As the events leading up the 100th anniversary of WWI approach, someone needs to be remembered whose legacy has been completely forgotten... all the more so as he and his family were murdered in cold blood... No biography of Nicholas would be complete without a more thorough comment on his global appeal for peace at the beginning of his reign because everything about it was so extraordinary. At this time in history, with the United Nations existance, its goals and hopes an accepted part of our lives, it is not possible to imagine how novel an idea world peace was in 1899, and how daring such a proposal was, coming out of the capital of an Empire. No one was even remotely prepared for such a thing and the world reacted with astonishment. Equally astonishing was this invitation coming from a young man only thirty-one years old, with the courage to dare to suggest it. It is impossible to sufficiently stress what a major role this was to play in world history. Prior to that moment no effort had ever been given to the possibility of a world without war. From this sprang all subsequent efforts to secure universal peace, including the Second Hague Conference, the Geneva Accords, the League of Nations, and, finally, the United Nation. The world greeted the Tsars appeal with nothing but skepticism and scorn. The British government showed no inclination to take the Russian request seriously; France found it unacceptable, and the German government was greatly alarmed by it. The Kaiser in fact was irritated to distraction. Nicholass cousin, the future George V of Great Britain, said: It is the greatest nonsense and rubbish I ever heard of. The very extreme of these reactions is a testament to how starling the idea was. The appeal led to the convocation of the first peace conference held at the Hague, in May and June of 1899, attended by twenty European powers, the United States, Mexico, Japan, China, Siam and Persia. The Russian proposal --temporary freezing of armed forces and of appropriations for armaments--was defeated. But the conference led to establishment at the Hague of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which exists to this very day. This accomplishment, however, pales beside Nicholass original vision. Nevertheless, even with its original intent unforfilled, this beautiful , humanitarian idea and effort has, as one biogragher has pointed out, earned Nicholas the right to immortality. themoscowtimes/business/country_supplement/russia_holland/2013/eng/article/489270.html
Posted on: Sun, 29 Jun 2014 04:58:36 +0000
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