...collapse of autocracy in Russia? Nicholas Romanov was an indecisive man who was easily influenced by others. Although it was not his character that was the decisive factor in bringing on the revolution. He may have been a leader at the wrong time but if he had related better for the time he was in power. Russia before 1917 was the largest country under one empire. In economic terms it was backward as it was late industrialising and late to emerge from feudalism. In political terms it was also backward as there was no legal political parties nor was there any centrally elected government Russia at this time was under tsarist rule by Nicholas II of the Romanov empire. Nicholas II was brought up by his father Alexander III who didn't believe that his son could take an intelligent interest in anything and therefore did not educate him in the business of state . The fact that his father who died at age 49 thought that he had many more years ahead of him may also be another factor behind Nicholas' poor leadership of Russia . Alexander who died in 1894 had left Russia with a society no longer controlled by tsarist rule and when Nicholas took the throne after his father's death Russian society was not prepared to turn on it's heels and return to how it use to be . Nicholas II was 26 when his father died and was soon to marry the German princess, Alix of Hess, Granddaughter of Queen Victoria . The relationship between Alexandra and Nicholas was a 'critical relationship at a...
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...Nicholas II (Russian: Николай II Nikolay Vtoroy; 18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last tsar of Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917.[1] His reign saw the fall of Imperial Russia from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Due to the Khodynka Tragedy, anti-Semitic pogroms, Bloody Sunday, the violent suppression of the 1905 Revolution, the execution of political opponents and his perceived responsibility for the Russo-Japanese War, he was given the nickname Nicholas the Bloody by his political enemies.[2][3] Russia suffered a decisive defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, which saw the annihilation of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima, loss of Russian influence over Manchuria and Korea, and the Japanese annexation of South Sakhalin. The Anglo-Russian Entente, designed to counter German attempts to gain influence in the Middle East, ended the Great Game between Russia and the United Kingdom. As head of state, Nicholas approved the Russian mobilization in late July 1914, which led to Germany declaring war on Russia on 1 August. It is estimated that around 3.3 million Russians were killed in World War I.[4] The Imperial Army's severe losses and the High Command's incompetent management of the war efforts, along with the lack of food and other supplies on the Home Front, were the leading causes of the fall of the Romanov dynasty. Following the February Revolution...
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...described as “an advisor whose one word was enough to place an unknown person as a minister at court.” While Nicholas II was away on the front, the Russian people watched horrified and hopelessly as Alexandra dismissed competent officers and replaced them with worthless nominees...
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...AS Level History Russia 1855 – 1917 Alternative F Revision Guide Contents 1. Alexander II 2. Alexander III 3. Nicholas II 4. Stability of the Tsarist Regime 1905 - 14 5. Political Opposition 6. February / March Revolution 1917 7. October Revolution 1917 Tsar Alexander II To what extent does Tsar Alexander II deserve to be viewed as the Tsar Liberator? Think BALANCE!! Alexander II 1855-81 ▪ Came to the throne during the Crimean War (1855) ▪ Initiated a wide range of reforms (social, economic, administrative and legal) ▪ Earned the title ‘Liberator’ for giving freedom to the peasants BUT did not wish to share political power ▪ Assassinated by the People’s Will in 1881 Answering the key question |Introduction |Use this chart to answer any question on Alex II | | |All questions (whether relating to ‘Liberator’ or not) will require BALANCE | | |Precision of knowledge – “Detail is King!” | | |Yes |No | |Emancipation |Emancipation Committees set up |Redemption Payments...
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...Source A is an extract of a letter that was written by the former commander in chief of the Russian Army, Grand Duke Nicolai, and was sent to the Tsar. The Duke writes about his concern over Rasputin’s influence and how it is a problem. The fact that the Duke thinks it is a problem means it is affecting the army as although he was dismissed, he still would have had allegiance to the army and would have felt Rasputin was having a bad influence. In addition to this, the Tsar had become commander in chief and left the Tsarina and Rasputin to run the country which may have also caused the Duke to write this letter. As this is from November 1916, this letter has been written after the tragedies Russia had been through in the war such as the Masurian lakes incident. What this meant was that Rasputin was having influence over the orders the army gets and this was proving to be very detrimental to the Army. By writing a letter to the Tsar, we understand the level of concern the Duke had as he deemed it significantly important that he must write directly to the Tsar. This is extremely important in showing how the Tsar’s reputation was damaged due to the war as even the commander in chief was concerned about how things were being done and the problems they were causing. This ultimately triggered the revolution of 1917 and shows how significant the war was in damaging the Tsar’s reputation. The source also seems to show that the Duke understands that the Tsar can’t totally get rid of Rasputin...
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...To what extent did the policies of Sergei Witte address the problems facing Russia at the end of the nineteenth century? Russia faced many problems at the end of the nineteenth century. Under Minister of Finance Ivan Vyshnegradskii there had been famine because of high taxes on consumer goods which had forced peasants to sell more and more grain. The government were slow to act and, although they eventually enforced a ban on grain exports, 350,000 died of starvation or disease. Economically and industrially Russia was also falling far behind many other Western countries at the time, like Britain and Germany. When Count Witte became Minister of Finance in 1893, there was desperate need to decrease inflation, improve infrastructure and encourage foreign investment. This essay will discuss how successful he was at introducing policies that addressed these problems. A great success for Witte was the expansion of heavy industry in Russia. He linked industrial growth with a stronger nation politically and economically, and was inspired by the more developed nations in the west. He invited foreign experts from more industrialised countries like Britain, France and Germany to Russia to advise him on modernisation. He realised that he would have to have policies that would allow individual business people to start factories and encourage metalwork. His policies were successful, because industrial growth increased on average by 8% a year between 1890 and 1899, which was the highest...
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...Jessica Genockey DATE \@ "dddd, d MMMM y" Wednesday, 29 October 2014 How far was Nicholas II responsible for his own downfall? Tsar Nicholas was to a great extent responsible for his own downfall, the main factor being his decision to take over as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces during World War One. Russia was economically and socially ill-prepared for war and the effects and the outcome of the war had a devastating impact upon the Russian people. There had been a continual build-up of discontent towards the Tsar as a result of Russia’s failure in the Russo-Japanese War, the ‘Bloody Sunday’ massacre and the failure of the Duma. However, it was World War One that was the ultimate factor in which the people acted upon their discontent toward the Tsar. Nicholas Romanov was appointed the Tsar of Russia in 1894 after the premature death of his father, Alexander III. Nicholas was thrust into being the Tsar of Russia at an extremely fast pace and was faced with the task of modernising the biggest country in the world to keep pace with the other super powers in the world such as Germany, Britain and the United States. Nicholas did not have the best of relationships with the people of Russia. Russia’s defeats in the Russo-Japanese war damaged the Tsar’s relationship with the people of Russia. ‘Bloody Sunday’ and the 1905 Revolution which followed, the failure of the Dumas, and the relationship that Rasputin had with the Tsar and Tsarina all led to a deteriorating relationship...
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...to start Russia was stable and significantly moving towards political reform and then from there eventually to a constitutional monarchy, this is backed by the October Manifesto of 1905 which gave the population a voting and electoral process to set up the State Duma, however this reform was almost cancelled out by the advent of the Fundamental Laws in 1906. The Fundamental Laws were in actuality a regain of any and every control back to the government of the Tsar which was granted previously. Here we discuss another important factor other than the war involving the collapse of the Tsarist regime, and that was Nicholas II’s personality. In 1905 the Tsar had capable and trusted ministers who advised him to make compromises and grant concessions to settle the revolution; however in 1917 the Tsar did not have this asset on his side. Also, what historians know of Nicholas II’s character is that he wanted to be a supreme ruler and autocrat like his father who he...
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...Nicholas II was a good man, undeniably unsuited to his role as Tsar in Russia’s turbulent times; Nicholas is a great, tragic figure of history. In a different situation Nicholas would have flourished as a family man but he was born as the Emperor and autocrat of Russia he was given the impossible job of maintaining the Empire during its final years. Throughout his reign as Tsar Nicholas struggled to cope with the task of ruling the empire and the system depended completely him. The fundamental laws of the empire describe the Emperor as: “an autocratic and unlimited monarch. God himself commands that his supreme power be obeyed, out of conscience as well as fear” and this was never going to be Nicholas. ‘Had circumstances and his own inclinations been different, he might have saved his dynasty by moving away from autocratic rule towards a constitutional regime during the first decade of his reign.’ Nicholas had the idea temperament for a constitutional monarch but circumstance would prevent him from moving towards constitutional rule. He ineptly handled reform after the 1905 revolution. He decreed civil rights and democratic representation in the October Manifesto, but afterwards he actively worked to limit these liberties to preserve the ultimate authority of the crown. I struggle to blame Nicholas for protecting his...
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...The Accomplishments and Failures of the 19th Century Tsars The nineteenth century was filled with a variety of tsars. There are two that deserve a great amount of focus: Alexander II and Alexander III. Alexander II hoped to change and resolve Russia and their social and economic problems. His son, Alexander III, was more conservative and wished to undo everything his father did. Alexander II ascended the throne at the age of thirty-seven. He was tsar of Russia from 1855-1881. Alexander II was referred to as the “Tsar Liberator.” One of the major accomplishments of Alexander II is that he was able to emancipate the serfs. Alexander II singed the emancipation manifesto on March 3, 1861. At his coronation he stated that it is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until it would abolish itself from below. (Riasanovsky 366) Prior to the emancipation there had been many peasant uprisings in the attempt to gain freedom. According to the official record, Vasilii Semevsky had counted 550 peasant uprisings in the 19th century prior to the emancipation of the serfs. (Riasanovsky 365) It is speculated that this number is very inaccurate and it is more likely that there were 1,467. Inna Ignatovich gave this break down, “281 peasant rebellions, that is, 19 percent of the total, in the period form 1801-1825; 712 rebellions, 49 percent, from 1826-1854; and 474 uprisings, or 32 percent, in the six years and two months of Alexander II’s reign before the abolition of serfdom.” (Riasanovsky...
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...Grigori Efimovich Rasputin He was known as a mystic healer, a prophet and visionary, as well as for his hypnotic light eyes; but what he was most famous for was the tremendous power he had over the Russian imperial family. He became a very important part of the Tsar’s life, Nicholas II and particularly his wife the Tsarina, Alexandra. Grigori Efimovich Rasputin was born in Pokrovskoe, a village in Siberia, on January 10, 1869 although the exact date of birth is still in question as there are little supporting documents. At the time he was nothing more than a peasant who had only acquired minimal elementary school education. He first exhibited his supernatural and psychic abilities at a young age when he was able to heal a horse in his village that had fallen ill simply through touch. In another instance he was able to identify the thief in the village when a horse was stolen. When Rasputin transitioned into his early adulthood he fled to a monastery after accusations of being a thief. It was at this monastery where the doors were opened to a new ritualized form of religion. He met a holy man named Makari who was famous for being a wonderer and had also advised the Tsar, Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra. This is when Rasputin understood his mission in life- he had to devote himself completely to God and through his wonderings he gained his reputation as a holy man who had divine, supernatural powers. At the time it was believed by Russian people that holy men had access to...
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...BETWEEN ALEXANDER II AND III Tsar Alexander II and III while father and son had very different ambitions as Tsar and different view for the future of the empire. Alexander III succeeded to his father’s throne in 1894. His reign is looked upon by most historians as a time of repression that saw the undoing of many of the reforms carried out by his father. Certainly that was a time of great economic and social change but these had led, in the West of the nation, great pressure on political system. However Alexander was deeply suspicious of the direction in which his father had taken Russia and the internal reforms that he instituted were designed to correct what he saw as the too-liberal tendencies of his father's reign. In fact his first task was to review a proposal, approved by his father in 1881, called ‘constitution’, that would have appointed committees to discuss legislation and the administration of the country. Therefore Tsar Alexander II and III where at their very different since we can see that Alexander II made a lot of changes in areas like serfdom, civil rights, justice and law, education, popular representation, national rights and dissent. On the other hand, with reference to national rights, the two Tsars were at their most similar. In fact the both firmly believed that the Tsar autocratic structure must remain untouchable. However When Tsar Alexander the II came to the throne in 1855 the desire of reform was widespread. Tsar Alexander II gave to the people...
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...P.A. Stolypin was a pivotal political figure in the 1906-11 period. He became Minister of Internal Affairs in Russia from the spring of 1906, after the revolution of 1905. He combined this position with Russian Premier (Prime Minister) from 23rd July 1906 until his assassination in September 1911. Peter Waldron claims that after the "near downfall of the tsarist regime in 1905" Stolypin's reforms could "have changed the face of politics and society, yet they left the unreformed autocracy to face the onslaught of the First World War and it's attendant social and economic strains". Despite the latter, it seems erroneous to attribute total failure to Stolypin's reforms. After the devastating actions of Bloody Sunday in 1905, the Tsar Nicholas II had been given two choices, which was to repress or reform. To stay in control, he had chose to reform, as he thought that he could control the situation by creating useful reforms. The pressure of the revolution on the autocracy made the Tsar take drastic political action to appease the revolting classes. He had started of with the October Manifesto, a legislation which consisted of a number of points of reform drawn up under Weete, promising the people Civil liberties, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of assembly, and the promise that no laws were to be introduced without the agreement of the Duma. However, it was not necessary that the Duma should introduce legislation. Stolypin’s reforms create huge debate between historians arguing whether...
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...Why did the 1905 revolution fail? One of the main reasons that the 1905 revolution failed was because the October Manifesto merely only satisfied the middle classes’ appetite for reform. However this was only a short term change in government therefore it was not really a revolution because the changes were not permanent. To add, the readiness of the liberals to accept the government’s political and economical bribes indicted that they were not genuinely ready for a revolution at this time. Furthermore the duma did not have as much power as the tsar portrayed them to have. They were not able to pass laws and did not have any control on the state’s finance. To add, another reason why the 1905 revolution failed was because after the strong opposition shown by the first two Dumas, the tsar took away the vote from the people who wanted more change and also opposed the tsar. As a result of this, the electoral system was weighed in favour of the wealthy and those who supported the tsar. The tsar made a conscious decision to make sure that the third and fourth dumas were less openly obstructive and supportive of the tsar as they were keen to project an image of Russia as a democratic nation. This show’s why the 1905 revolution failed because the October Manifesto was not effective enough to cause an effective revolution Another main reason why the 1905 revolution failed was because of the Tsarist Government. They were highly effective in dispersing the revolution, whilst...
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...On one hand, Alexander II was a liberalist, this reflects in his reforms which include the Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861- where twenty to thirty million serfs were emancipated on private estates and also domestic households and also the abolishment of capital punishment. Other reforms of Alexander II included the founding of the Zemstva- a system of local self-government. On the other hand, successor Alexander III had a conservative ideology. He believed in the doctrines of Nationalism, Eastern Orthodoxy and autocracy. Alexander III often questioned his father's reforms, which he thought were too liberal and diminish the power of autocratic leadership of the country. After his accession of the throne, Alexander III started a wave of "anti-reforms", as he reversed his father's liberal reforms. ...read more. Middle However, under Alexander III, the power under the Zemstva was acutely restricted. These administrative powers held previously by the Zemstva were handed to the Ministry of Interior in 1889. Thus, Alexander III restricted what people could do in Russia and accumulated that power in his own hands. Another contrasting policy between the Tsars was that of Education. Previously, education was only affordable to the very wealthy. However, Alexander II began a new era in terms of who could receive education. In order to increase literacy in Russia, Primary and Secondary Education was available for all citizens of the empire by 1863. Alexander II also permitted the discussion...
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