Since his execution -- or, if you like, his martyrdom -- by the Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg in 1918, Tsar Nicholas II has been a somewhat problematic character historically for the world as a whole, and for Russia particularly. During the Soviet Era, in Russia, and in the world as a whole, Nicholas II was presented as a totally incompetent leader, out of touch with reality, and a repressive authoritarian who failed to provide for the needs of the Russian people, while embarking on futile and self-destructive military ventures like the Russo-Japanese War, and, of course, World War One. In Russia, since the fall of communism in the early 1990's, and particularly under the regime of Vladimir Putin, this image has been turned around 180 degrees, and Tsar Nicholas II is now presented as a great and noble hero, a martyr and actual canonized Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Tsarist Russian Empire is idealized, and presented as the best of all possible worlds, a mixture of elegant nobility and happy, productive peasants. In contrast, the world as a whole hasn't actually departed too much from the Soviet picture of Nicholas II -- a totally incompetent leader, out of touch with reality, embarking on futile and destructive military ventures, and not providing for the needs of the Russian people!

So, what's going on here, exactly? I think the problem is, that liberal democracy didn't work too well at all, when it was tried under Boris Yeltsin, in Russia. The economy collapsed, life expectancy dropped spectacularly, and, rather than becoming a highly successful liberal democracy like Germany or Britain, Russia simply was reduced to a kind of semi-colonial status with respect to the West, and the US, in particular. While this was, of course, perfectly acceptable to the West, and the US in particular, it was by no means satisfactory to the Russian people, or their leaders. Thus, the rise of a "strongman", Vladimir Putin, to rectify the situation, and return Russia to its rightful place in the world.

How could this be done? How could Russia become a great, and successful nation once more? They'd tried the communist model, and had decided to reject that completely. It was, it seemed, impractical, and too authoritarian, and repressive. They'd tried liberal democracy, and, that had failed for them as well, the Russians were not Germans or Britons. So, what to do?

It would seem that the only option they really had, was to look back at Russian history, and see the comparative success of Tsarist Russia, a great power for many centuries in the world. So, Vladimir Putin is attempting to make himself the new Russian Tsar, of the new Russian Empire. Now, the problem here, is that the rest of the world really doesn't want a new Russian empire, at all. In particular, the nations that broke away from the USSR when it collapsed in the early 1990's, haven't the slightest interest in being forced back into this union, as we are seeing currently in Ukraine. And, they are willing to fight very hard to avoid this fate, as we are seeing, and much of the world will support them, with arms and economic assistance, so that they can remain independent of Russia, no matter how much Mother Russia wants them back.

So, is it possible, that Russia can possibly get beyond seeing Tsar Nicholas II as their quintessential ideal, because, if they do not, they are going to keep repeating Nicholas II's disastrous errors, over, and over again?