What was tsar nicholas like

When Nicholas Romanov was crowned czar of Russia in , he seemed bewildered. I never even wanted to become one. Twenty-four years later, he seemed just as bewildered as a group of armed thugs, members of the Bolshevik secret police, moved in to assassinate him.

Though he had been deposed months earlier, his crown and his name stolen from him and his family imprisoned, he did not expect to be murdered. But unlike Czar Nicholas, historians have pieced together the exact reasons why the Romanov family was brutally assassinated and the context that led to their downfall.

But Alexander did not adequately prepare his son to rule a Russia that was wracked with political turmoil. A strict autocrat, Alexander believed that a czar had to rule with an iron fist. As a result, Nicholas inherited a restless Russia. A few days after his coronation in , nearly 1, of his subjects died during a huge stampede. They had gathered on a large field in Moscow to receive coronation gifts and souvenirs, but the day ended in tragedy.

Throughout his reign, Nicholas faced growing discontent from his subjects. His government massacred nearly unarmed protesters during a peaceful assembly in And he struggled to maintain a civil relationship with the Duma, the representative branch of the Russian government. But the family kept his disease, which would cause him to bleed to death from a slight cut, a secret. Then, in , Russia was drawn into World War I, but was unprepared for the scale and magnitude of the fighting.

Russia had the largest number of deaths in the war—over 1. When Nicholas II succeeded his father in , he was 26 years old. His father had died aged 49, by which point Nicholas was still poorly trained in state affairs. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling. Despite this, Nicholas was an autocrat, believing he derived his authority from God which meant his will could not be disputed.

Nicholas is wearing a German Army uniform, while Wilhelm wears that of a Russian hussar regiment. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

In , Philip donated his blood for a DNA check of the Tsarina and her children, which matched perfectly. As Nicholas spoke Russian and his wife spoke German, they often spoke in English to each other to aid communication, as well as some German they could also speak French and Italian.

Nicholas had studied English since it had replaced French as the language of international communication , and his uncle Alexander remarked:. In reaction, indignant workers throughout Russia went on strike. Although he believed himself to be an absolute ruler as ordained by God, Nicholas II was eventually forced to concede to creating an elected legislature, called the Duma.

Despite this concession, Nicholas II still stubbornly continued to resist government reform, included those suggested by the newly elected minister of the interior, Peter Stolypin. In response, Nicholas II appointed himself commander-in-chief, so he could take direct control of the military from Grand Duke Nicholas, against the advice of his ministers.

In his absence, the empress grew increasingly withdrawn and ever more dependent on Rasputin, who heavily influenced her political view on matters at home.

Over the course of WWI, Russia endured major losses and was subject to extreme poverty and high inflation. The Russian public blamed Nicholas II for his poor military decisions, and Empress Alexandra for her ill-advised role in government. Because Alexandra was originally from Germany, suspicion spread that she might have even deliberately sabotaged Russia, ensuring its defeat in the war. Nicholas was still headquartered at Mogilev at the time.

When he tried to get home to Petrograd, the Duma the elected legislature , which had by then turned on him, prevented him from boarding the train. After the Duma elected their own provisional committee built of progressive bloc members, and the soldiers sent to quash the St. Petersburg riots mutinied, Nicholas II had no other choice but to step down from the monarchy.

On March 15, , he abdicated the throne. He and his family were then taken to the Ural Mountains and placed under house arrest. In the spring of , Russia was engaged in a civil war. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives.

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