From Habr:
(Discussions on the abdication of Nicholas II of the throne)

He was not brutal, he was bitten. The ruler needed a chain iron grip at the time to withstand. As soon as it showed weakness – deception / coup / revolution.

Imagine that Peter I was told: "In the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace, you need to renounce the throne." He would laugh for a long time and then execute everyone who proposed it as conspirators.

He first killed and then laughed.