Some Comments About Nicholas & Alexandra
Just a few comments about Tsar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandra:
Nicholas was not all that passionate about being Tsar. His diaries, kept for much of his life, survived the Bolsheviks. His daily observations, full of details about the weather and family life, seem to tell the story of a man who wished to be more of a country gentleman and family man than a tsar. For a man who had so much power, Nicholas actually wrote remarkably little about governing on a day-to-basis, or even at times about the major events taking place in his vast empire. He was only in his mid 20s when his father, Alexander III, died, and he was terribly unprepared for the duties he had to assume. For the most part, this was not his fault, as those in the Romanov family and in high level government positions assumed that Alexander III would be tsar for many, many more years than actually happened, as Alexander, a true bear of a man, died at the age of only 49.
The death of the Tsar also had a major impact on Alexandra (Alexandra being her Russian name, as the German born Tsarina's given name was "Alix," the closest German rendering of her mother's name, Alice, a daughter of England's Queen Victoria), as her wedding plans were moved up, since Nicholas wanted to marry her as he began his rule of the Russian Empire. Just as Nicholas was not prepared to become Tsar, so too was Alexandra unprepared to assume her new role as Tsarina. Her religious instruction had to be hastened along (she was a Lutheran by birth***), so that she could convert to Russian Orthodoxy as required of any spouse of a Tsar. Further, she had not fully learned the Russian language, nor even the overall customs of the Russian people. These problems only further complicated Alexandra's intense shyness. This all came to play a part in how the Russian nobility and the Russian public perceived their new Tsarina. Further, Alexander III's wife, Marie (a daughter of the King of Denmark), was still a fairly young woman when her husband died (I believe she was 47), and she had a very outgoing personality, and was highly popular with the nobility and the public (interestingly, she was a small woman, especially when compared to her almost gigantic husband. Nicholas took after his mother.) Many historians and people from that era have commented on the tremendous contrast in personalities and public popularity between Alexandra and Marie.
Tsar Alexander III was much feared, including by many of the revolutionary groups which had proliferated during the 1800s.### When Nicholas became Tsar, these groups took on new life, especially somewhat later, as Nicholas seemed nowhere near as firm as his father had been. Nicholas chose to go to war with Japan over Korea in 1904. It was a disastrous decision and nearly brought an end to his rule back then.+++ Anti-war sentiment grew, as the public saw no end in sight for the disastrous war, a war which they had difficulty understanding. Strikes began to take place, and the violent revolutionary movements received many new recruits for their causes. Eventually, a true revolution broke out, but much of the "action" remained in the countryside, rather than in most of the cities. The Tsar and his family basically remained "confined" to their palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, as fear of attacks on the Tsar by revolutionaries remained high, even after the revolution died out. Nicholas was finally persuaded to give in and grant some basic rights, which slowly but surely diffused the violence in the country. The result, however, was that the Imperial family never traveled as freely thereafter, and this only served to divide the Tsar and Tsarina from their subjects even more, although Alexandra was undoubtedly just as happy, since public appearances were not something she especially enjoyed. The Imperial couple spent a good deal of time with their children and regardless of any faults the two may have had, they were devoted parents.
When the heir to the Russian throne, Alexei, was born, it was discovered that he had "the bleeding disease;" that is, hemophilia. The boy's condition was kept as a closely guarded secret, and when the Tsarina called upon Rasputin to help her ill son, the public didn't understand why such a man as Rasputin was invited into the palace; thus, the rumors began to circulate that he was having a sexual affair with Alexandra. The problem was, the Tsar and the few advisers who knew of the boy's illness felt that they could never make the boy's condition known to the public, because many Russians saw the tsar as "semi-divine." To admit that the heir had a defective gene and an incurable ailment that was likely to end his life before adulthood, would have undermined the already shaky dynasty. On the other hand, some historians have speculated that the Tsar and Tsarina should have made the heir's condition known, and that the Russian public would then have given them deep sympathy and understanding. We shall never know.
*** When Nicholas first asked Alix of Hessen to marry him, she turned him down, as she refused to change religions. Various people tried to convince her to convert, perhaps the most influential being her own sister, Ella, who had married Tsar Alexander's brother, Sergei, who was therefore an uncle to Nicholas. Ella had converted to Russian Orthodoxy and it seems that she was the person who really convinced Alix to convert.
### Some revolutionary groups wanted democratic and social reforms; others were out and out ruthless, with their ultimate goals somewhat unclear, except that they seemed to desire the fall of the dynasty. They also believed in and practiced killing by any means.
+++ Japan was not seen as a major military power at that time, and Nicholas and some of his advisers thought that Russia could score an easy victory over the Japanese, thus solidifying public support for the monarchy, and to be quite honest, diverting attention from other issues that were gaining support among many in the public, like basic freedoms and an elected assembly. The Japanese inflicted some staggering defeats on the Russian military in the Far East. One of the problems for the Russians was the sheer distance between the Russian industrial and population centers, which were in European Russia, and the area where the fighting took place, which was in Korea, a distance of thousands of miles. There was only one rail line, and if I remember correctly, it was not totally complete, and in mountainous areas, trains were frequently delayed by snow. The Russian Army suffered thousands of casualties, and Nicholas and his military advisers decided to send the vast bulk of the Russian European Fleet all the way to the Far East to crush the Japanese Fleet and thus prevent Japan from conveying men and supplies from their island nation to the Korean peninsula. After the long voyage of thousands of miles, the Japanese virtually destroyed the Russian Fleet.
Related blogs:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/07/we-all-love-mystery.html
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-additions-to-we-all-love-mystery.html
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/10/update-on-mystery.html
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/04/rasputins-importance-to-history.html
Nicholas was not all that passionate about being Tsar. His diaries, kept for much of his life, survived the Bolsheviks. His daily observations, full of details about the weather and family life, seem to tell the story of a man who wished to be more of a country gentleman and family man than a tsar. For a man who had so much power, Nicholas actually wrote remarkably little about governing on a day-to-basis, or even at times about the major events taking place in his vast empire. He was only in his mid 20s when his father, Alexander III, died, and he was terribly unprepared for the duties he had to assume. For the most part, this was not his fault, as those in the Romanov family and in high level government positions assumed that Alexander III would be tsar for many, many more years than actually happened, as Alexander, a true bear of a man, died at the age of only 49.
The death of the Tsar also had a major impact on Alexandra (Alexandra being her Russian name, as the German born Tsarina's given name was "Alix," the closest German rendering of her mother's name, Alice, a daughter of England's Queen Victoria), as her wedding plans were moved up, since Nicholas wanted to marry her as he began his rule of the Russian Empire. Just as Nicholas was not prepared to become Tsar, so too was Alexandra unprepared to assume her new role as Tsarina. Her religious instruction had to be hastened along (she was a Lutheran by birth***), so that she could convert to Russian Orthodoxy as required of any spouse of a Tsar. Further, she had not fully learned the Russian language, nor even the overall customs of the Russian people. These problems only further complicated Alexandra's intense shyness. This all came to play a part in how the Russian nobility and the Russian public perceived their new Tsarina. Further, Alexander III's wife, Marie (a daughter of the King of Denmark), was still a fairly young woman when her husband died (I believe she was 47), and she had a very outgoing personality, and was highly popular with the nobility and the public (interestingly, she was a small woman, especially when compared to her almost gigantic husband. Nicholas took after his mother.) Many historians and people from that era have commented on the tremendous contrast in personalities and public popularity between Alexandra and Marie.
Tsar Alexander III was much feared, including by many of the revolutionary groups which had proliferated during the 1800s.### When Nicholas became Tsar, these groups took on new life, especially somewhat later, as Nicholas seemed nowhere near as firm as his father had been. Nicholas chose to go to war with Japan over Korea in 1904. It was a disastrous decision and nearly brought an end to his rule back then.+++ Anti-war sentiment grew, as the public saw no end in sight for the disastrous war, a war which they had difficulty understanding. Strikes began to take place, and the violent revolutionary movements received many new recruits for their causes. Eventually, a true revolution broke out, but much of the "action" remained in the countryside, rather than in most of the cities. The Tsar and his family basically remained "confined" to their palace on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, as fear of attacks on the Tsar by revolutionaries remained high, even after the revolution died out. Nicholas was finally persuaded to give in and grant some basic rights, which slowly but surely diffused the violence in the country. The result, however, was that the Imperial family never traveled as freely thereafter, and this only served to divide the Tsar and Tsarina from their subjects even more, although Alexandra was undoubtedly just as happy, since public appearances were not something she especially enjoyed. The Imperial couple spent a good deal of time with their children and regardless of any faults the two may have had, they were devoted parents.
When the heir to the Russian throne, Alexei, was born, it was discovered that he had "the bleeding disease;" that is, hemophilia. The boy's condition was kept as a closely guarded secret, and when the Tsarina called upon Rasputin to help her ill son, the public didn't understand why such a man as Rasputin was invited into the palace; thus, the rumors began to circulate that he was having a sexual affair with Alexandra. The problem was, the Tsar and the few advisers who knew of the boy's illness felt that they could never make the boy's condition known to the public, because many Russians saw the tsar as "semi-divine." To admit that the heir had a defective gene and an incurable ailment that was likely to end his life before adulthood, would have undermined the already shaky dynasty. On the other hand, some historians have speculated that the Tsar and Tsarina should have made the heir's condition known, and that the Russian public would then have given them deep sympathy and understanding. We shall never know.
*** When Nicholas first asked Alix of Hessen to marry him, she turned him down, as she refused to change religions. Various people tried to convince her to convert, perhaps the most influential being her own sister, Ella, who had married Tsar Alexander's brother, Sergei, who was therefore an uncle to Nicholas. Ella had converted to Russian Orthodoxy and it seems that she was the person who really convinced Alix to convert.
### Some revolutionary groups wanted democratic and social reforms; others were out and out ruthless, with their ultimate goals somewhat unclear, except that they seemed to desire the fall of the dynasty. They also believed in and practiced killing by any means.
+++ Japan was not seen as a major military power at that time, and Nicholas and some of his advisers thought that Russia could score an easy victory over the Japanese, thus solidifying public support for the monarchy, and to be quite honest, diverting attention from other issues that were gaining support among many in the public, like basic freedoms and an elected assembly. The Japanese inflicted some staggering defeats on the Russian military in the Far East. One of the problems for the Russians was the sheer distance between the Russian industrial and population centers, which were in European Russia, and the area where the fighting took place, which was in Korea, a distance of thousands of miles. There was only one rail line, and if I remember correctly, it was not totally complete, and in mountainous areas, trains were frequently delayed by snow. The Russian Army suffered thousands of casualties, and Nicholas and his military advisers decided to send the vast bulk of the Russian European Fleet all the way to the Far East to crush the Japanese Fleet and thus prevent Japan from conveying men and supplies from their island nation to the Korean peninsula. After the long voyage of thousands of miles, the Japanese virtually destroyed the Russian Fleet.
Related blogs:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/07/we-all-love-mystery.html
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/07/some-additions-to-we-all-love-mystery.html
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/10/update-on-mystery.html
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/04/rasputins-importance-to-history.html
Labels: Empress Alexandra, Nicholas II, Russian history
posted by Randy at 11:58 PM
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