During an era marked by relentless military buildup among major world powers, Tsar Nicholas II Romanov (1868–1918) boldly chose a path toward peace, challenging the prevailing logic of armed preparedness that dominated the period between the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Known for his gentle, pacifist disposition, the young Tsar Nicholas opposed war and violence. Shortly after becoming Tsar of All the Russias, and influenced by his minister Witte, he decided in 1898 to convene a full-fledged conference attended by the major European powers, many of whom he was related to: Germany, Denmark, and England. The aim was disarmament and peace on the continent: the Hague Conference, from which the resulting Convention would also take its name. Although hesitant, the leaders of the great powers responded to Nicholas II's appeal by attending the tsar's conference. However, given the sovereign's perceived benign character and the prevailing climate of the arms race, there was little faith in the project's success.

Nicholas II personally reviewed, with "fatherly care," the text of the Convention of August 16, 1898, to be submitted to the great powers, thus laying the foundation for the laws of war, still in use today, and for the establishment of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which is also still in force, making it the oldest active supranational legal institution. Furthermore, the use, or prohibition, of harmful weapons (such as gas and explosive projectiles) was discussed. On July 29, 1899, the Convention was signed and entered into force on September 4, 1900. Its key provisions included: a court to resolve disputes on the continent; a ban on unnecessary military operations; regulations on the humane treatment of prisoners; regulations on naval warfare; and a ban on weapons deemed morally unacceptable.

Despite initial mistrust, a tsar considered inept, like Nicholas II Romanov, achieved the great personal feat of handing down to posterity an important Peace Convention between States, so significant that it still constitutes one of the cornerstones of the principles on which conflicts are based, helping to make them less inhumane.