 The Soviet Union was Russia. It was governed by the Tsars. It had been governed by the Tsars for centuries. Same family. Cool story, actually. But the Tsars ended up not cutting it anymore. The country wasn't advancing. People were suffering. There was all kinds of hardship there. They'd crack down on people and death. And I actually think Tsar Nicholas II was, from what I read, seems like a really decent person, but a terrible Tsar. And things were bad.