On the night of June 12 to 13, coinciding with the Ascension of the Lord holiday, the Bolsheviks killed Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich near Perm, who was born on November 22, 1878.

After Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, Mikhail Alexandrovich, to whom his brother transferred the Russian throne, became the first victim among the members of the Royal House killed by the Bolsheviks. At the insistence of Uritsky, he was exiled to the Perm province on March 8, 1918, along with his secretary. On the night of June 12 to 13, they were forcibly taken from the hotel and killed in the woods. Newspapers reported that Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov was abducted by "unknown persons." His burial place remains unknown to this day. According to some contemporary versions, the body of the grand duke was burned in the smelting furnaces of the Motovilikha factory in Perm.

Mikhail, the favorite of his father, Emperor Alexander III, inherited physical strength and simplicity in communication from him, and charm from his mother. During the Great War, he commanded the Caucasian Wild Division, consisting of cavalrymen from the mountains, with the rank of major general.

The Tsar's brother was distinguished by his love for Russia and everything Russian, and was deeply religious. He did not miss a single mass in the active army, fully immersing himself in prayer.

The revolutionary events of February 1917, the betrayal of the highest military command, and the treachery of relatives from the Romanovs led to Nicholas II's abdication in favor of his brother. The next day, March 3, the same figures who overthrew the Tsar did not allow Mikhail to immediately assume royal power. Despite persuasion and arguments, they could not force him to completely renounce the throne. Seeing the atmosphere of betrayal and deception, the grand duke made a decision: he would agree to accept power only if it was the will of the people, expressed through the Constituent Assembly. Thus, Mikhail did not abdicate the throne but postponed his ascension until the people's loyalty to the Autocracy was confirmed.

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia canonized Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich as a saint.