Russia/Finland - 1898 - 5 Pennia - Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. His reign saw industrial growth, but also the Russo-Japanese War, the 1905 Revolution, and Russia's disastrous role in World War I. Resistant to political reform, he relied on autocracy and was influenced by his wife Alexandra and Rasputin. The February Revolution forced his abdication, and in 1918 he and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks, ending over 300 years of Romanov rule.