Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II of Russia ( 18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918){{fn|1}} was the last crowned Emperor of Russia. He ruled from 1894 until his forced abdication in 1917. It is said that Nicholas proved unequal to the combined tasks of managing a country in political turmoil and commanding its army in the largest international war to date. His rule ended with the Russian Revolution, during which he and his family were murdered by Bolsheviks, in 1918.

Nicholas as quasi-constitutional monarch

Nicholas' relations with the Duma were not good. The First Duma, with a majority of Kadets, almost immediately came into conflict with him. Although Nicholas initially had a good relationship with his relatively liberal prime minister, Sergei Witte, Alexandra distrusted him, and as the political situation deteriorated, Nicholas dissolved the Duma. Witte, unable to grasp the seemingly insurmountable problems of reforming Russia and the monarchy wrote to Nicholas on 14 April, 1906 resigning his office. Nicholas was not ungracious to Witte and an Imperial Rescript was published on 22 April creating Witte a Knight of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevski, with diamonds. (The last two words were written in the Tsar's own hand, followed by "I remain unalterably well-disposed to you and sincerely grateful, Nicholas").

Related Topics:
Duma - Kadets - Sergei Witte - 14 April - 1906 - 22 April - Alexander Nevski

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After the second Duma resulted in similar problems, the new prime minister Pyotr Stolypin (whom Witte described as 'reactionary') unilaterally dissolved it, and changed the electoral laws to allow for future Dumas to have a more conservative content, and to be dominated by the liberal-conservative Octobrist Party of Alexander Guchkov. Stolypin, a skillful politician, had ambitious plans for reform. These included making loans available to the lower classes to enable them to buy land, with the intent of forming a farming class loyal to the crown. His plans were undercut by conservatives at court who had more influence with the Emperor. By the time of Stolypin's assassination by Dmitry Bogrov, a Jewish student (and police informant) in a theatre in Kiev on 18 September, 1911, he and the Emperor were barely on speaking terms, and his fall was widely foreseen.

Related Topics:
Pyotr Stolypin - Octobrist - Alexander Guchkov - Dmitry Bogrov - 18 September - 1911

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