Materials from the Presidential Library collections tell about the reign and personality of Nicholas II

May 18, 2018 marks 150 years since the birth of Emperor Nicholas II. The Presidential Library features a new collection of materials about the last Russian autocrat, which were included in the collection "The House of Romanov. Zemsky Sobor of 1613" and revealing in all contradictions the pre-revolutionary situation prevailing in Russia at the beginning of the XX century, and against this background - the tragedy of the last of the Romanovs. Among the rare books that enriched the electronic collections of the Presidential Library - "On the Edge of Two Reigns Alexander III - Nicholas II" N. Rusanova (1895), "Tsar Nicholas II, his environment and advisers" D. Orlov (1905), "The reign of Emperor Nicholas II . V. 1" S. Oldenburg (1939), “Nicholas II. Exposure” E. Levin (1914), and others.

In the forewords to most of these books it is said that the reign of Emperor Nicholas II is one of the darkest pages of Russian history. Started on the day of the coronation of the emperor by the tragedy of Khodynka, it ends with an unheard-of social cataclysm.

"Deprived of any deep political education, our cultural society did not understand what fatal legacy Alexander III left to his son-and fixed his eyes on the latter, full of hopes and expectations", - writes V. Chernov in his book "The Anniversary of Nicholas the Last (1894- 1904)" (1904), - it was said that the very youth of the tsar makes his mind and heart more open to new thoughts and trends more receptive to the needs and demands of life; they said that he was more educated rather than his father, that he was imbued with a more modern spirit". 

And, it seemed, such expectations were under the ground. "Emperor Nicholas II - this is recognized by his enemies as well - had a completely exceptional personal charm", - S. Oldenburg noted in the book mentioned above. - He did not like celebrations, loud speeches. But in a close circle, in private conversation, he knew how to enchant his interlocutors, whether they were top dignitaries or workers of the workshop he visited. His large gray radiant eyes complemented the speech, looked directly at the soul. These natural data were further emphasized by careful upbringing. "I have never met a man more educated in my life than the now reigning emperor Nicholas II", - wrote Count Witte at the time when he was essentially a personal enemy of the emperor".  

One of the tsar's tutors was the Russian jurist, the chief ideologue of the counter-reforms of Alexander III, the chief procurator of the Synod of the 80s of the XIX century, K. P. Pobedonostsev. It is no exaggeration to say that the basic thoughts of his famous "Moscow Collection", published in 1896, were identical to the views of the tsar. And in this respect, writes S. Oldenburg in his book, the right was the French newspaper, which recommended to its readers the translation of the collection: "The book must be read, first, because Mr. Pobedonostsev thinks deeply, secondly, because he thinks differently than we do, and thirdly, because Emperor Nicholas II and his people think like him".  

Many said at the time that Russia was not ripe for democracy and the European reforms were essentially critical. "Parliamentary government is a great lie of our time", - K. P. Pobedonostsev wrote.

The home atmosphere in which Nicholas grew up did not contribute to the development of a strong personality. "The personality of the heir to the throne, Nicholas Alexandrovich, was completely suppressed by the strong fist of his nervous father", - says S. Oldenburg in the mentioned edition. And moreover, Prince of Urusov, who emigrated to London in 1906, Prince S. Urusov, in the book "Emperor Nicholas II: The Life and Work of the Crowned Tsar" (1909), makes his verdict: "Nicholas II will be noted in history as a logical necessity, since such a spineless lord was needed in order to accelerate the fall of the secular chains of autocratic bacchanalia".

From the digitized by the Presidential Library "The Correspondence between Wilhelm II and Nicholas II" (the period between 1894 and 1914), the brewing Anglo-German conflict with Wilhelm's distant plans to push Russia and England to the fore in the Far East is clearly emerging.

The results of the Russo-Japanese War, the economic crisis, the events of January 9, 1905, when the troops and police of St. Petersburg used weapons to disperse the peaceful procession of workers who were going to the tsar with a petition, did not add optimism to the society. "The tsar presented himself on January 9 with the opportunity to permanently strengthen his position in the state and create for his dynasty a solid foundation in the people's consciousness. If he came out to the people who were rushing to him, if he had said a few words and promised to at least mitigate the sufferings of the people, the multimillion-strong mass would have treated him with new confidence and would have once again inflamed his instinctive, prejudiced love, - D. Orlov suggests in the publication "Tsar Nicholas II, his environment and advisors". "But instead the tsar has ruined the autocracy, eradicated the popular faith in himself and caused a revolution".

"The task that fell to his lot was too heavy, it exceeded his strength", - wrote Tsarevich Alexei's close friend, Pierre Gilliard, who knew the tsar very closely.

The prophecy of Leo Tolstoy, who sent two letters to the tsar and tried to warn Nicholas of wrong actions, came true: in February 1917, Petrograd seized riots. On March 2, Nicholas was abdicated from the throne, after which his whole family was arrested. On July 17, after five months in custody, the former ruler of Russia, his wife and their five children were shot by the Bolsheviks in the basement of the Ipatiev mansion. In 1980, the decision of the Russian Church Abroad, Nicholas II, the queen and their children were canonized.

Details about the fate of Nicholas Romanov are available in the Presidential library electronic collection "The House of Romanov. Zemsky Sobor of 1613" - it is dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the Romanov House, which was celebrated in 2013.