Tsarina Alexandra was the wife of Czar Nicholas II. She lived
from June 6, 1872 to July 16, 1918. When World War I broke out,
Nicholas moved to the front lines and left Alexandra in charge
of Russia. Alexandra was distracted from ruling the country,
however, when her son, Alexis developed a hemophilia. The only
one who was able to help Alexis was a peasant-turned-monk named
Rasputin. Alexandra increasingly relied on Rasputin, who took
advantage of her trust by granting postitions to his friends and
causing everyone to fear him. Alexandra's misrule set the stage
for the collapse of the imperial government in the March
Revolution. In 1918, the Czarina and her husband and children
were shot and hacked to death by communists who were led by
Yakov Yurovsky.