Question by Shari: Why were Alexandra and Rasputin able to control the czar’s government during much of World War I?
Answers and Views:
Answer by gaylene B
They weren’t, that’s one of the reasons for the Russian Revolution.
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Big B says
When Russia began suffering from bad military defeats such as Tanenburg, the czar Nicholas II stood down his uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas as commander in Chief of the Russian army. Nicholas decided to take over the role as commander in chief himself – a very bad decision considering that his uncle was well liked in the army – but Nicholas was hated.
While Nicholas was off playing commander in chief of a weakened and low morale army fighting an increasingly unpopular war, the Empress Alexandra involved herself more in the decision making with ministers in St Petersburg coming under increasing pressure from advice from Alexandra – and Rasputin who gave his own recommendations to Alexandra about which ministers were reliable and which were not. If you read the correspondence between Alexandra and Nicholas during the war years, there are despatches in which Alexandra says to Nicholas that Rasputin recommends so and so ministers.
brainstorm says
Nicholas was weak
Dusty_Flow says
This is because the Tsar was off fighting the war, for some reason he decided he should lead them on the field himself, which was a poor choice.
So he left the power to Alexandra, who as we all know, was basically controlled by Rasputin.