Tsar Nicholas

To what extent was Nicholas II responsible for the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty?

Tsar Nicholas II cannot be held to be fully responsible for the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty. The reasons for the Russian Revolution and the murder of the whole Romanov family are much more complicated and go back to a history of autocratic rule for the benefit of a few, while the peasants lived on the brink of starvation.

The power of the Russian Tsar had no limits. The country had no constitution, meaning that there were no set rules for governing and the Tsar's was worshipped as a god, who was believed to have divine powers and the divine right to rule and could do whatever he wanted. The downfall of the Romanov Dynasty marked an end of autocratic rule under the power of the Tsar and the beginning of a search for different system of government for Russia.

Tsar Nicholas II was a man who believed that his actions were in the best interest of the Russian people. Nicholas believed that he was appointed to be Tsar by god and he saw no need to modernise Russia or to share his power with politicians. He disliked the west and brought up his family in the countryside away from the poverty and conflict of St. Petersburg. He believed that he would live his life enjoying the love and support of the Russian people, just like other Tsars before him. Shut away in his palace, the Tsar and his family lived a fairy tale life while millions of Russians starved or died in the battlefront.

Nicholas would never have expected to be the last Tsar of Russia, since for centuries the position of Tsar had been supported by the Russian people and the Orthodox Church. Russian peasants were mostly illiterate and their trust in the Tsar was part of their culture and religion. The leaders who had come before Tsar Nicholas had enjoyed years of autocratic power and the love of their people who affectionately regarded them as their ‘little gods'.

The power of the Tsar was never questioned even though Russians constantly struggled to find enough food to survive their harsh winters due to old fashioned farming methods and poor land. The best land was given to the Russian nobility, who enjoyed the riches of the land while the city workers lived in slums and had to work in the factories with no rights or protections.

Unfortunately for Tsar Nicholas II, the beginning of the twentieth century proved to be a difficult time for an autocrat like himself and he had to face many events which previous leaders had never experienced. People were calling for political change and they were not prepared to follow him blindly. Many events contributed to the downfall of the Romanov Dynasty such as unexpected war losses during World War One and never before seen popular protests against the government due terrible economic conditions at home.

The Tsar's responded to these challenges with poor leadership under the influence of people like the unpopular Rasputin. He failed to react to the demands of the people for more political rights and better living conditions and as a result he paid with his life.

Although it is true that he could have done things differently, he was not prepared for the amount of hatred and revenge held by his opponents who wanted nothing more than to end the Russian monarchy.

One of the factors which contributed to the end of the Romanov Dynasty was World War One, which affected the living conditions of ordinary Russians and made them question the Tsar's judgement. When World War One broke out in 1914, the Tsar decided to go to the war front himself and take over the military command. At first his leadership decision was very much admired by Russians and there was a lot of support for the war. However the excitement and enthusiasm soon faded as over eight million soliders were killed fighting for the Tsar.

Nicholas himself was now blamed for a lack of appropriate supplies for