Preview

Nicholas Romanov

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1548 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Nicholas Romanov
Essay On Nicholas Romanov "Nicholas Romanov was an ignorant, incompetent and insensitive leader. His character was the decisive factor in bringing on the revolution" "The last Tsar of Russia was a tragic figure a classic case of being a leader in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing within his power could have prevented the forces of change from overtaking Tsarist Russia." To what extent do you agree with these explanations of the 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 to the Russian peopale for the time he was in power his leadership may have been more effective. 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, 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 back . Nicholas II was 26 when his father died and was soon to marry the German princess, Alix of Hess, granddaughter of Queen Victoria . Nicholas nor Alexander III were well trained for the job of ruling this vast country. Alexander


Bibliography: Acton, E., Rethinking the Russian Revolution, London, Edward Arnold, 1992. Crankshaw, Edward., The Shadow of the Winter Palace: The drift to revolution 1825-1917, Penguin books, 1983. Deery, Philip., Lecture notes for European History, 1998., Footscray, Victoria University of Technology, 1998. Gilbert, Felix., The End of the European Era 1890 to the Present, London, 1984. Gill, Graeme., Twentieth Century Russia The Search for Power and Authority, Melbourne, Nelson, 1989. Kochan, Lionel., Russian Revolution 1890-1918, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983. Rogger, H., Russia in the Age of Modernisation and Revolution 1881-1917, Longman, 1983.

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

    Under Nicholas, the people suffered from his draconian policies, inciting a series of revolts. The Czar’s significance comes from his role in starting the Russian Revolution, which ended a backwards Russian Empire and created the Soviet Union, a state that influenced the world today. A person today can learn from the Czar’s mistakes and use them in daily life; for example, one can learn to listen to the problems of others before making a major…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Romanov dynasty reigned over Russia for three hundred years, the rule coming to an end in 1917. Tsar Nicholas the second abdicated from the throne at the end of the February Revolution; his heir, Tsesarevich Alexei, would never be the Tsar of all the Russias. It was a wonder that Alexei lived as long as he did, his death coming not from his hemophilia type B but rather from execution at the hands of the Bolsheviks. Tsarina Alexandra turned to many mystics and holy men in Russia after many doctors had given Alexei treatment and all had failed. One Staret, would be requested to pay a visit to the young Tsesarevich. This man would change the fate of a country and its ruling family, thus illustrating that revolutions typically have polarizing figures (e.g., George Washington during the American Revolution, Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution); that is, people towards whom the populace at large tend to react, thus potentially sparking the revolution. The relationship between the “holy man” Griogori Rasputin and the Tsar and his family would have an enormous effect on all of Russia and overthrow a three century old dynasty.…

    • 1953 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    'His reign saw Imperial Russia go from one of the foremost great powers of the world to an economic and military disaster.' - Anna Yudina…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Summary: Romanov Dynasty

    • 4116 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Essay Question: Discuss the economic, social and political grievances in Russia at the turn of the C20th and their contribution to the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty.…

    • 4116 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book the ”The Family Romanov” there were many tragedies. In 1894 Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne when he was unprepared to do so. Another tragedy was that Nicholas’s only son was a hemophiliac. At the end of the book Nicholas, his wife, and his five children died. Karl Marx once said, “History repeats itself, first as a tragedy, second as farce.”…

    • 247 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Undeniably, Nicholas II had an enormous role in bringing about the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty in March 1917. Whilst many historians argue the fall of the Tsarist regime to be the direct response and product of World War I, it is quite evident that it was Nicholas’ inefficient and fatal autocratic ruling which led to the March Revolution of 1917. The effects of Russia’s involvement in numerous wars only heightened and highlighted Nicholas’ unsuitability for the role of Tsar, and his absolute and stubborn belief in autocracy. Had Nicholas’ various choices throughout his reign differed, the Romanov Dynasty could in fact, have existed…

    • 1391 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The beginning of the Russian revolution, or Bolshevik revolution, is vital to the understanding of the event as a whole. The question is, "How did Nikolai Romanov fail?" Machiavelli attributes all failures of the state to failures of the prince, and it was no different in Nikolai II's case. In Chapter 19 of The Prince, Machiavelli states that the one thing a prince must avoid is the contempt of his people. Beginning on February 23rd (March 8th), 1917 factory workers in Petrograd started rioting for freedom and basic rights and against…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better 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

    Nicholas Romanov

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Nicholas II was the last of the Romanov dynasty rule as the Czar of Russia. His rule began on 1st of November and finished on the 15th of 1917. During the time of Nicholas’s reign Russia saw him go from the great and powerful “little father” to a much more dishonorable and weak “bloody Nicholas”. Nicholas II was unsuccessful and the reason behind all of Russia’s many downfalls such as WW1 and the Russo-Japanese war. Bloody Sunday, The October Manifesto and the Russo-Japanese war were all events that support how unsuccessful he was as Czar and prove that he was the worst ruler of his time.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He worried that what he had worked so hard to accomplish would be destroyed by his son who had no lessons in how to rule a country. Nicholas II, as a child, was sheltered from his parents; and the Russian people’s point of views, or beliefs, and he developed an outlook toward his future with “honor, service and tradition” (Atchison). Nicholas enjoyed the military field and had an “excellent education and was perhaps the best educated European monarch of his time.” Nicholas II wanted to please…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 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

    History

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages

    I believe that one of the main reasons for the Tsar’s abdication and the collapse of the Romanov rule was the poor state which Russia was in. Russia’s economy was at the worst it had ever been. The economy was far worse than other countries in the War. There were millions of peasants in Russia who had very limited amount of money. With such a limited amount of money, many peasants were unable to buy food, and drink to help them to survive. Peasants believed that they weren’t getting rewarded fairly for the work which they were doing. The upper classes’ benefit greatly due to work done by the Peasants. This created a negative atmosphere around Russia and helped fuel the need for a change. Peasants wanted change; they wanted to be rewarded more for their efforts at work. Russia was in an economic crisis. They had borrowed a huge amount of money from capital countries in order to fuel Russia’s war effort. This was a problem for Russia because they simply didn’t have the money to repay these countries. During the war the country had suffered inflation. Prices had risen dramatically for everyday items such as bread. The country was suffering and the Russian people’s families were dyeing in a war which wasn’t being funded. The Russian people were bound to be discontent and they only had one person to blame and that was the Tsar.…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Romanov Dynasty

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A conglomeration of domestic issues – amplified by an incompetent leadership in Nicholas II and the parasitic Rasputin – came together to bring 300 years of autocracy to an end. Russia had been ready for change, and the Romanovs had paid the ultimate price. Sources A, B, and C all display differing perspectives of the causes for the collapse of the Romanov dynasty, each with associated judgements on origin, bias, and motive but hold value to the discussion nonetheless. Thus, the fall of the Romanovs was systematic, abdication for Nicholas II inevitable and the winds of change again can be studied by historians and the public to acknowledge this momentous…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays