Nicholas II

Nicholas II, the eldest son of Alexander III, the Tsar of Russia, and Marie Feodorovna, was born at Krasnoye Selo in May 1868. When he was twenty-three he narrowly escaped assassination in Japan.

Nicholas II succeeded to the throne following his father's death from liver disease on 20th October, 1894. Later that month he married the German princess, Alexandra of Hesse-Darmstadt. Alexandra, the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria, was a strong believer in the autocratic power of Tsardom and urged him to resist demands for political reform.

During his reign, Russia was involved in war with Japan. Nicholas II tasted one devastating loss: 400,000 men were killed, wounded or captured, and material losses were valued at 2.5-billion gold rubles.

The Russian government considered Germany to be the main threat to its territory. This was reinforced by Germany's decision to form the Triple Alliance. Under the terms of this military alliance, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy agreed to support each other if attacked by either France or Nicholas II’s Russia.

Although Germany was ruled by the Nicholas II’s cousin, Kaiser Wilhem II, he accepted the views of his ministers and in 1907 agreed that Russia should joined Britain and France to form the Triple Entente.

In the international crisis that followed the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, Nicholas II accepted the advice of his foreign minister, Sergi Sazonov, and committed Russia to supporting the Triple Entente.
Sazonov was of the opinion that in the event of a war, Russia's membership of the Triple Entente would enable it to make territorial gains from neighbouring countries. Sazonov and Nicholas II were especially interested in taking Posen, Silesia, Galicia and North Bukovina.
On 31st July, 1914, Sazonov advised < b>Nicholas II to order the mobilization of the Russian Army even though he knew it would lead to war with the Germany and Austria-Hungary.

During the early stages of the First World War Sazonov was busy making long-term territorial arrangements with Britain and France. This including the promise that after the war Russia would be given control of the Dardanelles.

In September 1915, Nicholas II assumed supreme command of the Russian Army fighting on the Eastern Front. In this face of World War I Russia faced devastating losses. Loss of territory, massive casualties and confusion at home were the main reasons for the Second Russian Revolution in February 1917. On March 2, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated.

After the abdication, the royal family first remained in Czarskoe Selo then, by decision of the interim government, were transported to Siberia. In April 1918, the Bolshevik government decided to move the Imperial family to Ekaterinburg in the Urals. Here, Nicholas II and his family shot on July 17, 1918. The bodies were hidden and have only recently been found and identified.