<P> In July 1915, King Christian X of Denmark, first cousin of the Tsar, sent Hans Niels Andersen to Tsarskoye Selo with an offer to act as a mediator . He made several trips between London, Berlin and Petrograd and in July saw the Dowager Empress Maria Fyodorovna . Andersen told her they should conclude peace . Nicholas chose to turn down King Christian's offer of mediation, as he felt it would be a betrayal for Russia to form a separate peace treaty with the Central Powers when its allies Britain and France were still fighting . </P> <P> The energetic and efficient General Alexei Polivanov replaced Sukhomlinov as Minister of War, which failed to improve the strategic situation . In the aftermath of the Great Retreat and the loss of the Kingdom of Poland, Nicholas assumed the role of commander - in - chief after dismissing his cousin, Nikolay Nikolayevich, in September 1915 . This was a mistake, as the Tsar came to be personally associated with the continuing losses at the front . He was also away at the remote HQ at Mogilev, far from the direct governance of the empire, and when revolution broke out in Petrograd he was unable to halt it . In reality the move was largely symbolic, since all important military decisions were made by his chief - of - staff General Michael Alexeiev, and Nicholas did little more than review troops, inspect field hospitals, and preside over military luncheons . </P> <P> The Duma was still calling for political reforms and political unrest continued throughout the war . Cut off from public opinion, Nicholas could not see that the dynasty was tottering . With Nicholas at the front, domestic issues and control of the capital were left with his wife Alexandra . However, Alexandra's relationship with Grigori Rasputin, and her German background, further discredited the dynasty's authority . Nicholas had been repeatedly warned about the destructive influence of Rasputin but had failed to remove him . Rumors and accusations about Alexandra and Rasputin appeared one after another; Alexandra was even accused of harboring treasonous sympathies towards Germany . Anger at Nicholas's failure to act and the extreme damage that Rasputin's influence was doing to Russia's war effort and to the monarchy led to Rasputin's eventual murder by a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, a cousin of the Tsar, in the early morning of Saturday 17 December 1916 (O.S.) / 30 December 1916 (N.S.). </P> <P> As the government failed to produce supplies, mounting hardship created massive riots and rebellions . With Nicholas away at the front from 1915 through 1916, authority appeared to collapse and the capital was left in the hands of strikers and mutineering conscript soldiers . Despite efforts by the British Ambassador Sir George Buchanan to warn the Tsar that he should grant constitutional reforms to fend off revolution, Nicholas continued to bury himself away at the Staff HQ (Stavka) 600 kilometres (400 mi) away at Moghilev, leaving his capital and court open to intrigues and insurrection . </P>

Who was the tsar of russia when world war i began