Russification + Repression

• Nicholas continued the policies of his father and so received the same unpopularity that Alexander III had.
• Nicholas supported the "Black Hundreds" who were a right-wing, anti-Semitic organisation who attacked ethnic minorities and anyone who opposed the Tsar.
• The Okhrana continued to use repressive force.

  
  

  When there was open opposition such as when Cossacks attacked a crowd of St Petersburg students in 1901, killing 13 and arresting 1,500.
• Unrest continued in towns and rural areas.
• Arson in the countryside led to the years 1902-1907 being known as "the years of the red cockerel" due to the fires looking like the comb of a cockerel.