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
1905 Russian Revolution failed to do so. While the Tsar managed to keep his rule, the events foreshadowed those of the Russian revolution twelve years later - after the Russian defeat in World War I - which would result in his overthrow and the creation of the Soviet Union by the Bolsheviks. The 1905 revolution is said by some historians to have set the stage for the 1917 Russian Revolutions, and allowed for Bolshevism to emerge as a distinct political movement in Russia, although still being a minority. Lenin, as head of the USSR later on, called it "The Great Dress rehearsal" without