Tsar Nicholas Essay Example

to his familial ties with Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who held a grudge against Serbia for assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and was determined to go to war.

Nicholas was forced to support Serbia due to the Russia-Serbia alliance, but riots still broke out because Russian funds were used for the war. The peasants demanded an end to autocracy and communism. The war caused food rationing, resulting in long queues for bread and corn in freezing weather. Alan White's "Russia and the USSR" states that resentment was worse in large families where children were starving. Mothers waiting endlessly in queues were stockpiles of flammable material, only needing a spark to ignite them. These events were beyond Tsar's control and could not be corrected.

Despite his desire to be a mighty and commanding figure, Nicholas displayed a dearth of expertise and intelligence, resulting in several ill-advised choices. His actions conveyed an air of haughtiness towards his citizens, displaying little regard for their well-being. He demonstrated recklessness in making hasty judgments concerning political matters concerning the conflicts in Europe and notably made a grave error by assuming control of the army in 1915.

Due to his lack of military background, Nicholas was unable to manage the army and devise battle strategies, which should have been delegated to veteran commanders. Ignorant of his accountability for any defeats suffered by Russia, he jeopardized their success in the war. Additionally, a regrettable error he made was entrusting his spouse and personal physician with control over Petrograd.

Alexandra's inadequate experience in governing a nation resulted in poor decision-making. Furthermore, due to her being a German woman, she was viewed as a potential spy and

faced significant hostility from the populace. Petrograd's political situation was also disrupted by Grigory Rasputin, the family's healer, who hired and fired numerous individuals. Consequentially, there was an excessive turnover of ministerial positions - within one year between 1915 and 1916 alone, there were five ministers for internal affairs and four for agriculture. This led to widespread confusion and chaos ensued. In 1905, Nicholas received a warning that he must relinquish his autocratic tendencies if he wished to maintain his position as Tsar.

Nicholas II persisted in ruling autocratically despite warnings. This led to a series of poor decisions that ultimately shortened his reign. If he had made better choices for economic prosperity, more people may have supported his Tsarist rule. However, due to mismanagement, Russia's economy deteriorated enough that food shortages required eating cats, dogs, and rats. World War I added to Nicholas II's troubles and he was unable to find a solution. As a result, he lost the support of Russians and ultimately perished with his family.