I'm going to go. He's

a-a-ra-s-s-s-s-a-s-s-a-s-a-s- Hey Ho again. Hey Ho again!

Welcome to the Russian rulers podcast.

Episode 67.

Why did it have to end?

Last episode, we recounted how Russia celebrated numerous historical events

before it was plunged into World War I, totally unprepared.

The tragic human toll on the brave Russian soldiers and the people left behind were staggering. The pressure on Nicholas II to abdicate

was growing and coming from all sides. Now this episode before we get into the next

set of rulers rulers the provisional government

and the Soviet Union

i'd like to take a look back at all the missteps that nicholas took

that led him to the precipice of abdication and the plunging of Russia into a revolution and a civil war.

I will attempt to do all of this chronologically as I think it will lead to a greater amount of clarity. The assassination of his grandfather, the

great reformer Alexander II, must have had a huge influence on who Nicholas was

to become. The scene of his grandfather dying in front of him

when he was just 12 is the kind of event that never leaves you. That and the subsequent

reaction to the assassination by his father molded him into the ultra-reactionary Tsar he would become.

Secondly, I think Nicholas's stature as compared to his father was a contributing factor as to his personality.

He was said to be jealous of his larger than life father Alexander III, although he did love him dearly.

His father was a mountain of a man, and frankly, Nicholas was built more like his mother

than his father. Another way in which he was different from his

...