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May 18th 1896: Khodynka Tragedy
On this day in 1896, during the festivities celebrating the
coronation of new Russian Tsar Nicholas II, a mass panic on Khodynka
Field in Moscow led to 1,389 deaths. A banquet was planned for the
people which was highly anticipated due to rumours of free beer,
pretzels and gingerbread. Thousands gathered early in the morning, but a
rumour spread that there was not enough food for everyone and in the
ensuing panic and crush, 1,389 were trampled to death and a further
1,300 injured. The new Tsar visited the injured in hospital but still
attended a ball at the French embassy in the evening, which many thought
showed a lack of care for his subjects; Nicholas had not wanted to go
but his advisors considered it an insult to France. The incident marked
the beginning of a series of events which undermined faith in Tsar
Nicholas II and led to his removal from power in 1917, making him the
last Tsar of Russia.Saying Tsar Nicholas II was “removed from power” seems like an exceedingly polite way to say “he and his entire family were brutally murdered”.
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