Domestic and foreign policy of Nicholas 2 briefly (table)

Historians of the Soviet period characterized the last monarch of Russia as a person, weak to nullity. Despite the fact that many views have been revised over the past two and a half decades, this opinion is so firmly rooted in the minds that today many share it. Both the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2 seem equally ineffective. Briefly, the results of his reign boil down to the fact that the people lived poorly under him, were illiterate and poor, and the notorious "ruling circles" scoffed and mocked him with might and main. As a result, he could not hold power, since he did not receive the support of the masses.

A closer look at that era, which lasted eleven years, reveals that Nikolai 2 was not such a nasty ruler. Domestic and foreign policy, the scheme of which was so simplified by Soviet historians (from academics to school teachers), actually looks much more complicated .

What was hidden

The coming to replace the tsarist dictatorship and power of the capitalists with the landowners of true Marxist-type democracy was to contribute to the growth of prosperity. This did not happen; socialism did not bring the expected prosperity. It was difficult to explain this incident, especially to people who had the tsarist era and knew that not only aristocrats and nobles had access to such benefits as normal food and decent living conditions. In other words, people needed to prove that they now live better, although they eat and dress worse, and apartments have become smaller. The task is not simple, but solvable, it is enough to simply prohibit the expression of unacceptable thoughts, to send or destroy their carriers. And the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2 were briefly, without delving into the details, declared criminal, and this seemed to have ended the discussion of the issue. However, Soviet propagandists made shortcomings, comparing all the achievements of the people's power with the indicators of Russia in 1913, and continuing to do so until the end of the sixties. Some of them look fantastic today. This is especially true of industrial production growth rates, agricultural production volumes and railroad construction speed. It was precisely the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2 in the early 20th century that led the country to a real economic miracle. It is impossible to write briefly about it - there are too many shocking facts.

Agriculture

To declare a food embargo on the largest country in the country at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was as meaningless as trying to drain the Pacific Ocean. This Russia, if desired, could leave whole continents without rye or potato. World food dominance - this can be described briefly in the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2. The table below shows what was the share of global agricultural production.

Many factors contributed to this success, including the ongoing agrarian reform initiated by Peter Arkadievich Stolypin. Of course, all this would have been impossible without the abolition of serfdom in 1861, but the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2 at the beginning of the 20th century significantly strengthened the country's position in foreign markets. In Siberia, processes were taking place, somewhat reminiscent of the development of the Wild West in North America, only without the destruction of local Aborigines and constant firing. Peasants received arable land (up to 80% as a whole, and almost all in the eastern regions of the empire) and began to grow rich. The share of community farming was declining, giving way to farmers.

It remains only to draw conclusions about how successful was the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2. Briefly, the table above shows that the development of the country went through the years of his rule at a pace that you can only dream of today.

The Russian Empire was the world's largest exporter of food. Only one of the ports (Odessa) in terms of cargo transshipment (mainly grain) exceeded all harbors in the North American States.

Demography

Another important achievement of the last Russian Tsar was to create conditions for increasing the population. The demographic boom, for the sake of fairness, it should be noted, began even with his father, Alexander III, but the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2 contributed most to this. This conclusion is briefly summarized by the fact that the people in the empire increased by 62 million people. The share of Russians (including Little Russians and Belarusians) was less than half (43%), but there were practically no ethnic conflicts. In a huge country, everyone would have enough space. No artificial birth control measures were required; resources could be enough - under normal development - for many centuries. The aggregate income of the population tripled and reached at the end of the century 24 billion gold rubles. This meant that the workers and peasants began to live at least twice as good.

Education

It should be remembered that since responsibility for failure rests with the king, then laurels of success should also, in fairness, be received by Nicholas II. Domestic and foreign policy, briefly described as the path to inevitable world leadership, was also based on the training of the staff of the next century. Funding for cultural and educational programs has been increased eightfold. Russia spent one and a half times more on public education than Britain, and twice as much France. The quality of training can be judged by how much in demand abroad were specialists who were forced to leave their homeland after the revolution, as, by the way, by their achievements and discoveries. If there weren’t monstrous social upheavals (but rather disasters), no educational program would have been needed: by the 20s of Russia there would have been no illiterates.

Industry

The growth of industrial production in the 80s and 90s was at least 9% with an upward trend. The domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas II strengthened the export potential of Russian industry. Domestic engineering production had a number of competitive advantages, including a moderate tax burden, a rich raw material and energy base, and highly skilled workers. In Japan, watches were often faked at that time, putting the stigma Pavel Bure, St. Petersburg on their products. On the whole, the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2 briefly and schematically repeated the actions of another autocrat - Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed Tishaish for his meek disposition and desire to solve all problems peacefully. The young king tried to counter possible external threats with a titanic economic power based on industry, agriculture and the inexhaustible natural resources of Siberia and the Far East. Much has been done to develop remote regions. The construction of the Great Siberian Railway and other railways was carried out at an unprecedented pace - 2 thousand kilometers a year. No country could repeat this record, including the USSR.

War with japan

The development of the industry was facilitated by military orders. It was during these years that large-scale rearmament was launched. New ships were built and designed, excellent artillery pieces were created, many types of which were to be fought in the Second World War.

At the same time, in 1904 serious miscalculations were made in assessing the Far Eastern political situation and the capabilities of the Japanese armed forces, for which he was responsible as commander-in-chief and Tsar Nikolai 2. Domestic and foreign policy was briefly characterized as capricious.

The war with Japan was very unsuccessful, but the results of peace talks turned out to be no less disastrous. The enemy’s economy practically stagnated, despite the victory in the Strait of Tsushima, his further military operations were very problematic due to the lack of reserves and resources. Nevertheless, concessions from Russia were made: Port Arthur, half of Sakhalin, and control of the Korean Peninsula went to Japan.

Defense policy and diplomatic efforts

But organizational conclusions were made regarding the reform of the army and navy. Created by the Russian Air Force. The domestic and foreign policy of Nicholas II at the beginning of the twentieth century was aimed at strengthening the country's defenses, but first of all at preventing war. Few people know that the first proposal in modern history to sign a collective agreement on mutual non-aggression and arms limitation was introduced by the Russian side in 1898. Then two Hague peace conferences took place (1899 and 1907), on which the foundation was laid for further international organizations - the League of Nations and the UN.

All these measures were designed to exclude the possibility of a large-scale military conflict in Europe. Two or three decades of quiet development — and Russia is doomed to prosperity — was understood not only by Nikolay 2. Domestic and foreign policy briefly fits into the formula for peacekeeping international agreements and conditions for the development of the national economy. Unfortunately, on the way to achieve this goal, the state ship lay in wait for many reefs, not all of which were able to get around.

First revolution

The revolution of 1905 happened, at first glance, it seems to be suddenly, but a detailed examination of the circumstances of its beginning suggest the idea of ​​its regularity. A period of rapid economic growth is never without serious conflicts between lagging production relations and rapidly changing productive forces. Firstly, already then there was an outflow of labor from the agricultural sector, peasants in search of a better life moved to the city, where jobs appeared, replenishing the ranks of the proletariat. Secondly, the mass consciousness was affected by the defeat of Russia in the Japanese campaign, which was accused, and sometimes justifiably, of Nikolai 2. Domestic and foreign policy was briefly characterized by the liberal public as ineffective, pursued by backward methods using supposedly outdated ideological cliches (nationality, faith, autocracy, patriotism, etc.). The precedent is old, but instructive.

And, of course, a big blow to the Russian monarchist idea was inflicted during Bloody Sunday, when, yielding provocations, the troops blocking the procession access to the Winter Palace opened fire. This situation painfully recalls the very recent Kiev events that laid the foundation for confusion and schism. Nevertheless, the unrest that arose in the wake of popular anger prompted the emperor to make serious concessions. Some inconsistency and a desire to look like a good sovereign in the eyes of all, including the obvious enemies of Russian sovereignty, were distinguished in these two difficult years by the internal and foreign policies of Nicholas 2.

Briefly about the main thing: in the manifesto of October 17, 1905 the freedoms characteristic of the democracies of Europe were proclaimed, and the representation of all segments of the population in the State Duma was declared. However, later, when the revolutionary mood subsided, many of these forced measures were canceled (not all), and the parliament was dissolved.

Russia in the World War

On the eve of the great war, the Russian army was actively modernized. New ships were launched in the country, the aircraft industry was being built, but by 1914 the reforms were not completed. One of the main topics of controversy among historians was the tsar’s decision to mobilize after the fatal Sarajevo shot and the ultimatum of Austria-Hungary against Serbia. Such active defense measures were contradicted by the earlier peace-loving domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2. Briefly, the table of the correlation of forces between the countries of the Triple Alliance and Russia at the time of the outbreak of hostilities reveals the absence of an advantage that would guarantee a speedy and guaranteed victory.

Thus, getting involved in a protracted conflict, the last Russian emperor could not help but realize that he would doom the country to enormous human casualties and a slowdown in economic development. Of course, there was no question of defeat: the potential of industry and agriculture made it possible to count on the possibility of avoiding hunger, and the vastness of the territory did not give the enemy hope for its occupation, even partial. So, in fact, it turned out: the Germans and the Austrians could not advance further than the Carpathians.

The absence of major military defeats of Russia on the fronts of the World War was facilitated by the previously conducted domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2. The table above shows the achievements of exclusively the domestic defense industry, without taking into account the contribution of the allied states. It can be assumed that in the exhausting war Russia had more chances to withstand the resource race than the countries of the Triple Alliance combined.

As the development of further events showed, the capabilities of their empires were overestimated by the enemy. The calculations of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Emperor of Austria, Franz Joseph, were as short-sighted as the domestic and foreign policies of Nicholas 2. The results of the war turned out to be deplorable for both European empires: they broke up, unable to withstand a huge economic shock. Nevertheless, Russia had a much greater chance of maintaining statehood. In addition, there was hope for the support of the Entente: Britain and France had considerable potential, which was proved to be the victorious result of the war for them.

The fact that, having led the army in 1915, he proved himself to be a talented military leader and organized several successful strategic operations (Vilno-Molodetskaya, Brusilovsky breakthrough, Riga offensive), giving talented generals the opportunity to realize bold plans, also speaks in favor of Nikolai. Comparison of the situation on the Eastern and Western fronts indicates that the Russian Army as a whole was more proactive, transferring the nature of the war from a positional to mobile, while the British and French actually abandoned attempts to break through the Austrian defense.

Second revolution

In February 1917, another revolution took place in Russia, later called bourgeois. The country's economic situation was undoubtedly difficult, but not hopeless, as was customary to assert in the Soviet years. Despite mass mobilization, Russia remained the only warring country in which there was no need to introduce food cards. The industry worked at full speed.

The subjunctive mood in history is unacceptable, but you can still fantasize a little about what would have happened if Nicholas had not abdicated the throne. Domestic and foreign policy (briefly describing his actions in paragraphs is simply unrealistic) would have been aimed at gaining time and realization of benefits. Germany and Austria-Hungary were doomed to defeat. This is proved, we can say, experimentally: a peace treaty (and in fact - surrender) was signed less than a year after the February Revolution, without the participation of Russia. It remained to survive quite a bit, and by no means in the worst conditions of all possible.

However, the army was decomposed, morale was undermined, and attempts to pacify the rebellion failed. By signing a manifesto in favor of his brother, Nicholas II did not intend to end the monarchist tradition, but he was convinced of his unpopularity among the people. This decision turned out to be tragic both for him and for the whole country.