In religion he was not only devout but almost a fanatic. He allowed the idea of church supremacy to take such possession of him that, though of a kindly disposition, he was led into persecution against Jews, Lutherans, Mennonites, and other non-conformists. He carried the matter so far that people were sent into exile because of religious insubordination. The Emperor was, no doubt, well meaning and conscientious, but, as a Russian writer has said, he was like an apothecary who should dispense strychnine for quinine, and whose conscientiousness could not save the victim of his mistake. The result was that the most kind-hearted of men became a cruel persecutor. One of the Emperor's decisions that bore very hard upon a large number of respectable families was not to permit the employment of any but Orthodox Russians in positions of responsibility, and especially upon railroads, where, by superior education and intelligence, a large proportion of employees such as inspectors, station-masters, conductors and engineers were Poles, Germans from the Baltic Provinces, and other non-conformists. As the railroads in Russia are under government control, the lines were drawn closer and closer until these offensive religionists were finally all dismissed. One of the last roads upon which the un-Orthodox were discharged to make places for members of the State Church was the road to Smolensk, and soon after it happened a plot was discovered to blow up the Tsar's train on this line. This was in 1894.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
