Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917) was the last of the Romanov emperors, murdered along with his family during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution in 1917. Insisting on maintaining as far as possible the autocratic rule begun by his ancestors, Nicholas failed to address the grievances of his subjects, and with him fell the Russian Empire.

Only just surviving the Russian Revolution of 1905, Nicholas refused to heed the warning signs of a state-wide uprising that involved disgruntled peasantry, ignored workers, the disenchanted middle classes, and reform-seeking liberals. The tsar's legitimacy to rule was further brought into question following unsavory and persistent rumors about just how much influence the odd self-proclaimed holy man Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916) had on the royal family and politics, and by the tsar's unwise decision to take personal command of the army in the disastrous First World War (1914-18). Obliged to abdicate, the tsar and his family were shot on the orders of the Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of Soviet Russia, Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), in case he became a rallying point for pro-royalists during the Russian Civil War (1917-22).

Early Life & Family
Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov was born on 18 May 1868 in Saint Petersburg. He was born into the Romanov family, which had ruled Russia since 1613. Nicholas was the eldest son of Tsar Alexander III (reign 1881-1894), and so he became the tsarevich or heir to the throne. His doting mother was Empress Maria Feodorovna, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark (reign 1863-1906). Nicholas had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. The heir studied a variety of subjects in the Law Faculty of the University of St. Petersburg from 1885 to 1890. In preparation for his reign, Nicholas also spent several years in the army, was educated in religious matters, served on his father's council of ministers, and undertook several tours of the Near East and Asia in 1890 and 1891.

Nicholas, like his father, "lived and breathed complacent extreme conservatism" (Service, 9).

Nicholas II became tsar in 1894, following the death of his father on 1 November. His coronation was held on 26 May 1896. The role of tsar (sometimes spelt czar) was one of absolute monarch, and Alexander had played it to the full. Some hoped that Nicholas might be less of an authoritarian, but this was not to be. The new tsar quickly dismissed calls for constitutional change as "senseless dreams" (Brown, 93). Nicholas controlled quite literally every aspect of his subjects' lives, and in return, his people were given his devotion to duty, family devotion, and religious piety. The bond between monarch and subject was regularly reinforced by such community appearances as Easter celebrations and other public rituals involving pomp and circumstance. There was, too, an overwhelming emphasis given to the superiority of Russian subjects compared to non-Russians, of whom there were millions within the Russian Empire. This was a deep flaw in Nicholas' approach to rule, but not as catastrophic a flaw as the one which would ultimately bring his downfall. In Nicholas' world, the tsar simply was the state, but if, for whatever reason, the people (from aristocrats to the lowliest peasants) lost faith in the tsar, then they also lost faith in the state, which could, and actually did, open up the possibility of a regime-changing revolution.

Nicholas married the German princess Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) on 26 November 1884, her title prior to the marriage being Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt. Alexandra was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria (reign 1837-1901).

The couple had met when Alexandra, then just 12 years old (and Nicholas was 16), visited Russia for the wedding of her sister to Nicholas' uncle. The couple were attracted to each other, and the young prince gave Alexandra a memento brooch. Next meeting five years later, Nicholas and Alexandra danced, dined, and skated together, and the relationship blossomed. The couple would have four daughters, Olga (born 1895), Tatiana (born 1897), Maria (born 1899), and Anastasia (born 1901), and one son, Alexei (born 1904).

Personality
Nicholas was a slim man of average height and a pale complexion; his one standout feature was his piercing blue eyes. He possessed a certain calm presence. "He engaged in few recreations except hunting in the winter and shooting pheasants in the autumn…he spent at least two hours in daily exercise out of doors – four if he had the chance…The emperor, mild of manner, was tough as old boots. He was indifferent to luxury" (Service, 6). There was "an ascetic aspect in Nicholas's character, and even on winter nights he left the window open" (ibid). A devout Christian, he ate simply and drank very little. He particularly liked the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). Nicholas was an avid reader, indulging an eclectic taste that ranged from Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) to Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), and he often read these works to his family in the evening.