freely than under his autocratic father. This hope was so strong that it
was unconsciously accepted as a fact. Stories were told that the Tsar
fraternized with students and workmen and that he was determined to destroy
the bureaucratic wall which kept the people from him. It was on the
strength of this report that the Zemstvo of Tver petitioned him that in the
future it might have direct access to him and have a say in the government.
Here was a great opportunity but he turned it against himself. His reply
was, "It has come to my attention that recently some people have been
carried away by senseless dreams that the representatives of the zemstvos
should take part in internal affairs. Let it be known to all that I shall
guard the autocracy as firmly as did my father." This was his program and
it deeply disappointed the people. On the top of this came the tragedy at
Moscow on the day of his coronation when hundreds of people lost their
lives in the attempt to obtain a loving cup which was promised them in
commemoration of the event. Then followed the wholesale killing of the
factory hands at Iaroslav, of the peasants in Kharkov, the miners on the
Lena, and other such massacres and pogroms. Nicholas himself withdrew to
his palaces and left the affairs of state in the hands of the court clique
which dragged Russia into the Japanese war and brought on the revolution of
1905. Before it was over the Emperor promised a constitution but as soon as
the disturbance was quelled he went back on his word.

It was known that he was weak and he now proved that he was also a liar.
He dismissed one Duma after another, he created an upper house to act as a
brake, he juggled with the electoral laws so that whereas according to the
law of December 24, 1905 the working classes and the peasants were entitled
to 68 per cent of the Duma's representation, by the law of June 14, 1907
they were allowed only 36 per cent, Poland's delegation was cut down from
37 to 12 per cent, Caucasus' from 29 to 9, Siberia's from 21 to 14, and
Central Asia's from 23 to 1. In fact he did everything to make the Duma