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Nicholas II, a son to Alexander III, was the last Russian emperor. His reign began with the tragic events. At the festivities devoted to his coronation, more than a thousand people perished because of the throng due to the poor organization of the event.

In the early XX century, revolutionary movement was growing in Russia, but Nicholas Aleksandrovich was reluctant to make any concessions and liberal reforms. Losing the Russo-Japanese war and weakening the global position of the country in the world heated up the enough-complicated situation, and the failures of the World War I that followed raised the public criticism of autocracy.

At the end of February 1917, mass manifestations against the government began, and on March 2, Nicholas II was forced to sign his abdication. A few days later, the Bolsheviks arrested the royal family and escorted them to Tobolsk. On the night of July 17, 1918, Nicholas II and his wife, children, and several servants were shot in Yekaterinburg. The remains of the royal family were discovered in 1991 and, after due identification, reburied in the vault of Romanovs in Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg.