DOI: 10.25549/satjrnl-m93
title: Nicholas II (Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov), Tsar of Russia, 1868-1918
title: Николай II (Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Рома́нов), император, 1868-1918

description: Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov, 1868-1918. Last Russian emperor. Born 18.V (6.V, O.S.) 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo near St. Petersburg. Died 17.VII.1918 in Ekaterinburg. 1891 visited India, China, and Japan while still Tsesarevich; November 1, 1894 succeeded his father, Aleksandr III; November 26, 1894 married Aleksandra Fedorovna; May 26, 1896 crowned Tsar in Moscow; July 1905 made alliance with German Emperor Wilhelm II despite an alliance with France; 1904-1905 the Russo-Japanese War, due in part to Nicholas’ desire to maintain influence in Asia; March 3, 1905 agreed to the creation of the Duma; October 30, 1905 Nicholas announced the October Manifesto, agreeing to a constitutional regime requiring Duma’s consent for enactment of laws; April 1906 Nicholas replaced Witte with Stolypin as new Prime Minister; May 1906 created the Fundamental Laws which maintained his autocratic powers; June 28, 1914 Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb; July 24, 1914 Russia issued ultimatum prohibiting Austria-Hungary from crushing Serbia; July 28, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia; July 30, 1914 Russia ordered general mobilization of military; July 31, 1914 Germany issued an ultimatum to Russia to halt military mobilization; August 1, 1914 Russia ignored Germany’s ultimatum. Germany subsequently ordered general mobilization and declared war against Russia; August 5, 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia; September 5, 1915 Nicholas suspended the Commander-in-Chief, his father’s cousin, Grand Duke Nicholas; April 26, 1915 Russia, along with Great Britain and France, signed the Treat of London with Italy. This promised land to Italy in exchange for leaving the Triple Entente and joining the Allies; March 8, 1917 Nicholas sent troops to control a revolutionary uprising. His attempt failed and the government resigned, and Nicholas was called upon to resign by both the Duma and the army; March 1917 revolution ended the monarchy, which was replaced by a provisional government. Russian troops were further demoralized by this, after a long series of defeats.; March 15, 1917 Nicholas renounced the throne at Pskov. Surprisingly, this was in favor of his brother Mikhail, rather than his son Aleksei. Michael refused the crown and Nicholas was arrested by the Provisional Government of Prince L’vov; April 1918 Nicholas and his family were taken to Ekaterinburg; July 17, 1918 Nicholas and his family were executed by Bolshevik forces; November 1917 Bolshevik Revolution overthrew the provisional government. The Marxist Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin; November 26, 1917 Bolsheviks ordered cessation of hostilities against the Central Powers and the Turks; December 15, 1917 Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk; 1976 Russian scientists found the remains of the Romanovs, but this information was not revealed until after the fall of the Soviet Union; 1994 the remains of the Romanov family and its servants genetically identified; July 17, 1998 the Romanov remains were given a state funeral and reburied in St. Petersburg; August 20, 2000 Nicholas was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The family was designated with the lowest rank of sainthood, “passion bearers”; October 1, 2008 the Romanov family was granted full rehabilitation by the Russian Supreme Court after the ruling that their killings were “acts of unfounded repression”. Photograph, Nicholas II,Tsar of Russia, 1868-1918.  Photo taken by A. A. Pasetti of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, near age 30, at St. Petersburg, Russia, 1898.  This image is in the public domain.  Image source: Wikipedia, accessed April 16, 2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tsar_Nicholas_II_-1898.JPG#file.