House of Romanov (1881–1894), and Nicholas II (1894–1917). Constantine Pavlovich and Michael Alexandrovich, both morganatically married, are occasionally counted among Russia's emperors by historians who observe that the Russian monarchy did not legally permit interregnums. But neither was crowned and both actively declined the throne. The February Revolution of 1917 resulted in the abdication of Nicholas II in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. The latter declined to accept imperial authority save to delegate it to the Provisional Government pending a future democratic referendum, effectively terminating the Romanov dynasty's rule over Russia. After the February Revolution, Nicholas II and his family
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation networks there is a movement to gather volunteers who served in the Russian army to go to Ukraine. On 28 February President Putin stated it was of "extreme importance of not allowing a further escalation of violence and the necessity of a rapid normalisation of the situation in Ukraine" in telephone calls with key EU leaders. Already on 19 February the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to the Euromaidan revolution as the "Brown revolution". The Federation Council approved that Russia may introduce a limited contingent of Russian troops in Crimea for the security of the Black Sea Fleet and