Rule of Nicholas II 1894-1905

• Nicholas II

  nicholas II was the shy and sensitive son of overbearing and bullying father who scorned him as ‘girlie’. He became tsar in 1894 aged only 26 when his middle aged father, Alexander III suddenly died. Little had been done to prepare Nicholas to carry out his responsibilities as a ruler and he was ill at ease in the world of politics and administration. He was happiest in the company of his wife and five children whom he was devoted to.
• crisis of modernisation in the first 10 years of nicholas rule

  • total industrial output doubled in Nicholas II’s first 10 years
  • fast-paced urbanisation population in cities increased by 25%
  • strike action from the peasantry increased
  • serious peasant rioting in the fertile ‘black earth’ region
  • assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881 by the ‘peoples will’ terrorist organisation was followed by a ferocious government crackdown on radicals
  • 1902 the combat organisation launched an assassination campaign targeting senior government officials.
• Autocracy

  is a form of government in which one person possesses unlimited power
• Late 19th century Russia was the most autocratic state in Europe .

  • Russia did not have a constitution setting out what the tsar could or could not do
  • there was no parliament
  • no legal safeguards protecting the rights of individuals
  • governed on a day to day basis by ministers who were appointed by the tsar
• Orthodoxy

  refers to the Russian orthodox church and its role and status within the empire

  • firmly under state control
  • preached the need of obedience to the tsar’s authority

  by the end of the 19th century the churches value to the tsarist regime was diminishing
• Nationality

  made two key claims

  • the domination of the tsars multi-national Empire by Russia and Russians was an entirely right and proper state of affairs
  • Russia and Russians were unique, separated from western europe by language religion and culture. As a result, claimed supporters of Tsarism, liberal and socialist ideas had no place in Russia because they were not Russian
• The oppression of nationalities

  • In Poland and Baltic provinces the use of russian language in court and in school lessons became compulsory
  • The orthodox church was given money to support its efforts to convert non-russians to orthodoxy

  this aroused resentment within minorities and stimulated the growth of nationalism
• Russification

  • Was an attempt to impose Russia’s language, culture and Religion on the Empire’s non-Russian minorities.
  • It was implemented aggressively in those parts of the empire where nationalist feelings were strong
• Anti-semitism

  Anti-semitic prejudice was endemic in government circles and gave rise to harsh discriminatory policies

  Jews also had to contend with popular grassroot anti-semitism and pogroms.
• Pogroms

  organised attack on communities , in particular minority communities, which involves murder, assault and destruction of property. Governments may or may not be involved. The word pogrom derives from a russian word which means ‘to destroy’.
• The okhrana

  • Tsarism’s political police force
  • The role of the okhrana was to infiltrate and destroy revolutionary and terrorist networks.
  • small network - 1900 there were only 2,500 full time agents in the whole empire with 1/3 in St Petersburg
  • early 1900s the SRs and the SDs were riddled with Okhrana agents