Change! \u00a0In the statements made on March 15, 1917, Nicholas II realized\u00a0that the pressures from the people of Russia had reached a boiling point. \u00a0He felt that he had one option, to abdicate the thrown and\u00a0leave it to his brother. \u00a0He stated “We have recognized that it is for the good of the country that we should abdicate the Crown of the Russian State and lay down the Supreme Power. \u00a0Not wishing to separate ourselves from our beloved son, we bequeath our heritage to our brother, the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich…” ((Nicholas II abdication speech, March 15, 1917)). \u00a0Nicholas II’s statement about abdicating the thrown were important for several reasons. \u00a0First, he recognized the fact that people knew he could not keep the Russian state floating. \u00a0Years before his abdication, he had lead Russia into one debacle after another. \u00a0Internationally, he had Russia’s backwardness exposed when Russia was humiliated in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904-1905. \u00a0Years later, Russia was exposed again with culminating defeats in\u00a0World War I. \u00a0Domestically, he failed to solve the food shortages and failed to respond to calls for reforms\u00a0from the Russian people. \u00a0Second, he placed more emphasis on the Russian state keeping a Tsardom than listening to the demands of the Russian people. \u00a0 Nicholas II believed that the only change the Russian state needed to make was to have a different leader in charge. \u00a0However, the decision to transfer power to his brother only added fuel to the coming revolution, along with his past history of refusing to make reforms for the benefit of the Russian people. \u00a0Had he really cared about the Russian people, he would have created reforms which would have allowed for the people to have a say in decision making. \u00a0Do you think there was a point of no return for Nicholas II? \u00a0And if so, when did he cross that point in which he, and the idea of Tsardom were\u00a0doomed? \u00a0Or was Nicholas II doomed as a result of previous Tsars?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Change! \u00a0In the statements made on March 15, 1917, Nicholas II realized\u00a0that the pressures from the people of Russia had reached a boiling point. \u00a0He felt that he had one option, to abdicate the thrown and\u00a0leave it to his brother. … Continue reading