Character+-+Tsar+Nicholas+II

**Character Profile:**

 * May 18th 1868 – July 17th 1918
 * Nicholas II ruled Russia from 1894 to 1917, coming to the throne when he was twenty-six years old.
 * o He abdicated under the force of the provisional government on 2nd March, 1917.
 * He made it no secret to the people of Russia that:
 * o One, he had not been trained to be Tsar of Russia,
 * o Secondly, he did not want to be Tsar
 * During his rule, he (or his government ministers) implemented many new policies and reforms such as:
 * o Getting Russia on the Gold Standard
 * o Secured a French loan
 * During his rule:
 * o Bloody Sunday occurred (January 22nd 1905)
 * o Russia lost the Russo-Japanese War (September 5th 1905)
 * o Russia entered World War One (August 1st 1914)
 * o The February Revolution

**Role in the Revolution:**

 * Nicholas II did not have a large role in the revolution as he had left St Petersburg to command the military for World War I, leaving the Tsarina (Alexandra) in charge of running the country. She in turn, leaned heavily on Rasputin’s advice.
 * During the protests, Nicholas received heavily watered down versions of the events thanks to Tsarina Alexandra.
 * This lead to him not grasping the gravity of the situation before it was too late, and therefore making him unable to prevent (or at least hold off) the revolution.


 * The Tsar's Abdication Edict:**