May 26 - Tsar Nicholas II is Crowned

This Day in History: 26 May 2020

 

26 May 1896

 

124 years ago, today, Tsar Nicholas II was crowned as the ruler of Russia in the old Ouspensky Cathedral in Moscow. He was neither trained, nor inclined to rule, hindering his autocracy, which was worsened by the country's desperation for change. After his father, Alexander III, died in November 1894, he married a German princess, Alexandra, who came to have great influence over Nicholas. Despite this, she was hated by the Russian public due to her cold and shy nature, and her German origins did not help her during World War One. After a period of mourning for his late father, the couple were crowned as Tsar and Tsarina.

 

As the ruler of Russia, Nicholas resisted calls for reform and maintained absolutism, leading to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1905. This was only diffused after Nicholas approved the use of the Duma and promised constitutional reforms. This was however retracted, contributing to the growing Bolshevik popularity. In World War One, Nicholas proved again to be incompetent in leading his country. In 1917, Nicholas was called to abdicate by his army and striking workers. He gave in on March 15, but subsequently brought an end to the Tsarist autocracy, allowing the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, to take power in November. However, during the Russian Civil War in 1918, Nicholas and his family were killed by a dozen armed men, and their remains were found in a forest near Yekaterinburg in 1991.

 

Want to find out more about Tsar Nicholas II? Click here for more information, or here for a video with more on his coronation.