The personality of Nicholas 2 seems rather ambiguous. Some accuse him of the collapse of the country, others justify. The beginning of the 20th century for Russia was marked by terrible bloody events that still affect our lives. But who was the last Russian emperor? What was Nicholas 2 like? A historical portrait should answer this question to some extent.
Education of Nicholas 2
Nicholas 2 received a traditional religious education. The training program included military affairs and, by the will of his father, the future emperor served for two years in the Preobrazhensky regiment as a junior officer, then in the cavalry hussar regiment and in artillery. At the same time, he participated in meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Council.
Also, Nikolai, along with his father, Emperor Alexander III, traveled to the Russian provinces. And later he went on a cruiser on a Far Eastern trip, for which he managed to visit Egypt, Greece, China, India, Japan. And he returned to the capital by land through Siberia.
Thus, the historical portrait of Nicholas 2 speaks of his horizons, knowledge of several European languages, good knowledge in the field of history and literature. This knowledge was supplemented with love for Russia and an understanding of responsibility for its fate.
The example of the tsar for Nicholas 2 was Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676), a conservative in spirit, who believed that the main thing was to preserve the ancient traditions and autocracy. These ideals became close to the future emperor.
October 20, 1894 Nicholas 2 was proclaimed emperor, his rule was marked by the rapid rise of Russia to prosperity, which ended in a terrible catastrophe.
Personality of Nicholas 2
Historians speak of the remarkable human qualities possessed by Nicholas 2. The historical portrait illustrates that the emperor, unfortunately, was not endowed with political talents.
He was a polite, intelligent man who liked to stick photographs into albums, shoot a raven, cut firewood and play dominoes. State affairs and public appearances were a burden for him. And he held on only thanks to the holy faith in the supreme mission of the monarch and an innate sense of duty.
Nicholas 2 was so delicate that it seemed limp. Stubborn and reserved, he was distinguished by great charm, but in every possible way avoided decisive answers and conflicts. This created in him a reputation in politics as an unreliable and evasive partner. He was also unduly influenced by his wife, whom he sincerely loved.
The reign of the emperor shook the people's faith in a just and wise king. The historical portrait of Nicholas 2 can be briefly described as a heavy burden for the tsar himself and for his people.
Gold coins of Nicholas 2
Nicholas 2, becoming emperor, returned the tradition of minting the portrait of the monarch on all coins. During his reign, jubilee and commemorative coins were often issued. Many of them went down in the history of numismatics and today are highly regarded.
But the gold coins of Nicholas 2 are of great interest. The emperor carried out a monetary reform, during which the weight of the coins was reduced. Moreover, Nikolai 2 had an idea to rename the national currency from “rubles” to “rubles”. Even five sets were made containing coins in denominations of 5, 10 and 15 rubles. But the emperor did not approve this law.
Awards of the era of Nicholas 2
The medals of Nicholas 2 became very famous. There were about forty varieties of them. Nicholas 2 was famous for the institution of mass awards for honors in the state military or civil service.
Medals could be worn on the neck, chest, or special ribbons. The highest award was considered a gold medal for neck wear on the St. Andrew's ribbon.
Latest Romanovs
Nicholas 2 loved his family and devoted a lot of time to it. The emperor married for love. Hessian Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt (or Alexandra Fedorovna after her baptism) spoke very poor Russian. Nicholas 2 himself taught it the language, gradually introducing it to the religious traditions of pre-Petrine Russia.
The royal family had five children: a son, Alexei, heir to the throne, and four girls. The daughters of Nicholas 2 (Olga, Tatyana, Anastasia and Maria) received a good comprehensive education. But not everything was good with the king’s only son. The boy received a hereditary disease from his mother - hemophilia.
Bloody Sunday and the events that followed
January 9, 1905 went down in history as Bloody Sunday. On this day, a peaceful demonstration of workers who wished to appeal directly to the king was shot. Nikolay 2, instead of going out to the people, accepting the petition and declaring himself to be the defender of the people, he left for Tsarskoye Selo, leaving the St. Petersburg authorities to deal with what was happening. The result was a bloody massacre. This event completely destroyed the faith of the Russian people in monarchical power.
From that moment on, the country was overwhelmed by revolutionary sentiments. The historical portrait of Nicholas II speaks of him as a man who missed a chance to fulfill his dream and become a king, united with the people. After the January events, it became impossible to regain the confidence of the people.
The result of these events was the adoption on October 17 of the same year of the Manifesto, which granted the population a number of democratic rights, and the Duma, the establishment of which was announced a little earlier, endowed with legislative initiative. This document saved the royal family from deposition, although Nicholas 2 later regretted its adoption.
After the adoption of the Manifesto, the tense situation in the country was defused, the opposition split, many considered this the beginning of serious reforms. But Nicholas 2 was dissatisfied with the powers of the Duma that were too large, in his opinion.
World War I events
Consider the historical portrait of Nicholas 2 briefly during the war period.
The events of World War I revealed the enormous shortcomings of the tsarist system and the need for major reforms. This primarily concerned the political aspect.
Things in the military were much better. By the summer of 1915, supply was established, and the situation at the front became more defined and understandable. And in 1916, Russia captured a large part of the territories in comparison with the allies. The Russian army owes much of these victories to Brusilov.
The historical portrait of Nicholas 2 in connection with these events becomes unpleasant. The emperor tried unsuccessfully to assume the duties of prime minister. This led to the fact that state institutions were left without control, in fact, there was no one to take power over them.
1917 revolution
The fate of Nicholas II was a foregone conclusion. Although, after the unrest of 1905-1907, the country rapidly began to develop, ahead of allies and enemies. But in place of the solved problems, new ones became.
Gradually, the rural community began to stratify, at the end of being divided into two unequal parts: a small proportion of wealthy owners and the rest of the poor peasantry. Those who could no longer feed themselves had to leave to work in factories where working conditions were inhumanly difficult.
The split of society was becoming more and more. Social tension was caused by a sharp contrast between a small group of nobility, living in abundance, and a huge mass of barely surviving people. Peasants hated their landowners, workers hated entrepreneurs. Against this background, the intelligentsia was ready to support any democratic opposition movement, if only to change the state system according to the European model.
Already in 1912, when the workers were shot at the Lena gold mines, the inevitability of the revolution became tangible. Then, on the eve of the celebration of the centenary of the Romanov dynasty (1913), workers' strikes swept across the country. The following year, the number of strikers only increased. Participation in the First World War only exacerbated the situation.
Could not cope with the current situation, Nicholas 2. The historical portrait draws him as a man who wanted to delay the adoption of important decisions - this was one of the reasons why Russia got involved in the war. The emperor hoped for victory, after which the people would again believe in him. But the very first defeats led to new outbursts of discontent.
On February 23, the emperor went to the commander in chief in Mogilev, when unrest swept Petrograd, and government offices were paralyzed. The end of the Russian Empire began. Attempts to stop the performance by force failed.
March 2, 1917 Nicholas 2 abdicated in favor of his brother Michael. Further life of the royal family took place under house arrest.
The execution of the royal family
Nicholas 2 was most dear to his family. A historical portrait reveals his love for his wife and children. He was faithful and faithful to them to the last.
After an unsuccessful attempt to convict Nikolai 2, the Romanov family was transferred from Tsarskoye Selo to Tobolsk, and then to Yekaterinburg. It was here that in the
Ipatiev’s mansion on the night of July 16-17, 1918, the royal family was shot.
Conclusion
There were many opinions of both contemporaries and historians about how he was, the last emperor of the Russian Empire, Nikolai 2. A historical portrait against the backdrop of the era looms very ambiguous. Some spoke of him as the smartest person, while others, on the contrary, claimed that the emperor was not rich in his mind. They talked about the clarity of his judgments, but immediately added that the sovereign did not see any prospects at all. One thing is for sure, Nicholas 2, unfortunately, was not endowed with the talent of a statesman and a good politician.