2-379-091 - © Fine Art Images/Heritage Images

Tsar Nicholas II speaking at the opening of the first Duma, St Petersburg, Russia, 27 April 1906. The Duma, the elected legislative assembly of the Russian Empire, was established as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918), who opened the Duma, was determined to retain his autocratic power over the government of Russia however. Shortly before the Duma opened, he passed the Fundamental Laws, which stated that the Tsar's ministers could not be appointed by and were not responsible to the Duma. Increasing tension between the Duma's members and Nicholas's ministers led to the assembly being dissolved within ten weeks of its opening. Found in the collection of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, Moscow.