On the reforms of Nicholas II I quote from the book "Emperor Nicholas II and Fate" by Alfred Mirek Orthodox Russia."
In the second half of the 19th century in Russia there was a progressive desire monarchical power to reform in all areas government activities, which leads to rapid economic prosperity and growth in the country’s prosperity. The last three Emperors - Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II - with their mighty hands and great royal mind they raised the country to unprecedented heights.
I will not touch on the results of the reforms of Alexander II and Alexander III here, but will immediately focus on the achievements of Nicholas II. By 1913, industry and agriculture had reached such high levels that the Soviet economy was only able to reach them decades later. And some indicators were exceeded only in the 70-80s. For example, the power supply of the USSR reached pre-revolutionary levels only in the 1970-1980s. And in some areas, such as grain production, it has not caught up with Nikolaev Russia. The reason for this rise was the powerful transformations carried out by Emperor Nicholas II in various areas of the country.
Trans-Siberian Railway
Siberia, although rich, was a remote and inaccessible region of Russia; criminals, both criminal and political, were exiled there, as if in a huge sack. However Russian government, ardently supported by the merchants and industrialists, understood that this was a huge storehouse of inexhaustible natural resources, but, unfortunately, very difficult to master without a well-established transport system. The very need for the project has been discussed for more than ten years.
Alexander III instructed his son, Tsarevich Nicholas, to lay the first, Ussuri section of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Alexander III showed serious confidence in his Heir by appointing him chairman of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. At that time it was, perhaps, the most voluminous, difficult and responsible state. a business that was under the direct leadership and control of Nicholas II, which he began as Tsarevich and successfully continued throughout his reign. The Trans-Siberian Railway could rightfully be called the “Construction Site of the Century” not only at the Russian, but also at the international level.
The Imperial House jealously ensured that construction was carried out by Russian people and with Russian money. Railway terminology was introduced mainly in Russian: “crossing”, “path”, “locomotive”. December 21, 1901 began labor movement by Trans-Siberian Railway. The cities of Siberia began to develop quickly: Omsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok. Over the course of 10 years, thanks to the far-sighted policy of Nicholas II, and the implementation of the reforms of Pyotr Stolypin, and due to the opportunities opened up with the advent of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the population here has increased sharply. The enormous riches of Siberia became available for development, which strengthened the economic and military power Empire.
The Trans-Siberian Railway is still the most powerful transport artery modern Russia.
In 1897, under the Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte, an extremely important monetary reform was painlessly carried out - the transition to a gold currency, which strengthened the international financial position of Russia. Distinctive feature this financial reform from all modern ones was that no segments of the population suffered financial losses. Witte wrote: “Russia owes its metallic gold circulation exclusively to Emperor Nicholas II.” As a result of reforms, Russia received its own strong convertible currency, which took leading position on the global foreign exchange market, which has opened up enormous prospects for economic development countries.
The Hague Conference
During his reign, Nicholas II paid a lot of attention to the defense capabilities of the army and navy. He constantly took care of improving the entire complex of equipment and weapons for the rank and file - the basis of any army at that time.
When a new set of uniforms was created for the Russian army, Nikolai personally tried it out himself: he put it on and walked 20 versts (25 km) in it. Came back in the evening and approved the kit. A widespread rearmament of the army began, dramatically increasing the country's defense capability. Nicholas II loved and nurtured the army, living the same life with it. He did not raise his rank, remaining a colonel until the end of his life. And it was Nicholas II who, for the first time in the world, as the head of the strongest European power at that time, came up with peaceful initiatives to reduce and limit the armaments of the main world powers.
On August 12, 1898, the Emperor issued a note that, as the newspapers wrote, “will amount to the glory of the Tsar and His reign.” Greatest historical date was the day of August 15, 1898, when the young thirty-year-old All-Russian Emperor own initiative appealed to the whole world with a proposal to convene international conference to put a limit to the growth of armaments and prevent the outbreak of war in the future. However, at first this proposal was received with caution by world powers and did not receive much support. The Hague, the capital of neutral Holland, was chosen as its convening place.
Push: “here, between the lines, I would like to recall an excerpt from the memoirs of Gilliard, to whom, during long intimate conversations, Nicholas II once said: “Oh, if only we could manage without diplomats! On this day, humanity would achieve great success."
In December 1898, the Tsar made his second, more specific, constructive proposal. It must be emphasized that 30 years later, at the disarmament conference convened in Geneva by the League of Nations, created after World War I, the same issues were repeated and discussed as in 1898-1899.
The Hague Peace Conference met from May 6 to July 17, 1899. A number of conventions have been adopted, including the Convention on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes through Mediation and Arbitration. The fruit of this convention was the establishment of the Hague International Court, which is still in force today. The 2nd conference in The Hague met in 1907, also on the initiative of the Sovereign Emperor of Russia. The 13 conventions adopted there on the laws and customs of war on land and sea had great value, and some of them are still in effect.
On the basis of these 2 conferences, the League of Nations was created in 1919, the purpose of which is to develop cooperation between peoples and guarantee peace and security. Those who created the League of Nations and organized the disarmament conference could not help but admit that the first initiative undoubtedly belonged to Emperor Nicholas II, and neither war nor revolution of our time could erase this from the pages of history.
Reform agriculture
Emperor Nicholas II, caring with all his soul for the well-being of the Russian people, most of which was made up of the peasantry, gave instructions to the outstanding state. Russian leader, Minister P.A. Stolypin, to make proposals for carrying out agrarian reform in Russia. Stolypin made a proposal to carry out a number of important government reforms aimed at the benefit of the people. All of them were warmly supported by the Emperor. The most important of them was the famous agrarian reform, which began by royal decree on November 9, 1906. THE ESSENCE OF THE REFORM - translation peasant farm from a low-profit community to a more productive private path. And this was not done forcibly, but voluntarily. Peasants could now allocate their own personal plot in the community and dispose of it at their own discretion. Everything was returned to them social rights and complete personal independence from the community in the management of their affairs was guaranteed. The reform helped to include in agricultural turnover large areas undeveloped and abandoned land plots. It should also be noted that peasants received equal civil rights with the entire population of Russia.
His premature death at the hands of a terrorist on September 1, 1911 prevented Stolypin from completing his reforms. The murder of Stolypin took place before the eyes of the Sovereign, and His Majesty showed the same courage and fearlessness as his August grandfather Emperor Alexander II at the time of the villainous attempt on his life. The fatal shot thundered in Kievsky opera house, during a gala performance. To stop the panic, the orchestra played the national anthem, and the Emperor, approaching the barrier of the royal box, stood in full view of everyone, as if showing that he was here at his post. So he stood - although many feared a new assassination attempt - until the sounds of the anthem ceased. It is symbolic that on this fateful evening M. Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” was performed.
The Emperor's courage and will were also evident in the fact that, despite the death of Stolypin, he continued to implement the main ideas of the illustrious minister. When the reform began to work and began to gain national momentum, the production of agricultural products in Russia sharply increased, prices stabilized, and the growth rate of the people's wealth was significantly higher than in other countries. In terms of the growth of national property per capita by 1913, Russia was in third place in the world.
Despite the fact that the outbreak of the war slowed down the progress of reforms, by the time V.I. Lenin proclaimed his famous slogan “Land to the peasants!”, 75% of the Russian peasantry already owned land. After the October revolution, the reform was canceled, the peasants completely lost their land - it was nationalized, then the cattle were expropriated. About 2 million wealthy farmers (“kulaks”) were exterminated by entire families, mostly in Siberian exiles. The rest were driven into collective farms and deprived civil rights and freedom. They were deprived of the right to move to other places of residence, i.e. found themselves in the position of serf peasants under Soviet rule. The Bolsheviks de-peasated the country, and to this day in Russia the level of agricultural production is not only significantly lower than it was after the Stolypin reform, but even lower than before the reform.
Church transformations
Among the enormous merits of Nicholas II in a variety of state areas His exceptional services in matters of religion occupy a prominent place. They are connected with the main commandment for every citizen of his homeland, his people to honor and preserve his historical and spiritual heritage. Orthodoxy spiritually and morally strengthened the national and state principles of Russia; for Russian people it was more than just a religion, it was a deep spiritual and moral basis of life. Russian Orthodoxy developed as a living faith, consisting of unity religious feeling and activities. It was not only a religious system, but also a state of mind - a spiritual and moral movement towards God, which included all aspects of the life of a Russian person - state, public and personal. The church activities of Nicholas II were very broad and covered all aspects of church life. As never before, during the reign of Nicholas II, spiritual eldership and pilgrimage became widespread. The number of churches built increased. The number of monasteries and monastics in them increased. If at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II there were 774 monasteries, then in 1912 there were 1005. During his reign, Russia continued to be decorated with monasteries and churches. A comparison of statistics for 1894 and 1912 shows that in 18 years 211 new men's and convents and 7,546 new churches, not counting a large number of new chapels and houses of worship.
In addition, thanks to the generous donations of the Sovereign, during these same years, 17 Russian churches were built in many cities around the world, standing out for their beauty and becoming landmarks of the cities in which they were built.
Nicholas II was a true Christian, treating all shrines with care and reverence, making every effort to preserve them for posterity for all times. Then, under the Bolsheviks, there was a total looting and destruction of temples, churches and monasteries. Moscow, which was called golden-domed due to the abundance of churches, lost most of its shrines. Many monasteries that created the unique flavor of the capital disappeared: Chudov, Spaso-Andronevsky (the gate bell tower was destroyed), Voznesensky, Sretensky, Nikolsky, Novo-Spassky and others. Some of them are being restored today with great effort, but these are only small fragments of noble beauties that once towered majestically above Moscow. Some monasteries were completely razed to the ground, and they were lost forever. Such damage Russian Orthodoxy never known in its almost thousand-year history.
The merit of Nicholas II is that that he applied all his spiritual strength, intelligence and talent, to revive the spiritual foundations of living faith and true Orthodoxy in the country, which was at that time the most powerful Orthodox power in the world. Nicholas II made great efforts to restore the unity of the Russian Church. April 17, 1905 on the eve of Easter, he issues a decree “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance,” which laid the foundation for overcoming one of the most tragic phenomena Russian history - church schism. After almost 50 years of desolation, the altars of Old Believer churches (sealed under Nicholas I) were opened and it was allowed to serve in them.
The Emperor, who knew the church charter very well, well understood, loved and appreciated church singing. Preserving the origins of it special way and its further development allowed Russian church singing to take one of the honorable places in the world musical culture. After one of the spiritual concerts Synodal Choir in the presence of the Sovereign, as archpriest Vasily Metallov, a researcher of the history of synodal schools, recalls, Nicholas II said: “The choir reached the very highest degree perfection, beyond which it is difficult to imagine that one can go."
In 1901, the Emperor ordered the organization of a committee of trusteeship of Russian icon painting. Its main tasks were formed as follows: to preserve in icon painting the fruitful influence of examples of Byzantine antiquity and Russian antiquity; to establish “active connections” between official church and folk icon painting. Under the leadership of the committee, manuals for icon painters were created. Icon painting schools were opened in Palekh, Mstera and Kholuy. In 1903 S.T. Bolshakov released the original icon painting; on page 1 of this unique publication, the author wrote words of gratitude to the Emperor for his sovereign patronage of Russian icon painting: “...We all hope to see a turn in modern Russian icon painting towards ancient, time-honored examples...”
Since December 1917, when the arrested Nicholas II was still alive, the leader of the world proletariat began reprisals against the clergy and the looting of churches (in Lenin’s terminology - “cleansing”), while icons and all church literature, including unique notes, were burned everywhere. bonfires near churches. This has been done for over 10 years. At the same time, many unique monuments of church singing disappeared without a trace.
Nicholas II's concerns for the Church of God extended far beyond the borders of Russia. Many churches in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Libya have one or another gift of martyrdom. Entire sets of expensive vestments, icons and liturgical books were donated, not to mention generous monetary subsidies for their maintenance. Most of the Jerusalem churches were maintained with Russian money, and the famous decorations of the Holy Sepulcher were gifts from the Russian Tsars.
The fight against drunkenness
In 1914, despite wartime, The Emperor decisively began to realize his long-standing dream - the eradication of drunkenness. For a long time Nikolai Alexandrovich was imbued with the conviction that drunkenness is a vice that is corroding the Russian people, and that duty Tsarist power to fight this vice. However, all his attempts in this direction met with stubborn resistance in the Council of Ministers, since income from the sale of alcoholic beverages amounted to main article budget - one fifth of the state. income. The main opponent of this event was the Minister of Finance V.N. Kokovtsev, who became P.A. Stolypin’s successor as Prime Minister after his tragic death in 1911. He believed that the introduction of Prohibition would deal a serious blow to the Russian budget. The Emperor deeply appreciated Kokovtsev, but, seeing his lack of understanding of this important problem, decided to break up with him. The efforts of the Monarch were consistent with the general popular opinion, who accepted the prohibition of alcoholic beverages as deliverance from sin. Only wartime conditions, which overturned all normal budgetary considerations, made it possible to carry out a measure that meant the state renounced the largest of its incomes.
Before 1914, no country had ever taken such a radical measure to combat alcoholism. It was a huge, unheard of experience. "Accept, Great Sovereign, bow to the ground of your people! Your people firmly believe that from now on there will be an end to the past misfortune!" - said the Chairman of the Duma Rodzianko. Thus, by the firm will of the Sovereign, an end was put to state speculation on the people's misfortune and the state foundations were laid for the further fight against drunkenness. The "lasting end" to drunkenness lasted until the October revolution. The beginning of the general drinking of the people began in October during the capture of the Winter Palace, when most of those who “stormed” the palace went to the wine cellars, and there they drank to such an extent that they had to carry the “heroes of the assault” up by their feet, and 6 people died. and there were all the losses that day. Subsequently, the revolutionary leaders drank the Red Army soldiers into unconsciousness, and then sent them to rob churches, shoot, smash and commit such inhuman sacrileges that people would not dare to do in a sober state. Drunkenness remains the most terrible thing to this day. Russian tragedy.
The material is taken from the book by Mirek Alfred “Emperor Nicholas II and the fate of Orthodox Russia. - M.: Spiritual Education, 2011. - 408 p.
§ 172. Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich (1894–1917)
In the very first months of his reign, the young sovereign expressed with particular force his intention to follow his father’s system in internal management state and promised to “protect the beginning of autocracy as firmly and steadily” as Alexander III guarded it. In politics external Nikolai II also wanted to follow the peace-loving spirit of his predecessor and in the first years of his reign not only did not deviate practically from the behests of Emperor Alexander III, but also put before all powers theoretical question about how diplomacy, through international discussion of the matter, could “put a limit to continuous armaments and find means to prevent the misfortunes that threaten the whole world.” The result of such an appeal by the Russian emperor to the powers was the convening of two “Hague Peace Conferences” in The Hague (1899 and 1907), main goal which was to find means for a peaceful solution to international conflicts and for a general limitation of armaments. This goal, however, was not achieved, because there was no agreement to end disarmament, and the constant international court was not established to resolve disputes. The conferences were limited to a number of private humane decisions on the laws and customs of war. They did not prevent any armed clashes and did not stop the development of so-called “militarism” with its enormous expenditures on military affairs.
Simultaneously with the work of the first Hague Conference, Russia was forced to take an active part in internal affairs China. It began with the fact that it prevented Japan from retaining the Liaodong Peninsula, which it had conquered from China, with the fortress of Port Arthur (1895). Then (1898) Russia itself leased Port Arthur with its region from China and ran one of the branches of its Siberian Railway there, and this made another Chinese region, Manchuria, through which the Russian railway passed, indirectly dependent on Russia. When the uprising began in China (the so-called “Boxers”, patriots, adherents of antiquity), Russian troops, together with the troops of other European powers, took part in its pacification, took Beijing (1900), and then openly occupied Manchuria (1902). At the same time, the Russian government turned its attention to Korea and found it possible to occupy some points in Korea for its military and trade purposes. But Korea has long been an object of desire for Japan. Affected by the transfer of Port Arthur to Russian possession and concerned about Russia's assertion in the Chinese regions, Japan did not consider it possible to give up its dominance in Korea. She opposed Russia and, after lengthy diplomatic negotiations, started a war with Russia (January 26, 1904).
The war dealt a sensitive blow to Russia's political prestige and showed its weakness military organization. Became before the government difficult task revival of the naval power of the state. It seemed that this would require a long time and that Russia would not be able to take an active part in the international political life. Under this assumption, the central European powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary, became less shy towards Russia. They had many reasons to interfere in the affairs of the Balkan Peninsula, where there were wars between the Balkan states with Turkey and among themselves. The main pressure was exerted by Austria-Hungary on Serbia, intending to subordinate this state to its full influence. In 1914, the Austrian government delivered an ultimatum to Serbia that encroached on the political independence of the Serbian kingdom. Russia stood up, against the expectations of Austria and Germany, for the friendly Serbian people and mobilized the army. At this, Germany, followed by Austria, declared war on Russia, and with it, at the same time, France, its longtime ally. Thus began (in July 1914) that terrifying war that engulfed, one might say, the whole world. The reign of Emperor Nicholas II, despite the peace-loving statements of the monarch, was overshadowed by extraordinary military thunderstorms and difficult trials in the form of military defeats and the loss of state areas.
In the internal administration of the state, Emperor Nicholas II considered it possible and desirable to adhere to the same principles on which the protective policy of his father rested. But the policy of Alexander III had its explanation in the troubled circumstances of 1881 (§170); its goal was to combat sedition and restore public order and calming society. When Emperor Nicholas came into power, order was strengthened, and there was no talk of revolutionary terror. But life brought to the fore new tasks that required special effort authorities. Crop failure and famine, in 1891–1892. striking the agricultural regions of the state with extreme force, discovered an undoubted general decline people's well-being and the failure of those measures with which until then the government had thought to improve class life (§171). In the most grain-producing regions, the peasantry, due to scarcity of land and lack of livestock, could not support land management, had no reserves and at the first crop failure suffered hunger and poverty. In factories and factories, workers were dependent on entrepreneurs who were not sufficiently limited by law in the exploitation of labor. Suffering masses, revealed with extraordinary clarity in the hungry year of 1891–1892, caused big movement in Russian society. Beyond sympathy and financial assistance starving people, zemstvos and the intelligentsia tried to raise before the government the question of the need to change general order management and from the bureaucracy, powerless to prevent the ruin of the people, to move to unity with the zemstvos. Some zemstvo assemblies, taking advantage of the change in reign, in the first days of the power of Emperor Nicholas II turned to him with the appropriate addresses. However, they received a negative answer, and the government remained on its previous path of protecting the autocratic system with the help of bureaucracy and police repression.
The sharply expressed protective direction of power was in such a clear discrepancy with the glaring needs of the population and the mood of the intelligentsia that the emergence of opposition and revolutionary movements was inevitable. In recent years XIX century, protests began against the government of student youth in the highest educational institutions and labor unrest and strikes in factory districts. The growth of public discontent caused increased repression, aimed not only at those exposed in the movement, but also at the entire society, at the zemstvos and at the press. However, repression did not prevent education secret societies and preparation of further speeches. Failures in Japanese war gave the final impetus to public discontent, and it resulted in a number of revolutionary outbreaks. [Cm. Russian Revolution 1905-07.] Demonstrations were organized in cities, strikes in factories; political murders began (Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Minister Plehve). A demonstration of unprecedented size took place in Petrograd on January 9, 1905: masses of workers converged on Winter Palace with a petition to the king and were dispersed using firearms. With this manifestation, an open revolutionary crisis began. The government made some concessions and expressed its readiness to create a legislative and advisory people's representation. However, this no longer satisfied the people: in the summer there were agrarian unrest and a number of uprisings in the fleet (Black Sea and Baltic), and in the fall (October) a general political strike began, stopping right life countries (railroads, post office, telegraph, water pipes, trams). Under the pressure of unusual events, Emperor Nicholas II issued a manifesto on October 17, 1905, which granted the population the unshakable foundations of civil freedom on the basis of actual personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions; at the same time, there was a promise of broad development of the beginning of the common voting rights and an unshakable rule was established so that no law could take effect without the approval of the State Duma and that those elected by the people were provided with the opportunity to truly participate in overseeing the regularity of government actions.
Nicholas II is the last Russian emperor. It was here that the three-hundred-year history of the rule of Russia by the House of Romanov ended. He was the eldest son of the imperial couple Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna Romanov.
After tragic death grandfather - Alexander II, Nikolai Alexandrovich officially became the heir to the Russian throne. Already in childhood he was distinguished by great religiosity. Nicholas's relatives noted that the future emperor had “a soul as pure as crystal, and passionately loving everyone.”
He himself loved to go to church and pray. He really liked to light and place candles in front of the images. The Tsarevich watched the process very carefully and, as the candles burned, he extinguished them and tried to do this so that the cinder smoked as little as possible.
During the service, Nikolai loved to sing along with the church choir, knew a lot of prayers, and had certain musical skills. The future Russian emperor grew up as a thoughtful and shy boy. At the same time, he was always persistent and firm in his views and beliefs.
Despite his childhood, even then Nicholas II was characterized by self-control. It happened that during games with the boys, some misunderstandings arose. In order not to say too much in a fit of anger, Nicholas II simply went to his room and took up his books. Having calmed down, he returned to his friends and to the game, as if nothing had happened before.
He paid a lot of attention to his son's education. Nicholas II studied various sciences for a long time. Special significance devoted to military affairs. Nikolai Alexandrovich attended military training more than once, then served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment.
Military affairs was a great passion of Nicholas II. Alexander III, as his son grew older, took him to meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers. Nikolai felt great responsibility.
A sense of responsibility for the country forced Nikolai to study hard. Future Emperor did not part with the book, and also mastered a complex of political-economic, legal and military sciences.
Soon Nikolai Alexandrovich went on a trip around the world. In 1891 he traveled to Japan, where he visited the monk Terakuto. The monk predicted: “Danger hovers over your head, but death will recede, and the cane will be stronger than the sword. And the cane will shine with brilliance..."
After some time, an attempt was made on the life of Nicholas II in Kyoto. A Japanese fanatic hit the heir to the Russian throne on the head with a saber, the blade slipped, and Nicholas escaped with only a cut. Immediately, George (the Greek prince who traveled with Nicholas) hit the Japanese with his cane. The Emperor was saved. Terakuto's prophecy came true, the cane also began to shine. Alexander III asked George to borrow it for a while, and soon returned it to him, but already in a gold frame with diamonds...
In 1891, there was a crop failure in the Russian Empire. Nicholas II headed the committee to collect donations for the hungry. He saw people's grief and worked tirelessly to help his people.
In the spring of 1894, Nicholas II received the blessing of his parents to marry Alice of Hesse - Darmstadt ( future Empress Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova). Alice's arrival in Russia coincided with the illness of Alexander III. Soon the Emperor died. During his illness, Nikolai never left his father’s side. Alice converted to Orthodoxy and was named Alexandra Fedorovna. Then the wedding ceremony of Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov and Alexandra Feodorovna took place, which took place in the church of the Winter Palace.
Nicholas II was crowned king on May 14, 1896. After the wedding, a tragedy occurred, where thousands of Muscovites came. There was a huge stampede, many people died, many were injured. This event went down in history under the name “Bloody Sunday”.
One of the first things Nicholas II did on the throne was to appeal to all the leading powers of the world. The Russian Tsar proposed to reduce armaments and create an arbitration court, in order to avoid major conflicts. A conference was convened in The Hague, at which it was adopted general principle resolution of international conflicts.
One day the emperor asked the chief of gendarmes when the revolution would break out. The chief gendarme replied that if 50 thousand executions were carried out, then the revolution could be forgotten. Nikolai Alexandrovich was shocked by this statement and rejected it with horror. This testifies to his humanity, to the fact that in his life he was motivated only by truly Christian motives.
During the reign of Nicholas II, about four thousand people ended up on the chopping block. Criminals who committed especially serious crimes - murders, robberies - were executed. There was no one's blood on his hands. These criminals were punished by the same law that punishes criminals throughout the civilized world.
Nicholas II often applied humanity to revolutionaries. There was a case when the bride of a student sentenced to death penalty because of revolutionary activities, she submitted a petition to Nikolai Alexandrovich’s adjutant to pardon the groom, due to the fact that he was sick with tuberculosis and would soon die anyway. The execution of the sentence was scheduled for the next day...
The adjutant had to show great courage, asking to call the sovereign from the bedroom. After listening, Nicholas II ordered the sentence to be suspended. The emperor praised the adjutant for his courage and for helping the sovereign do a good deed. Nikolai Alexandrovich not only pardoned the student, but also sent him with his personal money for treatment in Crimea.
I will give another example of the humanity of Nicholas II. One Jewish woman did not have the right to enter the capital of the empire. She had a sick son living in St. Petersburg. Then she turned to the sovereign, and he granted her request. “There cannot be a law that would not allow a mother to come to her sick son,” said Nikolai Alexandrovich.
The last Russian Emperor was a true Christian. He was characterized by meekness, modesty, simplicity, kindness... Many perceived these qualities of his as a weakness of character. Which was far from true.
Under Nicholas II, the Russian Empire developed dynamically. During his reign, several vital reforms were carried out. Witte's monetary reform. promised to delay the revolution for a long time, and was generally very progressive.
Also, under Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, a State Duma appeared in Russia, although, of course, this measure was forced. The economic and industrial development of the country under Nicholas II occurred by leaps and bounds. He was very scrupulous about state affairs. He himself constantly worked with all the papers, and did not have a secretary. The sovereign even stamped the envelopes with his own hand.
Nikolai Alexandrovich was an exemplary family man - the father of four daughters and one son. Grand Duchesses: Doted on their father. Special relationship Nicholas II had s. The Emperor took him to military parades, and during the First World War, he took him with him to Headquarters.
Nicholas II was born on the day of remembrance of the holy long-suffering Job. Nikolai Alexandrovich himself said more than once that he was destined to suffer all his life, like Job. And so it happened. The Emperor had a chance to survive revolutions, the war with Japan, the First World War, the illness of his heir - Tsarevich Alexei, the death of loyal subjects - civil servants at the hands of terrorist revolutionaries.
Mine earthly path Nikolai graduated with his family in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. The family of Nicholas II was brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918. In post-Soviet times, members Imperial family were canonized as saints of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Nikolay 2 – last emperor Russian Empire (May 18, 1868 - July 17, 1918). Received an excellent education, owned several foreign languages perfectly, rose to the rank of colonel in the Russian army, as well as admiral of the fleet and field marshal of the British army. Became emperor after sudden death father - the accession to the throne of Nicholas 2, when Nicholas was only 26.
Brief biography of Nicholas 2
From childhood, Nicholas was trained as a future ruler - he was engaged in a deep study of economics, geography, politics and languages. Achieved great success in military affairs, which he had a penchant for. In 1894, just a month after his father’s death, he married the German princess Alice of Hesse (Alexandra Fedorovna). Two years later (May 26, 1896) the official coronation of Nicholas 2 and his wife took place. The coronation took place in an atmosphere of mourning, in addition, due to huge amount Those wishing to attend the ceremony, many people died in the stampede.
Children of Nicholas 2: daughters Olga (November 3, 1895), Tatyana (May 29, 1897), Maria (June 14, 1899) and Anastasia (June 5, 1901), as well as son Alexey (August 2, 1904 .). Despite the fact that the boy was found serious illness– hemophilia (incoagulability of blood) – he was prepared to rule as the only heir.
Russia under Nicholas 2 was in a stage of economic recovery, despite this, political situation worsened. Nicholas's failure as a politician led to internal tensions growing in the country. As a result, after a meeting of workers marching to the Tsar was brutally dispersed on January 9, 1905 (the event was called “Bloody Sunday”), the first Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 broke out in the Russian Empire. The result of the revolution was the manifesto “On the Improvement of State Order,” which limited the power of the tsar and gave the people civil liberties. Because of all the events that occurred during his reign, the tsar received the nickname Nicholas 2 the Bloody.
In 1914, the First World War began, which negatively affected the state of the Russian Empire and only aggravated internal political tension. The failures of Nicholas 2 in the war led to an uprising breaking out in Petrograd in 1917, as a result of which the tsar voluntarily abdicated the throne. The date of abdication of Nicholas 2 from the throne is March 2, 1917.
Years of reign of Nicholas 2 - 1896 - 1917.
In March 1917, the entire royal family was arrested and later sent into exile. The execution of Nicholas 2 and his family occurred on the night of July 16-17.
In 1980 members royal family were canonized by the foreign church, and then, in 2000, by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Politics of Nicholas 2
Under Nicholas, many reforms were carried out. The main reforms of Nicholas 2:
- Agrarian. Assignment of land not to the community, but to private peasant owners;
- Military. Army reform after defeat in the Russo-Japanese War;
- Management. Created State Duma, the people received civil rights.
Results of the reign of Nicholas 2
- The growth of agriculture, ridding the country of hunger;
- Growth of economy, industry and culture;
- Rising tensions in domestic policy, which led to revolution and a change in the government system.
With the death of Nicholas 2 came the end of the Russian Empire and the monarchy in Russia.
Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov), eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, was born May 18 (May 6, old style) 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo (now the city of Pushkin, Pushkin district of St. Petersburg).
Immediately after his birth, Nikolai was included in the lists of several guards regiments and appointed chief of the 65th Moscow Infantry Regiment. The childhood of the future king passed within the walls Gatchina Palace. Nikolai began regular homework at the age of eight.
In December 1875 He received his first military rank - ensign, in 1880 he was promoted to second lieutenant, and four years later he became a lieutenant. In 1884 Nikolai entered active military service, in July 1887 year began regular military service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment and was promoted to staff captain; in 1891 Nikolai received the rank of captain, and a year later - colonel.
To get acquainted with state affairs since May 1889 he began to attend meetings of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. IN October 1890 went on a trip to Far East. In nine months, Nikolai visited Greece, Egypt, India, China, and Japan.
IN April 1894 the engagement of the future emperor took place with Princess Alice of Darmstadt-Hesse, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse, granddaughter Queen of England Victoria. After converting to Orthodoxy, she took the name Alexandra Feodorovna.
November 2 (October 21, old style) 1894 Alexander III died. A few hours before his death, the dying emperor obliged his son to sign the Manifesto on his accession to the throne.
The coronation of Nicholas II took place May 26 (14 old style) 1896. On the thirtieth (18 old style) May 1896, during the celebration of the coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow, a stampede occurred on Khodynka Field in which more than a thousand people died.
The reign of Nicholas II took place in an atmosphere of increasing revolutionary movement and complications of the foreign policy situation ( Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905; Bloody Sunday; revolution of 1905-1907; First world war; February Revolution 1917).
Under the influence of a strong social movement in favor of political changes, October 30 (17 old style) 1905 Nicholas II signed the famous manifesto “On the Improvement of the State Order”: the people were granted freedom of speech, press, personality, conscience, meetings, and unions; as legislature The State Duma was created.
The turning point in the fate of Nicholas II was 1914- Beginning of the First World War. August 1 (July 19, old style) 1914 Germany declared war on Russia. IN August 1915 Nicholas II took over military command (previously this position was held by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich). Afterwards the king spent most of his time at headquarters Supreme Commander in Mogilev.
At the end of February 1917 Unrest began in Petrograd, which grew into mass protests against the government and the dynasty. The February Revolution found Nicholas II at headquarters in Mogilev. Having received news of the uprising in Petrograd, he decided not to make concessions and to restore order in the city by force, but when the scale of the unrest became clear, he abandoned this idea, fearing great bloodshed.
At midnight March 15 (2 old style) 1917 in the saloon car imperial train standing on the tracks railway station Pskov, Nicholas II signed an act of abdication, transferring power to his brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, who did not accept the crown.
March 20 (7 old style) 1917 The Provisional Government issued an order for the arrest of the Tsar. On the twenty-second (9th old style) March 1917, Nicholas II and his family were arrested. For the first five months they were under guard in Tsarskoe Selo, in August 1917 they were transported to Tobolsk, where the Romanovs spent eight months.
At the beginning 1918 The Bolsheviks forced Nicholas to remove his colonel's shoulder straps (his last military rank), which he perceived as a grave insult. In May of this year, the royal family was transported to Yekaterinburg, where they were placed in a house mining engineer Nikolai Ipatiev.
On the night of July 17 (4 old) 1918 and Nicholas II, Tsarina, their five children: daughters - Olga (1895), Tatiana (1897), Maria (1899) and Anastasia (1901), son - Tsarevich, heir to the throne Alexei (1904) and several close associates (11 people in total) , . The shooting took place in a small room on the lower floor of the house; the victims were taken there under the pretext of evacuation. The Tsar himself was shot at point-blank range by the commandant of the Ipatiev House, Yankel Yurovsky. The bodies of the dead were taken outside the city, doused with kerosene, they tried to burn them, and then buried them.
At the beginning of 1991 the first application was submitted to the city prosecutor's office about the discovery of bodies near Yekaterinburg that had signs violent death. After many years of research into the remains discovered near Yekaterinburg, a special commission came to the conclusion that they are indeed the remains of nine Nicholas II and his family. In 1997 They were solemnly buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
In 2000 Nicholas II and members of his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
October 1, 2008 presidium Supreme Court Russian Federation recognized the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and members of his family as victims of illegal political repression and rehabilitated them.
