by Rachel Stockton

Created on: October 07, 2008

The drama that engulfed the reign of Nicolas II, Czar of Russia, was palatable out the outset. A purveyor of fairy tales couldn't have come up with better copy.

His tenure as the final emperor of the Romanov dynasty (which governed Russia for three hundred years) was resplendent with political disaster from the very beginning. After the death of his father in 1894, the heir apparent assumed the throne.

If one could summon up one phrase to describe Nicolas's reign, it might be "wrong place, wrong time, wrong man." Nicolas took the throne at a pivotal point in history, his monarch's chair perched atop a house of political and military cards.

A personal positive occurred when Nicolas married Alexandra, the German princess who was also the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. By all accounts, this princess did indeed marry her "Prince Charming"; their marriage was based on mutual affection. However, try as they might, they did not, because they could not, live happily every after.

The Coronation

After their coronation, a group of well wishers gathered among the streets of St. Petersburg, but the crowd got raucous and out of hand; several thousand people were crushed to death. In sort of "Tarantella" fashion, however, Nicolas and Alexandra continued with their revelry, appearing to be either unaware, or totally unaffected by the incident. This dance of flagrantly flaunting their aristocracy, coupled with growing discord among the peasants and working class marked their volatile reign. In "karma-tic" fashion, this debacle foreshadowed the inescapable tragedy that would eventually befall the royal family.

Nicolas' Political Ideology

Nicolas had never been interested in the details of politics or military affairs, yet he staunchly held on to a starkly conservative aristocratic view of himself and his rule. Among the growing dissidence within the working class, Nicolas chose to ignore the winds of change that were blowing.

In retrospect, it's apparent that Nicolas and his wife had no intention of bowing to political pressure by turning over the "reins of their reign", unless they were forced to. Nicolas took personal command of the armed forces during World War I, which left the government in Alexandra's incapable hands; hands that seemed to be tied by Rasputin, her personal advisor, the so-called "mad monk."

When their son, Alexei, was born (after the births of their daughters), it was discovered that he was a hemophiliac. Rasputin, a controversial monk, was brought on board

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