“And here it is — the public opinion”: rumours and texts in the struggle to shape the course of the new reign at the end of 1894 — beginning of 1895
Abstract
After the death of Emperor Alexander III in October 1894, various rumours began to circulate in the public communication of Russia and, above all, in the both capitals as to what political course the young Emperor Nicholas II would adhere to, i.e. whether he would continue his father’s line or his grandfather’s reforms. In addition to rumours, the opposite opinions of the past reign were actively voiced in the press. Such assessments, formally referring to the past, were in fact aimed to infl uence the shaping by Nicholas II of the government course. The initiatives of the end of 1894 — beginning of 1895 to support the literary circles should also be considered in this perspective. The idea of the liberal orientation of the monarch and his possible steps in this direction were more widely disseminated. The adherents to this point of view seemed to deliberately shape the information environment to establish the ideological agenda for Nicholas II and to impede his departure in the opposite direction. For a long time, the new tsar gave no defi nite answer as to what direction he would follow. The suspense lasted almost three months, and only on 17 January 1895, the Emperor clearly outlined his political priorities in the famous speech in the Winter Palace. Its sharpness can seem inadequate to the content of the addresses of Zemstvo about which he was speaking. However, it is explained by the fact that Nicholas II reacted to veiled constitutionalist ideas imbedded in the addresses and to the entire campaign to shape his liberal image in the public opinion that unfolded immediately after the death of Alexander III.
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