Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II of Russia or Nikolai Aleksándrovich Románov (Russian: Николай Александрович Романов; Tsarskoye Selo, May 6^Jul./ < span style="margin-left:-0.1em">May 18, 1868^greg.-Yekaterinburg, July 17, 1918), was the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from the death of his father Alexander III in 1894 until his abdication in 1917 as a result of the February Revolution. During his reign the Russian Empire suffered a political, social and military decline unknown to him which, coupled with his esotericism, led to the collapse of the imperial regime. ^{[citation needed ]}

The February Revolution of 1917 ended his reign when, attempting to return from headquarters to the capital, his train was stopped at Dno, Pskov Governorate, and he was forced to abdicate. The tsar and his family were imprisoned, first in the Alexander Palace, in Tsarskoye Selo, then in the house of the governor of Tobolsk and finally in the Ipatiev House, in Yekaterinburg. Nicholas II, together with his wife, his son, his four daughters, the imperial family doctor, a personal servant, the empress's chambermaid and the family cook were executed in the basement of the house by the Bolsheviks in the early morning from July 16 to 17, 1918. Later, Nicholas II, his wife and children were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia.

Early years and family

María Fiódorovna with her son Nicholas in 1870.

Nicholas was the son of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna Romanova, born Princess Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and later Princess Dagmar of Denmark. His paternal grandparents were Tsar Alexander II and Tsarina Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt. His maternal grandparents were King Christian IX of Denmark and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Nicolás had three younger brothers: Alejandro (1869-1870), Jorge (1871-1899) and Miguel (1878-1918) and two younger sisters: Xenia (1875-1960) and Olga (1882-1960). On his mother's side, Nicholas was the nephew of several monarchs, including King George I of Greece, King Frederick VIII of Denmark, Queen Consort Alexandra of Denmark, and Thyra of Denmark, Princess of Hanover.

Nicholas became Tsarevich following the assassination of his grandfather Alexander II on March 13, 1881, and the subsequent accession to the throne of his father, Alexander III. For security reasons, the new Tsar and his family moved from the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to his Gatchina Palace residence outside the city.

Nicolás and his brothers had a strict upbringing: they slept on hard folding beds and their rooms had little furniture, except for a religious icon of the Virgin and Child surrounded by pearls and other gems. His grandmother Maria introduced English customs to the Romanov family: porridge for breakfast, cold baths, and plenty of fresh air.

The Tsarevich was educated by tutors who taught him languages (French, German, and English), geography, dance, and other subjects. His father's adviser and his former tutor, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, placed great emphasis on the tsar's absolute autocracy.Like many people of his time, he kept a diary where he noted the details of his day-to-day life. Its pages are full of insignificant details, about playing with his friends, the temperature outside, the distances covered, among others. In May 1890, a few days before his twenty-second birthday, he noted: "Today my education has definitely finished." In October of that same year, accompanied by his brother Jorge, he traveled through Egypt, India and Japan. That trip was arranged by his father, Alexander III, to complete Nicholas's formal education and give him the opportunity to experience life outside of St. Petersburg and the palace.While in Japan, he survived an assassination attempt in which he he emerged virtually unscathed. After the incident, he got a dragon tattooed on his right forearm.

Although Nicholas participated in meetings of the Council of State, his duties were limited until his accession to the throne, which was not expected so soon, as his father was barely forty-nine years old. Contrary to his parents' wishes, Nicholas married Princess Alix, fourth daughter of Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse-Darmstadt and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. His parents wanted him to marry Princess Elena of Orleans, daughter of the Count of Paris, which would strengthen relations between Russia and France, but they desisted due to his insistence.

Personality

Nicholas in 1890.

From an early age, Tsar Nicholas displayed a timid character, with a greater inclination toward domestic life and the attitudes of a student at an elite English school. He danced elegantly, was a good shot, rode and played sports. He was fluent in French, German, and his English was so good that, it was said, he could even fool an Oxford University professor by posing as an Englishman. He adored history as well as the pageantry of the army and the life of a soldier. His father awarded him the rank of commander of a squadron of horse guards and he went to Krásnoye Selo, the large military camp outside St. Petersburg used by regiments of the Imperial Guard for summer exercises. There, Nicholas participated fully in military life and dining room conversations, and his modesty made him popular with the officers. No title meant more to him than colonel.

The zarévich Nicholas and Princess Alix in 1894.

Nicholas II, at the time of assuming the government, did not display the strong and energetic personality of his father, nor the minimum preparation required for a convulsed Russia, with latent conflicts and that occupied a preponderant edge in the international arena. This situation of lack of dominance in politics ended up leading Imperial Russia to chaos.

One of the main causes was that his father, Alexander III, did not train him in time to take the role of being the tsar, especially in the subject of international relations and internal affairs, which were left to him. introduced and taught but not deepened; Indeed, Nicholas II was until the time of the premature death of his father, a person little prepared in government issues. So much so that when he took office he himself told a trusted person that:

I'm not ready to be a tsar, I never wanted to be. I don't know anything about the art of governing, I don't even know how I should talk to ministers...

Cited in Figes (2017, p. 101)

Tsar Nicholas II was of a gentle and abstract nature, in that he tried not to glimpse his ideas; intelligent, honest and meticulous, essentially shy, romantic and idealistic and with a peaceful character. He liked theater plays, the pleasant family atmosphere, music, military marches, water sports and sailing on the imperial yacht Standart . ^{[ citation required ]}

(1897) Nicholas II, his mother, widow Empress Maria Fiódorovna Románova at the Palace of Alexander being visited by the king of Siam, Chulalongkorn, and his family.

He liked discipline and military life, he was a believer, hardworking and extremely responsible and he led an invariable routine of life. It was difficult for him to socialize, and sometimes he used to be branded as arrogant, without being so. His formality and circumspect friendliness was rather a barrier to those who knew him, and he had very few personal friends. As a father and husband, Nicholas II was an example to follow.^{[citation needed]}

He was heavily manipulated by his uncles and later by his cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm II, who took advantage of the new and immature ruler to take advantage of their conveniences. Unable to openly confront his ministers or disagree face to face with a contrary opinion, he preferred to make use of subtle chivalry to make himself understood when something displeased him. ^{[ citation needed ]}

Due to isolation and a sense of autocracy, poor advice from the Ministry of the Interior in intelligence work and lack of contact with his people, he was unable to understand the sociopolitical reality that his vast empire was going through and he did not see the radical threats of Bolshevism that hung over his dynasty and government.^{[citation needed]}

While his personality as the leader of a nation may be questioned, as a father he was an exceptional model for his children and a devoted husband for the Empress Alexandra, whom he loved deeply.^{[citation required]}

Ascension to the throne

L. Tuxen. "The coronation of Nicholas II on May 14, 1896." 1898. Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg

Portrait of Nicholas II crowned (1896)

In 1894, and after complications derived from nephritis, his father, Alexander III, died. May 14^Jul./ May 26, 1894^greg. and past the period in formal mourning, Nicholas was crowned as successor and adopted the name of Nicholas II. According to his own words, he lacked political training, and considered himself ignorant about the government of the empire, explaining his naivety when he was crowned tsar in November 1894. Even his own father doubted his ability to administer and maintain a territory of 23 million km².

The influence of his paternal uncles, especially Sergio Aleksándrovich Románov, great admiral of the Navy, would have a hold on it, and court intrigues would weigh heavily on the action of the new tsar, since in fact he had to endure manipulations at first from his own uncles.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly after his coronation, he married Alix of Hesse, who had taken the name Alexandra Fyodorovna Romanova upon converting to Orthodoxy. Since the relationship between Nicholas and Alix was a true ideal of mutual love and devotion, it was the Empress who advised Nicholas from the very beginning to take the firm reins of power and strengthen his kind and chivalrous character, which his friends often took advantage of. relatives. From her he would have four daughters: the grand duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia and, in the end, her long-awaited heir, Tsarevich Alexei.

International politics

Nicolas II (right) with William II of Germany in 1905; they each have the clothing exchanged.

At the behest of his advisers and encouraged by his cousin the German Emperor, Nicholas strove to extend his influence in Asia, competing in this race with the imperialist Western powers; ordered Russia's intervention in the Sino-Japanese War of 1896, was involved in the establishment of the Port Arthur base in 1898, the occupation of Manchuria in 1900, and agreed with the British to partition Persia into separate spheres of influence in 1907 Likewise, he was one of the main promoters of disarmament, reflected in his role as initiator of the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907.

Although he tried to exert a determining influence in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, Russian weakness, revealed during the Russo-Japanese War (1905) limited his ambitions. Thus, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire seized Bosnia in 1908, Russia limited itself to mediating with Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. The Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 increased the tension between Saint Petersburg and Vienna, but Nicholas initially followed the advice of Piotr Durnovó who, in a 1914 report, advised keeping Russia out of any military conflict in view of its industrial weakness, the opposition of public opinion and the pre-revolutionary situation of the country.

He established excellent relations with France, his most loyal ally, and with Germany, thanks to his close relationship with Emperor Wilhelm II; The latter was for a long time his most trusted adviser in international matters, although very manipulative, it was evident to any more shrewd political operator than the tsar, that his advice was aimed at using Russian influence to control the interests of other powers, often in direct benefit of Germany and undermine the alliance between France and Russia.

Economic policy

Historians have noted that with the accession of Nicholas II to the throne in 1894, the pace of Russian industrialization increased. Another factor was the French alliance; French banks invested heavily in Russia. In 1897 Russia adopted the gold standard, a measure that encouraged foreign investment and helped speed up the industrialization process. In 1914 the Russian Empire was the fifth economic power (industrial and commercial) in the world, almost reaching France.

While the figures indicating industrial growth were impressive—Russia's industry grew faster than Britain's and Germany's—Russia still lagged far behind the industrialized nations in per capita terms of consumption. Russia's population also grew faster than that of Western European nations; the population of the Russian Empire reached 125,000,000 in 1894, 146,000,000 in 1904, 175,000,000 in 1914. Rapid industrialization also meant rapid urbanization.

In the same way, agriculture during his reign was boosted, especially during the time of his prime minister, Piotr Stolypin, who applied a series of reforms to strengthen the economy and government policy in the eyes of the public. population. In 1910, 36.4% of the world's total wheat exports were Russian. However, the efficiency was lower compared to developed countries (for example, grain collection was 10% less than in Mexico). Meanwhile, agricultural mechanization remained relatively low. The further development was halted by World War I and the Russian Revolution.

The German influence

In effect, the advice of Guillermo II to go to war with Japan with disastrous results; the opposition during the Great War triggering serious internal conflicts in the Nicholas II regime; allowing revolutionary elements to enter Russia from its borders for purposes of destabilization; and when the Romanov family was imprisoned, sponsoring their intentions to reinstate the tsarist regime; plus the sum of other internal factors were the ruin and complete destruction of Tsarism.

Autocracy and revolutionary processes

Nicholas II attends a meeting of the Council of State, May 27, 1901.

In domestic policy, Nicholas followed the autocratic line of his predecessors, although softening it a bit, but rather outside of his direct intervention, his country underwent an accelerated industrialization process that allowed Russia to enter the modern era (thanks partly due to good relations with the rest of the Western powers, especially with the United Kingdom and the United States), but which also gave rise to important labor nuclei in the form of unions. Clandestine revolutionary activity, which gained unusual momentum under his grandfather and his father, continued to accelerate during his regime, culminating in the Revolution of 1905 and later the February Revolution of 1917 that abolished the monarchy.

The initiative of the liberal movement presented to the new tsar, to establish a constitution that would set the rules for the exercise of power, was met, however, with a resounding rejection by the monarchy; following Pobedonostsev's advice, Nicholas was stern with what he called "foolish dreams of involvement in internal administration affairs."^{[citation needed]} His rigidity alienated sectors not particularly committed to an ideology akin to the revolution, and was the cause of many discontent.

One of these malcontents was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, Lenin, a lawyer hailing from the Simbirsk region whose brother, Aleksandr Ulyanov, was executed for an assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander III in 1887. Lenin carried out subversive activities in St. Petersburg, was arrested, seized and exiled to Siberia. Once released, he moved to Geneva and London to found the bases of the communist movement.

The food for revolutionary currents such as those led by Lenin, Trotsky and others, was the lack of a more supportive social policy on the part of the rulers, which allowed the great historical problems of the tsarist regime to worsen: poverty of the peasantry, the very unequal distribution of land and the non-existent access to public office. This was going to be the breeding ground in the unions of the industries for the revolutionary groups that were already in gestation.

War with Japan

The Russian Baltic Fleet was annihilated by the Japanese in the battle of Tsushima.

In 1905, trying to stem the Japanese advance into Manchuria, which was threatening eastern Russian ports, and at the constant recommendation of Wilhelm II of Germany, Nicholas II declared war on Japan. Nicholas II thought that obtaining an easy victory over Japan would not only stabilize the internal situation but would achieve greater international preponderance with the prestige of victory. Misinformed, strategically and conceptually, of Japan's military and naval situation, he did not assess his own situation on the newly opened eastern front, especially the utter incompetence and ineffectiveness of the Russian admirals commanding Port Arthur and Vladivostok.

Without any declaration of war, the Japanese besieged and blockaded Port Arthur and Vladivostok, inflicting a severe defeat on the Russian fleet, part of which was semi-sunk and trapped in the harbor. The loss of naval units exceeded 70%.

The tsar then, in a desperate effort, mobilized the Baltic fleet, made up of warships unsuitable for navigating the high seas, in a great journey unique in history, which led it to go around Europe and Africa, holding serious diplomatic conflicts with England (Dogger Bank incident). Its ally France also turned its back on it during the eventful voyage and the fleet was only supplied by Germany, to after almost a year and a half of navigation reaching the Tsushima Strait, where it was quickly defeated by the Japanese naval forces under the command of Heihachiro Togo.

Bloody Sunday

After the defeat at Tsushima, Nicholas II accepted the mediation of the United States to end the conflict. For this, he sent for a former minister of his father, Sergei Witte, who was sent to North America to negotiate peace with Japan. Such was Witte's media handling that he managed to take apparent advantage of the peace that Japan wanted to impose on Russia and returned practically a kind of hero. After giving his report to Nicholas II, he made him a count.

Photo of a 1925 film depicting the palace guard shooting the workers on January 22, 1905.

However, a serious event was going to turn the tables on the fate of the Romanov dynasty: a priest named Georgui Gapon managed to convene a discontented mass of workers and other members of the people, who organized an informal march to go to deliver a series of anti-autocratic petitions to the tsar, who went to the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, instead of the Villa of Tsarskoye Selo, 24 km south of Saint Petersburg, where the royal family was staying, on Sunday, January 22 from 1905.

When the crowd reached the vicinity of the Winter Palace, around 2:00 p.m., they found that the palace was guarded by troops of Cossacks, who had been summoned by the Minister of the Interior, Prince Sviatopolk-Mirski. When they got to within 100m of the entrance, the soldiers shot to kill the mass and then attacked them with the cavalry, resulting in an estimated 92 deaths. This fact had unsuspected repercussions, since it fed the original sparks of the revolution that the Social Revolutionaries, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks wanted to break out, as indeed happened later on.

Furthermore, it was time for the tsar to take decisive action: either put down the revolution by imposing a dictatorship, or accede to the revolutionaries' requests. Witte played a significant and decisive role in the development of events. Sviatopolk-Mirsky was dismissed and Sergei Witte was appointed as acting interior minister in his place. In the long run, this change would bring ruin to the stability of the Nicholas II regime.

In that year, 1905, there were also attacks. In one of them, an uncle of Nicholas II, Grand Duke Sergio Aleksándrovich Románov, husband of Ella (Isabel Fiódorovna), the empress's sister, perished, and the sailors also rose up in the ports, such as the case of the Potemkin battleship. A huge strike paralyzed industry and the revolutionaries, led by Trotsky, Lenin and other Marxist agitators, were fanning the flame of revolution. The situation could not be more complex for the stability and continuity of the tsarist regime.

The Dumas and the heyday of the tsarist regime

Serguéi Witte towards 1905.

Witte told Nicholas II that there were two paths: either suppress the revolutionary spark by force by implanting the dictatorship, or promulgate a Constitution ceding civil rights to the common people, thus transforming the autocratic regime into a semi-constitutional regime. Despite the fact that Nicholas II leaned towards the military dictatorship, he did not have the support of the army commander and his uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, and not daring to dismiss him, he chose to follow the constitutional path drawn up by Witte. It should be noted that Witte became one of the main detractors of him.

Faced with the threat of an uprising, the tsar, advised by his minister Sergei Witte, signed the proposal and announced in 1905 several institutional changes aimed at diminishing the absolutist tinge of the monarchy; the most important of these was the convocation of the State Duma of the Russian Empire or Parliament, with limited legislative powers, together with the promulgation in April 1906 of fundamental laws that gave a semi-constitutional character to the monarchy. The first Russian Constitution, known as the Fundamental Laws, was promulgated on April 23, 1906, the eve of the opening of the First Duma. However, to the despair of Nicholas II, far from cooling down the burning political situation, it worsened, leaving the tsarist regime with a precarious stability and Witte began to get out of hand. However, when perceiving that the members of the Duma planned to put an end to the autocratic character of the government, it was dissolved and replaced by another more representative of the monarchical interests; Nicholas also demanded the resignation of his prime minister, Sergei Witte. When Witte's successor, Piotr Stolypin, dissolved the Second Duma shortly thereafter, modifying the electoral laws to ensure a composition loyal to tsarist interests, he exposed the continuity of the autocratic system.

Piotr Stolypin.

To dissolve the Duma, the tsar called in 1906 to the position of interior minister who would be one of the most executive, loyal and effective men he had, Piotr Stolypin, who would take the position with great determination, starting with a strong repression against the revolutionary hosts so effectively (600 executions) that Lenin himself saw the Marxist revolution he so longed for endangered, bringing respite to the monarchy. Not only did Stolypin stand out on this level, but he also carried out a great agrarian reform which, added to a period of mild winters, calmed the plebs in years of good harvests, favoring the management and image of Tsarism. Stolypin also dissolved the Second Duma of 1907. After establishing a Third Duma in 1909, which favored the autocracy in a veiled manner and with more moderate representatives, Russia could enter the tercentenary of the Romanovs' coming to power in 1913 on the right foot. In 1911, Stolypin wanted to get rid of Rasputin's nefarious influence, banishing him and falling out of favor with the Empress. As this caused a tense situation before the tsar, Stolypin submitted a resignation that Nicholas II denied him.

While the tsar was visiting Kiev to inaugurate a monument to his father, Stolypin attended the opera in that city with the tsar in September 1911, and Stolypin was assassinated by a revolutionary collaborating with the police, before the eyes of the tsar, during the intermission of said function. A string of characters like Kokóvtsov, Stürmer, Sazonov, Protopopov would follow, all influenced by Rasputin.

World War I

Cossack forces during the Great War.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo by Serbian nationalists (Sarajevo bombing) put Nicholas II in a difficult bind, since his pact with the Serbs did not allow him to accede to the compensatory demands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. An extensive exchange of correspondence with Kaiser Wilhelm attempted to avoid a global confrontation, and Nicholas II gave orders to mobilize troops only on the Austrian border; On July 31, 1914, he ordered a general mobilization, which would cause Germany to declare war and start the world war.

The Imperial Russian Army had great initial successes on Austrian soil and could have defeated the Austro-Hungarian Empire in due course, but its advance was halted at the request of France; however, the initial attempt to advance into German territory on two fronts, one under General Rennenkampf and the other under General Samsonov, led to serious defeats, in which more than two million men lost their lives. By 1915 the Russian army was in retreat.

Nicholas II, advised by his wife and ministers, tried to personally lead the actions, relieving his cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich of command of the troops; This was one more mistake, if possible more serious than the declaration of war itself, since it meant leaving the regency in the hands of his wife, whom the people detested both because of her German origin and because of her close relationship with rasputin. An important detail that would explain the sudden replacement of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolayevich is that he hated Rasputin to death; the monk astutely advised the Empress to get him out of the way, since sectors of the populace called him Nicholas III , alluding to his probable enthronement.

The role of Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin appeared in monarchical circles thanks to the contact made by Anna Výrubova, the Tsarina's closest courtesan, due to the hemophilia disease suffered by her son Alexis. The influence that he exercised over the child allowed him to control the disease of the heir to the throne, with which he soon gained the absolute confidence of the tsarina and the tolerance of Nicholas II.

Rasputin surrounded by admirers.

Rasputin was himself an extravagant person, with a stocky appearance and an impressive charisma, with a very remarkable degree of accuracy in his predictions, a mixture of sanctimonious and very convincing friend; but, on the other hand, a being with a very libidinous alter ego bordering on the manic, who sought sexual pleasure among the consorts of the palace.^{[citation required]}

Rasputin soon made the tsarina his friend and confidante, to the point that she seriously considered the advice he gave her. The reason for this powerful influence was that the Empress considered Rasputin a God-send. This situation allowed Rasputin to take a decisive role in ministerial appointments every time the tsarina asked him for advice and in the family environment he was called-our friend-. In the popular circle he was known by his nickname mad monk, and his increasingly meddling and defiant behavior began to arouse hatred between the nobility and the ministers and speculation of all kinds in the town regarding with the type of link he had with the tsarina, a situation that the enemies of the crown exploited ad nauseam among the common people. Rasputin's influence strongly cracked the prestige of the monarchy in public opinion.

Before the departure of Nicholas II to the German front, Rasputin predicted that if he died at the hands of his family, no one in Nicholas II's family would survive him for more than two years (a correctness that came true).

Finally, Rasputin was assassinated by a group of aristocrats who had invited him to a party on December 29-30, 1916. It seems proven that his assassins, led by Prince Felix Yusupov, gave him laden cakes and wine of cyanide. Seeing that he was not much affected by him, the prince shot him in the chest, hit his head with a lead-filled cane, and threw him into the Neva River. It was found that Rasputin later died by drowning.

Abdication, prison and murder

Text of the abdication of zar in the newspaper Rússkoie slovo.

After Rasputin's assassination, the royal government began to disintegrate with abysmal speed. The successive Russian defeats in World War I were one of the causes of the February Revolution. As of January 1917, the internal situation, made worse by the unfavorable course of the war with Germany and the revolutionary instigation, added to the political interventions of the Empress, made the Fourth Duma yield to the pressure of the revolutionaries and form a Provisional government, led by Kerensky, a moderate-style revolutionary. The decision to form the provisional government was accepted by all social and military classes, including the General Staff of Nicholas II, who found himself boxed in by the serious political situation that prevailed in Petrograd. For an instant, the abdication in favor of his son Alexis was drafted; but given the health condition and immaturity of the heir, he changed his mind.

Nicholas II, unable to control the situation, abdicated his rights and those of his son on March 2, 1917^Jul. (March 15, 1917, according to the Gregorian calendar used in most part of the world), in favor of his younger brother, Miguel. He did not immediately accept, instead waiting to be ratified by an elected assembly, which never happened. Thus the Romanov dynasty came to an end and the era of the Soviets began. The abdication took place in the town of Dno, which means bottom in Russian.

Aleksandr Kérenski.

Nicholas II allowed himself to be stopped, offering no resistance, upon his return from the crumbling front. He was confined together with his wife and his children in the Tsarskoye Selo palace, on the outskirts of Petrograd, withholding some domestic privileges. Aleksandr Kerensky, concerned for the safety of the imperial family, initially intended to send them to England, as King George V, the tsar's cousin, had sent an invitation in March. But not only was the Petrograd Soviet strongly opposed, George V eventually withdrew his offer, fearing internal political problems and facing opposition from the Labor Party. In addition, both England, Germany, and their ally France ignored his requests for asylum. In August 1917, fearing an assassination attempt, Kerensky exiled the Romanovs to Tobolsk in Siberia. Before leaving, Kerensky warned Nicholas II: "The Soviets want my head, then they will come for you and your family."^{[citation needed]}

In Tobolsk, the tsar's family enjoyed relative freedom of movement since the sector was promonarchical, there were even opportunities to escape or be rescued since the guard was not numerous and some soldiers even came to establish some relationship friendly with the prisoners. In October 1917, the Kerensky government fell and he fled abroad, thus sealing the fate of the imperial family in the hands of the Soviet government.

Assassination and disappearance of the Tsar and his family

Nicholas II prisoner in Tsárskoye Seló (at the bottom of his guardians).

The original secret plan of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was to move the tsar to Moscow, where Trotsky wanted to hold a grand public trial against him. However, the Bolsheviks in nearby Yekaterinburg, led by Ural Soviet leader Filipp Goloshchokin, were known for their radicalism and aspired to seize control of the tsar in order to imprison or execute him themselves. In view of this, in early April Yakov Sverdlov, a Bolshevik leader belonging to Lenin's inner circle, ordered Commissar Vasily Yakovlev to take charge of the imperial family and try to bring them safely to the capital. They were supposed to pass through Yekaterinburg so as not to arouse suspicion, but on the way Yakovlev feared an ambush and diverted to Omsk, which made Goloshchokin suspect that the tsar was preparing to flee to Japan and finally got Sverdlov to authorize a return to Yekaterinburg in exchange for assurances that the Tsar and his family would not be harmed.

The Tsar and Tsarina arrived in Yekaterinburg on April 30, 1918, and their children, who had traveled separately, joined them on May 23. They were all taken to the house of a local businessman, Nikolai Ipatiev, which had been searched the day before. Their treatment worsened considerably compared to their previous destinations, their belongings were looted and they had to remain confined to their rooms.

Yákov Sverdlov ordered the transfer of the imperial family to Ekaterimburg and personally managed his murder.

At the end of June, Goloshchokin traveled to Moscow on the occasion of the Fifth Congress of the Soviets and it was there that, after deliberating with Lenin, the execution of the Romanovs was decided, although without setting any specific date. Thus, on July 4, the local Cheka, under the command of another of Lenin's trusted men, Yakov Yurovski, assumed responsibility for guarding the Ipatiev house. Meanwhile, the situation in the region had seriously worsened for the Bolsheviks, and since Yekaterinburg itself was in grave danger from the attack of the Czechoslovak Legion, on July 16 Goloshchokin sent Zinoviev an encrypted telegram destined for Sverdlov and Lenin requesting the immediate execution of the imperial family. The affirmative answer from Moscow, possibly coming directly from Lenin, came that same day.

The actual planning of the assassination in situ was made by Yurovski, who reserved the right to shoot first the "crowned executioner" as Nicholas II was called; apart from Yurovski, the clique consisted of Pyotr Ermakov and Gregoy Nikulin, all members and proven assassins of the Cheka.

A Goloshchokin subordinate, Pyotr Ermakov, who was in control of the Ural peasantry, was tasked with eliminating all evidence of the assassination and was unable to get the required two transport trucks until the next day. Ermakov, in addition to participating in the platoon, would start the engines of both vehicles to drown out the noise of the shots.

The squad consisted of twelve men, seven of whom were Hungarian ex-combatants, each assigned a victim; two of them refused to shoot women and at least one of them was scrapped and replaced by Ermakov. The members of the squad were Grigori Nikulin, Yurovsky's assistant, Piotr Ermakov, Goloshchokin's assistant, Piotr Medveyed, S. Vaganov, Andreas Vergasi, Laszlo Horvath, Victor Griinfeldt, Imre Nagy, Emile Fekete, Anselm Fischer and Isidor Edelstein.

At midnight on July 17, the Tsar along with family members were taken to the basement of the Ipatiev House where they were murdered, along with some close servants, and even a loyal doctor. The pretext was that they were going to take a photograph before leaving; Well, he was going to move them again.

Ipatiev's house in 1928. In 1977, the first secretary of the region, Borís Yeltsin, ordered his demolition.

Nicholas II placed the heir on his knees as he took a seat next to the tsarina, the daughters sat in the back and the servants and the doctor stood to the sides. A few moments passed and suddenly Yakov Yurovski entered, revolver in hand, and 17 soldiers armed with bayonet rifles.

When Yakov Yurovski raises his revolver and declares to the Tsar that the Russian people have sentenced him to death, the Tsar manages to stammer "What?", and shoots him. in the head almost at point blank range.^{[citation needed]} The tsar falls instantly dead, the tsarina manages to sit up making the sign of the cross and is shot dead in full mouth by Yurovski and then the riflemen carry out a closed discharge to the rest of the family. The daughters, who wore tight corsets and were also loaded with jewels inside, do not die immediately and are finished off with the bayonet.^{[citation needed]} Anastasia, died finished off by Bayonets carried out by Ermakov.^{[citation needed]} The Tsar died when he was just 50 years old.

The Tsarevich survived the first volley and was killed by Yurovsky in the dying man's auction, with two shots at ear level.^{[citation needed]} One of the servants who did not receive the first volley were chased into the room and finished off with bayonets, and even Grand Duchess Tatiana's pet, her little dog, was shot dead.^{[citation needed]}

Later, the bodies were taken in trucks and deposited in an abandoned mine.^{[citation needed]}

The next day, Yurovski, fearing that the rumor about the execution would lead to the recovery of the bodies, ordered their removal and destruction of the corpses by fire and acid and that they be thrown into other excavations, located 12 km outside the city. city, in the mine called "the four brothers".^{[citation needed]}

Story by one of the executors

Eleven men with revolvers were selected for the execution. Two of them refused to shoot the women. When the vehicle arrived, everyone was asleep. Upon awakening them, it was explained to them that due to the unrest in the city, it was necessary to move them from the upper floor to the lower one. It took them half an hour to get dressed. Downstairs we had emptied a piece that had a stuccoed wooden partition, to avoid rebounding. The guard was in combative readiness in the neighboring room. The Romanovs did not suspect anything. The commander went to look for them in person and led them to the room. Nicolás carried Alexis in his arms, the others carried pads and other small things. Entering the empty room, Alejandra Fyodorovna asked: 'What, isn't there a chair? Can't we even sit down?" —according to Yurovsky's account, two were brought—, Nicholas put Alexis in one and Alexandra Fyodorovna sat in the other. The others were ordered to form a line. This done, they called the commander. When he entered, he told the Romanovs that, as his relatives in Europe continued the offensive against Soviet Russia, the Ural Executive Committee had decreed to shoot them. Nicolás turned his back, facing his family, and then, as if recovering, he turned and asked: & # 34; What, what? & # 34;. The commander repeated the explanation and ordered the command to prepare. Each one knew in advance who he was going to shoot. The order was to aim for the heart to avoid spilling a lot of blood and finish faster. Nicholas did not say another word, again he turned to face his family, others launched incoherent exclamations. Then the shooting began, which lasted two or three minutes. Nicolás was killed by the same commander at point blank range. Then Alexandra Fyodorovna and her retinue died. In total, twelve people were shot: Nicholas, Alejandra Fyodorovna, their son Alexis, their four daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia), the doctor Yevgeny Botkin, the servant Trupp, the cook Tikhomirov, another cook and a waitress whose names the commander doesn't remember.^{[citation needed]} (actually the waitress Anna Demídova).^{[citation needed]}

Official Communiqué of the Ural Soviet

“Decision of the Presidium of the Ural Soviet of Workers', Peasants' and Red Guards Deputies:

In view of the fact that Czechoslovakian gangs threaten the red capital of the Urals, Yekaterinburg, that the crowned executioner could escape to the people's court (a White Guard plot to take away the entire imperial family has just been to be discovered) the Presidium of the Divisional Committee, in compliance with the will of the people, has decided that the former Tsar Nicholas Romanov, guilty before the people of innumerable bloody crimes, should be shot.

'The decision of the Presidium of the Divisional Committee was carried out on the night of July 16-17.'

Endorsement of the Central Soviet.

"Decision of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of July 18.

The Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers', Peasants', Red Guards and Cossacks' Deputies, in the person of its Chairman, approves the action of the Presidium of the Ural Soviet.

Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee,

Sverdlov."^{[citation needed]}

The discovery of the bodies

In 1979, historians Aleksandr Avdonin and Geli Riábov found the possible tomb of the imperial family in the Koptiakí forest. Fearing to report the discovery, they did not make it public until years later. On April 12, 1989, the newspapers reported the discovery. The tomb was not opened until 1991 by the Soviet authorities and nine bodies were found inside. By examining the skeletons, Soviet scientists concluded that the bodies of Alexei and Grand Duchess Anastasia were missing. The skeletal identifications were later confirmed by DNA analysis.

With his assassination by the revolutionary movement of the Bolsheviks, as a result of the October Revolution of 1917, the Romanov dynasty came to an end. He has been buried since 1997 in the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Saint Petersburg together with the rest of the imperial family and the other Russian tsars.

It turns out that Anastasia's body was always there, the one that was missing was that of Grand Duchess Maria. In 2007 the discovery of the bodies of María and Alexei who, after carrying out DNA tests, were buried next to their parents and sisters.

Canonization

Church on the Blood, built on the place where Nicholas II of Russia and his family were killed.

In 1981, the Russian Orthodox Church in exile canonized members of the Romanov family, a decision endorsed by the synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which canonized him on August 20, 2000 in a ceremony presided over by the patriarch Alexei II. Since 1998 his remains rest in the Cathedral of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Saint Petersburg.

The burial of the mortal remains of the royal family gave rise to debates in political and religious circles. Despite the genetic expert examination that corroborated the authenticity of the royal remains discovered, both the Russian Orthodox Church and the few Russian monarchists refuse to acknowledge that Nicholas II and his relatives were justly buried in the St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress.

Stages marking the burial of Tsar Nicholas II and his family in the chapel of St. Catherine of the Cathedral of St.Peter and St.Petersburg.

In light of this fact, the decision taken by the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church to canonize Nicholas II (Romanov) seems somewhat contradictory. According to the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, there are certain conditions that candidates for canonization must meet. For example, the remains of him should heal and the icon should emanate chrism.

The Church seems to have had its reasons for declaring the imperial family holy. Some think, for example, that the Russian Orthodox Church makes a certain concession to the Russian Church Abroad, which had canonized Nicholas II some twenty years ago. According to the clergy, the tsar was canonized due to his "resignation and docility in the face of martyrdom".

According to the prelates, the decision to canonize him should bring peace to the souls of the people of Russia and reconcile them with the country's past. But this was not the case: opinion polls show that the population has split more or less evenly, with one half believing that Nicholas II deserves to be canonized, while the other half hold a different opinion.

Supporters of canonization believe that Russia is guilty before the anointed for having indifferently welcomed his execution in 1918 and must now atone for this guilt. Opponents of canonization say the emperor was not a saint. The Tsar drank and smoked, attended spiritualist functions, liked to hunt crows, all of which is far from corresponding to the image of a saint.

Rehabilitation

On October 1, 2008, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Russian Federation rehabilitated Nicholas II and his family, taking into account the victims of Bolshevik political repression, a decision long awaited by the descendants of the imperial family and the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to the verdict pronounced by the judge, the Supreme Court described the repression as unfounded and established the rehabilitation of Nicholas Romanov (Nicholas II), Alexandra Fyodorovna (his wife), Alexis, the crown prince (tsarevich) and their daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.

This decision responds favorably to a complaint filed in 2005 by the lawyer of the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, who claims to be the legitimate heir to the extinct Russian throne and, therefore, of Nicholas II. The family expressed "joy and satisfaction," said their spokesman, Ivan Artsichevsky, a representative of another branch of Romanov descendants. He also welcomed the decision to minimize its scope:

The fact that the State has recognized its responsibility for this murder is a step towards general repentance and the rehabilitation of all the innocent victims of the Bolsheviks.

Restoration of the monarchy

A study by the "Opinion Center of All Russians" showed that a third of Russians were in favor of restoring the monarchy in 2013.

In 2017, a poll by Izvestia found that 22% of Russians were "not against the monarchy... but don't see a candidate for the job". The poll also found that 37% of Russian youth were strongly in favor of the restoration of the monarchy.

Titles, honors and appointments

Monkey of the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia

Noble titles

• 18 May 1868 - 13 March 1881^Greg: His Imperial Highness Prince Nikolai Aleksándrovich of Russia
• 13 March 1881 - 1 November 1894^Greg: His Imperial Highness, The Zarevich of Russia
• 1 November 1894 - 15 March 1917^Greg: His Imperial and Royal Majesty, The Emperor and autocrat of All Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland
• 15 March 1917 - 17 July 1918:^Greg Sir Nikolái Aleksándrovich Románov

Russian Awards

• Grand Master of the Order of Saint Andrew (Russian Empire).
• Grand Master of the Order of Saint George (Russian Empire).
• Grand Master of the Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire).
• Grand Master of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevski (Russian Empire).
• Grand Master of the Order of Santa Ana (Russian Empire).
• Grand Master of the Order of San Estanislao (Russian Empire).
• Grand Master of the Order of St. Vladimiro (Russian Empire).

Foreign Awards

• Great Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (Holy See).
• Great Knight of the Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus ( Kingdom of Italy).
• Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation ( Kingdom of Italy).
• Grand Cross Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy ( Kingdom of Italy).
• Gold Medal to Military Value ( Kingdom of Italy).
• Great Knight of the Legion of Honor (France).
• Knight of the Order of the Golden Toy (SpainSpain).
• Great Knight of the Order of Christ (Portugal).
• Great Knight of Honor of the Royal Victorian Order (United KingdomUnited Kingdom).
• Knight of the Order of the Garden (United KingdomUnited Kingdom).
• Knight of the Order of the Bath (United KingdomUnited Kingdom).
• Grand Cross Knight of the Order of the Dutch Lion (NetherlandsNetherlands).
• Great cord of the Order of Leopoldo (BelgiumBelgium).
• Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle (Kingdom of Prussia).
• Knight of the Order of St. Huberto (Kingdom of Bavaria).
• Big Knight of the Order of the Crown of Wurtemberg (Kingdom of Wurtemberg).
• Grand Cross Knight of the Order of the Wéndica Crown (Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin).
• Big Knight of the Order of Louis (Grand Duchy of Hesse).
• Great Knight of the Order of Fidelity (Grand Duchy of Baden).
• Big Cross Knight of the Order of White Hawk (Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach).
• Great Knight of the Order to the merit of Pedro Federico Luis (Duchy of Oldenburg).
• Knight of the Order of the Seraphim (Sweden Sweden).
• Knight of the Order of the Elephant (DenmarkDenmark).
• Knight of the Order of Dannebrog (DenmarkDenmark).
• Great Knight of the Order of St Stephen of Hungary (Austro-Hungarian Empire).
• Great Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania (Romania Romania).
• Knight of the Order of Charles I (Romania Romania).
• Great Knight of the Order of Saint Sava (Serbia).
• Grand Cross Knight of the Order of Prince Danilo I (Kingdom of Montenegro).
• Big Knight of the Order of the Star of Karadjordje (Serbia).
• Knight of the Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius (BulgariaBulgaria).
• Great Knight of the Order of St. Alexander (BulgariaBulgaria).
• Big Knight of the Order of the Savior (Kingdom of Greece).
• Knight of the First Class of the Order of the Bear (Ottoman Empire).
• Great cord of the Order of the Sun (JapanJapan).
• Great Cord of the Order of the Flowers of Paulownia (JapanJapan).
• Big Order of the South Cross Necklace (Brazil).
• Knight of the First Class of the Order of the Seal of Solomon (Ethiopian Empire).
• Knight of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri (Thailand).

Ancestors

Nicholas II Ancestors of Russia

16. Paul I of Russia 8. Nicholas I of Russia 17. Duquesa Sofia Dorotea de Württemberg 4. Alexander II of Russia 18. Federico Guillermo III de Prussia 9. Princess Carlota of Prussia 19. Duchess Luisa de Mecklemburg-Strelitz 2. Alexander III of Russia 20. Luis I, Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine 10. Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine 21. Landgravina Luisa de Hesse-Darmstadt 5. Princess Mary of Hesse and the Rhine 22. Carlos Luis, prince heir to Baden 11. Princess Guillermina of Baden 23. Landgravina Amalia de Hesse-Darmstadt 1. Nicholas II of Russia 24. Federico Carlos, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck 12. Federico Guillermo, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg 25. Condesa Federica de Schlieben 6. Cristián IX of Denmark 26. Prince Charles de Hesse-Kassel 13. Princess Luisa Carolina de Hesse-Kassel 27. Princess Louise of Denmark and Norway 3. Princess Dagmar of Denmark 28. Prince Frederick of Hesse-Kassel 14. Prince William of Hesse-Kassel 29. Princess Carolina of Nassau-Usingen 7. Princess Luisa de Hesse-Kassel 30. Frederick, Crown Prince of Denmark and Norway 15. Princess Luisa Carlota of Denmark 31. Duchess Sofia Federica de Mecklemburg-Schwerin

Predecessor: Alexander III

Emperor and autocrat of all Russia 1 November 1894 - 15 March 1917

Successor: Michael II