By Joaquin Quiros
Throughout time man has constantly been evolving. From the dawn of time up until the present, change is always constant. When change is not accepted bad things are capable of happening. A very good example of this is Tsar Nicholas II, the last ruler of the Russian Empire. Born Nicholas Aleksandrovich Romanov in Pushkin in 1868, he was the son of Tsar Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna of Denmark. Growing up he was schooled by private tutors, and excelled in history and foreign languages, however this would not serve him well in his future career as Tsar, for he had little understanding of politics and economics, affecting his performance as leader. In 1881, his grandfather Alexander II, was assassinated by radicals, thus paving the way for his father Alexander III to the throne. At age 19 he joined the military, rising up to the rank of colonel. Nicholas inherited the throne after his father died of kidney disease in 1894.Suffering from the pains of loss, and knowingly untrained and unready to become a leader, Nicholas confided with a friend and told him "I am not ready to become Tsar,I never wanted to be one and know nothing of the business of ruling." Clearly here was a man who had already set his expectations on the drawbacks of his kingship. He was officially crowned in 1896.
As Tsar he needed a Tsarina, and within a few month's of his father's passing,he managed to marry Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, also known as Alexandra, a German Princess and granddaughter of Queen Victoria. In fact at the time, nealry all of Europe's monarchs were related to one another and descended from Queen Victoria. George V of Great Britain was first cousins with both Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, though Nicholas was a first cousin of George V, he wasn't with Wilhelm, however Wilhelm was the first cousin of Tsarina Alexandra. That is another story though.
With his wife, he had five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and finally, the awaited male heir, Alexei. Alexei was a hemophiliac, and as a result of his condition, the Tsar was very focused on Alexei and the rest of their family, so much to the point that he put them before the affairs of state, being an autocrat, that made matters even worse. His foreign policy relied heavily on keeping things running smoothly for Russia in Europe, but as their economy grew, the Trans- Siberian Railway was constructed, connecting Russia with the Pacific Coast as they intended to expand into the Far East. Because of these machinations, Japan felt threatened by their apparent encroachment into their territory. In 1904 The Japanese attacked Russia, and decimated their fleet at Port Arthur. They signed for peace afterwards in 1905. But the poor Tsar had more pressing things to deal with soon. On January 5 1905, forever known in history as Bloody Sunday, Father George Gapon, head of the Russian Assembly of Mill and Factory Workers, led a large group of workers massing outside of the Winter Palace in St, Petersburg to deliver a petition to their dear Tsar, "Father of the people",calling for improved working conditions and the establishment of a popular assembly. Troops stationed outside the palace reacted violently, and suppressed the riots and massacred over a thousand unarmed civilians. Peasants and workers throughout the country rallied together and rioted in protest of the event. The Tsar was eventually forced to create an elected legislature, The Duma. Even with a Duma, he still stubbornly refused and hindered government reform.
Believing himself to be a ruler ordained by God Himself, Nicholas' hubris would become his own downfall. In 1914 the world went to war, and Russia's armies performed poorly as he appointed himself commander in chief against the wishes of his ministers, as a result spending more time away from Tsarkoe Selo in St. Petersburg. In his absence the Tsarina became more withdrawn, and ever so reliant on her adviser, the mad monk, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, a faith healer who would try and heal Alexei's hemophilia. She was so close to Rasputin that it was implicated they had an affair, only adding more disgust to the already tainted reputation of the Russian Royals.
In 1917, as the war came to its close, Russia withdrew as a result of the mass riots across the nation. With no one to turn to, elites ruling the land and an inept ruler, the proletariat turned to communism. Vladimir Lenin, the revolutionary who had returned from exile in Siberia had come as a savior to the people, offering a way out of their horrid conditions in life, the poverty and the inflation of the ruble. He led The Bolsheviks, and their quest of establishing a Communist Nation ruled by the people. The Duma, Russia's provisional government had already turned on the Tsar and had him abdicate. He and his family were taken to the Ural mountains and placed under house arrest. Most of the aristocracy and extended members of the Royal Family had already evacuated the nation, seeking asylum in other European States. By 1918 Russia was engaged in a civil war, pro monarchy versus communist supporters. The Bolsheviks won and proclaimed a Socialist State, the triumph of the proletariat, the workers of the world had at last destroyed oligarchy and aristocracy. Eventually the Royal Family was moved from house to house, before finally set up in Yekaterinburg, where they were murdered one morning by their Bolshevik captors. The execution order coming in directly from Lenin himself.
The story of Nicholas II, the man swept into leadership beyond his will, is a story of a man who was no more than a victim of his own upbringing and circumstance. He and his family are now saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. He goes to show that ignorance, whether you like it or not, could get you dead one day. May his life be a lesson to all.
Sources:
http://russianrulershistory.com/nicholas-ii-2-worst-russian-ruler/
http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/%E2%80%98bloody-sunday%E2%80%99-st-petersburgx
http://www.biography.com/people/nicholas-ii-21032713#decline-and-deathx
