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... refused to hand over the customary things that go along with being Czarina, such as attendance at society functions, special jewelry, etc. , and made Alexandra self-conscious. The treatment she received made her want to spend more time with herself and her children than making public appearances, and thus she was looked upon as being unfeeling and unconcerned with the Russian people. (Lovell 28) However, she has been described as "a misunderstood and unloved czarina, she who had such a deep feeling for the true essence of Russia. For what surrounded her- the world of Grand Dukes, the world of palace officials- was that other Russia, that Parisian, elegant, superficial Russia, with its enormous extravagance, its love of the good life, and its lack of morals. " (Anna Anderson, as quoted in Lovell 15). Also, "charitable causes were of the most heartfelt concern. During the entire reign of my parents, my mother had long, serious conversations, often in the presence of my father, with representatives of spiritual Russia.
She did this in order to find out how progress and spiritual cultivation could be brought in the most splendid manner to the simple classes of the Russian people. " (Anna Anderson as quoted in Lovell p. 39). Even worse for Alexandra, another thing that received her the scorn of the court circles was the rumor that she was involved in a lesbian relationship with Anna Viroubova, because she was one of the few people that the Czarina trusted and spent time with, especially while her husband was away leading his troops in World War I (Lovell 42). Equally detrimental to the reputation of the Romanov's was their relationship with Rasputin. He was a mysterious man, but the family put this aside because of his miraculous ability to temporarily heal Czarevitch Alexis when he would fall down or hurt himself, and suffer the effects of the hereditary disease hemophilia. Although his conduct was questionable when out in the city of St.
Petersburg, he was nothing more than a close friend and advisor to the Nicholas and Alexandra. Contrary to popular belief at the time, Rasputin had not had an affair with Alexandra, and did not engage in wild orgies with her and her daughters. Anastasia said, "He never touched us. I saw him maybe once during the war. These terrible stories that you hear are the work of creators. He was a saint.
He was God's gift to Russia. " (Anna Anderson, said to Milukoff, quoted in Lovell 42) And although he was not skilled in political matters and shouldn't have been advising the Czarina in the absence of the Czar, he was the only person aside from Anna Viroubova that she trusted and didnt feel was conspiring against her. Rumors such as those that surrounded the Czarina are fit for lunch-time gossip, and are definitely not things that can even partly justify regicide. "Russia's rulers always had the theoretical option of abdicating their great-power aspirations. But to do so would have threatened to undermine the entire regime, dynasty and all. It is hard to imagine a Romanov ruler openly agreeing to renunciation of great-power status, which would have entailed the closing of the Black Sea to Russian shipping, the resurrection of an independent Poland, perhaps even the abandonment of Peter the Great's Baltic conquests and withdrawal from Central Asia A Russian ruler who openly repudiated these ambitions effectively abandoned his claim to be emperor, and to rule- and, quite conceivably, the moral and political support of the gentry lite. " (Zelnik 209) Yet that is what Czar Nicholas II had done, he had officially abdicated, making their execution simply a superfluous activity, and merely another way for the up and coming Bolshevik party to seize control.
After he wrote "In agreement with the Imperial Duma We have thought it well to renounce the Throne of the Russian Empire and to lay down the supreme power. As We do not wish to part from Our beloved son, We transmit the succession to Our brother, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, and give him Our blessing to mount the Throne of the Russian Empire. " (Abdication of Nicholas II, World War I Document Archive) on March 15, 1917, he was technically powerless. So what purpose did murdering he and his family serve? Similar in the areas of the feelings towards the Czar/King's wife, and the superfluous nature of the event, was the execution of King Louis XVI. Marie Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI, and unlike Czarina Alexandra who was distrusted and disliked, Marie was bitterly hated. She was born in Austria, and although she was loved in the beginning, later on she was called such names as the "Austrian bitch" and the "Austrian whore. " In 1770, she married Louis XVI, who was then still a prince.
She did not have to entertain any responsibilities of being the queen, and thus had no worries. She was admired because she willingly interacted with her subjects, and was so kind to the peasants. Marie would follow her husband in a separate coach on days when he went hunting, for sometimes peasants would get hurt, and often she would bring the wounded back with her for treatment. She loved the fact that they loved her, and it didnt seem like she would do anything to ruin that. In a letter to her mother in 1773, Antoinette wrote, "As for honors, we received all that we could possibly imagine; but they, though very well in their way, were not what touched me most. What was really affecting was the tenderness and earnestness of the poor people, who, in spite of the taxes with which they are overwhelmed, were transported with joy at seeing us.
I cannot describe to you, my dear mamma, the transports of joy and affection which every one exhibited towards us. Before we withdrew we kissed our hands to the people, which gave them great pleasure. What a happy thing it is for persons in our rank to gain the love of a whole nation so cheaply. Yet there is nothing so precious; I felt it thoroughly, and shall never forget it. " (Marie Antionette quoted in Halsall, "Letter to Her Mother, 1773).
However much she enjoyed the happiness of her people, she kept an exclusive circle of friends, but ended up alienating others. Those whom were upset set out to destroy her by publishing all her faults in all kinds of propaganda, such as cartoons, songs, poems, magazines, and pamphlets. They made it known that she had many affairs and lovers aside from her husband, including other women, and she became increasingly less and less popular. Another problem people had with her personal life was the way she spent her money. Because the were so terribly off, having to wait in bread lines for food, every purchase she made to them symbolized the wasting of their tax money and hard work.
Fake versions of an autobiography were published in 1781, 1783, and 1793, which said, "Catherine de Medici, Cleopatra, Agrippina, Messalina, my deeds have surpassed yours, and if the memory of your infamies still provokes a shudder, if its frightful detail makes the hair stand on end and tears pour from the eyes, what sentiments will issue from knowledge of the cruel and lascivious life of Marie-Antoinettebarbaric Queen, adulterous wife, woman without morals, soiled with crime and debauchery, these are the titles that are my decorations. " (Marie Antionette, found in Scheme, used in Nong, Chantal). This is only one example of the degrading propaganda that infiltrated French streets and made a mockery of the Queen. With so many terrible things in print, and receiving so little information from Marie Antoinette herself, people hated her more and more until they went so far as to want her to die. (Nong) On October 5, 1789, people broke into the palace during a march and tried to murder Marie Antionette. They failed, but the king was forced to return to Paris with the people, and he and his wife were held as prisoners. The revolution continued around them as the National Assembly stated many reforms and sought to satisfy the people.
Even high nobility gave up their privileges for equality. On June 2, 1791, after almost two years of imprisonment, Louis XVI and Marie Antionette attempted to flee Paris, but with no intent or purpose of regaining power. He had officially given up, and posed little or no threat to the budding freedom of the French people. "The National Convention then voted to execute Louis XVI as a show of contempt to the monarchy. " (Hilton 11) "Contempt" is no reason to kill someone, as any sane person knows. In this case, a human's life was simply viewed as the embodiment of all monarchies, and no one took into account the personal feelings of his relatives or friends. A trial for the king would have been sufficient, for he had obviously given up. In both revolutions, the people ended up going through a complete circle, ending up just as unhappy, and just as oppressed, however it was by different people whom had seemed so promising in the beginning.
The executions of both had little or no impact on the final outcome of the situations of both Russia and France. The reasons for both regicides do not have a solid foundation, and I think both actions were done hastily with little thought to what they would accomplish, and how they would help the plight of the people in both cases. Bibliography: "Abdication of Nicholas II. " 14 May 1996. 7 March 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer. De Wilde, Geoffrey Michael. "The People's Will. " 9 April 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Halsall, Paul. "Modern History Source Book: Edmund Burke: The Death of Marie Antoinette. " August 1997. 28 March 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer. Halsall, Paul. "Modern History Sourcebook: Marie Antoinette, Letter to Her Mother. " November 1998. 28 March 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Hilton, Rodney. "The French Revolution. 7 March 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer. Hingley, Ronald. A People in Turmoil: Revolutions in Russia. England: The Body Head Ltd, 1970. Lewis, Gwynne. "The People and the French Revolution. " 28 March 2000.
Microsoft Internet Explorer Lovell, James Blair. Anastasia: The Lost Princess. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway. 1991. Nong, Chantal. "Marie Antoinette. " 24 March 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer. "Trial and Execution of Lou's XVI. " 11 April 2000. Microsoft Internet Explorer web trial.
htm> Zelnik, Reginald E. Russia: A History of Reform: Revolutionary Russia. New York: Oxford University Press. 1997.
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Research essay sample on Russian And French Revolution
