Nicholas II

titles

Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Grand Duke of Finland, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of all land and naval forces of the Russian Empire, Tsar of Poland.

father and mother

Alexander III, Maria Fyodorovna.

children

Olga Nikolaevna, Tatiana Nikolaevna, Maria Nikolaevna, Anastasia Nikolaevna and Alexey Nikolaevich

loves

hunting, forest, Tsarskoe Selo, Finnish and Russian culture, reading foreign newspapers, buying poperos, loves photography.

awards

Portrait of the Shah of Persia (July 28 (August 9), 1884) Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil) (September 19 (October 1), 1884) Order of the Noble Bukhara (Bukhara Emirate) (November 2 (14), 1885) Diamond badges to the Order of Noble Bukhara (Bukhara Emirate) (February 27 (March 11), 1889) Order of the Royal House of Chakri (Siam) (8 (20) March 1891) Order of the Crown of the State of Bukhara with diamond insignia (Emirate of Bukhara) (November 21 (December 3), 1893) Order of the Garter (UK) (1893) Order of Dannebrog (Denmark) (1894) Order of Solomon (Ethiopia) (June 30 (July 12) 1895) Order of the Double Dragon with Diamond Badges (China) (April 22 (May 4), 1896) Order of Iskander-Salis (Emirate of Bukhara) (18 (30) May 1898) Royal Victorian Order (United Kingdom) (1904) Royal Victorian Chain (United Kingdom) (1904) Order of Carol I (Romania) (15 (28) June 1906) Chain of the Order of the Seraphim (Sweden) (12 (25) May 1908) Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria) (10 (23) February 1910)[206] Order of the Precious Rod (Mongolia) (1913)[207] Gold Medal "For Military Valor" (Italy) (1916) War Cross with Palm (France) Order of the Bath (UK) Order of Saint Sava (Serbia) Order of Prince Daniel I (Montenegro)

nature

According to those close to the Tsar, Nicholas II was shy by nature, did not like to argue, was accustomed to restraint, which often gave the impression of insensitivity; he had a surprisingly even character, but was quite distrustful.

story from life and childhood

In early childhood, Nikolai and his brothers were tutored by an Englishman living in Russia, Charles Heath (1826-1900); General G. G. Danilovich was appointed his official tutor as the heir in 1877. Nikolai received his education at home as part of a large gymnasium course; in 1885-1890, according to a specially written program that combined the course of the state and economic departments of the law faculty of the university with the course of the General Staff Academy. Classes were held for 13 years: the first eight years were devoted to subjects of the extended gymnasium course, where special attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, English, German and French (Nikolai Alexandrovich spoke English as a native language); the following five years were devoted to the study of military affairs, legal and economic sciences necessary for a statesman. Lectures were given by world-famous scientists: N. N. Beketov, N. N. Obruchev, Ts. A. Cui, M. I. Dragomirov, N. Kh. Bunge, K. P. Pobedonostsev and others. All of them only gave lectures. They did not have the right to ask questions to check how well the material was learned. Archpriest John Yanyshev taught the Tsarevich canon law in connection with the history of the church, the main sections of theology and the history of religion. On May 6 (18), 1884, upon reaching the age of majority (for the heir), he took the oath in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, which was announced by the imperial manifesto. The first act published in his name was a rescript addressed to the Moscow Governor-General V. A. Dolgorukov: 15 thousand rubles for distribution, at the discretion of the latter, "among the residents of Moscow who are most in need of assistance

Accession to the throne and the beginning of the reign

A few days after the death of Alexander III (October 20 (November 1), 1894) and his accession to the throne (the supreme manifesto was published on October 21 [note 5]; on the same day, the oath was taken by dignitaries, officials, courtiers and in the troops [20]), on November 14 (26), 1894, in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, he married Alexandra Feodorovna; the honeymoon took place in an atmosphere of requiems and mourning visits [21]. Some of the first personnel decisions of Emperor Nicholas II were the dismissal in December 1894 of the controversial I. V. Gurko from the post of Governor-General of the Kingdom of Poland and the appointment in February 1895 of A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, following the death of N. K. Girs. As a result of the exchange of notes on March 27 (April 8), 1895[22], a “delimitation of the spheres of influence of Russia and Great Britain in the Pamir region, east of Lake Zor-Kul (Victoria)” was established along the Panj River; the Pamir volost became part of the Osh district of the Fergana region; the Wakhan Range was designated the Emperor Nicholas II Range on Russian maps. The Emperor’s first major international act was the Triple Intervention – the simultaneous (April 11 (23), 1895), on the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presentation (together with Germany and France) of demands to Japan to revise the terms of the Shimonoseki Peace Treaty with China, abandoning its claims to the Liaodong Peninsula. The Emperor's first public appearance in St. Petersburg was a speech given on January 17 (29), 1895, in the Nicholas Hall of the Winter Palace before delegations of the nobility, zemstvos, and cities who had arrived "to express their loyal feelings to their majesties and to offer congratulations on their wedding"; the text of the speech (the speech had been written in advance, but the Emperor delivered it, only occasionally glancing at the paper) read: "I know that recently in some zemstvo assemblies the voices of people have been heard who were carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of zemstvo representatives.

Problems

Russia's entry into World War I, Rasputin, bad economy.