Why Did the Romanov Dynasty in Russia Collapse?

Question by Maddison: Why did the Romanov Dynasty collapse?
How did Kerensky provisional government affect the fall of the Romanov Dynasty?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Genevieve M.
All these emperors (except Alexander III) had German-born consorts, a circumstance that damaged their popularity during World War I. Nicholas’s wife Alexandra Fyodorovna, although devoutly Orthodox, was particularly hated by the populace, largely because of her German origins.

Alexandra was a carrier of the gene for hemophilia, which she inherited from her maternal grandmother, Queen Victoria. Her only son, the long-awaited heir to the throne, Alexei inherited the gene and developed hemophilia. Nicholas and Alexandra also had four daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia).

The February Revolution of 1917 resulted in the abdication of Nicholas II in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. The latter declined to accept the crown, terminating the Romanov dynasty’s rule over Russia. (Many believe that the crown did not technically pass to Michael, as Tsarevich Alexei would have automatically succeeded his father, Nicholas II. Thus Alexei would have been the only one who could renounce the crown, Michael could not abdicate, and the crown would still be in the Romanov name.)

After the February Revolution, Nicholas II and his family were placed under house arrest in the Alexander Palace. Several members of the Imperial Family, including Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia, managed to establish good relations with the interim government and eventually fled the country during the October Revolution.

Answer by azartdelmar
Bolsheviks would not have had the strength and the support to topple the Romanovs if not for Russian involvement in WWI. The war forced Nicholas II into some tough choices; he put a lot of scarce resources toward the war for which he heavily increased taxation. He also instituted a very heavy-handed draft, extending the age and the length of service. With resources stretched, conditions for the soldiers were increasingly harsh.

The Bolsheviks used this as an opportunity to tap into an armed and trained military force, unhappy with their conditions and their forced military service.

After the royal family was murdered many special forces loyal to the crown did not support the provisional government.

There are of course hundreds of other factors, but for the most part, it was the ongoing war in Europe that weakened the Romanovs toward a collapse.

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