Nicholas: The Importance Of The Last Tsar In Russia

Generally referred to as the 'Last Tsar', his short but significant reign ushered in a revolutionary political system that would change the world. He claimed his throne unprepared after the sudden death of his father "Alexander III". His father rarely taught him the things necessary to control an empire as big as Russia and shortly after this, the country quickly fell into turmoil. Many unfortunate incidents occurred during his rule, the first one being at his corronation in Moscow (1895), where a number of people (the number itself is disputed and ranges from several hundred to several thousand) were trampled to death in a huge field whilst rushing forward in order to receive presents from the new Emperor. Nicholas, after hearing of the catastrophe, wished to cancel all previous engagements and festivities, but was persuaded to continue with them thanks to the convincing of relatives and advisors. This was generally seen as a bad omen by many and showed that Nicholas' advisors and other's opinions had a great effect on him, due to his uncertainty with being a Tsar. One of his main advisor's, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, usually gave advice that would instead suit his intrests more than that of his cousin. An ill-concieved war with
Japan in 1904-1905 resulted in a heavy drop in respect and confidence towards the current Russian government and Nicholas' ability to rule.
In addition to this, domestic issues such as the assaination of his Grandfather, Alexander II, by revolutonaries, even though he had done much to improve the situation in his country added to the problems Nicholas was facing. The revolutionaries were bent not on achieving power through the existing regime, but by toppling it altogether. As a young man, Nicholas, with his family, had survived an assassination attempt by a bomb on a train in 1888. Defeat by Japan emboldened the internal opponents of his regime, unleashing the Russian Revolution of 1905, during which organized strikes and local uprisings forced Nicholas to concede to an indirectly-elected national parliament
(Duma) Further complicating domestic matters was the matter of the succession. Alexandra bore him four daughters before their son Alexei was born on August 12, 1904. The young heir proved to be afflicted with hemophilia, which at that time was virtually untreatable and usually led to an untimely death. Because of the fragility of the autocracy at this time, Nicholas and Alexandra chose not to divulge Alexei's condition to anyone outside the royal household. In desperation, Alexandra sought help from a mystic, Grigori Rasputin. Rasputin seemed to help when Alexei was suffering from internal bleeding, and Alexandra became increasingly dependent on him and his advice, which she accepted as coming directly from God. Nicholas wanted to be loved by his people. Left to his own devices he might have accepted a system of constitutional monarchy and become a reforming Emperor. The influence of political reactionaries, principally his wife and his relatives, with Rasputin behind the scenes, made this impossible. Nicholas' devotion to the concept of autocracy also had a major impact. His sense of complete rulership combined with his inexperience of politics were a poor balancing act, resulting in poor decisions making a bigger impact. This stubbornness to keep his autocratic right is highlighted through his conflicts with the Duma. Under the pressure of the Russian Revolution of 1905, Tsar Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto, which announced the basic human freedoms, including the freedom of assembly, and provided for the formation of the State Duma. Though Russia was an empire, rather than a democracy, the State Duma is sometimes formally compared to the lower house of a parliament (the State Council of Imperial Russia being compared to the upper house). However, Nicholas II was determined to retain his autocratic power. Just before the creation of Duma in May 1906, the Tsar issued the Fundamental Laws that contradicted the October Manifesto in several important ways. It stated in part that Tsar's ministers could not be appointed by and were not responsible to the Duma, thus denying representative government at the executive level. Furthermore, the Tsar has the power to dismiss the Duma and announce new elections whenever he wishes. The issue of poverty was a also a big part in the build-up to the Revolution. The large contrast between peasants and bourgeois was seen a major cause for the introduction of the concept of Marxism into the country. It also proved why Marxism was so popular among the workers and blue collars as it was possile end to the inequality of the Russian people. World War I also played a huge part in his downfall, as Nicholas, feeling that it was his duty, and that his personal presence would inspire his troops, decided to lead his grossly unprepared army directly, assuming the role of commander-in-chief after dismissing his uncle from that position, the highly respected and experienced Nikolai Nikolaevich (September 1915) following the loss of the Russian-ruled part of Poland. His efforts to oversee the war left domestic issues essentially in the hands of Alexandra. As a German she was naturally unpopular, and the Duma was constantly calling for political reforms. Cut off from public opinion, Nicholas did not understand how suspicious the common people were of his wife, who was also the victim of destructive rumours about her dependence on Rasputin. Nicholas had refused to censor the press and wild rumours and accusations about Alexandra and Rasputin appeared almost daily. Anger at the damage that Rasputin's influence was doing to Russia's war effort and to the monarchy led to his murder by a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Yusopoff, in December 1916. The Russian Army's inability to provide the country with a military victory until June 1916 led to even more strikes and riots and combined with all the previous occurances, resulted in the Russian people rebbelling against the current Autocratic Establishment and eventually escalated to the 1917 Reolution, which completely reformed Russia into a Communist State, initially led by Vladimir Lenin. Nicholas II brought an end to the Autoacracy of Russia and was the Last Tsar of Russia. His life is a keen reminder of the high requirements in terms of Polictical and Leadership qualities Autocracy demands and the possible effects of an unable leader controlling a large empire, especially one that suffered from extreme poverty.