Who Betrayed Nicholas II?
Forum Admin:
Romanov Fan, First of all your "analysis" is not true. Please read Professor Pipes on the Russian Peasant status before 1917:
"they [Russian Peasants] owned, either outright or communally, nine-tenths of the country's agricultural land and the same proportion of livestock. Poor by Western European or American standards, he was better off than his father, and freer than his grandfather, who more likely than not had been a serf. Cultivating allotments assigned to him by fellow peasants, he certainly enjoyed greater security than the tenant farmer of Ireland, Spain or Italy."
Further, the Russian peasant was not "starving" at all. In fact, they were as well fed as most in Europe, and the poorest classes in Russia pre-1917 were BETTER OFF than their counterparts in England, France, Italy or even New York City during the same period.
The same social class divisions were found in Western Eurpose and the US for that matter during the same period. To say that "Nicholas betrayed himself" for eating well while the peasants starved it to ignore the truth and repeat Bolshevik propoganda, not to mention accuse Nicholas of the same behavior as the rulers of every other Western Nation and the millionaire robber barons of the US of the same time.
Nicholas WAS betrayed by his own family, the Grand Dukes, and the major aristocratic families. When he needed their support, they were not there. There are MANY references from just after the Revolution from them all, basically saying, "If we had only realized what would happen we would have supported the Tsar"...
Arleen:
I too have read those references Rob, the ones where the GD's after the revolution talk about what they could have done to support Nicholas, "if they had only known" what would happen....to their own estates and lives I am sure.
I have a picture in my mind of GD Kirill leading his men, with red armbands on.... The very first GD to defect. The red flag on his house. This is why I do not think GD Marie V. should be head of the Romanov's, her family does not deserve it. They failed N&A for sure.
..A
AGRBear:
Figes continued on p. 288:
"...A second conspiracy was meanwhle being hatched by Prince Lvov with the help of the Chief of Staff, Geneal Alexeev. They planned to arrest the Tsarina and compel Nicholas to hand over the authority to the Grand Duke Nikolai. Lvov would be appointed as Premier of a new government of confidence. Several liberal politicians and general support the plan, including Brusilov, who told the Grand Duke: 'If I must choose between the Emperor and Russia, then I march for Russia.' But this plot was also scotched -- by the Grand Duke's reluctance to become involved."
So, according to Figes, Grand Duke Nilolali was not to be a part of this conspiracy.
AGRBear
David_Pritchard:
What happened to the other grand dukes living in the Saint Petersburg area? All executed except for GD Kyril. What GD Kyril did with the Revolutionaries bought time for him and his family to escape. I actually wish that more grand dukes had the foresight to change with the situation, a larger number of surviving grand dukes would have been better for the cause of the restoration of the monarchy and the fight against the Bolsheviks.
DAP
Belochka:
Quote
Nicholas WAS betrayed by his own family, the Grand Dukes, and the major aristocratic families. When he needed their support, they were not there.
The Russian people failed to understand the benevolence of their Emperor. It was they who betrayed their Emperor. It was the noble aristocracy, it was his family, the Army Generals, the intellectuals and the Duma; extending down to the ordinary citizen on the street whom the Duma purported to represent.
Words were many but action and foresight was lacking.
In the final moments it was the Russian people who were ultimately responsible.
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