Correspondence between Nikolai and Alexandra
Year of publication: 2013
Number of pages: 928
Binding: hard
ISBN: 978-5-8159-1177-2
Series: Biographies and Memoirs
Genre: Memoirs
The circulation is over
The correspondence of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna is published according to the three-volume edition of the Central Archive, published in 1923-1927, without abbreviations or omissions. Nikolai and Alexandra wrote to each other in English (with the exception of several dozen telegrams). The letters and telegrams were translated from the originals stored in the State Archive of the Russian Federation.
The full edition, conceived by the Central Archive back in 1918 - in five volumes - was never published and, to our greatest regret, has not been implemented to this day, although all the original letters are in the funds of the State Archive. The third, fourth and fifth volumes of correspondence were published, prepared for publication by the outstanding historian-archaeographer A.A. Sergeev and covering the last three years of his reign - from April 1914 to March 1917. This correspondence is now before you.
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Alexandra April 28, 1914, Livadia
My priceless treasure!
You will read these lines while going to bed in a strange place in a strange house. May God grant that the trip turns out to be pleasant and interesting,
and not too tiring or too dusty. I am very glad that I have a map and that I can follow you hourly with it. I will miss you terribly. But I’m glad for you that you will be away for two days - you will get new impressions and will not listen to Anya’s inventions.
My soul is heavy and painful. Why good attitude
and love is always rewarded like this? First the black family**, and now her? People constantly tell you that you don't show love enough. After all, we gave her access to our hearts, to our home, even
into our private lives - and here is our reward for everything! It is difficult not to feel bitterness - the injustice is very cruel. May God have mercy on us and may He help us - our souls are so heavy! I am in despair that she causes you torment and pesters you with unpleasant conversations that deprive you of peace. Try to forget about it these two days.
I bless you, baptize you and hug you tightly - I kiss you all
with endless love and devotion. Tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock I'll go
to church, I’ll try to go there on Thursday as well. Praying for you is my joy when we are apart. I can't get used to it even short term to be without you in the house, although our five treasures are with me.
Sleep well, my sunshine, my precious one, - your old Wife sends you a thousand tender kisses.
May God bless and keep you!
April 29, 1914, Askania-Nova***. Telegram
We arrived safely half an hour earlier than expected. After Eriklik the weather is beautiful and hot. Amazing place, such nice, friendly people. I'll telegraph in more detail this evening. I love you dearly. Niki.
Fog on the mountains. In the morning we were at mass and in the chapel. I walked a little during the day alone with the children. Alexey* in Massandra. My head hurts. We miss you. We kiss you deeply. We wish you a safe return. God bless you. Alix.
April 29, 1914, Askania-Nova. Telegram
Thanks for the telegram. Saw interesting animals and birds. They all live together in freedom. I walked in a lovely park with ponds, full of fish. I drove around the estate in the steppe. Now I'm off to lunch. Good night everyone dear. Niki.
April 29, 1914, Livadia. Telegram
Thank you very much for the two telegrams. I'm glad it was very interesting and successful. Sending wishes for good night and happy travels. I go to bed early. I hope to go to mass again tomorrow morning. Blessings and greetings from all six. Alix.
April 30, 1914, Askania-Nova. Telegram
I hope you slept well. It's much cooler today. After 7:30 am I drove around and saw different breeds of cattle. After an early breakfast I head back at 10 o’clock. I'm so looking forward to this evening! I kiss you tenderly
and children. Niki.
June 20, 1914, Kronstadt. Radiotelegram
The English squadron passed by the yacht exactly at noon. The picture was very beautiful, the weather was wonderful - hot. We'll be home by lunchtime. Everyone hugs. Niki.
Alexandra June 29, 1914, Peterhof
My love!
I am very sad that I cannot accompany you - but I decided that it was better for me to stay here quietly with the children. My heart and soul are always near you, with a feeling of the most tender love and passion, all my prayers are for you, and therefore I am glad that I can immediately after your departure go to the evening service, and tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to mass. I will have dinner with Anya, Maria and Anastasia*, and then go to bed early. Maria Baryatinskaya will be with us for breakfast and will spend the afternoon with me for the last time. I hope the sea will be calm and you will enjoy the swim, which will be a rest for you - you need it, as you looked so pale today.
I will feel your absence extremely keenly, my precious one. Sleep well, my treasure! My bed will be, alas, so empty!
God bless you - whole you.
The most tender kisses from your old Wife.
Alexandra September 19, 1914, Tsarskoye Selo
My dear, my dear!
I am so happy for you that you were able to go, because I know how deeply you suffered all this time - your restless sleep proved it. This was a question that I deliberately did not touch upon, knowing
and perfectly understanding your feelings and at the same time realizing that it is better for you not to be at the head of the army now. This trip will be a little rest for you, and I hope you will be able to see many troops. I can imagine their joy at the sight of you, as well as your feelings - what a pity that I can’t be with you and see all this! It’s more difficult than ever to say goodbye to you, my angel, it’s so infinitely empty after your departure. Then, I know, despite the many tasks ahead, you will greatly feel the absence of your little family and precious Baby. He will recover quickly now that our Friend** has visited him, and this will be a consolation for you. If only there was good news in your absence, because your heart bleeds at the thought that you have to endure difficult news alone.
Caring for the wounded serves as a consolation for me, and that is why I intend to go there even on this last morning, during your reception hours, in order to cheer myself up and not burst into tears in front of you. It is gratifying to aching hearts to at least somewhat alleviate their suffering. Along with
I worry with you and our dear homeland and people, -
my heart ache for my “little, old homeland”, for its troops, for Ernie*** and Irene**** and for many friends suffering disasters there. But how many are now going through the same thing! And then how shameful and humiliating is the thought that the Germans behave like this! I would like to fall through the ground! But enough of such reasoning in this letter - I should rejoice at your trip with you, and I am glad of this, but still, due to selfishness, I suffer terribly from separation - we are not used to being apart, and besides, I love my precious boy so endlessly . Soon it will be twenty years since I have been yours, and what bliss all these years have been for your little wife!
It’s so good that you will see dear Olga*. This will cheer her up
and it will be good for you. I'll give you a letter and things for her wounded.
My dear, my telegrams cannot be very warm, since they must pass through so many military hands, but you will be able to read between the lines my love and longing for you.
My dear, if you somehow feel not quite well, be sure to call Fedorov**, you will do it, and also keep an eye on Fredericks***.
My most fervent prayers follow you day and night.
I pray for God’s mercy for you - may He protect, teach and guide you, and may He return you here healthy and unharmed!
I bless you—and love you as rarely has anyone ever been loved—kissing every dear place and holding you tenderly to my old heart.
Forever your old wife.
The icon will lie under my pillow this night before I hand it over to you along with my warm blessing.
Alexandra September 20, 1914, Tsarskoye Selo
My love!
I'm relaxing in bed before lunch, the girls have gone to church, and Baby**** is finishing her lunch. At times he only has mild pain. Oh, my love, how hard it was to say goodbye to you and see that lonely pale face, with big sad eyes, in the window of the carriage! I exclaimed mentally - take me with you! If only N.P.S.***** or Mordvinov were with you, if there were some young loving soul near you, you would feel less lonely and more “warm”.
When I returned home, I couldn’t stand it anymore and began to pray, then I lay down and smoked to recover. When my eyes took on a more decent look, I went upstairs to Alexey and lay for a while next to him on the sofa in the dark - this helped me, because
I was tired in every way. At 41/4 o'clock I went down to see Lazarev and give him a small icon for his regiment, -
I didn’t say that it was from you, otherwise you would have to distribute them to all the newly formed regiments. The girls worked in a warehouse. At 41/2 o'clock Tatyana* and I received Neidgardt** on the affairs of her Committee - the first meeting will take place in the Winter Palace on Wednesday, after the prayer service, I will not be present again. It is useful to let girls work independently; moreover, they get to know them better, and they learn to be useful.
During tea, I looked through the reports, then - the long-awaited letter from Victoria***, dated September 1/13 - it took a long time to arrive. I am writing out from this letter something that might be of interest to you: “We spent anxious days during the long retreat of the Allied forces in France. Completely between us (and therefore, dear, it’s better not to tell anyone about this) - the French first left the English army alone to withstand the entire pressure of a heavy German flank attack, and if the English troops had been less stubborn, then not only they, but all the French forces would be completely crushed. Now all this has been settled, and the two French generals involved in this matter have been dismissed by Joffre and replaced by others. In the pocket of one of them there were six unopened notes from the English commander-in-chief French, the other refrained from sending troops and answered the call to help that his horses were too tired. Now it's already
in the past, but many good officers and soldiers paid for it with their lives and freedom. Fortunately, this was kept secret, and people here do not know about all this.”
“The required 500,000 recruits are almost already recruited and are hard at work, training all day long - many nobles have also become
into the ranks and thus set a good example. There is talk of conscripting another 500,000, including contingents from the colonies. I personally don't like the idea of Indian troops coming to fight in Europe, but they are crack regiments as they have already served in China and Egypt
and showed the greatest discipline, so that those who know it better are confident that they will behave excellently (they will not rob or kill). Their senior officers are entirely English. Ernie's friend, the Maharajah of Bikanir, will come with his own contingent; The last time I saw him was when he was visiting Ernie
in Wolfsgarten. Georgie* wrote us a report about his participation in the naval battle off Heligoland. He commanded the front turret and fired a number of salvos, showing, according to his captain, great composure and common sense. D. says that the Admiralty is not abandoning the idea of trying to destroy the docks in the Nile Canal (destroying bridges alone would be of little use) using airplanes, but this is extremely difficult, since all this is perfectly protected, and one has to wait for a favorable opportunity, otherwise the attempt will not be successful. The damning fact is that the only entrance to the Baltic Sea that can be used by troops is through the Sound, and it is not deep enough for warships and large cruisers. In the North Sea, the Germans have scattered mines everywhere, recklessly endangering neutral merchant ships, and now, with the first strong autumn winds, they will sail (since they are not attached to anchors) to the Dutch, Norwegian and Danish shores, and some back to the Germans. skim, one hopes.”
She sends her warm regards. This afternoon the sun was shining so brightly, but not in my room - the tea party was somehow sad and unusual, and the chair looked sad without my treasure - the owner. Maria and Dmitry** have been invited to dinner, so I will interrupt my writing and sit for a while with my eyes closed, and finish the letter in the evening.
Maria and Dmitry were in a good mood; they left at 10 o’clock with the intention of visiting Pavel***. Baby was restless and fell asleep only after 11 o'clock, but he did not have severe pain. The girls went to bed, and I unexpectedly went to see Anya, who is lying on her sofa in the Grand Palace - she now has a blocked vein. Princess Gedroits**** visited her again and told her to lie quietly for several days - Anya went to the city in a car to see our Friend, and this tired her leg. I returned at 11 and went to bed. Apparently, the mechanical engineer***** is close. My face is bandaged as my teeth and jaw ache a little, my eyes still hurt and are swollen,
and the heart strives for the most precious creature on earth, belonging to old Sunny*.
Our Friend is happy for you that you left. He was very pleased with his date with you yesterday. He is constantly afraid that Bonheur, i.e. Actually, the jackdaws want him** to achieve the throne in P. or Galicia, that this is their goal, but I told her to calm him down - it is completely unthinkable that you would ever risk doing something like that. Grigory loves you jealously, and it is unbearable for him for N. to play any role. Ksenia responded to my telegram. She is very upset that she did not see you before you left - her train has arrived. I made a mistake in my calculations, Schulenburg*** cannot be here before tomorrow or evening, so I will only get up at the exit to the church, a little later. I am sending you six little books to distribute to Ivanov, Ruzsky, or whomever you want. They were compiled by Loman ****.
These sunny days will relieve you of rain and dirt.
Honey, I have to finish now and put the letter outside the door - it will be sent at 81/2 o'clock in the morning. Farewell, my joy, my sunshine, Niki, my beloved treasure. Baby kisses you, and wifey covers you with the most tender kisses. May God bless, protect and strengthen you. I kissed and blessed your pillow - you always
in my thoughts and prayers. Alix.
Talk to Fedorov regarding doctors and students. Don't forget to tell the generals to stop their quarrels.
Hi all; I hope poor old Fredericks gets better
and feels good; make sure he's on light diet and didn't drink wine.
September 20, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram, following
Everything is fine. My leg hurts less. Cold. We miss you. We are waiting for the wounded. We wrote in the evening. We kiss you deeply. God bless you. Alix.
September 21, 1914, Novoborisov. Telegram
Thank you very much for your dear letter. I hope you slept and feel well. Rainy, cold weather. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the children. How's the little one? I kiss everyone tenderly. Niki.
September 21, 1914
Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief*. Telegram
Glory to God, who granted us victory yesterday at Suwalki and Mariampol. Arrived safely. We have just served a thanksgiving service in the local military church. I received your telegram. I feel great. Hope everyone is healthy. Many hugs. Niki.
September 21, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram
Thank you for both telegrams. We rejoice at the victory. The wounded have arrived. We worked from four until lunch. The mechanic has arrived. We give you a big hug. Little cheerful. God bless you. Hi all. Alix.
Alexandra September 21, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo
My favorite!
What joy your two telegrams brought me! “I thank God for this happiness - it was so gratifying to receive them after your arrival at the place.” God bless your presence there! I would like to know, hope and believe that you will see the troops. Baby spent a rather restless night, but without severe pain. I went upstairs to kiss him before going to church at 11 o'clock. I was having breakfast with the girls on the couch when Becker arrived. She lay for an hour next to Alexei’s bed, and then went to meet the train - there weren’t very many wounded. Two officers from the same regiment and the same company, as well as one soldier, died on the way. Their lungs suffered greatly from the rains and from fording the Neman. Not a single acquaintance - all army regiments. One soldier remembered that he saw us in Moscow this summer on Khodynka. Poretsky*** became worse due to his bad heart and overwork, he looks very bad, with a haggard face, bulging eyes, and a gray beard. The poor fellow makes a bad impression, but is not injured. Then the five of us went to Anna
and here we drank tea early. At 3 o'clock we went into our small infirmary to put on our gowns, and from there to the large infirmary, where we worked hard. At 51/2 o'clock I had to return with M. and A. **** to receive the detachment led by Masha Vasilchikova's brother. Then back to the small infirmary, where the children continued to work. Here I bandaged the three newly arrived officers and then showed Karangozov***** and Zhdanov how to really play dominoes. After lunch and prayer with Baby, I went to Anya, who already had four girls, and here I saw N.P.*, who had dined with her that day. He was glad to see us all as he is very lonely and feels so useless. Princess Gedroits came to look at Anya’s leg, I bandaged it,
and then we gave her tea. They brought N.P. in the car to the station. Clear moon, cold night. Baby is fast asleep. The whole little family kisses you tenderly. I miss my angel terribly and, waking up at night, I try not to make noise so as not to wake you up. It's so sad in church without you. Farewell, dear, my prayers and thoughts follow you everywhere. I bless and kiss endlessly every dear favorite place. Your old wife.
N.G.Orlova** is going to Borovichi tomorrow for a two-day meeting
with husband. Anya learned about this from Sashka*** and from two letters from her brother.
September 22, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram
Thank you for the news through Orlov****. I write every day. Wonderful fresh weather. We were at mass in the morning and in the infirmary. Everything is better for the little one. We kiss you deeply. I have a terrible headeache. God bless you. Alix.
September 22, 1914, Headquarters. Telegram
Thank you very much for your kind letter. Today General Ruzsky ***** introduced himself to me. He told a lot of interesting things about his famous battles in Galicia. Appointed him adjutant general. It's quiet here
and calm. I give everyone a big hug. Niki.
Nikolai September 22, 1914,
Headquarters, New Imperial Train
My beloved darling wife!
Heartfelt thanks for the sweet letter that you gave to my messenger - I read it before going to bed.
What a horror it was to part with you and your dear children, although I knew it would not be for long. I didn't sleep well the first night because the engines were roughly jerking the train at every station. The next day I arrived here at 5:30 am, it was raining heavily and it was cold. Nikolasha* met me at the Baranovichi station, and then we were taken
into the lovely woods next door, not far (five minutes' walk) from his own train. The pine forest is very reminiscent of the forest in Spala, the soil is sandy and not at all damp.
Upon arrival at Headquarters, I went to the large wooden church of the railway brigade for a short thanksgiving service served by Shavelsky. Here I saw Petyusha**, Kirill*** and the entire Nikolasha headquarters. Some of these gentlemen dined with me,
and in the evening I was given a long and interesting report- Yanushkevich ****, on their train, where, as I predicted, the heat was terrible.
I thought about you - what a blessing that you are not here!
I insisted that they change the lives they lead here, at least in front of me.
This morning at 10 o’clock I attended the usual morning report, which N. receives in the house just before his train from his two main assistants, Yanushkevich and Danilov*****.
They both report very clearly and concisely. They read the previous day's reports from the army commanders,
and ask N. for orders and instructions regarding upcoming operations. We were bending over huge maps, dotted with blue and red lines, numbers, dates, etc. Upon arriving home
I will give you a brief summary of all this. Just before breakfast, General Ruzsky arrived, a pale, thin man, with two new Georgies on his chest. I appointed him adjutant general for our last victory on our Prussian border - the first since his appointment. After breakfast, we filmed as a group with the entire headquarters of N. In the morning after the report, I walked around our entire Headquarters
and passed a ring of sentries, and then met a guard of Life Cossacks posted far in the forest. They spend the night in dugouts - quite warm and cozy. Their task is to look out for airplanes. Wonderful smiling guys with curls of hair sticking out from under their hats. The entire regiment is quartered very close to the church in wooden houses of the railway brigade.
General Ivanov* has left for Warsaw and will return to Kholm by Wednesday, so I will stay here for another day, without otherwise changing my program.
I will leave from here tomorrow evening and arrive in Rovno on Wednesday morning, I will stay there until 1 pm and go to Kholm, where I will be around 6 pm.
On Thursday morning I will be in Bialystok, and if possible, I will drop by unannounced to Osowiec. I'm just not sure about Grodno, i.e. I don’t know if I’ll stop there - I’m afraid that all the troops have marched from there to the border.
I had a great walk with Drentelny** in the forest and on my return I found a thick package with your letter and six books.
Warm thanks, my love, for your precious lines. How interesting is that part of Victoria’s letter that you so kindly copied for me!
I learned about the tensions between the British and French at the beginning of the war some time ago from a telegram from Benckendorff***. Both foreign attaches here left for Warsaw a few days ago, so I won’t see them this time.
It's hard to believe that not far from here there is a rampage Great War, everything here seems so peaceful, calm. Life here is rather reminiscent of those old days when we lived here during the maneuvers, with the only difference being that there are no troops in the neighborhood.
My beloved, I kiss you often, often, because now
I am very free and have time to think about my wife and family. It's strange, but it's true.
I hope you're not suffering from that nasty jaw pain or overworking yourself. God grant that my little one is completely healthy
for my return!
I hug you and tenderly kiss your priceless face, and also
all dear children. I thank the girls for their sweet letters. Good night, my dear Sunshine. Always your old hubby Nicky.
Say my regards to Anya.
Alexandra September 23, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo
My dear!
I was so annoyed that I couldn’t write to you yesterday, but my head hurt terribly, and I lay in the dark all evening. In the morning we went to the cave temple, listened to half of the mass, it was wonderful. Before that I visited Baby, then we stopped by Princess Giedroyc
to Anya. I had a headache, and now I can’t take any medicine for heart pain. We worked from ten to one. There was one - very long - operation. After breakfast I received Schulenburg, who left again today, since Rennenkampf* told him to come back as soon as possible. Then I went upstairs to kiss Baby. Returning to her room, she lay down on her bed until tea, after tea she received Sandra Shuvalova’s squad**, and then went to bed with a hellish headache.
Anya was offended that I was not with her, but she had a lot of guests, and our Friend stayed there for three hours. It wasn’t a good night, and I’ve been feeling heaviness in my head all day - my heart is enlarged - I usually take drops three or four times a day, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to stay on my feet, but now I can’t take them. I read the reports in bed and moved on to breakfast on the sofa. Then I received the Rebinder couple from Kharkov (they have a warehouse there named after me) - she came from Vilna, where she went to say goodbye to her brother Kutaisov***. He showed her the icon that I sent on behalf of Baby for the battery, and the icon already has a very shabby look, since they, it turns out, take it out every day during prayers. They pray to her before every battle - it’s so touching. Then I went to Baby to lie down next to him in the semi-darkness, and Vladimir Nikolaevich **** read aloud to him, - now they play together, the girls also take part in the games, - tea was brought here for us. The weather is beautiful, almost freezing at night.
Thank God, good news continues to arrive, and the Prussians are retreating. They are running from the dirt.
Mekk***** writes that many cases of cholera have appeared
and dysentery in Lviv, but they are taking sanitary measures. Judging by the newspapers, there were serious moments; but I hope nothing important happens there. You can't trust these Poles - after all, we are their enemies, and Catholics should hate us. I will finish this letter in the evening; I cannot write much at once. My angel, my soul and heart are always with you.
I am writing on Anastasia’s paper. Baby kisses you deeply. He has no pain at all, he is lying down, since his knee is still swollen - I hope that by the time you arrive he will be on his feet. I received a letter from old Madame Orlova, to whom Ivan wrote about his desire to continue military service after the war - he told me the same thing - this is pilot Orlov, 20th Corps active army: he received the St. George Cross, has the right to another insignia, but is it possible to promote him to ensign (or second lieutenant)? He made reconnaissance under continuous enemy fire; one day he was flying alone unusually high, there was a very strong cold, his hands were cold, the apparatus stopped working, he became numb to such an extent that he became indifferent to what would happen to him next - he began to pray, and suddenly the apparatus began to work again. In rainy weather they cannot fly, and then they have to sleep and sleep. What a brave young man he is to fly alone so often! What strong nerves are needed for this! His father would have every right to be proud of him, which is why his grandmother is working hard for him.
I write disgustingly today, but my head is tired and heavy.
Oh, beloved, how I was infinitely glad to receive your dear letter, I thank you for it with all my heart! It's so good that you wrote! I read some passages from your letter to the girls and to Anya, who was allowed to come to dinner and stayed with us until 101/2 o'clock. How interesting all this must have been! Ruzsky, no doubt, was deeply touched by the fact that you promoted him to adjutant general. How happy the little one will be that you wrote to him! Thank God he has no more pain. You are probably already sitting on the train again, but how little time you will spend with Olga! What reward will it be for the glorious garrison of Osovets if you visit them - maybe Grodno, if there are troops there now? Schulenburg saw the lancers, their horses were exhausted; their backs are worn to the point of bleeding - constantly under the saddle, their legs are completely weak. Since the train stopped near Vilna, many officers came
and they took turns sleeping on his bed, enjoying the luxury of at least a carriage bed, and they were also delighted by the opportunity to use a real water closet - Knyazhevich* no longer wanted to leave there, it seemed so cozy to him there (Sh.’s wife told Anya about this).
My dear joy also misses his wife? Don’t I miss you! But I have our lovely guys, they support me. Do you sometimes come to my department? Please give Fredericks my warm regards. Have you spoken with Fedorov about the drafted students and doctors?
There is no telegram from you today, which probably means that nothing special happened to you.
Well, now, my beloved, dear Nicky, I must try to sleep, and also put this letter outside the door, so that it can be sent at 81/2 o'clock. There was not enough ink in my pen, I had to take another one. Goodbye my angel. May God bless and protect you and may He return you to us healthy and unharmed!
Your passionately loving and truly devoted wife sends you the most tender kisses and caresses. Alix.
Anya thanks you for your greetings and sends you a warm bow.
September 23, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram
Today is better. Stayed at home. The leg stopped hurting. Olga* at the meeting. The weather is clear and fresh. We give you a big hug. God bless you. Alix.
Nicholas September 23, 1914, Headquarters
My beloved wife!
Warm thanks for your sweet letter and for the one you, girls, Anya and N.P. We wrote everything together. The lines you write are always so deep, and when I read them, their meaning penetrates to the very heart,
and my eyes often become moist. It’s hard to be separated even for a few days, but letters like yours are such a joy that it’s worth being separated for the sake of it. Today it’s pouring like buckets, but I, of course, went out for a walk with Drentelny, which was very useful for me. This night with poor old Fredericks there was a slight repetition of what happened to him recently in the city - a small cough of hemoptysis.
He is better now, but both Fedorov and Malama** insist that he must remain calm and motionless for twenty-four hours. It will be very difficult to make him obey them. They advise that he stay here and not go with me to Rovno - he can seize my train in Bialystok in two days, on Thursday. The presence of the old man here in these conditions greatly complicates the situation, for he is a constant burden on me and generally embarrasses everyone.
I feel quite healthy again and, I assure you, even rested in recent days - especially thanks to the good news. Alas! Nikolasha, as I feared, will not let me into Osovets, which is simply unbearable, since now I will not see the troops who recently fought. In Vilna, I expect to visit two hospitals - a military one
and the Red Cross; but that’s not the only reason I came here!
Among the awards that I approved, General Ivanov nominated Keller* for the Order of St. George. I'm so happy for him.
So, tomorrow I will finally see Olga and spend the whole morning in Rovno. We have to finish because the courier is waiting for the departure.
Farewell, my dear, beloved Sun. May the Lord bless and protect you and your dear children, but I tenderly kiss you and them. Always your hubby Nicky.
September 24, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram
Thank you very much for your dear letter. I was extremely happy to receive it. We all kiss you and dear Olga deeply. We are happy for you that you are together. Wonderful weather. God bless you. Alix.
September 24, 1914, Brest-Central, Priv. railway Telegram
Thank you very much for the news, I was so glad to see Olga in Rovno, I examined her infirmary and the local hospital, there were few wounded left, the weather was cold and bad. Big hugs to everyone. Niki.
Alexandra September 24, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo
My dear!
I thank you with all my heart for your sweet letter. Your tender words touched me deeply and warmed my lonely soul. I am deeply upset for you that they advise you not to go to the fortress - this would be a true reward for these amazing brave men. It is said that Ducky** was there for a thanksgiving service and heard the roar of cannons nearby. There are many troops on vacation in Vilna, as the horses
They are completely tortured, I hope that you will see these troops. Olga sent such a joyful telegram after meeting you - what a sweet child, and she works so hard. How many grateful souls will take with them the memory of her bright, sweet image, returning to the ranks of the troops or to their native villages, and the fact that she is your sister will further strengthen the bond between you and the people!
I read a charming article in one English newspaper - they praise our soldiers very much, they say that deep faith and reverence for the peace-loving monarch makes them fight so well,
and, moreover, for a holy cause. What a shame that the Germans imprisoned the little Duchess of Luxembourg* in a palace near Nuremberg! How is this
Add-ons Expand Collapse
Name index
Abamelek Alexander Pavlovich, prince, retired captain of the Guards, large southern landowner.
Augusta-Victoria (Dona), German. imp., born Princess of Schleswig-Holstein, wife of the Emperor. Wilhelm II.
Averchenko Arkady Timofeevich, editor of the magazine “New Satyricon”, writer and humorist.
Agathangel, Archbishop of Yaroslavl
and Rostovsky.
Adini, see Alexandrina, Queen of Denmark.
Adlerberg Alexander Alexandrovich (Dudel), general. from inf. retired.
Adlerberg Ekaterina Nikolaevna, gr., nee Isakova, former. maid of honor, wife of gr. L.V. Adlerberg.
Adrianov Alexander Alexandrovich, Major General of the retinue of E.V., Moscow mayor (1908-1915).
Akilina, see Laptinskaya Akilina Nikitichna.
Akimov Boris Nikolaevich, former Navy Lieutenant; took part in the war
as Art. non-commissioned officer of the foot reconnaissance team. Killed June 1916
Alec, see Alexander Petrovich, Prince of Oldenburg.
Alexander Mikhailovich (Sandro), leader. book, son led. book Mikhail Nikolaevich, Admiral General, Admiral; During the war he was in charge of the organization. aviation business
in action army.
Alexander Petrovich (Alec), Prince of Oldenburg, Adjutant General, General. from inf., member of State. Council, during the war he held the position of commander-in-chief of the sanitary and evacuation service. part.
Alexandra (Aunt Alix), Queen Dowager of England, née. Princess of Denmark, widow of King Edward VII.
Alexandrina (Adini), born. hertz. Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark, wife of King Christian X.
Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich, adjutant general, general. from inf.; before the team war. 13th Arm. bldg.; from the beginning of the war headquarters of the South-West front; from the spring of 1915 teams. North-West front; from August 1915 - beginning Headquarters ch., after Feb. revolution of 1917 - Top. Ch. until May 1917
Alexey, Bishop of Tikhvin, vicar of the Novgorod diocese.
Alexey Alexandrovich (uncle Alexey), leader. Prince, son of Alexander II, adjutant general, adm. general, chief commander. fleet and maritime department.
Alexey Nikolaevich (Baby, Baby, Malyutka, Sunbeam), son of Nikolai
and Alexandra Romanov, heir to the throne.
Alix, aunt, see Alexandra.
Alina's husband, see Pistolkors Alexander Erikovich.
Alice, Princess of Greece, born. prince. Battenberg, wife of Prince Andrew of Greece, niece of A.F.
Albert, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg.
Albert Leopold, King of Belgium, Duke of Saxony, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
Altfater Dmitry Vasilievich, colonel. L.-Gv. 1st art. brigade, commander of the 5th battery.
Alfred-Ernest-Albert (Uncle Alfred), Prince, Hertz. Edinburgh, c. Ulster and Kent, husband led. book Maria Alexandrovna.
Alya, see Pistolkors Alexandra Alexandrovna.
Ambrazantsev-Nechaev Ivan Alekseevich, colonel. L.-Gv. Convert regiment, killed in December 1914
Amilakhvari Alexander (?), probably called up from the reserve of the Guards. kaval in the Tatar Cavalry Regiment, headquarters captain.
Anastasia Nikolaevna (Anastasia), lead. Princess, fourth daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov.
Anastasia Nikolaevna (Stana), lead. book, wife of the leader. book Nikolai Nikolaevich, daughter of King Nicholas of Montenegro, by her first husband Hertz. Leuchtenberg;
in 1914-1915 lived in Kyiv, and then together with her husband in the Caucasus.
Angelesco P., aide-de-camp of the Romanian king Ferdinand.
Andreev Georgy Dmitrievich (?), possibly lieutenant lieutenant guards. 2nd page of the Tsarskoye Selo Regiment, killed in battle on October 1, 1916.
Andrew, Prince of Greece, son of King George I of Greece.
Andrei Alexandrovich (Andryusha), prince, eldest son of the leader. book Alexander Mikhailovich.
Andrey Vladimirovich, leader. book, ml. son led book Vladimir Aleksandrovich, Major General of the suite E.V., com. L.-Gv. horse artillery from May 7, 1915
Andronnikov Vladimir Mikhailovich, prince, regiment, l.-guards. Ulansky p., who was in charge. book Georgiy Mikhailovich.
Andronnikov Mikhail Mikhailovich, prince, official of special assignments under the chief prosecutor of the Synod.
Andryusha, see Andrei Alexandrovich, prince.
Anisya, servant of A.A. Vyrubova.
Annenkova, sister of mercy in the Tsarskoye Selo hospital (probably maid of honor Maria Mikhailovna or Vera Mikhailovna).
Anthony, Bishop of Gori, 2nd vicar of the Georgian diocese.
Anthony (A.V.), Archbishop of Kharkov and Akhtyrsky, former. Archbishop of Volyn and Zhitomir.
Apraksin Petr Nikolaevich, gr., in charge. chamberlain, d.s.s., who was under A.F., comrade. chairman esp. com. led book Olga Nikolaevna, member of the Tatyana Committee, former. Tauride governor.
Apukhtin Konstantin Valerianovich, former. Lieutenant Guards officer Ulansky imp. A.F. regiment, during the war he was appointed com. infantry regiment; later served on the headquarters of the Guards. squad.
Arseny, Archbishop of Novgorod
and Starorussky, member of the Synod.
Arsenyev Vasily Sergeevich, Doctor of Technical Sciences, honorary guardian of the Board of Trustees of Imperial Institutions. Maria on the Moscow presence.
Arsenyev Dmitry Sergeevich, adjutant general, adm., member of the State. council, former adjutant led. book Const. Nick, former director of the Nikolaev Maritime Academy and teacher led. book Sergei and Pavel Alexandrovich. Died September 14, 1915
Arsenyev Evgeniy Konstantinovich, Major General of the suite E.V., com. Cuirassier Emperor M.F. regiment, later commander of the 2nd brigade. 2nd Guards Cav. division (formerly of the Life Guards Ulan Emperor Alexandra Fedorovna Regiment).
Arsenyeva Nadezhda Dmitrievna (Nadenka), daughter of D.S. Arsenyev, maid of honor.
Artsimovich Marianna Ieronimovna, born. Hobbes, by first husband Jones, wife of the director of the II Department of Mines. foreign Cases of V.A. Artsimovich.
Artsimovich Mikhail Viktorovich, stalm., d.s.s., Vitebsk governor.
Babak, see Derfelden Marianna Erikovna.
Babich Mikhail Pavlovich, general. from inf., head of the Kuban region and ataman of the Kuban Cossack army.
Bagration Dmitry Pavlovich, prince, lieutenant general; since February 1916 teams. Kavk. native cavalry division.
Bagration-Davidov David Alexandrovich, prince.
Bagration-Mukhransky Alexander Iraklievich, prince, major general of the retinue E.V., former. commander of the 44th drag. Nizhny Novgorod
and l.-guards. Horse regiment.
Bagration-Mukhransky Konstantin Aleksandrovich, Prince, Flight Adjutant, Lieutenant Cavalry. imp. M.F. regiment, son-in-law led. book Const. Const.; killed 19 May 1915
Badmaev Petr Aleksandrovich, D.S.S., doctor of Tibetan medicine.
Bazilevsky Petr Aleksandrovich, Stalm., D.S.S., Honorary Guardian of the Board of Trustees of the institution. imp. M.F. on Moscow presence, Moscow provincial pred. nobility.
Balashev Nikolai Petrovich, chief captain, member of the State. council, d.t.s.
Balasheva Alexandra Vasilievna (Inochka), born. gr. Gendrikova, wife of A.N. Balashev, former. maid of honor.
Baranov Pyotr Petrovich, adjutant general, general. from cav., former. commander of the l.-guards. Ulansky imp. A.F. shelf, control He led the yard. book Mich. Nick.
Bark, forester of the Belovezhskaya Specific Pushcha.
Bark Petr Lvovich, t.s., Minister of Finance and Chief of the Department. bldg. border guard (1914-1917).
Baryatinskaya Maria Viktorovna (Mari), prince, maid of honor A.F.
Baryatinskaya Maria Vladimirovna, prince, born. book Baryatinskaya, wife of the chamberlain Prince. I.V. Baryatinsky, former maid of honor.
Baryatinskaya Olga Viktorovna, prince, sister of the equestrian prince. I.V. Baryatinsky.
Baryatinsky Anatoly Vladimirovich (Tolya B.), book, fl.-adjut. at the disposal of the teams. troops of the Kyiv military. env.; Major General, Com. 2nd Brigade Guards. Page div.
Baryatinsky Ivan Viktorovich, prince, chamberlain, retired. cap. 2nd rank, former State Deputy Duma and Lgov district pred. nobility, special. Kr. Kr. under the 2nd Army. He died in June 1915 at the front.
Batyushin Nikolai Stepanovich, colonel, later major general; was at the headquarters of the North-West. front where he advanced
in the role of a military investigator (Myasoedov case, etc.).
Father, see Vasiliev Alexander Petrovich.
Baherakht Alexandra Adamovna, after her first husband Kolemin, born. gr. Gutten-Tsapska, wife of V.V. Bacherakht, Russian envoy in Bern.
Beatrice (Aunt Beatrice), Princess of Battenberg, née. Princess of England, Jr. daughter of Queen Victoria, widow of Prince Henry-Mauritius of Battenberg, aunt of A.F.
Bezak Alexander Nikolaevich, retired. regiment. Cavalry Emperor M.F. shelf, former adjutant led. book Nick. Mich.
Bezobrazov Vladimir Mikhailovich, adjutant general, general. from cav., com. Guards bldg. (1912-1915), removed from command.; then he was again appointed to the front, and he was entrusted with a special guard. detachment formed from the 1st and 2nd Guards. buildings; after unsuccessful battles in Kovel in July 1916, he was finally removed.
Bezobrazov, officer Cavalier. imp. M.F. shelf.
Bezrodny Nikolai Sergeevich (?), probably an honorary physician.
Bekman Vladimir Alexandrovich, general. from the cavalry, member of the State. sov., former Lieutenant Guards officer Ulansky imp. Nicholas II regiment.
Beletsky Stepan Petrovich, t.s., senator, director of the Department. police, comrade min. internal affairs (1915-1916); left the ministry in connection with the Rzhevsky case (organized the assassination attempt on Rasputin), Irkutsk governor general. (until March 1916).
Bellarminov Leonid Georgievich, Dr. med., t.s., ordinary professor Military med. Academy, honorary life ophthalmologist.
Beloselsky-Belozersky Sergei Konstantinovich, prince, lieutenant general, former. com. L.-Gv. Ulansky imp. A.F. shelf. Commanded the 1st Brigade of the 2nd Caucasus. kaval div., then - Donskoy Kaz. div.
Belyaev Mikhail Alekseevich, general. from art., served in Ch. ex. Gene. PC.; military assistant min. (1915-1916), member of the Military. owls Since January 1917 - military. minister
Belyaev T.M., gene. from art., total. activist, comrade pres. Sov. Rus. Meetings.
Belyaeva Maria Nikolaevna, born. Sentyurina, wife of General. T.M. Belyaeva.
Benkendorf Alexander Konstantinovich, gr., gofm., Russian ambassador to London (1902 -1916).
Benkendorf Dmitry Alexandrovich (Mita Benk.), D.S.S., painter, member of the Russian Council for foreign trade jar.
Benkendorf Elena Dmitrievna (Ella Benk.), gr., born. Naryshkina, after Rodzianko’s first husband, wife of gr. P.A. Benkendorf.
Benkendorf Maria Sergeevna, gr., nee. book Dolgorukaya, wife of gr. P.K. Benkendorf, former maid of honor.
Benkendorf Pavel Konstantinovich, gr., adjutant general, general. from. Cav., Chief Marshal.
Bentheim, prince, German prisoner.
Bloodless, officer of the Guards. eq., who served in the imperial yacht. "Polar Star". Later he was the head of the Yalta port.
Betsy Shuv., see Shuvalova Elizaveta Vladimirovna.
Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich, Dr. med., t.s., prof. Military medical academician, psychiatrist.
Bichette, see Radziwill Maria.
Bobby, see Sigismund Wilhelm, Prince of Prussia.
Bobrinsky Alexey Alexandrovich, gr., member of the State. Sov, senator, honorary guardian of the Petrograd presence of the guardianship council, chief hofm., comrade. min. ext. cases, min. agriculturalist and land management (1916), pred. Council of the Russian-English Bank.
Bobrinsky Georgy Aleksandrovich, gr., Administrative General, Lieutenant General, Galician Provincial General. After the evacuation of “areas occupied by the law of war,” he was assigned to the headquarters as commander-in-chief. armies of the South-West. front.
Bogaevsky Afrikan Petrovich, Major General of the retinue E.V. Beginning headquarters of the 2nd Guards. Kav. divisions, com. 4th hus. Mariupolsky and Lieutenant-Guards. Combined Cossack regiments. Beginning headquarters of the marching ataman under the Imp. rate (1915).
Boysman, regiment, Tauride province. (1917).
Bonheur, see Nikolai Nikolaevich, lead. book
Bonch-Bruevich Mikhail Dmitrievich, Major General, Head. training in Nikol. military acad. officers, quartermaster general and chief. headquarters of the armies of the North-West. and Sev. fr. with gen.-ad. Ruzsk.
Boris Vladimirovich, leader. book, major general, com. L.-Gv. Ataman regiment, then a marching ataman under Nicholas II.
Borisov Vyacheslav Evstafievich, major general, comp. at the headquarters of the Supreme. main Operations Advisor parts of the gene M.V. Alekseeva.
Botkin, sailor.
Botkin, son of E.S. Botkin.
Botkin Evgeniy Sergeevich, life physician.
Botkin, daughter of E.S. Botkin.
Branitskaya Maria, wife of gr. Mikhail Branitsky, after the occupation of Warsaw by the Germans, she lived on her estate in Bila Tserkva.
Branitskaya Julia, born. gr. Pototskaya, wife of gr. Vladislav Branitsky.
Brasova Natalya Sergeevna, gr., wife of the leader. book Mikhail Alexandrovich.
Brinken is probably a gene. Baron Alexander Friedrichovich von der Brinken, com. 20th and 22nd Arm. bldg. Or: gen. Baron Leopold Friedrichovich von der Brinken, com. 1st br. 1st Guards infantry division.
Brunner Leonty Fedorovich, Dr. Med., D.S.S., Honorary Life Physician.
Brusilov Alexey Alekseevich, General Administrative Officer, General. from cav., com. 8th Army and South-West. front, in May 1917 he was replaced by the general. Alekseev at the top post. main
Buxhoeveden Karl Karlovich (father of Isa), stalm., baron, Russian envoy
in Copenhagen (1910-1917), formerly the horsemaster of the Court led. book Alexandra Iosifovna and Director of the Dep. personal comp. and farms. business Min-va foreign affairs, father of the maid of honor S.K. Buxgevden.
Buksgevden Sofya Karlovna (Iza), baroness, maid of honor A.F.
Bulygin Alexander Grigorievich, senior Secretary, D.T.S., Member of State. Sov., chief executive Own E.V. Chancellor, member of Roman. committee, former min. ext. business
Burdukov Nikolai Fedorovich, holding the position of commander. High Yard, consisting of min. ext. business
Butakov Alexander Ivanovich (?), probably senior. Lieutenant Guards eq. killed in the line of duty on December 14, 1914
Bykov Leonid Nikolaevich, general-m., com. 1st Brig. 6th Siberian page division; was captured.
Buchanan George William ambassador
in Russia (1910-1917), formerly English envoy to Sofia and The Hague.
Byutsova Olga Evgenievna, maid of honor A.F.; in 1915 she married G.N. Papafedorov.
Baby, see Alexey Nikolaevich, Tsarevich.
Valuev Fedor Mikhailovich, civil engineer, engineer. communication routes, beginning North-West railway
Waldemar-Wilhelm (Toddy), Prince of Prussia, nephew of A.F.
Valya, see Dolgorukov Vasily Alexandrovich.
Varavka Sergey Mikhailovich, honorary Life physician, who was attached to the Imp. Ch. apartment.
Barnabas (Suslik), Archbishop of Tobolsk and Siberia.
Vasily Alexandrovich (Vasya), prince, son of the leader. book Alexander Mikhailovich.
Vasiliev Alexander Petrovich (father, Father Alexander), archpriest, spiritual father of the royal family, presbyter of the court Cathedral of the Holy Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands at the Winter Palace.
Vasiliev Alexey Tikhonovich, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Member of the Council of Chief. ex. for press affairs, dir. Dep. police, acting Comrade min. ext. business
Vasilchikov Boris Aleksandrovich, Prince, D.T.S., Stalm., Member of the State. sov., member Top. Council for Charity of Families of Persons, vocation. to war.
Vasilchikov Sergey Illarionovich, Prince, Administrative General, General. from cav., former com. L.-Gv. Gusarsky settlement, 12th and 1st cavalry. div. and Gv. bldg.
Vasilchikova Ekaterina Petrovna (Katusya), maid of honor.
Vasilchikova Maria Alexandrovna (Masha V.), maid of honor. On January 1, 1916, she was stripped of this title.
Vasilchikova Sofia Nikolaevna, born. book Meshcherskaya, wife of Prince. B.A. Vasilchikova.
Vasya, see Vasily Alexandrovich, prince.
Vakhtin, court walker.
Vachnadze, prince, officer.
Weinberg, railway engineer.
Weinstein Grigory Emmanuilovich, member of the State. owls for the 1916 elections from industry.
Velepolsky Alfred Sigismundovich, gr., fl-adjut., regiment. L.-Gv. Hussar Regiment.
Velepolsky Sigismund Iosifovich, gr., stalm., member of the State. owls according to the elections for 1916 from the landowners of the Kingdom of Poland.
Venizelos Eleftherios, Chairman of the Greek Council. min.
Vera, Princess of Montenegro.
Vera Konstantinovna, princess, ml. daughter led book Const. Const.
Verevkin Alexander Nikolaevich, t.s., gofm., comrade. min. just. since 1910
Verevkin Vladimir Petrovich, lieutenant lieutenant guards. Convert regiment, killed in action July 15, 1916
Verevkin Petr Vladimirovich, d.s.s., Estonian governor, former. Governor of Kovno and Vilna.
Verevkina Sofia Aleksandrovna, born. Ellis, wife of P.V. Verevkin.
Verolya, probably Pavel Pavlovich Verolya or his wife Alexandra Nikolaevna, born. Countess Osternburg, daughter of Prince Nikolai Petrovich of Oldenburg from his marriage to Maria Bulatzel, Countess Osternburg.
Veselkin Mikhail Mikhailovich, rear adm. Suite E.V., com. cruiser "Borodino", head. teams in the Danube-Dobrudzhansky region (Reni), former. com. min. minelayer "Amur" and adjut. led book Alexey Alexandrovich.
Veselovsky Andrey Andreevich, Major General, Com. 21st Sib. page imp. A.F. regiment, com. 1st Brig. 6th Sib. division page.
Vic, officer of the Cuirassier Regiment.
Vicky, see Victoria, Queen of Sweden.
Viktor Erastovich, see 3borovsky.
Victoria (Vicky), Queen of Sweden, born. Princess of Baden, wife of the Swedish King Gustav.
Victoria (Victoria), Princess of Battenberg, née. Duchess of Hesse, wife of Prince Ludwig of Battenberg, sister of A.F.
Victoria (Granny), Queen of England.
Victoria (Thora), Princess of Schleswig-Holstein, cousin of A.F.
Victoria Feodorovna (Daki), leader. book, born Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, led by her first husband. hertz. Hessian, wife of the leader. book Kirill Vladimirovich.
Victoria-Alexandra-Olga-Maria (Thoriya), Princess of England, daughter of the English. King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
Willie, uncle, see George I, Greek king.
Wilhelm II, German Emperor.
Vilchkovskaya Varvara Afanasyevna, born. Vilinbakhova, wife of S.N. Vilchkovsky.
Vilchkovsky Sergey Nikolaevich, general-m., assistant. beginning Tsarskoye Selo Palace. manager, pres. Tsarskoye Selo evacuation center com.
Williams G., Brig. gene., beginning English military missions at Headquarters.
Vinberg Fedor Viktorovich, colonel, officer of the Life Guards. Ulansky imp. A.F. shelf; com. 2nd Baltic Cavalry. regiment
Vissarionov Sergey Evlampievich, D.S.S., Chairman. Petrogr. committee for press affairs, member of the council of Ch. ex. for press matters.
Wittgenstein E.D., see Sayn-Wittgenstein Elizaveta Dmitrievna.
Witte von, Georgy Georgievich (German German), d.s.s., senator, member and manager. affairs Top. owls by ghost families of persons, conscripts to war; official special charge at min. ext. affairs, member of Romanovsky, Tatyaninsky
and other committees.
Witte Sergey Yulievich, count, d.t.s., state secretary, member of the State. advice, min. communication paths and fin., chairman of the Council. min.
Vladimir, Metropolitan of Petrograd
and Ladoga, from the fall of 1916 - Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia; first member of the Synod.
Vladimir Alexandrovich, leader. Prince, son of Alexander II, adjutant general, general. from inf., commander-in-chief. troops of the Guard and the St. Petersburg Military District.
Vladimir Nikolaevich, see Derevenko.
Voeikov Vladimir Nikolaevich, general-m. retinue E.V., palace commandant.
Voeikova Evgenia Vladimirovna (Nini), born. bar. Fredericks, wife of V.N. Voeikov, former. maid of honor.
Volzhaninova, Crimean landowner.
Volzhin Alexander Nikolaevich, Chamberlain Vysoch. Dvora, dir. Dep. general affairs min. internal affairs, chief prosecutor of the Synod (1915-1916), member of the State. owls
Volkov, valet A.F.
Volkov Nikolay Aleksandrovich, rear adm. retinue E.V., naval agent
in England since 1913 and a member of the Russian government. committee in London since 1915
Volkova Vera Nikolaevna, born. Skalon, wife of N.A. Volkov, former. maid of honor.
Volkonsky Vladimir Mikhailovich (Volodya Volkh.), Prince, D.S.S., Jägermeister High. Dvora, Comrade min. ext. affairs (under A.N. Khvostov, B.V. Sturmer and A.D. Protopopov), comrade. chairman 3rd State Duma, deputy of the 4th State. thoughts from Tamb. lips
Volodya Volkh., see Volkonsky Vladimir Mikhailovich.
Voronetskaya Françoise, princess, born. Krasinskaya.
Voronov Pavel Alekseevich, lieutenant. Guards eq.
Voronova Olga Konstantinovna, born. gr. Kleinmichel, wife of P.A. Voronov.
Vorontsov-Dashkov Alexander Illarionovich (Sashka), fl.-adjutant, colonel. l-guards Hussar Regiment.
Vorontsov-Dashkov Illarion Ivanovich, gr., general ad., general. from the cavalry, member of the State. Sov., governor in the Caucasus, min. Court and estates, died in January 1915.
Vorontsov-Dashkov Illarion Illarionovich (Larka), gr., regiment. L.-Gv. Gusarsky P., adjutant. led book Mich. Alex.
Vorontsova-Dashkova Elizaveta Andreevna, gr., born. gr. Shuvalova, wife of gr. Ill. Iv. Vorontsova-Dashkova, state lady.
Voskresensky Boris Dmitrievich (?), apparently, engineer. Railways, S.S., Head of Southern Railways, then - Admin. Moscow-Kazan railway
Vostokov Vladimir Ignatievich (Fr. Vladimir), priest of the Moscow Church of St. Nikita the Great Martyr, famous preacher.
Vostorgov Ivan Ivanovich (Fr. John), archpriest of the Intercession Cathedral in Moscow.
Wrangel Nikolai Alexandrovich, bar., general-m., comp. at led. book Mich. Alex., com. 16th Irkutsk leader. book Nick. Nick. shelf, or see Wrangel P.N.
Wrangel Petr Nikolaevich, bar., fl.-adjut., regiment., office. L.-Gv. Horse regiment, com. 1st Nerchinsky Regiment of Transbaikal Cossacks. troops. In April 1916, he was promoted to major general and appointed to serve as leader. book Mich. Alex.
Vsevolod Ivanovich, prince, son of prince. Joanna Const. and book Elena Petrovna.
Vykrestov Nikolay Grigorievich, sub. 21st Siberian page imp. A.F. shelf. Killed in battle.
Vyrubova Anna Alexandrovna (Anya), born. Taneyeva, maid of honor A.F.
Vyshinsky Evgeniy Evgenievich, major general, com. 13th l.-green. Erivan village, room. Quartermaster General of Caucasus. army.
Vyazemsky Nikolai Aleksandrovich, prince, counter-adm., com. yacht "Polar Star". In 1916 he was promoted to vice adm., with the appointment. member of the Admiralty Council.
Vyazemsky Sergey Sergeevich, cap. I rank, com. battleship"Glory", killed
in 1915 when shelling German positions on the Riga coast.
Gagarina Evgenia Sergeevna, prince, maid of honor, who was in charge. book Olga Alexandrovna.
Gagentorn Ivan Eduardovich, s.s., doctor. med., professor-surgeon.
Gadon Vladimir Sergeevich, general-m. retinue E.V., former adjutant. led book Serg. Alex., com. L.-Gv. Convert P.
Galkin-Vrasskoy Mikhail Nikolaevich, D.S.S., Secretary of State, Member of State. Sov., member of Com. trusteeship for labor assistance, died April 8, 1916.
Galfter Viktor Petrovich, Major General, Lieutenant-Guards. Moscow heir to Alexei Nikolaevich regiment, member of the department. zag. and warehouse. at Main ex. Kr. Cross.
Gan, court photographer.
Gantimurov Mikhail Gavrilovich, prince, cap. 21st Sib. page imp. A.F. shelf.
Harding of Panshurst Charles, bar., English ambassador to St. Petersburg (1901-1906), ml. st.-sec. according to in. affairs (1906 -1910), Viceroy of India (1910 - 1916).
Hartwig Alexandra Pavlovna (Sandra G.), born. Kartseva, by her first husband von Wiesen, wife of N.G. Hartwig.
Hartwig N.G., Russian envoy to Serbia.
Hartman Boris Georgievich, general-m. Suite E.V., com. L.-Gv. Horse Regiment; pom. com. combat regiment.
Gaham (Kahan), see S.M. Shapshal.
Gebel Alexander Alexandrovich, colonel. L.-Gv. Moscow regiment, staff officer for lieutenant. under the marshal's unit.
Gedroyts Vera Ignatievna, princess, doctor of medicine, senior doctor at the Tsarskoye Selo palace infirmary.
Geiden Alexander Fedorovich, gr., rear adm. Suite E.V., room. chief of Gl. marine piece; in 1916 he was promoted to vice adm.
and designation to the Admiralty Council.
Heyden Georgy Alexandrovich (?), probably midshipman of the Guards. crew.
Gelovani Konstantin Levanovich, Prince, Col. 13th Green. Erivan Regiment.
Gendrikov V.A., chief master of ceremonies Vysoch. Dvora.
Gendrikova Anastasia Vasilievna (Nastenka), gr., maid of honor A.F.
Gendrikova Sofia Petrovna, gr., born. book Gagarina, widow of the chief master of ceremonies, gr. V.A.Gendrikova. Died September 10, 1916
Gennigs von, Oscar Alexandrovich, lieutenant general, com. 6th Sib. page div., which included the 21st East Sib. page imp. A.F. regiment.
Henry (Albert Wilhelm), Prince of Prussia, brother of the Emperor. William I, adm. German fleet.
Henrytsi Alfred Vilhelmovich, fl.-adjutant., captain of the Life Guards. Dragoon Regiment.
George (Georgie B.), Prince of Battenberg, Lieut. cruiser New Zealand, nephew of A.F.
George I (Uncle Willy), King of Greece, Prince Christian William George of Denmark, assassinated in Thessaloniki in 1913.
George V (Georgie), English. king, cousin brother of Nicholas II.
Georgy Konstantinovich, Prince, Jr. son led book Const. Const.
Georgy Mikhailovich (Georgy), leader. book, adjutant general, lieutenant general, was at the Supreme Headquarters. Commander-in-Chief In 1915-1916 went to Japan on a special mission.
Hermogenes, former Bishop of Saratov, lived in retirement in the Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery. near Moscow.
Gibbs Sidney Ivanovich, Englishman, tutor of the heir.
Gilchen, see Kilkhen Mikhail Sergeevich.
Girs Mikhail Nikolaevich, civil servant, Russian ambassador to Constantinople (1912-1915), former Russian envoy to Bucharest.
Globa Nikolai Vasilievich, academician, d.s.s., chamberlain, dir. Stroganov School in Moscow, member of the Elizabethan Committee for the Provision of Charities. assistance to the families of those drafted into war.
Hohenfelzen Olga Valerianovna, gr., born. Karnovich, after her first husband von Pistolkors, morganatic wife led. book Pavel Alex.
Gogoberidze Galaktion Georgievich, colonel. 13th Green. Erivan Regiment.
Golitsyn Alexander Dmitrievich, prince, ceremonial, s.s., member of the 3rd State. Duma, member of the board of the Russian-English Bank, former. Kharkov prev. nobility, member of the State. owls on elections for 1916 from Kharkov. lips zemstvo assembly.
Golitsyn Dmitry Borisovich (Dimka), light. book, gen.-ad., gen. from cavalry, Chief Jägermeister, head. Imp. hunting.
Golitsyn Nikolai Dmitrievich, Prince, D.T.S., Senator, Member of the Ch. ex. Kr. Kr., pred. Com. as it turns out assistance to Russian prisoners of war in enemy countries. In 1917, chairman was appointed. Sov. min.
Golitsyn Sergei Mikhailovich, Prince, Chief Jägermeister, died in Lausanne on June 9, 1915.
Golitsyna, princess.
Golitsyna Vera Vasilievna, Prince, head of the Smolny Institute.
Golovin Nikolay Nikolaevich, com. 20th drag. Finnish regiment, quartermaster general, later beginning. PC. 7th Army Gen. Shcherbachev, ordinary professor, and then - head of the Nikolaev military. acad.
Golovina Maria Evgenievna (Munya G.), daughter of the chamberlain.
Golubev Ivan Yakovlevich, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Senior Secretary, Senator, Vice-President. State owls
Gondatti (Gondaki) Nikolai Lvovich, stalm., Amur governor general, former. lips Tobolsk and Tomsk.
Gorbatovsky Vladimir Nikolaevich, general. from inf., commands. 3rd green. div., 19th arm. corp., 12th, and then by the 6th Army, after Feb. roar displaced
Gordeeva Valentina Sergeevna, widow of Stalm., member. Committee leader book E.F. to provide assistance to the families of those conscripted to war.
Gordinsky, off. 15th Ukrainian Hussars. book Ksenia Alexandrovna regiment.
Goremykin Ivan Logginovich (Old Man), senior secretary, senator, d.t.s. I class, pred. Sov. min. (1914-1916), member of the State. owls
Goremykina Alexandra Ivanovna, wife of I.L. Goremykin.
Goryainov Alexey Alekseevich, gene from the cavalry, member of the Sov. min. internal affairs, Penza governor.
Grabbe Alexander Nikolaevich, count, major general of the retinue E.V., commander of the Own. E.V. Convoy.
Grabbe Mikhail Nikolaevich, count, lieutenant general, command. L.-Gv. Combined Cossack regiment, then - 4th Don Cossack Div. Since May 1916, the appointed atam. Donskoy troops.
Grabovoi David Ivanovich, of. 14th Georgian heir Alexei Nikolaevich regiment.
Granny, see Victoria, English. queen.
Grevenits Vladimir Evgenievich, bar., cap. I rank, com. battleship "Poltava"; died in Helsingfors on April 24, 1916.
Grevenits Daria Evgenievna (Dolly), baroness, after her first husband, Prince. Kochubey, daughter of Hertz. Evg. Maksim. Leuchtenbergsky, wife of V.E. Grevenitsa.
Gray Sybil, lady, English. sister of mercy who worked in England infirmary
in Petrograd, as well as at the front.
Gray Edward, Viscount, English. State secret by foreign Affairs (1906-1916).
Grigorovich Ivan Konstantinovich, adjutant general, adm., member of the State. Sov., Minister of the Navy (1911-1917).
Grigoriev Vladimir Nikolaevich, general. from the cavalry, commandant of the Kovno fortress, after the surrender of the fortress, he appeared before a military court.
Greenwald (Grunwald) von, Arthur Alexandrovich, adjutant general, general. from cavalry, chief shtalm., head. court stable part.
Groten Pavel Pavlovich, general-m. retinue E.V., team. 1st gus. Sumy Regiment, Life Guards. Horse grenad. regiment
Gurko Vasily Iosifovich, general. from cav.; com. 1st Cav. div., com. 5th Army (until Aug. 1916), com. “special army”, acting beginning Headquarters Commander-in-Chief After the February revolution. - Commander-in-Chief. armies of the West. fr.
Gurko Vladimir Iosifovich, d.s.s., chamberlain, member. State owls from Tver zemstvo.
Gurlyand Ilya Yakovlevich, D.S.S., member. owls min. ext. business
Guryev Petr Viktorovich, D.S.S., manager. office of the Synod.
Guryev Sylvester Konstantinovich, office. L.-Gv. Ulansky imp. A.F. shelf.
Guchkov Alexander Ivanovich, D.S.S., Member of the State. owls, vowel of the Petrograd mountains. Duma, member of Ch. ex. Kr. Kr., former pres. 3rd State Duma, leader of the Octobrist party.
Guchkov Nikolay Ivanovich, D.S.S., former. Moscow mayor, honorary justice of the peace, vowel of the Moscow Mountains. Duma, Comrade Chairman of the Com. led book E.F. to provide assistance to the families of those conscripted to war.
Ducky, see Victoria Fedorovna.
Damansky Petr Stepanovich, senator, t.s., comrade. Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, died December 28, 1916
Danilo, Crown Prince of Montenegro.
Danilov Georgy Nikiforovich (black), general. from inf., quartermaster general of the headquarters of the Upper. chief commander, com. 45th Inf. Div., 25th Arm. bldg., 5th arm.
Danilov Nikolay Alexandrovich (red), general. from inf., honored prof. Nikolaev military academician, beginning supply North-West fr., com. 10th building, 11th arm.
Danini Silvio Ambrosievich, D.S.S., architect Vysoch. Dvora.
Daragan Pyotr Mikhailovich, fl.-adjutant, colonel. L.-Gv. Ulansky imp. A.F. shelf.
Dashkov Dmitry Yakovlevich, Major General of the retinue E.V., Guards. Cav., was in charge. book Mich. Alex.
Dedyulina Elizaveta Aleksandrovna, born. Dokhturova, widow of General Administrator. V.A.Dedyulina.
Demenkov Nikolai Dmitrievich, probably lieutenant. Guards eq., of. imp. yachts "Standard".
Demidov, book. San Donato, Elim Pavlovich, Jägermeister High. Dvora, d.s.s., Russian envoy in Athens (from August 1912).
Den von, Alexander Karlovich (Titi, Kiten), son of K.A. and Y.A.Den.
Den von, Dmitry Vladimirovich (Mitya D., M.D., Mitya Den), fl.-ad., cap. I rank; com. dept. Batumi dep., pcs.-of. for office work and instructions of the naval department. at Top commander-in-chief, assistant beginning military campaign office E.V.
Den von, Karl Akimovich, cap. I rank, com. cruiser "Varyag".
Den von, Sofia Vladimirovna (Sonya), born. Sheremeteva, wife of D.V. Den.
Den von, Yulia Alexandrovna (Lily) born. Smonskaya, wife of K.A. Den.
Derevenko, a sailor who served with the heir.
Derevenko Vladimir Nikolaevich, Doctor of Medicine, honorary life surgeon
Derfelden von, Marianna Erikovna (Babaka), after her first husband Durnovo, born. Pistolkors, wife of X.I. von Derfelden, stepsister led book Dm. Pavel.
Dzhambakurian-Orbeliani Dmitry Ivanovich, Prince, Col. Cavalier. imp. M.F. regiment, adjut. led book Alexander Mikhailovich.
Dzhambakurian-Orbeliani Sofia Ivanovna (Sonya), prince, maid of honor, comp. under A.F. Died December 1, 1915
Joy, see Kantakuzen Yulia Fedorovna.
Georgie, see George V.
Georgie B., see George, Prince of Battenberg.
Dzhunkovsky Vladimir Fedorovich, Major General of the retinue E.V., Moscow governor (1905-1913), comrade. min. ext. affairs and com. bldg. gendarmes, since 1915 - com. brigade of the 8th Sib. pp. division and division.
Diamandi, Romanian Ambassador to Russia
from October 1, 1913
Dickie, see Ludwig Francis, Prince of Battenberg.
Dimitrashko (Dumitrashko) Petr Nikolaevich, senator, t.s., engineer. ways of communication, comrade min. communications (1908-1916).
Dimka, see Dmitry Borisovich Golitsyn.
Dmitry Alexandrovich, prince, son of the leader. book Alexander Mikhailovich.
Dmitry Konstantinovich (Mitya), lead. book, ml. son led book Konstantin Nikolaevich, adjutant general, general. from cav.
Dmitry D., see Dmitry Pavlovich.
Dmitry Pavlovich (Dmitry, D.), lead. book, fl.-adjut., unit-captain of the l.-guards. Cavalry regiment, took part in the murder of Rasputin, after which he was sent to Persia.
Dobrovolsky Nikolai Aleksandrovich, senator, edgerm., t.s., ex. Ministry of Justice until Feb. roar
Dolgorukaya Olga Petrovna (Lolo D.), light. book, born gr. Shuvalova, widow of the light. Prince A.S. Dolgoruky, Chief Master of Ceremonies Vysoch. Dvora.
Dolgoruky Alexey Sergeevich
My priceless treasure!
You will read these lines while going to bed in a strange place in a strange house. May God grant that the trip turns out to be pleasant and interesting,
and not too tiring or too dusty. I am very glad that I have a map and that I can follow you hourly with it. I will miss you terribly. But I’m glad for you that you will be away for two days - you will get new impressions and will not listen to Anya’s inventions.
My soul is heavy and painful. Why is good attitude and love always so rewarded? First the black family**, and now her? People constantly tell you that you don't show love enough. After all, we gave her access to our hearts, to our home, even to our private lives - and here is our reward for everything! It is difficult not to feel bitterness - the injustice is very cruel. May God have mercy on us and may He help us - our souls are so heavy! I am in despair that she causes you torment and pesters you with unpleasant conversations that deprive you of peace. Try to forget about it these two days.
I bless you, baptize you and hug you tightly - I kiss you all with endless love and devotion. Tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock I will go to church, I will try to go there on Thursday as well. Praying for you is my joy when we are apart. I can’t get used to being without you in the house even for the shortest time, although I have our five treasures with me.
Sleep well, my sunshine, my precious one, - your old Wife sends you a thousand tender kisses.
May God bless and keep you!
April 29, 1914, Askania-Nova***. Telegram
We arrived safely half an hour earlier than expected. After Eriklik the weather is beautiful and hot. Amazing place, such nice, friendly people. I'll telegraph in more detail this evening. I love you dearly. Niki.
Fog on the mountains. In the morning we were at mass and in the chapel. I walked a little during the day alone with the children. Alexey* in Massandra. My head hurts. We miss you. We kiss you deeply. We wish you a safe return. God bless you. Alix.
April 29, 1914, Askania-Nova. Telegram
Thanks for the telegram. Saw interesting animals and birds. They all live together in freedom. I walked in a lovely park with ponds full of fish. I drove around the estate in the steppe. Now I'm off to lunch. Good night everyone dear. Niki.
April 29, 1914, Livadia. Telegram
Thank you very much for the two telegrams. I'm glad it was very interesting and successful. Sending wishes for good night and happy travels. I go to bed early. I hope to go to mass again tomorrow morning. Blessings and greetings from all six. Alix.
April 30, 1914, Askania-Nova. Telegram
I hope you slept well. It's much cooler today. After 7:30 am I drove around and saw different breeds of cattle. After an early breakfast I head back at 10 o'clock. I'm so looking forward to this evening! I kiss you and the children tenderly. Niki.
June 20, 1914, Kronstadt. Radiotelegram
The English squadron passed by the yacht exactly at noon. The picture was very beautiful, the weather was wonderful - hot. We'll be home by lunchtime. Everyone hugs. Niki.
My love!
I am very sad that I cannot accompany you - but I decided that it was better for me to stay here quietly with the children. My heart and soul are always near you, with a feeling of the most tender love and passion, all my prayers are for you, and therefore I am glad that I can immediately after your departure go to the evening service, and tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock to mass. I will have dinner with Anya, Maria and Anastasia*, and then go to bed early. Maria Baryatinskaya will be with us for breakfast and will spend the afternoon with me for the last time. I hope the sea will be calm and you will enjoy the swim, which will be a rest for you - you need it, as you looked so pale today.
I will feel your absence extremely keenly, my precious one. Sleep well, my treasure! My bed will be, alas, so empty!
God bless you - whole you.
The most tender kisses from your old Wife.
My dear, my dear!
I am so happy for you that you were able to go, because I know how deeply you suffered all this time - your restless sleep proved it. This was a question that I deliberately did not touch upon, knowing and perfectly understanding your feelings and at the same time realizing that it was better for you not to be at the head of the army now. This trip will be a little rest for you, and I hope you will be able to see many troops. I can imagine their joy at the sight of you, as well as your feelings - what a pity that I can’t be with you and see all this! It’s more difficult than ever to say goodbye to you, my angel, it’s so infinitely empty after your departure. Then, I know, despite the many tasks ahead, you will greatly feel the absence of your little family and precious Baby. He will recover quickly now that our Friend** has visited him, and this will be a consolation for you. If only there was good news in your absence, because your heart bleeds at the thought that you have to endure difficult news alone.
Caring for the wounded serves as a consolation for me, and that is why I intend to go there even on this last morning, during your reception hours, in order to cheer myself up and not burst into tears in front of you. It is gratifying to aching hearts to at least somewhat alleviate their suffering. Along with what I am experiencing with you and our dear homeland and people, my soul ache for my “little, old homeland”, for its troops, for Ernie*** and Irene**** and for many friends, those in distress there. But how many are now going through the same thing! And then how shameful and humiliating is the thought that the Germans behave like this! I would like to fall through the ground! But enough of such reasoning in this letter - I should rejoice at your trip with you, and I am glad of this, but still, due to selfishness, I suffer terribly from separation - we are not used to being apart, and besides, I love my precious boy so endlessly . Soon it will be twenty years since I have been yours, and what bliss all these years have been for your little wife!
It’s so good that you will see dear Olga*. This will cheer her up and be good for you. I'll give you a letter and things for her wounded.
My dear, my telegrams cannot be very warm, since they must pass through so many military hands, but you will be able to read between the lines my love and longing for you.
My dear, if you somehow feel not quite well, be sure to call Fedorov**, you will do it, and also keep an eye on Fredericks***.
My most fervent prayers follow you day and night.
I pray for God’s mercy for you - may He protect, teach and guide you, and may He return you here healthy and unharmed!
I bless you—and love you as rarely has anyone ever been loved—kissing every dear place and holding you tenderly to my old heart.
Forever your old wife.
The icon will lie under my pillow this night before I hand it over to you along with my warm blessing.
My love!
I'm relaxing in bed before lunch, the girls have gone to church, and Baby**** is finishing her lunch. At times he only has mild pain. Oh, my love, how hard it was to say goodbye to you and see that lonely pale face, with big sad eyes, in the window of the carriage! I exclaimed mentally - take me with you! If only N.P.S.***** or Mordvinov were with you, if there were some young loving soul near you, you would feel less lonely and more “warm”.
When I returned home, I couldn’t stand it anymore and began to pray, then I lay down and smoked to recover. When my eyes took on a more decent appearance, I went upstairs to Alexey and lay for a while next to him on the sofa in the dark - this helped me, since I was tired in all respects. At 4 1/4 o'clock I went downstairs to see Lazarev and give him a small icon for his regiment - I did not say that it was from you, otherwise you would have to distribute them to all the newly formed regiments. The girls worked in a warehouse. At 4 1/2 o'clock Tatyana* and I received Neidgardt** on the affairs of her Committee - the first meeting will take place in the Winter Palace on Wednesday, after the prayer service, I will again not be present. It is useful to let girls work independently; moreover, they get to know them better, and they learn to be useful.
During tea, I looked through the reports, then - the long-awaited letter from Victoria***, dated September 1/13 - it took a long time to arrive. I am writing out from this letter something that might be of interest to you: “We spent anxious days during the long retreat of the Allied forces in France. Completely between us (and therefore, dear, it’s better not to tell anyone about this) - the French first left the English army alone to withstand the entire pressure of a heavy German flank attack, and if the English troops had been less stubborn, then not only they, but all the French forces would be completely crushed. Now all this has been settled, and the two French generals involved in this matter have been dismissed by Joffre and replaced by others. In the pocket of one of them there were six unopened notes from the English commander-in-chief French, the other refrained from sending troops and answered the call to help that his horses were too tired. This is now a thing of the past, but many good officers and soldiers paid for it with their lives and freedom. Fortunately, this was kept secret, and people here do not know about all this.”
“The required 500,000 recruits are almost already recruited and are hard at work, studying throughout the day - many nobles also joined the ranks and thus set a good example. There is talk of conscripting another 500,000, including contingents from the colonies. I personally do not like the idea of Indian troops coming to fight in Europe, but they are crack regiments because they have already served in China and Egypt and have shown the greatest discipline, so those who know better are confident that they will behave admirably (they will not rob or kill). Their senior officers are entirely English. Ernie's friend, the Maharajah of Bikanir, will come with his own contingent; The last time I saw him was when he was visiting Ernie in Wolfsgarten. Georgie* wrote us a report about his participation in the naval battle off Heligoland. He commanded the forward turret and fired a number of salvos, showing, according to his captain, great composure and common sense. D. says that the Admiralty is not abandoning the idea of trying to destroy the docks in the Nile Canal (destroying bridges alone would be of little use) using airplanes, but this is extremely difficult, since all this is perfectly protected, and one has to wait for a favorable opportunity, otherwise the attempt will not be successful. The damning fact is that the only entrance to the Baltic Sea that can be used by troops is through the Sound, and it is not deep enough for warships and large cruisers. In the North Sea the Germans have scattered mines everywhere, recklessly endangering neutral merchant ships, and now with the first strong autumn winds they will sail (since they are not attached to anchors) to the Dutch, Norwegian and Danish shores, and some back to the German, it is hoped "
She sends her warm regards. This afternoon the sun was shining so brightly, but not in my room - the tea party was somehow sad and unusual, and the chair looked sad without my treasure - the owner. Maria and Dmitry** have been invited to dinner, so I will interrupt my writing and sit for a while with my eyes closed, and finish the letter in the evening.
Maria and Dmitry were in a good mood; they left at 10 o’clock with the intention of visiting Pavel***. Baby was restless and fell asleep only after 11 o'clock, but he did not have severe pain. The girls went to bed, and I unexpectedly went to see Anya, who is lying on her sofa in the Grand Palace - she now has a blocked vein. Princess Gedroits**** visited her again and told her to lie quietly for several days - Anya went to the city in a car to see our Friend, and this tired her leg. I returned at 11 and went to bed. Apparently the mechanical engineer***** is nearby. My face is bandaged, as my teeth and jaw ache a little, my eyes still hurt and are swollen, and my heart yearns for the most precious creature on earth, which belongs to old Sunny*.
Our Friend is happy for you that you left. He was very pleased with his date with you yesterday. He is constantly afraid that Bonheur, i.e. Actually, the jackdaws want him** to achieve the throne in P. or Galicia, that this is their goal, but I told her to calm him down - it is completely unthinkable that you would ever risk doing something like that. Grigory loves you jealously, and it is unbearable for him for N. to play any role. Ksenia responded to my telegram. She is very upset that she did not see you before you left - her train has arrived. I made a mistake in my calculations, Schulenburg*** cannot be here before tomorrow or evening, so I will only get up at the exit to the church, a little later. I am sending you six little books to distribute to Ivanov, Ruzsky, or whomever you want. They were compiled by Loman ****.
These sunny days will relieve you of rain and dirt.
Honey, I have to finish now and put the letter outside the door - it will be sent at 81/2 o'clock in the morning. Farewell, my joy, my sunshine, Niki, my beloved treasure. Baby kisses you, and wifey covers you with the most tender kisses. May God bless, protect and strengthen you. I kissed and blessed your pillow - you are always in my thoughts and prayers. Alix.
Talk to Fedorov regarding doctors and students. Don't forget to tell the generals to stop their quarrels.
Hi all; I hope poor old Fredericks is getting better and doing well; make sure he is on a light diet and doesn't drink wine.
September 20, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram, following
Everything is fine. My leg hurts less. Cold. We miss you. We are waiting for the wounded. We wrote in the evening. We kiss you deeply. God bless you. Alix.
September 21, 1914, Novoborisov. Telegram
Thank you very much for your dear letter. I hope you slept and feel well. Rainy, cold weather. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and the children. How's the little one? I kiss everyone tenderly. Niki.
September 21, 1914, Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief*. Telegram
Glory to God, who granted us victory yesterday at Suwalki and Mariampol. Arrived safely. We have just served a thanksgiving service in the local military church. I received your telegram. I feel great. Hope everyone is healthy. Many hugs. Niki.
September 21, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram
Thank you for both telegrams. We rejoice at the victory. The wounded have arrived. We worked from four until lunch. The mechanic has arrived. We give you a big hug. Little cheerful. God bless you. Hi all. Alix.
My favorite!
What joy your two telegrams brought me! “I thank God for this happiness - it was so gratifying to receive them after your arrival at the place.” God bless your presence there! I would like to know, hope and believe that you will see the troops. Baby spent a rather restless night, but without severe pain. I went upstairs to kiss him before going to church at 11 o'clock. I was having breakfast with the girls on the couch when Becker arrived. She lay for an hour next to Alexei’s bed, and then went to meet the train - there weren’t very many wounded. Two officers from the same regiment and the same company, as well as one soldier, died on the way. Their lungs suffered greatly from the rains and from fording the Neman. Not a single acquaintance - all army regiments. One soldier remembered that he saw us in Moscow this summer on Khodynka. Poretsky*** became worse due to his bad heart and overwork, he looks very bad, with a haggard face, bulging eyes, and a gray beard. The poor fellow makes a bad impression, but is not injured. Then the five of us went to Anya’s and had tea early here. At 3 o'clock we went into our small infirmary to put on our gowns, and from there to the large infirmary, where we worked hard. At 5 1/2 o'clock I had to return with M. and A. **** to receive the detachment led by Masha Vasilchikova's brother. Then back to the small infirmary, where the children continued to work. Here I bandaged the three newly arrived officers and then showed Karangozov***** and Zhdanov how to really play dominoes. After lunch and prayer with Baby, I went to Anya, who already had four girls, and here I saw N.P.*, who had dined with her that day. He was glad to see us all as he is very lonely and feels so useless. Princess Gedroits came to look at Anya’s leg, I bandaged it, and then we gave her tea. They brought N.P. in the car to the station. Clear moon, cold night. Baby is fast asleep. The whole little family kisses you tenderly. I miss my angel terribly and, waking up at night, I try not to make noise so as not to wake you up. It's so sad in church without you. Farewell, dear, my prayers and thoughts follow you everywhere. I bless and kiss endlessly every dear favorite place. Your old wife.
N.G.Orlova** is going to Borovichi tomorrow for a two-day visit with her husband. Anya learned about this from Sashka*** and from two letters from her brother.
September 22, 1914, Tsarskoe Selo. Telegram
Thank you for the news through Orlov****. I write every day. Wonderful fresh weather. We were at mass in the morning and in the infirmary. Everything is better for the little one. We kiss you deeply. I have a terrible headeache. God bless you. Alix.
September 22, 1914, Headquarters. Telegram
Thank you very much for your kind letter. Today General Ruzsky ***** introduced himself to me. He told a lot of interesting things about his famous battles in Galicia. Appointed him adjutant general. It's quiet and peaceful here. I give everyone a big hug. Niki.
My beloved darling wife!
Heartfelt thanks for the sweet letter that you gave to my messenger - I read it before going to bed.
What a horror it was to part with you and your dear children, although I knew it would not be for long. I didn't sleep well the first night because the engines were roughly jerking the train at every station. The next day I arrived here at 5:30 am, it was raining heavily and it was cold. Nikolasha* met me at the Baranovichi station, and then we were taken to a lovely forest nearby, not far (five minutes walk) from his own train. The pine forest is very reminiscent of the forest in Spala, the soil is sandy and not at all damp.
Upon arrival at Headquarters, I went to the large wooden church of the railway brigade for a short thanksgiving service served by Shavelsky. Here I saw Petyusha**, Kirill*** and the entire Nikolasha headquarters. Some of these gentlemen dined with me, and in the evening I was given a long and interesting report - by Yanushkevich ****, on their train, where, as I foresaw, the heat was terrible.
I thought about you - what a blessing that you are not here!
I insisted that they change the lives they lead here, at least in front of me.
This morning at 10 o'clock I attended the usual morning report, which N. receives in the house just before his train from his two main assistants, Yanushkevich and Danilov*****.
They both report very clearly and concisely. They read the previous day's reports received from the army commanders and ask N. for orders and instructions regarding upcoming operations. We were bending over huge maps, dotted with blue and red lines, numbers, dates, etc. Upon arrival home, I will give you a brief summary of all this. Just before breakfast, General Ruzsky arrived, a pale, thin man, with two new Georgies on his chest. I appointed him adjutant general for our last victory on our Prussian border - the first since his appointment. After breakfast, we filmed as a group with N.’s entire headquarters. In the morning after the report, I walked around our entire Headquarters and passed a ring of sentries, and then met a guard of Life Cossacks posted far in the forest. They spend the night in dugouts - quite warm and cozy. Their task is to look out for airplanes. Wonderful smiling guys with curls of hair sticking out from under their hats. The entire regiment is quartered very close to the church in wooden houses of the railway brigade.
General Ivanov* has left for Warsaw and will return to Kholm by Wednesday, so I will stay here for another day, without otherwise changing my program.
I will leave from here tomorrow evening and arrive in Rovno on Wednesday morning, I will stay there until 1 pm and go to Kholm, where I will be around 6 pm.
On Thursday morning I will be in Bialystok, and if possible, I will drop by unannounced to Osowiec. I'm just not sure about Grodno, i.e. I don’t know if I’ll stop there - I’m afraid that all the troops have marched from there to the border.
I had a great walk with Drentelny** in the forest and on my return I found a thick package with your letter and six books.
Warm thanks, my love, for your precious lines. How interesting is that part of Victoria’s letter that you so kindly copied for me!
I learned about the tensions between the British and French at the beginning of the war some time ago from a telegram from Benckendorff***. Both foreign attaches here left for Warsaw a few days ago, so I won’t see them this time.
It’s hard to believe that a great war is raging not far from here; everything here seems so peaceful and calm. Life here is rather reminiscent of those old days when we lived here during the maneuvers, with the only difference being that there are no troops in the neighborhood.
My beloved, I kiss you often, often, because now I am very free and have time to think about my wife and family. It's strange, but it's true.
I hope you're not suffering from that nasty jaw pain or overworking yourself. God grant that my little one will be completely healthy when I return!
I hug you and tenderly kiss your priceless face, as well as all my dear children. I thank the girls for their sweet letters. Good night, my dear Sunshine. Always your old hubby Nicky.
Say my regards to Anya.
The marriage of Nikolai Romanov with Alexandra Feodorovna can truly be called happy - the spouses were connected mutual love, respect, mutual understanding, trust and support in the most difficult periods for the royal family. The diaries and letters of Alexandra Fedorovna, published abroad in 1922, have survived to this day. These lines speak for themselves about the degree of depth and sincerity of feelings.
The imperial couple on the yacht *Standard* | Photo: liveinternet.ru
“My dear treasure, my dear, you will read these lines when you lie down in bed in a strange place, in an unfamiliar house. God grant that the journey be pleasant and interesting, and not too tiring and not too much dust. I'm so glad I have a map so I can keep an eye on you hourly...
Praying for you helps me when we are apart. I can’t get used to the fact that you are not here in the house, even for such a short time, although I have our five treasures with me. Sleep well, my sunshine, my precious one, a thousand tender kisses from your faithful wife. God bless and keep you” (Livadia, April 27, 1914).
Family portrait of the Romanov family in the park | Photo: liveinternet.ru
“My dear, my dear, I am so happy for you that you were finally able to leave, because I know how deeply you suffered all this time. This journey will be a small consolation for you, and I hope that you will be able to see many troops. It is more difficult than ever to say goodbye to you, my angel. If only there was good news while you’re gone, because my heart bleeds at the thought of you having to bear difficult news alone.”
Imperial family | Photo: retrobazar.com
“Caring for the wounded is my consolation... what a shame, what a humiliation to think that the Germans can behave the way they behave!.. From a selfish point of view, I suffer terribly from this separation. We are not used to her and I love my precious sweet boy so endlessly.
It’s already been twenty years that I belong to you, and what bliss it has been for your little wife!.. My love, my telegrams cannot be very hot, since they pass through so many military hands, but you will read all of mine between the lines love and longing for you" (Tsarskoe Selo, September 19, 1914, first letter after the start of the war)."
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Emperor Nicholas II | Photo: retrobazar.com
“My most beloved of loved ones, the hour of separation is approaching again, and my heart aches with grief. But I’m glad that you will leave and see a different situation, and feel closer to the troops. I hope you get to see more this time. We will be looking forward to your telegrams. Oh, how I will miss you. I have already felt such despondency these two days and my heart is so heavy. It’s a shame, because hundreds of people are happy that they will soon see you, but when you love as much as I do, you can’t help but yearn for your treasure.”
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna | Photo: liveinternet.ru
The imperial family takes a walk in the park | Photo: liveinternet.ru
“Tomorrow it will be twenty years since you reigned, and since I became Orthodox. How the years have flown by, how much we have experienced together!.. Thank God, tomorrow we will receive Holy Communion together, this will give us strength and peace. May God give us success on land and sea and bless our fleet... How wonderful it was to go together to Holy Communion on this day, and may this bright sun accompany you in everything.
My prayers and thoughts, and my tenderest love accompany you all the way. My dear love, may God bless and protect you and may the Holy Virgin protect you from all evil. My tenderest blessings. I kiss you endlessly and hold you to my heart with boundless love and tenderness. Forever, my Niki, your little wife” (Tsarskoye Selo, October 20, 1914).
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Emperor Nicholas II | Photo: liveinternet.ru
Emperor Nicholas II and children | Photo: liveinternet.ru
For the birthday of Emperor Nicholas II, which is celebrated on May 18, the Presidential Library presents unique materials revealing the tragic events that befell the last Russian autocrat. The diaries and letters of Nicholas II, digitized by the Presidential Library, tell about them.
Nicholas II kept diaries from a young age. His diary archive consists of 50 voluminous notebooks containing sequential entries from 1882 to 1918. These records reflect his youth, the formation of the personality of the future emperor, the life of the royal family, the death of Alexander III and major historical events associated with the years of his reign. After the execution of the royal family, the diaries of Emperor Nicholas II began to be actively published.
One of the first such publications was "Diary of Emperor Nicholas II", published in Berlin in 1923 by the Slovo publishing house. Equipped with editorial notes and explanatory notes, it represents valuable historical material that covers the period of the life of Nicholas II from 1890 to 1906.
The introduction to the book says that “the published diary of Emperor Nicholas II should shed new bright light on the causes of the catastrophe that ended his reign, and find out how inevitable it was.”
Nicholas II kept his diary with exceptional accuracy. Basically these are short notes and reports about the days spent. No matter how sad or joyful the events were: be it the death of Alexander III’s father, the abdication of the throne, or, conversely, an engagement or wedding, Nicholas II always found a few minutes to write in a notebook. Here, for example, is a mournful note about the death of his father, Emperor Alexander III:
“A day of rest for me - no reports, no receptions. At 11 o'clock we went to mass, for the first time in our lovely church. It was sad and painful to stand in the same old place, knowing that one place would remain empty forever.”
The appearance of a new king on the throne aroused great hopes in society. Liberal circles hoped to draw the attention of the young emperor to the need to change domestic policy Russian state. However, the first public speech of Nicholas II, delivered by him in the Nicholas Hall of the Winter Palace before deputations of the nobility, zemstvos and cities, did not live up to their hopes. As you know, the emperor called proposals for the participation of zemstvo representatives in internal government affairs “meaningless dreams” and added that he would “protect the beginning of the autocracy as firmly and steadily as his unforgettable, late parent guarded.”
This is how this event was reflected in the diary of Nicholas II: “A tiring day! After a short walk I had reports. I was in terrible emotions before entering the Nicholas Hall, to the deputations from the nobility, zemstvos and city societies, to whom I gave a speech.”
The speech of Emperor Nicholas II in the Winter Palace was reflected in another valuable historical document, digitized by the Presidential Library - in"Wilhelm's Correspondence IIcNicholas II". It contains letters and telegrams from the last Emperor of Germany and the last Emperor of Russia to each other between 1894 and 1914. All correspondence between the rulers was conducted in English; in 1923, selected letters were translated into Russian and published in Russia.
Since 1904, the letters and diaries of Nicholas II reflect the tsar's reaction to the events of the Russo-Japanese War, the beginning of the revolutionary movement and workers' strikes. For example, an entry dated January 26, 1904: “Having returned home, I received a telegram with the news that that night Japanese destroyers attacked the Tsesarevich, Retvizan and Pallada stationed in the outer roadstead and caused holes in them. And this is without declaring war. May the Lord help us!”
The results of the Russo-Japanese War, the economic crisis and the discontent that gripped the majority led to an explosion - on January 9, 1905, troops and police in St. Petersburg used weapons to disperse a peaceful procession of workers heading with a petition to the Tsar. And this is how “Bloody Sunday” was reflected in the emperor’s diary: “Sunday! Hard day! Serious riots occurred in St. Petersburg as a result of the workers’ desire to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different places in the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and difficult.”
By the autumn of 1905, the revolutionary movement had reached extreme tension. At the end of September - beginning of October, a railway strike broke out throughout the country. Traffic on the Baltic Railway ceased. Communication between Peterhof, where the Tsar lived, and Petersburg was supported only by steamships. “Communication with St. Petersburg is only by sea, the situation is shameful,” is how the last Russian emperor described the situation in the country.
You can learn more about the fate of Nicholas II from electronic collection of the Presidential Library, which is dedicated to the 400th anniversary celebrated in 2013 Houses of the Romanovs. The collection includes about a thousand digitized documents, most of which were previously unknown to a wide audience.
Oleg Platonov
Nicholas II in secret correspondence.
“The fate of the Tsar is the fate of Russia. The Tsar will rejoice, and Russia will rejoice. The Tsar will cry, and Russia will cry... Just as a man with his head cut off is no longer a man, but a stinking corpse, so Russia without the Tsar will be a stinking corpse.”
Optina Elder Anatoly (Potapov). 1916
The correspondence of a man and a woman who loves each other is huge whole world. reflecting all the secrets of their souls, their joys and pains, desires and despair. Letters from loved ones are devoid of any guile and hypocrisy, for they are written as if to oneself. The correspondence of the last Russian Tsar and Queen is, without any doubt, the most reliable material about the history of their souls, their attitude towards others, their selfless love for Russia. The frankness and depth of judgment are simply amazing. The letters touch on many names, topics and events, and yet the main theme is their love and the pain of separation, tender care for each other, the desire to help, support, reassure, caress.
But it would be a great mistake to think that the correspondence between the Tsar and the Queen is only personal in nature. This is a correspondence between two people for whom personal happiness is inseparable from the well-being of Russia. They feel all the troubles and misfortunes of the country as personal troubles and misfortunes.
Feelings of duty and responsibility for the fate of the country constantly dominate in their minds; they clearly understood that they were the center of a national movement, without which historical Russia could not exist. They perceive the selfish and treacherous intrigue that is going on around them with pain in their souls. The collapse of Russian national consciousness, the destruction of centuries-old shrines and traditions of Russia is happening before their eyes. Alienation from the Russian people by the overwhelming majority of the intelligentsia and the ruling stratum (including the tsarist circle) had reached a critical point. Beyond this line is the collapse of a huge country, the death of tens of millions of people; and the first victim should be the royal family. The feeling of the inevitability of this sacrifice, like love, runs like a red thread through the entire correspondence, turning it into a tragedy in letters.
Love story
Nikolai Romanov and Alisa Gessenskaya (later Alexandra Feodorovna)
The love story of the Russian Tsar and the granddaughter of the English Queen begins in 1884. He is a sixteen-year-old boy, slender, blue-eyed, with a modest and slightly sad smile. She is a twelve-year-old girl, like him, with blue eyes and beautiful golden hair. The meeting took place at the wedding of her older sister Elizabeth (the future great martyr) with Nicholas’s uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Both Nicholas and Alice (that was the name of the future Russian Tsarina) from the very beginning felt deep sympathy for each other. Nikolai gives her precious brooch, and she, brought up in Puritan morality, in embarrassment and shyness, does not dare take it and returns it to him.
Their second meeting occurs only five years later, when Alice comes to Russia to visit her older sister. But all this time Nikolai remembers her. “I have loved her for a long time, and since she stayed in St. Petersburg for six weeks in 1889, I love her even more deeply and heartily.” Nikolai's cherished dream is to marry Alice. However, Nikolai's parents have other plans. In their opinion, Alisana is a very enviable match for the Heir to the Russian throne; they predict a French princess for her son. Nikolai, always obedient to the will of his parents, in this case, with pain in his heart, does not agree with them, declaring that if he fails to marry Alice, he will never marry at all. Finally, Nikolai receives consent from his parents for this marriage.
The engagement takes place in the spring of 1894, when European monarchs and members of their families gathered for the wedding of Alice's older brother. Nicholas was present here as a representative of his father, Emperor Alexander III, who could not come due to illness.
Already at the first meeting in private, Nikolai confesses his love to Alice and asks for her hand. She agrees. What they have dreamed about for many years is coming true. “I cried like a child,” Nikolai writes to his mother, “and she did too, but it was no longer sad. Her face shone with inner happiness.” The day of their engagement, April 8, 1894, they remember throughout their lives as the most joyful event, as well as their dates in England, a few months later. Then, at the height of summer, in a country estate in Walton on the Thames, they spent the most captivating days of their lives, the mere memory of which brought joyful tears to Alexandra Feodorovna. Long walks near the river, conversations under the old chestnut tree, reading together. In a letter to his mother, Nikolai writes: “We spent the whole day in wonderful weather outdoors, rode a boat up and down the stream, had a snack on the shore. A real idyll!”
Nikolai Alexandrovich’s diary is always open to Alice; from time to time she writes in it with poems and prayers, interspersed with exclamations: “I kiss my beloved a thousand times,” “God bless you, my angel.” He has no secrets from her. Nikolai tells Alice about his youthful passion for the ballerina Kshesinskaya. “What happened, happened,” Alice writes with tears in her eyes, “the past can never be returned. We are all subject to temptation in this world, and when we are young, it is especially difficult for us to resist and not give in to temptation. But if we can repent, God will forgive us. Sorry that I talk about this so much, but I want you to be sure of my love for you. I love you even more after you told me this story. Your trust touched me deeply. I will try to be worthy of him. God bless you, my beloved Nicky...”
The words that Alice writes in her fiancé's diary are imbued with the most sublime feeling of love, the light of which they were able to carry throughout their lives.
“I dreamed that I was in love. I woke up and found out that it was true, and on my knees I thanked God for this happiness. True love is a gift from God. Every day it becomes stronger, deeper, fuller and purer.” Or elsewhere:
“We found our love. I tied her wings. She will never disappear or leave us. It will always resonate in our hearts.” And finally, parting words when leaving England: “Sleep well. The waves lull you to sleep. Guardian angel is always with you. I kiss you tenderly.” “We belong to each other forever. I am for you. You can be sure of this. The key to my heart, in which you are imprisoned, is lost, and you will never get out of there.”
Later, the Tsar wrote in his diary: “The anniversary of our engagement. Never in my life, it seems, will I forget this day in Coburg, how happy I was then! A wonderful, unforgettable day.” And until her death, the Tsarina wore Nicholas’s groom’s gift - a ring with a ruby - around her neck along with a cross.
Events are developing rapidly. But misfortune is mixed with the joy of the engaged. Nikolai's father becomes seriously ill. A week and a half before his death, Alice comes to Russia to stay here forever. On October 20, 1894, Emperor Alexander III closes his eyes, and the next day Alice accepts Orthodoxy and the Russian name Alexandra Feodorovna.
Not even a month passes after the funeral, and on November 14, 1894, the marriage of Emperor Nicholas II to Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna takes place. Close relatives of the Tsar insisted on the marriage; they believed that in this way they could somehow calm down Nikolai Alexandrovich, shocked by the unexpected death of his father and the immense responsibility that fell on his shoulders. The enormous role played by the Tsar in Russia at that time also required taking into account the psychology of the peasantry, which made up about 80 percent of the country's total population. In the minds of the peasantry, an unmarried man did not have the proper measure of legal capacity (the Russian village considered a man who had reached a certain age, but was unmarried, inferior), especially since there should be “not a boy, but a husband” on the throne.
Of course, the union of loving hearts in such conditions aroused conflicting feelings in them. “You can imagine my feelings,” Alexandra Feodorovna wrote to her sister. - one day in deep mourning, and the next in elegant wedding clothes... first black and then white dresses.” But life and love conquer death. After the wedding ceremonies, before their wedding night, Alexandra Fedorovna writes in her husband’s diary: “Finally, we are together, united for life, and if this life ends, we will meet in another world and remain together forever and ever.” And the next morning she adds: “I could never imagine that there is such perfect happiness in the world, such a feeling of connection between two mortal people. I love you - all life lies in these three words.”
Nikolai and Alexandra managed to preserve this complete happiness of closeness until the end of their days, until the last minute in the Ipatiev House. When you read their correspondence, you are amazed at the freshness of their feelings.
And five, ten, and twenty years after the wedding, they write to each other such letters that, by today’s standards, rare newlyweds can write.
Touching fact. All correspondence between the Tsar and Queen during the separation began even before their separation.
The Tsarina wrote her first letter to her husband even before parting, the day before his departure, gave it to him at parting, and he read it on the way.
With almost every letter the Tsarina sent her husband either an icon, or flowers, or something else. “The icon will lie under my pillow this night,” writes the Queen, “before I hand it over to you...” The Queen placed a cross next to her signature.
So who were they, these two soul mates who forever retained love and loyalty to each other?
He and she
Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov was born on May 6 (old style) 1868, on the day when the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of Saint Job the Long-Suffering. The Tsar attached great importance to this coincidence, experiencing throughout his life “deep confidence” that he was “doomed to terrible trials.” His father, Alexander III, according to many historians, was a deeply religious, whole person, and a good family man. He instilled these same qualities in his children. As a politician and statesman, the father of Nicholas II showed a strong will in implementing the decisions made (a trait that, as we will see later, was inherited by his son). The essence of the policy of Alexander III (the continuation of which was the policy of Nicholas II) can be characterized as the preservation and development of Russian foundations, traditions and ideals. Assessing the reign of Emperor Alexander III, Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky wrote: “Science will give Emperor Alexander III his rightful place not only in the history of Russia and the entire country, but also in Russian historiography, it will say that he won a victory in the area where victories are most difficult to achieve, defeated the prejudice of peoples and thereby contributed to their rapprochement, conquered the public conscience in the name of peace and truth, increased the amount of good in the moral circulation of humanity, encouraged and raised Russian historical thought, Russian national self-consciousness.”
Alexander III was unpretentious in everyday life, wearing clothes almost to the holes. In addition, he had great physical strength. Once, during a train crash, Alexander III managed to hold the falling roof of the carriage for some time until his wife and children were safe.
There were five children in the family - Nikolai (the eldest), Georgy, Ksenia, Mikhail and Olga. The father taught his children to sleep on simple soldier's beds with hard pillows, to douse themselves with cold water in the morning, and to eat simple porridge for breakfast.
Nikolai was slightly above average height, physically well developed and resilient - the result of his father’s training and the habit of physical labor, which he did, at least little by little, all his life.
The king had an “open, pleasant, thoroughbred face.” Everyone who knew the Tsar, both in his youth and in his mature years, noted his amazing eyes, so wonderfully conveyed in the famous portrait of V. Serov. They are expressive and radiant, although sadness and defenselessness lurk in their depths.
The upbringing and education of Nicholas II took place under the personal guidance of his father, on a traditional religious basis in Spartan conditions. Training sessions of the future Tsar were carried out according to a carefully developed program for thirteen years. The first eight years were devoted to the subjects of the gymnasium course, with the classical languages replaced by the elementary principles of mineralogy, botany, zoology, anatomy and physiology. Particular attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, French, English and German languages(which Nikolai mastered perfectly). The next five years were devoted to the study of military affairs, legal and economic sciences necessary for a statesman. The teaching of these sciences was carried out by outstanding Russian scientists with a worldwide reputation: Yanyshev I.L. taught canon law in connection with the history of the church, the most important departments of theology and history of religion; Bunge N.H. - statistics, political economy and financial law; Pobedonostsev K.P. - jurisprudence, state, civil and criminal law; Kapustin M.N. - international law; Zamyslovsky E.E. - political history; Beketov N.N. - chemistry; Obruchev N.N. - military statistics; Leer G.A. - strategy and military history; Dragomirov M.I. - combat training of troops; Cui T.A. - fortification.
In order for the future Tsar to become practically acquainted with military life and the order of combat service, his father sends him to military training. First, Nikolai served for two years in the ranks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, performing the duties of a subaltern officer and then a company commander. Two summer seasons Nikolai serves in the ranks of the cavalry hussar regiment as a platoon officer and then as a squadron commander. And finally, the future Emperor holds one camp meeting in the ranks of the artillery.
Nicholas II and George V
At the same time, his father introduces him to the affairs of governing the country, inviting him to participate in the classes of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers.
The educational program of the future Tsar included numerous trips to various regions of Russia, which Nicholas made with his father. To complete his education, Nicholas II traveled around the world. In nine months he traveled through Austria, Trieste, Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and then by land through all of Siberia.
By the age of 23, Nikolai is a highly educated person with a broad outlook, an excellent knowledge of Russian history and literature, and a perfect command of the basic European languages(although he preferred to read works by Russian authors). His brilliant education was combined with deep religiosity and knowledge of spiritual literature, which was not common for statesmen of that time. His father managed to instill in him selfless love for Russia, a sense of responsibility for its fate. From childhood, he became close to the idea that his main purpose was to follow Russian principles, traditions and ideals.
Although Nicholas II received an excellent education and comprehensive preparation for government activities- He was not mentally prepared for it. This can be easily understood. Sudden death father at the age of 49, whom everyone considered a healthy man and who was predicted to have a long reign, initially plunged Nicholas II into confusion. He is only twenty-six years old, and he is responsible for the fate of a huge country. And, to his credit, it must be said that he managed to find the strength to accept this responsibility without shifting it to anyone.
In his first address to the people, Nikolai Alexandrovich announced that “from now on, He, imbued with the covenants of his deceased parent, accepts a sacred vow in the face of the Almighty to always have as one goal the peaceful prosperity, power and glory of dear Russia and the creation of the happiness of all His loyal subjects.” In an address to foreign states, Nicholas II stated that “he will devote all his concerns to the development of the internal well-being of Russia and will not shirk in any way from the completely peaceful, firm and straightforward policy that so powerfully contributed to general calm, and Russia will continue to see respect for the law and legal order is the best guarantee of the security of the state.”
The model of a ruler for Nicholas II was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who carefully preserved the traditions of antiquity.
However, the time in which Nicholas II fell to reign was very different from the era of the first Romanovs. If under the first Romanovs, folk foundations and traditions served as a unifying banner of society, which was revered by both the common people and the ruling stratum, then by the beginning of the twentieth century, Russian foundations and traditions became the object of denial by educated society. A significant part of the ruling stratum and intelligentsia rejects the path of following Russian principles, traditions and ideals, many of which they consider outdated and ignorant. Russia's right to its own path is not recognized. An attempt is being made to impose on it an alien model of development - either Western European liberalism or Western European Marxism. For both, the main thing is to break the identity of Russia; and, accordingly, their attitude towards the Tsar, the keeper of the ideas of traditional Russia, as an enemy and obscurantist.
The tragedy of the life of Nicholas II consisted in the insoluble contradiction between his deepest conviction to preserve the foundations and traditions of Russia and the nihilistic attempts of a significant part of the educated strata of the country to destroy them. And it was not only (and not primarily) about preserving traditional forms of governing the country, but about saving Russian national culture, which, as he felt, was in mortal danger. The events of the last 70 years have shown how right the Russian Emperor was. Throughout his life, Nicholas II felt the psychological pressure of these united forces hostile to Russian culture. As can be seen from his diaries and correspondence, all this caused him terrible moral suffering. The firm conviction to preserve the foundations and traditions of Russia, combined with a sense of deep responsibility for its fate, made Emperor Nicholas II a devotee of the idea for which he gave his life.
“Faith in God and in one’s duty as king,” writes historian S.S. Oldenburg - were the basis of all the views of Emperor Nicholas II. He believed that responsibility for the fate of Russia lay with Him, that He was responsible for them before the throne of the Almighty. Others may advise, others may hinder Him, but the answer for Russia before God lies with Him. This also resulted in an attitude towards limiting power - which He considered to be a shift of responsibility to others who were not called, and to individual ministers who, in His opinion, claimed too much influence in the state. “They will spoil it - and it’s up to me to answer.”
The teacher of the Heir to the Throne, Gilliard, noted the restraint and self-control of Nikolai Alexandrovich, his ability to control his feelings. Even in relation to people unpleasant to him, the Emperor tried to behave as correctly as possible. One day S.D. Sazonov (Minister of Foreign Affairs) expressed his surprise at the Emperor’s calm reaction towards a morally unattractive person and the absence of any personal irritation towards him. And this is what the Emperor told him: “I managed to silence this string of personal irritation within myself long ago. Irritability won’t help anything, and besides, a harsh word from me would sound more offensive than from someone else.”
“No matter what happens in the soul of the Sovereign,” recalls S.D. Sazonov - he never changed in his relationships with those around him. I had to see him close at a moment of terrible anxiety for the life of his only son, on whom all his tenderness was concentrated, and except for some silence and even greater restraint, the suffering he experienced had no effect on him.”
“In the appearance of Nicholas II,” wrote the wife of the English ambassador Buchanan, “there was true nobility and charm, which, in all likelihood, was most likely hidden in his serious, blue eyes than in liveliness and gaiety of character.”
Describing the personality of Nicholas II, the German diplomat Count Rex considered the Tsar to be a spiritually gifted person, of a noble way of thinking, prudent and tactful. “His manners,” wrote this diplomat, “are so modest, and he shows so little external determination that it is easy to come to the conclusion that he lacks a strong will; but the people around him assure that he has a very definite will, which he knows how to put into practice in the most calm way.” The stubborn and tireless will to implement their plans is noted by the majority of people who knew the Tsar. Until the plan was implemented, the Tsar constantly returned to him, achieving his goal. The historian Oldenburg, already mentioned by us, notes that “The Emperor, on top of his iron hand, had a velvet glove. His will was not like a thunderclap. It did not manifest itself in explosions and non-turbulent collisions; it rather resembled the steady flow of a stream from a mountain height to the plain of the ocean. He skirts obstacles, deviates to the side, but in the end, with constant constancy, he approaches his goal.”
For a long time it was generally accepted that the Tsar subordinated his will to the will of the Queen, saying that she had a stronger character and spiritually guided him. This is an incorrect and very superficial view of their relationship. Many examples can be given; they are often found in their letters, how the Emperor steadily carried out his will if he felt it was correct. But he could be persuaded to reverse his decision if he discovered his mistake and the truth of the Queen’s statements. The Empress did not put pressure on her husband, but acted with conviction. And if she influenced him in any way, it was with kindness and love. The king was very responsive to these feelings, since among many relatives and courtiers he most often felt falsehood and deception. Reading the royal letters, we will once again be convinced with what persistence Nicholas carried out his plans and rejected the proposals of his beloved wife if he considered them erroneous.
In addition to a strong will and brilliant education, Nikolai possessed all the natural qualities necessary for government activities. First of all, great ability to work. If necessary, he could work from morning until late at night, studying numerous documents and materials received in his name. (By the way, he willingly did physical labor - sawing wood, clearing snow, etc.). Possessing a lively mind and a broad outlook, the Tsar quickly grasped the essence of the issues under consideration. The king had an exceptional memory for faces and events. He remembered by sight most of the people he had encountered, and there were thousands of such people.
Emperor Nicholas II, noted the historian Oldenburg and many other historians and statesmen of Russia, had an absolutely exceptional personal charm. He did not like celebrations, loud speeches, etiquette was a burden to him. He did not like everything ostentatious, artificial, all broadcast advertising. In a close circle, in a face-to-face conversation, he knew how to charm his interlocutors, be they high dignitaries or workers of the workshop he visited. His large gray radiant eyes complemented his speech, looking straight into the soul. These natural gifts were further emphasized by careful upbringing. “In my life I have never met a more educated person than the now reigning Emperor Nicholas II,” wrote Count Witte already at a time when he was essentially a personal enemy of the Emperor.
A characteristic feature of the portrait of the Tsar is his attitude to clothing, frugality and modesty in everyday life. A servant who had been with him since his youth says: “His dresses were often mended. He did not like extravagance and luxury. He had kept his civilian suits since his groom’s days, and he used them.” After the murder, the Tsar’s military trousers were found in Yekaterinburg - they had patches on them, and inside the left pocket there was an inscription and note: “Manufactured on August 4, 1900, renewed on October 8, 1916.”
For more than seventy years, the rule for government historians and writers was a necessarily negative assessment of the personality of Nicholas II. It is not surprising that much has been turned upside down in these years. And the closer a Russian statesman stood to our time, the greater he was as a historical figure, the more intolerant and offensive the assessment of his activities was. For example, according to Trotsky, pre-revolutionary Russia was incapable of producing major political figures, and was doomed to create only pathetic copies of Western ones. In line with this “tradition,” government historians attributed to Nicholas II all the humiliating characteristics: from treachery, political insignificance and pathological cruelty to alcoholism, debauchery and moral decay. History has put everything in its place. Under the rays of its spotlights, the entire life of Nicholas II and his political opponents is illuminated to the smallest detail. With this light it became clear who was who.
Illustrating the “treachery” of the Tsar, official Soviet historians usually cited the example of how Nicholas II removed some of his ministers without any warning. Today he could speak graciously to the minister, and tomorrow send him his resignation. Serious historical analysis shows that the Tsar put the cause of the Russian state above individuals (and even his relatives). And if, in his opinion, a minister or dignitary could not cope with the matter, he removed him, regardless of his previous merits. In the last years of his reign, the Tsar experienced a crisis of encirclement (lack of reliable, capable people who shared his ideas). A significant part of the most capable statesmen took Westernizing positions, and the people on whom the Tsar could rely did not always have the necessary business qualities. From here permanent shift ministers.
In 1872, a daughter was born to the family of Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse-Darmstadt and the daughter of Queen Victoria of England, Princess Alice, who, like her mother, was named Alice.
The girl's mother, Alice of Hesse, during her short life (she lived only 35 years, died in 1878) left a deep memory with her sincerity, kindness and mercy. She created several charitable societies and actively participated in their work. After her death, a monument to “Alice - the unforgettable Grand Duchess” was erected to her using voluntary donations from the townspeople. The mother passed on her warmth and kindness to her daughter. Those who knew her when she was very young remember a cheerful and trusting child, although sometimes quick-tempered and even stubborn. For her constant smiling and the joyful feelings that she evoked, they called her “sunshine.”
When the girl was 6 years old, a tragedy occurred in the family - her mother and sister fell ill with diphtheria and died. The girl remembered for the rest of her life how an oppressive silence reigned in the palace, which was broken by the cries of the nanny behind the wall of little Alice’s room. They took the girl’s toys and burned them - they were afraid that she might become infected. Of course, the next day they brought new toys. But it was no longer the same - something beloved and familiar was gone. The event associated with the death of his mother and sister left a fatal mark on the child’s character. Instead of openness, isolation and restraint began to prevail in her behavior, instead of sociability - shyness, instead of smiling - outward seriousness and even coldness. Only in the circle of her closest people, and there were only a few of them, did she become the same - joyful and open. These character traits remained with her forever and dominated even when she became the Empress. The teacher of the royal children, P. Gilliard, who knew her closely, wrote: “Very reserved and at the same time very spontaneous, first of all a wife and mother, the Empress felt happy only among her own people. Educated and artistic, she loved reading and art. She also loved contemplation and immersed herself in an intense inner life, from which she emerged only when danger appeared. Then she entered the fight with passionate fervor. She was endowed with the most excellent moral qualities and was always guided by the noblest motives.”
The Queen of England loved her granddaughter very much and took every possible care of her upbringing. The castle of the Duke of Darmstadt was imbued with the “atmosphere of good old England.” English landscapes and portraits of relatives from Foggy Albion hung on the walls. Education was conducted by English mentors and mainly in English. The Queen of England constantly sent her instructions and advice to her granddaughter. Puritan morality was brought up in the girl from the very first years. Even the cuisine was English - almost every day rice pudding with apples, and at Christmas goose and, of course, plum pudding and traditional sweet pie.
Alice received the best education for those times. She knew literature, art, spoke several languages, and took a philosophy course at Oxford.
Both in her youth and in adulthood, the Queen was very pretty. Everyone (even enemies) noted this. As one of the courtiers described her: “A slender, tall figure appeared from the dense greenery of the park... The queen was all in white, with a light, white veil on her hair. The face was light and tender... the hair was reddish gold, the eyes... dark blue, and the figure was flexible, like a shepherd's whip. As far as I remember, she was wearing magnificent pearls, and her diamond earrings shimmered with multi-colored fire as soon as she moved her head...” Or another sketch. “The Empress was very good... tall, slender, with a perfectly set head. But all this was nothing in comparison with the look of her gray-blue eyes, amazingly alive, reflecting all her excitement...” And here is a description of the Tsarina made by her closest friend Vyrubova: “Tall, with thick golden hair that reached her knees, she, like a girl, constantly blushed from shyness; Her eyes, huge and deep, became animated when talking and laughed. At home she was given the nickname “sunshine.” The Queen loved pearls most of all jewelry. She decorated her hair, hands, and dresses with it. During the day, the Queen wore loose, soft clothes trimmed with lace. In the sun she wore a long-brimmed hat and a sun umbrella. In the evening she wore light dresses embroidered with silver or blue thread. She preferred to wear pointed-toe low-heeled shoes made of suede or gold-dyed leather.”
Deep in her feelings and warm-hearted by nature, the Queen was very emotional, although most often she restrained her feelings and did not give them external manifestation. She trusted all the painful things to a very narrow circle of people close to her, and above all to her husband, best friend Anna Vyrubova and friend of the royal family Grigory Rasputin. For many, she seemed impregnable and majestic. Those who knew her said: “In her the most characteristic difference was her majesty. She made that impression on everyone. It used to be, Sovereign, that you didn’t change at all. She's coming, you'll definitely pull yourself up and pull yourself up. However, she was not at all proud. She was not a woman with an evil or unkind character. She was kind and humble at heart.” (Bitner).
“She was not proud in the crude sense of the word, but she was constantly aware and never forgot her position. That's why she always seemed like the Empress. With her I could never feel simple, without embarrassment. But I really loved being with her and talking. She was kind and loved good deeds” (Gibbs).
Kindness was the main character trait of the Queen, and her desire to help everyone around her was constant.
Her kindness towards her husband and children exudes from every line of her letter. She is ready to sacrifice everything to make her husband and children feel good.
If any of the Queen’s acquaintances, not to mention the Queen’s relatives, had difficulties or misfortunes, she immediately responded. She helped with warm, sympathetic words and financially. Sensitive to any suffering, she took other people's misfortune and pain to heart. If someone from the infirmary where she worked as a nurse died or became disabled, the Tsarina tried to help his family, sometimes continuing to do this even from Tobolsk. The queen constantly remembered the wounded who passed through her infirmary, not forgetting to regularly remember all the dead.
When a misfortune happened to Anna Vyrubova (she was in a train accident), the Tsarina sat at her bedside all day and actually took care of her friend.
Family and Children
The royal family lived in the Alexander Palace. Everything in it was arranged to the taste of the spouses. The royal office was located, for example, in a relatively small room. There was a desk in the office. at which the Tsar worked, and another table on which maps of Russia lay. There were bookcases along the walls, as well as a row of armchairs and a small couch. Every thing in the office knew its place. The Emperor did not tolerate disorder.
The Queen's chambers were decorated in her favorite English style, the walls were upholstered with furniture fabric. The Queen's boudoir and everything in it - carpets, curtains, upholstery - were painted in purple and white colors. There were books and newspapers and various decorative trinkets on the table. There were many icons hanging everywhere. An image of the Virgin Mary was hung above the couch. The Queen spent most of her time in the boudoir; here, lying on the couch, she read a lot and wrote letters.
The Queen devoted a lot of time to knitting. Adjacent to the boudoir was a dressing room with large closets for her dresses, shelves for her hats, and drawers for her jewelry. The matrimonial bedroom (its large windows overlooked the park) was located next to the Queen's boudoir. There was a wide bed here, on which the Tsar and Queen slept from the first days of their marriage until their exile to Tobolsk.
Princess Romanovs
The Tsar began to work early in the morning, dressed in the dark and went to his office. I worked until lunch, taking a short break for tea. Nicholas II did not have a personal secretary; he preferred to do everything himself. On his desk in his office there was a special diary, where he wrote down his affairs by day and hour. He reviewed many of the documents received in his name himself. The Tsar usually received his ministers and other invited persons in a relaxed atmosphere. I listened carefully without interrupting. During the conversation he was helpfully polite and never raised his voice. At about eight o'clock the Tsar usually finished his working day. If he had a visitor at that time, the Tsar got up and went to the window. This was the end of the audience. Another form of ending an audience was the words: “I am afraid that I have tired you.”
Whenever he had time, the Tsar read a lot. Every month a special librarian prepared 20 best books all countries. Most of all, Nikolai read books in Russian, but with his wife more often he read books in English. However, they communicated with each other mostly in English. And all correspondence between them was in this language, although the Tsarina spoke excellent Russian.
The Tsar went to bed at about eleven o'clock. Before going to bed, I wrote notes in my diary, which I kept for many years. After a hot bath I went to bed.
A year after the wedding, the royal couple had a daughter, Olga, and then, every two years, three more daughters were born - Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia. In August 1904, Alexandra Fedorovna gives birth to the long-awaited Heir to the Russian throne - son Alexei.
OTMA: seniors - Olga and Tatyana (in front), juniors - Maria and Anastasia (back)
The Grand Duchesses, like their father in his time, were brought up in a Spartan manner. They slept in two large, well-ventilated rooms on hard camp beds without pillows. Every day began with a cold swim. From childhood, the Queen accustoms her children to needlework, because she did not like “her daughters’ hands to remain idle.”
Despite their privileged position, the royal daughters, together with their maids, cleaned their rooms and made their beds themselves. Classes began at 9 o'clock and lasted almost the whole day. The princesses were taught history, geography, mathematics, Russian, French and English languages and, of course, music. The girls read a lot and were very developed. Since childhood, they were accustomed to constantly being together and lived very amicably, communicating little with their peers outside the family. They signed their letters, which the four of them often wrote together, with the letters OTMA - the first letters of their names in order of seniority. However, their parents, and even the palace employees, divided them into two pairs. The older girls - Olga and Tatyana - were called “big”, the younger ones, Maria and Anastasia, were called “little”. This was not in vain; within their sister “clan” they stayed in just such pairs. Despite their closeness, each of the sisters was different from the others. Olga, the eldest, looked like her father. She had a wide Russian face, long brown hair, blue eyes. She was very smart, emotional and at the same time shy. I read a lot. When before the war they wanted to marry her to a Romanian prince, she told her father: “I am Russian and I want to stay in Russia.”
Prince Olga Romanova
The most energetic and purposeful was the Tsar’s second daughter, Tatyana. Tall, slender, with beautiful reddish hair and gray eyes, she gave the impression of a real royal daughter. It was she who was especially close to her father, and she was also her mother’s favorite. Tatyana knew how to surround her mother with constant care and never allowed herself to show that she was out of sorts.
Prince Tatiana Romanova
The third daughter, Maria, is the most beautiful and spectacular among all the royal daughters, although she is prone to being overweight. She had bright lips and dark blue eyes, like her mother’s, only very large; in the family they were called “Marie’s saucers.” She had a cheerful, cheerful disposition, was very good-natured and kind-hearted, and envisioned her future in marriage and raising children.
Prince Tatiana Romanova
The Tsar’s fourth daughter, Anastasia, was just as cheerful and cheerful. She quickly grasped the funny side and constantly amused the whole family. So, for example, when the cannons on the royal yacht fired salutes, she hid in the corner in feigned horror, goggled her eyes in fear and stuck out her tongue. She certainly had high acting inclinations, which she showed when depicting adult conversations. She had great charm and aroused great affection. In addition, she had a wonderful ear for music, which allowed her to master foreign languages.
Prince Maria Romanova
When the daughters grew up and became real young ladies, cold bathing was canceled for them. Instead, they were given a warm scented bath in the evenings. Jewelry and perfume appeared on the tables. For all four of them it was “Koti”. But each preferred its own scent. Olga loved “Tea Rose”, Tatyana - “Corsican Jasmine”, Anastasia - “Violetta”. Maria tried many Koti scents before choosing Lilac.
Prince Maria Romanova
As the teacher of the royal children, P. Gilliard, recalled, all the royal daughters were charming with their freshness and health. It would be difficult to find four sisters so different in character and at the same time so closely united by friendship. The latter did not interfere with their personal independence and, despite the difference in temperaments, united them with a living connection. In general, according to Gilliard, the difficult-to-define charm of these four sisters consisted in their great simplicity, naturalness, freshness and innate kindness. The daughters adored their mother, considered her infallible and were always full of charming courtesy towards her, organizing, as it were, constant vigil with her. “Their relationship with the Emperor was delightful. He was for them at the same time a King, a father, a comrade.”
Prince Anastasia Romanova
The center of this closely knit family, writes Gilliard, was Tsarevich Alexei, all affections, all hopes were concentrated on him. His sisters adored him and he was the joy of his parents. When he was healthy, the whole palace seemed to be transformed: it was a ray of sunshine, illuminating both things and those around him (it was not for nothing that his parents called him that in their correspondence - Sunbeam). Happily gifted by nature, he would have developed quite correctly and evenly if his illness had not prevented this. An illness that became one of the reasons for the tragedy of the royal family!
Prince Anastasia Romanova
Back in 1906, Gilliard noticed with what tragic anxiety the Tsarina sought to prevent every sudden move of her son. The queen hugged her son to her with the tender gesture of a mother who always trembles for the life of her child; but this caress and the look that accompanied it revealed so clearly and so strongly hidden anxiety that Gilliard was then amazed by it. It was only much later that he realized what was going on. The royal son was sick with a terrible, incurable disease, hemophilia.
The Heir's illness was a state secret. Only a narrow circle of people knew about it and, above all, the doctors who treated him. Even relatives for the most part were in the dark.
Tsarevich Alexei and Princess Tatiana
Hemophilia - poor blood clotting - manifested itself in many representatives of the male line of Alexandra Fedorovna's family. Alexandra Fedorovna’s brother and uncle died of hemophilia. Her nephews suffered from the same disease. Alexey by nature was a lively, active boy. But his illness confined him to bed for many days, and this, of course, greatly depressed him. Deep sadness can be seen in his blue eyes from early childhood.
But when the disease subsided, the boy was not much different from other children - he ran around, played with his peers, played pranks, rode a scooter along the corridors, burst into his sisters’ study rooms, interfering with their studies. Loved to ride around the park tricycle, designed specifically for him. Two sailors were assigned to him, who guarded the Tsarevich and helped him. Like any boy, the Tsarevich's pockets were constantly filled with all sorts of things - pebbles, nails, strings, some pieces of paper, etc. Of course, the Tsarevich had great amount a variety of toys, from tin soldiers to large models of railways, mines and factories.
In the summer, the Tsarevich wore a sailor’s uniform with a ribbon on his cap with the inscription “Standart”. In winter, he was often dressed in a Cossack uniform with a fur hat, boots and a real dagger. The boy had many different pets, among which his favorite was the spaniel Joy, a very beautiful dog with silky hair, whose long ears hung almost to the ground. The Tsarevich was taught to play the balalaika, and he often amused his family with the sounds of this instrument.
The feeling of constant danger for the life of their son does not leave the royal couple. What attempts are they making to save him? But even the best domestic and foreign doctors cannot help Alexey. The most effective is the psychotherapeutic influence of Grigory Efimovich Rasputin. By the power of his psychological influence on the boy, he apparently mobilized the mechanisms of resistance to the disease hidden in the boy’s body, and it receded. You can understand how grateful the Tsar and Queen were!
Nicholas II preferred to spend his free time with his family. After the end of the Tsar’s state affairs, his whole family gathered for dinner. The food was usually simple; there were almost no delicacies. After dinner, the family often gathered in one room, where the Tsar read aloud a book, most often by Tolstoy, Turgenev or Gogol, and his wife and daughters knitted or sewed something. The Tsar and Queen loved these evenings very much; they rested their souls there.
The king loved walking in the park. He was often accompanied by a whole pack of Scottish Sheepdogs (of which he had eleven). It used to be that the Tsar and his children would get into a boat and ride along the ponds in the park. And in general, the Tsar loved to play snowballs with his children, skiing and sledding. In winter, near the palace they built snow mountain, with which the children rode on the sled.
In the summer, the family of Nicholas II left Tsarskoe Selo for a long time. In June, they spent about two weeks aboard their yacht “Standard” on the Baltic Sea near the rocky coast of Finland. They dropped anchor in a deserted bay, not a soul around, only forest, rocks, sand. The yacht had all the amenities for a comfortable life. During the day, the family walked on the shore or in the forest, picking mushrooms and berries. In the evening, as in Tsarskoe Selo, they gathered for dinner, read books, and played music. There was an orchestra on board. Sometimes there were dances. The Tsar also had a study on the yacht. Constant communication was maintained with the outside world through special couriers who were on duty near the yacht around the clock.
In August, the family left for Spala, a hunting estate in what is now Poland. Here the Tsar hunted, and the children, if they came with him, walked through the pine forest.
In March and September the royal family lived in Crimea. Here, in Livadia, there was a palace that the Queen especially loved. It was built to her taste from white marble, and the inside was furnished with light, light furniture with purple silk upholstery. From here, by car, the Tsar and his children traveled to the mountains or to the farm, which supplied food to the table, as well as to visit neighboring estates.
It is impossible to imagine the royal family without visiting church. She zealously observed all holidays, memorable days and fasts.
In Tsarskoe Selo there were two churches that were especially loved by the royal family. One - the court Church of the Sign - was located on Kuzminskaya Street, near the Grand Palace. This temple enjoyed special veneration by the royal family, since it housed the ancient family icon of the House of Romanov - the Miraculous Image of the Sign of the Mother of God.
Another temple of Tsarskoye Selo, which the royal couple and their children especially loved to visit, was the cave (lower) temple of the Fedorov Sovereign Cathedral, in the name of St. Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker. It was a fabulous place. A Russian town was erected at the Feodorovsky Cathedral. The town was built according to the project of the Committee for the Restoration of Artistic Rus', which included many of the best architects, sculptors and artists. The committee was headed by the Tsar himself. Descriptions of this fabulous structure have been preserved. The town consisted of three main buildings and was surrounded by a colorful and beautiful Kremlin wall with a tower and three gates, surrounded by “sculptural lace of ancient Russian painting.” The wall was interrupted by the pediment of three large buildings projecting forward. The main building was the so-called Tsar's refectory, which consisted of numerous rooms, including a two-story hall with vaults decorated with the coats of arms of all Russian provinces and regions. The refectory ended with the house temple, where every image and every lamp spoke of deep and precious antiquity. Two other buildings, also in the ancient Russian style, with many architectural details and motifs, were originally intended for the clergy of the Fedorov Sovereign Cathedral, but due to the war they were used as hospitals for wounded soldiers. Inside the town there were also houses for staff, a tennis court, stables, garages and a Russian bathhouse. There were flower beds, bushes and rare trees everywhere. The entire Russian town was semi-surrounded by a large pond. In general, the artistic image of the Fedorov town corresponded to the tastes and ideas of the royal family, reflecting their love for ancient Russian art.
Grigory Rasputin
The closer I got to know the documents, diaries, and correspondence of the royal family, the more bewildered I was by the standard idea that had been instilled in us for decades about Rasputin as a fiend of hell, an absolutely immoral and selfish person.
This terrible image did not fit into the atmosphere of higher spirituality, morality, family harmony and harmony in which the family of the last Russian Tsar lived. From October 1905, when the royal family met Rasputin, until their tragic death, the Tsar, Tsarina and their children unconditionally loved Gregory and believed in him as a Man of God. The killed Tsarina and the Tsar's children were wearing medallions with the image of Grigory Rasputin. Once, while still in captivity in Tobolsk, the Tsar asked Doctor Derevenko to take out, unnoticed by the guards, a box containing, as he put it, “the most valuable thing for them.” Risking his life, Doctor Derevenko fulfilled the Tsar’s request. Handing the box to Nikolai Alexandrovich, the doctor asked (thinking that it contained the best jewelry) about its contents. “The most valuable thing for us here is Gregory’s letters,” answered the Tsar.
Until the last minute, the royal couple believed in the prayers of Grigory Rasputin. From Tobolsk they wrote to Anna Vyrubova that Russia was suffering for his murder. No one could shake their trust, although all the hostile newspaper articles were brought to them and everyone tried to prove to them that he was a bad person. One should not think that the Tsar and Queen were naive, deceived people. As required by their position, they repeatedly carried out secret checks on the reliability of the information received and each time they were convinced that it was slander.
At the beginning, it seemed to me that so much had been written about Rasputin that everything was known about him. Indeed, mainly in the 20s, a large number of books, brochures, and articles were published. But when I began to read them carefully, trying to find the primary sources of this or that fact, I found myself in some kind of vicious circle. Most of the publications used the same obscene examples, considering them as reliable evidence, without bothering to cite specific sources. Then I decided to check these publications using archival data - I studied Rasputin’s personal collection and other materials related to him.
And a curious picture opened before me. It turns out that the “Soviet historical science“I have never seriously studied the life story of Rasputin. There is not a single article, let alone a book, where Rasputin’s life is examined consistently, based on a critical analysis of historical facts and sources. All currently existing works and articles about Rasputin are retellings in different combinations of the same legends and anecdotes in the spirit of revolutionary denunciation, most of which are nothing more than outright fiction and falsification, created, as we were able to establish, by Masonic lodges to discredit state power. [* For more information about this, see the book “The Truth about Grigory Rasputin.” Saratov, 1993]
In fact, the Freemasons created a myth about Rasputin, a myth aimed at denigrating and discrediting Russia and its spiritual people.
However, we see the Russian public’s understanding of this goal of the myth-makers even during Rasputin’s lifetime. In the newspaper polemics of those years, some consider Rasputin in line with the folk tradition of wandering and old age, others painted him as a terrible libertine, a whip, a drunkard. Moreover, it was rightly noted that “mainly only negative opinions about Rasputin penetrated the printed columns, as a rule, without citing any specific facts; attempts to tell the truth about him were drowned in a frantic and ever-increasing stream unnoticed.” The left-wing radical press did everything to arouse the most irreconcilable hatred in society towards Rasputin.
“We think that we will not be far from the truth,” the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper wrote in 1914, “if we say that Rasputin is a “newspaper legend” and Rasputin is real man made of flesh and blood - have little in common with each other. Rasputin was created by our press, his reputation was inflated and soared to the point that from a distance it could seem like something extraordinary. Rasputin has become some kind of gigantic ghost, casting his shadow over everything.”
“Why was this needed?” - asked Moskovskie Vedomosti and answered: “He was needed only to compromise, dishonor, and dirty our time and our lives. They wanted to brand Russia with his name...”
All the attacks, slander, lies that fell on Rasputin were in fact intended not for him, but for the Tsar and his loved ones. Having felt the thinnest, most tender, most intimate place in the life of the royal family, the enemies of the Tsar and Russia began to hit it with methodical diligence and sophistication, as in their time they hit John of Kronstadt, who was on friendly terms with Alexander III.
The Tsar and Queen were not religious fanatics; their religiosity was of an organic, traditional nature. Orthodoxy for them was the core of existence, an ideal - the crystalline faith of the Russian Tsars of the era of the first Romanovs, a faith inextricably intertwined with other ideals of Holy Rus', folk traditions and customs.
The end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century was characterized by a deep spiritual crisis due to the rejection of Russian spiritual values, traditions and ideals, the transition of a significant part of educated society to the basis of existence on a Western scale of coordinates. The Tsar, who by his position was the supreme custodian of the people's foundations, traditions and ideals, felt the tragic outcome of this crisis and really needed people who were spiritually close to him. This, in our opinion, was the main reason for the rapprochement between the royal couple and Grigory Rasputin. The desire of the Tsar and Queen was of a deeply spiritual nature; in him they saw an old man who continued the traditions of Holy Rus', wise in spiritual experience, spiritually minded, and capable of giving good advice. And at the same time, they saw in him a real Russian peasant - a representative of the largest class in Russia, with a developed sense of common sense, a popular understanding of usefulness, who with his peasant intuition firmly knew what was good and what was bad, where his own people were and where strangers were.
“I love the people, the peasants. “Rasputin is truly one of the people,” said the Tsarina, and the Tsar believed that Gregory was a good, simple, religious Russian man. “In moments of doubt and mental anxiety, I love to talk with him, and after such a conversation my soul always feels light and calm,” he repeatedly repeats this thought in correspondence and conversations.
The Tsar and Tsarina respectfully called Rasputin “our Friend” or Grigory, and Rasputin called them Papa and Mama, meaning in this sense: the father and mother of the people. They talked to each other only on a first name basis.
In the life of the royal family, according to Vyrubova, Rasputin played the same role as Saint John of Kronstadt: “They believed him just like Father John of Kronstadt, they believed him terribly even when they had grief, when, for example, the Heir was sick, turned to him with a request to pray” (from the protocol of the Interrogation of A.A. Vyrubova).
The Queen's letters to her husband are filled with the deepest faith in Grigory Rasputin.
“Listen to our Friend, believe him, the interests of Russia and yours are dear to his heart. God did not send him to us for nothing, but we must pay more attention to his words - they are not spoken into the wind. How important it is for us to have not only his prayers, but also his advice!” (June 10, 1915).
“Oh, dear, I so fervently pray to God that He will enlighten you that in Him is our salvation: if He were not here, I don’t know what would have happened to us. He saves us with his prayers, wise advice“He is our support and help” (November 10, 1916).
“Baby, trust me. you should listen to the advice of our Friend. He prays so fervently, day and night, for you. He protected you where you were, only He, as I am deeply convinced of... The country where man of God helps the Emperor, never dies. This is true - you just need to obey, trust and ask for advice - not think that He doesn’t know something. God reveals everything to him. That is why people who do not comprehend His soul admire His mind so much, capable of understanding everything. And when He blesses an undertaking, it succeeds, and if He recommends people, then you can be sure that they are good people. If they subsequently change, then it is no longer His fault - but He makes fewer mistakes in people than we do - He has life experience blessed by God.”
We do not have the moral right to comment on these words, because we still know so little about the world of higher feelings in which the royal family lived. The salvation of Russia lies in following the path of folk traditions, foundations and ideals - and this salvation was rejected by the majority of educated society. The brain of the nation was sick with the disease of foreignness, in which domestic values were presented as obscurantism and reaction.
The Tsar and Tsarina often turn to Rasputin for help and prayer. Here is a rather characteristic line from the Queen’s letter to the Tsar: “I asked Anya to telegraph to our Friend that the matter was very serious and that we were asking him to pray” (November 24, 1914). “Our Friend blesses your trip,” the Queen often writes to the King.
It comes to the point that the Tsarina sees special properties in things belonging to Rasputin, considers them as a kind of shrine: “I bless and kiss, my dear, don’t forget to comb your hair with a small comb,” the Tsarina said to her husband during especially important periods. This comb was presented to the Tsar by Rasputin. Or in another place: “Before the ministerial meeting, do not forget to hold the icon in your hand and comb your hair several times with His comb” (September 15, 1915). After the murder of Rasputin, Nicholas II wore his pectoral cross.
Always coming at the first call of the royal family, Grigory never accepted money from them for himself personally, with the exception of the hundred rubles that they sent him for the trip (and later they paid for his apartment). Although sometimes he took money from them to donate to various charitable needs, in particular, from them he received 5 thousand rubles for the construction of a church in the village of Pokrovskoye.
At the request of the royal family, Rasputin is given a different surname “New” by a special Decree. This word was one of the first words that Heir Alexei uttered when he began to speak. According to legend, when the baby saw Gregory, he shouted: “New! New!" Hence this surname.
For the royal family, Gregory was the personification of hopes and prayers. These meetings were infrequent, but since they were held behind the scenes and even secretly, they were considered by the courtiers as events of great importance, and each of them became known to all of St. Petersburg the next day. Gregory was led, as a rule, through a side exit, along a small staircase, and was received not in the reception room, but in the Queen’s office. When they met, Gregory kissed all members of the royal family, and then they had leisurely conversations. Rasputin talked about the life and needs of Siberian peasants, about the holy places where he had to visit. They listened to him very carefully and never interrupted him. The Tsar and the Tsarina shared with him their concerns and worries and, first of all, their constant concern for the life of their son and Heir, who was sick with an incurable disease. As a rule, if he was not sick, he sat here and listened.
No matter how this is explained, Grigory Rasputin was the only person capable of helping the Heir in his illness. How he did it will probably forever remain a mystery. But the fact is a fact, the terrible disease of blood incoagulability, against which the best doctors were powerless, receded with the intervention of Gregory. There is a lot of evidence of this, even from people who hated Gregory. Thus, palace commandant V.N. Voeikov wrote in his memoirs “With the Tsar and without the Tsar”: “From the very first time, when Rasputin appeared at the bedside of the sick Heir, relief followed immediately. All those close to the royal family are well aware of the case in Spala, when doctors could not find a way to help Alexei Nikolaevich, who was suffering greatly and groaning in pain. As soon as on the advice of A.A. Vyrubova sent a telegram to Rasputin and received a response, the pain began to subside, the temperature began to drop, and soon the Heir recovered.”
Of course, the Tsar listened to Gregory’s advice. From the royal correspondence it is clear that the Tsar listened with attention to Rasputin’s proposals and often accepted them. This was especially true for candidates for leadership positions. Holy Synod and the movement of bishops to various dioceses, although at the last stage of his life Gregory also took part in the selection of candidates for the posts of ministers and governors. In all cases, he expressed only his opinion. His influence on the Tsar was purely spiritual. And the Tsar expected from Gregory the highest spiritual revelations, as if sanctions of Divine power.
Rasputin's advice concerned not only the appointment of ministers. A phenomenon happened to him at night in a dream, and he retold it to the Tsar. So, on November 15, 1915, the Tsarina writes to her husband: “Now, so as not to forget, I must convey to you the order of our Friend, caused by his night vision. He asks you to order the start of an offensive near Riga, says that this is necessary, otherwise the Germans will firmly settle there for the whole winter, which will cost a lot of blood, and it will be difficult to force them to leave. Now we will take them by surprise and ensure that they retreat. He says that this is the most important thing now, and urgently asks you to order ours to advance. He says that we must do this, and asked me to write to you about it immediately.”
By the way, many of Rasputin’s military advice, strange as it may seem to some, were, as a rule, very successful. Nicholas II's assumption of supreme command of military operations and a series of successful operations made it possible to stop the German advance and stabilize the front. As W. Churchill rightly noted, if the revolution had not occurred, the victory of the Russian army, led by the Tsar, would have been ensured.
Just don’t consider Nikolai an obedient executor of Rasputin’s decrees. The fact that he consulted with Gregory did not mean at all that he followed all his advice. When resolving the vast majority of issues, Nicholas did not inform either Rasputin or even the Empress. They learned about many of his decisions from newspapers or other sources. In one of his letters to his wife, Nikolai says quite firmly and even harshly: “Only, I ask you not to interfere with our Friend. I bear responsibility and therefore I wish to be free in my choice” (November 10, 1916).
Rasputin develops a surprisingly touching relationship with the royal children. When Rasputin is in the palace, he talks with them and instructs them. They write him letters and greeting cards and ask him to pray for success in his studies. “My dear little one! - Grigory writes to Tsarevich Alexei in November 1913. - Look at God, what wounds he has. He endured for a while, and then he became so strong and omnipotent - so are you, dear, so will you be cheerful, and we will live and visit together. See you soon". Before the war, preparations were being made for Tsarevich Alexei and Rasputin to travel to the Verkhoturye Monastery to visit the relics of Simeon of Verkhoturye.
On the advice of Gregory, the Tsarina and her eldest daughters begin to work hard as sisters of mercy, helping wounded soldiers. They even undergo special training to become qualified nurses. The Queen puts all her energy and ardor into this help. They get up early in the morning, go to church and then to the hospital. She connects her work in the hospital with Gregory’s spiritual help. “I find it completely natural that the sick feel calmer and better in my presence,” writes the Queen, “because I always think about our Friend and pray, seeing them quietly and stroking them. The soul must be adjusted accordingly when you sit with the sick; if you want to help them, you must try to get into the same position and rise through them yourself, or help them rise through following our Friend” (November 8, 1915).
The Tsar and Tsarina suffered terribly from the lies and slander that was organized against Rasputin, and in fact against themselves. After a newspaper campaign about another fabricated case against Gregory (about a spree in the Yar restaurant), the Tsarina wrote to the Tsar on June 22, 1915: “If we allow our Friend to be persecuted, then we and our country will suffer for it. A year ago there was already an attempt on His life, and he had already been slandered enough. As if they could not have called the police immediately and caught him at the scene of the crime - what a horror! (The queen means that the case was based only on rumors, the protocols were fabricated retroactively).
...I am so broken, there is such pain in my heart from all this! I am sick at the thought that they will again throw mud at a person whom we all respect - this is more than terrible.”
The thought that they cannot protect a person close to them constantly worries the royal couple, as does the thought that he suffers for them. On February 26, 1917, the Tsarina writes to her husband after visiting Rasputin’s grave: “I felt such calm and peace at His dear grave. He died to save us."
Yard and surroundings
Like any monarch, Nicholas II had a large court and many courtiers. This has been the case for centuries. The life of the Court was subject to strictly observed etiquette. And the Tsar himself, and his wife, and children had to follow all the rules, although they did not like this external aspect of their position. Every step of the Tsar and Queen was controlled by security. “This security,” wrote A.A. Vyrubova, was one of those inevitable evils that surrounded Their Majesties. The Empress was especially distressed and protested against this “protection”; she said that the Emperor and she were worse than prisoners. Every step of Their Majesties was recorded, even telephone conversations were eavesdropped. Nothing gave Their Majesties greater pleasure than to “cheat” the police; when they managed to avoid surveillance, go or drive where they were not expected, they rejoiced like schoolchildren.”
It is very important to note that the Tsar and Queen were hostages of the system that had developed long before them. From correspondence and diaries it is clear how lonely they felt in court life. The sincerity, modesty and even shyness of the imperial couple was opposed, in fact, by a deeply depraved court environment in a moral sense. There were many people here who wanted to please the Tsar in order to receive some benefits, who constantly intrigued against each other, and if their intrigues failed, they slandered the Tsar in every possible way. Of course, these people showed themselves characteristically in difficult times - after the abdication, most of the courtiers fled without warning anyone; people whom the Tsar and Queen considered their close friends behaved in the most treacherous manner. Some of his relatives also behaved dishonestly and even treacherously towards the Emperor.
Speaking about the relatives of Nicholas II, members of the House of Romanov, it should be noted with bitterness that most of them were very ordinary people, preoccupied with personal problems and least of all thinking about Russia. Many of them looked at the royal couple as a source of high positions, financial resources and profitable business. From the correspondence it is clear how alien the Tsar and Queen felt among them.
The exceptions were the Tsar's closest relatives - his mother, Maria Feodorovna, sisters Ksenia and Olga, brother Mikhail. Their relationship with the King was sincere and cordial. But here too there were problems. Although the Tsarina deeply respected and loved her husband’s mother, there was a certain chill in their relationship, which intensified during the period of persecution of Rasputin. For the forces that carried out this persecution tried to drag even the Tsar’s relatives into it and managed to incite Maria Fedorovna in a certain spirit.
Montenegrin princesses - sisters Milica and Anastasia (Stana) Nikolaevna (in correspondence they are often referred to as “blacks”) married two brothers of the Grand Dukes Peter and Nikolai Nikolaevich. Close-minded, with great ambitions, these two sisters became the cause of many sad experiences for the Queen. If something was not to their liking, and the Queen was disgusted by their eccentricity and superficiality, they began to spread various conjectures and rumors, and such as to offend more painfully. They spread gossip about the Queen, that she was a drunkard, a libertine and even a spy, and called for her to be imprisoned in a monastery.
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, a freemason, married to Anastasia Nikolaevna, according to many testimonies, a good military servant and no politician, during the war years, in the plans of Russian masons, he became one of the possible candidates for the throne in the event of the removal of the Tsar.
Rumors about this persisted, especially during the period when he held the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief. And Nikolai Nikolaevich’s actions spoke for themselves. He, as a monarch, invites ministers to him, issues orders and appeals throughout the army that only befit a monarch, and his portraits are distributed everywhere. Although, judging by the character of Nikolai Nikolaevich, this was hardly his idea, most likely, he was a tool in the hands of his Masonic entourage, and above all, his personal friend A.I. Khatisov and V.F. Dzhunkovsky. Be that as it may, objectively this Grand Duke took a position hostile to the Tsar. In exile, Nikolai Nikolaevich considered himself the head of the House of Romanov and in his soul, apparently, until the end of his days he did not love the Tsar, which, in particular, was expressed in his refusal to accept investigator Sokolov, who was trying to understand the tragedy of the royal family.
Another relative who played a big role in the fall of the Tsar was Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who served as commander of the Guards crew. A two-faced man, ready to serve when it concerned his interests, to receive some positions from the hands of the Tsar. In the tragic days of February 1917, when much depended on his determination and the rebellion could be suppressed, he took the side of the rebels and arrived at their headquarters at the head of the troops entrusted to him by the Tsar to swear allegiance to the “revolution.” This was two days before the abdication of the Tsar, and Kirill Vladimirovich’s action cannot be called anything other than treason or betrayal. It is difficult to say what guided the Grand Duke in his action; perhaps he wanted to become a revolutionary emperor? However, in exile, he declared himself the head of the House of Romanov.
Some representatives of one of the side branches of the House of Romanov - the Mikhailovichs - caused a lot of concern to the royal couple.
The father of Nicholas II considered the Grand Dukes Mikhailovich to be Jews, since the wife of Mikhail Nikolaevich, their mother Olga Fedorovna, was of Jewish blood.
The most harmful among them, in the opinion of the Tsarina, was Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, a historian, but most importantly, a Freemason, a member of the secret French society “Bixio”. Forces hostile to the royal family were constantly grouped around Nikolai Mikhailovich.
Another Mason from among the Mikhailovichs was Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, a spiritualist who called himself a Rosicrucian and Philalethe. This Mikhailovich was married to the Tsar’s sister Ksenia. From this marriage was born a daughter, Irina, who married the future killer of Rasputin, Felix Yusupov, a weak-hearted sissy, a whip and a veil, who was being treated for mental disorders.
The brightest representative of the degenerate part of the House of Romanov was Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, a two-faced, vile homosexual torn apart by political ambitions. This man constantly rubbed shoulders with the royal couple, hatching his criminal plans against the Tsar and Queen who sincerely trusted him.
Dmitry Pavlovich was among the participants in the murder of Grigory Rasputin, and then played around in the most base manner, trying to prove that he had nothing to do with it.
The widow of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich Maria Pavlovna (the eldest), [* By the way, the mother of the notorious Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich.] in correspondence she is called Mikhen, wanted to marry her son Boris, already a fairly shabby juir and bon vivant, to the royal daughter Olga. Of course, the royal couple was against such a marriage of a pure, romantic, sublime girl with a man who, in his life position, was completely opposite to her. But his mother showed enviable persistence in this matter and repeatedly returned to him, which could not but cause a feeling of irritation, especially in the Queen.
Against the background of duplicity, meanness and intrigue, they stood out pleasantly with their decency and true love to Russia, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, a good Russian poet who managed to raise his sons in the same spirit, as well as the son of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich from a morganatic marriage, Vladimir Paley, also a promising poet.
The royal couple had relatively little contact with relatives along the Queen’s side, and they almost ceased from the beginning of the war.
In recent years, there has been a cooling between the Tsarina and her older sister Elizaveta Fedorovna (after the murder of her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who became the abbess of the community of mercy). Elizaveta Fedorovna believed that the Tsarina should not see Grigory Rasputin and that in general she should send him home. This opinion of hers was not created without the participation of people who were close to her at that time, and in particular, N.K. Mekk, member of Elizaveta Feodorovna’s committee, and V.F. Dzhunkovsky, comrade minister of internal affairs, chief of gendarmes. Both of them were active Freemasons who pursued their line to discredit the royal family. Shortly before the murder of Rasputin, Elizaveta Fedorovna came to her sister and insisted on the removal of Rasputin. After this conversation, the Tsarina ordered a train to arrive and immediately sent her sister to Moscow. After the murder of Rasputin, the Tsarina received telegrams from her sister, intercepted by the police, sent to the killers, in which she congratulated them on their “patriotic” act. The queen was shocked by these telegrams.
A special knot of tension was created in the relations of the Empress with her courtiers. From the very beginning, Alexandra Fedorovna tried to find access to the hearts of her courtiers. “But she did not know how to express it,” writes Gilliard, “and her innate shyness ruined her good intentions. She very soon felt that she was powerless to make her understand and appreciate herself. Her spontaneous nature quickly encountered the cold conventionality of the court’s surroundings... In response to her trust, she expected to find a sincere and reasonable readiness to devote herself to the cause, a real good desire, but instead she met empty, impersonal court courtesy. Despite all her efforts, she had not learned common courtesy and the art of touching all subjects lightly, with purely outward favor. The fact is that the Empress was, above all, sincere, and her every word was only an expression of her inner feeling. Seeing herself misunderstood, she was quick to withdraw into herself. Her natural pride was wounded. She more and more avoided festivities and receptions, which were an unbearable burden for her. She adopted a reserve and aloofness that was mistaken for arrogance and contempt.” “Such hatred from the “spoiled upper circle,” the Tsarina wrote to her husband in despair on November 20, 1916. For many courtiers, the Tsar's Christian feelings were a sign of his weakness. They could not understand that it was easy for the Tsar to rule through violence and fear. But he didn't want it. Focusing on the people's feelings of love for the Tsar, as a spokesman for the Motherland, he apparently made a big mistake when he extended these feelings to the courtiers, brought up in the Western European spirit of refined servility to the strong and rich. And here, of course, the Queen was right when she said that the hearts of people from high society are not soft and not responsive. It was to them that her words that “they should be afraid of you - love alone is not enough” applied.
The circle of people who were close to the royal couple in the last years of their lives was quite narrow. We have already talked about relatives; among them there were almost no people truly close to the royal couple.
There were also few such people among ministers and senior dignitaries. Moreover, a secret infection flourished among them - Freemasonry, which was difficult or almost impossible to fight, because these people carried out their secret subversive work under the guise of devotion to the Tsar and the throne.
Among the tsarist ministers and their deputies there were at least eight members of the Masonic lodges - Polivanov (Minister of War), Naumov (Minister of Agriculture), Kutler and Bark (Ministry of Finance), Dzhunkovsky and Urusov (Ministry of Internal Affairs), Fedorov (Ministry of Trade and Industry ). General Mosolov, head of the office of the Minister of the Tsar's Court, was a Mason.
The Freemasons Guchkov, Kovalevsky, Meller-Zakomelsky, Gurko and Polivanov sat in the State Council.
Treason also penetrated into the military department, the head of which was the Freemason Polivanov, whom we have already mentioned twice. The Masonic lodges included the Chief of the Russian General Staff Alekseev, representatives of the highest generals - Generals Ruzsky, Gurko, Krymov, Kuzmin-Karavaev, Teplov, Admiral Verderevsky.
Many tsarist diplomats were members of the Masonic lodges - Gulkevich, von Meck (Sweden), Stakhovich (Spain), Poklevsky-Kozell (Romania), Kandaurov, Panchenko, Nolde (France), Mandelstam (Switzerland), Loris-Melikov (Sweden, Norway) , Kudashev (China), Shcherbatsky (Latin America), Zabello (Italy), Islavin (Montenegro).
People who were close to the royal family in recent years did not belong to the top leadership; they were mostly far from politics; their closeness to the throne was determined by the spiritual needs and personal sympathies of the royal family.
Firstly, these were people who shared the love of the royal family for Grigory Rasputin, admirers of this man, first of all, Anna Vyrubova, Yulia Den (Lily), as well as generally spiritually minded people - Anastasia Gendrikova (Nastya), Ekaterina Schneider ( Trina), Sofia Buxhoeveden (Isa).
Secondly, this included several senior court officials - the head of the imperial convoy Grabbe, the head of the marching office Naryshkin, Chief Marshal Benckendorf, the Minister of the Court Fredericks, as well as the palace commandant Voeikov, who was married to his daughter.
And finally, this included a number of the Tsar’s favorite adjutants and associates - N.P. Sablin, Duke of Leuchtenberg, Count Apraksin, Colonel Mordvinov, Prince V. Dolgorukov (Valya), Count D. Sheremetev (Dimka), princes Baryatinsky, Count A. Vorontsov-Dashkov (Sashka), N. Rodionov (Rodochka).
The last two categories of people who stood close to the royal family, despite the love and sympathy of the Tsar for them, for the most part were real courtiers in the Western European sense, hiding their personal interests behind words of devotion to the Tsar and constantly intriguing. The royal correspondence provides many examples of this. Let's say, what is the intrigue of the commander of the imperial convoy, Count Grabbe, who tried to assign a certain Soldatenko as a mistress to the Tsar in order to influence the Tsar through her. What a deeply alien person one must be to the Tsar and hardly know him in order to try to realize this intention!
Both in the diary and in the Tsar’s correspondence, the names of Sablin, Rodionov and Mordvinov are often found; their images are also in the albums of the Tsar’s family photographs. These people were the favorites of the royal family, spent time with them, played with their daughters, the Queen constantly took care of them and asked about them in her letters.
Colonel Mordvinov was known among the Tsar's daughters as a funny man, he loved to joke, and people loved to joke about him. As it later became clear, this role did not suit him, he was not happy and was among the first to abandon the Emperor in difficult times.
But the greatest favorite of the royal family in recent years was Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin, first an officer and then commander of the personal imperial yacht “Standart”. After Grigory Rasputin and Anna Vyrubova, this is perhaps the closest person to the royal couple. As it became clear later, he was a clever and intelligent careerist, a cold and calculating man, who played the role of an officer devoted to the throne, but betrayed him in the first days of his trials.
Immediately after the abdication, even before the Tsar left Mogilev, many of his associates began to scatter. Some under plausible pretexts, some without any pretexts, they simply hid without even saying goodbye. On March 5, Count Fredericks and General Voeikov left for their estates. When the train from Mogilev arrived at Tsarskoe Selo, the flight became widespread. As an eyewitness says, “these faces poured onto the platform and began to quickly, quickly run away in different directions, looking around, apparently imbued with a feeling of fear that they would be recognized. I remember very well that Major General Naryshkin ran away like that…” All the beloved adjutants fled, except for Prince Dolgorukov, Grabbe, Apraksin, Benckendorf disappeared.
In general, the renunciation showed who is who in the royal circle. Only people who were spiritually connected with the royal family remained. They remained faithful to her to the end, and some shared her fate. However, we got ahead of ourselves.
The conflict between high society and the Empress was, in a certain sense, of a fundamental nature. On the one hand, there is an environment accustomed to the cult of idleness and entertainment, on the other, a shy woman of a strict Victorian upbringing, accustomed from childhood to work and needlework. The closest friend of the Empress Vyrubova tells how Alexandra Feodorovna did not like the empty atmosphere of St. Petersburg society. She was always amazed that young ladies from high society knew neither housekeeping nor needlework, and were not interested in anything except officers. The Empress is trying to instill in St. Petersburg society ladies a taste for work. She founded the “Handicraft Society”, whose members, ladies and young ladies, were obliged to make with my own hands at least three things a year for the poor. However, nothing came of it... The St. Petersburg world did not like the idea. Slander against the Empress became the norm in high society. In difficult times for the country, secular society, for example, had fun with new and very interesting activity, spreading all kinds of gossip about the Emperor and Empress. One society lady, close to the Grand Duke’s circle, said: “Today we are spreading rumors in factories about how the Empress solders the Tsar, and everyone believes it.”
While society ladies were engaged in such pranks, the Queen organized a special evacuation point, which included about 85 hospitals for wounded soldiers. Together with her two daughters and her friend Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, Alexandra Fedorovna took a course in wartime nurses. Then they all “entered the infirmary at the Palace Hospital as ordinary surgical nurses and immediately began to work bandaging, often seriously wounded. Standing behind the surgeon, the Empress, like every operating nurse, handed over sterilized instruments, cotton wool and bandages, carried away amputated legs and arms, bandaged gangrenous wounds, not disdaining anything and steadfastly enduring the smells and terrible pictures of a military hospital during the war. I explain to myself that she was a born sister of mercy... A terrible, difficult and tiring time began. We got up early, sometimes went to bed at two in the morning. At 9 o'clock in the morning, the Empress went every day to the Church of the Sign, to the miraculous image, and from there we went to work in the infirmary... During difficult operations, the wounded begged the Empress to be near. They idolized the Empress, expected her arrival, tried to touch her gray sister's dress; the dying asked her to sit near the bed, hold their hand or head, and she, despite her fatigue, calmed them down for hours.”
One of the officers who was being treated in the infirmary, where the Grand Duchesses were sisters of mercy, recalls: “The first impression of the Grand Duchesses never changed and could not change, they were so perfect, full of royal charm, spiritual gentleness and endless benevolence and kindness to everyone. Every gesture and every word, the enchanting sparkle of their eyes and the tenderness of their smiles, and sometimes joyful laughter - everything attracted people to them.
They had the innate ability and ability with a few words to soften and reduce the grief, severity of experiences and physical suffering of wounded soldiers... All the princesses were wonderful Russian girls, full of external and internal beauty. Their boundless love for Russia, deep religiosity, received from the Tsar and Empress, and their truly Christian life could serve as an example for centuries, and their martyrdom and the suffering, physical and moral, which they all endured, were no different from sufferings of the first Christians. It was one family, forever bound to each other by great love, a sense of duty and religiosity.”
In conditions of spiritual disunity with the court environment, the royal couple felt happy and peaceful only in family life and constant communication with their children. From the court environment, the Tsar and Tsarina developed close friendly feelings only with Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova, who was separately devoted to the royal family to the point of self-denial. It is difficult to say what initially connected the Empress and one of the many ladies of the court, who was also twelve years younger than her. Most likely the general mood, sincerity, sensitivity and integrity of their natures. The queen was very sorry for her friend for her unsettled personal life and treated her almost like a child. However, with her naivety, Vyrubova really resembled a child. Anna Alexandrovna came to the royal palace almost every day, traveled with them to the Crimea, and to Spala, and around the Baltic. Sometimes the royal couple and their daughters visited Vyrubova’s small house not far from the palace. Slander organized by dark forces attributed to these meetings the nature of orgies and brawls, especially since sometimes Grigory Rasputin also came to Vyrubova’s house. The Commission of the Provisional Government, which passionately investigated Vyrubova’s connections and meetings, was disappointed to admit that all these accusations were false, moreover. a medical examination established that Vyrubova had never been in an intimate relationship with any man.
A man of conscience and honor
The foreign biographer of Nicholas II, R. Macy, once remarked that in England, where the main quality of a monarch is to be “ a good man”, which automatically means to be “ good king“, Nicholas would be a wonderful monarch. And according to Russian Orthodox concepts, Nicholas II was a man of conscience and soul, a true Christian, and so was his wife.
Throughout their lives, the Tsar and Queen were worried about three most important ideas: the idea of universal peace, the idea of the triumph of Orthodoxy, and the idea of the country’s prosperity. Intertwined with touching love for each other and children, these ideas were the main core of their existence, for which they laid down their lives.
The Tsar and Queen own the idea of universal and complete disarmament. This historical initiative alone gives them the right to immortality.
As the historian Oldenburg writes, the idea of this apparently arose in March 1898. In the spring of the same year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs prepares a note, and by the summer an Appeal to all countries of the world. It said, in part: “As the armaments of each state grow, they meet less and less the purpose envisioned by governments. The disturbances in the economic order, caused in large part by the excess of armaments, and the constant danger which lies in the enormous accumulation of military means, turn the armed world of our day into an overwhelming burden, which the peoples bear with increasing difficulty. It seems obvious, therefore, that if such a situation were to continue, it would fatally lead to precisely the disaster that they are trying to avoid and before the horrors of which the human mind shudders in advance.
To put a limit to continuous armaments and to find means to prevent misfortunes that threaten the whole world - this is the highest duty for all states. Filled with this feeling, the Emperor deigned to order me to contact the governments of states, whose representatives are accredited at the highest court, with a proposal to convene a conference to discuss this important task.
With God's help, this conference could be a good omen for the coming age. It would unite into one powerful whole the efforts of all states that sincerely strive to ensure that the great idea of universal peace triumphs over the area of turmoil and discord. At the same time, it would seal their agreement by joint recognition of the principles of law and justice, on which the security of states and the prosperity of peoples is based.”
How relevant these words still sound today, but they were written almost a hundred years ago! Russia has done a lot of work to organize a general peace conference. However, the political thinking of the majority of statesmen of the countries participating in the peace conference was associated with the doctrine of the inevitability of wars and military confrontation. The main proposals of Emperor Nicholas II were not accepted, although some progress was made on certain issues - the use of the most barbaric methods of war was prohibited and a permanent court was established for the peaceful resolution of disputes through mediation and arbitration. The latter institution became the prototype of the League of Nations and the United Nations. For many statesmen, the idea of creating such an international organization seemed stupid. The crowned brother of Tsar Nicholas II, Wilhelm II, wrote about the creation of this organization: “So that he (Nicholas II - O.P.) does not disgrace himself before Europe, I will agree to this stupidity. But in my practice I will continue to rely and count only on God and my sharp sword.”
The idea of the triumph of Orthodoxy was expressed by the royal couple in the ascetic activity of developing the church. The tsar was personally involved in the internal affairs of the church, contributed to the canonization of saints, the construction of new churches and the improvement of the living conditions of the clergy, many of whom, especially rural priests, lived very poorly. During the reign of Nicholas II, as many churches were built as in the entire previous century. Missionary work was actively carried out in Siberia and Central Asia. The idea of returning Constantinople and the greatest shrine of the Church of Hagia Sophia to the Orthodox world had a purely Christian character of restoring justice. Not conquest, but acquisition, not capture, but return.
The reign of Nicholas II is a period of the highest rates of economic growth in the history of Russia and the USSR. During the 1880-1910s, the growth rate of Russian industrial output exceeded 9 percent per year. In terms of the growth rate of industrial output and the rate of growth of labor productivity, Russia has taken first place in the world, ahead of the rapidly developing United States. Russia has taken first place in the world in the production of the main agricultural crops, growing more than half of the world's production of rye, more than a quarter of wheat and oats, about two-fifths of barley, and about a quarter of potatoes. Russia became the main exporter of agricultural products, the first “breadbasket of Europe,” accounting for two-fifths of all world exports of peasant products. The rapid development of the level of industrial and agricultural production, coupled with a positive trade balance, allowed Russia during the reign of Nicholas II to have a stable gold convertible currency, which today we can only dream of, looking at the gold Nicholas ten-ruble notes. Economic policy government of Nicholas II was built on the principles of creating a most favored nation regime for all healthy economic forces through preferential taxation and lending, promoting the organization of all-Russian industrial fairs, and the comprehensive development of means of communication and communications. Emperor Nicholas II attached great importance to the development of railways. Even in his youth, he participated in the foundation (and later actively contributed to the construction) of the famous Great Siberian Road, most of which was built during his reign.
The rise of industrial production during the reign of Nicholas II is largely associated with the development of new factory legislation, one of the active creators of which was the Emperor himself as the main legislator of the country. The purpose of the new factory legislation was, on the one hand, to streamline relations between entrepreneurs and workers, and on the other, to improve the situation of working people living on industrial earnings.
The law of June 2, 1897 introduced rationing of the working day for the first time. According to this law, for daytime workers, work time should not have exceeded eleven and a half hours a day, and on Saturdays and pre-holiday days - 10 hours. “For workers employed, at least partly, at night, working hours should not exceed ten hours a day.” A little later, a ten-hour working day was legally established in Russian industry. For that era it was a revolutionary step. For comparison, let's say that in Germany the question of this was just raised.
Another law, adopted with the direct participation of Emperor Nicholas II, on remuneration for workers affected by accidents (1903). According to this law, “owners of enterprises are obliged to compensate workers, regardless of their gender and age, for loss of ability to work for more than three days from bodily injury caused to them by work in the production of the enterprise or that occurred as a result of such work.” “If the consequence of an accident, under the same conditions, was the death of the worker, then the members of his family receive the compensation.” And finally, by law on June 23, 1912, compulsory insurance of workers against illnesses and accidents was introduced in Russia. The next step was to introduce a law on disability and old age insurance. But the subsequent social cataclysms delayed it for two decades...
One can give many more examples of the Tsar’s active assistance in the development of Russian culture, art, science, and reform of the army and navy. Thus, one of the first acts of Emperor Nicholas II was an order to allocate significant sums of money to help needy scientists, writers and publicists, as well as their widows and orphans (1895). The Emperor entrusted the management of this matter to a special commission of the Academy of Sciences. In 1896, a new charter was introduced on privileges for inventions, “modifying the previous conditions for the exploitation of inventions to the benefit of the inventors themselves and the development of industrial technology.”
But it’s a paradox: the more the Tsar did for the good of the Fatherland, the stronger the voices of his opponents were heard. There is an organized smear campaign to discredit him. The dark destructive forces do not disdain anything; they use the most vile, dirtiest, most absurd accusations - from espionage for the Germans to complete moral decay. An increasingly large part of the educated society of Russia is rejecting Russian traditions and ideals and taking the side of these destructive forces. Tsar Nicholas II and this destructive part of educated society live, as it were, in different worlds. The Emperor is in the Spiritual world of indigenous Russia, his opponents are in the world of its denial. Emphasizing the essence of the tragedy of the Russian Emperor, it should be stated that it was during his reign that the fruits of the poisonous tree of denial of Russian culture, the roots of which stretch into the depths of Russian history, ripened. It is not his fault, but his misfortune that the ripening of the poisonous fruit, now called “revolution,” occurred during his reign. Strictly speaking, it was not a revolution, because the main content of the events that followed 1917 was not the social struggle (although it, of course, existed), but the struggle of people deprived of Russian national consciousness. against national Russia. In this struggle, the Russian Tsar had to die first.
The Tsar seeks to preserve and increase the national Russian culture; destructive elements call for its destruction. The Tsar organizes the country's defense against a mortal enemy; destructive elements are calling for Russia's defeat in this war. Interesting is the very deep assessment of the events that took place on the eve of the death of the Russian Emperor, given by Winston Churchill in his book “The World Crisis of 1916-1918”:
“Fate has never been as cruel to any country as to Russia. Her ship sank while the harbor was in sight. She had already weathered the storm when everything collapsed. All the sacrifices have already been made, all the work has been completed. Despair and betrayal took over the government when the task was already completed. The long retreats are over; shell hunger is defeated; weapons flowed in in a wide stream; a stronger, more numerous, better equipped army guarded a huge front; the rear assembly points were crowded with people. Alekseev led the army and Kolchak - the fleet. In addition, no more difficult actions were required: remaining at post; put heavy pressure on the widely stretched German lines; hold, without showing much activity, the weakening enemy forces on your front; in other words - hold on; that’s all that stood between Russia and the fruits of a common victory.”
“...In March the Tsar was on the throne; The Russian Empire and the Russian army held out, the front was secured and victory was indisputable.”
“According to the superficial fashion of our time, the tsarist system is usually interpreted as a blind, rotten tyranny, incapable of anything. But an analysis of the thirty months of war with Germany and Austria should correct these facile ideas. Strength Russian Empire we can measure it by the blows she has suffered, by the calamities she has endured, by the inexhaustible powers she has developed, and by the restoration of which she has been capable.”
“In the government of states, when great events occur, the leader of the nation, whoever he may be, is condemned for failures and glorified for successes. The point is not who did the work, who drew up the plan of struggle; blame or praise for the outcome falls on the one who has the authority of supreme responsibility. Why deny Nicholas II this severe test?... The burden of the final decisions lay on Him. At the top, where events surpass human understanding, where everything is inscrutable, He had to give answers. He was the compass needle. To fight or not to fight? Advance or retreat? Go right or left? Agree to democratization or stand firm? Leave or stand? Here are the battlefields of Nicholas II. Why not give Him honor for this? The selfless impulse of the Russian armies that saved Paris in 1914; overcoming a painful, shell-free retreat; slow recovery; Brusilov's victories; Russia entering the 1917 campaign undefeated, stronger than ever; was not His part in all this? Despite the big and terrible mistakes, the system that was embodied in Him, which He led, to which He gave a vital spark with His personal properties - by that moment won the war for Russia.
They're about to kill him. A dark hand intervenes, at first invested with madness. The king leaves the stage. He and all those who love Him are handed over to suffering and death. His efforts are downplayed; His actions are condemned; His memory is being defamed... Stop and say: who else turned out to be suitable? In people who are talented and brave; people who are ambitious and proud in spirit; there was no shortage of brave and powerful people. But no one was able to answer those few simple questions on which the life and glory of Russia depended. Holding victory already in her hands, she fell to the ground, alive, like Herod of old, devoured by worms.”
Nicholas II was not a good politician in the current sense of the word, that is, he was not a politician and political ambitious, ready to make any combinations and deals with his conscience to retain power. The emperor was a man of conscience and soul (you are repeatedly convinced of this by reading his correspondence and diaries); the moral principles that guided his activities made him defenseless against the dark intrigues that were woven in his environment. Many of his entourage pursued their own interests, hoped to receive certain benefits, and bargained with the Tsar’s opponents about the price of betrayal.
The circle of betrayal and treason tightened around the Tsar more and more, which turned into a kind of trap by March 2, 1917. Let's read some entries in the Emperor's diary to understand the feelings that possessed him on the eve of his abdication.
Riots began in Petrograd a few days ago; Unfortunately, troops also began to take part in them. It’s a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news! Was at the report for a short time. In the afternoon I took a walk along the highway to Orsha. The weather was sunny. After lunch, I decided to go to Tsarskoe Selo as quickly as possible and at one in the morning I got on the train.
Went to bed at 31/4 because... talked for a long time with N.I. Ivanov, whom I am sending to Petrograd with troops to restore order. Slept until 10 o'clock. We left Mogilev at 5 o'clock. morning. The weather was frosty and sunny. In the afternoon we passed Vyazma, Rzhev, and Likhoslavl at 9 o'clock.
At night we turned back from M. Vishera, because Lyuban and Tosno were occupied by the rebels. We went to Valdai, Dno and Pskov, where we stopped for the night. I saw Ruzsky... Gatchina and Luga were also busy! Shame and shame! It was not possible to get to Tsarskoye. And thoughts and feelings are there all the time! How painful it must be for poor Alix to go through all these events alone! Help us. Lord!
In the morning Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the phone with Rodzianko. According to him, the situation in Petrograd is such that now the ministry from the Duma seems powerless to do anything, because The Social Democratic Party, represented by the workers' committee, is fighting against it. My renunciation is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to headquarters, and Alekseev to all commanders in chief. By 2 1/2 o'clock. replies came from everyone. The point is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the armies at the front calm, you need to decide to take this step. I agreed. Headquarters sent a draft manifesto. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them the signed and revised manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced.
There is treason, cowardice, and deceit all around!”
With the signing of the abdication, an end was put to the tragedy of the life of Emperor Nicholas II and the countdown to the tragedy of his death began.
Why did the Emperor make this fatal decision? He, deceived and betrayed by his entourage, accepted him in the hope (he later told P. Gilliard about this) that those who wished to remove him would be able to bring the war to a happy end and save Russia. He was afraid that his resistance would not serve as a reason for civil war in the presence of the enemy, and did not want the blood of at least one Russian to be shed for him.
He sacrificed himself for the sake of Russia. But the forces that insisted on the departure of the Tsar did not want either victory or the salvation of Russia; they needed chaos and the death of the country. They were ready to sow them for foreign gold. Therefore, the Tsar’s sacrifice turned out to be in vain for Russia and, moreover, disastrous, because the state itself became a victim of treason. With the fall of the Tsar, the period of Russia’s rise ended and the process of its destruction began, which has not stopped to this day.
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