By: Darlene Tempelton
Catholic Central High School
March, 2009
The Romanovs 1500 – 1905
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
Ivan the Terrible
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
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
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”
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
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
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
1881 – 1894 Reactionary Patriotism = Russian
Orthodox faith Anti-German Anti-Semitic (May
Laws ,1882) Assasinated1894 by
the same terrorist group that killed his father
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
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
Born June 6, 1872 Princess Alix of Hesse-
Darmstadt 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
Battle Of Mukden
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
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
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: 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
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
Born Aug. 12, 1904 – the long awaited Heir!
Inherited hemophilia through his mother
Nicholas and Alexandra decided not to make his disease public knowledge
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
“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
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
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
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!
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Red Army (Bolsheviks) vs. White Army (everyone else)
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
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
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
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
Lenin died after a stroke in 1924
After a power struggle between Trotsky and Joseph Stalin – Stalin took control and Trotsky was exiled