Nicholas II (1868–1918)

The last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, pictured in July 1917. He is sitting on a tree stump in the grounds of his palace at Tsarskoe Selo, near St Petersburg, with armed guards in the background. A year later, on 16 July 1918, he was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with his wife, his four daughters, his son Alexis, and four attendants.

Tsar of Russia 1894–1917. He was dominated by his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, who was under the influence of the religious charlatan Rasputin. His mismanagement of the Russo-Japanese War and of internal affairs led to the revolution of 1905, which he suppressed, although he was forced to grant limited constitutional reforms. He took Russia into World War I in 1914, was forced to abdicate in 1917 after the Russian Revolution, and was executed with his family.

In 1995, US and Russian scientists announced that, by DNA testing, they had determined conclusively that bones found in Russia in 1991 were those of the tsar and his family. The remains were buried in 1998 in St Petersburg. In August 2000 the Russian Orthodox Church canonized the tsar and his family as martyrs, in recognition of their bravery when executed. The decision brought to an end the official silence surrounding their executions.