Nicholas II Flashcards
when was N2 the Tsar
1894 - 1917
How did N2 act and appear
- he was small and reserved, regarded by his father as a dunce and a weakling
- he had very little interest in politics and did not see himself as a good leader, once saying ‘ I am not prepared to be a Tsar. I never wanted to become one’
How did he want to rule
there was a large focus on upholding autocracy in the country, he said he wanted ‘to maintain the principle of autocracy just as firmly and unflinchingly as it was preserved by my unforgettable dead father’
why did N2’s reign not start well
In May 1896, attracted by the promise of free food, drink and gifts, crowds gathered on Khodynka field to celebrate the coronation however a crush amongst the crowd led to around 1400 deaths
why were there early demands for change in Russia
the failure to react to the great famine in 1891-92 meant that the country became more politicised
what is an example of an early uprising by students
in 1901 there was a student uprising in St Petersburg, yet a squadron of mounted Cossacks charged into the crowd killing 13 and later 1500 students were imprisoned in the Peter and Paul fortress
what were ‘the years of the red cockerel’
the years between 1902-07 where there were so many instances of arson in the rural areas
who was the Tsar’s minister who was known for being especially harsh to the uprisings
Pyotr Stolypin, who dealt with the uprisings in a way that angered more people, Peasants were arrested, exiled or shot in their thousands, led to the name Stolypin’s Necktie
what was the change in number of industrial strikes between 1894 and 1904
increased from 17,000 in 1894 to around 90,000 in 1904
what was a trade union approved by the Tsar’s minister
