How did Nicholas II rule Russia?

Aim: To identify how Nicholas II ruled over Russia.

Recap:
1. What does the cartoon
suggest about the nature of
rule in Tsarist Russia?

2. What do you think the

designers is suggesting about
this rule?

Designed by Nicolas Lokhoff this

cartoon depicts workers
supporting the pyramid on their
backs, with the stanza: "The time
will come when the people in their
fury will straighten their bent
backs and bring down the
structure with one mighty push of
their shoulders."
 The Romanovs

The Romanov family ruled over

Russia for over 300 years. The first
Romanov ruler, Mikhail, came to the
throne aged just 16 in 1617. He was
chosen by nobles in Russia after a
crisis that left the throne open.

He is said to have burst into tears

when offered the throne due to the
fear he had. The nobles were
consulted on every major decision
and helped in running the country.
 The Romanovs

The Romanovs were able to keep control due to a series of powerful and
effective rulers who helped Russia grow and become a major European
power.

Peter the Great,

1682-1725 Catherine the Great, Alexander I, 1801-
1762-1796 1825

Autocratic rule: A government in which one person

possesses unlimited power.
 The Romanovs and their 19th century dilemma.

Option 1:
Russia should reform its economy and
government and become more like Britain
- a constitutional monarchy
Option 2:
Russia should stay different and
continue to be ruled by the complete
authority of their ‘Little Father’ the
Tsar.

● Nicholas II’s grandfather

● When he came to the throne Russia had been
badly defeated in the Crimean War and was far
from being modern.
● He took the route of reform - Emancipation of
the Serfs, 1861
● Set up zemstva (elected local councils)
● Reformed the army
● Reformed law courts and cut back on censorship

Alexander II, 1855-81

People’s Will - attempted to assassinate him in 1865
which slowed his reforms
- Assassinated in 1881
 The Romanovs and their 19th century dilemma.

Option 1:
Russia should reform its economy and
government and become more like Britain
- a constitutional monarchy
Option 2:
Russia should stay different and
continue to be ruled by the complete
authority of their ‘Little Father’ the
Tsar.

- Alexander II’s son and Nicholas’ father.

- Reversed many of the reforms of his
father
- Women barred from Universities
- Censorship increased
- Policy of ‘Russification’
- Set up the Okhrana - secret police

Alexander III, 1881-94 Ruled through his strong and authoritative

personality.
 Who was Tsar Nicholas II?

● Tsar Nicholas II was the last of the

Romanov dynasty who had ruled Russia
since 1613.
● Tsar Nicholas himself was related to
royalty around Europe being related to
both George V King of England and Kaiser
Wilhelm ruler of Germany.

But what was he like?

Read through the sources and answer the following:

1. What points emerge from the sources about Nicholas II as a man and
a ruler?
2. To what extent do they agree?
3. How reliable are they for the historian?
Challenge:
1. How useful would source 1.11 be for a Historian trying to understand Nicholas II’s
suitability for the throne?
 Who was Tsar Nicholas II?

1. What points emerge from the sources about Nicholas II as a man

and a ruler?
2. To what extent do they agree?
3. How reliable are they for the historian?

➔ He was seen as a lot weaker than his father, At age 26 he came

to the throne and has been described as appearing to be ‘’frail,
small’’ and ‘’insignificant’’
➔ He was an ineffective ruler - he did not understand his people and
supported the oppression of workers
➔ Seen as prejudiced and lacking ambition
➔ Lieven disagrees - he was Nicholas as being conflicted and naive -
anyone in his position would have been the same
➔ Need to consider their political views - this affects how they see
Nicholas and the situation in Russia
 Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality - How was Russia
Governed?
What would you regard as the main weakness of the pre 1905
Russian system of government? To what extent was Nicholas
responsible for this?

Autocracy Orthodoxy Nationality

➔ Nicholas II was ➔ Russian Orthodox ➔ Russians had built the

committed to Church - religion of the Empire and so they
autocracy and Tsars and the wing of should control it.
believed this was the the tsarist regime ➔ Russians were unique
will of God. ➔ The Church was under to other people in
➔ Russia had no state control and run Western Europe -
constitution, no by a government liberal and socialist
parliament and no department - preached ideas had no place in
legal safeguards for obedience to the Tsar Russia because they
people. ➔ End of 19th century were not Russian.
➔ Russia was governed the Church was ➔ Russification - actually
by ministers appointed declining in reputation stimulated growth of
and accountable to the nationalism in other
Tsar. nationalities.
 Nicholas II’s coronation

Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna (his

wife) were crowned on 14th May 1896.

Nicholas hoped to use this as a way of

highlighting his authority but also show
himself as a caring ruler.

He planned a party for his subjects in

Khodynka Field in Moscow. There he would
provide food and gifts in celebration of his
coronation.

As rumours spread about these gifts a

crowd grew in anticipation - desperate to
receive the food that was on offer (a bread
roll, sausage, biscuits). Around 500,000
people are thought to have gathered.

With only 1,800 police officers on duty they

were unable to keep order. There was a
crush as people rushed to get the gifts and
over 1,200 people were killed. It is
estimated that up to 20,000 people were
injured.
 How did Nicholas II use fear to keep control?
Aim: to identify the ways the Tsar treated religious minorities and
used the Okhrana.

Task:
1. What were the key ideas that
define how Nicholas II ruled
Russia?

2. As we watch the video think about

what it tells us about the way Nicholas
is remembered by the Orthodox church
today?
 How did Nicholas II treat Jews?

The New York Times described the First Kishinev pogrom Task:
of Easter, 1903
Read this source and answer
The anti-Jewish riots in Kishinev, Bessarabia [modern the following questions:
Moldova], are worse than the censor will permit to publish. 1. What does this source
There was a well laid-out plan for the general massacre of
Jews on the day following the Orthodox Easter. The mob was
suggest about the Jewish
led by priests, and the general cry, "Kill the Jews", was taken experience of life under
up all over the city. The Jews were taken wholly unaware and Nicholas II?
were slaughtered like sheep. The dead number 120 [Note: the
actual number of dead was 47–48] and the injured about 500.
The scenes of horror attending this massacre are beyond
2. How far do you think
description. Babies were literally torn to pieces by the Nicholas is to blame for this
frenzied and bloodthirsty mob. The local police made no violence?
attempt to check the reign of terror. At sunset the streets
were piled with corpses and wounded. Those who could make
their escape fled in terror, and the city is now practically
3. How useful is this source for
deserted of Jews. an historian looking to find out
about life under Nicholas II?
Pogrom: From the Russian word to
‘destroy’. An organised attack on
specific communities including murder,
assault and destruction of property.
 How did Nicholas II treat Jews? - Policies

1905 - ‘Nine tenths

of the trouble
makers are Jewish’

Pogroms - Attacks The Pale - Jews

of Jewish unable to live in
communities Russia.
Nicholas II and
antisemitism

Protocols of the Elders

Policies of Nicholas
of Zion - Document
II - Jews banned
written by Russia’s
from owning land,
secret police in 1902
running schools and
outlining a Jewish plan
publishing in Hebrew
to take over the world
 The Okhrana

The Tsar's will was enforced by a large police

system that would report suspicious behaviour
and destroy subversive groups:

● the secret police had a vital role in

identifying and spying on enemies
● they had the power to arrest potential
threats as required.
● agents of the Okhrana worked
undercover, infiltrating groups that
might present a danger to the Tsar
● their methods included torture and
murder

Okhrana: Secret Police in Imperial Russia - V

ideo & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
 The Okhrana

“Like many other espionage agencies, the secrecy Task:

surrounding the Okhrana meant that it has been the 1. How does this source suggest
subject of rumour, exaggeration and myth. It was
frequently referred to by the totalitarian school as a we should view the Okhrana?
prototype of the all-seeing Big Brother police system,
and yet the Okhrana was a relatively small organisation, 2. Why might the Okhrana still be
with only a few thousand employees in a country of 140 an extremely powerful organisation
million people. It has been cited both as one of the
principal causes of the revolution and as the pillar of in stopping opposition to the Tsar?
Russian reaction. Many have presented the Okhrana as
evidence of the anachronistic and backward nature of
the late imperial regime, yet it was a technological and
methodological innovator in the arts of political control
and surveillance.”
Ian D. Thatcher, Historian of the Russian
Revolution

Okhrana: Secret Police in Imperial Russia - V

ideo & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
Has that much really changed?