By: Darlene TempeltonCatholic 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