Nicholas II of Russia Fact Sheet: Who was Nicholas II of Russia? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of Nicholas II of Russia.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact File: Lifespan: 1868 - 1918 *** Full Name: Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov *** Also known as: Nicholas II of Russia, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias, Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church and Saint Nicholas the Martyr *** Nickname: Nicholas the Bloody *** Occupation: Last Emperor of Russia, Grand Duke of Finland and titular King of Poland *** Date of Birth: Nicholas II of Russia was born on May 18th 1868 *** Place of Birth: Nicholas II of Russia was born in Alexander Palace, Tsarskoye Selo, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire *** Family background: His father was Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his mother was Empress Maria Feodorovna formerly Princess Dagmar of Denmark *** Early life and childhood: He grew up with quite a large extended family, he had five younger siblings, Alexander, George, Xenia, Michael and Olga as well as having familial ties to Royal families across Europe, including Kings Frederik VIII of demand and George I of Greece, Queen Alexandra wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, Nicholas and his wife Alexandra and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany were all first cousins. He was also related to King Haakon VII and Queen Maud of Norway, King Constantine I of Greece *** Education: Nicholas II of Russia began his education privately tutored.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 1: Nicholas II of Russia was born on May 18th 1968 during the 19th century and a period in history when many empires across the globe were collapsing, First and Second French, Spanish, Chinese, Mughal and Holy Roman which left in its wake the rise of the British Empire, the Russian, the United States and the German.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 2: During his early childhood he stood as third in line to the throne. His grandfather Tsar Alexander II was ruling at this time but in March of 1881 he was assassinated when meant his father became Tsar Alexander III meaning Nicholas became Tsesarevich.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 3: After this the family removed their primary residence to Gatchina Palace outside the city limits and only returned to the capital for official functions.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 4: At the Winter Palace in 1884 Nicholas attended his coming of age ceremony. He also swore his loyalty to Tsar Alexander II, his father.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 5: Later that same year his uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich married the Princess Elizabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt and while attending their wedding he made the acquaintance of Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, the bride’s younger sister who at that time was on twelve years of age.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 6: Five years later the young pair met again and their feelings for each other blossomed but there was a giant obstacle in their way, Alix was a devout Lutheran and refused to convert to Russian Orthodox and so was unable to accept his proposal.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 7: During 1890 the young Nicholas together with his cousin Prince George of Greece and his younger brother Grand Duke George embarked on a world tour.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 8: Although Nicholas was next in line to the thrown his father nevertheless felt there was plenty of time to begin teaching his son how to lead a county. He would be proved terribly wrong as his health began to deteriorate by 1894.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 9: Having been advised by her brother-in-law that it was her duty to convert and marry Nicholas, so when he proposed for a second time, she was able to accept.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 10: Alexander III of Russia died on November 1st 1894 and so his son was consecrated by his father’s priest as Tsar Nicholas II.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 11: Unprepared but not wholly untrained, Nicholas brought his wedding forward to ensure he had Alix by his side, she gave his courage and confidence and he needed that after the sudden death of his father.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 12: He decided to follow in his father’s footsteps but held these views himself as far as how to lead his country. He was known to have said to the Imperial Family Council "... it has come to my knowledge that during the last months there have been heard in some assemblies of the zemstvos the voices of those who have indulged in a senseless dream that the zemstvos be called upon to participate in the government of the country. I want everyone to know that I will devote all my strength to maintain, for the good of the whole nation, the principle of absolute autocracy, as firmly and as strongly as did my late lamented father."

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 13: Over the ensuing years he suffered humiliating defeats against the Japanese, he approved the mobilization of the Russian military which marked their entry into the first World War and the High Command’s incompetency were all sighted as being the leading reasons behind the fall of the Russian Royal family.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 14: After the February Revolution of 1917 at which point the whole family were held prisoner originally in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo and after that at the Governor’s Mansion in Tobolsk then finally at Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 15: Although his first instinct was to abdicate in favor of his son, but upon further reflection and realizing that he and his wife would be exiled and young Alexi would be on his own, the family doctor advised against this course as the child was not strong enough.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 16: Nicholas II of Russia abdicated on March 2nd 1917 and named his brother the Grand Duke Michael as his successor.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 17: Desperate to get his family to safety Nicholas wished to exile in the United Kingdom and although his request was originally accepted by the British government King George V, acting on advice he had been given, overruled the offer.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 18: The Romanov family where imprisoned and living on soldiers rations.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 19: On April 30th 1918 the family was moved for the final time to the town of Yekaterinburg where they took up residence in Ipatieve House, a two story property.

Nicholas II of Russia Fact 20: In the early hours of the morning of July 17th 1918 the family including Nicholas and Alix together with their children, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei as well as Nicholas’ private doctor Eugene Botkin with his wife Anna Demidova, Ivan Kharitonov the families chef and the footman Alexei Trupp were woken up and told to dress. They were herded to the basement where Nicholas was the first to be shot followed by the rest of the family and those that did not die from gunshot wounds were stabbed to death by bayonets and then shot in the head.

Influence and Legacy: Although most of history would have us believe Nicholas II’s rule was a series of poor decisions, in truth he was fighting an uphill battle between how he wished Russia to proceed and what the revolutionaries wanted. It just so happened fate was against him. He played a particular part in the creation of the Court of Arbitration at The Hague and adopting a number of agreements that were approved. The Hague Conferences paved the way for his dream of world peace in 1898 that brought all European states in to participate and these conferences defined the rules to be used in the future in formulating international law much of which is still active.