Originally appeared at Trad Youth
Tsar Nicholas is one of the greatest men of the 20th century. His reign was a success on all fronts. Industrial growth was extraordinary. Railroads were being laid throughout that huge country. Iron and steel production increased by about 156% between 1900-1913, while pig iron, or unprocessed iron, increased by almost 100%.
The state was spending a fortune on education at all levels. Peasants were buying land from the nobility through the peasant land bank, which offered credit on very good terms. Other peasants were moving to fertile parts of Siberia, at government expense, with state supplied tools and seed. Russian exports and her foreign trade increased by about 150% throughout Nicholas' reign. Between 1861 and 1916, about 90% of the land was in peasant hands. In Germany at the time, the figure was about 40%.
Russia was becoming urbanized. Like the rest of Europe, she had periods of labor unrest, but probably had the best pro-labor legislation in the world, passed by Alexander III, his father. It was tough to fire workers. Hours were reduced and night hours were forbidden for children and women. The factory inspectorate was created, which sent government inspectors to look at working conditions and hear labor complaints. Wages were continually rising. Sergei Witte, Nicholas' prime minister, made it easier for peasants to buy land on their own. Even Soviet estimates of peasant landownership under Nicholas show that about 90.45% of the land was owned by the peasantry as the nobility was desperate to sell.
Russia was running both a trade and budget surplus. This was partly due to her newer industries such as oil, steel and sugar beets, but her massive increases in grain production also played a part. Her only substantial debts were to France.
Governorships were still appointed from St. Petersburg, but could do little without the consent of local governing bodies. The Tsar was not absolute. The nobility was given it’s charter of liberties under Peter III, Catherine II and Paul, and had substantial civil rights, despite their desperate economic position. Peasants had a right to land in the communal system and were judged solely according to their own law. Enforcement was difficult, since Petersburg was so far away, so most government was local. Contrary to public belief the Russian bureaucracy was far smaller per capital than England or France.
Tsar Nicholas II was murdered by a British empire that saw Russia as its primary threat. He was murdered by a "Russian" press that invested story after story to incite the people against him. These stories were then reported in English papers without criticism.
The Kahal in Brooklyn decreed the death penalty for Tsar Nicholas. Below is a postcard that they issued. The left panel shows the sacrificial chicken with Tsar Nicholas' head on it. The right panel is a French issued card from the Jewish Kahal in Paris that says "Holy Russia."
The Tsar's head is on a pike.
http://russia-insider.com/en/history/orthodox-nationalist-tsar-nicholas-loss-great-man/ri16149
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