text: After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Nicholas orders a mobilization of the Imperial Russian Army on the European border aimed at Austria-Hungary during the July Crisis. Germany responds by declaring war, against the assumptions of Nicholas given his familial connection to the Kaiser. Later, with the war going badly for Russia on the Eastern Front, Alexandra persuades Nicholas to take personal command of the troops; he leaves for the front, relieving the weary but experienced Grand Duke Nicholas.
  Alexandra is left nominally in charge upon Nicholas' absence but a series of poor decisions leaves her seen to be a German agent under the influence of Rasputin, resulting in growing unpopularity amongst the population at large as conditions worse. Nicholas receives a visit from the Dowager Empress, but her requests for him to return to St. Petersburg and remove Rasputin go unheeded. Rasputin's later assassination does little to stop Alexandra's misrule, culminating in revolt by workers and soldiers in St. Petersburg. Nicholas finally attempts to return to Tsarskoye Selo but is instead forced to abdicate on his train.
  The family, along with a small entourage, are exiled by Alexander Kerensky and the provisional government to Siberia after none of Russia's allies agree to grant the former royals sanctuary, fearing that the lingering resentment at their autocratic rule would unleash similar domestic revolts. The provisional government doesn't last however following the seizing of power by the Bolsheviks and the country's descent into civil war. Fearing that the encroaching pro-monarchist "Whites" will attempt to restore the Romanovs, the Bolsheviks in Moscow attempt to have the royal family brought back for trial.