Ruling from November 1, 1894, to the March 15,1917, Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov was the last Emperor to rule Russia. He was also from the Romanov Dynasty. In 1918, he and his family were killed. The title Tsar was used very commonly until the killing of the famous monarchy even though it was abolished by Peter the Great in 1721. .
His mother was Marie Romanova, born Princess Dagmar of Denmark, and his father was in Russia Tsar Alexander III. Through his mother, he was the grandson of Christian IX of Denmark; Tsar Alexander II through his father. .
In 1894 he was married to Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, or Empress Alexandra Romanova. They had five children named Grand Duchess Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Tsarevich Alexei. .
Upon his father's death, Nicholas took the throne's position in 1894. Because his father was more interested in finding his son a wife instead of teaching him how to reign, Nicholas wasn't very prepared to take such a big role in his life. His father also died at a fairly young age. This left the young emperor more unprepared for the future that lay ahead. He got married shortly after his father's funeral. Russia was in a time of major turmoil-a turmoil that would last beyond his death. .
Nicholas took as much advice as he could from his wife's first cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm. A war with Japan, from 1904-1905, now had Russia in peril. A much-widened conflagration given to the Anglo-Russian Entente had the large country in deep fear, even Wilhelm. .
Nicholas started to encounter some harsh domestic difficulties. In a bombing from the revolutionaries, his grandfather had been assassinated. His only son, Alexei, had been diagnosed with hemophilia, which was untreatable at that time. It also usually meant death. Nicholas and his wife chose not to let anyone know of their son's illness. .
Out of desperation, Alexandra sought help from a mystic known as Grigori Rasputin.
