In which city did Nicholas 2 die. The king was modest in clothes
During his reign, there was an unprecedented flourishing of the economy, Agriculture, industry. The country became the main exporter of agricultural products, coal mining and iron smelting quadrupled, electricity generation increased 100 times, and the state bank's gold reserves more than doubled. The emperor was the ancestor of Russian aviation and the submarine fleet. By 1913, the empire entered the top five most developed countries in the world.
Childhood and youth
The future autocrat was born on May 18, 1868 in the country residence of the Russian rulers in Tsarskoye Selo. He became the firstborn Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna among their five children and heir to the crown. 
According to the decision of his grandfather, Alexander II, his main tutor was General Grigory Danilovich, who held this “position” from 1877 to 1891. Subsequently, he was blamed for the shortcomings of the complex character of the emperor.
Since 1877, the heir received home education according to a system that included general education disciplines and lectures of higher sciences. At first, he mastered the visual and musical arts, literature, historical processes and foreign languages, including English, Danish, German, French. And from 1885 to 1890. studied military affairs, economics, jurisprudence, important for royal activity. His mentors were prominent scientists - Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev, Nikolai Nikolaevich Beketov, Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev, Mikhail Ivanovich Dragomirov, etc. Moreover, they were only obliged to present the material, but not to check the knowledge of the heir to the crown prince. However, he studied very diligently.
In 1878, an English teacher, Mr. Carl Heath, appeared among the boy's mentors. Thanks to him, the teenager not only mastered the language perfectly, but also fell in love with sports. After the family moved to the Gatchina Palace in 1881, not without the participation of an Englishman, a training room with a horizontal bar and parallel bars was equipped in one of its halls. In addition, together with his brothers, Nikolai rode a horse well, shot, fenced and became well developed physically.
In 1884, the young man took an oath of service to the Motherland and began to serve, first in the Preobrazhensky, 2 years later in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment of His Majesty.
In 1892, the young man earned the rank of colonel, and his father began to introduce him to the specifics of governing the country. The young man took part in the work of the Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers, visited different parts of the monarchy and abroad: Japan, China, India, Egypt, Austria-Hungary, Greece.
Tragic accession to the throne
In 1894, at 2:15 in Livadia, Alexander III died of kidney disease, and an hour and a half later, in the Exaltation of the Cross Church, his son swore allegiance to the crown. The coronation ceremony - the assumption of power along with the relevant attributes, including the crown, throne, scepter - was held in 1896 in the Kremlin. 
It was overshadowed by the terrible events at the Khodynka field, where it was planned to hold festivities with the presentation of 400 thousand royal gifts - mugs with the monogram of the monarch and various delicacies. As a result, a million-strong crowd of people wishing to receive gifts formed on Khodynka. The result was a terrible stampede, which claimed the lives of about one and a half thousand citizens.
Having learned about the tragedy, the sovereign did not cancel the festive events, in particular, the reception at the French embassy. And although later he visited the victims in hospitals, financially supported the families of the victims, he still received the nickname "Bloody" among the people.
Reign
In domestic politics, the young emperor maintained his father's adherence to traditional values and principles. In his first public speech in 1895 at the Winter Palace, he announced his intention to "protect the principles of autocracy." According to a number of historians, this statement was negatively perceived by society. People doubted the possibility of democratic reforms, and this caused an increase in revolutionary activity. 
Nevertheless, after the counter-reforms of his father, the last Russian tsar began to support decisions to improve the people's life and strengthen the existing system as much as possible.
Among the processes implemented under him were:
- population census;
- the introduction of the gold circulation of the ruble;
- universal primary education;
- industrialization;
- limitation of working hours;
- workers' insurance;
- improving the allowance of soldiers;
- increase in military salaries and pensions;
- religious tolerance;
- agrarian reform;
- massive road construction.
Rare newsreel with Emperor Nicholas II in color
Due to the growing popular unrest and wars, the reign of the emperor took place in a very difficult situation. Following the requirements of the times, he granted his subjects freedom of speech, assembly, and the press. The State Duma was created in the country, which performed the functions of the highest legislative body. However, with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, internal problems became even more aggravated, mass protests against the government began.
The authority of the head of state was negatively affected by military failures, and the appearance of rumors about the interference in the government of the country by various fortune-tellers and other controversial personalities, especially the main "adviser to the tsar" Grigory Rasputin, who was considered by the majority of citizens an adventurer and rogue.
Footage of the abdication of Nicholas II
In February 1917, spontaneous riots broke out in the capital. The monarch intended to stop them by force. However, an atmosphere of conspiracy reigned at Headquarters. Readiness to support the emperor and send troops to pacify the rebels was expressed only by two generals, the rest were in favor of his abdication. As a result, in early March in Pskov, Nicholas II made the difficult decision to abdicate in favor of his brother Mikhail. However, after the refusal of the Duma to guarantee his personal safety if he accepted the crown, he officially renounced the throne, thereby putting an end to the thousand-year Russian monarchy and the 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty.
Personal life of Nicholas II
The first love of the future emperor was the ballet dancer Matilda Kshesinskaya. He stayed with her in an intimate relationship with the approval of his parents, who were concerned about their son's indifference to the opposite sex, for two years, starting in 1892. However, the relationship with the ballerina, the path and favorite of St. Petersburg, for obvious reasons, could not turn into a legal marriage. This page in the life of the emperor is dedicated to the feature film by Alexei Uchitel "Matilda" (although the audience agrees that there is more fiction in this picture than historical accuracy). 
In April 1894, in the German city of Coburg, the engagement of the 26-year-old Tsarevich with the 22-year-old Princess Alice of Darmstadt of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, took place. He later described the event as "wonderful and unforgettable". Their marriage took place in November in the temple of the Winter Palace.
Years of life : the 6th of May 1868 - July 17, 1918 .
Highlights of life
His reign coincided with the rapid industrial and economic development of the country. Under Nicholas II, Russia was defeated in Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, which was one of the reasons for the Revolution of 1905-1907, during which the Manifesto was adopted on October 17, 1905, which allowed the creation of political parties and established the State Duma; Stolypin agrarian reform began to be carried out.
In 1907, Russia became a member of the Entente, in which it entered the First World War. Since August 1915, the Supreme Commander. During the February Revolution of 1917, on March 2 (15), he abdicated the throne.
Shot with his family in Yekaterinburg.
Upbringing and education
The upbringing and education of Nicholas II took place under the personal guidance of his father on a traditional religious basis. The educators of the future emperor and his younger brother George received the following instruction: “Neither I nor Maria Fedorovna want to make greenhouse flowers out of them. They must pray well to God, study, play, play pranks in moderation. all the severity of the laws, do not encourage laziness in particular. If anything, then address me directly, and I know what needs to be done. I repeat that I do not need porcelain. I need normal Russian children. They will fight - please. But the first whip is for the informer This is my very first requirement."
The training sessions of the future emperor were conducted according to a carefully designed program for thirteen years. The first 8 years were devoted to the subjects of the gymnasium course. Particular attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, French, German and English which Nikolai Alexandrovich mastered to perfection. 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 conducted by outstanding Russian academic scientists with a worldwide reputation: Beketov N.N., Obruchev N.N., Kui Ts.A., Dragomirov M.I., Bunge N.Kh. and etc.
In order for the future emperor to get acquainted in practice with military life and the order of military service, his father sent him to military training. For the first 2 years, Nikolai served as a junior officer in the ranks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. For two summer seasons, he served in the ranks of the cavalry hussars as a squadron commander, and, finally, in the ranks of the artillery. At the same time, his father introduces him to the affairs of the country, inviting him to participate in meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers.
The education program of the future emperor included numerous trips to various provinces of Russia, which he made with his father. To complete his education, his father put at his disposal a cruiser for a trip to Far East. For 9 months, he and his retinue visited Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and then returned by land through all of Siberia to the capital of Russia. By the age of 23, Nikolai Romanov is a highly educated young man with a broad outlook, excellent knowledgeable of history and literature and is fluent in the main European languages. He combined a brilliant education with deep religiosity and knowledge of spiritual literature, which was rare for statesmen of that time. His father managed to inspire him with selfless love for Russia, a sense of responsibility for her fate. Since childhood, the idea has become close to him that his main mission is to follow the Russian foundations, traditions and ideals.
The model ruler for Nicholas II was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (father of Peter I), who carefully preserved the traditions of antiquity and autocracy as the basis of Russia's power and prosperity.
In one of his first public speaking he proclaimed:
“Let everyone know that, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, I will protect the beginnings of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my late, unforgettable parent guarded it.”
It wasn't just words. "The beginnings of autocracy" Nicholas II defended firmly and unswervingly: he did not give up a single significant position during the years of his reign until his abdication in 1917, tragic for the fate of Russia. But these events are yet to come.
Development of Russia
The reign of Nicholas II was the period of the highest rates of economic growth in the history of Russia. For 1880-1910 the growth rate of Russian industrial output exceeded 9% per year. According to this indicator, Russia came out on top in the world, ahead of even the rapidly developing United States of America. In terms of the production of the most important agricultural crops, Russia has taken the first place in the world, growing more than half of the world's rye, more than a quarter of wheat, oats and barley, and more than a third of potatoes. Russia became the main exporter of agricultural products, the first "breadbasket of Europe". It accounted for 2/5 of all world exports of peasant products.
Successes in agricultural production were the result of historical events: the abolition of serfdom in 1861 by Alexander II and the Stolypin land reform during the reign of Nicholas II, as a result of which more than 80% of arable land was in the hands of the peasants, and in the Asian part - almost all. The area of landed estates has been steadily declining. Granting the peasants the right to freely dispose of their land and the abolition of communities was of great national importance, the benefits of which, in the first place, were recognized by the peasants themselves.
The autocratic form of government did not hinder the economic progress of Russia. According to the manifesto of October 17, 1905, the population of Russia received the right to inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, press, assembly, and unions. grew in the country political parties thousands of periodicals were published. The Parliament, the State Duma, was elected by free will. Russia was becoming a legal state - the judiciary was practically separated from the executive.
The rapid development of the level of industrial and agricultural production and a positive trade balance allowed Russia to have a stable gold convertible currency. The emperor attached great importance to the development of railways. Even in his youth, he participated in the laying of the famous Siberian road.
During the reign of Nicholas II in Russia, the best labor legislation for those times was created, providing for the regulation of working hours, the selection of work elders, remuneration in case of accidents at work, and compulsory insurance of workers against illness, disability and old age. The emperor actively promoted the development of Russian culture, art, science, and the reforms of the army and navy.
All these achievements of the economic and social development of Russia are the result of the natural historical process of the development of Russia and are objectively related to the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty.
Anniversary celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty
The official celebration of the 300th anniversary began with a service at the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. On the morning of the service, Nevsky Prospekt, along which the tsar's carriages moved, was chock-full of an excited crowd. Despite the ranks of soldiers holding back the people, the crowd, shouting frantic greetings, broke through the cordons and surrounded the carriages of the emperor and empress. The cathedral was packed to capacity. In front were members of the imperial family, foreign ambassadors, ministers and deputies of the Duma. The following days after the service in the Cathedral were filled with official ceremonies. From all over the empire, delegations in national dress arrived to bring gifts to the king. In honor of the monarch, his wife and all the great princes of the Romanovs, the nobility of the capital gave a ball to which thousands of guests were invited. The royal couple attended a performance of Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin). When Their Majesties appeared, the whole hall stood up and gave them an ardent ovation.
In May 1913, the royal family went on a pilgrimage to places memorable for the dynasty in order to follow the path traveled by Mikhail Romanov from his birthplace to the throne. On the Upper Volga, they boarded a steamer and sailed to the ancient Romanov patrimony - Kostroma, where in March 1913 Mikhail was invited to the throne. Along the way, on the banks, peasants lined up to watch the passage of a small flotilla, some even went into the water to see the king closer.
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna recalled this trip:
“Wherever we passed, everywhere we met such loyal manifestations that seemed to border on frenzy. When our steamer sailed along the Volga, we saw crowds of peasants standing chest-deep in water in order to catch at least the tsar’s gaze. In some cities I I saw craftsmen and workers prostrating themselves to kiss his shadow as he passed. The cheers were deafening!"
The culmination of the celebrations of the 300th anniversary reached Moscow. On a sunny June day, Nicholas II rode into the city on horseback, 20 meters ahead of the Cossack escort. On Red Square, he dismounted, walked with his family through the square and entered through the gates of the Kremlin into the Assumption Cathedral for a solemn service.
In the royal family, the anniversary resurrected faith in the indestructible bond between the tsar and the people and boundless love for the anointed of God. It would seem that the popular support for the tsarist regime, shown on the anniversary days, should have strengthened the monarchical system. But, in fact, both Russia and Europe were already on the verge of fatal changes. The wheel of history was about to turn, having accumulated a critical mass. And it turned, releasing the accumulated uncontrollable energy of the masses, which caused an "earthquake". In five years, three European monarchies collapsed, three emperors either died or fled into exile. The oldest dynasties of the Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and Romanovs collapsed.
Could even for a moment imagine Nicholas II, who saw crowds of people full of enthusiasm and worship during the days of the anniversary, what awaits him and his family in 4 years?
The development of the crisis and the growth of the revolutionary movement
The reign of Nicholas II coincided with the beginning of the rapid development of capitalism and the simultaneous growth of the revolutionary movement in Russia. In order to preserve autocracy and, most importantly, to ensure further development and the prosperity of Russia, the emperor took measures to ensure the strengthening of the alliance with the emerging bourgeois class and the transfer of the country to the rails of the bourgeois monarchy while maintaining the political omnipotence of the autocracy: the State Duma was established, an agrarian reform was carried out.
The question arises: why, despite the undeniable achievements in the economic development of the country, not reformist, but revolutionary forces won in Russia, which led to the fall of the monarchy? It seems that in such a vast country, the successes achieved as a result of economic reforms could not immediately lead to a real increase in the well-being of all sections of society, especially the poorest. The discontent of the working masses was skillfully picked up and fanned by the extremist left parties, which first led to the revolutionary events of 1905. Crisis phenomena in society began to manifest themselves especially with the outbreak of the First World War. Russia simply did not have enough time to reap the fruits of the economic and social transformations begun on the path of the country's transition to a constitutional monarchy or even to a constitutional bourgeois republic.
An interesting deep interpretation of the events of that time, given by Winston Churchill:
"Fate was not so cruel to any country as to Russia. Her ship sank when the harbor was in sight. She had already endured a storm when everything collapsed. All the victims had already been made, all the work was completed. Despair and betrayal took possession power, when the task was already completed. The long retreats ended, the shortage of shells was defeated; weapons flowed in a wide stream; a stronger, more numerous, better equipped army guarded a huge front; rear assembly points were overflowing with people. Alekseev led the army and Kolchak - the fleet. In addition of this, no more difficult actions were required anymore: to hold, without showing much activity, the weakening enemy forces on their front; in other words, to hold on; that was all that stood between Russia and the fruits of the common victory. The tsar was on the throne; the Russian Empire and the Russian army held out, the front was secured and the victory is indisputable."
According to the superficial fashion of our time, the royal system is usually interpreted as a blind, rotten, incapable tyranny. But an analysis of the thirty months of the war with Austria and Germany should correct these superficial notions. Strength Russian Empire we can measure by the blows she has endured, by the inexhaustible powers she has developed, and by the recuperation of which she has proved capable.
In government, when great events are taking place, the leader of the nation, whoever he may be, is condemned for failures and glorified for successes. Why deny Nicholas II this ordeal? The burden of the last decisions lay on him. At the top, where events surpass the understanding of man, 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 hold firm? Leave or stay? Here is the battlefield of Nicholas II. Why not honor him for this?
The selfless impulse of the Russian armies that saved Paris in 1914; overcoming a painful, shellless retreat; slow recovery; Brusilov's victories; Russia's entry into the 1917 campaign invincible, stronger than ever; Wasn't he in all of this? Despite the mistakes, the system that he led, to which he gave a vital spark with his personal properties, by this moment had won the war for Russia.
"Now they will slay him. The king leaves the stage. He and all his lovers are betrayed to suffering and death. His efforts are underestimated; his memory is defame. Stop and say: who else turned out to be suitable? In talented and courageous people, ambitious and there was no shortage of proud in spirit, courageous and powerful. But no one was able to answer those few questions on which the life and glory of Russia depended. Holding victory already in her hands, she fell to the ground. "
It is difficult to disagree with this deep analysis and assessment of the personality of the Russian Tsar. For more than 70 years, the rule for official historians and writers in our country was a mandatory negative assessment of the personality of Nicholas II. All humiliating characteristics were attributed to him: from deceit, political insignificance and pathological cruelty to alcoholism, debauchery and moral decay. History has put everything in its place. Under the rays of its searchlights, the whole life of Nicholas II and his political opponents is illuminated to the smallest detail. And in this light it became clear who is who.
Illustrating the "cunning" of the tsar, Soviet historians usually cited the example of Nicholas II removing some of his ministers without any warning. Today he could graciously talk to the minister, and tomorrow send him a 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 case, he removed it, regardless of previous merits.
IN last years reign, the emperor experienced an encirclement crisis (lack of reliable, capable people who shared his ideas). A significant part of the most capable statesmen stood in Western positions, and the people on whom the tsar could rely did not always possess the necessary business qualities. Hence the constant change of ministers, which, with the light hand of ill-wishers, was attributed to Rasputin.
The role and importance of Rasputin, the degree of his influence on Nicholas II were artificially inflated by the left, who thus wanted to prove the political insignificance of the tsar. The dirty hints of the left press about some special relationship between Rasputin and the queen did not correspond to reality. The attachment of the royal couple to Rasputin was associated with the incurable disease of their son and heir to the throne Alexei with hemophilia - blood incoagulability, in which any trifling wound could lead to death. Rasputin, possessing a hypnotic gift, by psychological influence was able to quickly stop the heir's blood, which the best certified doctors could not do. Naturally, loving parents were grateful to him and tried to keep him close. Today it is already clear that many of the scandalous episodes connected with Rasputin were fabricated by the leftist press in order to discredit the tsar.
Accusing the tsar of cruelty and heartlessness, Khodynka is usually cited as an example, on January 9, 1905, the execution of the times of the first Russian revolution. However, documents show that the tsar had nothing to do with either the Khodynka tragedy or the execution on January 9 (Bloody Sunday). He was horrified when he learned about this disaster. Negligent administrators, through whose fault the events occurred, were removed and punished.
Death sentences under Nicholas II were carried out, as a rule, for an armed attack for power, which had a tragic outcome, i.e. for armed banditry. Total for Russia for 1905-1908. there were less than 4,000 death sentences in court (including martial law), mostly against terrorist fighters. For comparison, extrajudicial killings of representatives of the old state apparatus, clergy, citizens of noble origin, dissident intelligentsia in only six months (from the end of 1917 to the middle of 1918) claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. From the second half of 1918, executions went to hundreds of thousands, and subsequently to millions of innocent people.
Alcoholism and debauchery of Nicholas II are just as shameless inventions of the left as his cunning and cruelty. Everyone who knew the king personally notes that he drank wine rarely and little. Throughout his life, the emperor carried love for one woman, who became the mother of his five children. It was Alice of Hesse, a German princess. Seeing her once, Nicholas II remembered her for 10 years. And although his parents, for political reasons, predicted for him the French princess Helena of Orleans as his wife, he managed to defend his love and in the spring of 1894 he became engaged to his beloved. Alice of Hesse, who took the name of Alexandra Feodorovna in Russia, became the emperor's lover and friend until the tragic end of their days.
Of course, one should not idealize the personality of the last emperor. He, like every person, had both positive and negative traits. But the main accusation that they are trying to bring to him in the name of history is political lack of will, which resulted in the collapse of Russian statehood and the collapse of autocratic power in Russia. Here we must agree with W. Churchill and some other objective historians who, based on the analysis of historical materials of that time, believe that in Russia at the beginning of February 1917 there was only one truly outstanding statesman who worked for victory in the war and the prosperity of the country - This is Emperor Nicholas II. But he was just betrayed.
The rest of the politicians thought more not about Russia, but about their personal and group interests, which they tried to pass off as the interests of Russia. At that time, only the idea of a monarchy could save the country from collapse. She was rejected by these politicians, and the fate of the dynasty was sealed.
Contemporaries and historians who accuse Nicholas II of political lack of will believe that if there had been another person in his place, with a stronger will and character, then the history of Russia would have taken a different path. Maybe, but we should not forget that even a monarch of the scale of Peter I with his superhuman energy and genius in the specific conditions of the early twentieth century would hardly have achieved different results. After all, Peter I lived and acted in the conditions of medieval barbarism, and his methods of state administration would not at all fit a society with the principles of bourgeois parliamentarism.
The last act of the political drama was approaching. On February 23, 1917, the Sovereign-Emperor came from Tsarskoye Selo to Mogilev - to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. The political situation became more and more tense, the country was tired of the war, the opposition grew from day to day, but Nicholas II continued to hope that despite all this, feelings of patriotism would prevail. He retained an unshakable faith in the army, he knew that the combat equipment sent from France and England arrived in time and that it improved the conditions in which the army fought. He had high hopes for the new units raised in Russia during the winter, and was convinced that the Russian army would be able to join in the spring the great Allied offensive which would deal a fatal blow to Germany and save Russia. A few more weeks and victory will be assured.
But as soon as he managed to leave the capital, the first signs of unrest began to appear in the working-class districts of the capital. Factories went on strike, and the movement grew rapidly in the following days. 200 thousand people went on strike. The population of Petrograd was subjected to great hardships during the winter, because. due to the lack of rolling stock, the transportation of food and fuel was greatly hindered. Crowds of workers demanded bread. The government failed to take measures to calm the unrest and only irritated the population with ridiculous repressive police measures. They resorted to the intervention of military force, but all the regiments were at the front, and only trained spare parts remained in Petrograd, greatly corrupted by the propaganda organized by the left parties in the barracks, despite supervision. There were cases of disobedience to orders, and after three days of weak resistance, the troops went over to the side of the revolutionaries.
Abdication from the throne. End of the Romanov dynasty
At the beginning, the Headquarters did not realize the significance and scale of the events unfolding in Petrograd, although on February 25 the emperor sent a message to the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov, demanding: "I order you to stop the unrest in the capital tomorrow." The troops opened fire on the demonstrators. But it was already too late. On February 27, almost the entire city was in the hands of the strikers.
February 27, Monday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "Unrest began in Petrograd a few days ago; unfortunately, troops began to take part in them. A disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news. After dinner, I decided to go to Tsarskoye Selo as soon as possible and at one in the morning got on the train.
In the Duma, back in August 1915, the so-called Progressive Bloc of Parties was created, which included 236 members of the Duma out of a total of 442 members. The bloc formulated the conditions for the transition from autocracy to a constitutional monarchy through a "bloodless" parliamentary revolution. Then in 1915, inspired by temporary successes at the front, the tsar rejected the conditions of the bloc and closed the meeting of the Duma. By February 1917, the situation in the country became even more aggravated due to failure at the front, heavy losses in people and equipment, ministerial leapfrog, etc., which caused widespread dissatisfaction with the autocracy in large cities, and above all in Petrograd, as a result of which the Duma was ready to carry out this "bloodless" parliamentary revolution. Chairman of the Duma M. V. Rodzianko continuously sends disturbing reports to the Headquarters, presenting to the government on behalf of the Duma more and more insistent demands for the reorganization of power. Part of the tsar's entourage advises him to make concessions, giving consent to the formation by the Duma of a government that will be subject not to the tsar, but to the Duma. They will only agree on the candidacies of ministers with him. Without waiting for a positive answer, the Duma set about forming a government independent of the tsarist government. This is how the February Revolution of 1917 came about.
On February 28, the tsar sent military units led by General N.I. Ivanov to Petrograd from Mogilev to restore order in the capital. In a nightly conversation with General Ivanov, exhausted, fighting for the fate of Russia and his family, agitated by the embittered demands of the rebellious Duma, the tsar expressed his sad and painful thoughts:
"I did not protect autocratic power, but Russia. I am not convinced that a change in the form of government will give peace and happiness to the people."
This is how the emperor explained his stubborn refusal to the Duma to create an independent government.
The military units of General Ivanov were detained by revolutionary troops on their way to Petrograd. Not knowing about the failure of the mission of General Ivanov, Nicholas II on the night of February 28 to March 1 also decides to leave Headquarters for Tsarskoye Selo.
February 28, Tuesday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "I went to bed at three and a quarter in the morning, because I talked for a long time with N.I. Ivanov, whom I send to Petrograd with troops to restore order. We left Mogilev at five in the morning. The weather was frosty, Sunny. In the afternoon we passed Smolenks, Vyazma, Rzhev, Likhoslavl.
March 1, Wednesday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "At night we turned back from the Malaya Vishchera station, because Lyuban and Tosno were busy. We went to Valdai, Dno and Pskov, where we stopped for the night. I saw General Ruzsky. Gatchina and Luga were also busy. Shame "What a shame! We didn't manage to get to Tsarskoye Selo. But thoughts and feelings are always there. How painful it must be for poor Alix to go through all these events alone! God help us!"
March 2, Thursday. (Diary of Nicholas II): “In the morning, Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the apparatus 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 in the person of the working committee. My renunciation is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to the Headquarters, and Alekseev to all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts. By two and a half hours, answers came from everyone. The essence is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace I agreed to take this step. I agreed. A draft Manifesto was sent from Stavka. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them a signed and revised manifesto. At one in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There was treason and cowardice all around , and cheating!"
Explanations should be given to the last entries from the diary of Nicholas II. After the tsar's train was delayed in Malyye Vishery, the Sovereign ordered to go to Pskov under the protection of the headquarters of the Northern Front. The commander-in-chief of the Northern Front was General N.V. Ruzsky. The general, having spoken with Petrograd and Headquarters in Mogilev, suggested that the tsar try to localize the uprising in Petrograd by means of an agreement with the Duma and the formation of a Ministry responsible to the Duma. But the tsar postponed the decision of the issue until the morning, still hoping for the mission of General Ivanov. He did not know that the troops were out of obedience, and three days later he was forced to return to Mogilev.
On the morning of March 2, General Ruzsky reported to Nicholas II that the mission of General Ivanov had failed. Chairman of the State Duma M. V. Rodzianko, through General Ruzsky, stated by telegraph that the preservation of the Romanov dynasty was possible provided that the throne was transferred to the heir to Alexei, under the regency of the younger brother of Nicholas II - Mikhail.
The sovereign instructed General Ruzsky to request the opinion of the front commanders by telegraph. When asked about the desirability of the abdication of Nicholas II, everyone answered positively (even Nicholas's uncle, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, commander of the Caucasian Front), with the exception of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, who refused to send a telegram.
The betrayal of the army leadership was a heavy blow for Nicholas II. General Ruzsky told the emperor that he had to surrender to the mercy of the winner, because. the high command at the head of the army is against the emperor, and further struggle will be useless.
Before the tsar there was a picture of the complete destruction of his power and prestige, his complete isolation, and he lost all confidence in the support of the army if its Heads went over to the side of the enemies of the emperor in a few days.
The sovereign did not sleep for a long time that night from 1 to 2 March. In the morning he gave General Ruzsky a telegram notifying the chairman of the Duma of his intention to abdicate in favor of his son Alexei. He and his family intended to live as a private person in the Crimea or the Yaroslavl province. A few hours later, he ordered Professor S.P. Fedorov to be called to his car and said to him: “Sergei Petrovich, answer me frankly, is Alexei’s illness incurable?” Professor Fedorov replied: “Sire, science tells us that this disease is incurable. There are cases, however, when a person possessed by her reaches a respectful age. But Alexei Nikolaevich, nevertheless, will always depend on any chance. The Emperor said sadly: - That's just what the Empress told me ... Well, if this is so, if Alexei cannot be useful to the Motherland, as much as I wish, then we have the right to keep him with us.
The decision was made by him, and on the evening of March 2, when the representative of the Provisional Government A.I. Guchkov arrived from Petrograd - the military and naval minister and a member of the executive committee of the Duma V.V. Shulgin, he handed them the act of renunciation.
The act of renunciation was printed and signed in 2 copies. The king's signature was made in pencil. The time indicated in the Act - 15 hours, corresponded not to the actual signing, but to the time when Nicholas II decided to abdicate. After the signing of the Act, Nicholas II went back to Headquarters to say goodbye to the army.
March 3, Friday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "I slept long and soundly. I woke up far beyond Dvinsk. The day was sunny and frosty. I talked with my people about yesterday. I read a lot about Julius Caesar. At 8.20 I arrived in Mogilev. All the ranks of the headquarters were on the platform. Accepted Alekseev in the car. At 9.30 he moved into the house. Alekseev came with the latest news from Rodzianko. It turns out that Misha (the younger brother of the tsar) renounced in favor of elections in 6 months Constituent Assembly. God knows who advised him to sign such a disgusting thing! In Petrograd, the unrest has stopped - if only it would continue like this."
So, 300 years and 4 years after a shy sixteen-year-old boy who reluctantly assumed the throne at the request of the Russian people (Mikhail I), his 39-year-old descendant, also named Michael II, under pressure from the Provisional Government and the Duma, lost him, having been on the throne for 8 hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 3, 1917. The Romanov dynasty ceased to exist. The last act of the drama begins.
Arrest and murder of the royal family
On March 8, 1917, after parting with the army, the former emperor decides to leave Mogilev and on March 9 arrives in Tsarskoye Selo. Even before leaving Mogilev, the representative of the Duma at Headquarters announced that the former emperor "should consider himself, as it were, under arrest."
March 9, 1917, Thursday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "Soon and safely arrived in Tsarskoye Selo - 11.30. But God, what's the difference, on the street and around the palace, sentries inside the park, and some ensigns inside the entrance! I went upstairs and there I saw Alix and dear children "She looked cheerful and healthy, but they were still sick in a dark room. But everyone is feeling well, except for Maria, who has measles. It has recently begun. I took a walk with Dolgorukov and worked with him in the kindergarten, because you can’t go out any further "After tea, things were unpacked."
From March 9 to August 14, 1917, Nikolai Romanov and his family lived under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoe Selo.
The revolutionary movement intensifies in Petrograd, and the Provisional Government, fearing for the lives of the royal prisoners, decides to transfer them deep into Russia. After a long debate, Tobolsk is determined as the city of their settlement. The Romanov family is being transported there. They are allowed to take from the palace necessary furniture, personal belongings, as well as to offer service personnel, if desired, to voluntarily accompany them to the place of new accommodation and further service.
On the eve of his departure, the head of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky arrived and brought with him the brother of the former emperor, Mikhail Alexandrovich. The brothers see each other and speak for the last time - they will not meet again (Mikhail Alexandrovich will be deported to Perm, where on the night of June 13, 1918 he was killed by local authorities).
On August 14, at 6:10 a.m., a train with members of the imperial family and servants under the sign "Japanese Mission of the Red Cross" set off from Tsarskoye Selo. In the second composition, there was a guard of 337 soldiers and 7 officers. Trains are running at maximum speed, the junction stations are cordoned off by troops, the public has been removed.
On August 17, the trains arrive in Tyumen, and on three ships the arrested are transported to Tobolsk. The Romanov family is accommodated in the governor's house specially renovated for their arrival. The family was allowed to walk across the street and the boulevard to worship at the Church of the Annunciation. The security regime here was much lighter than in Tsarskoye Selo. The family leads a calm, measured life.
In April 1918, permission was received from the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the fourth convocation to transfer the Romanovs to Moscow for the purpose of holding a trial against them.
On April 22, 1918, a column of 150 people with machine guns set out from Tobolsk to Tyumen. On April 30, the train from Tyumen arrived in Yekaterinburg. To accommodate the Romanovs, a house belonging to the mining engineer N.I. Ipatiev was temporarily requisitioned. 5 people lived here with the Romanov family service personnel: Dr. Botkin, lackey Trupp, room girl Demidova, cook Kharitonov and cook Sednev.
At the beginning of July 1918, the Ural military commissar Isai Goloshchekin ("Philip") left for Moscow to resolve the issue of the future fate of the royal family. The execution of the entire family was authorized by the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. In accordance with this decision, the Ural Council, at its meeting on July 12, adopted a resolution on execution, as well as on methods for destroying corpses, and on July 16 transmitted a message about this by direct wire to Petrograd - Zinoviev. At the end of the conversation with Yekaterinburg, Zinoviev sent a telegram to Moscow: “Moscow, the Kremlin, Sverdlov. A copy to Lenin. The following is transmitted from Yekaterinburg by direct wire: Inform Moscow that we cannot wait for the court agreed with Philip due to military circumstances. If your opinion is the opposite , immediately, out of any queue, report to Yekaterinburg. Zinoviev. "
The telegram was received in Moscow on July 16 at 21:22. The phrase "the court agreed with Philip" is in encrypted form the decision on the execution of the Romanovs, which Goloshchekin agreed upon during his stay in the capital. However, the Uralsovet asked to once again confirm this earlier decision in writing, referring to "military circumstances", because. Yekaterinburg was expected to fall under the blows of the Czechoslovak Corps and the White Siberian Army.
A response telegram to Yekaterinburg from Moscow from the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, i.e. from Lenin and Sverdlov with the approval of this decision was immediately sent.
L. Trotsky in his diary dated April 9, 1935, while in France, cited a record of his conversation with Y. Sverdlov. When Trotsky found out (he was away) that the royal family had been shot, he asked Sverdlov: "Who decided?" “We have decided here,” Sverdlov answered him. Ilyich believed that it was impossible to leave them a living banner, especially in the current difficult conditions. Further, Trotsky writes: "Some people think that the Ural Executive Committee, cut off from Moscow, acted independently. This is not true. The decision was made in Moscow."
Was it possible to take the Romanov family out of Yekaterinburg in order to bring them to an open trial, as was announced earlier? Obviously yes. The city fell 8 days after the execution of the family - enough time for evacuation. After all, the members of the Uralsvet Presidium and the perpetrators of this terrible action managed to safely get out of the city and reach the location of the Red Army units.
So, on this fateful day, July 16, 1918, the Romanovs and the servants went to bed, as usual, at 22:30. At 23 hours 30 min. two special representatives from the Ural Council came to the mansion. They handed the decision of the executive committee to the commander of the security detachment, Yermakov, and the commandant of the house, Yurovsky, and suggested that the execution of the sentence be started immediately.
Awakened, family members and staff are told that due to the advance of the white troops, the mansion may be under fire, and therefore, for security reasons, you need to go to the basement. Seven members of the family - Nikolai Alexandrovich, Alexandra Fedorovna, daughters Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia and son Alexei, three voluntarily remaining servants and a doctor descend from the second floor of the house and go into the corner basement room. After everyone entered and closed the door, Yurovsky stepped forward, took a sheet of paper out of his pocket and said: "Attention! The decision of the Ural Council is being announced ..." And as soon as the last words were spoken, shots rang out. They shot: a member of the collegium of the Ural Central Committee - M.A. Medvedev, the commandant of the house L.M. Yurovsky, his assistant G.A. Nikulin, the commander of the guard P.Z. Ermakov and other ordinary soldiers of the guard - Magyars.
8 days after the assassination, Yekaterinburg fell under the onslaught of the Whites, and a group of officers broke into Ipatiev's house. In the yard they found the Tsarevich's hungry spaniel, Joy, wandering around in search of his owner. The house was empty, but its appearance was ominous. All rooms were heavily littered, and the stoves in the rooms were clogged with ashes from burnt things. The daughters' room was empty. An empty candy box, a woolen blanket on the window. Camping beds of the Grand Duchesses were found in the guard rooms. And no jewelry, no clothes in the house. This "tried" protection. In the rooms and in the garbage dump where the guards lived, the most precious thing for the family, icons, was lying around. There are also books left. And there were a lot of bottles of medicine. In the dining room they found a cover from the back of the bed of one of the princesses. The cover was with a bloody trace of wiped hands.
In the garbage they found a St. George ribbon, which the tsar wore on his overcoat until the last days. By this time, the old tsar's servant Chemodurov, who had been released from prison, had already arrived at the Ipatiev House. When among the holy icons scattered around the house Chemodurov saw the image of the Fedorov Mother of God, the old servant turned pale. He knew that his living mistress would never part with this icon.
Only one room of the house was put in order. Everything was washed and cleaned. It was a small room, 30-35 square meters in size, covered with checkered wallpaper, dark; its only window rested on the slope, and the shadow of a high fence lay on the floor. There was a heavy bar on the window. One of the walls - the partition was littered with traces of bullets. It became clear that they had been shot here.
Along the cornices on the floor are traces of washed blood. On the other walls of the room there were also a lot of bullet marks, the traces fanned out along the walls: apparently, the people who were shot were rushing around the room.
On the floor there are dents from bayonet blows (here, obviously, they were pierced) and two bullet holes (they shot at the lying person).
By that time, they had already dug up the garden near the house, examined the pond, dug up mass graves in the cemetery, but they could not find any traces of the royal family. They disappeared.
The supreme ruler of Russia, Admiral A.V. Kolchak, appointed an investigator for especially important cases, Nikolai Alekseevich Sokolov, to investigate the case of the royal family. He led the investigation passionately and fanatically. Kolchak had already been shot, Soviet power returned to the Urals and Siberia, and Sokolov continued his work. With the materials of the investigation, he made a dangerous journey through all of Siberia to the Far East, then to America. In exile in Paris, he continued to take testimony from surviving witnesses. He died of a broken heart in 1924 while continuing his highly professional investigation. It was thanks to the painstaking investigation of N.A. Sokolov that the terrible details of the execution and burial of the royal family became known. Let us return to the events of the night of July 17, 1918.
Yurovsky lined up the arrested in two rows, in the first - the entire royal family, in the second - their servants. The Empress and the heir sat on chairs. Right-flanked in the front row stood the king. At the back of his head was one of the servants. Before the tsar, Yurovsky stood face to face, holding his right hand in his trouser pocket, and in his left he held a small piece of paper, then he read out the verdict ...
Before he had time to finish reading the last words, the king loudly asked him: "What, I didn't understand?" Yurovsky read it a second time, at the last word he immediately pulled out a revolver from his pocket and fired point-blank at the tsar. The king fell down. The queen and daughter Olga tried to make the sign of the cross, but did not have time.
Simultaneously with Yurovsky's shot, shots from the firing squad rang out. All the other ten people fell to the floor. A few more shots were fired at those lying down. The smoke obscured the electric light and made breathing difficult. The shooting was stopped, the doors of the room were opened so that the smoke dispersed.
They brought a stretcher, began to remove the corpses. The corpse of the king was carried out first. The bodies were taken to freight car located in the yard. When they put one of the daughters on a stretcher, she screamed and covered her face with her hand. Others were also alive. It was no longer possible to shoot; with the doors open, shots could be heard in the street. Ermakov took a rifle with a bayonet from a soldier and pierced everyone who turned out to be alive. When all those arrested were already lying on the floor, bleeding, the heir was still sitting on a chair. For some reason, he did not fall to the floor for a long time and remained still alive ... He was shot in the head and chest, and he fell off his chair. Together with them, the dog that one of the princesses brought with her was also shot.
After loading the dead on the car at about three o'clock in the morning, we drove to the place that Yermakov was supposed to prepare behind the Verkhne-Isetsky plant. Having passed the plant, they stopped and began to reload the corpses on cabs, because. It was impossible to drive further.
When reloading, it turned out that Tatyana, Olga, Anastasia were wearing special corsets. It was decided to strip the corpses naked, but not here, but at the burial place. But it turned out that no one knows where the mine planned for this is.
It was getting light. Yurovsky sent horsemen to look for the mine, but no one found it. Having traveled a little, we stopped a verst and a half from the village of Koptyaki. In the forest they found a shallow mine with water. Yurovsky ordered to undress the corpses. When they undressed one of the princesses, they saw a corset torn in places by bullets, diamonds were visible in the holes. Everything valuable was collected from the corpses, their clothes were burned, and the corpses themselves were lowered into the mine and thrown with grenades. Having finished the operation and leaving the guards, Yurovsky left with a report to the Urals Executive Committee.
On July 18, Yermakov again arrived at the scene of the crime. He was lowered into the mine on a rope, and he tied each of the dead individually and lifted them up. When everyone was pulled out, they laid out firewood, doused it with kerosene, and the corpses themselves with sulfuric acid.
Already in our time - in recent years, researchers have found the remains of the burial of the royal family and modern scientific methods confirmed that members of the Romanov royal family were buried in the Koptyakovsky forest.
On the day of the execution of the royal family on July 17, 1918. a telegram was sent from the Ural Council to Sverdlov in Moscow, which spoke of the execution of "the former Tsar Nikolai Romanov, guilty of countless bloody violence against the Russian people, and the family was evacuated to a safe place." The same was reported on July 21 in a notice from the Ural Council to Yekaterinburg.
However, on the evening of July 17 at 21:15. an encrypted telegram was sent from Yekaterinburg to Moscow: "Secret. Council of People's Commissars. Gorbunov. Inform Sverdlov that the whole family suffered the same fate as its head. Officially, the family will die during the evacuation. Beloborodov. Chairman of the Ural Council."
On July 17, the day after the assassination of the tsar, other members of the Romanov dynasty were also brutally murdered in Alapaevsk: Grand Duchess Elizabeth (Alexandra Feodorovna's sister), Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, three sons of Grand Duke Konstantin, son of Grand Duke Paul. In January 1919, four Grand Dukes, including Pavel, the tsar's uncle, and Nikolai Mikhailovich, a liberal historian, were executed in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Thus, Lenin, with extraordinary cruelty, dealt with all members of the Romanov dynasty who remained in Russia for patriotic reasons.
On September 20, 1990, the City Council of Yekaterinburg decided to allocate the site on which the demolished house of Ipatiev stood, to the Yekaterinburg Diocese. A temple will be built here in memory of the innocent victims.
Khronos / www.hrono.ru / FROM ANCIENT RUSSIA TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE / Nicholas II Alexandrovich.
The last Russian emperor, who was the son of Alexander III, is represented in the person of Nicholas II. He received an excellent education, studied many languages of the world, knew military affairs and jurisprudence, was well versed in economics, history, and literature. Due to the fact that his father died at a young age, the guy had to take the throne very early.
The coronation of the great Nicholas II took place on May 6, 1896. Together with him, his wife was crowned. This celebration also had a very terrifying event, which is called "Khodynki" in the common people. It was during this period that 1200 people died.
It was during the reign of this emperor that the country's economy increased significantly. The agricultural sector has strengthened, thanks to which the state has become the main exporter of agricultural products in all of Europe. At this time, a gold currency was introduced, which proved to be stable and unshakable. The development of the industry also went uphill: the construction of large enterprises began, large cities and railways were built. Nicholas II was just a great reformer. It was he who created the decree on the introduction of a normalized day for workers and provided them with insurance. In addition, he created good reforms for the army and navy.
But, despite the fact that the life of the state has improved significantly, the people still remained unrest. The first revolution in Russia fell on January 1905, which was formed as a result of "Bloody Sunday".
In 1914, the First World War begins, because of which the state of the entire state deteriorates sharply. Any failure of each battle significantly spoiled the reputation of the Great Ruler. In the city of Petrograd in 1917, a huge uprising was raised, which led to the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne of Russia. It happened on March 2, 1917.
The Provisional Government takes drastic measures and on March 9 of the same year arrests the entire Romanov family, after which they were exiled to Tsarskoye Selo. In August 1917 they were transported to Tobolsk, and already in April of the following year they ended up in Yekaterinburg, where on the night of July 6-7 they were sent to one of the basements. It was here that the death sentence was read and shot on the spot.
Biography of Nicholas II about the main thing
Nikolai Alexandrovich - the last tsar of the Russian Empire from the dynasty of the great Romanovs. Nicholas was born on the day of St. Job the Long-suffering: May 6, 1868, because his life was considered doomed to torment and misfortune.
The childhood of the last ruler of the Romanov family
The future monarch was brought up in harsh conditions. From childhood, Nikolai's father accustomed him to Spartan conditions: Dear Nick (as his father called him) slept on a soldier's bunk with a hard pillow, doused himself with cold water in the morning, and was served ordinary porridge for breakfast. Nikolai devoted his childhood, youth and youth to study. His first mentors were: the Englishman Karl Hees and General Danilovich. Being at home education, Nicholas II completed a full gymnasium course, according to a program specially drawn up for him. He studied three languages: German, French and English, he also devoted a lot of time to studying military affairs, legal and economic sciences, and political history.
On the way to the throne
Nicholas swore an oath big church Winter Palace on May 18, 1884. For several years, the future tsar served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, after that he served in the Hussar Regiment of the Life Guards of the Russian Empire, for one season he was at the training camp in the artillery ranks. In 1892 Having risen to the rank of colonel, Nikolai begins to prepare to rule the country. He is invited to meetings of the State. The Council and the Cabinet of Ministers are appointed to manage the construction of the Trans-Siberian (a).
Romanov's reign
In 1894 Nicholas ascended the throne. Society from the reign of Nicholas expected the continuation of the reforms of his grandfather, Alexander II. However, in his first public speech, the Tsar declared that his policy would be aimed at preserving autocracy. Nicholas held important political and economic reforms, but he failed to maintain unshakable autocratic power in Russia. The tsar signed the renunciation of the throne on March 2, 1917.
last years of life
The king and his family lived out their last days in captivity. On the night of July 16-17, Nicholas II and his family were shot in the place of their imprisonment: the "House of Special Purpose" in Yekaterinburg.
Interesting facts and dates from life
The future Emperor of All Russia Nicholas II was born on May 6, 1868, on the day of the holy righteous Job the Long-suffering. He was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Empress Maria Feodorovna. The upbringing he received under the guidance of his father was strict, almost harsh. “I need normal healthy Russian children” - such a requirement was put forward by the Emperor to the educators of his children. And such an upbringing could only be Orthodox in spirit. Even as a small child, the Heir to the Tsarevich showed a special love for God, for His Church. He received a very good education at home - he knew several languages, studied Russian and world history, was deeply versed in military affairs, and was a widely erudite person. Emperor Alexander III had a program of comprehensive preparation of the Heir to the performance of royal duties, but these plans were not destined to be fully realized ...
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Princess Alice Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice) was born on May 25 (June 7), 1872 in Darmstadt, the capital of a small German duchy, by that time already forcibly included in the German Empire. Alice's father was Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her mother was Princess Alice of England, the third daughter of Queen Victoria. In infancy, Princess Alice - at home her name was Alix - was a cheerful, lively child, receiving the nickname "Sunny" (Sunny) for this. The children of the Hessian couple - and there were seven of them - were brought up in deeply patriarchal traditions. Their life passed according to the rules strictly established by their mother, not a single minute should have passed without work. The clothes and food of the children were very simple. The girls themselves lit the fireplaces, cleaned their rooms. Mother tried from childhood to instill in them qualities based on a deeply Christian approach to life.
Alix suffered her first grief at the age of six - her mother died of diphtheria at the age of thirty-five. After the tragedy, little Alix became withdrawn, aloof, and began to shun strangers; she calmed down only in the family circle. After the death of her daughter, Queen Victoria transferred her love to her children, especially to the youngest, Alix. Her upbringing, education was now under the control of her grandmother.
The first meeting of the sixteen-year-old Heir of the Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich and the very young Princess Alice took place in 1884, when her older sister, the future Reverend Martyr Elizabeth, married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the uncle of the Tsarevich. A strong friendship began between the young people, which then turned into a deep and ever-growing love. When in 1889, having reached the age of majority, the Heir turned to his parents with a request to bless him for marriage with Princess Alice, his father refused, citing the youth of the Heir to refuse. I had to come to terms with my father's will. In 1894, the unshakable determination of the son, usually gentle and even timid in communication with his father, Emperor Alexander III gives his blessing for marriage. The only obstacle was the conversion to Orthodoxy - according to Russian laws the bride of the Heir to the Russian throne must be Orthodox. A Protestant by upbringing, Alice was convinced of the truth of her confession and at first was embarrassed by the need to change her religion.
The joy of mutual love was overshadowed by a sharp deterioration in the health of his father, Emperor Alexander III. A trip to the Crimea in the autumn of 1894 did not bring him relief, a serious illness was inexorably taking away strength ...
On October 20, Emperor Alexander III died. The next day, in the palace church of the Livadia Palace, Princess Alice was joined to Orthodoxy through Chrismation, receiving the name Alexandra Feodorovna.
Despite the mourning for the father, it was decided not to postpone the marriage, but it took place in the most modest atmosphere on November 14, 1894. The days of family happiness that followed were soon replaced by the need for the new Emperor to take on the entire burden of governing the Russian Empire.
The early death of Alexander III did not allow to complete the preparation of the Heir to the duties of the monarch. He had not yet been fully introduced to the course of higher state affairs; after ascending the throne, he had to learn a lot from the reports of his ministers.
However, the character of Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was twenty-six years old at the accession to the throne, and his worldview by this time were completely determined.
The faces that stood close to the court marked his lively mind - he always quickly grasped the essence of the issues reported to him, an excellent memory, especially for faces, the nobility of his way of thinking. But the Tsarevich was overshadowed by the powerful figure of Alexander III. Nikolai Alexandrovich, with his gentleness, tact in addressing, and modest manners, gave the impression to many of a man who did not inherit the strong will of his father.
The guide for Emperor Nicholas II was his father's political testament: “I bequeath you to love everything that serves the good, honor and dignity of Russia. Protect autocracy, remembering that you are responsible for the fate of your subjects before the Throne of the Most High. Faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the foundation of your life for you. Be firm and courageous, never show weakness. Listen to everyone, there is nothing shameful in this, but listen to yourself and your conscience.
From the very beginning of his reign as a power of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II treated the performance of the duties of the monarch as a sacred duty. The sovereign deeply believed that even for the one hundred million Russian people, royal power was and remains sacred. He always had the idea that the Tsar and Tsaritsa should be closer to the people, see them more often and trust them more.
The year 1896 was marked by coronation celebrations in Moscow. The crowning of the kingdom is the most important event in the life of the monarch, especially when he is imbued with deep faith in his vocation. The sacrament of chrismation was performed over the royal couple - as a sign that, just as there is no higher, there is no harder on earth royal power, there is no burden heavier than royal service, the Lord ... will give strength to our king (1 Sam. 2,10). From that moment on, the Sovereign felt like a true Anointed One of God. Betrothed to Russia since childhood, he seemed to have married her that day.
To the great sorrow of the Sovereign, the celebrations in Moscow were overshadowed by the disaster at the Khodynka field: a stampede occurred in the crowd waiting for the royal gifts, in which many people died. Becoming the supreme ruler of a vast empire, in whose hands practically all the fullness of the legislative, executive and judiciary, Nikolai Alexandrovich took upon himself an enormous historical and moral responsibility for everything that happens in the state entrusted to him. And the Sovereign considered one of his most important duties the preservation of the Orthodox faith, according to the word of Holy Scripture: “the king ... made a covenant before the face of the Lord - to follow the Lord and keep His commandments and His revelations and His statutes with all my heart and with all my soul” (2 Kings 23, 3). A year after the wedding, on November 3, 1895, the first daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, was born; it was followed by the birth of three daughters full of health and life, who were the joy of their parents, Grand Duchesses Tatiana (May 29, 1897), Maria (June 14, 1899) and Anastasia (June 5, 1901). But this joy was not without an admixture of bitterness - the cherished desire of the Royal couple was the birth of an Heir, so that the Lord would add days to the days of the king, extend his years into generation and generation (Ps. 60, 7).
The long-awaited event took place on August 12, 1904, a year after the pilgrimage of the Royal family to Sarov, to the celebration of glorification Reverend Seraphim. It seemed that a new bright streak began in their family life. But already a few weeks after the birth of Tsarevich Alexy, it turned out that he was sick with hemophilia. The child's life hung in the balance all the time: the slightest bleeding could cost him his life. The suffering of the mother was especially strong ...
Deep and sincere religiosity singled out the Imperial couple among the representatives of the then aristocracy. From the very beginning, the upbringing of the children of the Imperial family was imbued with the spirit of the Orthodox faith. All its members lived in accordance with the traditions of Orthodox piety. Compulsory attendance at church services on Sundays and holidays fasting during fasting was an integral part of the life of Russian tsars, for the tsar trusts in the Lord, and in the goodness of the Almighty he will not be shaken (Ps. 20, 8).
However, the personal religiosity of Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich, and especially his wife, was something indisputably more than simple adherence to traditions. The royal couple not only visit churches and monasteries during their many trips, venerate miraculous icons and relics of saints, but also make pilgrimages, as was the case in 1903 during the glorification of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Brief services in the court churches no longer satisfied the Emperor and the Empress. Especially for them, services were performed in the Tsarskoye Selo Feodorovsky Cathedral, built in the style of the 16th century. Here, Empress Alexandra prayed in front of the lectern with open liturgical books, carefully following the progress of the church service.
The Emperor paid great attention to the needs of the Orthodox Church throughout his reign. Like everyone else Russian emperors, Nicholas II generously donated to the construction of new churches, including those outside of Russia. During the years of his reign, the number of parish churches in Russia increased by more than 10 thousand, more than 250 new monasteries were opened. The emperor himself participated in the laying of new churches and other church celebrations. The personal piety of the Sovereign was also manifested in the fact that during the years of his reign more saints were canonized than in the previous two centuries, when only 5 saints were glorified. During the last reign, St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), St. Seraphim of Sarov (1903), Holy Princess Anna of Kashinskaya (restoration of veneration in 1909), St. Joasaph of Belgorod (1911), St. Hermogenes of Moscow (1913), St. Pitirim of Tambov (1914), St. John of Tobolsk (1916). At the same time, the Emperor was forced to show special perseverance, seeking the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov, Sts. Joasaph of Belgorod and John of Tobolsk. Emperor Nicholas II highly honored the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt. After his blissful death, the tsar ordered a nationwide prayer commemoration of the deceased on the day of his repose.
During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, the traditional synodal system of governing the Church was preserved, but it was under him that the church hierarchy got the opportunity not only to widely discuss, but also practically prepare the convocation of the Local Council.
The desire to introduce Christian religious and moral principles of one's worldview into public life has always distinguished the foreign policy of Emperor Nicholas II. Back in 1898, he addressed the governments of Europe with a proposal to convene a conference to discuss issues of maintaining peace and reducing armaments. This resulted in peace conferences in The Hague in 1889 and 1907. Their decisions have not lost their significance to this day.
But, despite the sincere aspiration of the Sovereign to the First World, during his reign Russia had to participate in two bloody wars, which led to internal unrest. In 1904, without declaring war, Japan began hostilities against Russia - the result of this difficult war for Russia was the revolutionary turmoil of 1905. The Sovereign perceived the unrest that took place in the country as a great personal grief ...
In an informal setting, few spoke with the Sovereign. And everyone who knew his family life firsthand noted the amazing simplicity, mutual love and consent of all members of this closely knit family. Aleksey Nikolayevich was its center; all attachments, all hopes were concentrated on him. In relation to the mother, the children were full of respect and courtesy. When the Empress was unwell, the daughters arranged alternate duty with their mother, and the one who was on duty that day remained hopelessly with her. The relationship of the children with the Sovereign was touching - for them he was at the same time king, father and comrade; their feelings changed depending on the circumstances, passing from almost religious worship to complete gullibility and the most cordial friendship.
A circumstance that constantly darkened the life of the Imperial family was the incurable illness of the Heir. Attacks of hemophilia, during which the child experienced severe suffering, were repeated many times. In September 1912, as a result of a careless movement, internal bleeding occurred, and the situation was so serious that they feared for the life of the Tsarevich. Prayers for his recovery were served in all Russian churches. The nature of the disease was a state secret, and parents often had to hide their feelings while participating in the normal routine of palace life. The Empress was well aware that medicine was powerless here. But nothing is impossible for God! Being a deep believer, she indulged in fervent prayer with all her heart in the expectation of a miraculous healing. Sometimes, when the child was healthy, it seemed to her that her prayer was heard, but the attacks were repeated again, and this filled the mother's soul with endless sorrow. She was ready to believe anyone who was able to help her grief, to somehow alleviate the suffering of her son, and the illness of the Tsarevich opened the doors to the palace to those people who were recommended to the Royal Family as healers and prayer books. Among them, the peasant Grigory Rasputin appears in the palace, who was destined to play a role in the life of the Tsar's family, and in the fate of the whole country - but he had no right to claim this role. Persons who sincerely loved the Royal Family tried to somehow limit the influence of Rasputin; Among them were the Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the Hieromartyr Metropolitan Vladimir... In 1913, all of Russia solemnly celebrated the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty. After the February celebrations in St. Petersburg and Moscow, in the spring, the Royal family completes their trip to the ancient Central Russian cities, the history of which is connected with the events of the beginning of the 17th century. The Sovereign was greatly impressed by the sincere manifestations of popular devotion - and the population of the country in those years was rapidly increasing: in the multitude of the people, the greatness of the king (Prov. 14, 28).
Russia was at that time at the pinnacle of glory and power: industry developed at an unprecedented pace, the army and navy became more and more powerful, agrarian reform was successfully implemented - this time can be said in the words of Scripture: the superiority of the country as a whole is the king who takes care of the country ( Ecclesiastes 5:8). It seemed that all internal problems would be safely resolved in the near future.
But this was not destined to come true: the First World War was brewing. Using as a pretext the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by a terrorist, Austria attacked Serbia. Emperor Nicholas II considered it his Christian duty to stand up for the Orthodox Serbian brothers...
On July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which soon became a pan-European war. In August 1914, the need to help its ally France forced Russia to launch an overly hasty offensive in East Prussia, resulting in a heavy defeat. By autumn, it became clear that the near end of hostilities was not expected. However, since the beginning of the war, on the wave of patriotism, internal disagreements have subsided in the country. Even the most difficult issues became solvable - the sovereign's long-planned ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages for the entire duration of the war was implemented. His conviction in the usefulness of this measure was stronger than all economic considerations.
The sovereign regularly travels to Headquarters, visits various sectors of his huge army, dressing stations, military hospitals, rear factories - in a word, everything that played a role in waging this grandiose war. The Empress dedicated herself to the wounded from the very beginning. Having completed the courses of sisters of mercy, together with her eldest daughters, the Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatyana, she nursed the wounded for several hours a day in her Tsarskoye Selo infirmary, remembering that the Lord requires to love works of mercy (Micah 6, 8).
On August 22, 1915, the Sovereign left for Mogilev to assume command of all the armed forces of Russia. From the beginning of the war, the emperor considered his tenure as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief as the fulfillment of a moral and state duty to God and the people: he appointed their paths and sat at the head and lived like a king in a circle of soldiers, like a comforter to those who weep (Job 29, 25). However, the Sovereign always gave the leading military experts a broad initiative in resolving all military-strategic and operational-tactical issues.
From that day on, the Emperor was constantly at Headquarters, and the Heir was often with him. Approximately once a month the Emperor came to Tsarskoye Selo for several days. All responsible decisions were made by him, but at the same time he instructed the Empress to maintain relations with the ministers and keep him informed of what was happening in the capital. The empress was the closest person to him, whom he could always rely on. Alexandra Feodorovna herself entered politics not out of personal ambition and a thirst for power, as they wrote about it then. Her only desire was to be useful to the Sovereign in difficult times and help him with her advice. Every day she sent detailed letters-reports to Headquarters, which was well known to the ministers.
The Emperor spent January and February 1917 in Tsarskoye Selo. He felt that the political situation was becoming more and more tense, but he continued to hope that the feeling of patriotism would still prevail, he maintained faith in the army, whose situation had improved significantly. This raised hopes for the success of the great spring offensive, which would deal a decisive blow to Germany. But this was well understood by the forces hostile to the sovereign.
On February 22, the Sovereign left for Headquarters - this moment served as a signal for the enemies of order. They managed to sow panic in the capital because of the impending famine, because during the famine they will be angry, blaspheme their king and their God (Is. 8, 21). The next day, unrest began in Petrograd, caused by interruptions in the supply of grain, they soon developed into a strike under political slogans - "Down with the war", "Down with the autocracy." Attempts to disperse the demonstrators were unsuccessful. In the meantime, debates were going on in the Duma with sharp criticism of the government - but first of all, these were attacks against the Sovereign. The deputies claiming to be representatives of the people seem to have forgotten the instruction of the supreme apostle: Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king (1 Pet. 2:17).
On February 25, a message was received at Headquarters about unrest in the capital. Having learned about the state of affairs, the Sovereign sends troops to Petrograd to maintain order, and then he himself goes to Tsarskoye Selo. His decision was obviously caused by the desire to be at the center of events to make quick decisions if necessary, and anxiety for the family. This departure from Headquarters proved fatal. For 150 miles from Petrograd, the royal train was stopped - the next station, Lyuban, was in the hands of the rebels. I had to follow through the Dno station, but even here the path was closed. On the evening of March 1, the Sovereign arrived in Pskov, at the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General N. V. Ruzsky.
In the capital came complete anarchy. But the Sovereign and the command of the army believed that the Duma was in control of the situation; in telephone conversations with the chairman State Duma MV Rodzianko The sovereign agreed to all concessions if the Duma could restore order in the country. The answer was: it's too late. Was it really so? After all, only Petrograd and its environs were embraced by the revolution, and the authority of the Tsar among the people and in the army was still great. The answer of the Duma confronted the Tsar with a choice: renunciation or an attempt to march on Petrograd with troops loyal to him - the latter meant civil war while the external enemy was within Russian borders.
Everyone around the Sovereign also convinced him that renunciation was the only way out. This was especially insisted on by the commanders of the fronts, whose demands were supported by the Chief of the General Staff M.V. Alekseev - fear and trembling and murmuring against the kings occurred in the army (3 Ezra 15, 33). And after long and painful reflections, the Emperor made a hard-won decision: to abdicate both for himself and for the Heir, in view of his incurable illness, in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The sovereign left the supreme power and high command as a Tsar, as a warrior, as a soldier, not forgetting his high duty until the last minute. His Manifesto is an act of the highest nobility and dignity.
On March 8, the commissars of the Provisional Government, having arrived in Mogilev, announced through General Alekseev that the Sovereign had been arrested and the need to proceed to Tsarskoye Selo. For the last time, he turned to his troops, calling on them to be loyal to the Provisional Government, the very one that arrested him, to fulfill their duty to the Motherland until complete victory. The farewell order to the troops, which expressed the nobility of the Sovereign's soul, his love for the army, faith in it, was hidden from the people by the Provisional Government, which banned its publication. The new rulers, overcoming one another, neglected their king (3 Ezra 15, 16) - they, of course, were afraid that the army would hear the noble speech of their Emperor and Supreme Commander.
In the life of Emperor Nicholas II there were two periods of unequal duration and spiritual significance - the time of his reign and the time of his imprisonment, if the first of them gives the right to speak of him as an Orthodox ruler who fulfilled his royal duties as a sacred duty to God, about the Sovereign , remembering the words of Holy Scripture: Thou hast chosen me Tsar for Thy people (Wisdom 9, 7), then the second period is the path of the cross of ascent to the heights of holiness, the path to the Russian Golgotha ...
Born on the day of commemoration of the holy righteous Job the Long-suffering, the Sovereign accepted his cross in the same way as the biblical righteous man, endured all the trials sent down to him firmly, meekly and without a shadow of grumbling. It is this longsuffering that is revealed with particular clarity in the history of the last days of the Emperor. From the moment of renunciation, not so much external events as the internal spiritual state of the Sovereign attracts attention. The sovereign, having accepted, as it seemed to him, the only correct solution However, he suffered severe mental anguish. “If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at the head of it ask me to leave the throne and pass it on to my son and brother, then I am ready to do this, I am ready not only to give my kingdom, but also to give my life for the Motherland. I think that no one doubts this among those who know me, ”said the Sovereign to General D. N. Dubensky.
On the very day of his abdication, March 2, the same General Shubensky recorded the words of the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count V.B. He was worried about the thought of a family that remained alone in Tsarskoye Selo, the children were sick. The sovereign suffers terribly, but he is such a person who will never show his grief in public. Restrained Nikolai Alexandrovich and personal diary. Only at the very end of the recording for that day does his inner feeling break through: “My renunciation is needed. The bottom line is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace, you need to decide on this step. I agreed. A draft Manifesto was sent from Headquarters. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and handed 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. Around treason and cowardice and deceit!
The Provisional Government announced the arrest of Emperor Nicholas II and his August wife and their detention in Tsarskoe Selo. The arrest of the Emperor and Empress did not have the slightest legal basis or reason.
When the unrest that began in Petrograd spread to Tsarskoye Selo, part of the troops rebelled, and a huge crowd of rebels - more than 10 thousand people - moved to the Alexander Palace. The Empress on that day, February 28, almost did not leave the room for sick children. She was informed that all measures would be taken for the security of the palace. But the crowd was already very close - just 500 steps from the palace fence, a sentry was killed. At this moment, Alexandra Feodorovna shows determination and extraordinary courage - together with Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, she bypasses the ranks of soldiers loyal to her, who have taken up defense around the palace and are already ready for battle. She convinces them to negotiate with the rebels and not shed blood. Fortunately, at this point, prudence prevailed. The following days the Empress spent in terrible anxiety for the fate of the Emperor - only rumors of renunciation reached her. Only on March 3 did she receive a brief note from him. The experiences of the Empress these days are vividly described by an eyewitness, Archpriest Afanasy Belyaev, who served a prayer service in the palace: “The Empress, dressed as a sister of mercy, stood near the bed of the Heir. In front of the icon, they lit several thin wax candles. A prayer service began ... Oh, what a terrible, unexpected grief befell the Royal Family! The news came that the Emperor, who was returning from Headquarters to his family, was arrested and, perhaps, even abdicated ... One can imagine the situation in which the helpless Queen, the mother with her five seriously ill children, found herself! Having suppressed in herself the infirmity of a woman and all her bodily ailments, heroically, selflessly, devoting herself to caring for the sick, [with] full hope in the help of the Queen of Heaven, she decided, first of all, to pray before the miraculous icon of the Sign Mother of God. Warmly, on her knees, with tears, the earthly Queen asked for help and intercession from the Queen of Heaven. Having kissed the icon and going under it, she asked to bring the icon to the beds of the sick, so that all sick children could immediately kiss the Miraculous Image. When we took the icon out of the palace, the palace was already cordoned off by troops, and everyone in it was arrested.
On March 9, the Emperor, who had been arrested the day before, was transported to Tsarskoye Selo, where the whole family was impatiently waiting for him. An almost five-month period of indefinite stay in Tsarskoye Selo began. The days passed measuredly - in regular worship, joint meals, walks, reading and communication with loved ones. However, at the same time, the life of the prisoners was subjected to petty constraints - the Sovereign was announced by A.F. Kerensky that he should live separately and see the Empress only at the table, and speak only in Russian. Guard soldiers in a rude form made remarks to him, access to the palace of persons close to the Imperial family was forbidden. Once, the soldiers even took away a toy gun from the Heir under the pretext of a ban on carrying weapons.
Father Afanasy Belyaev, who regularly performed divine services in the Alexander Palace during this period, left his testimonies about the spiritual life of the Tsarskoye Selo prisoners. This is how the Good Friday Matins service on March 30, 1917, took place in the palace. “The service went on reverently and touchingly ... Their Majesties listened to the entire service while standing. Folding lecterns were placed in front of them, on which the Gospels lay, so that they could follow the reading. Everyone stood until the end of the service and left through the common hall to their rooms. One must see for oneself and be so close in order to understand and make sure how the former royal family fervently, in the Orthodox way, often on their knees, prays to God. With what humility, meekness, humility, wholly surrendering themselves to the will of God, they stand behind the divine services.
The next day the whole family went to confession. This is how the rooms of the royal children looked like, in which the Sacrament of confession was performed: “What amazingly Christian-style rooms. Each princess has a real iconostasis in the corner of the room, filled with many icons of various sizes depicting especially revered saints. In front of the iconostasis there is a folding lectern, covered with a veil in the form of a towel, prayer books and liturgical books, as well as the Holy Gospel and the cross, are placed on it. The decoration of the rooms and all their furnishings represent an innocent, ignorant of worldly dirt, pure, immaculate childhood. To listen to prayers before confession, all four children were in the same room ... "
“The impression [from the confession] turned out to be this: give, Lord, that all children are morally as high as the children of the former Tsar. Such kindness, humility, obedience to parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity in thoughts and complete ignorance of earthly dirt - passionate and sinful, writes Father Athanasius, - they led me into amazement, and I was decidedly perplexed: should I, as a confessor, be reminded of sins, perhaps unknown to them, and how to dispose to repentance in sins known to me.
Kindness and peace of mind did not leave the Empress even in these most difficult days after the abdication of the Sovereign from the throne. Here are the words of consolation she addresses in a letter to the cornet S. V. Markov: “You are not alone, do not be afraid to live. The Lord will hear our prayers and help you, comfort and strengthen you. Do not lose your faith, pure, childish, remain as small as you are when you are big. It is hard and difficult to live, but ahead there is Light and joy, silence and reward for all suffering and torment. Go straight on your way, do not look to the right and to the left, and if you do not see a stone and fall, do not be afraid and do not lose heart. Climb up again and go forward. It hurts, it’s hard on the soul, but grief cleanses us. Remember the life and suffering of the Savior, and your life will seem to you not as black as you thought. We have one goal, we all aspire to go there, but we will help each other find the way. Christ is with you, don't be afraid."
In the palace Church or in the former royal chambers, Father Athanasius regularly celebrated the All-Night and Divine Liturgy, which were always attended by all members of the Imperial Family. After the day of the Holy Trinity, disturbing messages appear more and more often in the diary of Father Athanasius - he notes the growing irritation of the guards, sometimes reaching rudeness towards the Royal Family. The state of mind of the members of the Royal Family does not remain without his attention - yes, they all suffered, he notes, but along with suffering, their patience and prayer increased. In their sufferings, they acquired true humility - according to the word of the prophet: Say to the king and queen: humble yourself ... for the crown of your glory has fallen from your head (Jer. 13, 18).
“... Now the humble servant of God Nikolai, like a meek lamb, benevolent to all his enemies, not remembering insults, praying earnestly for the welfare of Russia, believing deeply in her glorious future, kneeling down, looking at the cross and the Gospel ... speaks to the Heavenly Father the innermost secrets of his long-suffering life and, falling to the dust before the majesty of the King of Heaven, tearfully asks for forgiveness for his voluntary and involuntary sins, ”we read in the diary of Father Afanasy Belyaev.
In the meantime, serious changes were brewing in the lives of the Royal Prisoners. The Provisional Government appointed a commission to investigate the activities of the Emperor, but despite all efforts to find at least something discrediting the Tsar, nothing was found - the Tsar was innocent. When his innocence was proved and it became obvious that there was no crime behind him, the Provisional Government, instead of releasing the Sovereign and his August wife, decided to remove the prisoners from Tsarskoye Selo. On the night of August 1, they were sent to Tobolsk - this was allegedly done in view of possible unrest, the first victim of which could be the Royal Family. In fact, by doing so, the family was doomed to the cross, for at that time the days of the Provisional Government itself were numbered.
On July 30, the day before the departure of the royal family for Tobolsk, the last Divine Liturgy was served in the royal chambers; For the last time, the former owners of their native home gathered to pray fervently, asking with tears, on their knees from the Lord, help and intercession from all troubles and misfortunes, and at the same time realizing that they were embarking on the path destined by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself for all Christians: They will lay hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to prison, and will bring you before the rulers for my name's sake (Luke 21:12). During this liturgy, the entire royal family and their already very small servants prayed.
August 6 Royal prisoners arrived in Tobolsk. The first weeks of the royal family's stay in Tobolsk were perhaps the calmest for the entire period of their imprisonment. September 8, the day of Christmas Holy Mother of God, the prisoners were allowed to go to church for the first time. Subsequently, this consolation very rarely fell to their lot. One of the greatest hardships during my life in Tobolsk was the almost complete absence of any news. Letters arrived with a huge delay. As for the newspapers, one had to be content with a local sheet printed on brown paper and giving only old telegrams several days late, and even those most often appeared here in a distorted and truncated form. The emperor watched with alarm the events unfolding in Russia. He understood that the country was rapidly heading towards destruction.
Kornilov invited Kerensky to send troops to Petrograd in order to put an end to the Bolshevik agitation, which was becoming more and more threatening day by day. The Tsar's sadness was immeasurable when the Provisional Government also rejected this last attempt to save the Motherland. He was well aware that this was the only way to avoid imminent disaster. The sovereign repents of his abdication. “After all, he made this decision only in the hope that those who wanted him removed would still be able to continue the war with honor and not ruin the cause of saving Russia. He was then afraid that his refusal to sign the renunciation would lead to civil war in the sight of the enemy. The tsar did not want even a drop of Russian blood to be shed because of him ... It was painful for the emperor now to see the futility of his sacrifice and to realize that, having in mind then only the good of the motherland, he harmed her by his renunciation, ”recalls P Gilliard, tutor of Tsarevich Alexei.
Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks had already come to power in Petrograd - a period had come, about which the Sovereign wrote in his diary: "much worse and more shameful than the events of the Time of Troubles." The news of the October coup reached Tobolsk on 15 November. The soldiers guarding the governor's house took a liking to the royal family, and several months passed after the Bolshevik coup before the change of power began to affect the situation of the prisoners. In Tobolsk, a “soldiers’ committee” was formed, which, striving in every possible way for self-affirmation, demonstrated its power over the Sovereign - either they force him to remove his shoulder straps, or they destroy the ice hill arranged for the Tsar’s children: he mocks the kings, according to the word of the prophet Habakkuk (Hab. 1 , 10). From March 1, 1918, "Nikolai Romanov and his family are being transferred to a soldier's ration."
The letters and diaries of members of the Imperial family testify to the deep experience of the tragedy that was unfolding before their eyes. But this tragedy does not deprive the Royal prisoners of strength of mind, faith and hope for God's help.
“It is incredibly hard, sad, insulting, ashamed, but do not lose faith in God's mercy. He will not leave his homeland to perish. We must endure all these humiliations, nasty things, horrors with humility (since we are unable to help). And He will save, long-suffering and many-merciful — He will not be angry to the end... Without faith it would be impossible to live...
How happy I am that we are not abroad, but we are experiencing everything with her [Motherland]. As you want to share everything with your beloved sick person, to survive everything and follow him with love and excitement, so it is with the Motherland. I felt like her mother for too long to lose this feeling - we are one and share sorrow and happiness. She hurt us, offended us, slandered us... but we still love her deeply and want to see her recover, as a sick child with bad, but also good qualities, and our native Motherland...
I firmly believe that the time of suffering is passing, that the sun will again shine over the long-suffering Motherland. After all, the Lord is merciful - he will save the Motherland ... ”the Empress wrote.
The suffering of the country and the people cannot be meaningless - the Royal Passion-Bearers firmly believe in this: “When will all this end? Whenever God wants. Be patient, dear country, and you will receive a crown of glory, a reward for all suffering ... Spring will come and please, and dry up the tears and blood shed in streams over the poor Motherland ...
There is still much more difficult ahead - it hurts, how much bloodshed, it hurts terribly! But the truth must finally win...
How to live if there is no hope? We must be cheerful, and then the Lord will give peace of mind. It hurts, annoyed, insulting, ashamed, you suffer, everything hurts, it is punctured, but there is silence in your soul, calm faith and love for God, who will not leave His own and hear the prayers of the zealous and have mercy and save ...
How long will our unfortunate motherland be tormented and torn apart by external and internal enemies? Sometimes it seems that there is no more strength to endure, you don’t even know what to hope for, what to wish for? And yet no one is like God! May His will be done!"
Consolation and meekness in enduring sorrows are given to Royal prisoners by prayer, reading spiritual books, worship, Communion: “... The Lord God gave unexpected joy and consolation, allowing us to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, for the cleansing of sins and eternal life. Light jubilation and love fill the soul.
In suffering and trials, spiritual knowledge, knowledge of oneself, of one's soul, is multiplied. Striving for eternal life helps endure suffering and gives great consolation: “... Everything that I love suffers, there is no account of all the dirt and suffering, and the Lord does not allow despondency: He protects from despair, gives strength, confidence in a brighter future in this world."
In March it became known that a separate peace with Germany was concluded in Brest. The sovereign did not hide his attitude towards him: “This is such a shame for Russia and it is“ tantamount to suicide. When a rumor spread that the Germans demanded that the Bolsheviks hand over the Imperial Family to them, the Empress declared: “I prefer to die in Russia than to be saved by the Germans.” The first Bolshevik detachment arrived in Tobolsk on Tuesday 22 April. Commissar Yakovlev inspects the house, gets acquainted with the prisoners. A few days later, he announces that he must take the Sovereign away, assuring him that nothing bad will happen to him. Assuming that they want to send him to Moscow to sign a separate peace with Germany, the Sovereign, who under no circumstances left the high spiritual nobility (remember the Epistle of the prophet Jeremiah: king, show your courage - Epistle. Jer. 1, 58), firmly said : "I'd rather have my hand cut off than sign this shameful treaty."
The heir at that time was sick, and it was impossible to take him. Despite her fear for her sick son, the Empress decides to follow her husband; Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna also went with them. Only on May 7, family members who remained in Tobolsk received news from Yekaterinburg: the Sovereign, Empress and Maria Nikolaevna were imprisoned in the Ipatiev house. When the health of the Heir recovered, the rest of the members of the Imperial family from Tobolsk were also taken to Yekaterinburg and imprisoned in the same house, but most of the people close to the family were not allowed to see them.
There is much less evidence left about the Yekaterinburg period of imprisonment of the Imperial family. Almost no letters. Basically, this period is known only from brief entries in the diary of the Emperor and the testimony of witnesses in the case of the murder of the Royal Family. Especially valuable is the testimony of Archpriest John Storozhev, who performed the last divine services in the Ipatiev House. Father John served there twice on Sundays at Mass; for the first time it was on May 20 (June 2), 1918: “... the deacon spoke the petitions of the litanies, and I sang. Two female voices sang along with me (I think it was Tatyana Nikolaevna and one of them), sometimes in a low bass, and Nikolai Alexandrovich ... They prayed very zealously ... "
“Nikolai Alexandrovich was dressed in a tunic of a khaki color, the same trousers, with high boots. He has an officer's St. George's Cross on his chest. There was no epaulet... [He] impressed me with his firm gait, his calmness, and especially his manner of looking intently and firmly into the eyes...,” Father John wrote.
Many portraits of members of the Royal Family have been preserved - from the beautiful portraits of A. N. Serov to late photographs taken already in captivity. From them one can get an idea of the appearance of the Sovereign, Empress, Tsesarevich and Princesses - but in the descriptions of many people who saw them during their lifetime, special attention is usually paid to the eyes. “He looked at me with such lively eyes…” Father John Storozhev said about the Heir. Probably, this impression can be most accurately conveyed by the words of the Wise Solomon: “In the bright gaze of the king is life, and his favor is like a cloud with late rain ...” In the Church Slavonic text, this sounds even more expressive: “in the light of life, the son of the kings” (Proverbs 16, 15).
Living conditions in the "special purpose house" were much more difficult than in Tobolsk. The guard consisted of 12 soldiers who lived in close proximity to the prisoners, ate with them at the same table. Commissar Avdeev, an inveterate drunkard, daily contrived, together with his subordinates, to invent new humiliations for the prisoners. I had to put up with hardships, endure bullying and obey the demands of these rude people - among the guards were former criminals. As soon as the Sovereign and Empress arrived at Ipatiev's house, they were subjected to a humiliating and rude search. The royal couple and the princesses had to sleep on the floor, without beds. At dinner, a family of seven was given only five spoons; The guards sitting at the same table smoked, brazenly exhaling smoke in the faces of the prisoners, and rudely took away their food.
A walk in the garden was allowed once a day, at first for 15-20 minutes, and then no more than five. The behavior of the sentries was completely obscene - they were on duty even near the door to the toilet, and they were not allowed to lock the doors. The guards wrote obscene words on the walls and made obscene images.
Only Dr. Evgeny Botkin, who surrounded the prisoners with care and acted as an intermediary between them and the commissars, trying to protect them from the rudeness of the guards, and several tried and true servants remained near the Royal Family: Anna Demidova, I. S. Kharitonov, A. E. Trupp and boy Lenya Sednev.
The faith of the prisoners supported their courage, gave them strength and patience in suffering. They all understood the possibility end soon. Even the Tsesarevich somehow escaped the phrase: “If they kill, if only they don’t torture ...” The Empress and Grand Duchesses often sang church hymns, which their guard listened to against their will. In almost complete isolation from the outside world, surrounded by rude and cruel guards, the prisoners of the Ipatiev House show amazing nobility and clarity of spirit.
In one of Olga Nikolaevna's letters there are the following lines: “Father asks me to tell all those who remained devoted to him, and those on whom they can influence, so that they do not avenge him, since he has forgiven everyone and prays for everyone, and so that they do not avenge themselves, and so that they remember that the evil that is now in the world will be even stronger, but that it is not evil that will overcome evil, but only love.
Even the rude guards gradually softened in dealing with the prisoners. They were surprised by their simplicity, they were subdued by the full dignity of spiritual clarity, and they soon felt the superiority of those whom they thought to keep in their power. Even Commissar Avdeev relented. Such a change did not escape the eyes of the Bolshevik authorities. Avdeev was removed and replaced by Yurovsky, the guards were replaced by Austro-German prisoners and selected people from among the executioners of the "emergency" - the "special purpose house" became, as it were, its branch. The life of its inhabitants turned into a continuous martyrdom.
On July 1 (14), 1918, Father John Storozhev celebrated the last divine service in the Ipatiev House. The tragic hours were approaching... Preparations for the execution were made in the strictest secrecy from the prisoners of the Ipatiev House.
On the night of July 16-17, around the beginning of the third, Yurovsky woke up the Tsar's family. They were told that the city was unsettled and that it was necessary to move to a safe place. Forty minutes later, when everyone was dressed and gathered, Yurovsky, together with the prisoners, went down to the first floor and led them into the basement room through one barred window. All were outwardly calm. The sovereign carried Alexei Nikolaevich in his arms, the rest had pillows and other small things in their hands. At the request of the Empress, two chairs were brought into the room, pillows brought by the Grand Duchesses and Anna Demidova were placed on them. The Empress and Alexei Nikolaevich were seated on chairs. The Sovereign stood in the center next to the Heir. The rest of the family and servants were accommodated in different parts rooms and prepared to wait for a long time - they were already accustomed to nightly alarms and all sorts of movements. Meanwhile in next room Armed men were already crowding, waiting for the killer's signal. At that moment, Yurovsky came very close to the Sovereign and said: "Nikolai Alexandrovich, by order of the Ural Regional Council, you will be shot with your family." This phrase was so unexpected for the Tsar that he turned towards the family, stretching out his hands to them, then, as if wanting to ask again, he turned to the commandant, saying: “What? What?" The empress and Olga Nikolaevna wanted to cross themselves. But at that moment, Yurovsky fired at the Sovereign from a revolver almost point-blank several times, and he immediately fell. Almost at the same time, everyone else began to shoot - everyone knew their victim in advance.
Those already lying on the floor were finished off with shots and bayonets. When it seemed that everything was over, Alexei Nikolaevich suddenly groaned weakly - they shot at him several more times. The picture was terrible: eleven bodies lay on the floor in streams of blood. After making sure that their victims were dead, the killers began to remove jewelry from them. Then the dead were carried out into the yard, where a truck was already standing ready - the noise of its engine was supposed to drown out the shots in the basement. Even before sunrise, the bodies were taken to the forest in the vicinity of the village of Koptyaki. For three days, the killers tried to hide their atrocity...
Most of the testimonies speak of the prisoners of the Ipatiev House as suffering people, but deeply believing, undoubtedly submissive to the will of God. Despite bullying and insults, they led a decent family life in the Ipatiev house, trying to brighten up the oppressive atmosphere with mutual communication, prayer, reading and feasible activities. “The Sovereign and Empress believed that they were dying martyrs for their homeland,” writes one of the witnesses to their life in captivity, the educator of the Heir, Pierre Gilliard, “they died martyrs for humanity. Their true greatness did not stem from their royal dignity, but from that amazing moral height to which they gradually rose. They have become the perfect force. And in their very humiliation, they were a striking manifestation of that amazing clarity of the soul, against which all violence and all fury are powerless and which triumphs in death itself.
Together with Imperial family their servants, who followed their masters into exile, were also shot. To them, in addition to those shot together with the Imperial family by Dr. E. S. Botkin, room girl Empress A. S. Demidova, the court cook I. M. Kharitonov and the footman A. E. Trupp, belonged to those killed in various places and in different months of 1918, Adjutant General I. L. Tatishchev, Marshal Prince V. A. Dolgorukov, the “uncle” of the Heir K. G. Nagorny, the children’s lackey I. D. Sednev, the maid of honor of the Empress A. V. Gendrikov and the goflectress E. A. Schneider.
Shortly after the execution of the Sovereign was announced, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon blessed the archpastors and pastors to perform requiems for him. His Holiness Himself on July 8 (21), 1918, during a divine service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, said: “The other day a terrible thing happened: the former Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich was shot ... We must, obeying the teaching of the word of God, condemn this case, otherwise the blood of the executed will fall and on us, and not only on those who committed it. We know that when he abdicated, he did this with the good of Russia in mind and out of love for her. After his renunciation, he could have found security and a relatively quiet life abroad, but he did not do this, wanting to suffer along with Russia. He did nothing to improve his position, meekly resigned himself to fate.
The veneration of the royal family, begun already His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon in a prayer for the dead and a word at a memorial service in the Kazan Cathedral in Moscow for the murdered Emperor three days after the Yekaterinburg assassination, continued - despite the prevailing ideology - throughout several decades of the Soviet period of our history.
Many clergy and laity secretly lifted up prayers to God for the repose of the slain sufferers, members of the Royal Family. In recent years, photographs of the Royal Family could be seen in many houses in the red corner, and icons depicting the Royal Martyrs began to circulate in abundance. Prayers addressed to them, literary, cinematographic and musical works were compiled, reflecting the suffering and martyrdom of the Royal Family. The Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints received appeals from the ruling bishops, clergy and laity in support of the canonization of the Royal Family - some of these appeals had thousands of signatures. By the time of the glorification of the Royal Martyrs, a huge amount of evidence had accumulated about their grace-filled help - about the healing of the sick, the reunification of disunited families, the protection of church property from schismatics, the myrrh-streaming icons with images of Emperor Nicholas and the Royal Martyrs, about the fragrance and the appearance of bloody stains on the icons of the Royal Martyrs. colors.
One of the first attested miracles was the deliverance during the civil war of hundreds of Cossacks, surrounded in impenetrable swamps by red troops. At the call of the priest Father Elijah, in unanimity, the Cossacks turned with a prayerful appeal to the Tsar-Martyr, the Sovereign of Russia - and in an incredible way they left the encirclement.
In Serbia, in 1925, a case was described when an elderly woman, whose two sons died in the war, and the third went missing, had a vision in a dream of Emperor Nicholas, who said that the third son was alive and was in Russia - in a few months son returned home.
In October 1991, two women went for cranberries and got lost in an impenetrable swamp. Night came on, and the marsh bog could easily have dragged in careless travelers. But one of them remembered the description of the miraculous deliverance of the detachment of Cossacks - and following their example, she began to fervently pray for the help of the Royal Martyrs: “Killed Royal Martyrs, save us, the servant of God Eugene and Love!” Suddenly, in the darkness, the women saw a glowing bough from a tree; grabbing onto it, they got out to a dry place, and then went out to a wide clearing, along which they reached the village. It is noteworthy that the second woman, who also testified of this miracle, was at that time still a person far from the Church.
Marina, a secondary school student from the city of Podolsk, an Orthodox Christian who especially reveres the Royal Family, was saved from a hooligan attack by the miraculous intercession of the Royal Children. The three young men who attacked wanted to drag her into the car, take her away and dishonor her, but suddenly they fled in horror. Later, they admitted that they saw the Imperial children who stood up for the girl. This happened on the eve of the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in 1997. Subsequently, it became known that the young people repented and radically changed their lives.
Dane Jan-Michael was an alcoholic and a drug addict for sixteen years, and became addicted to these vices from early youth. On the advice of good friends, in 1995 he went on a pilgrimage to the historical places of Russia; he ended up in Tsarskoye Selo. At the Divine Liturgy in the house church, where the Royal Martyrs once prayed, he turned to them with an ardent plea for help - and felt that the Lord was delivering him from sinful passion. On July 17, 1999, he accepted the Orthodox faith with the name Nikolai in honor of the holy Tsar-martyr.
On May 15, 1998, Moscow doctor Oleg Belchenko received an icon of the Tsar-Martyr as a gift, before which he prayed almost daily, and in September he began to notice small bloody spots on the icon. Oleg brought the icon to the Sretensky Monastery; during the prayer service, all the worshipers felt a strong fragrance from the icon. The icon was transferred to the altar, where it remained for three weeks, and the fragrance did not stop. Later, the icon visited several Moscow churches and monasteries; the myrrh-streaming from this image was repeatedly witnessed, which was witnessed by hundreds of parishioners. In 1999, 87-year-old Alexander Mikhailovich was miraculously healed of blindness at the myrrh-streaming icon of the Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II: a complex eye operation almost did not help, but when he kissed the myrrh-streaming icon with fervent prayer, and the priest serving the prayer service covered his face with a towel with traces peace, healing came - sight returned. The myrrh-streaming icon visited a number of dioceses - Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, Odessa ... Everywhere the icon visited, numerous cases of its myrrh-streaming were witnessed, and two parishioners of Odessa churches reported healing from leg disease after praying before the icon. From the Tulchinsk-Bratslav diocese reported cases of grace-filled help through prayers before this miraculous icon: servant of God Nina was healed of severe hepatitis, parishioner Olga received healing of a broken collarbone, servant of God Lyudmila was healed of severe damage to the pancreas.
During the Jubilee Council of Bishops, the parishioners of the church under construction in Moscow in honor of St. Andrei Rublev gathered for a joint prayer to the Royal Martyrs: one of the aisles of the future church is planned to be consecrated in honor of the new martyrs. When reading the akathist, the worshipers felt a strong fragrance emanating from the books. This fragrance continued for several days.
Many Christians now turn to the Royal Passion-Bearers with a prayer for strengthening the family and raising children in faith and piety, for preserving their purity and chastity - after all, during the persecution, the Imperial family was especially united, carried the indestructible Orthodox faith through all sorrows and sufferings.
The memory of the holy passion-bearers Emperor Nicholas, Empress Alexandra, their children - Alexy, Olga, Tatiana, Mary and Anastasia is celebrated on the day of their murder on July 4 (17), and on the day of the cathedral memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia on January 25 (February 7), if this the day coincides with Sunday, and if it does not coincide, then on the nearest Sunday after January 25 (February 7).
Life according to the magazine:
Moscow Diocesan Gazette. 2000. No. 10-11. pp. 20-33.
Today marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian emperor. Although a lot has been written about Nicholas II, much of what has been written refers to "folk fiction", delusions.
The king was modest in dress. unpretentious
Nicholas II was remembered by the many surviving photographic materials as an unpretentious man. In food, he was really unpretentious. He loved fried dumplings, which he often ordered while walking on his favorite yacht Shtandart. The king kept fasts and generally ate moderately, tried to keep himself in shape, so he preferred simple food: cereals, rice cutlets and pasta with mushrooms.
Among the guards officers, the snack "nikolashka" was a success. Her recipe is attributed to Nicholas II. Powdered sugar was mixed with ground coffee, this mixture was sprinkled with a slice of lemon, which was used to eat a glass of cognac.
With regard to clothing, the situation was different. The wardrobe of Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace alone consisted of several hundred pieces of military uniform and civilian clothing: frock coats, uniforms of guards and army regiments and overcoats, cloaks, sheepskin coats, shirts and underwear made in the Nordenstrem workshop in the capital, a hussar mentik and dolman, in which Nicholas II was on the wedding day. When receiving foreign ambassadors and diplomats, the tsar put on the uniform of the state where the envoy came from. Often, Nicholas II had to change clothes six times a day. Here, in the Alexander Palace, a collection of cigarette cases collected by Nicholas II was kept.
It must be admitted, however, that out of the 16 million allocated per year for royal family, the lion's share went to the payment of benefits for employees of the palaces (one Winter Palace served a staff of 1200 people), to support the Academy of Arts (the royal family was a trustee, therefore, incurred expenses) and other needs.
The spending was serious. The construction of the Livadia Palace cost the Russian treasury 4.6 million rubles, 350 thousand rubles a year were spent on the royal garage, and 12 thousand rubles a year for photographing.
This is taking into account the fact that the average expenditure of households in the Russian Empire at that time was about 85 rubles per capita per year.
Each Grand Duke was also entitled to an annual annuity of two hundred thousand rubles. Each of the Grand Duchesses was given a dowry of one million rubles upon marriage. At birth, a member of the imperial family received a capital of one million rubles.
The Tsar Colonel personally went to the front and led the armies
Many photographs have been preserved where Nicholas II takes the oath, arrives at the front and eats from field kitchen where he is the "father of the soldiers". Nicholas II really loved everything military. He practically did not wear civilian clothes, preferring uniforms.
It is generally accepted that the emperor himself led the actions of the Russian army in. However, it is not. The generals and the military council decided. Several factors influenced the improvement of the situation at the front with the assumption of command by Nikolai. Firstly, by the end of August 1915, the Great Retreat was stopped, the German army suffered from stretched communications, and secondly, the situation was also affected by the change of the commanders-in-chief of the General Staff - Yanushkevich to Alekseev.
Nicholas II really went to the front, loved to live in Headquarters, sometimes with his family, often took his son with him, but never (unlike his cousins George and Wilhelm) approached the front line closer than 30 kilometers. The emperor accepted IV degree shortly after a German plane flew over the horizon during the arrival of the king.
The absence of the emperor in St. Petersburg had a bad effect on domestic policy. He began to lose influence on the aristocracy and the government. This proved fertile ground for intra-corporate splits and indecision during the February Revolution.
From the emperor's diary on August 23, 1915 (the day he assumed the duties of the Supreme High Command): "Slept well. The morning was rainy: in the afternoon the weather improved and it became quite warm. At 3.30 he arrived at his Headquarters, one verst from the mountains. Mogilev. Nikolasha was waiting for me. After talking with him, he accepted the gene. Alekseev and his first report. Everything went well! After drinking tea, I went to inspect the surrounding area. The train stops in a small dense forest. Dined at 7½. Then I took another walk, the evening was excellent.
The introduction of gold security is the personal merit of the emperor
It is customary to refer to the economically successful reforms that Nicholas II carried out as the monetary reform of 1897, when the gold backing of the ruble was introduced in the country. However, preparations for monetary reform began as early as the mid-1880s, under the finance ministers Bunge and Vyshnegradsky, during the reign.
The reform was a forced means of avoiding credit money. can be considered its author. The king of decision himself money matters avoided, by the beginning of World War I, Russia's external debt was 6.5 billion rubles, only 1.6 billion were secured with gold.
Made personal "unpopular" decisions. Often in defiance of the Duma
It is customary to say about Nicholas II that he personally carried out reforms, often in defiance of the Duma. However, in fact, Nicholas II rather "did not interfere." He didn't even have a personal secretariat. But under him, well-known reformers were able to develop their abilities. Such as Witte and. At the same time, relations between the two "second politicians" were far from idyllic.
Sergei Witte wrote about Stolypin: "No one has destroyed even the semblance of justice as he, Stolypin, and that's all, accompanied by liberal speeches and gestures."
Pyotr Arkadyevich did not lag behind. Witte, dissatisfied with the results of the investigation about the attempt on his life, he wrote: “From your letter, Count, I must draw one conclusion: either you consider me an idiot, or you find that I am also participating in the attempt on your life ... ".
About the death of Stolypin, Sergei Witte wrote succinctly: "Killed."
Nicholas II personally never wrote detailed resolutions, he limited himself to marginal notes, most often he simply put a “reading mark”. He sat on official commissions no more than 30 times, always on extraordinary occasions, the emperor's remarks at meetings were brief, he chose one side or another in the discussion.
The Hague court is a brilliant "brainchild" of the king
It is believed that the Hague International Court was the brilliant brainchild of Nicholas II. Yes, indeed the Russian Tsar was the initiator of the First Hague Peace Conference, but he was not the author of all its decisions.
The most useful thing that the Hague Convention was able to do concerned military laws. Thanks to the agreement, the prisoners of war of the First World War were kept in acceptable conditions, they could contact the house, they were not forced to work; sanitary posts were protected from attacks, the wounded were cared for, the civilian population was not subjected to mass violence.
But in reality, the Permanent Court of Arbitration has not brought much benefit in its 17 years of operation. Russia did not even approach the Chamber during the Japanese crisis, and so did the other signatories. “Turned into a zilch” and the Convention on the Peaceful Settlement of International Issues. The Balkans broke out in the world, and then the First World War.
The Hague does not influence international affairs even today. Few of the heads of state of world powers appeal to the international court.
Grigory Rasputin had a strong influence on the king
Even before the abdication of Nicholas II, rumors began to appear among the people about excessive influence on the king. According to them, it turned out that the state was controlled not by the tsar, not by the government, but personally by the Tobolsk "elder".
Of course, this was far from true. Rasputin had influence at court, and was well received into the emperor's house. Nicholas II and the Empress called him “our friend” or “Gregory”, and he called them “dad and mother”.
However, Rasputin still exerted influence on the empress, while government decisions were made without his participation. Thus, it is well known that Rasputin opposed Russia's entry into the First World War, and even after Russia's entry into the conflict, he tried to convince the royal family to go to peace negotiations with the Germans.
Most of the (grand dukes) supported the war with Germany and focused on England. For the latter, a separate peace between Russia and Germany threatened defeat in the war.
Do not forget that Nicholas II was a cousin of both the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the brother of the British King George V. Rasputin also performed an applied function at court - he relieved the suffering of the heir Alexei. A circle of exalted admirers really formed around him, but Nicholas II did not belong to them.
Didn't abdicate
One of the most enduring misconceptions is the myth that Nicholas II did not abdicate, and the abdication document is a fake. It really has a lot of oddities: it was written on a typewriter on telegraph forms, although there were pens and writing paper on the train where Nicholas abdicated on March 15, 1917. Supporters of the version about the falsification of the renunciation manifesto cite the fact that the document was signed with a pencil.
There is just nothing strange about this. Nikolai signed many documents with a pencil. Another strange thing. If this is really a fake and the tsar did not renounce, he should have written at least something about it in his correspondence, but there is not a word about this. Nicholas abdicated for himself and his son in favor of his brother, Mikhail Alexandrovich.
The diary entries of the tsar's confessor, rector of the Fedorovsky Cathedral, Archpriest Athanasius Belyaev, have been preserved. In a conversation after confession, Nicholas II told him: “... And now, alone, without a close adviser, deprived of liberty, like a caught criminal, I signed an act of renunciation both for myself and for my son’s heir. I decided that if it is necessary for the good of the motherland, I am ready for anything. I'm sorry for my family!".
The very next day, March 3 (16), 1917, Mikhail Alexandrovich also abdicated, transferring the decision on the form of government to the Constituent Assembly.
Yes, the manifesto was obviously written under pressure, and it was not Nicholas himself who wrote it. It is unlikely that he himself would have written: "There is no sacrifice that I would not make in the name of a real good and for the salvation of my dear Mother Russia." However, there was a formal renunciation.
Interestingly, the myths and clichés about the abdication of the king largely came from Alexander Blok's book The Last Days of Imperial Power. The poet enthusiastically accepted the revolution and became the literary editor of the Extraordinary Commission for the affairs of the former tsarist ministers. That is, he literally processed the verbatim records of interrogations.
Against the creation of the role of a martyr king, the young Soviet propaganda actively campaigned. Its effectiveness can be judged from the diary of the peasant Zamaraev (he kept it for 15 years), preserved in the museum of the city of Totma, Vologda region. The head of a peasant is full of cliches imposed by propaganda:
“Romanov Nikolai and his family have been deposed, they are all under arrest and receive all the food on an equal basis with others on the cards. Indeed, they did not at all care about the welfare of their people, and the patience of the people burst. They brought their state to hunger and darkness. What was going on in their palace? This is terrible and shameful! It was not Nicholas II who ruled the state, but the drunkard Rasputin. All the princes were replaced and dismissed from their posts, including the commander-in-chief Nikolai Nikolaevich. Everywhere in all cities there is a new administration, there is no old police.”
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