The Last of the Tsars The Last of the Tsars The Last of the Tsars is a play by Michael Bawtree. The action takes place in Russia between 1912 and 1919, and follows the fortunes of the Romanov family and of Russia in the tumultuous years leading up to the Revolution of 1917, and beyond, to the assassination of the Romanov family by the Bolsheviks. The story is told through the eyes of Tsar Nicholas's brother Grand Duke Michael, who had been exiled from Russia by the Tsar in 1912 when he married a divorcee. Michael was called back to Russia at the outbreak of
Line of succession to the former Russian throne veneration. Line of succession to the former Russian throne The Monarchy of Russia was abolished in 1917 following the February Revolution, which forced Emperor Nicholas II (1868–1918) to abdicate. Claims made on behalf of different persons to be the rightful current pretender continue to be debated. Since 1992, the most widely acknowledged pretender is Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia, a great-great-granddaughter in the male-line of Emperor Alexander II of Russia, having proclaimed herself the head of the imperial house upon her father's death. She also declared her son George Mikhailovich (born 1981) to be the heir-apparent. In the succession