This was 100 years ago when Pyotr Stolypin was prime minister under Tsar Nicholas II.

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Like Czar Nicholas II, the mechanical peacock came at the decadent end of a long and rich tradition.

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In 1894, Alexander III of Russia died and was succeeded by Nicholas II.

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Forensic evidence has also shown beyond doubt that the Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

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He was treated like a celebrity, socializing with aristocrats in Tzar Nicholas II's court and marrying two white European countesses.

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What made him a power in Russia was the fact that the tsar, Nicholas II, listened to him and usually trusted his judgment.

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In the Russia of Czar Nicholas II, no secret was more closely guarded than the surprises inside the precious eggs he gave to his wife and mother each Easter.

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"Tsar Nicholas II said that it's Russia, but not Russian, and what he meant is that this is a city that was intentionally built to embrace and look to the West of Europe, " Reid said.

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But a row over how and where to bury the presumed remains of Tsar Nicholas II, killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918, has rattled on for six years now since the bones were discovered near Yekaterinburg.

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