Nicholas & Alexandra

Alix took the name Alexandra when she converted to Russian Orthodoxy. Very British in personality and values, Alexandra was widely detested by the Russian aristocracy and never managed to fit into the high society of the capital, Saint Petersburg. Partly due to the aspect that she cultivated a passionate belief in the loyalty of the Russian people, which in her view contrasted with the disloyalty and lack of patriotism of upper and middle class Russians. If this wasn’t all she also bore a son who had hemophilia. Her need to relieve her son’s pain brought in a need for Rasputin.

Rasputin’s ability to alleviate the effects of Alexis’s illness gave him great influence over Alexandra. Rasputin’s influence also owed much to Alexandra’s conviction that he spoke for the loyal Russian people. Under the strain of Alexis’s illness, Alexandra’s high-strung personality became increasingly unstable and out there. This painted her passionate belief in autocracy (power is concentrated in an absolute ruler) as the only system of government that could save Russia from revolution and preserve her child’s inheritance. Nicholas shared this belief, but in a more rational manner.

Nicholas’s decision to command Russian troops in WW1 proved to be a catalyst for the revolution. He left behind Alexandra who became attached to Rasputin as he had the power to heal her hemophiliac son. Alexandra maintained a good amount of power when Nicholas was away and Rasputin took advantage. He influenced Alexandra to the extent that he was appointing highly unskilled ministers. The only decisive factor was that the ministers should support Rasputin.

In January 1905, in an event that became known as Bloody Sunday, unarmed crowds demanding radical constitutional and social reforms were shot down by the army near the emperor’s palace in Saint Petersburg. In the wake of this event, riots and demonstrations broke out throughout the country. Workers went on strike, soldiers mutinied, peasants attacked landlords, and students and members of the middle class demanded constitutional government and social reform. Nicholas solved this dilemma with the constitution in 1905.

Nicholas’s problems were not over and support was fading among the nobles, officials, and army generals. This was due to Alexandra and Rasputin who interfered so much in government matters,