Abdication of Nicholas II (Russian: Отречение Николая II) was a manifesto of the Emperor of All Russia Nicholas II, signed in Pskov on 3 March (O.S.) / 16 March (N.S.) 1917, in the midst of World War I and the February Revolution. The Emperor renounced the throne of the Russian Empire on behalf of himself and his son, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, in favor of his brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. The next day the Grand Duke refused to accept the imperial authority, stating that he would accept it only if that was the consensus of democratic action by the Russian Constituent Assembly, which shall define the form of government for Russia. The rule of the 300 year-old House of Romanov ended with the Grand Duke's decision. After that, power in Russia has passed to the Russian Provision