Biography czar ii nicholas

The main effort of all the Great Powers was not so much to win control over new territories as to preserve the European status quo. However, mutual distrust and the suspicion of one power that another sought to change the status quo often provoked a crisis. In the last quarter of the 19th century, most of the European Great Powers were active in extending their influence and possessions into Africa and Asia.

As a result, there was much concern as to whether "imperialist gains, losses, or transfers abroad might upset the balance of interests in Europe itself. Nicholas's Russia began to challenge Japan in Manchuria and in Korea. An adventurer named Bezobrazov convinced Nicholas to finance a timber concession on the Yalu River on the northern border of Korea.

Biography czar ii nicholas: Nicholas II or Nikolai II

When Tokyo concluded that Bezobrazov had won the support of the Czar, the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in January without declaring war. Russia suffered a series of defeats on land and sea in the war with Japan. The main factors for the Japanese victory over the Russians were the inadequate supply route of the Transsiberian Railway, the outnumbering of the Russian forces in the Far East by Japan, and Russian mismanagement in the field.

A peace treaty, negotiated between Russia and Japan on Sept. The war had ended without forcing too excessive a price for peace. In Father George Gapon, leader of a workers' group, led a procession of workers to Nicholas II in order to seek relief for their grievances. The procession was fired upon, and the incident—known as " Bloody Sunday "— may be considered the beginning of the Revolution of Millions of people participated in this mass movement.

The primary goal of the rebellion was a "four-tail constituent assembly"—that is, universal, secret, equal, and direct suffrage to decide the country's future form of government. Other demands included civil liberties, especially freedom of speechpress, and assembly, and the enactment of an 8-hour workday. When the general strike of October materialized, Minister of Finance Sergei Witte advised Nicholas to choose between a constitutional regime and a military dictatorship, but he added that he would participate only in the former.

On Oct. It was drafted by Witte, who became Russia's first prime minister. The manifesto promised: " 1 To grant to the population the inviolable right of free citizenship, based on the principles of freedom of person, conscience, speech, assembly, and union. At the beginning of February Nicholas left the capital and went to biography czar ii nicholas headquarters at Mogilev.

On March 8 demonstrations were held to celebrate International Women's Day, and these throngs merged with rioting crowds protesting the scarcity of bread in Petrograd. As the riots continued, Nicholas could do nothing but prorogue the Duma, which he did on March The next day the Duma gathered in defiance of his order and chose a provisional committee, composed of members of the progressive bloc and two representatives of parties to the left of it.

On March 15,Nicholas decided to abdicate in favor of his brother Michael. A delegation from the provisional committee, which by now had become the provisional government, waited on the Grand Duke Michael, who refused to be crowned czar of Russia. The monarchy "thus perished without a murmur from either the dynasty or its supporters. Nicholas abdicated his throne peacefully.

On his train the next day he wrote in his diary: "I had a long and sound sleep.

Biography czar ii nicholas: Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov was.

Woke up beyond Dvinsk. Sunshine and frost … I read much of Julius Caesar. They were murdered by the Communists in July Biographical information and a discussion of Nicholas II are in two collective biographies and histories of the Romanov dynasty, both written for the general reader and both based on solid scholarship: John Bergamini, The Tragic Dynastyand Ian Grey, The Romanovs: The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty Hugh Seton-Watson, The Decline of Imperial Russia,is a thorough and well-balanced work that surveys both Russian internal and foreign policies.

A study of European diplomacy that pays considerable attention to Russian policy and conduct is Benedict H. Michael T. Florinsky, Russia: A History and an Interpretationis the most complete narrative of prerevolutionary Russian history in English. He came to the throne at the age of twenty-six, after his father, Alexander III, died prematurely of nephritis.

Biography czar ii nicholas: Nikolai II was the last

She bore him four daughters—Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia—before the birth of a male heir, Alexei, in Like many of his cousins—related through Queen Victoria's offspring—Alexei suffered from hemophilia. Courteous and sensitive, Nicholas inherited his parents' devotion to family and a love for outdoor recreation. From his father and teachers—including the archconservative Konstantin P.

Pobedonostsev—he acquired an unshakable belief in autocratic rule. Nicholas lacked, however, Alexander's imposing stature and self-assurance. Notoriously indecisive, he also proved a dogged, and sometimes devious, defender of his prerogatives. As preparation for his future duties, Nicholas received instruction in languages, law, history, and economics from tutors, government ministers, and scholars.

There followed a carefree stint as a Guards officer in the late s. In and he took a grand tour of Asia and Siberia. He then served an apprenticeship as chairman of state committees dealing with the Trans-Siberian Railroad and agrarian issues. Still, his parents and advisors doubted his readiness to rule, while Nicholas himself was "terrified" when he succeeded.

In early Nicholas dismissed liberal calls for reform as "senseless dreams. He supported Finance Minister Sergei Witte's industrialization program, partially funded by tariffs on an overburdened rural population, while engendering a working class with its own demands. By the period between andtensions multiplied. Within government, Nicholas undermined the powerful Witte, pitting him against Vyacheslav K.

Plehve, the minister of internal affairs, in economic and agrarian policies. He removed Witte as minister in August Revolutionaries assassinated Plehve inas unrest mounted among peasants, workers, and students. That summer urban and gentry constitutionalists formed the Union of Liberation; in November, a zemstvo congress called for an elective legislature to control the bureaucracy.

Revolution erupted infollowing " Bloody Sunday " on 22 January 9 January, old stylewhen troops killed over two hundred peacefully demonstrating workers in St. Promises of reform throughout the spring and summer provoked peasant risings and urban strikes, revolutionary terrorism, ferment among national minorities, and liberal demands for a constitution.

In a manifesto published on 30 October 17 October, O. Nicholas "granted" civil liberties, religious tolerance, and an elective, legislative State Duma. The new legislature convened in May ; Nicholas dissolved it after six contentious weeks. The revolution had gained strength during the disastrous Russo-Japanese War —which also weakened the empire's international position following a period of peace inaugurated by Alexander III.

Under Nicholas, the recently concluded alliance with France was balanced by correct relations with William II's Germany. Agreements with Austria-Hungary in and guaranteed the Balkan status quo. Nicholas also sponsored international talks on disarmament in The Hague in China's decline and the rise of Meiji Japan, however, brought volatility to Asian affairs.

Nicholas wavered between the caution urged by Witte and the assertive policy advocated by the courtier A. Confused negotiations led to a Japanese attack on Port Arthur in earlyfollowed by Russian defeats, notably at Mukden March and the sea battle of Tsushima May Although a figure in the public eye, Empress Alexandra was something of a homebody, who preferred to spend the majority of her time at the palace at Tsarskoe Selo.

The couple had their first child, a daughter named Olga, in The following year, Nicholas II was officially crowned as the tsar of Russia. During a mobbed public celebration of the coronation near Moscow, thousands of people were stampeded to death. Unaware of the event, Nicholas II and Alexandra were all smiles as they went on to celebrate the coronation at a ball.

In the couple gave birth to a second daughter, Tatiana. She was followed by a third, named Maria, in and a biography czar ii nicholas, named Anastasiain In Alexandra gave birth to the longed-for male heir, Alexei. Desperate to find an effective treatment for Alexei, Nicholas II and Alexandra even went so far as to let the monk Rasputin hypnotize the boy.

The emperor proved such a devoted family man that his journal entries, which were meant to log official affairs of state, instead focused on the everyday goings-on of his wife and kids. But, in the s, as Russia experienced economic growth, it began to expand its industry into the Far East. Inconstruction on the Trans-Siberian railroad had begun, connecting Russia with the Pacific Coast.

As a result, Japan felt increasingly threatened.

Biography czar ii nicholas: Nicholas was the first Russian sovereign

InJapan attacked Russia. By the spring ofhis fleet was decimated in the Battle of Tsushima. The demonstrators appealed to Nicholas II to improve working conditions and establish a popular assembly. The tsar and his family were held in various locations, eventually being imprisoned in Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. In Octoberthe Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government.

Following a harsh peace treaty with Germany in MarchRussia descended into civil war. On 17 Julyas anti-Bolsheviks approached Yekaterinburg, Nicholas and his family were executed. This was almost certainly on the orders of the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled.

While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. One thing they had in common was their dedication to their wives Queen Mary and Tsarina Alexandra respectively who they loved deeply. Read more about Kings and Queens. Despite his power, wealth and vast palaces Tsar Nicholas had one major problem.

Unlike his cousin George, Nicholas having sired four daughters still had no male heirs. But in when a son Alexei was born it was discovered the child had inherited the dangerous genetic blood disease haemophilia. Such a situation saw his wife Alexandra turn to a healer, the manipulative mystic Rasputinwho after appearing to calm the young prince was appointed his guardian.

Read more about Mysteries. The catalyst to world war occurred on 28 June when Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his wife were shot during a royal visit to Sarajevo in Bosnia by a Serbian anarchist. Russia as an ally of Serbia mobilised its army. Two years later the downfall of Tsar Nicholas had begun.

By Russian soldiers having seen hundreds of thousands of their men killed and die in terrible conditions, began to mutiny and revolt. Mass discontent spread from the battlefields to the cities where people were starving. Demonstrations took place against the government and the German-born Tsarina Alexandra due to rumours that she was a spy.