Question by Lucy: Why did the way Tsar Nicholas ll ruled upset the people of Russia?
What was his way or style of ruling the country?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Spellbound
Sorry, I’ve only just seen your question.
Nicholas II was an autocrat, in other words he ruled by himself, no parliament, only advisors and ministers to carry out his orders. Unfortunately for him, and for Russia, he was vain, stupid, overly religious and badly advised.
His downfall began when he lost the 1904 Russo-Japanese War; this led to the 1905 Revolution, which led to the institution of a parliament, the Duma. Nicholas allowed it to meet, and then politically neutered it, robbing it of its authority and powers, angering not just the deputies, but also those, mostly middle class voters, who supported the Duma.
He could have weathered this storm, perhaps, if he hadn’t plunged Russia into WWI. The war was a disaster for Russia, and, when the he took personal command of the army – the people blamed him for the way that the war was turning out. Again, the middle classes were angered, but so too were the peasants, who lost sons to the war, and workers – working longer hours for lower pay, for the war effort.
Eventually the resentment turned from anger to hatred and, in February 1917, the women of Petrograd marched on the Winter Palace and Nicholas abdicated.
He was arrested on charges of treason, and held in various locations until he ended up, with his family in the Ipatiev house in ‘Ekaterinburg in Western Siberia. Here, on July 17 1918 he, along with his entire family and their servants were taken to the basement and executed.
The Russian Empire became the Soviet Union in 1922, so Nicholas was the Tsar of Russia.
See:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nicholas_ii.shtml
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nicholas.htm
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