Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov was the last emperor of Russia, with his reign ending in 1917 by his abdication and the Russian revolution, where the Bolsheviks came to power. His reign for a time did bring prosperity to the country, but near the end, his reign was marked "domestically by increasingly sharp conflict between class and ethnic groups," as well as wars against Japan and Germany.

Nicholas led a somewhat sheltered life and the lack of friends from outside the clan of European royalty deprived Nicholas of the benefit of understanding the way his future subjects lived. He never gained a sense of confidence and self reliance.

Nicholas was seen as too soft by his father, immature and not ready to assume the throne. Nicholas' father, Alexander III with his authoritarian personality, impressive stature and political ideas made him the ideal Russian autocratic emperor, but resulted in his sun...