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Name: __________________________________________________ DUE: TUE. 29 JAN 2013
Homework: Russian Revolution - Part I
Global History II
So far we have seen two revolutions in Russia. The first: the Decembrist Revolt 1825 ..
Russian officers, influenced by Napoleon and democracy, wanted a constitutional monarchy in Russia. ... They
were crushed by Tsar Nicholas I. The second, in January
1905, often referred to as "Bloody
Sunday", started out as workers petitioning the Tsar (Nicholas II) to improve working conditions and pay.
...
The Tsar's troops fired on them. The people lost faith in the Tsar. Things were temporarily put on hold. Two
forces ... absolute monarchy vs reformists were still on a collision course ... meanwhile the average Russian,
both factory worker & serf (poor peasant farmer) still lived in a life of misery.
Tonight we visit the last Tsar of Russia: Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, a religious "mystic" called
Rasputin, the intrusion of a war Russia was not prepared to fight, but had to .. and the end of the Romanov
Dynasty.
For Tsar Nicholas II the 20th Century would be quite different for his rule than those of the past. The
very real threat of terrorism loomed over the Imperial Family constantly. Once a bomb blew apart their train
car, and only his father's / Tsar Alexander's III powerful shoulders kept the roof from crushing the entire family.
A powerful cordon of secret police and military guards protected them, but this meant Tsar Nicholas II grew
up in the isolation of his family. This held him back and he was late in maturing. He never gained a sense
of confidence and self reliance. The lack of friends from outside the clan of European royalty deprived Nicholas
of the benefit of understanding the way the average Russian lived. Nicholas was also purposely cut off from
liberal thought and ideas by his parents. Since he had almost no contact with Russia's growing intellectual and
artistic community he developed narrow ideas of honor, service and tradition which would harm his ability to
govern Russia in the future.
While heir to the throne, as Tsarevich, Nicholas achieved the rank of Colonel in the Life
Guards. He loved the military and always considered himself an army man. His character and
social habits were strongly influenced by his years as a young officer and he made many of his longest lasting
friendships among his brother officers. These where his happiest years, when he was almost free of care and
worry about the future. His father was still relatively young and Nicholas could expect a few years to fill the
role of a dashing, aristocratic officer before he was called to serve his country in an more serious role. The
Tsarevich embraced the relative freedom of army life with gusto. He could drink and carry on like the most
hedonistic of his fellow officers. Life was full of regimental dinners, concerts, dances and beautiful
women. In 1893 Nicholas became engaged to a young, sad eyed and withdrawn German princess named Alix
of Hesse. Many thought it was not a good match. Alix wasn't thought to have the right personality traits and
outgoing aggressiveness sought in a Russian Empress-to-be. Nicholas could not be persuaded to consider any
other bride than Alix, and the couple where formally engaged in 1893. In fall, 1894, Tsar Alexander III died.
Nicholas felt he was not ready to rule. He knew the weighty task of ruling Russia was greater
than his experience and abilities. Yet he believed, even with all his inadequacies and self-doubt, that God had
chosen his destiny. The new Emperor took his coronation oath very seriously and saw anointing as Tsar as
spiritual experience. After the crown was placed on his head Nicholas would look for support and guidance first
within himself and then to God, who had given him this burden. Quickly realizing he was surrounded by
deceit and the self-interest of bureaucrats, Nicholas concluded that on earth he could trust
few people. Bullied and misled by his relatives he increasingly turned to his wife for support. Nicholas
became cynical and mistrustful of human nature. Loneliness and isolation would be his lot in life.
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Tsarina Alexandra was born on June 6, 1872 in Darmstadt, Germany, and was a granddaughter of
Britain's Queen Victoria and the daughter of Louis IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt. Orphaned at
the age of six she married Tsar Nicholas II in 1894 and moved to Russia - a country she greatly disliked.
As we stated earlier .. for Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra their first four (4) children were all
girls. Loving as they were as parents, Nicholas and Alexandra were deeply concerned at their inability to
provide an heir to the imperial throne. [Remember the "Law of Primogeniture".] After the birth of their
fourth daughter, the couple desperately sought all sorts of help to insure that the next child would be a boy. The
desire for Alexandra to produce a boy developed into an fixation. Mystics, faith healers and staretz' found
themselves in great demand at the Alexander Palace. Most of these people were of doubtful reputation but since
they were sponsored by the Grand Duchesses Militza and Anastasia, daughters of King Nicholas of Montenegro
and married to two of Nicholas' cousins, Nicholas and Alexandra received them with intense hopes that the
arrival of a son would thus be guaranteed.
By late 1903 Alexandra found herself pregnant again. Intense praying and mysticism accompanied her
throughout the pregnancy, and finally on July 30, 1904, a little boy was born. Nicholas and Alexandra
called him Alexis in memory of the second Romanov tsar. The heir became the center of the family's attention
as a delighted imperial couple reveled in the joy of finally having an heir they could call their own. Despite the
couple's delight, within months of Alexis' birth a dark cloud settled over the imperial nursery. Alexis's body,
once injured, would not stop bleeding. The Tsarevich was another victim of the dreaded disease inherited from
his grandmother Queen Victoria, Hemophilia. Hemophelia is a blood disease. The simplest bruise can result
in intense and painful bleeding. The young, and future Tsar's screams tormented his parents. NOTE: The
hemophelia gene was carried through the Queen Victoria blood line. It was believed to be a result of "in
breeding". Though this may sound very sickening to us today .. "royalty married royalty". This sometimes led
to a genetic flaws/weakness. Nicholas accepted this new trial. Alexandra blamed herself for her son's
affliction. The Tsar's brother-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Michaelovich, once said that Alexandra "refused to
surrender to fate...she talked incessantly of the ignorance of the physicians. She professed an open preference
for medicine men. She, Tsarina Alexandra, turned toward religion ...but her prayers were tainted with a
certain hysteria. The stage was set for the appearance of a miracle worker." By the time Alexis was one year
old, he again was afflicted by a more serious bleeding episode. The imperial couple's anxiety was accentuated
by doctors who told them they "had to realize that the heir apparent will never be cured of this disease. The
attacks of hemophilia will recur now and then..." It was in the midst of this tragedy within the imperial family,
Rasputin returned to St. Petersburg after a two-year hiatus.
No other figure in recent Russian history has received the amount of contempt heaped upon Gregory
Rasputin. The self-styled monk, who received practically little education in the intricacies of the Russian
Orthodox faith, came from the rural areas of Russia and achieved great recognition as a "staretz," or holy man in
the highest circles of St. Petersburg society. From rags to social prominence the life of Gregory Rasputin holds
many of the events leading to the eventual overthrow of the Russian imperial system, the dethronement of the
House of Romanov and the assassination of the Imperial Family.
Gregory Efimovich Rasputin came from solid peasant stock. Gregory Efimovich was born on January
10, 1869, in Prokovskoe, a small village in Siberia on the banks of the Tura River. As a young lad, Rasputin
shocked his village by constantly finding ways to get into trouble with the authorities. Drunkenness, stealing
and womanizing were activities particularly enjoyed by the dissolute young man. Rasputin in fact was
developing into a rake, a man with a debauched, and endless, sexual appetite.
It was while on one of his escapades that Rasputin was first impacted by the mystical powers of the
Russian Orthodox religion. At Verkhoturye Monastery Rasputin was fascinated by a renegade sect within the
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Orthodox faith, the Skopsty. Followers of the Skopsty firmly believed that the only way to reach God was
through sinful actions. Once the sin was committed and confessed, the penitent could achieve forgiveness. In
reality, what the Skopsty upheld was to "sin to drive out sin." Rasputin, one of the biggest sinners of the
province, was suddenly struck by the potential held by this theory. He soon adopted the robes of a monk,
developed his own self-gratifying doctrines, traveled the country as a "staretz" and sinned to his heart's content.
By the time he reached his early thirties, Rasputin had traveled to the Holy land and back. It was while
in Kazan that the mysterious traveling monk made an impression among the local clergy. It was with the
recommendations of these fooled priests that Rasputin headed to St. Petersburg for his first visit. While in the
Russian capital, Rasputin's presence attracted the attention of many of the country's leading religious leaders.
The staretz' traveling tales, as well as the stories he told about his religious revival, seemed to capture the
attention of the higher clergy of the Russian empire. The year was 1902.
Initially, Rasputin moved prudently in the Russian capital's aristocratic circles. He tried, unsuccessfully,
to restrain his debauched, womanizing ways, yet temptation was overwhelming. Within months, Rasputin, the
saintly sinner, had achieved recognition and a small following in St. Petersburg. Besides gaining the friendship
of Grand Duchess Militza and Anastasia, Rasputin also gained the trust of Anna Vyrubova, Empress
Alexandra's trusted companion. It was under the recommendation of the Grand Duchesses and Anna
Vyrubova that Rasputin was summoned to appear before Alexandra.
Rasputin managed to bring calm and hope into the lives of Nicholas and Alexandra.
Most importantly, the staretz was capable of putting a stop to the Alexis' bleedings. Many
people have tried to explain the nature of Rasputin's power over the poor little boy. Some have claimed that
Rasputin did indeed have holy powers. Others, believe that Rasputin was able to hypnotize Alexis and therefore
cause the bleedings to stop. However Rasputin managed to stop Alexis' suffering, the truth of the matter was
that he gained Nicholas and Alexandra's undivided support.
As the monk's star rose in St. Petersburg, so did the number of his enemies. Many of the Orthodox
clergymen who had initially supported Rasputin became skeptical about his relationship with the imperial
couple. St. Petersburg society also failed to understand the bonds that brought Rasputin into such close
proximity to the throne. Nicholas and Alexandra had refused to inform their subjects about Alexis' sickness,
thus it baffled many to see the imperial couple in dealings with a person the likes of Rasputin. Soon enough, the
rumor mills of St. Petersburg accused Alexandra of being romantically, and even sexually involved with the
monk. Gossip even extended the rumors to include Rasputin having sex with the couple's four daughters. (All
right this sounds ugly ... but .. it is what was going on at the time in Russia .. and it involved the royal, "ruling"
family.) It is inconceivable that someone as upright and unbending as Alexandra would have ever considered
such horrible behavior. Yet it is also inconceivable that the rumors were allowed to continued while the
reputation of the imperial couple fell to pieces. No one was more responsible for the growing rumors than
Rasputin himself. During his many drunken parties, the monk would boast of his exploits with the Empress and
her daughters, even going as far as proclaiming that the Tsar was at his fingertips.
Nicholas's secret police quickly informed the Tsar of these rumors. A repentent (sorry) Rasputin was
summoned to appear before the infuriated Tsar, but Alexandra defended the staretz. Nicholas punished Rasputin
by sending him back to the provinces, but no sooner had Rasputin left when another bleeding crisis
almost killed Alexis. Rasputin's influence over the boy guaranteed the monk's return to St.
Petersburg. His position within the imperial circle was never again challenged. Alexandra
grew completely dependent on the man, who not only became her son's faith healer, but also
the Empress' confidant. The evil monk's presence among the Tsar and his family would further alienate
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them from the capital and all those circles that had traditionally been the mainstay of tsarism. Nicholas and
Alexandra were doomed from that point on.
On June 28, 1914, while the Russian Imperial Yacht "Standart" sailed along the Baltic coastline, the
Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of the Habsburg ruling family (of Austria-Hungary) and his wife were
assassinated in Sarajevo. Within weeks all of Europe was in a flurry of prewar preparations. The great
moment to define European mastery had arrived. The arrival of war surprised practically everyone. At the time
of Franz-Ferdinand's assassination no one in Europe believed the act would lead to war between the great
empires of the time. The Tsar continued on his cruise, the Kaiser sailed along the Norwegian coast, the French
President prepared his entourage for a state visit to St. Petersburg. All along the continent European royalty
visited their royal cousins in countries that were about to declare war on each other.
World War I
[1914-1918] was the result of leaders' aggression towards other countries
which was supported by the rising nationalism of the European nations. Economic and imperial competition and
fear of war prompted military alliances Britain, France, and Russia formed the Triple Entente. AustriaHungary, Prussia/Germany and the Ottoman Empire formed the Triple Alliance. The pledge: if any nation in
the group was attacked, the others would come to its aid. This in turn led to an arms race, which further
escalated the tension contributing to the outbreak of war.
Another cause of World War I was Austria-Hungarian annexing (taking over) of the former Turkish
province of Bosnia in 1908. The Greater Serbian movement had as an object the acquisition of Slavic Bosnia, so
Serbia threatened war on Austria-Hungary. Russia had pledged their support to Serbia, so they began to
mobilize, which caused Germany, allied with Austria-Hungary, to threaten war on Russia. The beginning of
World War I was postponed when Russia backed down, but relations between Austria- Hungary and Serbia
were greatly strained.
This all climaxed on June 28, 1914 .. when as we stated earlier Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the
Austria-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Serbian nationalist. Immediately
following the assassination Germany pledged its full support to Austria-Hungary, pressuring them to
declare war on Serbia, while France strengthened its backing of Russia. Convinced that the Serbian government
had conspired against them, Austria-Hungary issued Serbia an unacceptable ultimatum, to which Serbia
consented almost entirely. Unsatisfied, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914. On July
29, Russia ordered a partial mobilization only against Austria-Hungary in support of Serbia,
which escalated into a general mobilization. The Germans threatened war on July 31 if the Russians did
not demobilize. Upon being asked by Germany what it would do in the event of a Russo-German War, France
responded that it would act in its own interests and mobilized. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia,
and two days later, on France. The German invasion of Belgium to attack France, which violated Belgium's
official neutrality, prompted Britain to declare war on Germany. World War I, often called "the Great War" had
begun.
When Austria decided to declare war on Serbia, using the involvement of Serbian government officials
in the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand as an excuse, Russia could not stand idly by. On one
opportunity when Austria had annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908, Nicholas had been unable to come to the
rescue of his fellow Slavs. Russia was looked on as the protector of all slavic people. Tsar Nicholas II took a
stand and geared his country for war against Austria-Hungary. Germany being Austria's ally, a move against
Vienna would mean that St. Petersburg would also have to fight Berlin. Paris and London watched hopelessly
as the crowned heads of Europe forgot their family ties and recent summer visits to take up the
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dangerous flag of nationalism. A state of war between the Russia and Germany and Austria was declared
by the first week of August.
Saying your powerful is one thing, however backing up your words is another. Russia was in no
situation to fight a war, especially a world war. The causes of two revolutions; absolutism vs
democracy, agricultural feudalism, the strains of the industrial revolution, plus the misery of daily life for the
average Russian, would all now come into play ... and in the end exact their toll on the Romanov Dynasty. The
Russians felt, the country was completely unprepared to fight against formidable enemies such as Germany and
Austria. Russian supply lines were inefficient, there were not enough rifles for as many soldiers as
Russia had, new recruits were often sent to the front without even the proper clothing and not enough
ammunition. Corruption within the Russian weapons' supply system was rampant and several army officers
made vast fortunes at the expense of the lives of hundred of thousands of Russian victims. The leadership of the
Russian military forces was given to the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievich, a cousin of the Tsar and the
husband of Grand Duchess Anastasia, the woman responsible for sponsoring Rasputin. Grand Duke Nicholas
desperately tried to reverse the initial Russian losses, but given the resources he had this was a Herculean task.
Consequently, the country's military effort continued to suffer dismal setbacks. Rasputin himself sent a note to
the Grand Duke Nicholas offering to visit his headquarters to bless the troops, but the Grand Duke Nicholas,
one of Rasputin's most vehement opponents, replied "Yes, do come. I'll hang you."
The Grand Duke Nicholas' reactions towards Rasputin exemplified the high level of frustration felt by
the Romanov family concerning the relationship of Nicholas and Alexandra and the hated monk. As the war
progressed, the Russian government simply collapsed under the weight of the enormous
efforts demanded by the armies and the leadership provided by Tsar Nicholas II. It certainly
did not help matters when it was discovered that Nicholas was also relying on Alexandra for
the day-to-day handling of governmental affairs. The constant presence of Rasputin with the
royal family .. had alienated them (Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra) from much of the Russian
aristocracy (upper class). And since Alexandra and Rasputin were in close contact, many believed that
indeed it was Rasputin who had become the true lord of All the Russias. Nicholas's family, even his mother,
desperately tried to have the monk removed from the imperial couple's proximity. The Romanovs, never really
fond of Alexandra, constantly approached the Tsar and demanded that Rasputin be sent away. Nicholas, blinded
by his love for Alexandra and fearful of risking Alexis' life, rudely dismissed his family's entreaties. Rasputin's
influence continued and the Imperial Family's image continued to be tainted with opprobrium and scandal
emanating from the actions of the evil monk.
Nicholas II's biggest mistake was dismissing Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievich in
1915 and assuming command of the Russian armies. Inefficient as a ruler, mainly due to his
lack of preparation for the office, Nicholas II was a poor military commander as well.
Encouraged by his wife, who had a deep dislike for the Grand Duke Nicholas, the Tsar convinced himself that
his place was among his troops. Consequently, Nicholas left St. Petersburg and headed for military
headquarters. In his place, and to act in his stead, Nicholas II left none other than his beloved Alexandra, the
most incompetent choice available to Nicholas. If Rasputin's influence with Alexandra was checked by
Nicholas prior to his departure, now that Tsar was away from St. Petersburg, Rasputin became the Empress'
chief counsel. The Russian imperial government basically disintegrated as ministers were fired
and quickly replaced by many of Rasputin's supporters. Accountability for the growing
corruption within the government simply disappeared as the country headed towards utter
chaos and ruin. Incapable of ruling, married to a husband who would have been happiest as a country squire
instead of a Tsar of All the Russias, Alexandra's attempt at single-handedly governing Russia was doomed to
failure. Isolated from Russia's realities, blinded in her devotion to Rasputin, fearful for her son's survival,
Alexandra was in no position to effectively fill the absence left by Nicholas' decision to join his armies. Indeed,
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both Nicholas and Alexandra are greatly, if not solely, responsible for the end the Romanov dynasty faced in
1917-18.
Frustrated by their inability to break down the walls built by Nicholas and Alexandra, some members of
the Romanov family took events into their own hands. How many of the Romanovs were involved in the actual
plotting to assassinate Rasputin will never be known for certain. What is widely accepted is that the Tsar's
cousin, Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich and Prince Felix Youssoupov, husband of Nicholas II's niece Princess
Irina Alexandrovna of Russia, were among the leaders of the plot to strike against Rasputin. The monk, always
frustrated by the Romanov's opposition to his role in Russia, was invited by Youssoupov to attend an evening
gathering at his vast Petrograd palace. Felix promised Rasputin that his wife Irina would be there to greet him.
The monk fell in the trap and willingly arrived at the Youssoupov palace in the evening of December 16, 1916.
He did not survive the evening. During the fateful last evening of Rasputin's life, the conspirators drugged,
poisoned, beat and yes even shot him. Yet the staretz survived all these. He died by drowning when his body,
wrapped in a carpet was thrown into the Moika Canal on the Neva River. Rumor has it he escaped from the
carpet, but could not find a hole in the ice, or an an air pocket under it.
Within hours of the report concerning Rasputin's disappearance, the St. Petersburg police by orders of
Alexandra, forbid the conspirators from leaving the Russian capital. As soon as he received news of events
Nicholas boarded his train and hurriedly returned to the capital. Rasputin's corpse was discovered under the ice
of the Neva on December 19. The fury and outrage expressed by Nicholas and Alexandra knew no bounds as
they sought to punish all of the conspirators. At the same time, news of Rasputin's death caused widespread
eruptions of happiness throughout St. Petersburg. Dimitri and Felix were heralded as heroes and many believed
that the "alleged" German influence represented by Alexandra was going to stop. ... Remember: Russia (a
slavic nation) was fighting Germany and Austria-Hungary (germanic nations).
In the end, the culprits of Rasputin's death were found .. and Tsar Nicholas II had to send his two
wayward relatives into exile.
Meanwhile ... World War I continued ... ... Six months after the beginning of World War I the
Russian Army had 6,553,000 men, however, they only had 4,652,000 rifles. Untrained troops were
ordered into battle without adequate arms or ammunition. In 1915 Russia suffered over 2 million casualties and
lost Kurland, Lithuania and much of Belorussia. Agricultural production slumped and civilians had to
endure serious food shortages.
General Alexei Brusilov, commander of the Russian Army in the South West, led an offensive against
the Austro-Hungarian Army in June, 1916. Initially Brusilov achieved considerable success and in the first two
weeks his forces advanced 50 miles and captured 200,000 prisoners. The German Army sent reinforcements to
help their allies and gradually the Russians were pushed back. When the offensive was called to a halt in
the autumn of 1916, the Russian Army had lost almost a million men. Tsar Nicholas II, as
supreme commander of the Russian Army, was now closely linked to the country's military
failures and during 1917 there was a strong decline in his support in Russia.
If things were bad on the war front for Russia, they weren't much better at home. February 1917
began bitterly cold. The streets of St. Petersburg were filled with ice. Food lines lengthened.
"Never before has there been so much swearing, argument and scandal," wrote one Okhrana (secret police)
agent. There were 170,000 troops in the city, double the peacetime garrison, but the secret police thought them
to be "raw, untrained material, unfit to put down civil disorders." The best troops, of course, were at the front.
On February 14th, police agents reported that army officers had, for the first time, mingled with the crowds
demonstrating against the war and the government on Nevsky Prospekt. "Behind the white columns of the hall
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grinned Hopelessness," a conservative said of the mood at the Duma debates. "And she whispered: ‘Why? What
for? What difference does it make?'"
Food hoarding was common. Wood for heating was beyond the means of the poor and
the temperature in middle class flats was kept just above freezing. Grain trains on their way to
the capital were blocked by heavy snowfalls. International Woman's Day was held on Thursday,
February 23rd. This gave an excuse for women from textile plants to stream into the streets shouting, "Down
with hunger! Bread for the workers!" They pelted the windows of the engineering shops to bring the men out.
Nikolai Sukhanov, the crotchety radical civil servant who was to become the Revolution's diarist and victim,
thought the disorders unremarkable. He had seen them before. But what he now noticed was the strange attitude
of the authorities. The crowds felt it too. They began overturning tramcars and sacked a large bakery. The
"Pharaohs," slang for the police, stood by and did nothing. Okhrana agents noticed that skilled workers now
joined the strikers. The agitators working the crowds no longer bothered to pull their overcoats over their
heads in order to hide their faces. The troops hesitated when they were told to disperse the crowds but only
turned away.
The Tsarina thought there was no more to the events in St. Petersburg than children running about
for excitement. "If the weather was cold," she wrote Nicky (her husband Tsar Nicholas II), "they probably
would have stayed at home." She also wrote that she hoped that a young socialist lawyer by the name of
Alexander Kerensky would be hanged. In a recent Duma (Russian Parliament authorized by Tsar Nicholas
II in 1905) debate, Kerensky had called for someone to do to the Tsar what Brutus had done to Caesar. In
fashionable circles, the main talk was of the party Princess Radziwill was throwing the following Sunday. Quite
a few people had simply missed the boat!
The killing started on Saturday, February 25th. The demonstrators were back. All factories had
closed. The police opened fire on a mob that was beating a police officer with an iron tramcar lever, and fired
a volley into the crowd near the Nikolaevsky train station and the demonstrators fled. A cavalry squadron shot
down nine people on the Nevsky. But slowly the people began to command, forcing officers to abandon their
carriages and rescuing those who had been taken by the police. The police were melting away, fearing for their
lives. Politics played little part here. There were no leaders. "What
do they want?" asked
one bystander. "THEY WANT BREAD, PEACE WITH THE
GERMANS AND FREEDOM FOR THE SERFS," his companion replied.
Sunday began with a deceptive calm. The churches of St. Petersburg were full. The weather was warm
and sunny and the scene so apparently uneventful that the Tsar received a telegram that announced, "the city is
quiet." So it was -- but not for long. A crowd started for the Nevsky, crossing the frozen river to avoid the police
on the river bridges. They ran into an infantry unit near the Mioka canal at one o'clock. The troops knelt and
fired two volleys into the crowd. Meanwhile, general fighting broke out in the Nevsky area. Students wearing
Red Cross arm bands gave first aid to the wounded. At a nearby school for young ladies of the nobility, the girls
heard a mistress use an unfamiliar and thrilling word: "Revolt!"
As the crowds were cut down, the Tsarina was visiting the grave of Rasputin. "It seems to me that it will
all be all right," she wrote to Nicky (her husband, Tsar Nicholas II) . "The sun shines so clearly and I felt such
peace and quiet at His dear grave. He died in order to save us." An Okhrana agent was less certain. The game
depended entirely upon the army, he reported. "If the troops turn against the government, then nothing can save
the country." Meanwhile, Princess Radziwell's party was in full swing. The regime still had a few hours left.
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The president of the Duma, Rodzyanko, became more and more alarmed over the course of Sunday
afternoon. Those soldiers garrisoned in the city would not shoot at the mob -- in fact, many of
them had gone over! If only they had used fire hoses instead of bullets. Rodzyanko then sent a
telegraph to the tsar -- copies were also sent to the high commanders asking that they support his views. The
meaning of the telegram was quite clear:
Situation serious. Anarchy in the capital. Government paralyzed. Transport of food and fuel in full disorder.
Popular discontent growing. Disorderly firing in the streets. Some military units fire on one another, Essential
immediately to order persons having the confidence of the country to form new government. Delay impossible.
Any delay deadly. I pray to God that in this hour the blame does not fall on the crown.
After regular 5 PM tea at Mogilev, Tsar Nicholas invited a few commanders to read the telegram. How
would the tsar respond? Nicholas suggested that since the Duma was to be closed down that evening, then
nothing should be done and no answer was necessary. This caused some concern, but mostly among junior
officers. One officer wrote in his diary: "why can't the tsar understand that he must show his will and his
power?" Meanwhile, Nicholas wrote the Tsarina about the pains he had suffered in his chest while at church
that morning. At 9:20 PM he sent a final telegram to his wife saying that he would return on Tuesday. Then he
read a bit and played dominoes. ... at the same time .. the war .. World War I continued .. and St.
Petersburg, the capital of Russia, was in turmoil.
The Volynsky guardsman (the Russian soldiers) who had shot down demonstrators held a meeting on
Sunday night. They decided that they would not act as executioners but would join with the people. At seven
o'clock on Monday morning, cartridges were issued and the unit formed up on parade in battle order. The
Captain arrived with his orders. He was met with mutiny. "We won't kill anymore. Enough blood." From a
barracks window a shot rang out and the Captain was dead.
The Volynsky mutineers ran into a nearby engineering barracks shouting, "Comrades, get your rifles!"
The locked doors of the storeroom were broken down and the quartermaster was shot dead. The engineers
joined the uprising marching into the streets where their band played to cheering crowds. The gates of the main
arsenal were battered in and the depot commander killed. Thousands of revolvers were handed out to the
crowds. Teenagers swirled out of side streets, shouting and firing their weapons at the pigeons on the streetcar
wires.
The city governor demanded a plan from the police chief. The existing security plan divided the city into
sectors, each under the control of a unit that was now mutinying. News came in that a squadron of armored cars
were rumbling down the Nevsky with red flags flying from them. Civilians began to urge regiments to come
out. "Comrade soldiers," they shouted to a battalion of the Moscow regiment, "Come out: join the people!" The
crowd broke down the picket fence and surged on the troops. The commander ordered his men to fire volleys
and drew his own revolver. He was beaten to death. The troops began to shoot at their own barracks while the
crowd broke into the armory and helped themselves to rifles and ammunition. The Kresty prison was taken and
its 2400 prisoners were freed. Policemen, identified by their long coats and gray fur hats, were lynched in the
streets. Station houses were set on fire. Other potential targets of the mob fled.
Alexander Kerensky was woken by his wife Olga at eight in the morning on Monday, February
27th. Kerensky was thirty-six, a Duma deputy who had found his moment. He had become involved in radical
politics at St.Petersburg in his teens, but had no time for fashionable terrorism or Marxism for that matter. He
was, as one observer wrote, "unquestionably humanitarian and utterly Russian in every respect." On graduation,
he started a legal aid office in the city, advising workers on their rights and representing them without fees. In
1904, he married Baranovskaya, the daughter of an army officer. During the 1905 revolution, he founded a
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socialist newspaper and served four months in the Kresty prison after a friend's revolver was found in his
apartment. Kerensky was thrilled with his luck. "I was now," he wrote, "'one of us' in radical and socialist
circles."
In 1912, troops shot dead 170 striking miners in the Lena goldfields in Siberia. The massacre caused
deep resentment throughout Russia and Kerensky made a national reputation when he was appointed to the
inquiry commission. He was elected to the Duma a few months later. Most Duma members thought him
weak because he speeches were emotional. Almost alone, he denounced anti-Semitic atrocities. World War I
was a catastrophe for the Jews. Not a day passed without Jews being hanged on false charges of spying yet
more than 250,000 Jewish soldiers fought in the ranks of the Russian army. Kerensky went in person to Kuzhi,
a small town near the front in Kovno where Jews were being lynched for supposedly hiding Germans in their
cellars. He examined the cellars and proved the charges false.
His Okhrana nickname was "Speedy" and on the 27th he hurried through the mutinous city of St.
Petersburg to the right wing of the Tauride Palace where the Duma met. At one o'clock, a flood of soldiers and
workers, scraps of red on their coats, arrived at the palace. Kerensky greeted them. "He is their vozhd, their
leader," one onlooker whispered. By mid-afternoon, two provisional committees were set up in separate wings
of the palace. One was dominated by moderate bourgeois members of the Duma and would later become the
PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT. The other was the first St. Petersburg Soviet to meet since
1905. The Soviet elected a permanent executive committee drawn from all socialist groups. The Bolsheviks had
two members out of the fourteen. It decided to publish its own daily newspaper to be called Izvestia.
At eight o'clock on Monday evening Nicholas was cabled a warning that only a handful of his troops
remained loyal. A state of siege was proclaimed. Any form of counterforce simply melted away. But the
mutineers also felt their position desperate. They feared that loyal troops would be sent from the front to crush
them. The defenders of the Tauride Palace, the center of the revolution, had no weapons heavier than four nonworking machineguns. A volunteer sent out to buy lubricants for them returned empty-handed. But mutineers
slipped into the deserted Maryinsky Palace. Grand Duke Mikhail demanded that loyal troops still holding the
Winter Palace (where the royal family lived) be withdrawn. He did not want the people to be fired upon from
the House of the Romanovs. There should be no repetition of 1905, he remarked. Exhausted politicians,
wrapped in their coats, slept in the armchairs and benches of the Tauride. Kerensky was there too. Meanwhile, a
pair of soldiers cut Repin's famous portrait of Nicholas from its frame with their bayonets. Mutiny had won.
The mutineers had the run of the city on Tuesday. Trucks with rifles and bayonets drove through the
streets while looters broke into the palaces. The French ambassador mused that the era stretching back to
Catherine the Great had come to an end. He was right. Nicholas spent the day on the imperial train on his way
to join his wife at the Alexander Palace. Shortly after midnight, the train was flung into reverse 90
miles short of St. Petersburg because the next station was in rebel hands. In the early hours of
March 1, after 303 years, a Romanov was fleeing from his people. The train stopped at Pskov station. Here,
in the drawing room car, March 2, 1917, Nicholas signed the act of ABDICATION.
The Tsar and his family were held first in the Czarskoye Selo palace, then near Tobolsk. They were then
moved ... out of fear that some forces still loyal to the Tsar might try and rescue him. In the early morning of
July 17, 1918, when the tsar, his family and servants were roused from their sleep. where they had been held
for over two months by their Bolshevik captors. Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, their four
daughters, Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia and their only son Alexei, were herded into the cellar together
with three of their servants and the family doctor, Eugeny Botkin. They were all shot by the Bolshevik firing
squad, although a number of the victims were allegedly stabbed to death when gunfire failed to kill them. The
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bodies were placed onto a truck with the intention of disposing them down a mine shaft. However, the truck
broke down during the trip to the mine. The Bolsheviks reportedly dug a shallow pit and buried the bodies.
The first Revolution of 1917 had come to a close.
QUESTIONS:
1. Who was the last Tsar of Russia, and was he prepared to rule Russia ?
2. Who did Tsar Nicholas II marry, did the marriage produce an heir, and if so ... what was the problem ?
3. Who was Rasputin, and why was he so important to Tsar Nicholas & Tsarina Alexandra ?
4. Why did some people like Rasputin, while others despised him ?
5. In the end what happened to Rasputin, and how did this affect the royal family ?
6. What broke out on June 28th, 1914 ?
7. How did Russia get involved in this, and was the Russian nation truly ready ?
8. When did World War I occur ... and state some of the causes of World War I.
9. State the two (2) alliances involved in World War I, and the six (6) nations involved in them.
10. What did the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 tell us about Russia's military, and was it an accurate
predictor of what was to happen to the Russian military in World War I?
11. Who was in charge of Russia's military in World War I ... and was this a good thing to have happen ?
12. While the Tsar away at the war front, who was running the Russian nation back in St. Petersburg, and was
the good for the Russian nation ?
13. Describe life in St. Petersburg during the winter of 1916/1917.
14. Why did Tsar Nicholas II abdicate in February/March 1917?
15. What did the abdication mark the beginning of ?
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