth of its settlement and territorial ambitions, as its southward path to the Balkans was frustrated, conflicted with Japan's own territorial ambitions on the Asian mainland. Nicholas pursued an aggressive foreign policy with regards to Manchuria and Korea, and strongly supported the scheme for timber concessions in these areas as developed by the Bezobrazov group.
What was the name of the war that Germany declared on Russia?
In response, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914 and its ally France on 3 August 1914, starting the Great War, later known as the First World War.
When did Alix and Nicholas get engaged?
Thus once she changed her mind, Nicholas and Alix became officially engaged on 20 April 1894. Nicholas's parents initially hesitated to give the engagement their blessing, as Alix had made poor impressions during her visits to Russia. They gave their consent only when they saw Tsar Alexander's health deteriorating.
What did Nicholas II do?
Nicholas II was the most athletic of all Russian tsars. He used to do morning exercises from an early age, taking daily walks, he loved kayaking and could hike tens of kilometers at a time. He loved to watch and participate in horse races. He was an excellent swimmer and a dedicated lover of billiards. He also enjoyed tennis. During winter, he was a passionate skater and ice hockey player.
Where did Nicholas II grow up?
The future Emperor grew up in the Spartan atmosphere of his father Alexander III’s palace at Gatchina. As a boy, he had to sleep in a hard iron bed, and eat basic food. Throughout his reign, Nicholas II continued to wear the same suits and military uniforms after they had been patched and mended numerous times.
How did Nicholas finance the construction of churches?
The construction and renovation of churches was either financed by the state or supported directly by funds provided by Nicholas from the crown. The Emperor himself took part in the laying of the first cornerstones and the consecration of many churches. He visited churches and monasteries in all parts of the country and venerated their saints. Nicholas ensured that state subsidies to the Church increased annually from 30 million rubles in 1908 to 53 million rubles in 1914.
How many languages did Nicholas II speak?
Nicholas II spoke five languages fluently: Russian, French, English, German and Danish, although he preferred to speak Russian. He spoke Russian to his children and wrote in Russian and French to his mother Maria Feodorovna. He spoke and wrote in English to his wife Alexandra Feodorovna.
What rank did Nicholas serve in the army?
He received the best of military and legal education. He served in the army with the rank of colonel. When high-standing members of the military tried to convince him to take the rank of general, Nicholas allegedly answered, “Gentlemen, you need not worry about my rank. You’d better be thinking about rising through the ranks yourselves.”
How many convicts were there in Russia in 1908?
The total number of convicts during Nicholas II’s reign was considerably lower than later in the USSR or today’s Russian Federation. In 1908, there were 56 convicted criminals per 100,000 population. In 1949, this number rose to 1537 per 100,000; in 2011 it counted 555 per 100,000.
What did the Emperor do in Tobolsk?
During their detention in Tobolsk, the Imperial family was never idle. The Emperor cut wood, cleared the snow and worked in the garden. Seeing all that, one of the peasant guards allegedly said, “Had we given him a plot of land, he’d have earned the whole of his Russia back by working!”
What was the significance of Nicholas II's death?
The death of Alexander III on November 1 (October 20, Old Style), 1894, like that of Nicholas I nearly 40 years earlier, aroused widespread hopes of a milder regime and of social reforms. Nicholas II had neither the imposing physical presence nor the strong will of his father. He had all the virtues of a country gentleman ...
Who was Nicholas' wife?
His wife, Princess Alexandra of Hesse, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Nicholas was utterly devoted to Alexandra; she had a much stronger will than the emperor’s, and she greatly influenced him. Alexandra, empress of Russia. Alexandra, empress of Russia, c. 1913. Courtesy of Hillwood, Washington, D.C.
What did Nicholas of Zemstvo believe?
Nicholas indeed, under the influence of Pobedonostsev, believed the maintenance of autocracy to be a sacred obligation toward God himself. This view was consistently supported by the empress, who, since her official conversion to Orthodoxy before marriage to Nicholas, had become a devoted believer in the doctrines of the Russian church. When in 1904 a male heir, Grand Duke Alexis, was born, the emperor felt that it was his duty to maintain the imperial heritage unimpaired—that is, with autocracy unchanged—for his son. The precarious health of the prince, who had inherited hemophilia, strengthened this conviction.
What did the Ministry of Finance do to the commune?
The Ministry of Finance, on the other hand, objected to the commune as a source of inefficiency, preventing the development of the initiative of the most enterprising farmers and consequent improvement of agricultural output. The Ministry of Finance in general supported individual business initiative in contrast to the Ministry of Interior’s old-fashioned collectivism. The Ministry of Finance may be said to have approximately reflected the aspirations of the rising Russian business class, the Interior those of the bureaucratic and landowning classes.
When did the Russian economy go into depression?
There were several large strikes in St. Petersburg in 1896 and 1897, and in the latter year Witte introduced a law imposing a maximum of 11 and a half hours’ work for all day workers and 10 hours for all engaged in night work. From 1899 to 1903 Russian industry suffered a depression, and unemployment grew.
When did the gold standard start in Ukraine?
In his time in office, the metallurgical industry of Ukraine made rapid progress. He was able to introduce the gold standard in 1897, and this proved an incentive for a substantial influx of foreign capital into Russian industry. In these years, too, the industrial working class grew rapidly.
Who was the most able minister of finance in Russia?
The most able minister of finance of this period was Sergey Yulyevich, Count Witte (1892–1903).
Overview
Accession and reign
Despite a visit to the United Kingdom in 1893, where he observed the House of Commons in debate and was seemingly impressed by the machinery of constitutional monarchy, Nicholas turned his back on any notion of giving away any power to elected representatives in Russia. Shortly after he came to the throne, a deputation of peasants and workers from various towns' local assem…
Early life and family background
Grand Duke Nicholas was born on 18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868, in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo south of Saint Petersburg, during the reign of his grandfather Emperor Alexander II. He was the eldest child of then-Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich and his wife, Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna (née Princess Dagmar of Denmark). Grand Duke Nicholas' father was heir apparent t…
Tsesarevich
On 1 March 1881, following the assassination of his grandfather, Tsar Alexander II, Nicholas became heir apparent upon his father's accession as Alexander III. Nicholas and his other family members bore witness to Alexander II's death, having been present at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, where he was brought after the attack. For security reasons, the new Tsar and his family relo…
Engagement and marriage
In April 1894, Nicholas joined his Uncle Sergei and Aunt Elizabeth on a journey to Coburg, Germany, for the wedding of Elizabeth's and Alix's brother, Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse, to their mutual first cousin Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Other guests included Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Empress Frederick (Kaiser Wilhelm's mother and Queen Victoria…
Revolution
Nicholas had suffered a coronary occlusion only four days before his abdication. At the end of the "February Revolution", Nicholas II chose to abdicate on 2 March (O.S.) / 15 March (N.S.) 1917. He first abdicated in favor of Alexei, but a few hours later changed his mind after advice from doctors that Alexei would not live long enough while separated from his parents, who would be forced into e…
Identification
In 1979, the bodies of Tsar Nicholas II, Tsaritsa Alexandra, three of their daughters, and those of four non-family members killed with them, were discovered near Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg) by amateur archaeologist Alexander Avdonin. In January 1998, the remains excavated from underneath the dirt road near Yekaterinburg were officially identified as those of Nicholas II and his fami…
Funeral
After the DNA testing of 1998, the remains of the Emperor and his immediate family were interred at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, on 17 July 1998, on the eightieth anniversary of their assassination. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who said, "Today is a historic day for Russia. For many years, we kept quiet about this monstrous crime, but the truth has to be spoken."