A Tsar with a Dragon Tattoo

Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, better known as Tsar Nicholas II, was the last Emperor of Russia—and arguably one of the most spectacularly ill-equipped rulers in history. Long before he lost his empire to the Bolsheviks, a young Nicholas survived a bizarre assassination attempt by a sword-wielding policeman in Japan. Instead of just taking home a scar, he returned with a massive, multi-colored dragon tattoo on his right forearm, setting a rather edgy tone for a deeply conservative autocrat.

The Coronation Curse

If his reign was a play, the opening night was an absolute horror show. During his 1896 coronation festivities at Khodynka Field, a rumor spread that the free beer, sausage, and commemorative cups were running out. The resulting stampede crushed over 1,300 people to death. Instead of mourning, Nicholas was persuaded to attend a lavish ball at the French embassy that same evening. He danced the night away while the bodies of his subjects were still being carted off, cementing his reputation as a disastrously out-of-touch ruler.

Mystics, Misery, and Murder

The Romanovs' later years read like a gothic soap opera. Desperate to cure their son Alexei's hemophilia, Nicholas and his wife Alexandra fell under the spell of Grigori Rasputin, an unwashed, wild-eyed mystic who essentially hijacked the Russian court. Some of the strangest facets of his reign include:

• The Mad Monk's Monopoly: Rasputin's influence grew so bizarrely absolute that he was dictating military strategy during WWI.
• Cousinly Resemblance: Nicholas looked so identical to his cousin, King George V of Britain, that they often dressed in each other's uniforms as a prank.
• The Gruesome End: In 1918, the entire family was herded into a Siberian basement and executed, ending the 300-year Romanov dynasty in a hail of bullets and bayonets.