Preview

Long-Term and Immediate Factors That Led to the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2194 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Long-Term and Immediate Factors That Led to the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty
Assess the long-term and immediate factors that led to the fall of the Romanov Dynasty.

With over a century of military and civil discontent the Romanov Dynasty was bound to fall sooner or later. The fall of the Romanov Dynasty was a result of long-term causes including Tsar Alexander’s inability to satisfy his people and Tsar Nicholas II’s inability to rule to throne all together. The collapse was also an outcome of immediate causes; the effects of World War One on Russia and the 1917 revolution. All long-term and immediate cause played a crucial role in stirring the nation until Russia was clearly overdue to be overthrown.
The eventual growth of extreme dislike toward the Romanov dynasty was stimulated by Tsar Alexander II and his inability to satisfy the Russian people that resulted in the assassination of this Tsar. After Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War, Alexander II began his rule with a series of reforms to liberalize and modernize the archaic body of Russia, some including the emancipation of serfs and the elimination of corporal punishment. At this stage, Alexander was pleasing his people however, once his authority was challenged, he turned repressive, and responded by strongly opposing movements for political reform. After all, the Tsar’s reforms and promises did not erase the discontent felt by the Russians and most certainly did not strengthen the Romanov Dynasty as was planned. The assassination of the Tsar in 1881 was a result of this unrest and such an event highlighted the discontent amongst Russian society and hence was a long-term cause to the eventual decline of the Romanov Dynasty.

Nicholas Romanov was appointed as Tsar of Russia in 1894 and during his rule his fatal flaw was to address the concerns of Russia. Tsar Nicholas II was a conservative leader and possessed few of the skills that were vital to effectively rule the huge Russian population. He ruled Russia as an autocrat with his fantasy of absolute power rather than

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Who Was Anna Anderson?

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Romanovs were very powerful people. They controlled about ten percent of the world's land mass and their net worth was thirty billion dollars, in a time when thirty billion was worth more than it is today. In his time, Tsar Nicholas was the most powerful man on earth and his wealth trumped any of the European royalties. It was most likely this tremendous power that he had, which is what eventually led to his destruction, not only as Tsar or Russia, but also the destruction of his life and family.…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All state leaders across the whole period held qualities that didn’t please the whole of the population in Russia. During the reign of Alex II, the government showed some strength with controlling opposition from the peasantry through the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. It was thought that to prevent revolt from below, this was a key movement that had to be made, and therefore prevented future unrest and opposition. However, the new liberated serfs had to deal with more laws concerning land ownership with led to further unrest and repression in the peasantry by the state. The state moreover, appeased the most vocal critics but in such a way that allowed dissenters to express themselves in the knowledge that Tsar’s decision would be final. Compared to Nicholas II’s reign, this showed a decisive leading technique, as Nicholas’s style was more conservative, and showed weakness, relying on others’ advice to fuel his decisions. A key failure throughout his period was the mixed rule attempt with the Duma introduced from 1906 to 1917, it is arguable that Nicholas II made concessions only to keep opposition temporarily at bay and that his aim was to uphold the principle of autocracy.…

    • 1646 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The autocratic rule that dominated the 300 year old dynasty was also a key factor in its destruction; the social unrest, clamour for political reform, backwardness of the Russian economy and the lack of reforms were all created by the Tsarist regime. The Romanov family ruled with an iron fist and used brutal violence to control its subjects. The repressive policies such as Russification and lack of effective reforms prevented the modernisation of the social and political aspects of the nation. Autocratic rulers promoted the feudalistic style class system which created extreme poverty in the lower classes and gave the people no political power. The introduction of ideas of liberty and an elected government into Russian society, contributed to the creation of revolutionary groups that aimed to overthrow the autocratic rulers and establish more liberal governments. This was first seen with the attempted political coup of the Decembrists that ultimately failed, however they were significant as the introduced a revolutionary trend and liberal views to the people. With the introduction of liberal views and equality, the people began to show their anger and frustration, caused by the Romanovs, through protests and revolutions, of which ultimately ended the Romanov Dynasty. The style of autocratic rulership is a key factor that impacted the fall of the Romanovs primarily because of the social issues it created.…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In July 1918, the royal Romanov line was suddenly and brutally ended by the Bolsheviks. The Romanov family had ruled the Russian Empire for over three centuries. The Romanovs reign was one of strict tyranny. Tsar Nicholas II of Russia made one big step toward a more equal Russia by freeing the serfs but because the serfs owned no land they had little to no money still. After WWI when nicholas led Russia to a crushing defeat there was lots of unrest throughout Russia. I think that the main reason the Tsar was forced to abdicate the throne and then was slaughtered is that he made a more equal Russia but in doing so he made the serfs more impoverished than ever, that he had led Russia into multiple wars that had ended badly and that the technology…

    • 151 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The beginning of the 20th century brought radical changes to the social and political structure of autocratic Russia. It was a period of regression, reform, revolution and eradication. Eradication of a blood line that had remained in rule for over 300 years; the Romanov Dynasty.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Summary: Romanov Dynasty

    • 4116 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia, had neither the qualities nor the desire to rule imperial Russia. Born in Tsarskoye Selo in 1868, Nicholas was the eldest son of Alexander III, the fearsome tsar who had reimposed autocracy and oppression on the Russian empire after the murder of Alexander II. Those who met the young tsarevich, described him as pleasant and likeable, but otherwise unremarkable – hardly the traits of a man ordained by God to rule Russia. Nicholas famously expressed reluctance about taking the throne, declaring that he “never wanted to rule”. But tradition…

    • 4116 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1894 Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne when he was unprepared to do so. It is hard to do something when you are not ready. It is like letting a bull out of the chute when you were not ready, so you fall, but in Nicholas’s case a lot of things came down with him.…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2. What were the results of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and what happened to the Romanov family?…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Following the death of the last tsar of the Rurik dynasty, Russia entered in a period of violent social upheaval known as the Time of Troubles. Plagued by peasant uprisings, invasions, and false claims to the throne, the country was on the brink of collapse. Stability was required for the country to recover. In 1613, the “Zemsky Sobor” or assembly of the land elected young Mikhail Romanov to become the next tsar of Russia. His reign signaled the of the Time of Troubles as he returned prosperity to the country and established the great Romanov dynasty.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Tsarist Autocracy

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Tsarist autocracy has succeeded for more than three hundred years, but the Russian Revolution that occurred on November 1917 ended the long term autocracy. During this time period, Tsar Nicholas II was the leader of Russia and indeed the last one. He caused Russia’s downfall and made many Russians frustrated about the government. The Tsar did not acknowledge the nation's problems and failed to improve the lives of the citizens. As the Russians struggled with limited rights and lack of help from Nicholas II, they had to make a move. Although peasant unrest led to the Russians protesting and rebelling against the country, the Russian Revolution occurred because of Tsar Nicholas II’s weak leadership, in which he failed to accomplished the Russian’s goals, horribly managed the military, and thought that the system should not change.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 1917, a famous revolution led tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family to be abdicated from the Russian throne. The same year, the family was killed, leading to the Romanov family to end its several century long reign. But why exactly was the Romanov family killed? Did they not care for the wellbeing of their citizens? Were they simply just too corrupt for any good? There are several answers to this question, the main ones being governmental corruption, a belief of superiority, and an unreasonable amount of bloodshed in WWI.…

    • 1127 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Last of the Romanovs

    • 3074 Words
    • 13 Pages

    The first person to impact the fall of Imperial Russia was Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor. In particular, Nicholas’ coronation marked the beginning of a downward spiral for the Romanov family. Tsar Nicholas II was born on May 6, 1868 and was the eldest son of Alexander III (Levykin, 1999). Nicholas II had to assume the throne earlier than the Russian population would have liked. Nicholas’ father fell ill in the spring of 1894 and his health never fully recovered. On October 20th, 1894, Alexander III died of nephritis, forcing Nicholas to become the next Tsar of Russia at a young age (Lincoln, 1976). After the untimely death of his father, Nicholas was in dismay about becoming Tsar of Russia, a position he never really wanted. This is exemplified when Nicholas II refers to being the Tsar as, “the awful job I have feared all my life” (Massie, 1967, p. 59). To further Nicholas’ fears, the Russian people and government believed he didn’t have enough political training to rule Russia effectively (Harcave, 1968).…

    • 3074 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Russian Revolution Causes

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Russian Revolution was one of the most important revolutions in history. Just like the French people, Russians got tired of being treated unfairly by the Higher classes, and so decided to revolt against them. However unlike the French, they could not be satisfied, or entertained for long by a single revolution, reason why they did many revolts. Each time retreating at its middle, until they finally were annoyed and determined enough to overthrow the Government and change their lives as they knew it. Even so, that wasn’t the only cause of the Russian Revolution, along the many revolts came various relevant causes and events, but only few of them stood out, with such importance to today’s history of the causes for the Russian…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    While he was at the war front, Nicholas left Russia to be governed by his wife Alexandra, who was heavily influenced by the mystic, Grigori Rasputin. Under his influence, the Empress became paranoid. She adopted repressive and oppressive policies and appointed and dismissed government officials without proper deliberation. Poor leadership at this time caused discontent which led to strikes and revolutions. The problems piled up until the tsar could no longer find a suitable solution that would please all the Russians. The Russians had no food, they had enough of autocracy and desperately wanted to stop the war. Once they realized that their pleas were not being answered, they brought the issue into their own hands and started the revolution. This then led to the abdication of the tsar and to the end of the Romanov…

    • 1970 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nicholas Romanov

    • 1548 Words
    • 7 Pages

    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 .…

    • 1548 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays