Nicholas II (Russian: Николай II, Николай Александрович Романов, tr. Nikolay II, Nikolay Alexandrovich Romanov [nʲɪkɐˈlaj ftɐˈroj, nʲɪkɐˈlaj əlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ rɐˈmanəf]) (18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, and titular King of Poland.[2] His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias.[3] Like other Russian Emperors he is commonly known by the monarchical title Tsar (though Russia formally ended the Tsardom in 1721). He is known as Saint Nicholas thePassion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church and has been referred to as Saint Nicholas the Martyr.
Nicholas II ruled from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 2 March 1917.[4] His reign saw Imperial Russia go from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Enemies nicknamed him Bloody Nicholas because of the Khodynka Tragedy, the anti-Semitic pogroms, Bloody Sunday, his violent suppression of the 1905 Revolution, his execution of political opponents,[5] and his pursuit of military campaigns on an unprecedented scale.[citation needed]
Under his rule, Russia was humiliatingly defeated in the Russo-Japanese War, which saw the almost total annihilation of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima. 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 mobilisation of August 1914, which marked the beginning of Russia's involvement in the First World War, a war in which 3.3 million Russians were killed.[6] The Imperial Army's severe losses and the High Command's incompetent handling of the war, along with other policies directed by Nicholas during his reign, are often cited as the leading causes of the fall of the Romanov dynasty.[citation needed]
Nicholas II abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917 during which he and his family were imprisoned first in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, then later in the Governor's Mansion in Tobolsk, and finally at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. In the spring of 1918, Nicholas was handed over to the local Ural soviet by commissar Vasili Yakovlev who was then presented with a written receipt as Nicholas was formally handed over like a parcel.[7] Nicholas II; his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna; his son, Alexei Nikolaevich; his four daughters, Olga Nikolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna and Anastasia Nikolaevna; the family's medical doctor, Evgeny Botkin; the Emperor's footman, Alexei Trupp; the Empress' maidservant,Anna Demidova; and the family's cook, Ivan Kharitonov, were executed in the same room by the Bolsheviks on the night of 16/17 July 1918. This led to the canonisation of Nicholas II, his wife the Empress Alexandra and their children as passion bearers, a category used to identify believers who, in imitation of Christ, endured suffering and death at the hands of political enemies, on 15 August 2000[8] by the Russian Orthodox Church within Russia and, in 1981, as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, located in New York City.[9]
At the time of his death, his net worth was $900 million, which is the inflation adjusted equivalent to $13.7 billion in 2012 US-dollars.[10][11]
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[show]Family background[edit]
Nicholas was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (formerly Princess Dagmar of Denmark). He had five younger siblings: Alexander (1869–1870),George (1871–1899), Xenia (1875–1960), Michael (1878–1918) and Olga (1882–1960). Nicholas often referred to his father nostalgically in letters after Alexander's death in 1894. He was also very close to his mother, as revealed in their published letters to each other.[12]
His paternal grandparents were Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (born Princess Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt). His maternal grandparents were King Christian IXand Queen Louise of Denmark. Nicholas was actually of primarily German descent, as well as Russian, Danish and French descent.
Nicholas was related to several monarchs in Europe. His mother's siblings included Kings Frederik VIII of Denmark and George I of Greece as well as England's Queen Alexandra (consort ofKing Edward VII). Nicholas, his wife, Alexandra, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were all first cousins of King George V. Nicholas was also a first cousin of both King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway, as well as King Constantine I of Greece. While not first cousins, Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm II were second cousins, once removed, as each descended from King Frederick William III of Prussia, as well as third cousins, as they were both great-great-grandsons of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Nicholas and his wife, Alexandra, were also second cousins, as both were descended from Wilhelmine of Baden, the wife of Grand Duke Louis II of Hesse.
In his childhood, Nicholas, his parents and siblings made annual visits to the Danish royal palaces of Fredensborg and Bernstorff to visit his grandparents, the king and queen. The visits also served as family reunions, as his mother's siblings would also come from England, Germany and Greece with their respective families.[13] It was there, in 1883, that he enjoyed a brief flirtation with one of his English first cousins, Princess Victoria. In 1873, Nicholas also accompanied his parents and younger brother, two-year-old George, on a two-month, semi-official visit to England.[14] In London, Nicholas and his family stayed at Marlborough House, as guests of his "Uncle Bertie" and "Aunt Alix," the Prince and Princess of Wales, where he was spoiled by his uncle.[15]
Tsesarevich[edit]
On 1 March 1881,[16] following the assassination of his grandfather, Tsar Alexander II, Nicholas became Tsesarevich and his father became Tsar Alexander III. Nicholas and other family members witnessed Alexander II's death because they were staying at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg where he was brought after being attacked.[17] For security reasons, the new tsar and his family relocated their primary residence to the Gatchina Palace outside the city, only venturing into the capital for various ceremonial occasions, and even then, Alexander III and his family occupied the nearby Anichkov Palace.
In 1884, NIcholas' coming of age ceremony was held at the Winter Palace, where he swore his loyalty to his father. Later that year, Nicholas's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, married Princess Elizabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, and his late wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (who had died in 1878) and a granddaughter of United Kingdom's Queen Victoria. At the wedding in St. Petersburg, sixteen year-old Nicholas met with and developed feelings for the bride's youngest surviving sister, twelve year-old Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Those feelings of admiration blossomed into love following her visit to St. Petersburg five years later, in 1889. She had feelings for him, in turn, but was a devout Lutheran who refused to convert to Russian Orthodoxy, eventually writing to Nicholas in 1893, telling him that they could not marry.[18]
Eventually, in 1890, Nicholas, along with his younger brother Grand Duke George, and their cousin, Prince George of Greece set out on a world tour, although, Grand Duke George fell ill and was sent home partway through the trip. In April 1891, while travelling through the city of Otsu, Japan, Nicholas was the victim of an assassination attempt. The incident cut his trip short, yet he was present at the ceremonies in Vladivostok commemorating the beginning of work on the Trans-Siberian Railway. In 1893, Nicholas travelled to London on behalf of his parents to be present at the wedding of his cousin,George, Duke of York, to Mary of Teck. Queen Victoria was struck by the similar appearance of the two cousins, and the appearances confused some at the wedding. During this time, Nicholas had an affair with St. Petersburg ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska.
Despite being heir to the throne, however, Nicholas's father failed to prepare him to become tsar. He attended meetings of the State Council, yet as his father was only in his forties, it was expected that it would be several years before Nicholas would take the throne.[19] Sergei Witte, Russia's finance minister, saw things differently and suggested that to the tsar that Nicholas be appointed of the Siberian Railway Committee.[20] Alexander argued that Nicholas was not mature enough to take on serious responsibilities, to which Witte replied that if he was not introduced to state affairs Nicholas would never be ready to understand them.[20]
However, Alexander's assumptions about living long and having years to prepare Nicholas for becoming tsar would be proven wrong, as by 1894, Alexander III was suffering from ill health.
Engagement, Accession and Marriage[edit]
In April 1894, Nicholas joined his Uncle Sergei and Aunt Elizabeth on a journey to Coburg, Germany for the wedding of Elisabeth and Alix's brother, Ernst Ludwig of Hesse to their mutual cousin, Victoria Melita of Edinburgh. Other guests included Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm II, the Empress Frederick (Kaiser Wilhelm's mother and Queen Victoria's eldest daughter) Nicholas's uncle, the Prince of Wales, and the bride's parents, Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh and Marie Alexandrovna, the Duchess of Edinburgh (sister of Alexander III).
Shortly after arriving in Coburg, Nicholas proposed to Alix, and she rejected his proposal on the grounds that she could not convert to Orthodoxy. After the wedding of Ernst and "Ducky", however, the Kaiser had to talk with Alix, telling her that it was her duty to marry Nicholas as did Elizabeth, who voluntarily converted to Orthodoxy in 1892, and told her that there were not many differences between Lutheranism and Orthodoxy. After Nicholas proposed to her a second time, the two became officially engaged on 8 April 1894. For their parts, Nicholas's parents were reluctant to give the engagement their blessing, as Alix had made poor impressions on her visits to Russia, only giving their consent after it became clear that Tsar Alexander's health was deteriorating. Queen Victoria had also been initially opposed to the match, because, while she had no objections against Nicholas personally, she had a dislike of Russia.
That summer, Nicholas travelled to England to visit both Alix and the Queen. The visit coincided with the birth of the Duke and Duchess of York's first child, the future King Edward VIII. Along with being present at the christening, Nicholas and Alix were listed amongst the child's godparents.[21] After several weeks in England, Nicholas returned home for the wedding of his sister,Xenia, to a cousin, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich ("Sandro").
By that fall, Alexander III was dying. Upon learning that he would at least be able survive for a fortnight, he had Nicholas summon Alix to the imperial palace at Livadia.[22] Alix arrived on 10 October, and the Tsar insisted on receiving her in full dress uniform. Ten days later, Alexander III died at the age of forty-nine, leaving twenty-six year old Nicholas as tsar of Russia. That evening, Nicholas was consecrated by his father's priest as Tsar Nicholas II and the following day, Alix was received into the Russian Orthodox Church, taking the name Alexandra Feodorovna.
Nicholas may have felt unprepared for the duties of the crown, asking his cousin and brother-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander,[23] "What is going to happen to me and all of Russia?"[24] Perhaps underprepared and unskilled, Nicholas was not altogether untrained for his duties as Tsar. Throughout his reign, Nicholas chose to maintain the conservative policies favoured by his father. While Alexander had concentrated on the formulation of general policy, Nicholas devoted much more attention to the details of administration.
Leaving Livadia on 16 October, the funeral procession, which included relatives Nicholas's aunt, Queen Olga of the Hellenes (herself a Romanov by birth), and the Prince and Princess of Wales, who had arrived at Livadia from London two days after Alexander's death (the Princess of Wales being the favourite sister of Nicholas's mother), arrived in Moscow. After laying in state in the Kremlin, the body was then taken to St. Petersburg, where the funeral was held on 7 November.
Nicholas and Alix's wedding was originally scheduled for the spring of 1895, but it was moved forward at Nicholas' insistence. Staggering under the weight of his new office, he had no intention of allowing the one person who gave him confidence to leave his side.[25] Instead, Nicholas' wedding to Alix, who had taken the name Alexandra Feodorovna upon her reception into the Orthodox Church the day after Alexander's death, took place on 26 November 1894, the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna's birthday, when court mourning could be slightly relaxed. Alexandra wore the traditional dress of Romanov brides, and Nicholas a hussar's uniform. Nicholas and Alexandra, each holding a lighted candle, faced the palace priest; a few minutes before one in the afternoon, they were married.[26]
Reign[edit]
Despite a visit to the United Kingdom in 1893, where he observed the House of Commons in debate and seemed impressed by the machinery of democracy, as well as a similar positive appraisal of the US Congress on an official visit to the United States as Tsarevitch, Nicholas turned his back on any notion of giving away any power to elected representatives in Russia. Shortly after he came to the throne, a deputation of peasants and workers from various towns' local assemblies (zemstvos) came to the Winter Palace proposing court reforms, such as the adoption of a constitutional monarchy,[27] and reform that would improve the political and economic life of the peasantry.[28]
Although the addresses they had sent in beforehand were couched in mild and loyal terms, Nicholas was angry and ignored advice from an Imperial Family Council by saying to them: "... it has come to my knowledge that during the last months there have been heard in some assemblies of the zemstvos the voices of those who have indulged in a senseless dream that the zemstvos be called upon to participate in the government of the country. I want everyone to know that I will devote all my strength to maintain, for the good of the whole nation, the principle of absoluteautocracy, as firmly and as strongly as did my late lamented father."[29]
On 26 May 1896, Nicholas' formal coronation as Tsar was held in Uspensky Cathedral located within the Kremlin.[1] In celebration on 27 May 1896, a large festival with food, free beer and souvenir cups was held in Khodynka Field outside Moscow. Khodynka was chosen as the location as it was the only place near Moscow large enough to hold all of the Moscow citizens.[30]
Khodynka was primarily used as a military training ground and the field was uneven with trenches. Before the food and drink were handed out, rumours spread that there wouldn't be enough for everyone. The crowd rushed to get their share and individuals were tripped and trampled, suffocating in the dirt of the field.[31] Of the approximate 100,000 in attendance, it is estimated that 1,389 individuals died[1] and roughly 1,300 were injured.[30]
The Khodynka Tragedy was seen as a bad omen and Nicholas found gaining popular trust difficult from the beginning of his reign. Unfortunately, the French ambassador's Gala was planned for that night. The Tsar desperately wanted to stay in his chambers and pray for the lives lost, but his uncles believed that his absence at the ball would strain relations with France, particularly the 1894 Franco-Russian Alliance. Nicholas attended the party. Of course, the mourning populace weren't told of the Tsar's true wishes and saw Nicholas as frivolous and uncaring.
The fall after the coronation, Nicholas and Alexandra made a tour of Europe. After making visits to the emperor and empress of Austria-Hungary, the Kaiser of Germany, and Nicholas' Danish grandparents and relatives, Nicholas and Alexandra took possession of their new yacht, the Standart, which had been built in Denmark.[32] From there, they made a journey to Scotland to spend some time with Queen Victoria at Balmoral Castle. While Alexandra enjoyed her reunion with her grandmother, Nicholas complained in a letter to his mother about being forced to go shooting with his uncle, the Prince of Wales, in bad weather, and was suffering from a bad toothache.[33]
The first years of his reign saw little more than continuation and development of the policy pursued by Alexander III. Nicholas allotted money for the All-Russia exhibition of 1896. In 1897 restoration of gold standard by Sergei Witte, Minister of Finance, completed the series of financial reforms, initiated fifteen years earlier. By 1902, the Trans-Siberian Railway was nearly completed; this helped the Russians trade in the Far East but the railway still required huge amounts of work.
In foreign relations, Nicholas followed policies of his father, strengthening the Franco-Russian Alliance and pursuing a policy of general European pacification, which culminated in the famousHague peace conference. This conference, suggested and promoted by Nicholas II, was convened with the view of terminating the arms race, and setting up machinery for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. The results of the conference were less than expected, because of the mutual distrust existing between great powers. Still, the Hague conventions were among the first formal statements of the laws of war. In 1901 Nicholas II (and the famous Russian diplomat Friedrich Martens) were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize – for the initiative to convene the Hague Peace Conference and contribute to its implementation.[34]
He was Colonel in Chief of the Royal Scots Greys from 1894 until his death. On becoming Colonel in Chief he presented the Regiment with a white bearskin, now worn by the bass drummer of the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The Imperial Russian anthem is still played at dinner nights in the Officers' Mess, where there is still a portrait of the Tsar in Scots Greys uniform. Since his killing the Regiment has worn a black backing behind its capbadge to mourn his death.
In 1903, Nicholas threw himself into an ecclesiastical matter regarding the canonisation of Seraphim of Sarov The previous year, it had been suggested that if he was canonised, the imperial couple would have a son and heir to throne.[35] While Alexandra demanded in July 1902 that Seraphim be canonised in less than a week, Nicholas demanded that he be canonised within a year.[36] Despite a public outcry, the Church bowed to the intense imperial pressure, declaring Seraphim worthy of canonisation in January 1903.[35] That summer, the imperial family travelled to Sarov for the canonisation.[37]
Russo-Japanese War[edit]
Main article: Russo-Japanese War
A clash between Russia and the Empire of Japan was almost inevitable by the turn of the 20th century. Russia had expanded in the East, and the growth of its settlement and territorial ambitions, as its southward path to the Balkans was frustrated, conflicted with Japan's own territorial ambitions on the Chinese and Asian mainland. War began in 1904 with a surprise Japanese attack on the Russian fleet in Port Arthur, without formal declaration of war.
Britain would not allow the Russian navy to use the Suez Canal, due to their alliance with the Empire of Japan and to an incident where the Baltic Fleet mistakenly fired on British fishing boats in the North Sea. The Russian Baltic Fleet traversed the world to balance power in the East, but after many misadventures on the way, was almost annihilated by the Japanese in the Battle of the Tsushima Strait. On land the Russian army experienced logistical problems. While commands and supplies came from St. Petersburg, combat took place in east Asian ports with only the Trans-Siberian Railway for transport of supplies as well as troops both ways.
The 6,000-mile (9,700 km) rail line between St. Petersburg and Port Arthur was single-track, with no track around Lake Baikal, allowing only gradual build-up of the forces on the front. Besieged Port Arthur fell to the Japanese, after nine months of resistance. In mid-1905, Nicholas II accepted American mediation, appointing Sergei Witte chief plenipotentiary for the peace talks. War was ended by the Treaty of Portsmouth.
Nicholas's stance on the war was something that baffled many. Nicholas approached the war with confidence and saw it as an opportunity to raise Russian morale and patriotism, paying little attention to the finances of a long-distance war.[38] Shortly before the Japanese attack on Port Arthur, Nicholas held strong to the belief that there would be no war. Despite the onset of the war and the many defeats Russia suffered, Nicholas still believed in, and expected, a final victory.
As Russia continued to face defeat by the Japanese, the call for peace grew. Nicholas's own mother, as well as his cousin, Emperor Wilhelm II, urged Nicholas to open peace negotiations. Despite the efforts for peace, Nicholas remained evasive. It was not until 27–28 March and the annihilation of the Russian fleet by the Japanese, that Nicholas finally decided to pursue peace.
Anti-Jewish pogroms of 1903–1906[edit]
Main article: Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire
The Kishinev newspaper Bessarabets, which published anti-Jewish materials, received funds from Viacheslav Plehve, Minister of the Interior.[39] These publications served to fuel the Kishinev pogrom. The government of Nicholas II formally condemned the rioting, dismissed the regional governor, the perpetrators were arrested and punished by the court.[40] Leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church also condemned anti-Jewish pogroms. Appeals to the faithful condemning the anti-Jewish pogroms were read publicly in all churches of Russia.[41] However, in private Nicholas expressed his admiration for the mobs, viewing anti-Semitism as a useful tool for unifying the people behind his regime.[42]
Bloody Sunday (1905)[edit]
Main article: Bloody Sunday (1905)
A few days prior to the Bloody Sunday (9 (22) January 1905), the leader of the initiative, a priest named George Gapon, informed the government of the forthcoming procession to the Winter Palace to hand a petition to the Tsar. On the evening before, on Saturday, 8 (21) January, the ministers convened to consider the situation. There was never any thought that the Tsar, who had left the capital for Tsarskoye Selo on the advice of the ministers would actually be asked to meet Gapon; the suggestion that some other member of the Imperial family receive the petition was rejected.[43]
Finally informed by the Prefect of Police that he lacked the men to pluck Gapon from among his followers and place him under arrest, the newly appointed Minister of the Interior, PrinceSviatopolk-Mirsky, and his colleagues decided to bring additional troops into the city for control. That evening Nicholas wrote in his diary, "Troops have been brought from the outskirts to reinforce the garrison. Up to now the workers have been calm. Their number is estimated at 120,000. At the head of their union is a kind of socialist priest named Gapon. Mirsky came this evening to present his report on the measures taken."[43]
On Sunday, 9 (22) January 1905, Gapon began his march. Locking arms, the workers marched peacefully through the streets. Some carried religious icons and banners, as well as national flags and portraits of the Tsar. As they walked they sang hymns and the Imperial anthem, 'God Save The Tsar'. At 2PM all of the converging processions were scheduled to arrive at the Winter Palace. There was no single confrontation with the troops. Throughout the city, at bridges on strategic boulevards, the marchers found their way blocked by lines of infantry, backed byCossacks and Hussars; and the soldiers opened fire on the crowd.[44]
The official number of victims was 92 dead and several hundred wounded. Gapon vanished and the other leaders of the march were seized. Expelled from the capital, they circulated through the empire, increasing the casualties. As bullets riddled their icons, their banners and their portraits of Nicholas, the people shrieked, "The Tsar will not help us!".[44] Outside Russia, the future British Labour Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald attacked the Tsar, calling him a "blood-stained creature and a common murderer".[45]
That evening Nicholas wrote in his diary:
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (Nicholas's sister) wrote afterwards:
Nicky had the police report a few days before. That Saturday he telephoned my mother at the Anitchkov and said that she and I were to leave for Gatchina at once. He and Alicky went to Tsarskoye Selo. Insofar as I remember, my Uncles Vladimir and Nicholas were the only members of the family left in St. Petersburg, but there may have been others. I felt at the time that all those arrangements were hideously wrong. Nicky's ministers and the Chief of Police had it all their way. My mother and I wanted him to stay in St. Petersburg and to face the crowd. I am positive that, for all the ugly mood of some of the workmen, Nicky's appearance would have calmed them. They would have presented their petition and gone back to their homes. But that wretched Epiphany incident had left all the senior officials in a state of panic. They kept on telling Nicky that he had no right to run such a risk, that he owed it to the country to leave the capital, that even with the utmost precautions taken there might always be some loophole left. My mother and I did all we could to persuade him that the ministers' advice was wrong, but Nicky preferred to follow it and he was the first to repent when he heard of the tragic outcome.[47]
From his hiding place, Gapon issued a letter. He stated, "Nicholas Romanov, formerly Tsar and at present soul-murderer of the Russian empire. The innocent blood of workers, their wives and children lies forever between you and the Russian people ... May all the blood which must be spilled fall upon you, you Hangman. I call upon all the socialist parties of Russia to come to an immediate agreement among themselves and bring an armed uprising againstTsarism."[45]
1905 Revolution[edit]
Main article: 1905 Russian Revolution
With the defeat of Russia by a non-Western power, the prestige and power of the government and the authority of the autocratic empire was brought down significantly.[48] Defeat was a severe blow and the Imperial government collapsed, with the ensuing revolutionary outbreaks of 1905–1906. In hope to frighten any further contradiction many demonstrators were shot as they tried to march to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg; the Emperor's Uncle, Grand Duke Sergei, was killed by a revolutionary's bomb in Moscow as he left the Kremlin. The Black Sea Fleet mutinied, and a railway strike developed into a general strike which paralysed the country. Tsar Nicholas II, who was taken by surprise by the events, mixed his anger with bewilderment. He wrote to his mother after months of disorder:
It makes me sick to read the news! Nothing but strikes in schools and factories, murdered policemen, Cossacks and soldiers, riots, disorder, mutinies. But the ministers, instead of acting with quick decision, only assemble in council like a lot of frightened hens and cackle about providing united ministerial action... ominous quiet days began, quiet indeed because there was complete order in the streets, but at the same time everybody knew that something was going to happen — the troops were waiting for the signal, but the other side would not begin. One had the same feeling, as before a thunderstorm in summer! Everybody was on edge and extremely nervous and of course, that sort of strain could not go on for long.... We are in the midst of a revolution with an administrative apparatus entirely disorganized, and in this lies the main danger.[49]
Relationship with the Duma[edit]
Under pressure from the attempted 1905 Russian Revolution, on 5 August of that year Nicholas II issued a manifesto about the convocation of the State Duma, initially thought to be an advisory organ. In the October Manifesto, the Tsar pledged to introduce basic civil liberties, provide for broad participation in the State Duma, and endow the Duma with legislative and oversight powers. He was determined, however, to preserve his autocracy even in the context of reform. This was signalled in the text of the 1906 constitution. He was still described as an autocrat, and retained sweeping executive powers. For instance, cabinet ministers were responsible only to him.
Nicholas' relations with the Duma were not good. The First Duma, with a majority of Kadets, almost immediately came into conflict with him. Scarcely had the 524 members sat down at the Tauride Palace when they formulated an 'Address to the Throne'. It demanded universal suffrage, radical land reform, the release of all political prisoners and the dismissal of ministers appointed by the Tsar in favour of ministers acceptable to the Duma.[50]
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, the younger sister of Nicholas II, wrote, "There was such gloom at Tsarskoye Selo. I did not understand anything about politics. I just felt everything was going wrong with the country and all of us. The October Constitution did not seem to satisfy anyone. I went with my mother to the first Duma. I remember the large group of deputies from among peasants and factory people. The peasants looked sullen. But the workmen were worse: they looked as though they hated us. I remember the distress in Alicky's eyes."[47]
Minister of the Court Count Fredericks commented, "The Deputies, they give one the impression of a gang of criminals who are only waiting for the signal to throw themselves upon the ministers and cut their throats. I will never again set foot among those people."[51] The Dowager Empress noticed "incomprehensible hatred."[51]
Although Nicholas initially had a good relationship with his prime minister, Sergei Witte, Alexandra distrusted him because he had instigated an investigation of Grigori Rasputin, and as the political situation deteriorated, Nicholas dissolved the Duma. The Duma was populated with radicals, many of whom wished to push through legislation that would abolish private property ownership, among other things. Witte, unable to grasp the seemingly insurmountable problems of reforming Russia and the monarchy, wrote to Nicholas on 14 April 1906 resigning his office (however, other accounts have said that Witte was forced to resign by the Emperor). Nicholas was not ungracious to Witte and an Imperial Rescript was published on 22 April creating Witte a Knight of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky, with diamonds (the last two words were written in the Emperor's own hand, followed by "I remain unalterably well-disposed to you and sincerely grateful, for ever more Nicholas.").
A second Duma met for the first time in February 1907. The leftist parties—including the Social Democrats and the Social Revolutionaries, who had boycotted the First Duma—had won 200 seats in the Second, more than a third of the membership. Again Nicholas waited impatiently to rid himself of the Duma. In two letters to his mother he let his bitterness flow, "A grotesque deputation is coming from England to see liberal members of the Duma. Uncle Bertieinformed us that they were very sorry but were unable to take action to stop their coming. Their famous 'liberty', of course. How angry they would be if a deputation went from us to the Irish to wish them success in their struggle against their government."[52]
A little while later Nicholas wrote, "All would be well if everything said in the Duma remained within its walls. Every word spoken, however, comes out in the next day's papers which are avidly read by everyone. In many places the populace is getting restive again. They begin to talk about land once more and are waiting to see what the Duma is going to say on the question. I am getting telegrams from everywhere, petitioning me to order a dissolution, but it is too early for that. One has to let them do something manifestly stupid or mean and then — slap! And they are gone!"[53]
After the Second Duma resulted in similar problems, the new prime minister Pyotr Stolypin (whom Witte described as 'reactionary') unilaterally dissolved it, and changed the electoral laws to allow for future Dumas to have a more conservative content, and to be dominated by the liberal-conservative Octobrist Party of Alexander Guchkov. Stolypin, a skilful politician, had ambitious plans for reform. These included making loans available to the lower classes to enable them to buy land, with the intent of forming a farming class loyal to the crown. Nevertheless, when the Duma remained hostile, Stolypin had no qualms about invoking Article 87 of the Fundamental Laws, which empowered the Tsar to issue 'urgent and extraordinary' emergency decrees 'during the recess of the State Duma'. Stolypin's most famous legislative act, the change in peasant land tenure, was promulgated under Article 87.[53]
The third Duma remained an independent body. This time the members proceeded cautiously. Instead of hurling themselves at the government, opposing parties within the Duma worked to develop the body as a whole. In the classic manner of the British Parliament, the Duma reached for power grasping for the national purse strings. The Duma had the right to question ministers behind closed doors as to their proposed expenditures. These sessions, endorsed by Stolypin, were educational for both sides, and, in time, mutual antagonism was replaced by mutual respect. Even the sensitive area of military expenditure, where the October Manifesto clearly had reserved decisions to the throne, a Duma commission began to operate. Composed of aggressive patriots no less anxious than Nicholas to restore the fallen honour of Russian arms, the Duma commission frequently recommended expenditures even larger than those proposed.
With the passage of time, Nicholas also began to have confidence in the Duma. "This Duma cannot be reproached with an attempt to seize power and there is no need at all to quarrel with it," he said to Stolypin in 1909.[54]Unfortunately, Stolypin's plans were undercut by conservatives at court. Reactionaries such as Prince Vladimir Orlov never tired of telling the Tsar that the very existence of the Duma was a blot on the autocracy, which Tsaritsa Alexandra had always believed anyway. Stolypin, they whispered, was a traitor and secret revolutionary who was conniving with the Duma to steal the prerogatives assigned the Tsar by God. Witte also engaged in constant intrigue against Stolypin. Although Stolypin had had nothing to do with Witte's fall, Witte blamed him. Stolypin had unwittingly angered the Tsaritsa. He had ordered an investigation into Rasputin and presented it to the Tsar, who read it but did nothing. Stolypin, on his own authority, ordered Rasputin to leave St. Petersburg. Alexandra protested vehemently but Nicholas refused to overrule his Prime Minister,[55] who had more influence with the Emperor.
By the time of Stolypin's assassination by Dmitry Bogrov, a student (and police informant) in a theatre in Kiev on 18 September 1911, Stolypin had grown weary of the burdens of office. For a man who preferred clear decisive action, working with a sovereign who believed in fatalism and mysticism was frustrating. As an example, Nicholas once returned a document unsigned with the note: "Despite most convincing arguments in favour of adopting a positive decision in this matter, an inner voice keeps on insisting more and more that I do not accept responsibility for it. So far my conscience has not deceived me. Therefore I intend in this case to follow its dictates. I know that you, too, believe that 'a Tsar's heart is in God's hands.' Let it be so. For all laws established by me I bear a great responsibility before God, and I am ready to answer for my decision at any time."[55]
Alexandra, believing that Stolypin had severed the bonds that her son depended on for life, hated the Prime Minister.[55] In March 1911, in a fit of anger stating that he no longer commanded the imperial confidence, Stolypin asked to be relieved of his office. Two years earlier when Stolypin had casually mentioned resigning to Nicholas he was informed:
This is not a question of confidence or lack of it. It is my will. Remember that we live in Russia, not abroad...and therefore I shall not consider the possibility of any resignation.[56]
It never got that far. On 18 September 1911, in a procession where Stolypin's car was unprotected, Rasputin had coincidentally returned from his exile. As Stolypin's car passed him, Rasputin cried out in a loud voice, "Death is after him! Death is driving behind him!"[57] Bogrov assassinated Stolypin in the Kiev theatre that night.[57]
In 1912, a fourth Duma was elected with almost the same membership as the third. "The Duma started too fast. Now it is slower, but better, and more lasting," stated Nicholas to Sir Bernard Pares.[54]
The First World War was, by-and-far, a loss for Russia. By late 1916, among the Romanov family desperation reached the point of which Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich, younger brother of Alexander III and the Tsar's only surviving uncle, was deputed to beg Nicholas to grant a constitution and a government responsible to the Duma. Nicholas sternly refused, reproaching his uncle for asking him to break his coronation oath to maintain autocratic power intact for his successors. In the Duma on 2 December 1916, Vladimir Purishkevich, a fervent patriot, monarchist and war worker, denounced the dark forces which surrounded the throne in a thunderous two-hour speech which was tumultuously applauded. "Revolution threatens" – he warned – "and an obscure peasant shall govern Russia no longer!"[58]
Tsesarevich Alexei's illness and Rasputin[edit]
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Further complicating domestic matters was the matter of the succession. Alexandra bore Nicholas four daughters, the Grand Duchess Olga in 1895, the Grand Duchess Tatiana in 1897, Grand Duchess Maria in 1899, and Grand Duchess Anastasia in 1901, before their son Alexei was born on 12 August 1904. The young heir was afflicted with Haemophilia B, a hereditary disease that prevents blood from clotting properly, which at that time was untreatable and usually led to an untimely death. As a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Alexandra carried the same gene mutation that afflicted several of the major European royal houses, such as Prussia and Spain. Hemophilia therefore became known as "the royal disease". Alexandra had passed it on to her son. As all of Nicholas and Alexandra's daughters perished with their parents and brother in Yekaterinburg in 1918, it is not known whether any of them inherited the gene as carriers.
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 fact, there were many in the Imperial household who were unaware of the exact nature of the Tsesarevich's illness. At first Alexandra turned to Russian doctors and medics to treat Alexei; however, their treatments generally failed, and Alexandra increasingly turned to mystics and holy men (or starets as they were called in Russian). One of these starets, an illiterate Siberian, Grigori Rasputin, appeared to have some success. Rasputin's influence over Empress Alexandra, and consequently the Tsar, had grown stronger ever since 1912, when the Tsesarevich nearly died from an injury while the family was on vacation at the hunting lodges at Bialowieza and Spala(now part of Poland). The bleeding grew steadily worse until it was assumed that the Tsesarevich would not survive, and the Last Sacrament was administered on 10 October 1912. Desperate, Alexandra called Rasputin as a last resort, and the reply came, "God has seen your tears and heard your prayers. Do not grieve. The Little One will not die. Do not allow the doctors to bother him too much."[59] The haemorrhage stopped the next day and the boy began to recover. Alexandra took this as a sign that Rasputin was a starets and that God was with him; for the rest of her life she would defend him and turn her wrath against anyone who dared to question him.
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