In The Irrationals, the first popular and comprehensive book on the subject, Julian Havil tells the story of irrational numbers and the mathematicians who have tackled their challenges, from antiquity to the twenty-first century.
Nicholas realized he was powerless. Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne on March 2, (according to the Russian Julian calendar; March 15 according to the western Gregorian calendar), in 1917. He signed an abdication document stepping down from the throne and nominating his brother Michael to succeed him.
A Duma (parliament) was elected that was boycotted by the Marxists, who urged revolution. Rasputin, the mad monk, influenced the czar's wife Alexandra by claiming to have cured the czar's only son of hemophilia. Rasputin was murdered and the czar delayed reform.