They say that if a person does not know the history of his native state, then he does not know his roots. On the one hand, what are we now living up to the fate of the rulers who ruled several hundred years ago? But practice shows: historical experience does not lose relevance in any era. The reign of Nicholas 2 was the final chord in the reign of the Romanov dynasty, but it turned out to be the most striking and crucial in the history of our country. In the article below, you will get acquainted with the royal family, learn about what Nicholas 2 was like. The form of government of the state of his time, the reforms and features of his government will be of interest to everyone.
The last Emperor
Nicholas 2 had many titles and regalia: he was the All-Russian Emperor, the Grand Duke of Finland, the Tsar of Poland. He was appointed colonel, and the British monarchs awarded him the rank of Field Marshal of the British Army and Fleet Admiral. This suggests that he was respected and popular among the heads of other states. He was a simple person in communication, but at the same time he never lost his self-esteem. In any situation, the emperor never forgot that he is a person of royal blood. Even in exile, during house arrest and in the last days of his life, he remained a real person.
The reign of Nicholas 2 showed: on the Russian land patriots with good thoughts and glorious deeds for the good of the Fatherland did not transfer. Contemporaries said that Nicholas 2 was more like a nobleman: a simple-minded man, conscientious, he responsibly approached any business and always sensitively responded to someone else's pain. He was condescending to all people, even ordinary peasants, he could easily speak on equal terms with any of them. But the sovereign never forgave those who got involved in money frauds, cheated and deceived others.
Reforms of Nicholas 2
The emperor ascended the throne in 1896. This is a difficult time for Russia, difficult for the common people and dangerous for the ruling class. The emperor himself firmly adhered to the principles of autocracy and always emphasized that he would strictly preserve his charter and did not intend to carry out any reforms. The reign of Nicholas 2 came at a difficult time for the state, so the revolutionary unrest among the people and their dissatisfaction with the ruling class forced Nicholas 2 to carry out two major reforms. These were: political reform of 1905-1907. and agrarian reform of 1907. The history of the reign of Nicholas 2 shows: almost every step of the sovereign was extinct and calculated.
Bulygin reform of 1905
The first reform began with the preparatory phase, which took place from February to August 1905. A special meeting was created, chaired by Minister of the Interior A.G. Bulygin. During this time, a manifesto was prepared on the establishment of the State Duma and the Regulation on Elections. They were published on August 6, 1905. But because of the uprising of the working class, the Bulyginsk Legislative Council was not convened.
In addition, an All-Russian political strike took place, which forced Emperor Nicholas 2 to make serious political concessions and on October 17 to issue a manifesto, which vested the Legislative Duma with legislative rights, proclaim political freedom and significantly expand the circle of voters.
All the work of the Duma and the principles of its formation were recorded in the Regulation on Elections of December 11, 1905, in the Decree on the composition and structure of the State Duma of February 20, 1906, as well as in the Basic Laws of April 23, 1906. The changes in the state structure are made by legislative act. The legislative functions are given to the State Council and the Council of Ministers, which began its work on October 19, 1905, and Yu.V. was appointed its head. Witte. The reforms of Nicholas 2 indirectly prompted the state to change power and overthrow the autocracy.
The collapse of the Duma of 1906-1907
The first composition of the State Duma in Russia was very democratic, but the demands put forward were radical. They believed that political transformations should continue, they demanded that the landowners cease land ownership, they condemned the autocracy, based on total terror. In addition, they expressed distrust of the ruling authorities. Of course, all these innovations were not acceptable for the ruling class. Therefore, the first and second thoughts of 1906-1907 were dissolved by Emperor Nicholas 2.
The political reform of Nicholas 2 ended with the creation of the Third Monarchy of June, in which the rights of the people were severely limited. The new political system could not work with unresolved socio-economic and political problems.
The reign of Nicholas 2 was a watershed for the political system of the state. The Duma has turned into a platform for criticizing the authorities, manifesting itself as an opposition body. This pushed for a new revolutionary uprising and further intensified the crisis in society.
Agrarian "Stolypin" reform
The process of transformation began in 1907. And P.A. dealt with it. Stolypin. The main goal was to preserve landlord tenure. To achieve this result, they decided that it was necessary to liquidate the communities and sell land to the peasants living in the villages through the Peasant Bank. For the sake of reducing peasant low-land began to resettle peasants beyond the Urals. In the hope that all these measures will stop social upheavals in society and there will be an opportunity to modernize agriculture, they launched agrarian reform.
The rise of the Russian economy
The introduced innovations brought tangible results in the agricultural sector, the economy of the Russian state experienced a noticeable rise. Grain yields increased by 2 centners per hectare, the volume of harvested products increased by 20%, grain exported abroad, in volumes increased by 1.5 times. The incomes of peasants increased markedly and their purchasing power increased. The reign of Nicholas 2 raised agriculture to a new level.
But, despite the noticeable rise in the economy, the ruler could not solve social issues. The form of government remained the same, and discontent among the people gradually increased. So only 25% of households left the community, 17% of those resettled beyond the Urals returned, and 20% of the peasants who took the land through the Peasant Bank went bankrupt. As a result, the supply of land to the peasants decreased from 11 acres to 8 acres. It became clear that the second reform of Nicholas 2 ended unsatisfactorily and the agrarian problem was not solved.
Summing up the reign of Nicholas 2, it can be argued that the Russian Empire by 1913 became one of the richest in the world. After 4 years, this did not stop the villainous murder of the great king, his entire family and loyal close people.
Features of the education of the future emperor
Nicholas 2 himself in childhood was brought up in severity and Spartan. He devoted much time to sports, simplicity was present in clothes, and delicacies and sweets were only on holidays. This attitude to children showed that even if they were born in a rich and noble family, then this is not their merit. It was believed that the main thing is that you know and know how and what your soul is. The royal family of Nicholas 2 is an example of a friendly, fruitful union of a husband, wife and their well-brought up children.
The future emperor transferred such education to his own family. Since childhood, the king’s daughters knew what pain and suffering were, they knew how to help those who needed it. For example, the elder daughters Olga and Maria, together with their mother, Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, worked in military hospitals during the First World War. To do this, they underwent special medical courses and stood for several hours at the operating table.
At present, we know that the life of the king and his family is a constant fear for his life, for his family and for the whole Fatherland. First of all, this is a great responsibility, care and anxiety for the whole people. And the “profession” of the Tsar is ungrateful and dangerous, which is confirmed by the history of the Russian state. The imperial family of Nicholas 2 became the standard of marital fidelity for many years.
Head of the imperial family
Nicholas 2 himself became the last Russian Tsar, and the reign of the Romanov dynasty in Russia ended on him. He was the eldest son in the family, and his parents were Emperor Alexander 3 and Maria Fedorovna Romanovs. After the tragic death of his grandfather, he became the heir to the Russian throne. Nicholas 2 had a calm character, was very religious, grew up as a shy and thoughtful boy. However, at the right time, he was always firm and persistent in his intentions and actions.
Empress and mother of the family
The wife of the Russian Emperor Nicholas 2 was the daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Drmstadsky Ludwig, and her mother was the Princess of England. The future Empress was born on June 7, 1872 in Darmstadt. Parents called her Alix and gave her a real English upbringing. The girl was born the sixth in a row, but this did not stop her from becoming a well-bred and worthy successor to the English family, because her own grandmother was Queen Victoria of England. The future empress had a balanced character and was very shy. Despite her noble birth, she led a Spartan lifestyle, took a bath of cold water in the morning, and spent the night on a hard bed.
Beloved children of the royal family
The first child in the family of Emperor Nicholas 2 and his wife Empress Alexandra Fedorovna was daughter Olga. She was born in 1895 in the month of November and became the beloved child of her parents. The Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanova was very smart, affable and had great abilities in the study of all kinds of sciences. She was distinguished by sincerity and generosity, and her Christian soul was pure and fair. The beginning of the reign of Nicholas 2 was marked by the birth of the firstborn.
The second child of Nicholas 2 was the daughter Tatyana, who was born on June 11, 1897. Outwardly, she was like a mother, and her character was paternal. She had a strong sense of duty and loved order in everything. The Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna Romanova embroidered and sewed well, had sound mind and remained herself in all life situations.
The next and, accordingly, the third child of the emperor and empress was another daughter - Mary. She was born on June 27, 1899. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanova was distinguished from her sisters by her good nature, affability and cheerfulness. She had a beautiful appearance and possessed great vitality. She was very attached to her parents and loved them madly.
The emperor was looking forward to his son, but the fourth child in the royal family was again the girl Anastasia. The emperor loved her like all his daughters. Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova was born on June 18, 1901 and was very similar in character to a boy. She turned out to be a nimble and playful child, loved to fool around and had a cheerful disposition.
On August 12, 1904, the long-awaited heir was born in the imperial family. The boy was named Alexei, in honor of the great great-grandfather Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. Cesarevich inherited from the father and mother all the best. He passionately loved his parents, and father Nikolai 2 was a real idol for him, he always tried to imitate him.
Accession to the throne
May 1896 was marked by a major event - the coronation of Nicholas 2 was held in Moscow. This was the last such event: the tsar was the last not only in the Romanov dynasty, but also in the history of the Russian Empire. Ironically, it was this coronation that became the most magnificent and magnificent. Thus began the reign of Nicholas 2. On an important occasion, the city was decorated with the colorful illumination of lights that had just appeared at that time. According to eyewitnesses, the event was literally “fire sea”.
Representatives of all countries gathered in the capital of the Russian Empire. From heads of state to ordinary people - representatives of each estate were at the inauguration ceremony. To paint this remarkable day, the venerable artists came to Moscow: Serov, Ryabushkin, Vasnetsov, Repin, Nesterov and others. The coronation of Nicholas 2 was a real holiday for the Russian people.
The last coin of the empire
Numismatics is truly an interesting science. She studies not just coins and banknotes of different states and eras. In the collections of the largest numismatists, one can trace the history of the country, its economic, political and social changes. So the chervonets of Nicholas 2 became a legendary coin.
The first time it was released in 1911, and subsequently annually the mint minted gold coins in huge numbers. The face value of the coin was 10 rubles and was made of gold. It would seem, why is this money so attracting the attention of numismatists and historians? The catch is that the number of coins issued and minted was limited. And, therefore, it makes sense to compete for the treasured chervonets. They met much more than the mint claimed. But, unfortunately, among a large number of fakes and "impostors" it is difficult to find a genuine coin.
Why so many coins have “doubles”? It is believed that someone was able to take the front and back stamps from the mint and hand them over to counterfeiters. Historians claim that it could be either Kolchak, who “minted” a lot of gold coins to undermine the country's economy, or the Soviet government, which tried to pay this money with Western partners. It is known that for a long time the Western countries did not take the new government seriously and continued to settle accounts with Russian gold coins. Also, the mass production of counterfeit coins could be carried out much later, and of low quality gold.
Foreign policy of Nicholas 2
During the reign of the emperor, there were two large military companies. In the Far East, the Russian state was faced with an aggressive Japan. In 1904, the Russo-Japanese War began, which was to distract the common people from the socio-economic problems of the state. The largest hostilities took place at Port Arthur Fortress, which surrendered in December 1904. Near Mukend, the Russian army lost the battle in February 1905. And on the island of Tsushima in May 1905, the Russian fleet was defeated and was completely sunk. The Russian-Japanese military company ended with the signing of a peace agreement in Portsmouth in August 1905, according to which Korea and the southern part of Sakhalin Island withdrew to Japan.
World War I
In the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia, the heir to the Austrian throne F. Ferdinand was killed, which served as the occasion for the outbreak of the First World War of 1914 between the Triple Alliance and the Entente. The Triple Alliance included states such as Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. And the Entente included Russia, England and France.
The main hostilities took place on the Western Front in 1914. On the Eastern Front, Austria-Hungary was defeated by the Russian army, was close to surrender. But Germany helped Austria-Hungary to withstand and continue the attack on Russia.
Again Germany went against Russia in the spring and summer of 1915, capturing Poland, part of the Baltic states, part of Western Belarus and Ukraine during this offensive. And in 1916, German troops delivered the main blow on the Western Front. In turn, Russian troops broke through the front and defeated the Austrian army, led the military operations by General A.A. Brusilov.
The foreign policy of Nicholas 2 led to the fact that the Russian state was economically exhausted by a long war, and political problems were ripe. The deputies did not hide the fact that they were not satisfied with the policies pursued by the ruling government. The workers 'and peasants' issue was never resolved, and the Patriotic War only aggravated it. By signing the Brest Peace on March 5, 1918, Russia ended the war.
To summarize
One can speak for a long time about the fate of rulers. The results of the reign of Nicholas 2 are as follows: Russia experienced a tremendous leap in economic development, as well as increased political and social contradictions. During the reign of the emperor, there were two revolutions at once, the last of which became decisive. Large-scale transformations in relations with other countries have led the Russian Empire to strengthen its influence in the east. The reign of Nicholas 2 was extremely controversial. Perhaps that is why it was precisely in those years that events occurred that led to a change in the political system.
You can discuss for a long time, it was necessary for the emperor to act one way or another. Historians still do not agree on who the last emperor of the Russian Empire was - the great autocrat or the death of statehood. The era of the reign of Nicholas 2 is a very difficult time for the Russian Empire, but at the same time, remarkable and fateful.