Nicholas J Spark Popular Books

Nicholas J Spark Biography & Facts

Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 – 17 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign, Nicholas gave support to the economic and political reforms promoted by his prime ministers, Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin. He advocated modernisation based on foreign loans and close ties with France, but resisted giving the new parliament (the Duma) major roles. Ultimately, progress was undermined by Nicholas's commitment to autocratic rule, strong aristocratic opposition and defeats sustained by the Russian military in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. By March 1917, public support for Nicholas had collapsed and he was forced to abdicate, thereby ending the Romanov dynasty's 304-year rule of Russia (1613–1917). Nicholas signed the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907, which was designed to counter Germany's attempts to gain influence in the Middle East; it ended the Great Game of confrontation between Russia and the British Empire. He aimed to strengthen the Franco-Russian Alliance and proposed the unsuccessful Hague Convention of 1899 to promote disarmament and peacefully solve international disputes. Domestically, he was criticised for his government's repression of political opponents and his perceived fault or inaction during the Khodynka Tragedy, anti-Jewish pogroms, Bloody Sunday and the violent suppression of the 1905 Russian Revolution. His popularity was further damaged by the Russo-Japanese War, which saw the Russian Baltic Fleet annihilated at the Battle of Tsushima, together with the loss of Russian influence over Manchuria and Korea and the Japanese annexation of the south of Sakhalin Island. During the July Crisis, Nicholas supported Serbia and approved the mobilisation of the Russian Army on 30 July 1914. In response, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August and its ally France on 3 August, starting World War I. The severe military losses led to a collapse of morale at the front and at home; a general strike and a mutiny of the garrison in Petrograd sparked the February Revolution and the disintegration of the monarchy's authority. After abdicating himself and on behalf of his son, Nicholas and his family were imprisoned by the Russian Provisional Government and exiled to Siberia. After the Bolsheviks seized power in the October Revolution, the family was held in Yekaterinburg, where they were executed on 17 July 1918. In 1981, Nicholas, his wife, and their children were recognised as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, based in New York City. Their gravesite was discovered in 1979, but this was not acknowledged until 1989. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the remains of the imperial family were exhumed, identified by DNA analysis, and re-interred with an elaborate state and church ceremony in St. Petersburg on 17 July 1998, exactly 80 years after their deaths. They were canonised in 2000 by the Russian Orthodox Church as passion bearers. In the years following his death, Nicholas was reviled by Soviet historians and state propaganda as a "callous tyrant" who "persecuted his own people while sending countless soldiers to their deaths in pointless conflicts". Despite being viewed more positively in recent years, the majority view among historians is that Nicholas was a well-intentioned yet poor ruler who proved incapable of handling the challenges facing his nation. Early life Birth and family background Grand Duke Nicholas was born on 18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868, in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo south of Saint Petersburg, during the reign of his paternal grandfather, Emperor Alexander II. He was the eldest child of then-Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich and his wife, Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna (née Princess Dagmar of Denmark). Alexander Alexandrovich was heir apparent to the Russian throne as the second but eldest surviving son of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna (née Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine). Maria Feodorovna was the daughter of King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark. Nicholas was christened in the Chapel of the Resurrection of the Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo on 1 June [O.S. 20 May] 1868 by the confessor of the imperial family, protopresbyter Vasily Borisovich Bazhanov. His godparents were Emperor Alexander II (his paternal grandfather), Queen Louise of Denmark (his maternal grandmother), Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark (his maternal uncle), and Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (his great-great-aunt). The boy received the traditional Romanov name Nicholas and was named in memory of his father's older brother and mother's first fiancé, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia, who had died young in 1865. Informally, he was known as "Nicky" throughout his life. Nicholas was of primarily German and Danish descent and was related to several monarchs in Europe. His mother's siblings included Kings Frederick VIII of Denmark and George I of Greece, as well as the United Kingdom's Queen Alexandra (consort of King Edward VII). Nicholas, his wife Alexandra, and Wilhelm II, German Emperor were all first cousins of King George V of the United Kingdom. Nicholas was also a first cousin of both King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway, as well as King Christian X of Denmark and King Constantine I of Greece. Nicholas and Wilhelm II were in turn second cousins once-removed, as each descended from King Frederick William III of Prussia, as well as third cousins, as they were both great-great-grandsons of Tsar Paul I of Russia. In addition to being second cousins through descent from Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse, and his wife Princess Wilhelmine of Baden, Nicholas and Alexandra were also third cousins once-removed, as they were both descendants of King Frederick William II of Prussia. Tsar Nicholas II was the first cousin once-removed of Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich. To distinguish between them, the Grand Duke was often known within the imperial family as "Nikolasha" and "Nicholas the Tall", while the Tsar was "Nicholas the Short". Childhood Grand Duke Nicholas was to have five younger siblings: Alexander (1869–1870), George (1871–1899), Xenia (1875–1960), Michael (1878–1918) and Olga (1882–1960). Nicholas often referred to his father nostalgically in letters after Alexander's death in 1894. He was also very close to his mother, as revealed in their published letters to each other. In his childhood, Nicholas, his parents and siblings made annual visits to the Danish royal palaces of Fredensborg and Bernstorff to visit his grandparents, the king and queen. The visits also served as family reunions, as his mother's siblings would also come from the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece with their respective families. It was there in 1883, that he had a flirtation with one of his British first cousins, Princess Victoria. In .... Discover the Nicholas J Spark popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Nicholas J Spark books.

Best Seller Nicholas J Spark Books of 2024

  • Denen man nicht vergibt synopsis, comments

    Denen man nicht vergibt

    Catherine Coulter

    Dies wird seine letzte Beichte sein ... Pater Michael hat unzähligen Sündern die Beichte abgenommen. Doch dies wird seine letzte sein. Der Mann hinter der Trennwand gesteht, dass ...

  • Wenn keiner dir glaubt synopsis, comments

    Wenn keiner dir glaubt

    Catherine Coulter

    Wenn Dein Stalker sich an Dir rächen will für etwas, das Du nie getan hat ... Becca erhält Morddrohungen. Der Anrufer will Rache dafür, dass sie Sex mit ihrem Chef hatte dem Gou...

  • The Wall of Winnipeg and Me synopsis, comments

    The Wall of Winnipeg and Me

    Mariana Zapata

    Der riesige TIKTOKHype endlich auf Deutsch!Vanessa Mazur weiß, dass ihre Kündigung das einzig Richtige war! Schließlich war ihr Job als Assistentin (und Köchin und Putzfrau und So...

  • Naughty, Sexy, Love synopsis, comments

    Naughty, Sexy, Love

    Kylie Scott & Cornelia Röser

    Wenn ein Bad Boy sein Herz verliert ... Eric Collins ist ein Bad Boy, wie er im Buche steht. Keine Frau landet zweimal in seinem Bett, und eine feste Beziehung kommt für ihn nicht...

  • Wo niemand dich sieht synopsis, comments

    Wo niemand dich sieht

    Catherine Coulter

    Eine idyllische Kleinstadt wird zur tödlichen Falle ... Als er durch einen Bombenanschlag verletzt wird, hat FBIAgent Ford MacDougal einen merkwürdigen Traum: Seine Schwester fähr...

  • Hooked synopsis, comments

    Hooked

    Brenda Rothert, Wiebke Pilz & Nina Restemeier

    Was sich liebt, das neckt sich ... Von allen Gästen des angesagtesten Luxushotels von Chicago geht Zimmermädchen Miranda niemand so auf die Nerven wie Jake Birch. Da die Wohnung d...

  • Wer nie die Wahrheit sagt synopsis, comments

    Wer nie die Wahrheit sagt

    Catherine Coulter

    Eine blutige Spur ... FBIAgent Dillon Savich ist am Boden zerstört: Seine Schwester Lilly ist mit ihrem Auto gegen einen Baum gerast. War es wirklich der zweite Selbstmordversuch ...

  • Vergeben, nicht vergessen synopsis, comments

    Vergeben, nicht vergessen

    Catherine Coulter & Inez Meyer

    Wenn Hilfe zur tödlichen Gefahr wird ...Richter Ramsey Hunt sucht nach einer Schießerei in seinem Gerichtssaal Zuflucht in der Einsamkeit der Berge. Dort findet er ein schwerverlet...

  • Taste of Love - Geheimzutat Liebe synopsis, comments

    Taste of Love - Geheimzutat Liebe

    Poppy J. Anderson

    Eine Prise davon macht jedes Essen besser Geheimzutat LiebeAndrew Knight ist neuer Stern am Bostoner Gastrohimmel doch mittlerweile total ausgebrannt. Beim spontanen Kurzurlaub i...

  • Perfect Touch - Untrennbar synopsis, comments

    Perfect Touch - Untrennbar

    Jessica Clare & Kerstin Fricke

    Diese Liebesgeschichte beginnt nicht mit einem OneNightStand, sondern mit einem OneNightFlop ...So ein Arsch! Anders kann Greer es nicht ausdrücken. Jahrelang hat sie zu Milliardär...

  • All for You - Verlangen synopsis, comments

    All for You - Verlangen

    Meredith Wild

    In jedem reichen Mädchen schlummert ein böses, das nur darauf wartet, dass der richtige Kerl es zum Spielen aufforderte. Und dieser Kerl war ich! Olivia Bridge hat immer nach den ...