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Nicholas II of Russia - The Last Tsar of the Russian Empire

Nicholas II of Russia was the last emperor (Tsar) of the Russian Empire. His dominion included the whole of the Russian Empire along with Finland and Poland. He remained the Tsar of Russia from 1894 to 1917 before his abdication.

 During his reign, the Russian Empire declined internally and externally. Russian army and navy suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in Russian history against Japan during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). The condition of Russia was also miserable during World War 1 (1914-18). 

 These defeats and other matters affected the economic conditions of the empire negatively. Therefore, Nicholas II initially had to replace the absolute monarchy with a constitutional monarchy after the Russian Revolution of 1905. Later, the Russian Revolution of 1917 brought an end to his reign and replaced the monarchy with communist rule.

On 17th July 1918, Nicholas II was killed along with his whole family by the new soviet rulers of Russia. 

Early Life

Nicholas was born on 18th May 1868 in Saint Petersburg. He was the eldest son of Russian Emperor Alexander III. His mother, Maria Feodorovna, was the former princess of Denmark.

In March 1881, Nicholas became the Tsesarevich (heir) of the Russian empire when his father became the Russian Tsar. In 1891, he survived an assassination attempt during his visit to Japan.

On 1st November 1894, Nicholas II became the Emperor of Russia. Later in the same month, he married Alexandra Feodorovna (granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the UK). 

Important Events During Nicholas II Reign

  1. Coronation for Nicholas took place on 26th May 1896 in Kremlin. For celebrating the event, a large festival was held for the citizens of Moscow in Khodynka Field (a large military training ground). Rumors spread that food and drink would not be enough to distribute among every participant. It made the people rush forward to take their share of food and drink. Consequently, a stampede resulted in the death of around 1400 people and hundreds of others injured. There was a gathering of nearly 100,000 people at the Khodynka field. This event is known as Khodynka Tragedy.
  2. From 1903 to 1906, several anti-Jewish pogroms (riots) occurred in different parts of Russia. Thousands of Jews were killed and injured during these riots, and many had to leave Russia. Publically, Tsar Nicholas II criticized the riots, but allegedly he was behind these riots to get public support. 
  3. Russo-Japanese War (Feb 1904- Sep 1905) was a major and destructive event during the reign of Nicholas II. The war was fought to control Manchuria (now in China) and Korea. Russia suffered complete defeat at the hands of Japan as it could not win even a single naval and land battle in the war. This defeat worsened the economic condition of Russia.
  4. On Sunday 22nd January 1905, factory workers gathered and marched towards the Winter Palace of Tsar Nicholas to present a petition against the cruelty of factory owners regarding low wages and long working hours. On that occasion, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard fired upon the unarmed protestors. According to official figures, the number of killed and injured were 96 and 333, respectively. Unofficial sources claimed the numbers to be in the thousands. This incident is known as Bloody Sunday.
  5. Bloody Sunday was the start of the Revolution of 1905. This revolution lasted from January 1905 to June 1907 and included strikes by factory workers, unrest among peasants, and mutinies by soldiers. The government suppressed the unrest by force resulting in the deaths and imprisonments of thousands of people. However, it forced Tsar Nicholas to form State Duma in 1906, which changed the absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy.
  6. The mysterious saint Grigori Rasputin also had a significant role during the reign of Nicholas II. Nicholas had four daughters and only one son Alexei Nikolaevich, the future heir to the throne. But Alexei was suffering from hemophilia (a disease with a problem in blood clotting) due to a genetic disorder. There was no medical cure for the disease at that time, but strangely Rasputin’s “treatment” was quite effective for the royal patient. It made him (Rasputin) an influential person in the palace. He was later killed by the relatives of the Tsar in December 1916. 

World War 1 & End of Monarchy

In 1904, Great Britain and France signed an agreement to counter threats from Germany, while Russia joined the treaty through Anglo-Russian Convention in 1907. On the other side, the opposite Triple Alliance had already been formed in 1882 between Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary. 

World War 1 started after the assassination of the heir of Austria-Hungary by a Serbian nationalist on 28th June 1914. Nicholas tried his best to prevent any confrontation with Germany, but the emotions were high and a full-scale war started between the opposing sides.

The performance of the Russian Army was satisfactory against the Ottomans, but they lost several battles against the German forces. The whole Second Army (strength 230,000) of Russia perished during the Battle of Tannenberg (August 1914). Germans occupied Warsaw (Poland) in August 1915. These failures and other military defeats turned the people against the Tsar. The deteriorating economic condition in the country and the rise in the body count of Russian soldiers were putting pressure on the monarchy. 
Nicholas II during abdication (March 1917)


This situation led to the Russian Revolution in February 1917. Nicholas II surrendered the throne in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich in March 1917, but Michael refused to accept the offer unless ratified by Duma. Instead, the Russian Provisional Government took authority. This regime could not last long and was taken over by the soviets in November 1917. The soviet government also arrested the royal family.

On 17th July 1918, when the Russian Civil War was going on between the Soviet Red Army and the anti-revolutionary White Army, Nicholas II and the whole royal family was shot dead by the soviets.

Importance in History

Nicholas II was the last Tsar of the Russian Empire. The Empire was replaced by communism after his death and the Soviet victory against the White Army. When Nicholas took over the throne, the condition of the Empire was not too weak. However, the defeat of Russia during the Russo-Japanese War and its poor performance during World War 1 worsened the political and economic condition of the country. Nicholas proved to be a failed military commander during these wars.

The way Nicholas handled the economic condition and subsequent strikes also turned people against the whole system. Bloody Sunday is an example of his mishandling of situations.

His failure resulted in the occupation of Russia by the communists, and this event later affected the whole world in the second half of the 20th Century. His incompetency also cost the lives of the entire royal family.
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