The fall of the Romanov Dynasty
Claire Champion
Oral history Assessment
3/19/2002
The fall of the Romanov Dynasty
Many factors led to the dramatic and bloody fall of the Romanov dynasty. It is hard to distinguish between a reliable source and a biased one, in order to decide which of these factors held the most baring on the situation. One can generally say that the Tsar's incompetence, the poor living conditions of the Russian people, the collapse of formal control over rules and justice, and the peoples frustration with their never changing and stagnant situation, lead to the crumbling of the royal family which had ruled over Russia for over three hundred years. In order to come to a conclusion as to what actually happened in any given situation, one must be able to look at a variety of different sources and have the ability to link them all together in order to form a broad view rather than what one may call " fact."
Comments made my Nicholas II
(On becoming Tsar in 1894)
"What is going to happen to me...I am not prepared to be the Tsar. I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling. I have no idea even how to talk to ministers."
(In reply to a letter from his wife in 1916 urging him to be a strong ruler)
"-Tender thanks for the severe written scholding. Your poor little weak-willed hubby."
(A declaration made in 1916 when things were going badly for Russia in the First World War)
" The day of my coronation I took my oath to absolute power. I must leave this oath intact to my son."
These sources describe two major qualities of Nicholas which where the roots of the problems in the government. Nicolas knew nothing about the ways that a country should be run. He didn't know public policies and he didn't know how to deal with officials. He was weak willed and disillusioned, completely out of touch with the desperate conditions that his people where forced to live in. We can also see that his wife had strong hold over the decisions that Nicholas made. He even referred to himself as "a poor little weak-willed" man. So not only is he a weak leader, but he is also easily influenced by other people who know nothing about ruling a nation. As we will also see later on, another man who knows nothing about the formal ways of conducting politics, Rasputin, ends up controlling both the Tsar and Tsarina.
It is very clear that these sources are extremely reliable. There is nothing more true than one's opinion about oneself. And if Nicholas had no faith in his own abilities, then what justified faith could he have in Russia? This lack of faith in himself would also leave him open to be manipulated by others who where emotionally close to Nicholas, rather than those who had sound political advice.
Nicholas was unwise in admitting his incompetence, even to his wife. A ruler who shows his weakness will never last long, because his enemies will see his ...
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It is very clear that these sources are extremely reliable. There is nothing more true than one's opinion about oneself. And if Nicholas had no faith in his own abilities, then what justified faith could he have in Russia? This lack of faith in himself would also leave him open to be manipulated by others who where emotionally close to Nicholas, rather than those who had sound political advice.
Nicholas was unwise in admitting his incompetence, even to his wife. A ruler who shows his weakness will never last long, because his enemies will see his faults and pry at them until he falls, as Nicholas was doomed to do so. A man cannot skillfully make a decision if he lacks faith in his own political abilities. His political lack will cause him to tap into other resources such as personal emotions and views on which to base his decisions. These choices in how the land must be ruled will serve him alone, rather than meet the needs of his people on a more universal plane.
The last comment made by Nicholas; "I must pass this oath onto my son" shows his aristocracy and stubbornness. Despite his lack of faith in his political knowledge, Nicholas has an abundance of faith that he has the god given right to rule. Because of this belief, he is to set in his ways to make changes that would benefit his country. His own image as Tsar is more important than feeding his people. These beliefs foreshadow many other decisions that Nicholas will make based on tradition rather than social and economic benefit. The Russian/ Japanese war was fought in order to make Nicholas seem like a strong king, despite the thousands of Russian people who where dying for this positive gain of image. Again, this war was fought for the soul reason to boost public opinion to benefit Nicholas only. He could not comprehend that he was killing innocent men in order to feed his wilting ego.
Times where changing and Nicolas was not able to accept that he must also make changes in order to keep up with the rest of Europe. He based law making and ruling on the past rather than on the present situations. This would be another cause of the fall of the Romanov dynasty.
Because Nicholas's lack of political knowledge and stubbornness to change was the root of the problems facing Russia in the beginning of the 20th century, a researcher could gain no better opinion and knowledge of the Tsar than from the Tsar himself.
A king has no nation without its people. The ordinary man can combine his efforts with those like him creating manpower that is enough to overthrow any institution. As Nicholas continued his refusal in making significant changes to the way he ruled over Russia, his public opinion continued to dwindle. The Russian people where forced to do something; they starved from absence of food and froze in the harsh Russian winters due to lack of fuel for fire. In a last peaceful and desperate plea, the people rallied and wrote a petition demanding Nicholas to end their suffering:
"We working men and inhabitants of St Petersburg...have come to you, our ruler, in a quest of justice and protection. We have become beggars, we have been oppressed. We are treated as slaves...do not refuse assistance to your people...end the oppressive behavior of your officials towards them. Destroy the walls between yourself and your people...we have only two ways, towards liberty and happiness, or into the grave."
This source depicts the overall public opinion of the people, and the conditions they where forced to face every day. They where on the verge of death and they where desperate for change. The people also believed that Nicholas would find pity and grant them their wish. The fact that a huge amount of people backed this petition in a rally in St Petersburg meant that this source is reliable. It is a truthful interpretation of the fact that every ordinary person expected the Tsar to finally start making some changes. In response to this peaceful rally, thousands of people where shot as they reached the winter palace in what became known as "Bloody Sunday." The people where shocked that "the little father" could treat them this way. Bloody Sunday was the beginning of the hatred for the Tsar, and was responsible for the disbelief in royalty altogether. The people became ripe for revolution.
If this represents the feelings of the people, and people form the masses that spark and perpetuate revolution, then a researcher can be sure that this source does a good job in representing a major factor that contributed to the downfall of the Romanoff Dynasty.
Rasputin was a holy man who mysteriously worked his way up through society to become perhaps the most influential man in the Russian court, besides the Tsar. He was credited in being able to cure Prince Alexi of his hemophilic bleedings. Because of this, the Tzarina believed he was sent from god and that he was an answer to all her prayers to save her son, the only heir to the throne of Russia. An Internet source describes the influence that Rasputin had on the Tsarina.
When Nicholas II went to lead his army during WWI, he left Alexandra in charge of Russian affairs. It was this time that Rasputin had the most influence on certain aspects of government. He basically was able to elect and dispose of officers whenever he felt like a change. The source quotes: "The fact that he was widely credited with being the dominant figure in the emperor's counsels...added to the growing mood of hysteria brought on by wartime defeats and privations. This fatally damaged the monarchy."
The nobility despised Rasputin immensely. They resented the power he had over the court and its decisions. They knew Rasputin not to be the holy man that Alexandra saw him to be, but as the dirty, immoral, charismatic and manipulative man he really was. He dirtied the name of the Russian royal family and further polluted the incompetence of the royal court. He elected more and more people who had no experience in ruling a country, which only plunged Russia into deeper economic and social despair, and perpetuated the hatred for the Tsar and Tsarina.
This source is an over all view of the life of Rasputin and his contribution to the decay of the Russian Monarchy. It is reliable because it was written based on extensive research into various other sources that reflected and represented Rasputin's life. When researching a topic, it is often timesaving and handy to use an overview as a basis of ones' knowledge, rather than analyze the importance of every individual opinion and perspective. This source takes into account more public views, aristocratic views, influences of Rasputin on the Tsarina and so on.
A textbook is used to describe the events of 1917 and how they where the last steps of the revolution. The people could take the starvation and oppression no longer. The strikes sprung up all over the nation and people refused to work until they where fed. People started to riot in the streets, looting stores for bare necessities. This was not uncommon in the past years of Russian history, but this time soldiers refused to shoot at the rioters. In fact, they joined them, after all, they where peasants themselves, they also starved and they also where freezing. There was no longer any way to control the revolution; the police force had dissolved itself into the masses of angry, spontaneous revolutionaries who could not be stopped.
The Duma decided to take over the government due to the lack of law and order, and because Nicholas was unable to make it back to St Petersburg, he had no choice but to accept his fate and abdicate his thrown. The Romanov Dynasty was no more.
Textbooks are made to summarize the important and key events of a situation and present them in a way which allows easy interpretation for all people. They are a valid and reliable source, and are good to use when trying to look at many smaller incidents that lead to one major effect, like all the events of 1917.
Trotsky wrote, " the dynasty fell by shaking, like rotten fruit." The Russian revolution was due to the slow rotting of the outdated system of an absolute monarchy. Nicholas's lack of understanding and adverse to change would cause his ultimate decline, and catapult Russia into deep economic, social and political changes which would continue to effect the way people believed the world should be run. The interpretation of sources and their linking to each other have allowed us to shape history to be an honest representation of these such past realities.
