Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov

Born Nov. 22 (Dec. 4), 1878, in St. Petersburg; died on the night of July 13, 1918, in the district of Motovilikha, now part of the city of Perm’. Grand Duke; brother of Emperor Nicholas II; lieutenant general (1916).

The third son of Alexander III, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov became the heir to the throne in 1899 after the death of Georgii Aleksandrovich, his older brother. He remained the heir until 1904, when a son, Aleksei, was born to Nicholas II. From 1898 to 1911, Mikhail Aleksandrovich served in the guard units. During World War I he commanded the Caucasus Native Cavalry Division and the Cavalry Crops. At the beginning of 1917 he became inspector-general of the cavalry. After the February Revolution of 1917, feeling unequal to the task of ruling, he renounced the throne, which Nicholas II had abdicated in his favor on March 2 (15). In February 1918 he was arrested in Gatchina and transported to Perm’, where he was shot.