Why did Nicholas II reluctantly establish the Duma?
The establishment of the State Duma was not born of desire, but of dire necessity. The pressures from within, particularly after the events of 1905, were immense. While I saw it as a concession, a departure from the God-ordained autocratic system, the prevailing circumstances demanded some response. My father would have found such a step unthinkable, but the need to quell unrest and maintain some semblance of order, however distasteful, compelled me to issue the Manifesto. It was a difficult decision, driven by the belief that order must prevail.
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