On March 15, 1917, in Pskov, at the station on the Imperial train, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne, appointing Grand Duke Michael as the next Emperor of Russia. The next day, Grand Duke Michael refused to accept the throne, stating that the decision to maintain the monarchy should be made by the people through a Constituent Assembly.

There is a dispute over the legality of Nicholas's abdication and his right to abdicate on behalf of his son. After the abdication, only Grand Duke Michael, as regent, had the right to change the order of succession. The form of the document in which the abdication took place is also questionable. It is unlikely that such an important document was signed by Nicholas II in pencil in the lower right corner and certified by the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count Fredericks, in black ink in the lower left corner.

The State Icon of the Mother of God, venerated in the Russian Orthodox Church as miraculous, was found on March 15, 1917, in the basement of the Ascension Church in the village of Kolomenskoye in Moscow. This icon is the main shrine of Russian monarchists.