The House came to power with the election of Michael Romanov as
ruler of Russia in 1613 following a period of exceptional
anarchy known as the "Time of Troubles". Tenuous ties of
marriage existed between the Romanovs and the previous dynasty
of Rurikidss. During the family's occupation of the throne,
Russia slowly moved from a backward medieval culture to an
industrial one. By the dawn of the 20th century it had become a
leading European industrial power, though quite backward in
political and social terms. However, the slow pace of progress
proved simply not fast and effective enough, and the House of
Romanov ultimately fell from power during the first Russian
Revolution in 1917. Bolshevik authorities killed the last
Romanov monarch, Nicholas II, and his immediate family in the
cellar of the Ipatiev House in Ekaterinburg, Russia on July 17,
1918. The Romanov family continues to exist today. However,
despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and campaigning by
their supporters for a return of a Romanov to the