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.…
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…
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.…
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.…
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…
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.…
'When Lincoln was elected, they [the south] feared that their way of life was in jeopardy' - Justin Clowers…
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.…
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.…
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.…
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.…
At the beginning of the seventeenth century Russia experienced a period of great upheaval that has since been called the Time of Troubles (1598-1613). The period was an incredibly complex period of intersecting political, social, and economic issues that culminated into this tumultuous period. During this period, the Russian Orthodox Church became the only social institution and political symbol that offered Russians a sense of continuity, unity, and stability. Orthodox Christianity played a fundamental role in the Russian conscience and in the absence of strong governance, many Russians looked to the Orthodox Church for cues on how to navigate the political crisis at hand. During the Time of Troubles, the presence of samosvanents, pretenders or royal impostures, became a central factor that would shape the Russian political landscape. The reign of Tsar Dmitrii I (r. 1605-1606) is an authoritative and exemplary case study on the nature of samosvanents within Russian politics and religion, and how by understanding the narrative surrounding Dmitrii I’s reign we can begin to understand the broader…
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.…
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).…
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…