The term 'ONETIME RULER IN THE WINTER PALACE' refers to TSAR Nicholas II, the last TSAR of Russia. He was the ruler of the Russian Empire from 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He resided in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, which served as the official residence of the Russian Tsars. Nicholas II was a one-time ruler of the Russian Empire, and his reign ended with the Russian Revolution of 1917.