When Nicholas II acceded to the throne of Russia, he inherited the job of ruling a nation which was decades behind all other 'civilized' countries at the time. At the turn of the century, when most countries in Western Europe had become industrialized, capitalist, democracies; Russia continued along the path of an agriculturally based autocracy. Russia's unique nature and characteristics had made it different from other European nations and had allowed it to avoid the path of modernization which had influenced others. Nonetheless, when Alexander III's domineering hand was removed and his weaker, less decisive son was put in his place, the decades of trouble which had been brewing beneath the surface, erupted.

Like many revolutionary movements, the beginnings of revolt in Russia were primarily motivated by economic problems. Russia, at the turn of the nineteenth century, was an agricultural state with an abnormally high percentage (almost 80%), of the population being peasants. Recent attempts at industrialization had moved many people out of the countryside and into the cities, but conditions were horrible and few maintained a satisfactory lifestyle. "Most Russians, in fact, could not be confident of enjoying what were normally classed as life's necessities. They had become so impoverished that economists had begun to express reservations about the continued progress of Russia's industrial development" Despite the severity of conditions, little had been done to remedy the problem. Alexander III along with his financial minister Sergei Witte had hoped industrialization would spark economic growth by creating a demand for consumer goods, but they underestimated the desperation of the peasant condition and no such growth occurred. Two events in 1896 succeeded in giving momentum to the revolutionary movement. The first was Nicholas II's succession. This new Emperor offered none of the assertiveness required to maintain the level of repression which Alexander III had exercised. The absence of this great representative of autocracy allowed many people to wonder what might be achieved under the reign of his son. The second significant event was Nicholas' speech to the zemstvos; his 'senseless dreams' speech. The zemstvos had been the one mechanism for self-rule among the rural Russian populace. They were one of the only opportunities for the rural communities to have a voice in the decisions that affected them. In addition, the zemstvos were one of the few arenas through which the government could be requested to change its policy of laws. When, in 1896, Nicholas proclaimed that the zemstvos had no place in government, one of the only remaining options for a peaceful resolution to Russia's growing problems was removed and an increasing level of desperation settled on its people.
At this juncture many Russians sought another outlet with which to express their dissatisfaction. This outlet came in the form of political parties which began to form, mostly in major cities throughout Russia.
the zemstvos were no longer able to perform, on their own, the function that society expected from them, and in order to wage the struggle in radical fashion it was necessary to create organizations of a new type, political parties. These parties all appeared just after the Tsar's discouraging address to the Zemstvos, between 1896 and 1900

Ironically then, it was the Tsar's own words which helped create those political parties who would eventually bring him down.
While the deterioration of the lower classes' situation gave energy to the revolutionary movement, it was political thought and theory from Europe which gave shape their goals. A constant stream of political theory had infiltrated Russia for decades, and by the end of the nineteenth century many people, particularly those of the upper class, were aware of the intricacies of representative and socialist government.
...hastened by the pressure of the new socio-economic demands, political consciousness and activity blossomed forth at the turn of the century. To be sure, although Russian autocracy did not tolerate the existence of political parties, there had been no lack of political thought and debate in nineteenth century Russia.

What the political parties allowed for was the involvement of large numbers of people in the discussion about where Russia should go in the future. The parties brought concerns about Russia's 'backward' state from the upper classes to a larger, angrier part of the population. "By 1900, this concern, in conditions of rapid economic change and marked social upheaval and of growing communication and education, had begun to affect broader segments of Russian society than the intelligentsia." This direction proved a dangerous thing in the hands of those who had been repressed for so long. While the intelligentsia had long been concerned about Russia's condition, they had none of the anger which comes from years of struggle and desperation. With this new found support the revolutionary spirit grew with amazing speed.
The years between 1900 and 1905 saw a tremendous surge in the number of strikes, marches and small revolts throughout Russia. However, in the face of this growing problem Nicholas seemed relatively unconcerned. He continued to see the problem as one which must be met by repressive tactics rather than by consideration of the issues at hand. Nicholas believed strongly in the idea that his Tsarist rule was supported by the traditional love of the people for their Tsar or 'father'. It would be many years before he realized that the growing revolutionary spirit was not only held by foreigners and members of the intelligentsia, but by large portions of the peasant and working classes. His response led to continuous unrest from groups who simply wanted a voice and whose requests were at this point still economic in nature. While Nicholas may have believed that order could be restored, what he was in fact witnessing was an ever growing snowball of unrest. As is the case with many revolutions it was waiting for the right moment and impetus to finally erupt.
Thus, a crescendo of unrest and violence - 'workers' and student strikes, peasant riots, and anti - Jewish pogroms by rightest mobs, terrorist acts against government officials, and repressive counter measures of the government - were all stirring the political life of the country even before the external stress added by the outbreak of war.

It was, in fact, the outbreak of war with Japan in 1904 that provided the needed catalyst for revolution. The Russo-Japanese War, as it was called, drained the economic reserves of the government and put demands on the people which they were no longer willing to provide.

Russia's involvement in the Russo-Japanese War was one of the most important events in Nicholas II's reign and also one of the most obvious contributions to its weakening during the 1905 Revolution. From the beginning, the motives behind the venture were entirely inappropriate. Nicholas was always interested in expanding Russia's borders, so when several of his newly appointed ministers suggested the value of acquiring large tracts of forest land near Japanese held Korea, he was quick to turn an aggressive hand to the Far East. "Thanks to the influence of his new counselors, the policy of Nicholas II in regard to the far east in general, and Japan in particular, became more and more aggressive." Russian aggression soon led to negotiations between ambassadors from both nations; however, these negotiations were unsuccessful largely because Nicholas refused to take them seriously. He saw the Japanese as a backward nation of inferior people who had no right, let alone the strength to attack a great nation like Russia. It was this attitude that led to Russia's eventual defeat in 1905.
Nicholas had a long history of hatred toward the Japanese. He was naturally prejudiced against all people of non-Russian background, but his particular dislike of the Japanese stemmed directly from his youth. At age 18, Nicholas was ordered by his father to take a trip to visit several foreign nations. This voyage brought him to Japan, where during his visit he was attacked by a Japanese national who succeeded in wounding the Tsarevich in the head. The explanations for this attack are numerous, including one which suggested that Nicholas had trespassed into a sacred Buddhist temple. The incident was enough to turn Nicholas' opinion against the entire Japanese nation for the rest of his life. "The incident rankled in Nicholas' mind and produced an inveterate, fierce hatred for the entire Japanese nation, a hatred which had much to do with the events that ushered in the disastrous war with Japan." Perhaps even more significant than Nicholas' hatred of the Japanese was his belief that Russia was invincible and that his nation's pride and reputation must be defended at all costs. It was for this reason that Nicholas involved Russia in a war that his country was entirely unprepared to fight.
The fact that Russia was in the throes of Revolution, that her exchequer was empty, and that no one believed in the possibility of avoiding a final catastrophe which would bring Russia to her knees before the yellow-faced foe, none of this impressed him in the least. His sole concern was that the prestige of Russia in the Far East should not be impaired, and to that end he was willing to sacrifice all.

Nicholas' attitude towards the question of war with Japan is best summed up in his response to one minister's statements of concern,: "Nicholas replied that there would be no war, because HE did not wish it, so of course Russia could not declare war, while Japan would never dare to do so." This attitude reveals Nicholas' high level of disillusion as well as an almost total lack of understanding of war and the perspectives of his opponent. Nicholas did not seem to realize that the Japanese did not fear the Russians or have any hesitation about attacking them. A further sign of his ineptitude was the fact that he was either unaware or unconcerned by the dramatic inequality between the Japanese and Russian navies. Japan had a modern navy which had been fully prepared for battle, whereas Russia still relied on antiquated technology and had made no preparations for war. This lack of preparation is not surprising in light of Nicholas' attitude towards a Pacific war, but this problem was compounded by another factor. The admiral in charge of the Russian fleets in the Pacific, Eugenii Alekseev, had been appointed by Nicholas. He was reportedly the illegitimate son of Alexander II, and was known to be completely incompetent. When Russia was attacked at Port Arthur on January 26, 1904, the Russian Navy was entirely unprepared.
While Admiral Togo (Japanese Admiral) and his ships' crews steered resolutely toward Port Arthur, the Russians against whom their guns and torpedoes soon would be directed were scandalously unprepared. Not one gun on the battleships was manned or loaded , and only one ship's searchlights were in use. Port Arthur's shore batteries stood immobile, still coated with grease to help them withstand the fierce winter storms. The great ten-inch guns on Electric Hill could not be fired because they had no fluid in their recoil cylinders. Nicholas' Far Eastern Commander in Chief, Admiral Eugenii Alekseev, was well aware of Russia's rapidly worsening relations with Japan; nonetheless, he allowed his great battleships to lie at anchor with all their lights blazing.

This lack of preparation meant that when Admiral Togo of the Japanese fleet attacked on January 26, 1904, his battleships were able to destroy several Russian ships and then build a blockade so that the rest of the fleet was rendered ineffective. With this accomplished the Japanese were free to land troops in Korea and push the Russian forces in the area up and out of the peninsula. This initial defeat was, in the weeks that followed, joined by several more. The situation became impossible. The entire Pacific Fleet was destroyed and supplies from European Russia were slow in arriving. Finally, in a last desperate attempt to regain control of Russia's naval position, Nicholas sent his Baltic fleet to the Far East. The fleet, led by Admiral Rozhdestvenskii sailed for months before arriving in the Pacific in May, 1905. On the 14th they encountered Admiral Togo's fleet and in the ensuing couple of hours, the majority of the Russian fleet was destroyed. This final battle marked the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Nicholas could no longer deny the losses that his country had been suffering. In this one sea battle thousands of Russian sailors were killed and the prized Russian Baltic fleet crushed. This loss weighed heavily on many Russians however, Nicholas' reaction reveals little of the sorrow that was felt by his people. Mossolov, Nicholas' Court Chancellor, recounts the Tsar's reaction to the event in his memoirs.
I remember the arrival of the telegram reporting the total loss of the Russian fleet at Tsushima... it was now impossible for us to win the war: the Fleet, the object of such solicitude on the part of the Emperor was annihilated; thousands of officers whom he had met personally and had learnt to appreciate had been killed... He (Nicholas) talked to us of the army maneuvers then in progress, of various insignificant events. He went on talking for more than an hour. Not a word did he breathe about Tsushima. He left us with the impression that he was entirely unconcerned at what had happened.

This paragraph reveals a great deal about Nicholas and his ability as a statesman. In addition to the fact that he appeared to care very little about the tragic loss of thousands of Russians as well as Russia's tentative hold on the Pacific; Nicholas made several grave mistakes in his handling of the situation. Instead of acknowledging defeat and showing his grief, Nicholas presented himself as unconcerned and indifferent to his staff. In doing so he gave the impression of not entirely understanding the gravity of the situation as well as appearing cold and removed from his people. The fact that Mossolov, who was close to the Tsar, was left with this impression, allows for the conclusion that the majority of the Russian people must also have received a similar message. Nicholas' lack of understanding about the consequences of these actions is an example of his ineptitude as a leader. Nicholas failed to realize that he had sent thousands of Russian soldiers to their deaths and that some measure of conciliation must be made the public.
The loss of the war did little to help the growing level of dissatisfaction among the people toward the war and the government. "The fall of Port Arthur on December 20, 1904 and the destruction of the fleet at Tsushima on May 14, 1905 damaged the government's prestige at home and abroad. Moreover, the war sapped the financial resources of the nation, and discontent and opposition grew apace" The war ended in August when both sides agreed to negotiate a peace called for by the American president Theodore Roosevelt. Witte who had always opposed the war was sent to negotiate Russia's end of the treaty, and although he was able to save Russia from major loss, the war had done its damage among the Russian people. "The unsuccessful course that the war took aroused, in part, patriotic indignation against the inept government and, in part, malicious joy because the government was more and more discrediting itself. Defeat strengthened revolutionary discontent." As the country's already limited resources were further strained and the people were able to see for themselves the ineptitude among their leaders, the revolutionary movement strengthened. The war provided a visible example of the government's failings. This increased understanding and the anger that the losses abroad aroused were enough to push those seeking change to the edge of revolution.

The Revolution of 1905 began unexpectedly for most of Russia. The war had been running for several months and conditions in Russia, particularly in the major cities, had severely worsened. People were living in unbearable conditions just as the winter season with its ferocious cold settled in.
By 1905, demand had so outstripped the supply of cheap housing in Russia's capital that workers lived in conditions that were even more crowded and unsanitary than they had been in the 1870's and 1880's. Workers were now obliged to share not only corners of damp, fetid cellars but even the beds in which they slept... There was, of course, better housing available but wages still were far too low for the families of industrial workers to be able to afford it.

In St. Petersburg, the Putilov Works went on strike at the beginning of the year and thousands of workers walked off their jobs. Then, during the second week in January Father Gapon, a priest, appeared in the workers' districts of the city, talking to the lower classes about their feelings toward conditions and also toward the Tsar. Father Gapon had been an agent of the Okhrana, the secret police, but his loyalty remained with the workers. It was he who created the idea of bringing the workers' demands to the Tsar in person. Within a short period of time Gapon had solicited the support of thousands of workers in St. Petersburg and had set the date for their march - Sunday, January 9th.
The march which eventually became the tragedy called Bloody Sunday was originally intended to be peaceful in nature. Gapon and his followers wanted to petition the Tsar in person for protection from the abuse suffered by workers under their employers.
The workers and their wives and children came dressed in their best, looking sober, serious and purposeful. 'Put on your best dress,' They had been told, 'Take your children and your wives. No arms, not even penknives.' All revolutionary symbols were to be excluded from the demonstrations... They were to carry icons, not revolutionary placards. They were to sing religious hymns, not revolutionary songs. Portraits of Nicholas and Alexandra were to rise above their heads.

This description paints a vivid picture of the attitude and demeanor of the workers who marched on Bloody Sunday. Despite the impossible conditions in which they lived and the unwillingness of the government to help them, they still maintained a strong sense of loyalty towards the Tsar. In contrast to this patience and loyalty was the reaction of Nicholas and his ministers to news that a march was being arranged. Although the Tsar and his family were not living in the Winter Palace at the time of the march they were informed of the workers' intentions and discussions were held to decide how to deal with the situation. According to Princess Catherine Radziwill, Nicholas and some of his ministers contemplated hearing the workers concerns, but in the end decided on a repressive approach, partially because of insistence on the part of the Empress.
At one moment it seemed as is Nicholas would yield to the advice of his minister, but then the Empress came into the room and declared that it would never do to capitulate to a mob adding that it was a piece of criminal insolence on the part of the workmen so much as to think of approaching the Sovereign in person.

In the end, Nicholas sent Fullon, one of his Generals, to stop the marchers using a Cossack battalion and other soldiers. When the petitioners arrived at the square in front of the Winter Palace they were fired upon repeatedly. Estimates of how many people died that day range from 150 to nearly 1000 in some reports. Regardless of the numbers, what is significant is how little was done to avoid a violent outcome. No attempt was made to disperse the workers through discussion, and the workers may not even have known that the Tsar was not residing at the Winter Palace. In his journal, Nicholas recorded the event and did express sympathy towards the situation: "Many were killed and wounded. God how painful and heartbreaking", More significant however, were his actions following the event. Nicholas received a select number of workers and instead of listening to their pleas for help he lectured them on the evils of revolution.
Nicholas' reaction to the Bloody Sunday Massacre represents yet another lost opportunity, when small concessions and a modicum of understanding could have meant a great deal to the people of St. Petersburg. Nicholas was asked only for protection; at this point there was no mention of governmental change however, the march was treated as a threat to this reign and the workers once again came to face the autocracy's repressive measures. The psychological effect of these events is indisputable. The Tsardom had always been based on the idea that the people would remain loyal to their Tsar, while he was their protector. Nicholas had broken this promise and for many frustrated Russians it was the final step. "Workers had died on that terrible day on January 9, 1905. The most momentous casualty of all however, was the death of the people's belief that Nicholas was their 'little father' - that myth, which had been such a vital bulwark for the Romanovs autocracy for so long." This break was perhaps one of the most significant factors in bringing about the Revolution of 1905. The remaining loyalty which had been seen during the Bloody Sunday march was destroyed, and so was the last blockade between the people and their revolution.
During the next nine months public unrest grew among almost all sectors of the population. Political parties such as the Mensheviks, Bolsheviks and Social Revolutionaries, were founded and soon gained tremendous support. These groups began to make increasingly insistent requests for self-representation and an end to the power of the bureaucracy.
What drove the revolution forward was the general feeling of discontent that had developed within all segments of Russian society and that had led to a collective assault against the government. Each class or group had its own ideas about what should be achieved, but, for the moment at least, all were moving together in more or less parallel paths.

Throughout Russia protests took place and eventually the people both in the cities and in the countryside took matters into their own hands. "Throughout the Empire order was rapidly giving way to chaos. In the towns strikes and demonstrations multiplied, in the country peasants laid violent hands on the half of the land that had been reserved to the landlords in 1861." Despite the complete breakdown of order in Russia, the government did little to bring about an end to the crisis. The reasons for this inactivity during a time when the country so desperately needed direction can be attributed to many factors. At the core of the problem was Nicholas, and more specifically his overwhelming tendency to surround himself with inept ministers. Amazingly, even Nicholas recognized and commented on this problem to his mother, the Dowager Empress.: "The ministers, instead of acting with quick decision, only assemble in council like a lot of frightened hens and cackle about providing united ministerial action." Unfortunately, Nicholas failed to comprehend the corresponding fact, that he was responsible for placing these ministers in office, and that their inability to minister productively was largely due to his own bad decisions.
Thus, as late as October, after months of revolt the government had still failed to respond authoritatively. It might have been thought that the disruptions would blow over in time, or that the revolution was simply being led by a select group of people and in time the loyal portion of the population would restore order. In fact, this seems to have been Nicholas and Alexandra's beliefs on the subject. "The Emperor and Empress, though greatly shocked (by the assassinations of state officials) always put down these attempts as the work of international anarchists, and not of the home grown revolutionary party." However, this was not the case, and in late September the final wave of strikes began. In a period of a couple of days all of Russia came to a stop. From St. Petersburg to the farthest reaches of Siberia, workers went on strike. The railroad workers were among the first, effectively shutting down all transportation of people and goods throughout Russia. "The strike quickly spread to other railroads and other cities as each of the succeeding days found trains coming to a halt, deserted by their crews. On October 9, the telegraph workers walked out. Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major cities were cut off except by road or by boat." Soon, the railroads were joined by almost every form of business or service in Russia. With the exception of food stores which opened for a short period each day, every store and business, with few exceptions, went on strike.
For several days the central government was at a loss, but finally the opposition in the form of such strong resistence, was enough to convince Nicholas that some concessions were required. On October 17th Nicholas allowed Witte to draft and publish a constitution. Called the October Manifesto, this document gave basic civil freedoms to the Russian people, including the right to free speech, freedom of the press and the right to congregate and discuss political matters. The October Manifesto also called for the election of the first Duma, or state parliament, from a limited electorate, turning Russia into a Constitutional monarchy for the first time. While in theory these changes were significant, Nicholas never fully supported them. "Yet the October 17 Manifesto arrived as an unwanted child. Conceived in haste and desperation, it was prompted not by farsighted concern for the welfare of the people but by the need to act quickly in the face of the October general strike and the growing revolutionary movement in the country." Nicholas saw the manifesto not as a set of ideas who had a place in Russian government, but as something that he had been forced to grant in order to pacify the public. In a letter to his mother Nicholas wrote, "There was no other way than to cross oneself and give what everyone was asking for."
For a short period of time, the new laws granted by the October Manifesto did go into effect. Newspapers were allowed to print freely and protests continued undisturbed. However, the most significant result of the Manifesto was that it served to segregate the revolutionaries. The united struggle for 'freedom' began to breakdown as some people felt that they had achieved enough and wanted peace, while others felt that these liberties simply were not enough. "That brief unity the opposition had enjoyed in early and mid-October had been eroded by Witte's October Manifest, and they could no longer present a united front against the government or reactionary assaults." Many people in Moscow and St. Petersburg had simply had enough, and when the more moderate sections of society fell out of the revolt, the radical members lost much of the strength which had allowed them to be so successful. "The situation was therefore quite different from that in October... The city duma, dominated by liberals and industrialists, appealed to the population on December 15 to 'end the struggle and bloodshed in the name of Christian love, charity and devotion to the fatherland'." Finally, after a couple weeks of continued violence between the government and most radical workers, on December 3 soldiers, under orders from Count Witte, stormed the building where the Soviet of Worker's Deputies was meeting and arrested hundreds, including most of its top leaders.
The revolution was over. The government had made a limited number of concessions and the majority of the population had been pacified. However, a great deal had changed. Russia was now, at least technically, a constitutional monarchy and for the first time the Tsar's unlimited powers were contingent on the decisions of the elected Duma. Although it was a long time before these changes really came into effect - the psychological effect was still there. The people had revolted and in the process learned that they were powerful enough to change the system if they felt it necessary. Another important consequence of the 1905 Revolution was the destruction of the myth of the Tsar as father of his people. In refusing to help the workers, and then by turning a repressive and violent hand towards them, Nicholas alienated his people. They had taken the first step of peacefully pleading the Tsar for help and had instead received the rifle fire of Cossack battalions. The myth with which Nicholas had protected his reign was now destroyed, in the future it would no longer serve to protect him from the anger of the Russian population. From that point on, Nicholas' reign rested simply on his handling of the events that followed. As a result when he and his ministers failed to consider the county's needs, the people were prepared to fight to the end.

The occasion of having a ruler on the throne who is fundamentally incompetent, is not an uncommon phenomenon. The question then to be answered is why, in the case of Nicholas II, did this fact cause such serious consequences. The answer certainly lies in a number of areas; one of the most important being the time period in which he ruled. However, another extremely important factor was the role of Nicholas' ministers. Nicholas was a dangerous combination of ineptitude and arrogance. He believed that as the divinely appointed ruler, he innately know what was best for Russia. As a result, Nicholas was quick to promote and dismiss his ministers based on whether their ideas coincided with his own.
At the time of Alexander III's death there were several intelligent and capable ministers in office. Over the succeeding months and years these men either died or retired. With the exception of Count Witte, they were replaced with men of mediocre intelligence who were satisfied with ignoring the issues and blindly supporting the Tsar. Those ministers who took their job seriously found it impossible to be productive because Nicholas was constantly interfering in the governing process. As Witte commented; "A ruler who cannot be trusted, who approves today what he will reject tomorrow, is incapable of steering the Ship of State into a quiet harbor." In addition to his duplicity, Nicholas was not inclined to listen to those who predicted problems. He had a strong dislike for conflict and sought those who could reassure him from it. "He liked people to say that everything was going well, even when he suspected the reverse. He hated all who were plucky enough to speak the truth, not because he didn't want to know it but because it annoyed him to have to listen to anything unpleasant." Sadly it appears that Nicholas and also his wife Alexandra, honestly felt that the ministers around them were inept but could not see their way to promoting competent individuals. In a letter to her sister, the Empress wrote of Nicholas' struggle to find a qualified minister.
My poor Nicky's cross is a heavy one to bear, all the more as he has nobody on whom he can throughly rely and who can be a real help to him... He tries so hard, works with such perseverance, but the lack of what I call 'real' men is great, of course they must exist somewhere, but ut us difficult to get at them...I rack my brain to pieces to find a man and cannot; it is a despairing feeling.

This process of eliminating those whose ideas differed from their own, and promoting those who blindly followed them, led to many problems for Nicholas and his reign. The disasters at Khodinka Field and the bombing of Port Arthur were both greatly due to the men who had been left in charge. Nicholas continually made bad decisions about whose advice to follow, tending toward aggressive policies rather than conciliatory ones. Toward the end of the 1905 revolt Nicholas, against his mothers' recommendation, decided to support Trepov's repressive and bloody solution to the crisis instead of Witte's more moderate approach. While the purpose of a Sovereign's ministers is to provide a variety of solutions to the nations' problems. Nicholas collected around him a group of individuals who could contribute nothing productive to the Russian government. Thus, when disaster struck, Nicholas was presented with few intelligent solutions and instead turned to more mystical influences for advice.

In sharp contrast to Nicholas II's incompetence in the political arena was his interest and involvement in his family life. Perhaps his one redeeming characteristic was his loyalty and dedication to his wife, Alexandra and their five children. Despite the fact that he was the Emperor of a giant empire, it was at home in the tucked away rooms of the Imperial Suite that Nicholas spent most of his time. While this quality might have been endearing in an ordinary man, in the person of the Tsar it was a disaster. There are several reasons for the seclusion to which the Imperial family confined itself more and more as Nicholas' reign progressed. Probably the most powerful reason was Alexandra's personality. Although she had apparently been a cheerful child, by the time of her marriage to Nicholas, Alexandra had become serious and withdrawn. She was extremely suspicious of almost anyone who was not within their small circle of friends, and thus to protect herself and her family, she withdrew from society. "...she divided the world in which she lived and worked into a large camp of 'enemies' and 'friends', many of whom she soon became convinced in her paranoid way, were scheming to betray Nicholas, Rasputin and herself." Part of this problem arose from the Empress' personality which tended to alienate her from the Court. She often appeared both unhappy and also haughty, which did not endear her to the rest of the Imperial Court which regarded her as an unwanted newcomer. Alexandra disliked Court functions preferring the quiet family life. This discomfort was so acute that it often interfered in her duties as Empress. At a play being given for the Tsar, one woman made the following comment about the Empress' appearance.:

Sitting so close we could see that the fan of white eagle feathers the Empress was holding was trembling convulsively, we could see how a dull, unbecoming flush was stealing over her pallor,... Presently, it seemed that this emotion or distress mastered her completely, and with a few whispered words to the Emperor she rose and withdrew to the back of the box, to be no more seen that evening.

This description paints a vivid picture of the Tsarina's emotional health and also gives a good idea of how she must have been viewed by the outside world.
The Tsarina's problems were further complicated by family issues which were only known among the Imperial family's inner circle. Alexandra knew that as the Emperor's wife her first duty was to provide the country with an heir to the throne. In 1895 she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, the Grand Duchess Olga. Her birth was followed by Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia in 1897, 1899 and 1901. However, this did not solve the problem of producing an heir, and it was not until August of 1904 that a boy, Alexei, was born to the tremendous joy of his parents and the entire nation. This joy was short lived, because only a couple of months after the boy's birth it was noticed that his naval was not healing properly and that there was some discoloration under his skin. It was soon discovered that the boy suffered from hemophilia, a genetic disorder that descends through the mother, but only affects males. Suffers of this disease often died in childhood and those who survived lived painful lives as invalids. Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra's closest friend wrote about the Tsarevich's birth.:
The following summer the heir was born, amid the wildest rejoicing all over the Empire... The Emperor, in spite of the desperate sorrow brought upon him by a disastrous war, was quite mad with joy. His happiness and the mother's, however, was of short duration, for almost at once they learned that the poor child was afflicted with a dread disease, rather rare except in royal families... Although the boy's affliction was in no conceivable way her fault, (The Empress) dwelt morbidly on the fact that the disease is transmitted through the mother and that it was common in her family.

Alexei's illness had severe consequences for the Imperial family as well as for the country. The Empress became obsessed with her son's health, devoting her time to his care, especially during his bouts of illness. The Tsar was similarly affected. It was imperative that the Tsarevich's sickness remain a secret because the news that the country's heir was sick would have been disruptive to the people and would have weakened the Romanovs quickly diminishing power. Thus, in order to safeguard their family's secret, The Emperor and Empress sealed themselves off, even from members of their own extended family. Even the Tsarevich's tutor, Pierre Gilliard, was unaware of his pupil's exact malady until their imprisonment. Removed from the outside world; the Imperial family became shrouded in mystery. At a time when the country needed its Tsar to be an active leader, Nicholas was wrapped up in his family's isolation. "The Emperor and Empress guarded their secret from all except relatives and most intimate friends, closing their eyes and their ears to the growing unpopularity of the Empress. She was ill and she was suffering, but to the court she appeared merely cold, haughty and indifferent." "At any cost it (the Tsarevich's illness) must by kept from the people that the Tsar would not be able to have a proper successor. And the concealment of the truth, the wall of silence, contributed to insulating the Imperial couple still further from their people."
The uncertainty of their child's illness as well as the political situation of the time led Nicholas and Alexandra to turn more and more frequently to religion and mysticism for answers. Since the realities which life now posed to them contradicted their beliefs and threatened their lifestyle, they turned to tradition and those who could reassure them. This reassurance came most significantly in the form of a monk called Rasputin. One of the most intriguing, if not destructive figures in Russian history, Rasputin was a Siberian monk who traveled to St. Petersburg and soon became drawn up in the lives of the Imperial family. Rasputin had many unusual powers which even today defy total explanation. He was a powerful figure who was able to strongly influence those around him using what have been described as his 'hypnotic stare". France's Ambassador to Russia, Maurice Paleologue wrote: "The whole expression of the face was concentrated in the eyes - light blue eyes with a curious sparkle, depth and fascination. His gaze was at once penetrating and caressing, naive and cunning, direct yet remote. When he was excited, it seemed as if his pupils became magnetic." It was these hypnotic eyes that won him a permanent position in the lives of the Tsar and Tsarina. Rasputin offered to try to help cure their son Alexei of his bouts with hemophilia. Amazingly, he was apparently somewhat successful, and for this he won the Empress' undying gratitude and support. "To Nicholas and Aleksandra, it was a miracle sent directly by God, and Rasputin's future as a holy man in whom Aleksandra placed absolute confidence was assured. She saw nothing but good in him and would permit no one to speak ill of him in her presence, for he and no one else seemed able to save her son." Alexandra's obsession with her son's recovery was so strong that she allowed Rasputin to make decisions that never should have occurred. Over the years that followed, Rasputin became intimately involved with Court life. Although he was rarely at the Royal palaces, he began a constant line of communication with Alexandra through their mutual friend Anna Vyrubova. Rasputin was extremely intelligent and understood from the outset the nature of his patrons and the degree to which they would go for his help. "Rasputin had realized the state of mind of the despairing mother who was broken down by the strain of her struggle and seemed to have touched the limit of human suffering. He knew how to extract the fullest advantage from it, and with a diabolical cunning he succeeded in associating his life, so to speak, with that of the child." Alexandra saw Rasputin's actions as miracles and believed that he was sent from God to help her and Russia in their time of need. It was said that Alexandra was so angry when Nicholas' minister Stolypin tried to criticize Rasputin that she viewed his assassination as revenge from God, saying that: "Those who have offended God in the person of Our Friend may no longer count on divine protection." Alexandra's faith in Rasputin allowed him to play an extremely influential role in politics towards the end of Nicholas' reign. As Alexandra became more involved in running the government, particularly during the Great War, she turned with more and more faith towards Rasputin's advice. There is a great deal of proof that he made major decisions on issues like troop movements and the hiring and dismissing of ministers. "Her (Alexandra's) letters to Nicholas day by day contain the instructions which Rasputin gave on every detail of administration of the Empire... and a simple comparison of the dates with the events that followed shows that in almost every case they were followed out." The danger of this situation is inestimable. Rasputin was an illiterate Siberian peasant who knew nothing of how to run a government or a war. In addition to his ignorance in all political matters, he also had very little concern for anything other than himself. Thus on numerous occasions he ordered the dismissal of men who were not fully supporting him. From the time of WWI until his death in December of 1916, Rasputin all but ran Russia's government. Despite the objections of almost every friend, family member and minister around them Nicholas and Alexandra allowed Rasputin to have tremendous control over their government. Ironically, the Tsar and Tsarina who were so fearful of losing absolute control over their country, willing gave almost complete control to illiterate and morally degenerate Siberian peasant.
Without hesitation, Imperial Russia was marching a direct path to revolution. As with the revolution of 1905 it would take another war and the deterioration of conditions which it brought to finally arrive there. By the tercentennial of the Romanov Dynasty in 1913 the foundation from which to fight was sturdily in place, and as Nicholas II sat in the palace at Tsarskoe Selo with his family, his people were preparing for their revolt.