Nicholas II, Tsar and Autocrat of All the Russias, Grand Duke of Finland and King of Poland was born in 1868 and came to the throne in 1894 upon the death of his father Tsar Alexander III. That same year he married Princess Alix of Hesse by whom he would have 5 children; 4 daughters and 1 son. His reign saw greater industrialization take hold in Russia but also an upsurge in revolutionary agitation. This was especially true in the wake of losses in a war with Japan. As Tsar, Nicholas was intent on the preservation of the autocracy for his son and viewed his crown as a duty given by God for him to bear and which he could not delegate to another. In 1914 he reluctantly entered World War I and when Russia suffered a number of defeats he took personal command of the army during which time things got out of hand in Petrograd. In 1917 he was forced to abdicate and the provisional government of Kerensky kept the Tsar and his family in custody. When the Bolsheviks took over the Tsar and his entire family were massacred at Yekaterinburg in 1918. In 1981, as Martyrs by the ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia) and in 2000 as Passion Bearers by the ROC-MP (Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate) Nicholas II and his family were glorified as Saints.
From The Mad Monarchist (29 May 2012)
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