Transcript The Rise & Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

By: Darlene Tempelton
Catholic Central High School
March, 2009
The Romanovs 1500 – 1905
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Ivan the Terrible
The Rurik Dynasty was the
ruling dynasty of the
Kievan Rus, and early
Russia from 862 to 1598
A.D.
Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible)
was the first to take the title
of “Tsar”; he married
Anastasia Romanovna
Defeated the Mongols and
expanded Russian territory
The Rurik Dynasty ended
when Tsar Ivan IV’s son
Fyodor I died without an
heir
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1598 – 1613 A.D.
After the death of Fyodor I
Civil War - caused by poor crop yields, foreign
invasions and weak kings.
Cossacks and peasants united in calling for a “true
Tsar” that would restore their freedoms
Boyars chose Mikhail Romanov – the 16 year old
grand-nephew of Ivan IV
Mikhail I ruled from 1613 - 1645
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Reigned 1672 – 1725
First Tsar to travel to
Europe
Modernized the
Russian navy & army
Built St. Petersburg
Encouraged boyars to
adopt Western dress
and attitudes
Reformed the Church
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German princess who
married Tsar Peter III
Ruled Russia alone
after his assassination
Corresponded with
Voltaire and supported
the philosophes
Patron of the arts and
literature
“Enlightened Despot”
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1801 – 1825
Tsar during the
Napoleonic invasions
Joined France, Spain,
Britain in opposing
Napoleon after his
invasion of Poland
Supported Greek War
of Independence
against Ottomans
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Only European nation to still have serfs –
nearly 90% of population in 1850
Agrarian – the Industrial Revolution did not
affect Russia
Crimean War (1853 – 1856) – humiliating
defeat for Russia
Russia realized it had to modernize to
compete with nations like Germany and
Great Britain
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1855 – 1881
Abolished serfdom –
giving serfs their own
land
Establishes zemstvo =
local elected assemblies
Reformed legal system –
all are equal before the
law
Railroads
Assassinated by
terrorists
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1881 – 1894
Reactionary
Patriotism = Russian
Orthodox faith
Anti-German
Anti-Semitic (May
Laws ,1882)
Assasinated1894 by
the same terrorist
group that killed his
father
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Alexander III’s Minister of
Finance
Wanted to industrialize
Russia
Trans-Siberian Railroad
Put nation on gold standard
Encouraged foreign
investment in Russian
industry
Steel and petroleum
production began to rival
Western Europe
1894 - 1917
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Born May 18, 1868
Died July 17, 1918
Very well educated;
spoke French, English
and German fluently
Well traveled while he
was Tsarevitch –
visited most of Europe
and Japan
His first priority was
always his family
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Born June 6, 1872
Princess Alix of HesseDarmstadt
Her maternal grandmother
was Queen Victoria of
England.
Very religious, she nearly
did not marry Nicholas
because she would be
required to convert from
the Lutheran faith of her
childhood to the Russian
Orthodox Church
Married Nov. 26,
1894
Russo-Japanese War
(1904 – 05)
Over territorial
ambitions of both
nations
 Japan attacks
Russian Fleet at
Port Arthur
 Battle of Tsushima
Strait – rest of
Russia’s fleet
destroyed
 Russia loses the
war
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Battle Of Mukden
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Business and professional classes wanted
a more liberal, representative government
Factory workers wanted better pay and
working conditions
Many of the peasants were still living in
extreme poverty
Nationalism among the ethnic minorities in
the west and south, especially Ukraine and
Poland
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St. Petersburg workers
wished to petition the Tsar
to allow trade unions, a
more representative
government and some
freedom of religion
Peaceful march to the
Winter Palace led by Fr.
Georgi Gapon; crowd
included families; people
are singing, praying and
carrying icons
Fr. Gapon
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Troops blocked
their way as they
approached the
palace and open
fire, killing around
100 and wounding
hundreds
Turning point in
Russian history –
common people no
longer saw the Tsar
as caring about
them
Russian troops fire on protestors
Events of “Bloody Sunday” led to a general
strike which paralyzed the nation
The October Manifesto was a reaction to that:
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Allowed full civil rights for all Russians
Duma was to be popularly elected with legislative
powers
Universal male suffrage
Tsar retains veto power over anything passed by
the Duma
Tsar continues to appoint and dismiss his
ministers
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In response to “Bloody Sunday”, Nicholas promised
that the Duma will sit regularly and will be an advisory
body to the Tsar
1905 – first Duma was radical and demanded universal
suffrage, land reform, release of political prisoners and
the right to appoint the Tsar’s advisors. Nicholas
refused and dissolves the Duma
Feb., 1907 – second Duma is more radical than the first
By 1912, the Duma had become more moderate and
established a good working relationship with the Tsar
and his advisors
If it had not been for WWI, in all probability Russia
would have eventually developed some type of
constitutional monarchy
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Born Aug. 12, 1904 – the
long awaited Heir!
Inherited hemophilia
through his mother
Nicholas and Alexandra
decided not to make his
disease public knowledge
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A starets; many people
believed he had the power of
healing
Rasputin was able to either
heal or bring relief to Alexei
when he had a hemophiliac
incident
Alexandra believed that
without Rasputin, Alexei
would die
This led to his increasing
influence over the royal
family, especially Alexandra
Rasputin’s influence and
interference in political
affairs was a contributing
factor to the Revolution
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“Pan-Slavism” – Russia had a treaty to protect
Serbia
“Willy – Nicky Letters” – between Nicholas and
Kaiser Wilhelm I; attempts to prevent the outbreak
of war
Wilhelm, however, had already decided on war
July, 1914 – Russia mobilized on Austrian border;
Austria and Germany declared war on Russia
Russia was economically and militarily unprepared
for war
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Military leadership
came from the
aristocracy – who
had contempt for
ordinary soldiers
Russia was not
ready for modern
warfare
By 1915, mass
desertions and 2
million causalities
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Mid-1915 cities
experienced
shortages of food
and fuel
Military had few
weapons and no
ammunition
Sept, 1915 Nicholas
decided to take
personal command
on the front and left
Alexandra in charge
in St. Petersburg
Nicholas at Military
Headquarters
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Alexandra left in charge of the government in
St. Petersburg
Relied upon the advice of Rasputin
Dismisses government officials Rasputin does
not like
Encourages Nicholas not to hand any power
over to the Duma
Alexandra was more autocratic than most
of the Russian Emperors had been!
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Dec. 16, 1916 –
Rasputin was
assassinated by
several members of
the Royal Family
Rasputin’s last letter
to Alexandra stated
that if he were killed
by Romanovs, the
entire dynasty would
be destroyed within 6
months
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People in the cities were facing
severe shortages of food, fuel and
medicine as nearly all supplies were
being sent to the Front
Riots in Petrograd – Nicholas
ordered the military to deal with it
but they refused and joined the
rioters
Duma takes over the government
Nicholas abdicated in favor of his
brother, Grand Duke Michael
Michael immediately abdicates
There is no longer a Tsar in
Russia!
Nicholas after his abdication
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Headed by Alexander
Kerensky
Democratic
Continues the war b/c
he believed Russia
should continue to meet
its obligations to it allies
Unable to deal with food
shortages and an army
that no longer wanted to
fight
Throughout 1917 the
country descended into
anarchy
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After his abdication,
Nicholas was returned
to Petrograd and
reunited with his family.
They remained under
house arrest in the
Winter Palace from
March through August,
1917
In August, Kerensky
decided to move the
family east of the Urals
for their protection. He
was trying to arrange to
move them out of
Russia – but no other
nation would take them
in
Alexei and Olga on the train to Yekaterinburg
Vladimir Lenin
Leon Trotsky
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Caused by lack of food and fuel
in the cities
Germany arranges for Vladimir
Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik
party, to return in secret to
Russia
Trotsky gets the support of the
army – creates the Red Army
October, 1917 – Bolsheviks led
by Lenin and Trotsky take over
the government
Lenin promises to end the war,
get the people food and
collectivize the farms and
factories
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Treaty of Brest-Litovsk – Russia makes peace with
Germany.
General elections in 1918 – Russian people elect
not to keep the Bolsheviks in power. Lenin nullifies
the elections and this leads to Civil War
Industry nationalized
Private property abolished
Secret Police (Cheka) created
Bolshevik Party renamed Communist Party
Red Army (Bolsheviks) vs. White Army (everyone else)
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Bolsheviks control the major cities and
industrial centers of Russia
Trotsky controls the army and makes it
efficient
Whites are fragmented: democrats, Tsarists,
socialists
Foreign intervention promotes nationalism
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From August, 1917 until May, 1918, the Imperial
family lived in the Governor’s house in Tobolsk,
Siberia
With the outbreak of Civil War, the family was
moved to Yekaterinburg – a city loyal to the
Bolshevik party
On July 17, 1918, the family was awakened early in
the morning, taken to a basement room and shot
Lenin had ordered their deaths to prevent their
being rescued by the White army
The bodies were burned and buried in the woods
nearby.
Basement after the murders
“The Church of the
Blood”
Located on the site
of the house where
the Romanovs
were murdered
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In the early 1920s, several young
women surfaced in Europe
claiming to be the youngest
Romanov princess, Anastasia
The most famous was Anna
Anderson
Recent DNA tests have been able
to prove they were all frauds
Reports from the soldiers who
executed the family confirmed that
all the family members, along with
their doctor, ladies-in-waiting and
pet dog, were killed
The bodies of all family members
have been accounted for since the
early 1990s
Anastasia
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In 2000, the Russian
Orthodox Church canonized
the Imperial Family as
“passion bearers”
“Passion Bearers” – people
who remained faithful and
accepted their deaths with
Christian faith and love of
God
Most of the family was
recently reburied in Saints
Peter and Paul Cathedral in
St. Petersburg, which is
where most of the Romanov
Tsars are buried
Icon of the Romanov family
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Bolsheviks win
Russia renamed
Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics
(USSR)
Russian economy
and infrastructure is
devastated after 7
years of war
Flag of the Soviet Union
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Lenin died after a
stroke in 1924
After a power
struggle between
Trotsky and Joseph
Stalin – Stalin took
control and Trotsky
was exiled