Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov (1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of All Russia. He ruled from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He was reviled by Soviet historians and state propaganda as a callous tyrant who persecuted his own people. In 1981, Nicholas, his wife, and their children were recognized as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. Their gravesite was discovered in 1979, but this was not acknowledged until 1989. After the fall of Communism, the remains of the imperial family were exhumed, identified by DNA analysis, and re-interred in St. Petersburg on 17 July 1998.

About Nicholas II of Russia in brief

Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov (1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of All Russia. He ruled from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He was reviled by Soviet historians and state propaganda as a callous tyrant who persecuted his own people. In 1981, Nicholas, his wife, and their children were recognized as martyrs by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, based in New York City. Their gravesite was discovered in 1979, but this was not acknowledged until 1989. After the fall of Communism, the remains of the imperial family were exhumed, identified by DNA analysis, and re-interred with an elaborate state and church ceremony in St. Petersburg on 17 July 1998, exactly 80 years after their murders. The remains of two more Romanov children, believed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia and Tsesarevich Alexei, were found in 2007 at a second, nearby gravesite, which was also unmarked. These remains are still waiting to be buried alongside those of the rest of the family. His paternal grandparents were Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia. His maternal grandparents were King Christian IX and Queen Louise of Denmark. Nicholas was related to several monarchs in Europe, as well as King Christian X of Denmark and King Constantine I of Greece. He is also a first cousin of King George V of the United Kingdom and Queen Alexandra II of Germany. Nicholas signed the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907, designed to counter Germany’s attempts to gain influence in the Middle East.

He supported Serbia and approved the mobilization of the Russian Army on 30 July 1914. In response, Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914 and its ally France on 3 August 1914, starting the Great War, later known as the First World War. He had five younger siblings: Alexander, George, Xenia, Michael and Olga. Nicholas often referred to his father nostalgically in letters after Alexander’s death in 1894. His mother’s siblings included Kings Frederick VIII of Greece, George I of Denmark, and George I. of Greece,. As well as Nicholas and Wilhelm II in turn as a second-removed cousin, each in turn descended as a first-once-once cousin, as Nicholas was a third cousin of both King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway. He also had a younger sister, Maria Alexandrovna, the last ethnically Russian daughter of Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna. His father was Emperor Alexander II of Russia and his mother was Empress Maria Alexandrovskaya. Nicholas had five children: Alexander, George, Xenia, Michael, Olga and George. His son Alexander was also known as Nicholas the Great. Nicholas abdicated on behalf of himself and his son. He died in July 1918, and was executed the following year in July 1920. Nicholas is buried in the Tsar’s Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Related posts:

St. Petersburg, Russia Saint Nicholas Olga Constantinovna of Russia Saint Nicholas Day