Captain Vrungel said: "As you name the ship, it will sail." The statement is true for different areas of human life. At least many people believe that the nickname of Nicholas 2 "bloody" determined the fate of the last Russian Tsar. It was it that caused the troubles of the crowned family. Let's try to figure it out. But before speaking of the nickname, let us recall what Nikolai Alexandrovich was. The last ruler of the Russian Empire. The last king of the Romanov dynasty.
Journalism on the topic
There is not much information left about the last Russian tsar. After the departure of the Generalissimo of the Soviet Union, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, information about imperial terror was taboo. And at the time, not many managed to write monographs: Kasvinov, Usherovich and a few more lone enthusiasts.
After the collapse of the USSR, publications dedicated to the last emperor of Russia appeared one after another. In 2017, many sources were generalized and the book of Gennady Potapov and Alexander Kolpakidi “Nikolai 2. Holy or bloody?” Was published.
The authors position their work as a base of facts about the last Russian tsar. And they are trying to answer one of the rhetorical questions of our time: "What was he like, Nikolai 2?" They also express their opinion why the laundering of the king’s personality from blood spots is happening right now. Who benefits from this and what awaits Russia if a unanimous opinion on the personality of Nikolai Alexandrovich is formed in society.
Emperor
Calm, unperturbed and cold-blooded, weak-willed, indecisive and unprincipled, secretive and trusting - what qualities his contemporaries did not endow with the emperor, reasoning, saint or bloody Nicholas 2. But in one they all agree unanimously - he was well educated and well-mannered. Having studied the course of law and military affairs at the level of higher educational institutions, Nikolai 2 was a competent person.
He spent his childhood in a modest, by imperial standards, estate in Gatchina. After the death of his father, Alexander 3 significantly narrowed his circle of friends and moved with his whole family away from the center. And there life was seething, there was talk, balls were held. Little Nicky and his brother Michael were deprived, as they would say today, of socialization. Perhaps that is why even after the abdication, Nicholas 2 felt good in the dilapidated houses in which he lived with his family until the execution.
The legacy of the last Russian Tsar
The country went to Nicholas 2 in good condition. The economy was booming. Rapidly developed technology, science and culture. At the beginning of the 20th century, about 10% of the population of planet Earth lived in Russia (now only 2%).
If you refer to the data from the encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron, the Russian Empire was one of the 6 leading countries in terms of development and the results achieved.
What the last Russian tsar left
The result of the reign of Nicholas 2, nicknamed the bloody, were terrible events. The revolution and the Civil War claimed the lives of about 15 million people, 90% of them - civilians.
By the end of the 19th century, changes were brewing in the country. Many historians believe that they were a necessary outcome of development. The bourgeoisie wanted the abolition of the counter-reforms of Alexander 3 and the country's entry onto the path of capitalism. Workers lamented the reduction of working day by 4 hours - to 8. The intelligentsia wanted political freedom, and the peasants wanted land. However, having entered the throne, Nicholas 2 announced that everything would remain the same.
Contemporaries would like to lay high reformist hopes on the educated and competent Nicky. In part, they were justified, for example, the famous Stolypin and monetary reform, as well as religious tolerance, the abolition of "mutual responsibility" and the introduction of a wine monopoly. But this was not enough for society. The textbooks mention only a few uprisings that were suppressed in St. Petersburg during the reign of Nicholas 2, others are indicated by the notes from the diary of the emperor. Some believe that this is why the tsar began to be called Nicholas 2 "bloody" - too often in the struggle against power the people died.
Coronation
Many historians believe that the price of the nickname of Nicholas 2 “bloody” was a family royal enameled mug filled with sausage, nuts, sweets and treats. Such a set was promised to everyone who comes to the Khodynka field to share with the imperial family the joy of Nika's dedication to the kingdom. As eyewitnesses of those days write in memoirs, the weather was beautiful, many people decided to spend the night on the field in order to be sure to catch a theatrical performance and give out gifts.
As a result of the crowds, a stampede began, about 2,500 people were injured in it. Of these, about 1,400 died, while the rest were injured.
Having canceled the festivities on this day, the tsar would not go down in history as Nicholas 2 the "bloody". Mourning for the dead was not declared, and angry people dubbed the tsar a tormentor, and Gilarovsky called the Russian News correspondent Gilyarovsky “a holiday over the corpses.”
Small victorious war
By the end of the 19th century, several opposition parties had already formed in the country. The Socialist-Revolutionaries began the hunt for dignitaries. The hands of the participants of the socialist revolutionaries killed the Minister of the Interior Dmitry Sergeevich Sipyagin and Senator Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Pleve.
In order to awaken the spirit of patriotism among the people, it was decided to organize a small victorious war. The honorary title of the enemy received Japan. However, Russia was not prepared for a possible confrontation. As a result: the defeat in Manchuria, the battle of Tsushima, surrendered to Port Arthur. The people blamed the tsar and the military leaders for everything. The war with Japan and its victims strengthened the nickname of Nicholas 2 "bloody" in the minds of the people. Why is a difficult question. The tsar spared the main military leaders - Partridge, Rozhdestvensky and Stessel, and worthily received the news of the defeat.
The soldiers returning from the battlefield even then allowed themselves to commit atrocities with their superiors. In full swing, they threw their commanders out of the cars. The gulf between the government and the people, as well as the stratification in society, intensified. A small victorious war brought the country to the threshold of revolution. It only remained to knock on the door.
Fateful sunday
Shook the reputation of Nicholas 2, "Bloody Sunday." Opinions about this event, as well as about many others, were divided among historians. Someone considers it a provocation, and someone - a way of expression of will. The people worn kingship from time immemorial, and the monarchs, wanting to be closer to the people, gave them a run. For example, Catherine the Great condemned the merchant-Saltychikhu precisely at the request of the people.
The list of requirements of workers dated November 5 did not belong to the category of radical ones: an eight-hour working day, a minimum wage of 1 ruble, round-the-clock work in 3 shifts, and others.
The reason for the procession as a drastic measure was the financial crisis, the fall in oil and coal prices, the ruin of banks and rising unemployment. For example, Putilovsky plant shares fell 71%.
However, there is another opinion that Bloody Sunday was a planned action. The organizer of the event, a former priest Gapon, was associated with the revolutionaries. Oppositionists knew that this could end in victims, and they consciously pushed people to take this step. They got their way. The result of "Bloody Sunday" was the shooting of civilians and an even greater increase in the discontent of the people.
Lensky execution
Despite the high income of the enterprises, the working conditions of the workers were terrible: cold water, poorly heated barracks. Many risked their health and life to feed their families. And there was something to take risks for: at the Lena gold mines, gold miners received about 50 rubles, excluding overtime. Perhaps Nikolai 2 would not have received the nickname “bloody” for yet another execution, in which he was indifferently accused, but only in 1912 did the shareholders of the Lena Gold Industry Partnership start issuing coupons instead of their salaries and canceled overtime work. The enraged people marched on a peaceful procession, and they suffered the fate of the Petersburg workers. Several hundred employees were shot, and Nicholas 2 was also accused of this trouble.
The reason for the deterioration of working conditions was the struggle of shareholders for the right to own mines. Carried away, they stopped paying attention to the demands and dissatisfaction of the workers, for which they paid millions. After the reprisal against colleagues, about 80% of employees quit the partnership. More than one year, Lena mines suffered serious losses.
World War I
At the beginning of the 20th century, European states were on the verge of a world war. All that was needed was a pretext. And he was found - the Serbian student Gavrilo Princip helped . He killed in Sarajevo the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife.
Austria declares war on Serbia, Russia stands up for the Slavic brothers. However, neither the country nor the army were ready for this war. Its results were also not interesting to the empire; from a local war, it turned into a redivision of the world.
At the beginning of entry into the arena of confrontation, the people were determined and patriotic. Many people recall the demonstration on Palace Square on July 20, 1914, the participants of which, when Nicholas II appeared on the balcony of the Winter Palace, knelt down. But the king changed his mind about the war, which allowed the opposition to strengthen their position in society.
The results of the First World War were the February and October revolutions in Russia and the November revolution in Germany, the liquidation of four empires (the Russian, German, Ottoman empires and Austria-Hungary, the latter two being divided). The king’s authority fell even more.
The contribution of the Bolsheviks
According to historians, the Bolsheviks did a lot to demonize Nicholas 2. But the most significant contribution to the desecration of the name of the last Russian Tsar was made with the help of the November provocation.
As a result of a consistent policy, power passed to the Bolshevik criminals. They headed for mass violence and genocide, for the Red Terror. And in order to justify their actions, they continued to tell the people about the atrocities of the former king. This is the main answer to the question: "Why did Nicholas 2 get the nickname" bloody "?"