Family A very tall man at , Nicholas, named after his paternal grandfather, the emperor, was born as the eldest son to
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891) and
Duchess Alexandra of Oldenburg (1838–1900) on 18 November 1856. His father was the sixth child and third son born to
Nicholas I of Russia and his wife, Empress
Alexandra Feodorovna (1798–1860). Alexandra Fedorovna was a daughter of
Frederick William III of Prussia and
Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Grand Duke Nicholas was the first cousin once removed of Tsar
Nicholas II. To distinguish between them, the Grand Duke was often known within the Imperial family as "Nikolasha": the Grand Duke was also known as "Nicholas the Tall" while the tsar was "Nicholas the Short".
Early military career Grand Duke Nicholas was educated at the
school of military engineers and received his commission in 1873. During the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), he was on the staff of his father who was commander in chief. He distinguished himself on two occasions in this war. He worked his way up through all the ranks until he was appointed commander of the Guard Hussar Regiment in 1884. He had a reputation as a tough commander, yet one respected by his troops. His experience was more as a trainer of soldiers than a leader in battle. Nicholas was a very religious man, praying in the morning and at night as well as before and after meals. He was happiest in the country, hunting or caring for his estates. By 1895, he was inspector-general of the cavalry, a post he held for 10 years. His tenure has been judged a success with reforms in training, cavalry schools, cavalry reserves and the remount services. He was not given an active command during the
Russo-Japanese War, perhaps because the tsar did not wish to hazard the prestige of the
Romanovs and because he wanted a loyal general in command at home in case of domestic disturbances. Thus, Nicholas did not have the opportunity to gain experience in battlefield command. Grand Duke Nicholas played a crucial role during the
Revolution of 1905. With disorder spreading and the future of the dynasty at stake, the tsar had a choice of instituting the reforms suggested by Count
Sergei Witte or imposing a military dictatorship. The only man with the prestige to keep the allegiance of the army in such a coup was the grand duke. The tsar asked him to assume the role of a military dictator. In an emotional scene at the palace, Nicholas refused, drew his pistol and threatened to shoot himself on the spot if the tsar did not endorse Witte's plan. This act was decisive in forcing Nicholas II to agree to the reforms. From 1905 to the outbreak of
World War I, he was commander of the
Petersburg Military District. He had the reputation there of appointing men of humble origins to positions of authority. The lessons of the Russo-Japanese War were drilled into his men.
Marriage On 29 April 1907, Nicholas married
Princess Anastasia of Montenegro (1869–1935), the daughter of King
Nicholas I, and sister of
Princess Milica, who had married Nicholas's brother,
Grand Duke Peter. They had no children. She had previously been married to
George Maximilianovich, 6th Duke of Leuchtenberg, by whom she had two children, until their divorce in 1906. Since the Montenegrins were a fiercely Slavic, anti-
Ottoman people from the
Balkans, Anastasia reinforced the
Pan-Slavic tendencies of Nicholas.
Hunting Nicholas was a hunter. Ownership of
borzoi hounds was restricted to members of the highest nobility, and Nicholas's packs were well known. After the revolution, the dogs in his kennel were sold off by the new Soviet government. In his lifetime, Nicholas and his dogs caught hundreds of wolves. A pair of borzoi were used, which caught the wolf, one on each side, while Nicholas dismounted and cut the wolf's throat with a knife. Hunting was his major recreation, and he travelled in his private train across Russia with his horses and dogs, hunting while on his rounds of inspection.
World War I Eastern Front Grand Duke Nicholas had no part in the planning and preparations for World War I, that being the responsibility of General
Vladimir Sukhomlinov and the general staff. On the eve of the outbreak of World War I, his
first cousin once removed, Emperor
Nicholas II, yielded to the entreaties of his ministers and appointed Grand Duke Nicholas to the supreme command. He was 57 years old and had never commanded armies in the field before, although he had spent almost all of his life on active service. His appointment was popular in the army. He was given responsibility for the largest army ever put into the field up to that date. He recalled that "... on receipt of the Imperial order, he spent much of his time crying because he did not know how to approach his new duties". On 14 August 1914, he published the
Manifesto to the Polish Nation. Grand Duke Nicholas was responsible for all Russian forces fighting against
Germany,
Austria-Hungary, and the
Ottoman Empire. He decided that their major effort must be in
Poland, which thrust toward Germany like a
salient, flanked by German
East Prussia in the north, and Austro-Hungarian
Galicia in the south. He planned to attend first to the flanks and when they were secure to invade German
Silesia. In the north poor coordination of the two invading Russian armies resulted in the disaster of
Tannenberg. In the south they conquered much of Galicia. Their subsequent move toward Silesia was blocked by the
Battle of the Vistula River and
Battle of Łódź. The grand duke picked and chose from the various plans offered by his generals. The grand duke begged for the artillery and ammunition they desperately lacked, so he could not embark on a coherent plan for victory. Nicholas came to power because of his royal status, and the tsar's belief that God was guiding his decision. He lacked the broad strategic sense and the ruthless drive to command all the Russian armies. His headquarters had a curiously calm atmosphere, despite the many defeats and the millions of casualties. He failed in terms of strategy and tactics, as well as logistics, selection of generals, maintaining morale, and gaining support from the government. On a personal level he was well liked by both officers and men.
The Caucasus Upon his dismissal, the grand duke was immediately appointed commander-in-chief and
viceroy in the Caucasus (replacing Count
Illarion Vorontsov-Dashkov). While the grand duke was officially in command, General
Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich was the driving figure in the Russian
Caucasus Army, so the grand duke focused on the civil administration. Their opponent was the
Ottoman Empire. While the grand duke was in command, the Russian army sent an expeditionary force through to
Persia to link up with British troops. Also in 1916, the Russian army captured the fortress town of
Erzerum, the port of
Trebizond and the town of
Erzincan. The Turks responded with an offensive of their own. Fighting around
Lake Van swung back and forth, but ultimately proved inconclusive. It is reported that, while visiting the garrison of
Kostroma he met
Said Nursi, a famous
Muslim cleric who was a prisoner of war. Because of Nursi's disrespectful attitude (he refused to greet the grand duke first saying that the faithful were more senior than infidels), the grand duke gave an order to execute him. But after seeing Nursi's devotion to his religion during his last prayer, the grand duke changed his mind and amnestied Nursi. However, nothing in the Grand Duke's record suggests that he would have even considered such a war crime. At the time he was urging the tsar to set up colleges for training Muslim clerics so they would not have to study abroad. Nicholas tried to have a railway built from
Russian Georgia to the conquered territories with a view to bringing up more supplies for a new offensive in 1917. But, in March 1917, the tsar was overthrown and the Russian army began slowly to fall apart. == Revolution ==