Nicholas I (1796-1855) was born at Tsarskoe Selo, the third son of Czar Paul I. Nicholas came to throne in 1825 after his brother Alexander I had died and his older brother Constantine had given up his claims to the throne. Nicholas' first action was to put down, with great harshness, a revolt of officers and soldiers who had fought in Europe during the Napoleonic wars and favored reform in Russia. This uprising occurred in the month of December and the rebels became known in Russian history as "Decembrists." The new czar ordered the principal leaders killed and the rest exiled to Siberia. He felt there was something wrong with the government of the country, and he thought that Russia needed more discipline rather than liberal reform. Nicholas ordered th

Nicholas II (1868-1918) was born at Tsarskoe Selo, then son of Alexander III and the grandson of Alexander II. He received a military education and traveled through Greece, Egypt, India, and Japan before he became czar. In 1849, he received the crown and married the German princess Alexandra of Hesse, who bore four daughters and a son. Russian liberals had hoped the new czar, who was a pleasant and friendly young man, would grant badly needed reforms and lift his country to a position among the free, progressive nations of the world. Nicholas was wholly unsuited to rule as an autocratic sovereign and he was dominated by conservative and reactionary persons. By 1905 the demands for reform following the defeats in the war with Japan led to a general strike and several uprisings. All of these were put down with much bloodshed, but Nicholas was forced to issue the "October Manifesto" which promised civil liberties and a legislative body representing the people called the "Duma". However even with these reforms, there was very little progress toward a liberal government. The Czar, contrary to his promise, changed the electoral law. The Duma was brought under control, and political liberties were greatly restricted. Nicholas suggested the peace conference at The Hague in 1899. But his policy in the Far East brought about a war with Japan in 1904 which ended with Russia's defeat. In July 1914, Russia came to the aid of Serbia when Austria, who maintained German support,

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