history tsardom

• Tsar Nicholas II


  The last Tsar of Russia, part of the Romanov royal family that had ruled the nation since 1613
• Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia

  1894-1917
• Tsar Nicholas II


  • An autocrat with absolute power to do what he wanted
  • Relied on the aristocracy, Okhrana (secret police), the army, and the Russian Orthodox Church to rule Russia
• Tsar Nicholas II's rule of Russia was problematic for 5 main reasons
• Tsar Nicholas II faced 5 main problems as the ruler of Russia
• How Tsar Nicholas I dealt with opposition to his rule

  1. Used the Okhrana (secret police) to spy on suspected revolutionaries

  2. Prosecuted revolutionaries and terrorists in court, with many executed publicly

  3. Censored books and newspapers

  4. Used the army to crush protesters during uprisings

  5. Targeted groups such as the foreign intelligentsia
• Tsar Nicholas II's government


  • Failed to improve the lives of ordinary citizens and failed to reform
  • Russia was humiliated by defeat in the Russo-Japanese War
  • Russia did very badly during World War I
  • There were several revolutions against his rule, leading to his abdication in 1917
  • He was eventually executed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War
• Tsar Nicholas II's government had 4 main successes
• Tsar Nicholas II's government failed in 5 key ways
• Tsar Nicholas II died

  July 17, 1918
• The Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family by firing squad, and their bodies were disposed of down a well
• Tsarist police state


  How the tsars, like Nicholas II, ruled Russia. They used the police, the law, the courts and censorship to control the people.
• Role of censorship in the tsarist police state

  The tsarist government banned radical ideas from being printed. All books and newspapers were censored.
• Okhrana's role in the tsarist police state

  The Okhrana were the state secret police. They spied on people suspected of being revolutionaries or opposed to the regime.
• Punishment for opposing the tsar in the tsarist police state

  People accused of opposing the tsarist regime were put in prison, exiled to Siberia, or executed.
• Political opposition to Tsar Nicholas II

  Growing throughout the 1800s and early 1900s although political parties were illegal until October 1906
• Reasons for political opposition to Tsar Nicholas II

  • Some groups wanted to limit the power of Nicholas II
  • Some wanted radical change and to completely remove Nicholas II from power
  • Most groups wanted to see reforms brought in to improve the social, economic, and political conditions in Russia
• Groups that opposed Tsar Nicholas II

  • Liberal opposition (the Kadets and the Octobrists)
  • Socialist Revolutionary Party
  • Social Democratic Party
• Why the Social Democratic Party opposed Tsar Nicholas II

  • Believed in communism and the ideas of Karl Marx
  • Wanted a revolution to get rid of Nicholas II and the tsarist government
  • Believed in giving power to the workers
  • Wanted to establish a communist state
  • In 1903 they split into the moderate Mensheviks and the more revolutionary Bolsheviks
• Why the Socialist Revolutionary Party opposed Tsar Nicholas II


  • Wanted to end the tsarist regime
  • Some believed in using terrorism to achieve this and assassinated Tsar Alexander II in 1861
  • Others believed in working with other political groups to improve working and living conditions
• Why the Liberals opposed Tsar Nicholas II

  Some groups such as the Kadets wanted a constitutional government in which the tsar remained as the head of state, but his power was to be limited by a constitution, and there would be a democratically elected government