Tsar+Nicholas+II

Tsar Nicholas the Second By Brady Trettenero Sources: History 12 Workbook by Jerry Falk Wikipedia.org [] []

[[image:http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/5/50532/1380540-nich2.jpg width="280" height="210" caption="Tsar Nicholas the Second"]]

 * Who was he?**

Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor, was the eldest son of Alexander lll and was born on May 6, 1868. He ascended the throne after the death of his father on October 20, 1894, and was crowned on May 14, 1896. He married the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig of Hessen, Alice Victoria Eleanor Louisa Beatrice (Alexandra Feodorovna), and had five children. The Czarevich Alexei suffered from hemophilia and was a permanent invalid. There were four daughters. Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. According to contemporaries, Nicholas was gentle and approachable. Those who met him easily forgot that they were face to face with the Emperor. In private life, he was undemanding but had contradictions in his character, tending to weakness and inconsistency. A stubborn supporter of the right of the sovereign despite growing pressure for revolution, he did not give way on a single issue, even when common sense and circumstances demanded it.


 * What were his leadership qualities?**

His father died while he was still young so he ended up with a very small amount of training. Unfortunately, he was also very devoted to his wife and children, which is a great trait in a parent but not so good for an autocrat as he was distracted by his son's haemophilia and his wife was of German descent.He was also a little too eager to please, especially his western allies..His lack of confidence made him reliant on unscrupulous people, his naivity made him believe to see the best in people and he was a little too trusting. He would have been a nice person to know but he was a terrible autocrat and he needed to be a lot more ruthless and determined.The negative qualities definatley outweigh the positives as he was too weak, indecisive and lacked the training to truly be looked at as a strong leader.


 * World War One and the Tsar **

The Russian army suffered great military defeats in this war. They were a big army but unfortunately, they were poorly equipped. The Russians lost two major battles in 1914 in Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes. These defeats caused the loss of civilian and military morale. The Tsar was now held responsible for the defeats because he had taken charge of the army and he didn't even have any experience. The Tsar was deeply criticized for his actions. He was seen as a poor military commander and a poor political leader. He left the Tsarina in charge of the government and he refused to accept advice from the Duma. Rasbutin was a man who claimed to be a healer. He was disliked by many yet he held an influence over both the Tsar and the Tsarina. The Tsarina was also criticized alot. She was inexperienced and an incompetent leader. Rasputin greatly influenced her and she was unpopular because she was German.


 * The Revolution and the Tsar**

World War 1 caused food shortages and the cities were overcrowded and people were living in terrible conditions. On February 22, 1917, 20,000 steelworkers went on strike. By February 25th, over half of Petrograd is on strike. The Tsar orders his troops to fire on crowds and 40 people are killed. On February 26th, the Tsar closes the Duma. The soldiers decide to mutiny and establish the Petrograd Soviet with workers and sailors. The Tsar returns to Petrograd on February 28th but he has lost the support of the army. He abdicates on March 2nd and Grand Duke Michaeal refuses the throne. A provisional government and the Petrograd Soviet are established. Nicholas II, his wife, his son, his four daughters, the family's medical doctor, the Emperor's footman, the Empress' maidservant, and the family's cook were killed in the same room by the Bolsheviks on the night of 16/17 July 1918. media type="youtube" key="2b-Cfe7fPok" height="283" width="378" align="right"