Chamber-Fourier Journal data on Emperor Nicholas II as Commander-in-Chief (January, 1916 - February, 1917)

The author uses Chamber-Fourier Journals for 1916 - early 1917 as main historical sources for analyzing activities of Nicholas II in the position of Commander-in-Chief as these journals recorded his places of stay, daily round, audiences to the officials, lists of persons invited to various official events. Information extracted from these sources allows identifying specifics of the Czar's daily life. It is established that during the period of 14 months in 1916 - early 1917 (427 days) the Emperor spent 263 days at the General Headquarters (Stavka) in Mogilev. His visits to the front were officially designated as tours of duty. He spent another 131 days in Tsarskoye Selo with visits to Petrograd. Besides two main locations the Czar made 7 trips, for a total of 23 days, along the immediate battle area. Getting from Tsarskoye Selo to Mogilev and back took yet another 13 days from the apparently busy schedule of the Emperor. The Commander-in-Chief used to start work at 10:30 a.m., less frequently at 10:00 a.m, going to the staff headquarters and listening to the reports of the Stavka's Chief of Staff, General M. V. Alekseev. As a rule, this was followed by breakfasts to which the Emperor invited officers and generals from headquarters, members of his entourage, and those members of the Imperial family who had come to Mogilev, ministers, heads of the military missions from the allied powers. After that he used to ride a car ("motor") during the cold season and went on boat trips along the Dnieper River during summer. After that from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. he used to give audiences to the ministers, the military, members of the Imperial family etc. His dinner usually started at 8:00 p.m. and lasted for 50 minutes. The data acquired from these sources allows concluding that Nicholas II performed his functions as Commander-in-Chief only formally and for a limited period of time. He performed only representational functions while participating in important events related to the conduct of warfare. Materials from the Chamber-Fourier Journals support the finding that the so-called "ministerial leapfrog" took place. In most cases the substitution of ministers took the form of transferring them to other key positions in the government. Thus, the activities of Nicholas II in 1916 - early 1917 demonstrate his inability to be the supreme ruler and Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, his detachment from reality. At the age of 48, having ruled the Empire for 22 years, he exhausted his resources as a ruler. The necessity to continue the war highly affected the situation with his abdication: it was for this purpose that he resigned.

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