The Last of the Romanovs
The Last of the Romanovs The fall of the Romanov Empire changed the face of Russia forever. The royal family, led by Nicholas II, we're imprisoned and eventually assassinated by the Bolsheviks, a political party founded by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov whose main focus was to eliminate the monarchy and employ their own form of democracy. Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra, and their only son, Alexei, heir apparent to the throne, were all integral figures in this historical evolution of Russia and its people. The first person to impact the fall of Imperial Russia was Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor. In particular, Nicholas’ coronation marked the beginning of a downward spiral for the Romanov family. Tsar Nicholas II was born on May 6, 1868 and was the eldest son of Alexander III (Levykin, 1999). Nicholas II had to assume the throne earlier than the Russian population would have liked. Nicholas’ father fell ill in the spring of 1894 and his health never fully recovered. On October 20th, 1894, Alexander III died of nephritis, forcing Nicholas to become the next Tsar of Russia at a young age (Lincoln, 1976). After the untimely death of his father, Nicholas was in dismay about becoming Tsar of Russia, a position he never really wanted. This is exemplified when Nicholas II refers to being the Tsar as, “the awful job I have feared all my life” (Massie, 1967, p. 59). To further Nicholas’ fears, the Russian people and government believed he didn’t have enough political training to rule Russia effectively (Harcave, 1968). In addition, the happiness of Nicholas II’s coronation was overshadowed by the sadness of the Khodynka Tragedy. It was tradition for the new Tsar and Tsaritsa to have an open-aired feast with the people of Russia. The feast for Tsar Nicholas II’s coronation was to take place in the Khodynka Meadow, the only place big enough to accommodate the amount of people expected to show up. The event was such a big deal to people