Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, driven by a desire for the good of the Motherland, decided to assume supreme power only if it was the will of the people. He believed that the people should express their will through a Constituent Assembly, which would establish the form of government and new laws for Russia. Mikhail Alexandrovich called on all citizens to obey the Provisional Government, created at the initiative of the State Duma, until the Constituent Assembly made a decision about the country's future. On March 16, 1917, he became emperor, but his reign lasted only from 10 AM to 6 PM.

On the night of July 12 to 13, 1918, Mikhail Alexandrovich and his secretary Nikolai Johnson were taken outside the city and shot by the Perm Bolsheviks, staging it as a kidnapping. The Perm Cheka sent a telegram to Moscow, stating that Mikhail Romanov and Johnson had been kidnapped by unknown individuals in military uniforms, and that vigorous measures were being taken to find them. This was disinformation. A few days later, on the night of July 16 to 17, Nicholas II was shot with his family, and on July 17, the execution of the Romanovs followed in Alapayevsk. Mikhail Alexandrovich was only 39 years old, and his grave has still not been found.