Nicholas II was born on May 18, 1868, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Nicholas was the son of Alexander III of Russia and his mother, the Dagmer of Denmark. When Nicholas was 16 he fell in love with Princess Alix of Hesse-Dormstadt. Nicholas parents encouraged Nicholas to marry Princess Hélène of France to improve Russia bond with France. Despite his parent's wishes, Nicholas married Alix in 1894. In 1893, when he was 25, Nicholas was appointed head of a construction committee for the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Nicholas's wife had four daughters before having a son on August 12, 1904. Nicholas's son, Alexei, was born with hemophilia, a disease that prevents the clotting of blood, which at that time was untreatable and fatal. After many doctors failed to treat Alexei, Alexandra began to seek help from mystics. One of the mystics, named Grigori Rasputin, seemed to help in keeping Alexei alive.
Reign as Emperor
Nicholas became the tsar of Russia on November 1, 1894. He attempted to increase Russian land in Asia, which lead to the Russo-Japanese war in 1904 and 1905, which Russia lost. Nicholas faced opposition from among the people of Russia. On January the 22, 1905, a peaceful group of workers went to the czars palace to plead for better working conditions but Nicholas ordered his soldiers to fire at the crowd and about 1000 workers were killed. This day was known as Bloody Sunday. On October 1905 as the crowd's cry for liberty grew, Nicholas reluctantly promised “freedom of person, conscience, assembly, and union.” In 1906 Nicholas agreed to improve education, grant worker insurance for illness and injury and give peasant farmers possession of the lands they were farming.
In 1894 Nicholas established the Dual Alliance with France. Nicholas called a conference in1898 regarding international disarmament. The conference failed, mainly due to Germany and France who argued it. Nicholas's Cousin, Wilhelm II, who was the Kaiser of Germany, convinced Nicholas to sign a German-Russian alliance. The alliance did not work thought, because of Russia's alliance with France, and France's hatred towards Germany.
World War One
Nicholas hated war. The International Court of Justice was created partially by Nicholas in attempt to prevent war. After the assassination of Frans Ferdinand, Austria, with full unconditional support from Germany, threatened Serbia and Russia, which was also a Slavic Nation, supported Serbia. To avoid starting a war, Nicholas sent letters to Germany convincing them to back down. On July 29, 1914, Nicholas II ordered mobilization of his army, Germany threatened to attack Russia I they did not cancel this. On July 31, 1914 Nicholas confirmed the order for general mobilization due to the German-Austrian treaties, Germany immediately mobilized and declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914.
By August 1915, 1.5 million Russia soldiers were killed or wounded and an equal amount had already been taken prisoner. Due to the lack of success of the Russian army against a combined force of the German and the Austro-Hungarian Empires, Nicholas chose to appoint himself “commander-in-chief” of the Russian army. Because of this, Nicholas was blamed for the Russian military failures.
End of Reign
In February 1917 an extremely cold winter and food shortages caused an increase in crime and riots in Russia. Nicholas's reign ended in 1917, after the Russian revolution, leaving his Brother in Charge of Russia because he did not have an heir.
Exile and Execution
Nicholas and his Family were placed under house arrest in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. In 1917 the Bolsheviks took power. On July 17, 2:33 A.M. Nicholas and his family were shot by a group of Bolshevik revolutionists lead by Yurovsky.
Nicholas II of Russia did not make a very good tsar. On January the 22, 1905 a peaceful group of workers went to the czar's palace to plead for better working conditions. His decision to fire at the crowd of workers ended in Bloody Sunday where his soldiers killed almost 1000 workers. On July 29, 1914, Nicholas II ordered mobilization of his army. Due to the conflict this caused with Germany was one of the main causes of World War One. By August 1915, 3 million Russia soldiers had already been wounded, killed or taken prisoner. Nicholas chose to appoint himself “commander-in-chief” of the Russian army. Because of this, Nicholas was blamed for all of the Russian military failures. This caused many of the people to loss their respect for Nicholas and was one of the major causes of the revolt against Nicholas in 1917. Nicholas II of Russia was not a very good tsar because he made a lot of bad choice for Russia and could not deal with the constant problems that Russia faced.
