§ 172. Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich (1894–1917)

In the very first months of his reign, the young sovereign with particular force expressed his intention to follow his father's system in the internal administration of the state and promised to "guard the beginning of autocracy as firmly and steadily" as Alexander III guarded it. In foreign policy, Nicholas II also wished to follow the peacefulness of his predecessor, and in the first years of his reign not only did not practically deviate from the precepts of Emperor Alexander III, but also raised the theoretical question before all the powers of how diplomacy, through international discussion of the matter, “put limit to continuous armaments and find means to avert the misfortunes that threaten the whole world. The result of this appeal of the Russian emperor to the powers was the convening in The Hague of two "Hague Peace Conferences" (1899 and 1907), the main purpose of which was to find means for a peaceful solution of international conflicts and for a general limitation of armaments. This goal, however, was not achieved, because no agreement on the cessation of disarmament was followed, and a permanent international court was not established to resolve strife. The conferences were limited to a number of private humane resolutions on the laws and customs of war. They did not prevent any armed clashes and did not stop the development of so-called "militarism" with its enormous expenditure on military affairs.

Simultaneously with the work of the first Hague Conference, Russia was forced to take an active part in the internal affairs of China. It began with the fact that she prevented Japan from retaining the Liaodong Peninsula conquered from China with the fortress of Port Arthur (1895). Then (1898) Russia itself leased Port Arthur with its region from China and built one of the branches of its Siberian railway there, and this made another Chinese region, Manchuria, through which the Russian railway passed, indirectly dependent on Russia. When an uprising began in China (the so-called "boxers", patriots, adherents of antiquity), the Russian troops, together with the troops of other European powers, took part in its pacification, took Beijing (1900), and then openly occupied Manchuria (1902). At the same time, the Russian government turned its attention to Korea and found it possible to occupy some points in Korea for its military and commercial purposes. But Korea has long been Japan's object of desire. Affected by the transfer of Port Arthur to Russian possession and worried about the assertion of Russia in the Chinese regions, Japan did not consider it possible to abandon its predominance in Korea. She resisted Russia and, after lengthy diplomatic negotiations, started a war with Russia (January 26, 1904).

The war dealt a severe blow to Russia's political prestige and showed the weakness of its military organization. The government faced the difficult task of reviving the naval power of the state. It seemed that this would take a long time and that Russia would not be able to take an active part in international political life for a long time. Under this assumption, the central European powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary, became less shy about Russia. They had many reasons to interfere in the affairs of the Balkan Peninsula, where there were wars between the Balkan states with Turkey and among themselves. The main pressure was exerted by Austria-Hungary on Serbia, meaning to subordinate this state to its full influence. In 1914, the Austrian government delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, encroaching on the political independence of the Serbian kingdom. Russia stood up, against the expectations of Austria and Germany, for the friendly Serbian people and mobilized the army. To this, Germany, and behind it Austria, declared war on Russia, and with it at the same time on France, its longtime ally. Thus began (in July 1914) that horrendous war that engulfed, one might say, the whole world. The reign of Emperor Nicholas II, despite the peace-loving statements of the monarch, was overshadowed by unusual military thunderstorms and severe trials in the form of military defeats and the loss of state regions.

In the internal government of the state, Emperor Nicholas II considered it possible and desirable to adhere to the same principles on which his father's protective policy rested. But the policy of Alexander III had its explanation in the troubled circumstances of 1881 (§170); it set as its goal the fight against "sedition", the restoration of state order and the reassurance of society. When Emperor Nicholas came to power, order was strengthened, there was no talk of revolutionary terror. But life brought to the fore new tasks that required special efforts of the authorities. Crop failure and famine, in 1891–1892 which hit the agricultural regions of the state with extraordinary force, revealed an undeniable general decline in the people's well-being and the failure of those measures by which the government had thought to improve class life until then (§ 171). In the most grain-growing regions, the peasantry, due to the scarcity of land and the lack of livestock, could not support the land economy, had no reserves, and at the first crop failure suffered hunger and poverty. In plants and factories, workers were dependent on entrepreneurs who were not sufficiently limited by law in the exploitation of labor. The suffering of the masses, revealed with unusual clarity in the famine year of 1891-1892, caused a great movement in Russian society. Not limited to sympathy and material assistance to the starving, the zemstvos and the intelligentsia tried to put before the government the question of the need to change the general order of government and from the bureaucracy, powerless to prevent the ruin of the people, to move on to unity with the zemstvos. Some zemstvo assemblies, taking advantage of the change of reign, in the first days of the power of Emperor Nicholas II turned to him with the appropriate addresses. However, they received a negative answer, and the government remained on the same path of protecting the autocratic system with the help of bureaucracy and police repression.

The sharply expressed protective direction of power was in such a clear discrepancy with the glaring needs of the population and the mood of the intelligentsia that the emergence of opposition and revolutionary movements was inevitable. In the last years of the 19th century, protests began against the government of student youth in higher educational institutions and unrest and strikes of workers in the factory districts. The growth of public discontent caused intensification of repressions, aimed not only at the persons exposed in the movement, but also at the whole of society, at the zemstvos and at the press. However, repression did not prevent the formation of secret societies and the preparation of further speeches. The failures in the Japanese War gave the final impetus to public discontent, and it resulted in a series of revolutionary outbreaks. [Cm. Russian Revolution of 1905-07.] Demonstrations were organized in the cities, strikes were held in factories; political assassinations began (Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Minister Plehve). A demonstration of unprecedented size took place in Petrograd on January 9, 1905: masses of workers gathered at the Winter Palace with a petition to the tsar and were dispersed with the use of firearms. With this demonstration, an open revolutionary crisis began. The government was about to make some concessions and expressed its readiness to create a legislative people's representation. However, this no longer satisfied the people: in the summer there were agrarian riots and a number of uprisings in the fleet (Black Sea and Baltic), and in the autumn (in October) a general political strike began, which stopped the correct life of the country (railways, post office, telegraph, water pipes, trams). Under the pressure of unusual events, Emperor Nicholas II issued a manifesto on October 17, 1905, which gave the population the unshakable foundations of civil freedom on the basis of real inviolability of the individual, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and associations; At the same time, a broad development of the principle of general suffrage was promised, and an unshakable rule was established that no law could take effect without the approval of the State Duma, and that the people elected should be provided with the opportunity to really participate in supervising the regularity of government actions.

Chapter 3

Conclusion………………………………………………………………….12 – 13

List of used literature…………………………………………………………14

Introduction

Nicholas II Alexandrovich - the last Russian emperor from the Romanov dynasty. The last Russian tsar, with whose death the great Russian Empire fell.

This is one of the few rulers, the opinion of which differs not only among historians, but also among the common people. Someone considers Nikolai Alexandrovich "bloody" for the execution of demonstrators, someone considers him, on the contrary, a saint and brutally tortured along with his entire family by Bolshevik terrorists led by Yankel Yurovsky, many consider him a coward and a man of weak will because the emperor could not to keep his throne and save the country from destruction, but there are those who, on the contrary, consider Tsar Nicholas a strong-willed and strong man who was simply betrayed by those whom he trusted.

But one thing can be said - one of the most difficult days in the history of Russia fell on the reign of Nikolai Alexandrovich. These are the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the first revolution (1905-1907), the crisis in the Balkans, revolutionary terrorism, riots, strikes, strikes, the outbreak of the First World War (1914) and the second "Russian » Revolution and the subsequent change of power in the country (1917).

Emperor Nicholas II can be assessed as a good or bad ruler, but it is impossible to accurately state or prove what we don’t really know, because the Bolsheviks won the revolution, and history, as you know, is always written by the winner, despite lying story or true.

Chapter 1. Brief biography and personality of Nicholas II.

Nicholas II Alexandrovich May 6, 1868, Tsarskoye Selo - July 17, 1918, Yekaterinburg - the last Russian emperor (1894-1917), the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich and Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Nikolai's training began when he was 8 years old. The curriculum included an eight-year general education course and a five-year course in higher sciences. It was based on a modified program of the classical gymnasium, instead of Latin and Greek, mineralogy, botany, zoology, anatomy and physiology were studied. The courses of history, Russian literature and foreign languages ​​were expanded. The cycle of higher education included political economy, law and military affairs (military jurisprudence, strategy, military geography, service of the General Staff).

There were also classes in vaulting, fencing, drawing, and music. Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna themselves selected teachers and mentors.

From an early age, Nikolai had a craving for military affairs: he knew perfectly the traditions of the officer environment and military regulations, he felt like a patron-mentor in relation to the soldiers and did not shy away from communicating with them, meekly endured the inconvenience of army everyday life at camp training or maneuvers. Once, Nicholas II was presented with a variant of the uniform for soldiers, in order to check its quality, Nikolai Alexandrovich personally made a ten-kilometer march and appreciated the quality of the new uniform.

Immediately after his birth, he was enrolled in the lists of several guards regiments and was appointed chief of the 65th Moscow Infantry Regiment. At the age of five he was appointed chief of the Life Guards of the Reserve Infantry Regiment, and in 1875 he was enlisted in the Life Guards of the Erivan Regiment. In December 1875 he received his first military rank - an ensign, and in 1880 he was promoted to second lieutenant, after 4 years he became a lieutenant.

In 1884, Nicholas II entered active military service, in July 1887 he began regular military service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment and was promoted to staff captain, in 1891 Nicholas received the rank of captain, and a year later - colonel.

The personality of Nicholas II and his character still causes different assessments of contemporaries. Many noted “weak will” as the dominant feature of his personality, although there is a lot of evidence that the tsar was distinguished by a stubborn desire to fulfill his intentions, often reaching stubbornness (only once was someone else’s will imposed on him - the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, and then under the pressure of revolutionary sentiments in the country).

Unlike his father Alexander III, Nicholas II did not give the impression of a strong personality. At the same time, according to the reviews of people who knew him closely, he had exceptional self-control, which was sometimes perceived as indifference to the fate of the country and people (for example, he met the news of the fall of Port Arthur or the defeat of the Russian army during the First World War with composure, hitting the royal environment). In public affairs, the tsar showed “extraordinary perseverance” and accuracy (Nicholas II, for example, never had a personal secretary and he himself put seals on letters), although in general the rule of a huge empire was a “heavy burden” for him.

Contemporaries noted that Nicholas II had a tenacious memory, keen powers of observation, and was a modest, affable and sensitive person. At the same time, most of all, he valued his peace, habits, health, and especially the well-being of his family.

The support of Nicholas II was the family. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was not only a wife for the tsar, but also a friend and adviser. The habits, ideas and cultural interests of the spouses largely coincided. They got married on November 14, 1894. They had five children: Olga (1895-1918), Tatiana (1897-1918), Maria (1899-1918), Anastasia (1901-1918), Alexei (1904-1918).

The fatal drama of the royal family was associated with the incurable disease of the son of Alexei - hemophilia (blood incoagulability). The disease caused the appearance in the royal house of Grigory Rasputin, who, even before meeting with the crowned bearers, became famous for the gift of foresight and healing, he repeatedly helped Alexei overcome bouts of illness.

Repent people! The king is coming!

In the slaughter gave the Masonic Jews.
We have been rewarded for this.
And it is approaching a hundred years.

God gave us so many years to repent
In the hope that we will repent for all.
No revolution, no war, no consciousness
They did not explain to us the gravest sin.

After all, our ancestors broke the oath,
By which they swore to Fedor - the Tsar,
That he is the Anointed One of God, we have forgotten.
We swore in 1613.

We had a king! But we killed him!
There are few years left for repentance.
We haven't washed His blood from ourselves yet.
And He is waiting for another answer from us.

By the time the sun had set,
Pulsating in the dying hours.
The betrayal of God has already taken place,
But we did not repent of the atrocities.

But we pray and ask all the same:
“God, return the King!
Murder Forgive us, God.
God, lengthen our days."

How Moses prayed for the Jews:
"Take me, but leave them alive"
So the Tsar prays: “Deliver Russia from the villains,
That strangle the world in their arms.

As Abraham asked: “Though the faithful
There are ten, will you spare all of them?”
But there were no worthy among the bad ones.
God poured fire and brimstone on them.

As Elijah cried then in the wilderness:
"Oh, take it! Yours is no longer here
All rejected. The villains are uncountable."
God answered: “There are mine among the weeds”

The fourth angel is already blowing - we do not hear,
Three have already trumpeted, but we are deaf,
In our struggle we become quieter,
Getting ready for the firestorm.

We had a king! But we killed him!
We had a Queen with her husband and children.
Eagle killed. Ravaged Dove!
And the Children are raised on sharp bayonets!

Who killed them?! We are our change
By venality and cowardice.
And we became a Masonic shift,
Serving murderers in the darkness of days.

We had a king! But we killed him!
Killed easily. With all of his family.
We did not forbid him to kill
And they did not wash themselves with repentant tears.

But their bodies were famously dismembered,
The heads of the heir with the Father were cut off
And they put it in a bottle of alcohol,
Bearing an account to the slanderers of Satan.

They were shot, stabbed, dismembered,
Doused with acid, carefully burned ...
And, ritually, they drank Their blood with ashes...
We allowed them that in those days.

And we still allow it
Opponents of Russia of all stripes.
Ivana, we do not know relationship,
And we give our children to demons!

We are sleeping! Deep sleep and drunk.
And we are waiting - who will pour acorns for us?
Come to your senses, Ivans - Johns!!!
There are very few days left!

You will be killed, how did you allow it
With your King and all His Family.
Cunning: "Your Tsar is killed." Didn't argue?
And the King was killed by them and you.

Now they crucified Christ again.
They were preparing, mocking you.
They killed us, and we slept,
Shrouded in a veil of indifference.

So little time! And the field turned yellow.
Awaiting harvest. Where are his reapers?!
With the King and God, ascend boldly.
And remember that the Forefathers are with us!

But the King is coming! A recent wanderer.
The people will save, the Anointed One is the Chosen One!
Repent people! God is waiting for us!
Without this, no one will save us.

After all, God is with us! We just have to decide.
Without it, He cannot help.
And with us the All-Heavenly Queen ...
Let there be Light! And let the night perish.

r.B. Gennady. Simferopol.

It is no longer a secret to anyone that the history of Russia has been distorted. This applies especially to the great people of our country. Who are presented to us in the form of tyrants, crazy or weak-willed people. One of the most slandered rulers is Nicholas II.

However, if we look at the numbers, we will see that much of what we know about the last king is a lie.

The basis of his reign by Nicholas II was the preservation of the principles of the state system, the strengthening of the Church, the granting of prudent freedoms based on Christian morality, the preservation of the great authority of the Empire, the improvement of the general welfare of the population through broad economic and economic reforms, and an increase in the level of education.

Russia was a huge territory, amounting to 19.179.000 square miles or about 8.320.000 square meters. miles.

In administrative order, it consisted of 97 provinces and regions, divided, in turn, into 816 USD.

N. Obruchev (The true image of the Tsar-Martyr as a man, a Christian and a Monarch) wrote:

The brilliant Russian scientist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, who was not only a chemist, but also an economist and a statesman, in his remarkable work “To the Knowledge of Russia”, published shortly before his death (in 1906), gives a detailed picture of Russian well-being. Based on the statistical data of the All-Russian population census of 1897 and on the data of the statistical committee, cited by him in his report “ Movement of the population of European Russia in 1897." (in 1900).

Population of Russia:

Mendeleev emphasizes that in 1897 the birth rate was 4.95%, the death rate was 3.14%, and the natural population growth was 1.81%. “I consider it very useful, writes Mendeleev, to pay attention to the fact that such a natural increase, which was found for 1897 (1.81%), is still unknown for any country.” Comparing the USA and Argentina, Mendeleev points out that the increase in the population of these countries is greater because it consists of a natural increase increased by immigration of the population from other countries. At the same time, he points to the most prosperous country in this respect, Germany, where the annual population growth is 1.5%. Further, Mendeleev cites the statistics of Ireland, where there is a clear decline in population, and also points to a number of countries in which the population is gradually dying out. Such a country after the Great Revolution, corrupted by its revolutionary philosophy and the decline of morality, was France, whose population was systematically decreasing before the First World War. Mendeleev calculates that if, as a precaution, we take 1.5% instead of 1.81% for the growth of Russia's population, then in 1950 it will be 282.7 million people. According to Soviet statistics, the total population of the Soviet Union in 1967 was 235 million, while, according to Mendeleev's calculations, it should have reached a figure of 360 million, at a minimum. This is a "deficit" in the population of Russia, equal to 125 million people! According to Soviet statistics, the population growth for 1967 is 1.11%. There is something to think about.

“In Russia every year,” reports Mendeleev, “2,000,000 inhabitants arrive, that is, in every minute of the day and night, the total number of births in Russia exceeds the number of deaths by 4 people.”

The great Russian scientist draws the attention of the Russian public to the growth of the population, which by the year 2000 should reach 600,000,000 souls. Based on this, Mendeleev comes to the conclusion that in order to ensure and increase the well-being of the population, it is necessary to increase the growth of domestic industry, engage in land management, and raise the productivity of agriculture and labor in general. On the basis of the results of the census of data on the movement of the population, he comes to the firm conclusion that this question is correctly raised and interpreted by the imperial government, as evidenced by the faster growth of the urban population at the expense of the rural and the growth of peasant land ownership.

Industry

Concerning our industry, Mendeleev points out that the paper-spinning industry has conquered all the markets of Asia without any competition. He points out that the export of fine quality and very cheap cotton goods, such as chintz, calico, satin, "devil's leather", etc., completely replaced the same goods of English industry in China and other Asian countries, including India.

Export abroad of sugar, tobacco, cigarettes, vodka products, caviar, fish and other canned food reaches impressive proportions.

“Every Russian who has traveled abroad,” writes Mendeleev, “knows that in Russia, candy products of all kinds, from simple caramels and jams to premium sweets, are not only better than anywhere else, but also cheaper.”

For my part (writes N. Obruchev, the author of the memoirs), I cannot fail to point out and I am sure that everyone who lived in Imperial Russia will confirm that such lemonades as were made there, in terms of quality and taste, were nowhere abroad and not even now; especially in this regard, Moscow stood out: "Fruit Water" by Lanin and "Sitro" and "Cranberry" by Kalinin.

Our Prokhorov canned food, which made Little Russian borsch, pikeperch in mayonnaise, fried partridges and black grouse, sweet peas, etc., fruit and fish canned food: sprats, sprats, mackerel were and, at least in the past, still remained out of competition, so the same as different types of caviar, cigarettes, tobacco and vodka.

Statistics for the 20 years of the reign of the Tsar-Martyr give the following information: the development of industry in Russia proceeded with gigantic steps - in 1914 in Russia there were 14,000 large factories and plants, which already employed about 2,500,000 workers, producing goods worth about 5 billion . gold rubles. In addition, a handicraft industry was developed, in which several million mainly small-land peasants took part, who were engaged in this trade as an aid to agriculture. Handicraftsmen made knives, scissors, shoes, felt boots, pottery, furniture, toys and many artistic items from ivory, silver and wood.

The Vladimir province was famous for icon painting, the Caucasus for weapons and all kinds of decorations, Bukhara, Khiva and Turkestan for carpets, Great Russia and Little Russia for embroideries, Belarus for cloth and the finest linen, Yaroslavl province for felt boots and sheepskin coats, etc. In Russia, 30,000 fairs were organized annually. , of which the most famous international fairs in Nizhny Novgorod.

Peasantry

The love of Nicholas II for the common people was not abstract: he systematically sought to improve their life and well-being, a number of legislations and reforms carried out on their basis testify to this. This was especially pronounced in his reforms concerning the land management of the peasants. He understood well what the theoreticians of socialism did not understand, who put up the demagogic slogan "All the land - to the peasants." The Tsar-Martyr clearly realized that the division of the whole earth equally was utopian and would inevitably lead to agriculture. production of the country into a catastrophic state in the next decades. Only illiterate people and irresponsible demagogues could talk about the division of agricultural land. In 1914, over the entire area of ​​Russia in 19.179.000 square meters. verst, lived 182.5 million inhabitants. If we divided the entire area of ​​Russia equally, then the average would be 10.95 acres per capita. And the total number of these tithes included areas occupied by settlements, railways and other roads, lakes, swamps, mountains and vast expanses of deserts, tundras and forests. The sovereign was well aware of this, but in fact fundamental reforms were needed to improve agricultural production. This required the destruction of communal ownership and striped land (i.e., the arrangement of land plots of one farm in strips interspersed with other people's plots).

The Sovereign's conviction about the need for such a reform was shared by the greatest minds of Russia: prof. DI. Mendeleev, Adjutant General N.N. Obruchev, prof. N.Kh. Bunge, prof. D.I.Pestrzhetsky, ministers D.S. Sipyagin and P.A. Stolypin, who began to implement this reform.

It is interesting to note what S.Yu. Witte: "I must say that, on the one hand, I have not yet fully studied the peasant question regarding the advantages of this or that method of peasant ownership of land, I have not established my final view." And then we read - “Thus, I did not speak out either for the community or for personal possession, but I found that it would be more prudent until the peasant question in its entirety is clarified, the operation of the article should be suspended.”

The provision of land-poor and landless peasants was a matter of special care for the government. Since 1906, an intensified resettlement of peasants to Siberia began. The transfer of immigrants was carried out at the expense of the treasury. The Land Surveying Commission and the Resettlement Administration issued loans and allowances to such peasants to set up a farm. In Asiatic Russia, for the resettlement of peasants, lands were allocated that were exceptionally suitable for agriculture and in the zone, the climate of which was the mildest and healthiest.

Russia by 1917 was a completely peasant country to a greater extent than any of the European countries. On the eve of the revolution, the peasants owned the entire arable area of ​​land in Asiatic Russia and 80% of it in European Russia.

The improvement of agriculture, in other words, the improvement of the life and economic well-being of 75% of the entire population of Russia, was the constant concern of the Tsar-Martyr. Simultaneously with the land management reforms, a lot has been done to improve agriculture and to raise agricultural production. The number of primary, secondary and higher agricultural educational institutions grew rapidly.

Many varieties of fruit trees, vegetables, berries and cereals have been bred in Russia. In this field, the famous Russian scientist I.V. Michurin achieved a lot. Turkestan and Caucasian peaches, grapes, apricots, pears and plums were the best in the world. The Black Sea prunes replaced the famous French prunes in the last years before the revolution. Winemaking grew; Russian Crimean and Caucasian wines, Don champagne, specific "Abrau-Durso", if not superior, then not inferior in quality to French. New breeds of cattle and horses were bred.

According to surveys by Prof. DI. Mendeleev, the climate of Russia from all the countries of Europe was the least favorable for agriculture. Agriculture suffered especially from droughts, when, under the influence of the wind blowing from the southeastern deserts of Asia, the entire crop of the Volga region, southeast and south of Russia was burned in the bud. “Before the revolution,” writes prof. Pestzhetsky, - in 46 provinces there were 84 thousand grain-stocking public and peasant shops. On January 1, 1917, the stocks of barley, rye and wheat in stores were 190,456,411 pounds - and this is only in grain stores, not to mention other bins!

According to statistical data for 1912, the Russian Empire had:

35.300.000 horses - the USA was in the second place (23.015.902 horses);

51.900.000 heads of cattle - we were in second place after the USA (613.682.648 heads);

84.500.000 sheep - we ranked second in world production after Australia (85.057.402 heads).

Tsarist Russia was the breadbasket of Europe. “On average for 1909-1913,” says prof. Pestzhetsky, - grain production in Russia amounted to 75.114.895 tons per year. In all other countries of the Old and New Worlds, 360,879,000 tons were collected along with rice. Thus, the grain production of Russia accounted for 21% of the production of the whole world. Russia exported more grain, flour and seeds than the United States and Argentina together.”

Science and education

Public education in Russia during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II developed rapidly. The budget of public education from 40.000.000 rubles. in 1894 it reached 400,000,000 million rubles; in 1914, tuition fees at Russian universities were exceptionally low compared to those abroad - 50 rubles a year. Students from peasant, working and poor families were exempted from tuition fees and received scholarships. Higher education was not the exclusive privilege of the wealthy class, as it was abroad. Education in elementary schools was generally free. Students and students in secondary educational institutions (high school) had the opportunity to earn money by intellectual work, mainly by lessons.

The former leader of the Trudovik faction of the First State Duma, I. Zhilkin, wrote: “Again, one significant feature comes out more and more prominently - the cause of public education is spontaneously growing.<…>A huge fact is being accomplished: Russia is becoming literate from being illiterate. The whole soil of the vast Russian plain, as it were, parted and took in the seeds of education - and immediately the whole space turned green, the young growth rustled.

In 1906, the State Duma and the State Council adopted a bill on the introduction of universal education in Russia! This reform in the field of public education was to be completed in 1922. In connection with this, 10,000 elementary schools were built in Russia every year and 60 secondary educational institutions were opened.

Economy

In the reign of Nicholas II, as in the then United States, there was no income tax. Taxation in Russia was the lowest in comparison with other great powers of Europe.

According to statistics for 1912:

TAXES IN RUBLES PER CAPITA AMOUNTED TO

Despite this, the state revenues of Russia increased from 1,410,000,000 gold rubles in 1897 to 3,417,000,000 gold rubles in 1913. The gold reserves of the State Bank increased from 300,000,000 rubles in 1894 to 1,600,000,000 rubles in 1914. The amount of the State Budget from 950,000,000 gold rubles in 1894 increased to 3,500,000,000 gold rubles in 1914. During all this time, the state budget of the Russian Empire did not know a deficit.

The Sovereign Emperor patronized domestic investment and was an adamant opponent of foreign investment. Despite the restrictions on foreign capital, the economic prosperity of Russia, and in particular its industry, grew rapidly. Since the end of the 19th century, Russia's industrial development has been faster than in any other country. In Russia, cooperation was greatly encouraged, and in this respect, Russia, perhaps, also stood in first place in the world. In 1914 there were 45,000 cooperative savings banks in Russia and probably about 30,000 shops.

labor legislation

The interests of workers were protected by special legislation. Mandatory pay books were introduced, in which hours of work and earnings were entered, work for minors was prohibited, adolescents from 14 to 16 years old could not work more than 8 hours, and an 11-hour working day was established for men. Work in factories at night was forbidden to women and teenagers under 17 years of age. On December 12, 1904, state workers' insurance was introduced. Such a law did not exist in the United States for a very long time.

Zemstvos provided rural and urban population with free medical care and free treatment in hospitals and hospitals. Russia was the first country in the world to establish a public health department.

Church transformations

The Tsar-Martyr brought a living stream into the religious and church life of Russia. In his reign, glorifications took place: of St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Theodosius of Uglitsky, St. Martyr Isidore, Sainted Pitirim, Bishop of Tambov and many others. Missionary activity intensified. The building of temples grew. The number of Orthodox Christians increased from 15 million under Emperor Peter I to 115 million or more by the end of the reign of Emperor Nicholas II. In 1908 there were 51,413 churches in Russia.

Nicholas II carried out a grandiose work of state dispensation. The well-being of Russia in his reign very quickly reached an unprecedented height.

N. Obruchev "The true image of the Tsar-Martyr as a man, a Christian and a Monarch", based on the materials of the book "Nicholas II in memoirs and testimonies". - M.: Veche, 2008.

Nicholas II - the last Russian emperor. It was on it that the three-hundred-year history of the rule of Russia by the House of Romanov was stopped. He was the eldest son of the imperial couple Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna Romanov.

After the tragic death of his grandfather - Alexander II, Nikolai Alexandrovich officially became the heir to the Russian throne. Already in childhood, he was distinguished by great religiosity. Relatives of Nicholas noted that the future emperor had "a soul pure as crystal, and passionately loving everyone."

He himself loved to go to church and pray. He really liked to light and place candles in front of the images. The Tsarevich followed the process very carefully and, as the candles burned, extinguished them and tried to do it in such a way that the cinder smoked as little as possible.

At the service, Nikolai liked to sing along to the church choir, knew many prayers, and had certain musical skills. The future Russian emperor grew up as a thoughtful and shy boy. At the same time, he was always persistent and firm in his views and convictions.

Despite his childhood years, already then Nicholas II was inherent in self-control. It happened that during the games with the boys, there were some misunderstandings. In order not to say too much in a fit of anger, Nicholas II simply went to his room and took up books. Having calmed down, he returned to his friends and to the game, and as if nothing had happened before.

He paid much attention to the education of his son. Nicholas II studied various sciences for a long time. Particular importance was given to military affairs. Nikolai Alexandrovich was at military training more than once, then he served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

Military affairs was a great hobby of Nicholas II. Alexander III, as his son grew older, took him to meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers. Nicholas felt a great responsibility.

A sense of responsibility for the country forced Nikolai to study hard. The future emperor did not part with the book, and also mastered a complex of political, economic, legal and military sciences.

Soon Nikolai Alexandrovich went on a trip around the world. In 1891 he traveled to Japan, where he visited the monk Terakuto. The monk predicted: - “Danger hovers over your head, but death will recede, and the cane will be stronger than the sword. And the cane will shine with brilliance ... "

After some time, an attempt was made on the life of Nicholas II in Kyoto. A Japanese fanatic hit the heir to the Russian throne with a saber on the head, the blade slipped, and Nikolai escaped with only a cut. Immediately, George (a Greek prince who traveled with Nicholas) hit the Japanese with his cane. The emperor was saved. Terakuto's prophecy came true, the cane also shone. Alexander III asked George for a while, and soon returned it to him, but already in a gold edging with diamonds...

In 1891, there was a crop failure in the Russian Empire. Nicholas II stood at the head of a committee to collect donations for the starving. He saw human grief, and worked tirelessly to help his people.

In the spring of 1894, Nicholas II received the blessing of his parents to marry Alice of Hesse - Darmstadt (future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova). Alice's arrival in Russia coincided with the illness of Alexander III. Soon the Emperor died. During his illness, Nikolai did not leave his father a single step. Alice converted to Orthodoxy, and was named Alexandra Feodorovna. Then the wedding ceremony of Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov and Alexandra Feodorovna took place, which took place in the church of the Winter Palace.

Nicholas II was crowned king on May 14, 1896. After the wedding, a tragedy occurred on where thousands of Muscovites came. There was a huge stampede, many people died, many were injured. This event went down in history under the name - "Bloody Sunday".

One of the first cases of Nicholas II on the throne was an appeal to all the leading powers of the world. The Russian Tsar proposed to reduce armaments and create an arbitration court in order to avoid major conflicts. A conference was convened in The Hague, at which a general principle for resolving international conflicts was adopted.

Once the emperor asked the head of the gendarmes when the revolution would break out. The chief gendarme replied that if 50,000 executions were carried out, then the revolution could be forgotten. Nikolai Aleksandrovich was shocked by such a statement, and rejected it with horror. This testifies to his humanity, that in his life he was driven only by truly Christian motives.

During the reign of Nicholas II, about four thousand people turned out to be on the chopping block. Criminals who committed especially serious crimes - murders, robberies were subjected to executions. There was no blood on his hands. These criminals were punished by the same law that punishes criminals throughout the civilized world.

Nicholas II often applied humanity to the revolutionaries. There was a case when the bride of a student sentenced to death because of revolutionary activities, filed a petition with Nikolai Alexandrovich's adjutant to pardon her fiancé, due to the fact that he was ill with tuberculosis and would soon die anyway. The execution of the sentence was scheduled for the next day ...

The adjutant had to show great courage, asking to call the sovereign from the bedroom. After listening, Nicholas II ordered to suspend the sentence. The emperor praised the adjutant for his courage, and for helping the sovereign to do a good deed. Nikolai Alexandrovich not only pardoned the student, but also sent him to Crimea for treatment with his own money.

I will give another example of the humanity of Nicholas II. One Jewish woman did not have the right to enter the capital of the empire. In St. Petersburg she had a sick son. Then she turned to the sovereign, and he granted her request. “There cannot be such a law that would not allow a mother to come to her sick son,” said Nikolai Aleksandrovich.

The last Russian Emperor was a true Christian. He was characterized by meekness, modesty, simplicity, kindness ... Many of his qualities were perceived as a weakness of character. Which was far from true.

Under Nicholas II, the Russian Empire developed dynamically. During the years of his reign, several vital reforms were carried out. Witte's Monetary Reform. promised to delay the revolution for a long time, and was generally very progressive.

Also, under Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov, the State Duma appeared in Russia, although, of course, this measure was forced. The economic and industrial development of the country under Nicholas II proceeded by leaps and bounds. He was very meticulous about state affairs. He himself constantly worked with all the papers, and did not have a secretary. The sovereign even applied stamps on envelopes with his own hand.

Nikolai Alexandrovich was an exemplary family man - the father of four daughters and one son. Grand Duchesses:, doted on their father. Nicholas II had a special relationship with. The emperor took him to military reviews, and during the First World War, he took him to Headquarters.

Nicholas II was born on the feast day of the holy long-suffering Job. Nikolai Alexandrovich himself said more than once that he was destined to suffer all his life, like Job. And so it happened. The emperor happened to survive revolutions, the war with Japan, the First World War, the illness of the heir - Tsarevich Alexei, the death of loyal subjects - civil servants at the hands of terrorists - revolutionaries.

Nikolai and his family ended their earthly journey in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. The family of Nicholas II was brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918. In the post-Soviet period, members of the Imperial family were canonized as saints of the Russian Orthodox Church..