Collapse Of The Old Regime Essay

The collapse of the Old Regime could have been avoided if there was a strong leader for Russia. The last Tsar, Nicholas II, was an incapable leader which led to him making a series of mistakes that brought an end to the Old Regime. Nicholas was not a natural leader, which he was aware of, and he decided to avoid any changes and follow his father’s rule. Nicholas was easily persuaded by those advising him and a lot of the time he followed bad advice . However, he was also stubborn and he believed that it was his divine right to rule . He refused to give up any of his autocratic power, even when the Russians were demanding it. Nicholas and his wife were both shy and isolated themselves from Russian society. All of these characteristics of Nicholas meant that when he faced challenges, he was not able to make wise decisions that would retain the Russian autocracy. Increasing industrialisation through Witte’s reforms was one good decision the Tsar made that demonstrates he did …show more content…
Various accounts say that when Alexander III died, Nicholas felt like he was not ready to become tsar . Some accounts recall that Alexander even felt like Nicholas was not experienced enough to be the ruler of Russia, but he would give him various roles in order to better prepare him . Nicholas’ strategy for leading Russia, was to follow in his father’s footsteps . This was a crucial mistake because this was a time Russia needed to make changes. In Russia, a new tsar, often meant that there would be reform. This meant that many were hopeful, at the start of Nicholas’ reign that they were entering a new period of Russian history. However, Nicholas attempted to supress a great deal of reform and the only real change that did occur under his rule, was the move towards the modernisation of the economy