Nicholas II

For other uses, see Nicholas II (disambiguation).

In this article, the patronymic is Alexandrovich and the family name is Romanov.

Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov;^[d] 18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1894 until his abdication in March 1917. Following the Russian Revolution, his reign ended the Russian Empire and the Romanov dynasty's 300 year rule of Russia.

Nicholas II
Portrait by Boissonnas & Eggler, c. 1909
Emperor of Russia
Reign	1 November 1894[a] – 15 March 1917[b]
Coronation	26 May 1896[c]
Predecessor	Alexander III
Successor	Monarchy abolished
Prime Ministers	See list
Born	18 May [O.S. 6 May] 1868 Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire
Died	17 July 1918(1918-07-17) (aged 50) Ipatiev House, Yekaterinburg, Russian SFSR
Cause of death	Murder
Burial	17 July 1998 Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Spouse	Alix of Hesse and by Rhine ​ ​ (m. 1894)​
Issue	Grand Duchess Olga Grand Duchess Tatiana Grand Duchess Maria Grand Duchess Anastasia Tsesarevich Alexei
Full name Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov
House	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father	Alexander III of Russia
Mother	Dagmar of Denmark
Religion	Russian Orthodox
Signature

He married Princess Alix of Hesse, who was the daughter of Princess Alice of the United Kingdom and the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and they had five children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei. His son suffered from a disease called haemophilia, which caused his parents incredible sadness. After 1905, the royal family became friends with Grigori Rasputin, whom they believed could treat Alexei.^[1]

In the first 20 years of his reign, Nicholas tried to make Russia more modern, but these plans were held back by the nobles and the Tsar's weak leadership. He and his chief ministers Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin encouraged railways, land reform, education, the borrowing of money and friendship with France and the United Kingdom. In 1905, after Russia lost a war with Japan and the killing of protestors on Bloody Sunday, there were large protests against his government by people who wanted a parliament. He created the Duma, but he would not allow it to have many powers. His reign also saw the Khodynka Tragedy, attacks on the Russian Jews, anger over the power of Rasputin, and the imprisonments and executions of people who opposed the government.

In 1914, he led Russia into World War I, but the war went badly for Russia and caused great hardship. It led to the fall of the monarchy in the Russian Revolution in 1917. He abdicated from the throne in March of that year.^[2] He and his family were held as prisoners under house arrest. On July 17, 1918, Nicholas, his wife and their children were killed by a firing squad, on the orders of the new Bolshevik government. In 1981, the Tsar and his family were made Saints by the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1990, the bones of the Tsar and his family were found in the woods and given a proper burial in St Petersburg in 1998.^[3]

The historians of the Soviet Union often described Nicholas as a tyrant. Modern historians see him as a man who tried to do what was right for his country but did not have the skills and was easily led by people who gave him bad advice.^[4][5]

Notes

1. O.S. 20 October 1894
2. O.S. 2 March 1917
3. O.S. 14 May 1896
4. Russian: Николай II Александрович Романов, tr. Nikolay II Aleksandrovich Romanov, IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈlaj ftɐˈroj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ rɐˈmanəf]; spelled Александровичъ Романовъ in pre-revolutionary script.