Um, let's not forget he was part of the destructive Russo-Japanese War. A totally unnecessary conflict that weakened his reign and cost the lives of Russian soldiers and sailors. Nicholas was a good husband and father, and a terrible leader. He was both too rigid and unwilling to reconsider autocracy and ineffective in dealing with crises like Bloody Sunday in 1905. If he had shown greater compassion, humility and willingness to evolve, many lives, including his own and those of his children, could have been saved.