During World War I Nicholas II assumed supreme command of the Russian Army in September 1915. Nicholas II's personal expectation of command grew out of one of the calmumniatory weaknesses of his reign: his own inadequacy as a ruler and as a human being. In addition to his naive belief that he shared a personal affinity with the Russian people, he ruled over a political system that could not function without his immediate presence. When the Emperor announced his decision to his cabinet, ten of the twelve ministers of state objected and tried to convince him to reconsider. Tellingly, ministers in Imperial Russia served only at the pleasure of the tsar and had no responsibility to the Duma, which had existed since 1906, or to any
Tsar Nicholas II and 1905 Revolution The Tsar (Nicholas II) survived the 1905 revolution. However, the revolution in 1917 did remove him from power. When asking why Nicholas II survived 1905 there are numerous factors to examine. Both revolutions had extremely similar conditions. Levels of dissatisfaction, strikes and the country moving towards a wartime economy are all examples.
Tsar Nicholas II was a poor leader. It seems that he does not want to be the Tsar (71). When the Tsar received the telegram of the destruction of the Russian fleet a Tsushima, he simply placed into his pocket. He shows no interest in being a leader. A normal would have quickly reacted to that situation but the Tsar did not. During his reign (Nicholas II), Russia was in disaster (72). Forcing someone to do something, that person does not want to do will lead to disaster. He such a "leader" that Kaiser Wilhelm II patronizes him of "only fit to live in a country house and grow turnips." (9). The man has no strength, his is everything but strength. There are many holes in the government of Russia and in his leadership. The holes could have been filled up if he had picked up the slack and pushed himself to be leader. The resulting consequences of his poor leadership could have also been
The tsars were no longer able to satisfy the desires of the people. The people had high expectations of the dynasty that Nicolas was just not able to deliver. Conferring to the text “The tsar’s government had lost touch with the people-not the 120 million peasants -but with the few thousand in the immediate entourage of the dynasty and the essential bureaucrats” (). To be quite specific it was members of the duma who were dissatisfied with the way things were being handled. They were an advisory body who sought great changes in the Russian empire.
Various aspects of Nicholas II’s political decisions reflected his clear unsuitability for the role of Tsar, and these decisions form a preliminary basis for both his own legacy of incompetency & the eventual undoing of the Romanovs. In comparison to rulers preceding, Nicholas was ill-prepared for the role: his father, Alexander III, failed to adequately develop his son’s understanding of civil & state responsibilities before his death in 1894, under the guise that he would live long enough to teach Nicholas of these affairs. Upon his consecration as Tsar, Nicholas spoke in his diary of his apprehensiveness
As World War I was heading towards its end Russia was focusing on internal issues. Led by Vladimir Lenin the Bolsheviks embarked on a campaign against the war. Using propaganda which focused on trying to turn the allied troops against their officers Lenin looked to inspire a socialist revolution. The Bolsheviks were also fueled by the poor conditions of the Russian Army. Nicholas II, in a letter to his wife Alexandra, admitted the obstacles that the Russian Army faced, "Again that cursed question of shortage of artillery and rifle ammunition - it stands in the way of an energetic advance." Czar Nicholas tried to deny the fact that his Army was in no condition to continue the fight. Lenin and the Bolsheviks used this information to gain
On the 20th October 1894 Nicholas II ascended the throne as tsar of Russia. He idolised the concept of continuing to rule Russia under the autocratic system, in the same way his father and predecessor Alexander III had done so. However, Nicholas lacked the qualities and characters of the autocratic style of leadership. The
World War 1 was a total disaster for Russia. Their army was poorly led and poorly equipped, this resulted in humiliating defeats at the hands of Germany. Undersupplied workers and peasants were sent in to battle without boots, coats or weapons. In 1915, Nicholas II took personal command of the army. However the Tsar’s leadership abilities were poor. The Russian army deteriorated, there was huge shortages of ammunition, equipment and medical supplies. The railways grounded to a halt, there was no transportation of food or fuel. Soldiers, workers and peasants began to suffer. These events cost Russia dearly, they lost millions of soldiers, morale was low and the people wanted someone to blame. In the severe winter of 1916-1917, the people had already began to doubt the leadership
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russia, unlike other European countries, was still being ruled by an absolute monarch known as a czar. In Czarist Russia, these rulers had complete authority over their country and often denied lower class citizens equal rights and say in political matters. Czar Nicholas II, however, who ruled Russia in the early 1900s, attempted to appease the peasants by establishing certain reforms, including the formation of the Duma, a political legislature that claimed to represent the people. Nevertheless, Nicholas II eventually restricted voting rights in the Duma to the upper class, giving landowners and nobles a greater voice. Dissatisfied with their limited political influence and poor living conditions,
“I stand here today to inform you of my motives and rationale that pushed me to become the leader that I am today after Tsar Nicholas the second abdicated, giving Russia the chance to start fresh. I was elated by the news of the abdication of Tsar Nicholas. I strongly believe this is the best thing for Russia and I would not have had it any other way.”
The relationship between Czar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm was tense, but friendly. Through their letters, you can tell that these two men had a friendship that neither wished to end. They talked about being saddened that their friendship may come to an end due to this was.
Following WWI, sever strain was placed on Russia's weak government and economy, resulting in mass shortages and hunger. The people and soldiers turned against the Tsar, losing faith in his authority and power due to the mismanagement and failure of the war, his decision to take personal command of the army seemed to make him responsible for the defeats. Discontent grew amongst the people where they In March, growing civil unrest and discontentment erupted into open revolt and strikes in Petrograd, forcing the abdication of Nicholas II (1868-1918), the last Russian czar. The Duma then assumed control and declared a provisional government. Eight months later, the radical Bolshevik party seized power from the Provisional government.
Czar Nicholas II was the last tsar to rule Russia, before ending the 450 year span of the monarchy. During the tsar’s ruling they had always been disliked by Russia’s citizens, however “Tsar Nicholas II faced a situation no other tsar had faced. Tsars had ruled during unpopular wars, but never a war as bloody as World War I.” (Waldron). When czar Nicholas II decided to lead their country into war one of the biggest issues was transporting supplies to the troops and the rest of the country. Therefore, Russia was suffering extreme famine and began to face several defeats under the leadership of czar Nicholas II.
Tsar Nicholas II, the last tsar of Russia, was overthrown in February of 1917 because he had lost the allegiance of his people. His people saw him as unfit to rule because of the disasters his reign brought about, and with the encouragement of the Bolsheviks, he was forcibly abdicated. This revolution was also trying to introduce a democratic government to Russia. After years of monarchy, the people wanted their voices heard. After Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown, a provisional government was put into place as an attempt at starting a republic. However, in October of 1917, yet another revolution overthrew this provisional government. The communist Bolshevik party took control and Russia became a dictatorship. How did this want for democracy
Therefore, morale in Russia was not a reason why there was an outbreak of revolution in 1917. Nevertheless, the few military successes could not make up for the shocking casualty list revealed later on in wartime. Also, when the economic and military problems arose they could have been tolerable for the general public if they were encouraged by the people at the top such as the Tsar but no leadership was shown. Though this was a problem in Russia the morale in Russia was not too bad although people did begin to focus more on taking care of themselves because of the effects of the war on everyday life. On the other hand, the fact that central leadership was not being provided to the Russian public, criticisms began to be pointed directly at the Tsar. Nicholas failed in being commander-in-chief of the Russian armed services. He did not encourage war effort and did not prove to be the appropriate representative for the Russian people. In addition, the fact that he took on this important role meant that he was responsible for the wars consequences and the survival of Tsardom depended on military success. Due to the lack of success, Nicholas II was blamed and not his generals. This was a reason for the revolution in February 1917 to happen as it appeared to the citizens of Russia that they did not have a strong leader, also the tsarist system’s claim to the loyalty of the Russian people had been forfeited thus
It was on the 22nd of August 1915 that the Tsar Nicholas the 2nd took control as head of the army and dismissed his uncle The Grand Duke Nicholai as the previous head. This meant hat the Tsar would be away from St Petersburg, which left the Tsarina and Rasputin in charge. This was mistakes for the Tsar as it made people see Russia’s army as weak and left numerous accusations of Rasputin and the Tsarina having a relationship.