Czar Nicholas II’s reaction to the tragedy at his coronation led to public outcry against his rule.

Thousand of Russian peasants stood in a queue to collect gifts from their Czar for his coronation. The crowd was overwhelming, and a false rumor caused a huge stampede.

Did the Czar stop his coronation? Nope, he didn’t, and it did cost him his life.

The Russian Empire

Russia was under the czarist regime in the 19th century. Czar Alexander III died in 1896, and his son Czar Nicholas II came to power.

In Russia, the Czar was viewed as God’s representative on Earth and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian citizens were supposed to blindly followed the Czar’s orders because he was the emperor. Moreover, the Czars claimed to be the modern successors to the Roman and Byzantine emperors and the protectors of Christianity.

In the 19th century, industrialization and quasi-democracy swept across the world. The Czars insulated Russia from globalization.

The imperial family feared industrialization could propel Russian people to form unions and oppose the Czar. Agrarian Russia was about to meet its savior, Czar Nicholas II.

Czar Nicholas II

Czar Nicholas II was part of the lineage of Queen Victoria, who spread her family tree all over Europe.

Czar Nicholas knew the importance of industrialization and wanted Russia to become an industrialized nation. All this can happen only after his coronation, which ended in disaster.

The royal palace planned the coronation of Czar Nicholas On 26 May 1896. The government announced that the Czar would host a feast and give gifts to every guest.

Thousands of Russian citizens flanged the venue for gifts and food. Rumors started to spread that the coronation sovereign mug held a gold coin, further increasing people’s interest in attending the event.

As more crowds gathered, the Police could not control the situation. Another rumor spread that the mugs were of limited quantity and it is a first come basis.

The Stampede

Immediately the crowd started to run toward the ground, which caused a stampede.

The rampaging mob stampeded over Men, women, and even children as they rushed to the venue. When the dust settled, 1700 people died from the stampede. Czar Nicholas II was informed of the stampede but didn’t bother about it.

That very night there was a ball planned for his coronation. Czar Nicholas’s advisors asked him to stop the ball in respect of his fellow citizens who died in the stampede, but he didn’t heed and attended the ball. The Chinese ambassador to Russia and was shocked by Czar Nicholas attending the ball. He commented that even the Chinese Empress wouldn’t do such a thing.

Russian citizens were infuriated by Czar Nicholas’s act. The commoners hatred slowly developed into a Revolution which broke out after Russia’s defeat in World War I. Nicholas II abdicated in 1917 after unrest and military defeat destroyed popular support for the monarchy.

In 1918 after a second revolution, Russia’s new dictator, Vladimir I. Lenin, ordered the execution of Nicholas II and his family to prevent them from joining his enemies, the Whites, in the Russian Civil War.