<Tr> <Th> Religion </Th> <Td> Russian Orthodox </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Signature </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> Nicholas II or Nikolai II (Russian: Николай II Алекса́ндрович, tr . Nikolai II Aleksandrovich; 18 May (O.S. 6 May) 1868--17 July 1918), known as Saint Nicholas II of Russia in the Russian Orthodox Church, was the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917 . His reign saw the fall of the Russian Empire from one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse . He was given the nickname Nicholas the Bloody by his political adversaries due to the Khodynka Tragedy, anti-Semitic pogroms, Bloody Sunday, the violent suppression of the 1905 Russian Revolution, the executions of political opponents, and his perceived responsibility for the Russo - Japanese War . Soviet historians portray Nicholas as a weak and incompetent leader whose decisions led to military defeats and the deaths of millions of his subjects . </P> <P> Russia was defeated in the 1904--05 Russo - Japanese War which saw the annihilation of the Russian Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima, the loss of Russian influence over Manchuria and Korea, and the Japanese annexation of South Sakhalin . The Anglo - Russian Entente was designed to counter the German Empire's attempts to gain influence in the Middle East, but it ended the Great Game of confrontation between Russia and the United Kingdom . Nicholas approved the Russian mobilization on 30 July 1914 which led to Germany declaring war on Russia on 1 August 1914 . It is estimated that around 3.3 million Russians were killed in the First World War . The Imperial Russian Army's severe losses, the High Command's incompetent management of the war efforts, and the lack of food and supplies on the Home Front were the leading causes of the fall of the House of Romanov . </P>

Who was the last czar of russia before the russian revolution