Nicholas II

The Last of the Romanovs

Nicholas II(1868 -1918)

• reigned 1894-1917

• last tsar of Russia

-was forced to abdicate

Russo-Japanese War(1904-05)

• a result of Nicholas's interest in Russian expansion in the Far East

• Russia loses

-the death knell of the “Old Order”

Japan initiates hostilities by surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur.

They gain naval superiority, which helps them win the war.

Father Gapon led a peaceful protest of over 200,000 loyal subjects of the tsar.

The purpose of the protest was to communicate to the tsar grievances held by the people.

Over 500 people are killed by the tsar’s troops.

The massacre is recorded in Russian history as Bloody Sunday.

Results of the Russo-Japanese War

• Russia suffers humiliation at the hands of the Japanese

• helped touch off the Russian Revolution of 1905

The tsar was forced to grant the Russian people a parliament.

The Russian Parliament is known as the Duma.

Petr Arkdievich

Stolypin

World War I(1914-1918)

Russia was unprepared for war:

• was still recovering from the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)

• many troops sent to front unarmed (up to 1 out of 3)

Russia suffered many defeats.

Three-quarters of Russia’s troops become casualties.

At one point Nicholas II personally took command of the army and ran the war.

Grigory Rasputin

• religious mystic• gained the trust of the tsarina

-allegedly had the ability to heal the tsarevitch of his hemophellia

• was seen as a harmful influence

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

• ends Russia’s involvement in World War I

• negotiated between Bolshevik Russia and Germans

Russia exchanged 1/4 of its land, 1/3 of its population, and 1/2 of its industry for peace.

Nicholas and his family were sent to internal exile by the Bolsheviks.

Death of a Dynasty

• the Romanov royal family was executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918-their remains were dumped down an abandoned mine shaft, which was then sealed-up and forgotten

Why?