Tsar Nicholas the 2nd was the last Russian Emperor, born on May 6, 1868. He caused a lot of controversy and changed history dramatically as a result of his poor preparation for the position. He ruled his country during the Revolutions, and led Russia into World War 1, all of which radically changed ...

Section 1 Before 1917 Russia was the largest country under one empire. In economic terms it was extremely backward, as it was very late to become industrial. It was also quite backward in political terms; too, as there were no legal political parties or democracy of any kind. Nicholas II was not e...