Explain the role of Nicholas II in addressing the issues that confronted him during his reign as Tsar. Essay

Nicholas II was faced with various issues during his reign from 1894-1917. His ineffectual personality was partly to blame for his ineffectual ruling. He was not able to listen to the needs of his public, and so violent uprisings such as Bloody Sunday occurred. His response was to initiate the October Manifest and the instigation of the Russian Duma, but neither of these pleased the public and so the February revolution of 1917 occurred, which ultimately created the fall of Tsar Nicholas II.

Nicholas II attempted to rule Russia as an autocrat as he believed that autocracy was the only was to save Russia from anarchy. As historian Orland Figes noted, “instead of embracing reform, [Nicholas] adhered rigidly to his own archaic vision of autocracy.” He had ascended to the throne in 1894 after his father Alexander III died suddenly. He had not been prepared for life as a ruler as his father had not briefed him in matters of the state, believing Nicholas to be unintelligent and weak. And Alexander was probably right. Nicholas turned out to be inflexible in his views and politically naive. He was easily influenced by his family and public servants, which created immense instability in his reign. Instead of delegating, Nicholas attempted to do everything by himself, which meant that he was directly responsible for all failures of his reign. All in all, Nicholas the II was an ignorant, incompetent and insensitive leader whose character was a decisive factor in the Russian Revolution.

One issue that confronted Nicholas during his reign occurred on 22nd of January, 1905. The leader of the worker’s union, Gapon, organised a peaceful protest rally which would march to the tsar’s Winter Palace. The protesters called for better working conditions and civil liberties. They believed that the tsar would come out to them and take into account their demands. But unbeknown to