The Last Days of the Tsar
Nicholas' Abdication
Source A: Nicholas II Letter of Abdication
For all the drama of the events beforehand, Tsarism ended rather tamely. Nicholas was advised by members of the army's High Command that the situation in Petrograd had moved beyond his control, and advised that he abdicate. Nicholas accepted and on 2nd March 1917 signed the decree of abdication that renounced his throne and that of his son, Alexei, who would be next in line.
Nicholas nominated his brother, Michael, to succeed him, but he refused the throne on the grounds that it had not been offered by a constituent assembly, though it is doubtful that he would have ever wanted what had become a 'poisoned chalice' with which he would have inherited a political, social and economic situation that had become quite hopeless. Following Michael's refusal of the throne, Russia fell into the hands of the Provisional Government - a legacy of Nicholas' last duma that had openly challenged the Tsar's authority. |
Exile
Following his abdication, Nicholas and his family spent several months under house arrest at Alexander Palace, the imperial residence at Tsarskoye Selo. However, in August 1917, with the situation in Petrograd growing more threatening, the Romanovs were evacuated to Tobolsk in Siberia, where they lived in relative luxury in the former governor's mansion.
The October Revolution
The February Revolution had left power shared between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. In October of that year, the Bolsheviks - led by Vladimir Lenin and actively supported by Leon Trotsky - overthrew the Provisional Government and established a government controlled by the Soviets.
Click here for a timeline of events
Click here for a timeline of events
Execution
The Bolsheviks' seizure of power was bad news for the Romanovs. Soon after taking control, the Bolsheviks moved the family from the comfort of their Tobolsk mansion to Yekaterinburg, where they were confined to the house of a merchant named Ipatiev. The Bolsheviks intended to put Nicholas on trial, but as the Russian Civil War broke out and the Bolsheviks faced a challenge from anti-Communist forces, the risk of the former Tsar and his heirs falling into enemy hands - who might seek to restore the monarchy - was too great.
Supposedly on the orders of Lenin, Nicholas, his wife and children, and those who remained loyal to them were executed in the cellar of the Ipatiev house in July 1918.
Supposedly on the orders of Lenin, Nicholas, his wife and children, and those who remained loyal to them were executed in the cellar of the Ipatiev house in July 1918.
Click here to read the account of the executioner, Yurovsky, of the execution of the Romanovs.
Click here to read the account of Pavel Medvedev, a guard at the Ipatiev house.
Click here to read the account of Pavel Medvedev, a guard at the Ipatiev house.
References for this page
Anderson, M., Low, A. & I. Keese (2007). Retrospective: Year 11 Modern History. Queensland: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Eye Witness to History. (2005). The Execution of Tsar Nicholas II, 1918. Retrieved from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nicholas.htm
Llewellyn, J., Rae, J., Thompson, S. (2014). The February Revolution. Retrieved from http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/february-revolution
Lynch, M. (1992). Access to History: Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894-1924 Fourth Edition. London: Hodder & Stoughton Educational.
Proctor, H. (1995). Ruling Russia: From Nicholas II to Stalin. Melbourne: Longman.
Anderson, M., Low, A. & I. Keese (2007). Retrospective: Year 11 Modern History. Queensland: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
Eye Witness to History. (2005). The Execution of Tsar Nicholas II, 1918. Retrieved from http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nicholas.htm
Llewellyn, J., Rae, J., Thompson, S. (2014). The February Revolution. Retrieved from http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/february-revolution
Lynch, M. (1992). Access to History: Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894-1924 Fourth Edition. London: Hodder & Stoughton Educational.
Proctor, H. (1995). Ruling Russia: From Nicholas II to Stalin. Melbourne: Longman.