Nicholas
Nicholas, the name of two czars of Russia.
Nicholas I(1796-1855) was czar 1825-55, succeeding his brother, Alexander I. His succession was met by an uprising called the Decembrist revolt, in which army officers demanded a constitution, but it was put down. Nicholas tried to improve the lot of the peasants, with little effect. He enlarged the bureaucracy, which became increasingly corrupt, rigid, and oppressive. Greater police rule and censorship marked his reign.
In foreign policy, Nicholas favored autocracy everywhere. After the Poles rose unsuccessfully in revolt in 1830, Nicholas revoked their constitution and made Poland an integral part of Russia. In 1849 he sent Russian troops to Hungary, where they put down that country's revolution against the Austrian Hapsburgs. His aggressive policy toward Turkey led to the Crimean War, in which Britain and France also opposed Russia. Nicholas died during the war and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II.
Nicholas II(1868-1918), the last czar of Russia, ruled from 1894 to 1917. He succeeded Alexander III. Nicholas was weak-willed but his views were autocratic. His early rule was marked by persecution of the Jews and repression of other minorities. A solid achievement, however, was his proposal to reduce armaments; it resulted in the Hague Conferences of 1899 and 1907.
Nicholas favored a foreign policy of expansion to the east. During his early reign Russia gained territory in south-central Asia, and the Trans-Siberian Railway was built. Russia then secured a long-term lease to Port Arthur, China, and the right to construct a railway branch through Manchuria to the port. Conflicting ambitions between Russia and Japan in Manchuria and Korea led to war between the two nations, however, and Russia was decisively defeated in 1905.
Russia's defeat set in motion general strikes and peasant revolts. Nicholas was forced in 1906 to accept the creation of a representative assembly called the Duma. It was little more than a token, however, because its powers were too limited to have much effect on Nicholas's policies.
After Russia suffered tremendous losses early in World War I, Nicholas took personal command of the Russian army and spent much of his time at army headquarters. Increasingly, Czarina Alexandra, a strong reactionary, directed domestic policy. She in turn had fallen under the influence of Rasputin, a dissolute adventurer who posed as a holy man. With the war going badly for Russia, the people demanded reforms, and the unpopularity of the regime increased. A widespread revolt forced Nicholas to abdicate in March, 1917.
Nicholas and his family were sent to Siberia in late 1917 then to Yekaterinburg the following year. There, in July, local Bolsheviks killed them. In 1991, the location of the remains of the czar, the czarina, and all but two of their children (Alexei and Maria or possibly Anastasia) was revealed. The remains were buried in 1998 at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg, the traditional burial place for the czars. In 2000, Nicholas and his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.