He was clearly expecting war with Japan...

He was clearly expecting war with Japan. So why he didn't move the Russian battleships to the east pre-emptively so they would be where they're needed when the war breaks out?

Because Britain would rape him HARDDDDDDDDD

No

because he's inept

Because the Baltic fleet would sink on the way there regardless.

>he's
>present tense
He's been dead for a century you faggot.

What's the point of nit picking that

You really enjoy thinking that you're smarter than others don't you

They thought their fleet there would be sufficient. Japanese weren't really seen as a dangerous opponent. As a matter of fact Russian fleet there fought okay, they were simply unlucky (commanders dying).
Baltic fleet was far inferior in any case, in terms of personel.

Everyone back then genuinely thought them damn slant eyes would fold immediately to a European power.

but Willy promised to protect him

Japan did come very close to breaking down during the war simply because they couldn't sustain the financial burden of it. Russia could have easily won if they'd simply moved more battleships into the area before the fighting began. Now, it isn't fair to fault somebody for not being able to predict the future perfectly, but Nicholas II was clearly expecting a war with Japan, so he should have been better prepared.

Might as well dump it before someone requests it. And like said, the baltic fleet was a mess before it even set sail.

>He was clearly expecting war with Japan

He wasn't, he heavily underestimated the strength and resolve of the Japanese and genuinely thought that would fold withouth armed confrontation - hence why he stalled and rejected fairly generous compromises.
>The new Tsar had learned nothing in the interval, and the impression of imperturbability he conveyed was in reality apathy....When a telegram was brought to him announcing the annihilation of the Russian fleet at Tsushima, he read it, stuffed it in his pocket, and went on playing tennis.[130]

>Japan did come very close to breaking down during the war simply because they couldn't sustain the financial burden of it

And Russia was facing mutinies, revolts and insurrections and the events of the 1905 revolution. Neither side had it easy.

>Russia could have easily won if they'd simply moved more battleships into the area before the fighting began

Fighting began specifically because Japan wanted to preempt this kind of thing (although IRL it was the military tranfser) from happening transfering the entire navy would simply have led to the war starting earlier on.

Their only chance of winning via bankrupting Japan was to hold Port Arthur - which they had a decent chance of doing.

> Stoessel and Foch sent a message to a surprised General Nogi, offering to surrender. None of the other senior Russian staff had been consulted, and notably Smirnov and Tretyakov were outraged. The surrender was accepted and signed on January 5, 1905, in the northern suburb of Shuishiying.

>The Japanese were astounded to find that a huge store of food and ammunition remained in Port Arthur, which implied that Stoessel had surrendered long before the fight was over. Stoessel, Foch and Smirnov were court-martialed on their return to St Petersburg.

>but Nicholas II was clearly expecting a war with Japan

He wasnt, which is why it took him 8 days after the Japanese attack to declare war on Japan.

>When a telegram was brought to him announcing the annihilation of the Russian fleet at Tsushima, he read it, stuffed it in his pocket, and went on playing tennis

I know nicky wasn't the best of leaders but I can't help but feel sorry for him. You can just feel how tired he was of it all.

He never wanted to be tsar, his father never taught him how to be tsar, and yet at the same time, his school teachers (maybe tutors is more appropriate) constantly and deliberately instilled in him the belief that autocracy was 100% necessary for Russia's survival. He never expected to inherit the throne, nor did he want to, and when he did, he was scared shitless. But at the same time, he believed it was his duty, that God had chosen him for this job, because that's what all his teachers had told him, that the czar was appointed by God to rule. His wife had received similar education as a child, and she perhaps believed it even more than he did. Whenever he considered compromising with reformers or liberals, she would step in and remind him that Russia needs absolute autocracy or it will not survive. It's overall a pretty messed up situation.

For me it makes me more angry towards him that around a couple million people not to mention his family would die because of his actions kind of like his cousin William ii.

Had he merely been a pleasure seeker willing to let his ministers govern the country he would have made it but he just couldn't make up his mind about being a boy or a man

I think he very well realized that constitutional monarchy and would have very much preferred to model his affairs like that of his cousin the eternal anglo

>the Tsushima anecdote
I've heard conflicting accounts about this, desu. I've read eyewitness testimony that he was horrified.

You can't just sneak a fleet around the world. Ships are big and had to stop, they'd have been noticed quickly and the Japanese would get the jump on them anyway

Kys

I think it is true that he would have been much happier with a constitutional monarchy BUT like I said he was essentially brainwashed as a kid to believe that absolute monarchy was the ONLY form of government that was acceptable for Russia. His wife received a very similar education and she believed it 100%, and she had a nasty habit of steering him away from reasonable compromises because "muh absolutism."

Why didn't they form naval dockyards in the north and made prisoners work on building ships?

My god. I found it. The very first Wojak post.