*** Tsar Nicholas Revolution









Tsar Nicholas: Revolution (1917-18)


Figure 1.--

Russia was unprepared for War. It had huge army once mobilized, but did not have the industrial base to properly equip them with modern weapons. The Russian soldiers fought bravely, but suffered devestating losses, bith from the Germans and from inadequate supplies. Tsar Nicholas assumed command of the Army at the front. This was probably a mistake necause it made him personally responsible for the military disasters. And in addition to the disasters at the front, with so many men conscripted from rural areas, the harbests were inadequate to feed Russia. And the Allies had no way of supplying Russia because the Germans doiminated the Baltic and the Turks masinaimned control of the straits leading o the Black Sea ports. The result was Revolution. Nicholas II abdicated on March 2, 1917, in favor of his brother Michael. No fool, Michael renounced his claim the next day. After the abdication, the royal family first remained in Czarskoe Selo then, by decision of the interim government, were transported to Siberia. The Bolshevik government in April 1918 decided to move the Imperial family to Ekaterinburg in the Urals.

World War I (1914-18)

Russia was unprepared for War. It had huge army once mobilized, but did not have the industrial base to properly equip them with modern weapons. The Russian soldiers fought bravely, but suffered devestating losses, bith from the Germans and from inadequate supplies. Tsar Nicholas assumed command of the Army at the front. This was probably a mistake necause it made him personally responsible for the military disasters. And in addition to the disasters at the front, with so many men conscripted from rural areas, the harbests were inadequate to feed Russia. And the Allies had no way of supplying Russia because the Germans doiminated the Baltic and the Turks masinaimned control of the straits leading to the Black Sea ports. The result was Revolution.

Revolution

The war continued to go very badly for the Russians. Th Allies were unable to get supplie to the Russians in significanbt quanity. The Tsar and the Tsarrevitch stayed at the front. Back home the Tsar's popularity fell drastically in Petrograd as conditions deteriorated. His wife was running the government into the ground. And from the sideline, Alexei watched as his future fell apart.

Abdication (March 1917)

With reports of riots in Petrogard, the Tsar attempted to return, but was stopped and forced to abdicate his throne (March 2, 1917). He abdicated in favor of his brother Michael. This mean that Alexei was no longer in line to inherit the throne. No fool, Michael renounced his claim the next day.

Provisional Government

After Nicholas abdicated, the Duma formed a Provisional Government.

Arrest

When Nicholas returned to Tsarskoe-Selo, the Provisional Government placed him and his family under arrest. At first the royal family first remained in Czarskoe Selo then, by decision of the interim government, were transported to Tobolsk in Siberia. arrest.

Emigration Opportunity

The new Provisional Government was willing to allow the royal family to leave Russia. Foreign Minister Miliukov asked British Prime Minister Lloyd George to grant the family asylum. The British, however, refused. King George V feared that the offering asylum to the Tsar who was seen by many as a despot would weaken his position. The British Government cabeled the Provisional Government, "[King George V] must beg you to represent to the Prime Minister that from all he hears and reads in the press, the residence in this country of the ex-Emperor and Empress would be strongly resented by the people, and would certainly compromise the position of the King and Queen." The Provisional Government also contacted the French Government, but they also refused. Geroge V lsater regretted not letting him come.

Lenin

Ayoung Vladamir Lenin was exposed to radical thinking. His views were hardened by the execution of his elder brother, a member of a radical group. Authorities expelled Lenin fom university for his radical policies. He managed to complete his law degree as an external student (1891). He moved to St Petersburg where he became a professional revolutionary. He and many of his colleagues he was arrested and exiled to Siberia. There he married Nadezhda Krupskaya. Headoptd the pseudonym 'lenin, (1901). He was forced to spent most of the his time in western Europe to avoid arrest. He emrged as a leading figure in the Russian revolutionary movement, dominating the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Worker's Party. The German Government,desperate to ebd the War, seized upon a plot to knock a teetering Rusia out of the war. They not only allowed Rusian revolutionry Vladamir Lenin in a seled trin to cross German territory from Sexile in Switzerland, but provided him with substantial funds to funance the Revolution. Leading Bolsheviks met him at the Finland Station (Finlyandsky station). It was and contibues to be a major railway station in St. Petersburg, handling transport to northern destinations including Helsinki and Vyborg.

Tobolsk

Primeminister Alexander Kerensky moved the royal family to an run-down mansion in Tobolsk on Liberty Street. The Government restored it and created a comfortable residence. Nicholas and Alexandra haa bedroom. The grand duchesses shared another bedroom and Alexei had a room. the Provisional Government apprpriated a pension of 200,000 rubles a year. Soldiers guarded them more for protection than inprisonment. Nuns and farmers nearby hekped to provision them. Alexandra taught Alexei his catechism. The Royal Family was held at Tobolsk. Alexei wrote in his diary about how bored he. He begged God to have mercy upon him. He was permitted by his captives play outdoors from time to time. He had two playmates. One was Kolya, the son of one of his doctors. There was also a kitchen boy named Leonid Sednev. He seems to have taken greater risks in captivity. Once he recklessly rode a sled down the stairs of the prison house, injuring himself severely in the groin. The bleeding was extensive.

Bolsheviks (November 1917)

The Bolsevicks seized power overthrowing the Provisional Government (November 15, 1917). The Bolsheviks made changes in the treatment of the royal family. They announced that the family would be put on put on soldiers' rations (600 rubles per person per month) (March 1, 1918> They no longer received 'uxuries' such as butter and coffee. Their meals were soup, fish, or meat. The Bolshevicks moved the royal family to Yekaterinburg (April 1918). Alexi was so ill that he could not be moved. So they moved his parents and older sister Maria to Yekaterinburg (April 1918). The three other sisters remained with Alexei until he was strong enough to make the trip. As a result of his injuries he was confined to a wheelchair.

Adjustment

The Royal family had a huge adjustment to make, falling from absolute monarcy and a privlidged existence to house arrest and increasing privations. All had to adjust, the former- Tsar and Tsarina, the teenage daughters, and Alexi. The girls were old enough to realize the incresing dangerT and as privlidged tenagers teenagers faced the traumatic change in circumstance, This was particularly difficult when the Bolsheviks gained custody. [Rappaport]

Ekaterinburg (April 1918)

The Bolsheviks gave secret police officer Vassili Vassilievich Yakolev the task of moving the royal family (April 22, 1918). The initial plan was to bring them back to Moscow. The Bolshevicks were concerned, however, that one of the monarchist groups would free the family. Yakolev and the Romanovs arrived at Ekaterinburg in Siberia (April 30, 1918). They were lodged in the Ipatiev House. The family was only allowed the use of the main floor, The six servants they were allowed shared their accommodations. There was a first no running water or ventilation. The windows were whitewashed and barred to prevent any communication with the outside woirld. The bathrooms were filty and even has pornographic drawings of the Tsarina and Rasputin. The family was only permitted an hour outside each day for a walk in the garden.

Execution (July 1918)

After about 2 1/2 months in Ekaterinburg, the royal family's stay, came to a bloody end. Alexei was almost 14 years old when an execution squad carried out their orders in the cellar room of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. Yakov Yurovsky commanded the squad of the Bolshevik secret police. It was early on the morning of July 17, 1918. Alexandra was sitting up in bed reading silently while Nicholas slept next to her. Alexei was sleeping on a cot nearby. Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud knock at the door. This woke up Nicholas and Alexei. The guard told them to get dressed. So the three of them got dressed, this took about half an hour. Then when they went out into the hall, they met up with the rest of their group. The guards then lead the group slowly through the house. Nicholas lead the way with Alexei. As they walked toward the basement, not a single person in that group revealed that they were aware of what was happening. Along the way, Yurovsky told them that because of the approaching White forces, they are to be moved. Thus, they are being taken to the basement to wait for a car to arrive.

Sources

Rappaport, Helen. The Rappaport Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexander (2014), 448p.

New York Times (August 25, 2007).







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Created: 12:43 AM 8/16/2009
Last updated: 9:47 AM 6/13/2015