Nicholas II Facts & Worksheets

Nicholas II was the last emperor of Russia. He was also the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland during his reign in Russia from November 1, 1894, to his abdication on March 15, 1917. The Bolsheviks executed him and his family on the night of July 16, 1918. 

See the fact file below for more information on Nicholas II, or you can download our 26-page Nicholas II worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

FAMILY AND EDUCATION  

• Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov was born on 18 May 1868 at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo south of Saint Petersburg during the reign of his grandfather, Alexander II. 
• He was the eldest child of Tsesarevich Alexander Alexandrovich and Tsarevna Maria Feodorovna, who was the princess of Denmark. Nicholas II’s father was the emperor’s eldest surviving son making him the heir apparent. 
• Nicholas II had five younger siblings and was very close to his mother. He received an excellent “palace” education as he was the second in line to the throne. The teaching of his tutors had a significant impact on the kind of leader Nicholas II would be. 

EARLY LIFE 

• Nicholas had extraordinary restraint, a love of military service, and a belief in the absolute sanctity of autocracy, which later affected his activities and decisions as Tsar. He also had a good memory, remembering the people he met quickly, considering their enormity. He spoke fluent French, German, and English, a language he used to communicate with his soon-to-be wife. 
• He was well-read and fascinated by history. He loved photography and automobiles, which was evident by his collection of cars, the most extensive in 20th-century Europe. 
• Nicholas’s father died of kidney failure on November 1, 1894. His father’s priest consecrated him as Tsar Nicholas II that evening.
• At this time, the young heir apparent was engaged to Princess Alice. They did not wait until the one-year mourning period and married on November 26 in the same year. 
• They spent the first year of their marriage in mourning. The Russian Orthodox Church received Princess Alice, taking the Grand Duchess title Alexandra Feodorovna. Nicholas II was officially crowned as Tsar of Russia in 1896.

NICHOLAS II’S REIGN

• Once in power, the tsar made it clear that he had no constitutional reform plan and wanted to maintain an absolute monarchy just like his father had done. Although, a part of him thought he was not ready for his new role. 
• Historians claimed that Nicholas was incapable of carrying out the duties of ruling the Russian empire alone. He also tended to mistrust his ministers. 
• However. the economy of Russia expanded during his reign. It resulted in the currency reform of 1897, which established the rouble. Reportedly, industrial growth was 4.45%, and agricultural, 2.0%. Railroad construction continued, and oil resources were exploited in Baku and Grozny. There was an improvement in the conditions of factory workers, but that did not stop them from protesting to achieve what they felt was fair to them.
• Nicholas II decided to claim Manchuria and expand the empire in East Asia, where Japan had started establishing its dominance. This resulted in the Russo-Japan War. Russian policy in the region was said to be confusing and unrealistic. Combined with the ineffective leadership of its troops, Nicholas II suffered a devastating defeat that contributed to the deteriorating economy of Russia.  
• In January 1905, demonstrators marched toward the Winter Palace to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II. The Imperial Guard shot at the crowd resulting in what is now called “Bloody Sunday.” The event forced him to grant constitutional reforms and establish a parliament called the Duma. It gave the middle class a voice in the government. 
• Nicholas II did not have a good relationship with the Duma, which consisted mainly of constitutional democrats, who formulated an “Address to the Throne” and demanded universal suffrage, radical land reform, and the release of political prisoners. They also appealed to dismiss the Tsar-appointed ministers and replace them with representatives from the Duma.
• When political instability arose, Nicholas II dissolved the first Duma and created a second one in February 1907. He tried to abolish it a third time until it had seats occupied by the liberal-conservative Octobrist Party of Alexander Guchkov. 

WORLD WAR I

• World War I gave leverage to the monarchy again as Russia allied with France and Britain against Germany and Austria-Hungary. Nicholas II decided to take direct command of the Russian army. This disastrous decision associated his name with every military failure.
• During the tsar’s absence, Alexandra took a more active role in the government while Russia was suffering heavy losses in the war. The people turned their anger to the tsarina because of the country’s high inflation and extreme food shortage.  
• Alexandria relied heavily on a faith healer, Grigori Rasputin, who had been part of the Russian court since 1905 and who had significant influence over the tsarina because of his supposed ability to cure Alexis, their youngest child and the heir of the throne, of hemophilia.
• Rasputin had enemies in the court, but Alexandra always defended him. Finally, in December 1916, he was murdered by a group of nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov. 

THE ROMANOV DOWNFALL 

• In February 1917, widespread demonstrations called the February Revolution, drawing attention to the deteriorating situation in the country, began in the capital of St. Petersburg. Nicholas II lost the support of his army, and the Duma forced the tsar to give up his throne.
• Nicholas initially abdicated on 2 March 1917 in favor of his son Alexei but changed his mind after a doctor’s advice that Alexei would not survive once separated from his parents, who would surely be exiled. He then named his brother, Grand Duke Michael, the next emperor. However, his brother refused and insisted that the people should be allowed to vote through a constituent assembly. He conclusively surrendered on March 15.
• Immediately after his abdication, the Provisional Government was established to organize elections for the Russian Constituent Assembly and its convention. The United States was the first to recognize Russia’s new government. 

LIFE IN CONFINEMENT 

• Another rioting occurred in St. Petersburg, called July Days, as the Kerensky Offensive in Galicia became a total failure. The Prime Minister, Alexander Kerensky, decided to move the Nicholas II family to Tobolsk in Western Siberia because they feared the riot would reach the Tsarskoye Selo. 
• They left Tsarskoye Selo and moved to a former Governor’s Mansion in Tobolsk on August 19, 1917.
• They lived comfortably until the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and sat in power in October. In the first months of the Bolshevik Government, the family spent their time reading books and playing games. They were still hoping that a rescue mission was on its way. 
• However, in January 1918, their guard grew stricter. They limited their time on the grounds and did not allow them to go to church on Sundays. A month after, the government drastically reduced their circumstances leaving them almost without servants and taking away their butter and coffee. 
• On April 22, a Bolshevik veteran, Vasily Yakovlev, came to Tobolsk and put further restrictions on the Romanovs. Yakovlev decided to move Nicholas II to Yekaterinburg with his wife and one of his daughters, Maria, as Alexis was too ill to travel. The Bolshevik government intended to bring Nicholas II to Moscow for trial. 
• They were put at the Ipatiev House, the two-story home of the military engineer Nikolay Nikolayevich Ipatiev which was referred to as the “house of special purpose.” The remaining Romanovs joined their parents three days later. 
• The Bolshevik government was becoming alarmed by the Revolt of the Czechoslovak Legion. They began executing and murdering people they believed to be counter-revolutionaries, including Grand Duke Michael, who was murdered on June 13 in Perm. This news alarmed the Romanovs.
• On July 16, The Bolshevik government ordered the Yekaterinburg leadership to stop the rescue of the Romanovs. A secret meeting by the Yekaterinburg Soviet occurred, resulting in the decision on the Romanov family’s death sentence. 
• On the same night, the Ipatiev House guards brought the Romanov family and their servants into the cellar, informing them they would be photographed to prove they had not escaped. Suddenly, a dozen guards appeared with artillery and gunned down the family. After the smoke from guns subsided, those still breathing were stabbed to death. 
• The Romanov family remains were driven to nearby woodland and burned then soaked in acid and thrown into an abandoned mine shaft. 

DISCOVERING THE ROMANOV REMAINS

• In 1979, an amateur archaeologist Alexander Avdonin excavated the bodies of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and three of their daughters. 
• The missing body of one daughter Anastasia and Alexei prompted a persistent rumor that she had survived and lived to adulthood. 
• In July 2007, the remains of a young boy and a young woman were excavated near Yekaterinburg. An American laboratory performed DNA tests and confirmed that the bodies were Tsar Nicholas II’s son and daughter, ending the rumor about Anastasia. 
• In 1981, on the eightieth anniversary of their assassination, the Romanovs family’s remains were interred at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral. The Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia recognized Nicholas II and his family as martyred saints. 

Nicholas II Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Nicholas II across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Nicholas II Facts
2. A Queen’s Childhood
3. The Tsar’s Childhood
4. Life As Tsar
5. Four Traits
6. The Tsar’s Abdication
7. The Young Heir-apparent
8. The Tsar’s Decision
9. The Russian Events
10. Friends and Enemies  
11. The Weakest Tsar? 
12. A Family Man 

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Tsar Nicholas II a good leader?

Tsar Nicholas II was commonly known as a weak, indecisive leader. His mishandling of the Russo-Japanese War and Bloody Sunday only brought about Russia’s involvement in World War I sooner, which led to the fall of the Russian Empire.

What happened to Nicholas II of Russia?

Nicholas was crowned in 1896, but he was not good at being a leader. He did not help the autocracy he wanted to keep. The people were desperate for change. In Yekaterinburg, Russia, the Bolsheviks executed Czar Nicholas II and his family. This ended the three-century-old Romanov dynasty.

Is Nicholas II related to Queen Victoria?

Nicholas II of Russia was Queen Victoria’s most distant relative by blood, though they did have a common ancestor. The Tzar also married the queen’s granddaughter Alexandra of Hesse.

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