SUMMARY:

In his article Sergei Podbolotov explores the politics and doctrine of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II, in the context of the history of Russian nationalism. Podbolotov situates the dynastic nationalism of Nicholas II in the continuum of the Russian dynasty’s reaction to the challenge of modernity and modern nationalism, which brought about a hybrid version of vцlkisch ideology, Romanticism, and monarchism. The author analyzes the relationship among the monarchy, bureaucracy, Russian educated society, and rightwing nationalist parties at the beginning of the twentieth century and traces Nicholas II’s peculiar perception of power and nationhood and its influence on political reforms at the beginning of the 20th century. Podbolotov argues that the last Russian monarch faced the dilemma of balancing between the pattern of the popular peasant father-tsar and the modern role of the monarch in governing the empire. Nicholas II’s inability to resolve this dilemma serves as an explanation of the particularly devastating political crisis at the end of his rule.