The coronation of Nicholas II was marred by the Khodynka Tragedy, a mass stampede in which thousands perished. This, his uninspired attitude, and a clear hostility to the Duma, had marked him as a reactionary well before he took the throne. Soon after in December, supported by the majority of the Army's officers, Nicholas II proclaimed the Edict of Autocracy, and dissolved the Duma. Popular revolts were met with gunfire, and the press was soon silenced. During the next nine years, the Tsar's power was once more consolidated, and Russia's vibrant culture and industry withered. Nicholas II made a grave miscalculation, however, and began the Russo-Japanese War which would prove to be his political downfall.
