During the height of World War I, Russia was in the midst of a revolution. Czar Nicholas II had made a few critical errors during his rule (which began in 1896), and was forced to abdicate his throne in 1917, when the revolution began. Vladimir Lenin, who was the leader of the radical socialist group the Bolsheviks, seized power and attempted to turn Russia into a communist society.
A civil war erupted in June 1918, and those against the Bolshviks advanced on Yekaterinburg, where Nicholas and the rest of the Romanov family resided. Under Lenin's orders, local authorities were to prevent a rescue of the Romanovs. At a secret meeting, they passed a death sentence on the imperial family, determined to thwart any rescue attempts.