As
Isaac Don Lenine reminds us in his admirable study of the Russian
Revolution, Nicholas II was more than seven-eighths German, less than
one-eighth of his blood heritage being Romanov. Catherine the Great, wife
of Peter III, was a Prussian by birth and heritage and thoroughly
Prussianized her court. After her--from 1796 to 1917--six Czars reigned in
Russia, five of whom married German wives. As was inevitable in such
circumstances, the Russian court had long been notoriously subject to
German influences and strongly pro-German in its sympathies--by no means a
small matter in an autocratic country. Fully aware of their advantage, the
Kaiser and his Ministers increased the German influence and power at the
Russian court by encouraging German nobles to marry into Russian court
circles. The closing decade of the reign of Nicholas II was marked by an
extraordinary increase of Prussian influence in his court, an achievement
in which the Kaiser was greatly assisted by the Czarina, who was, it will
be remembered, a German princess.
Naturally, the German composition and character of the Czar's court was
reflected in the diplomatic service and in the most important departments
of the Russian government, including the army.
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