Moderates joined with radical Bolshevik revolutionaries in calling for an overthrow of the czar. Government corruption was rampant and the Russian economy was severely battered by World War I. But by 1917, most Russians had lost all faith in the leadership ability of the czar. Russian nobles, eager to end the cleric’s influence, had Rasputin murdered on December 16, 1916.Ĭzar Nicholas II left Saint Petersburg in 1915 to take command of the failing Russian Army front in World War I. Rasputin’s powerful influence on the ruling family infuriated nobles, church leaders and peasants alike. (Many relatives of Queen Victoria inherited the disease, which was sometimes referred to as “the royal disease.”) Hemophilia is an inherited disease in which the blood doesn’t clot normally, causing excessive bleeding after any injury. She believed the self-proclaimed holy man could cure her son Alexei’s chronic illness.Īlexei, the only son and heir to the throne, suffered from severe hemophilia, and was often confined to bed. Her German ancestry and her devotion to Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin contributed to her unpopularity. Rasputin and the RomanovsĪlexandra-with a brusque demeanor and distaste for Russian culture-was disliked by most of the Russian people. Nicholas and Alexandra had four daughters-Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia-and one son, Alexei. Alix, who would later take the name Alexandra Feodorovna, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. His poor handling of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, subsequent 1905 uprising of Russian Workers-known as Bloody Sunday-and Russia’s involvement in World War I hastened the fall of the Russian Empire.Ĭzar Nicholas II married Princess Alix of Hesse, a duchy in the German Empire in 1894, shortly after his coronation. He was widely seen as a politically weak, indecisive leader. When he succeeded his father-Czar Alexander III-Nicholas II had little experience in government. The duration of his rule was plagued by periods of political and social unrest. Alexander I’s army defeated the French troops, dealing a major blow to Napoleon’s reputation and weakening his leadership over much of Europe.Ĭzar Nicholas II was the last Romanov emperor, ruling from 1894 until his forced abdication in March of 1917. The French invaded Russia in 1812 at the height of Napoleon Bonaparte’s power. In later years, a campaign by Russian Emperor Alexander I represented a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. The period of Catherine’s rule-1762 to 1796-is often called the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.Ĭatherine II was a sophisticated patron of the arts, and during her reign, Russia adopted Western European philosophies, fashions and culture. Catherine the Greatĭuring the reign of Romanov leader Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great, the Russian Empire grew larger and stronger. Peter I declared himself emperor of the newly formed Russian Empire in 1721, a position he held until his death in 1725. Through wars against the Ottoman Empire and the Empire of Sweden, Russia expanded its territory and became the dominant power in both the Baltic Sea and Black Sea regions. Michael I’s grandson Peter I, also known as Peter the Great, transformed Russia from a landlocked state into one of Europe’s largest empires. In 1613, Mikhail Romanov became the first Romanov czar of Russia, following a fifteen-year period of political upheaval after the fall of Russia’s medieval Rurik dynasty. The Romanovs were high-ranking aristocrats in Russia during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
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