From abdication to execution: the life of the Romanovs in exile through the eyes of the last empress

On March 2, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne. Russia was left without a king. And the Romanovs ceased to be a royal family.

Perhaps this was Nikolai Alexandrovich’s dream - to live as if he were not an emperor, but simply the father of a large family. Many said that he had a gentle character. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was his opposite: she was seen as a harsh and domineering woman. He was the head of the country, but she was the head of the family.

She was calculating and stingy, but humble and very pious. She knew a lot: she did needlework, painted, and during the First World War she cared for the wounded - and taught her daughters how to make bandages. The simplicity of the Tsar's upbringing can be judged by the letters of the Grand Duchesses to their father: they easily wrote to him about the “idiot photographer”, “filthy handwriting” or that “the stomach wants to eat, it is already cracking.” In her letters to Nikolai, Tatyana signed herself “Your faithful Voznesenets”, Olga - “Your faithful Elisavetgradets”, and Anastasia signed it like this: “Your loving daughter Nastasya. Shvybzik. ANRPZSG Artichokes, etc.”

A German who grew up in the UK, Alexandra wrote mainly in English, but spoke Russian well, albeit with an accent. She loved Russia - just like her husband. Anna Vyrubova, maid of honor and close friend of Alexandra, wrote that Nikolai was ready to ask his enemies for one thing: not to expel him from the country and to let “the simplest peasant” live with his family. Perhaps the imperial family could actually live by their labor. But live private life The Romanovs were not given. Nicholas turned from a king into a prisoner.

"The thought that we are all together pleases and consoles..."Arrest in Tsarskoe Selo

“The sun blesses, prays, holds on with her faith and for the sake of her martyr. She does not interfere in anything (...). Now she is only a mother with sick children ..." - the former Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wrote to her husband on March 3, 1917.

Nicholas II, who signed the abdication, was at Headquarters in Mogilev, and his family was in Tsarskoe Selo. One after another, the children fell ill with measles. At the beginning of each diary entry, Alexandra indicated what the weather was like today and what the temperature was for each of the children. She was very pedantic: she numbered all her letters from that time so that they would not get lost. The couple called their son baby, and called each other Alix and Nicky. Their correspondence is more like the communication of young lovers than a husband and wife who have already lived together for more than 20 years.

“I realized at first glance that Alexandra Feodorovna, an intelligent and attractive woman, although now broken and irritated, had an iron will,” wrote the head of the Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky.

On March 7, the Provisional Government decided to place the former imperial family under arrest. The associates and servants who were in the palace could decide for themselves whether to leave or stay.

"You can't go there, Mister Colonel"

On March 9, Nicholas arrived in Tsarskoe Selo, where for the first time he was greeted not as an emperor. “The officer on duty shouted: “Open the gates to the former Tsar.” (...) When the Emperor passed by the officers gathered in the lobby, no one greeted him. The Emperor was the first to do this. Only then did everyone greet him,” wrote valet Alexey Volkov.

According to the memoirs of witnesses and the diaries of Nicholas himself, it seems that he did not suffer due to the loss of the throne. “Despite the conditions we now find ourselves in, the thought that we are all together makes us happy and comforting,” he wrote on March 10. Anna Vyrubova (she stayed with the royal family, but was soon arrested and taken away) recalled that he was not even affected by the attitude of the guard soldiers, who were often rude and could tell the former Supreme Commander: “You can’t go there, Mr. Colonel, come back when you want.” They say!"

A vegetable garden was built in Tsarskoye Selo. Everyone worked: the royal family, close associates and palace servants. Even a few guard soldiers helped

On March 27, the head of the Provisional Government, Alexander Kerensky, forbade Nicholas and Alexandra to sleep together: the spouses were allowed to see each other only at the table and speak to each other exclusively in Russian. Kerensky did not trust the former empress.

In those days, an investigation was underway into the actions of the couple’s inner circle, it was planned to interrogate the spouses, and the minister was sure that she would put pressure on Nikolai. “People like Alexandra Feodorovna never forget anything and never forgive anything,” he later wrote.

Alexei’s mentor Pierre Gilliard (his family called him Zhilik) recalled that Alexandra was furious. “To do this to the sovereign, to do this nasty thing to him after he sacrificed himself and renounced in order to avoid civil war - how low it is, how petty it is!” - she said. But in her diary there is only one discreet entry about this: “N<иколаю>and I am only allowed to meet during meals, but not to sleep together."

The measure did not remain in force for long. On April 12, she wrote: “Tea in the evening in my room, and now we sleep together again.”

There were other restrictions - domestic ones. The security reduced the palace's heating, after which one of the court ladies fell ill with pneumonia. The prisoners were allowed to walk, but passers-by looked at them through the fence - like animals in a cage. Humiliation did not leave them at home either. As Count Pavel Benkendorf said, “when the Grand Duchesses or the Empress approached the windows, the guards allowed themselves to behave indecently in front of them, thereby causing the laughter of their comrades.”

The family tried to be happy with what they had. At the end of April, a vegetable garden was planted in the park - the imperial children, servants, and even guard soldiers carried the turf. They chopped wood. We read a lot. They gave lessons to thirteen-year-old Alexei: due to a shortage of teachers, Nikolai personally taught him history and geography, and Alexandra - the Law of God. We rode bicycles and scooters, swam in the pond on a kayak. In July, Kerensky warned Nicholas that due to the unsettled situation in the capital, the family would soon be moved to the south. But instead of Crimea they were exiled to Siberia. In August 1917, the Romanovs left for Tobolsk. Some of those close to them followed them.

"Now it's their turn." Link in Tobolsk

“We settled far from everyone: we live quietly, we read about all the horrors, but we won’t talk about it,” Alexandra wrote to Anna Vyrubova from Tobolsk. The family was settled in the former governor's house.

Despite everything, the royal family remembered life in Tobolsk as “quiet and calm”

The family was not restricted in correspondence, but all messages were viewed. Alexandra corresponded a lot with Anna Vyrubova, who was either released or arrested again. They sent each other parcels: the former maid of honor once sent “a wonderful blue blouse and delicious marshmallows,” and also her perfume. Alexandra responded with a shawl, which she also scented with verbena. She tried to help her friend: “I send pasta, sausages, coffee - even though it’s fasting now. I always take greens out of the soup so that I don’t eat the broth, and I don’t smoke.” She hardly complained, except maybe about the cold.

In Tobolsk exile, the family managed to maintain the same way of life in many respects. We even managed to celebrate Christmas. There were candles and a Christmas tree - Alexandra wrote that the trees in Siberia are of a different, unusual variety, and “they smell strongly of orange and tangerine, and resin flows down the trunk all the time.” And the servants were given woolen vests, which the former empress knitted herself.

In the evenings, Nikolai read aloud, Alexandra embroidered, and her daughters sometimes played the piano. Alexandra Fedorovna’s diary entries from that time are everyday ones: “I was drawing. I consulted with an ophthalmologist about new glasses,” “I sat and knitted all afternoon on the balcony, 20° in the sun, in a thin blouse and a silk jacket.”

Everyday life occupied the spouses more than politics. Only the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk really shocked both of them. "A humiliating world. (...) Being under the yoke of the Germans is worse Tatar yoke", wrote Alexandra. In her letters, she thought about Russia, but not about politics, but about people.

Nikolai loved to do physical labor: sawing wood, working in the garden, cleaning ice. After moving to Yekaterinburg, all this was banned

At the beginning of February we learned about the transition to a new style of chronology. "Today is February 14th. There will be no end to misunderstandings and confusion!" - Nikolai wrote. Alexandra called this style “Bolshevik” in her diary.

On February 27, according to the new style, the authorities announced that “the people do not have the means to support the royal family.” The Romanovs were now provided with an apartment, heating, lighting and soldiers' rations. Each person could also receive 600 rubles a month from personal funds. Ten servants had to be fired. “It will be necessary to part with the servants, whose devotion will lead them to poverty,” wrote Gilliard, who remained with the family. Butter, cream and coffee disappeared from the prisoners' tables, and there was not enough sugar. Local residents began to feed the family.

Food card. “Before the October revolution, there was plenty of everything, although we lived modestly,” recalled valet Alexey Volkov. “Dinner consisted of only two courses, and sweets only happened on holidays.”

This Tobolsk life, which the Romanovs later recalled as quiet and calm - even despite the rubella that the children suffered from - ended in the spring of 1918: they decided to move the family to Yekaterinburg. In May, the Romanovs were imprisoned in the Ipatiev House - it was called a “house for special purposes.” Here the family spent the last 78 days of their lives.

Last days.In the "special purpose house"

Together with the Romanovs, their associates and servants came to Yekaterinburg. Some were shot almost immediately, others were arrested and killed several months later. Someone survived and was subsequently able to talk about what happened in the Ipatiev House. Only four remained to live with the royal family: Doctor Botkin, footman Trupp, maid Nyuta Demidova and cook Leonid Sednev. He will be the only one of the prisoners who will escape execution: on the day before the murder he will be taken away.

Telegram from the Chairman of the Ural Regional Council to Vladimir Lenin and Yakov Sverdlov, April 30, 1918

“The house is good, clean,” Nikolai wrote in his diary. “We were given four large rooms: a corner bedroom, a restroom, next to it a dining room with windows into the garden and a view of the low-lying part of the city, and, finally, a spacious hall with an arch without doors.” The commandant was Alexander Avdeev - as they said about him, “a real Bolshevik” (he would later be replaced by Yakov Yurovsky). The instructions for protecting the family said: “The commandant must keep in mind that Nikolai Romanov and his family are Soviet prisoners, therefore an appropriate regime is established at the place of his detention.”

The instructions ordered the commandant to be polite. But during the first search, Alexandra’s reticule was snatched from her hands, which she did not want to show. “Until now, I have dealt with honest and decent people,” Nikolai noted. But I received the answer: “Please do not forget that you are under investigation and arrest.” The king's entourage was required to call family members by name and patronymic instead of "Your Majesty" or "Your Highness." This really upset Alexandra.

The prisoners got up at nine and drank tea at ten. Afterwards, the rooms were checked. Breakfast was at one, lunch was around four or five, tea was at seven, dinner was at nine, and we went to bed at eleven. Avdeev claimed that there were two hours of walking per day. But Nikolai wrote in his diary that he was only allowed to walk for an hour a day. To the question "why?" The former king was answered: “To make it look like a prison regime.”

All prisoners were prohibited from any physical labor. Nikolai asked permission to clean the garden - refusal. For a family that had spent recent months only entertaining themselves by chopping wood and cultivating garden beds, this was not easy. At first, the prisoners could not even boil their own water. Only in May Nikolai wrote in his diary: “They bought us a samovar, at least we won’t depend on the guard.”

After some time, the painter painted over all the windows with lime so that the inhabitants of the house could not look out into the street. It was not easy with windows in general: they were not allowed to open. Although the family would hardly have been able to escape with such protection. And in the summer it was hot.

Ipatiev's house. “A rather high plank fence was built around the outer walls of the house facing the street, covering the windows of the house,” its first commandant Alexander Avdeev wrote about the house.

It was only towards the end of July that one of the windows was finally opened. "Such joy, finally, delightful air and one window glass, no longer covered with whitewash,” Nikolai wrote in his diary. After this, the prisoners were forbidden to sit on the window sills.

There were not enough beds, the sisters slept on the floor. Everyone dined together, not only with the servants, but also with the Red Army soldiers. They were rude: they could put a spoon into a bowl of soup and say: “They still don’t feed you anything.”

Vermicelli, potatoes, beet salad and compote - this was the food on the prisoners’ table. There were problems with meat. “They brought meat for six days, but so little that it was only enough for soup,” “Kharitonov prepared a pasta pie... because they didn’t bring any meat at all,” Alexandra notes in her diary.

Hall and living room in the Ipatva House. This house was built in the late 1880s and later purchased by engineer Nikolai Ipatiev. In 1918, the Bolsheviks requisitioned it. After the execution of the family, the keys were returned to the owner, but he decided not to return there, and later emigrated

“I took a sitz bath, since hot water could only be brought from our kitchen,” Alexandra writes about minor household inconveniences. Her notes show how gradually, for the former empress, who once ruled over “a sixth of the earth,” everyday little things become important: “great pleasure, a cup of coffee,” “the good nuns are now sending milk and eggs for Alexei and us, and cream ".

Products were indeed allowed to be taken from the Novo-Tikhvin Convent. With the help of these parcels, the Bolsheviks staged a provocation: they handed over a letter from a “Russian officer” in the cork of one of the bottles with an offer to help escape. The family responded: “We do not want and cannot RUN. We can only be abducted by force.” The Romanovs spent several nights dressed, awaiting possible rescue.

Prison style

Soon the commandant changed in the house. It was Yakov Yurovsky. At first, the family even liked him, but very soon the harassment became more and more. “You need to get used to living not like a king, but how you have to live: like a prisoner,” he said, limiting the amount of meat supplied to the prisoners.

Of the monastery's products, he allowed only milk to remain. Alexandra once wrote that the commandant “had breakfast and ate cheese; he no longer allows us to eat cream.” Yurovsky also forbade frequent baths, saying that there was not enough water for them. He confiscated jewelry from family members, leaving only a watch for Alexey (at the request of Nikolai, who said that the boy would be bored without it) and a gold bracelet for Alexandra - she wore it for 20 years, and it could only be removed with tools.

Every morning at 10:00 the commandant checked that everything was in place. Most of all, the former empress did not like this.

Telegram from the Kolomna Committee of the Bolsheviks of Petrograd to the Council of People's Commissars demanding the execution of representatives of the House of Romanov. March 4, 1918

Alexandra, it seems, experienced the loss of the throne the hardest of all in the family. Yurovsky recalled that if she went out for a walk, she would certainly dress up and always put on a hat. “It must be said that, unlike the others, in all her appearances she tried to maintain all her importance and her former self,” he wrote.

The rest of the family members were simpler - the sisters dressed rather casually, Nikolai wore patched boots (although, as Yurovsky claims, he had quite a few intact ones). His hair was cut by his wife. Even the needlework that Alexandra did was the work of an aristocrat: she embroidered and wove lace. The daughters washed handkerchiefs and darned stockings and bed linen together with the maid Nyuta Demidova.

The last Russian Emperor Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov), the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, was born on May 18 (May 6, old style) 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo (now the city of Pushkin, Pushkin district of St. Petersburg).

Immediately after his birth, Nikolai was included in the lists of several guards regiments and appointed chief of the 65th Moscow Infantry Regiment.
The childhood years of the future Tsar of Russia were spent within the walls of the Gatchina Palace. Nikolai's regular homework began when he was eight years old. Training program included an eight-year general education course and a five-year course in higher sciences. In the general education course, special attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, French, German and English. The course of higher sciences included political economy, law and military affairs (military jurisprudence, strategy, military geography, service of the General Staff). Classes in vaulting, fencing, drawing, and music were also conducted. Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna themselves selected teachers and mentors. Among them were scientists, statesmen and military figures: Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Nikolai Bunge, Mikhail Dragomirov, Nikolai Obruchev and others. At the age of seven, the heir to the crown prince received his first military rank ensign, at the age of 12 he was promoted to second lieutenant. At the age of 19 he began regular military service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, and at the age of 24 he received the rank of colonel.

To get acquainted with state affairs, from May 1889, Nikolai began to attend meetings of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. In October 1890 he undertook a sea voyage to the Far East. In 9 months he visited Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and then returned to the capital of Russia by land through all of Siberia.

In April 1894, the future emperor was engaged to Princess Alice of Darmstadt-Hesse, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England. After converting to Orthodoxy, she took the name Alexandra Feodorovna.

On November 2 (October 21, old style), 1894, Alexander III died. A few hours before his death, the dying emperor obliged his son to sign the Manifesto on his accession to the throne.

The coronation of Nicholas II took place on May 26 (14 old style) 1896. On May 30 (18 old style), 1896, during the celebration of the coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow, a stampede occurred on Khodynka Field in which more than a thousand people died.

The reign of Nicholas II was a period of high economic growth in the country. The Emperor supported decisions aimed at economic and social modernization: the introduction of gold circulation of the ruble, Stolypin's agrarian reform, laws on workers' insurance, universal primary education, and religious tolerance.

The reign of Nicholas II took place in an atmosphere of growing revolutionary movement and complicating foreign policy situation (Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905; Bloody Sunday; revolution of 1905-1907; World War I; February Revolution of 1917).

Under the influence of a strong social movement in favor of political reforms, October 30 (17, old style) October 1905, Nicholas II signed the famous manifesto “On Improving the State Order”: the people were granted freedom of speech, press, personality, conscience, meetings, and unions; The State Duma was created as a legislative body.

The turning point in the fate of Nicholas II was 1914 - the beginning of the First World War. The tsar did not want war and until the very last moment tried to avoid a bloody conflict. On August 1 (July 19, old style), 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. In August 1915, Nicholas II assumed military command (previously held by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich). After this the king most spent time at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in Mogilev.

At the end of February 1917, unrest began in Petrograd, which grew into mass protests against the government and the dynasty. The February Revolution found Nicholas II at headquarters in Mogilev. Having received news of the uprising in Petrograd, he decided not to make concessions and to restore order in the city by force, but when the scale of the unrest became clear, he abandoned this idea, fearing great bloodshed.

At midnight on March 15 (2 old style) March 1917, in the salon carriage of the imperial train, standing on the tracks at railway station Pskov, Nicholas II signed an act of abdication, transferring power to his brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, who did not accept the crown.
On March 20 (7 old style), the Provisional Government issued an order for the arrest of the Tsar. On March 22 (9 old style), Nicholas II and the royal family were arrested. For the first five months they were under guard in Tsarskoye Selo; in August 1917 they were transported to Tobolsk, where the royal family spent eight months.

At the beginning of 1918, the Bolsheviks forced Nikolai to remove his colonel's shoulder straps (his last military rank), which he perceived as a grave insult.

In May 1918, the royal family was transported to Yekaterinburg, where they were placed in the house of mining engineer Nikolai Ipatiev. The regime for keeping the Romanovs was extremely difficult.

On the night of July 16 (3 old style) to July 17 (4 old style), 1918, Nicholas II, Tsarina, their five children: daughters Olga (1895), Tatiana (1897), Maria (1899) and Anastasia (1901) , son - Tsarevich, heir to the throne Alexei (1904) and several close associates (11 people in total), were shot without trial or investigation. The shooting took place in small room V ground floor houses where the victims were taken under the pretext of evacuation. The Tsar himself was shot at point-blank range by the commandant of the Ipatiev House, Yankel Yurovsky. The corpses of the dead were taken outside the city, doused with kerosene, they tried to burn them, and then buried them.

At the beginning of 1991, the first application was submitted to the city prosecutor's office about the discovery of bodies showing signs of violent death near Yekaterinburg. After many years of research into the remains discovered near Yekaterinburg, a special commission came to the conclusion that they are indeed the remains of nine members of the family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II. In 1997, their solemn burial took place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

In 2000, Nicholas II and members of his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

October 1, 2008 presidium Supreme Court The Russian Federation recognized the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and members of his family as victims of illegal political repression and theirs.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov), eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna, was born May 18 (May 6, old style) 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo (now the city of Pushkin, Pushkin district of St. Petersburg).

Immediately after his birth, Nikolai was included in the lists of several guards regiments and appointed chief of the 65th Moscow Infantry Regiment. The future tsar spent his childhood within the walls of the Gatchina Palace. Nikolai began regular homework at the age of eight.

In December 1875 He received his first military rank - ensign, in 1880 he was promoted to second lieutenant, and four years later he became a lieutenant. In 1884 Nikolai entered active military service, in July 1887 year began regular military service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment and was promoted to staff captain; in 1891 Nikolai received the rank of captain, and a year later - colonel.

To get acquainted with government affairs since May 1889 he began to attend meetings of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. IN October 1890 year went on a trip to the Far East. In nine months, Nikolai visited Greece, Egypt, India, China, and Japan.

IN April 1894 The engagement of the future emperor to Princess Alice of Darmstadt-Hesse, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, took place. After converting to Orthodoxy, she took the name Alexandra Feodorovna.

November 2 (October 21, old style) 1894 Alexander III died. A few hours before his death, the dying emperor obliged his son to sign the Manifesto on his accession to the throne.

The coronation of Nicholas II took place May 26 (14 old style) 1896. On the thirtieth (18 old style) May 1896, during the celebration of the coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow, a stampede occurred on Khodynka Field in which more than a thousand people died.

The reign of Nicholas II took place in an atmosphere of growing revolutionary movement and complicating foreign policy situation (Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905; Bloody Sunday; revolution of 1905-1907; World War I; February Revolution of 1917).

Influenced by a strong social movement in favor of political change, October 30 (17 old style) 1905 Nicholas II signed the famous manifesto “On the Improvement of State Order”: the people were granted freedom of speech, press, personality, conscience, meetings, and unions; The State Duma was created as a legislative body.

The turning point in the fate of Nicholas II was 1914- Beginning of the First World War. August 1 (July 19, old style) 1914 Germany declared war on Russia. IN August 1915 year, Nicholas II assumed military command (previously, this position was held by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich). Afterwards, the tsar spent most of his time at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief in Mogilev.

At the end of February 1917 Unrest began in Petrograd, which grew into mass protests against the government and the dynasty. The February Revolution found Nicholas II at headquarters in Mogilev. Having received news of the uprising in Petrograd, he decided not to make concessions and to restore order in the city by force, but when the scale of the unrest became clear, he abandoned this idea, fearing great bloodshed.

At midnight March 15 (2 old style) 1917 In the salon carriage of the imperial train, which stood on the tracks at the Pskov railway station, Nicholas II signed an act of abdication, transferring power to his brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, who did not accept the crown.

March 20 (7 old style) 1917 The Provisional Government issued an order for the arrest of the Tsar. On the twenty-second (9th old style) March 1917, Nicholas II and his family were arrested. For the first five months they were under guard in Tsarskoye Selo, in August 1917 they were transported to Tobolsk, where the Romanovs spent eight months.

At first 1918 The Bolsheviks forced Nicholas to remove his colonel's shoulder straps (his last military rank), which he perceived as a grave insult. In May of this year, the royal family was transported to Yekaterinburg, where they were placed in the house of mining engineer Nikolai Ipatiev.

On the night of July 17 (4 old) 1918 and Nicholas II, Tsarina, their five children: daughters - Olga (1895), Tatiana (1897), Maria (1899) and Anastasia (1901), son - Tsarevich, heir to the throne Alexei (1904) and several close associates (11 people in total) , . The shooting took place in a small room on the ground floor of the house; the victims were taken there under the pretext of evacuation. The Tsar himself was shot at point-blank range by the commandant of the Ipatiev House, Yankel Yurovsky. The bodies of the dead were taken outside the city, doused with kerosene, they tried to burn them, and then buried them.

At the beginning of 1991 The first application was submitted to the city prosecutor's office about the discovery of bodies near Yekaterinburg that showed signs of violent death. After many years of research into the remains discovered near Yekaterinburg, a special commission came to the conclusion that they are indeed the remains of nine Nicholas II and his family. In 1997 They were solemnly buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

In 2000 Nicholas II and members of his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

On October 1, 2008, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and members of his family as victims of illegal political repression and rehabilitated them.

Biography of Emperor Nicholas 2 Alexandrovich

Nicholas II Alexandrovich (born - May 6 (18), 1868, death - July 17, 1918, Yekaterinburg) - Emperor of All Russia, from the imperial house of Romanov.

Childhood

The heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, grew up in the atmosphere of a luxurious imperial court, but in a strict and, one might say, Spartan environment. His father, Emperor Alexander III, and mother, Danish princess Dagmara (Empress Maria Feodorovna) fundamentally did not allow any weaknesses or sentimentality in raising children. A strict daily routine was always established for them, with mandatory daily lessons, attending church services, mandatory visits to relatives, mandatory participation in many official ceremonies. The children slept on simple soldier's beds with hard pillows, took cold baths in the mornings and were given oatmeal for breakfast.

The youth of the future emperor

1887 - Nikolai was promoted to staff captain and assigned to the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. There he was listed for two years, first performing the duties of a platoon commander and then a company commander. Then, to join the cavalry service, his father transferred him to the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, where Nikolai took command of the squadron.

Thanks to his modesty and simplicity, the prince was quite popular among his fellow officers. 1890 - his training was completed. The father did not burden the heir to the throne with state affairs. He appeared from time to time at meetings of the State Council, but his gaze was constantly directed at his watch. Like all guard officers, Nikolai devoted a lot of time to social life, often visited the theater: he adored opera and ballet.

Nicholas and Alice of Hesse

Nicholas II in childhood and youth

Apparently women also occupied him. But it is interesting that Nikolai experienced his first serious feelings for Princess Alice of Hesse, who later became his wife. They first met in 1884 in St. Petersburg at the wedding of Ella of Hesse (Alice's older sister) with Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. She was 12 years old, he was 16. 1889 - Alix spent 6 weeks in St. Petersburg.

Nikolai later wrote: “I dream of someday marrying Alix G. I have loved her for a long time, but especially deeply and strongly since 1889... All this for a long time I didn’t believe my feeling, I didn’t believe that my cherished dream could come true.”

In reality, the heir had to overcome many obstacles. Parents offered Nicholas other parties, but he resolutely refused to associate himself with any other princess.

Ascension to the throne

1894, spring - Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna were forced to give in to their son’s wishes. Preparations for the wedding have begun. But before it could be played, Alexander III died on October 20, 1894. For no one was the death of an emperor more significant than for the 26-year-old young man who inherited his throne.

“I saw tears in his eyes,” recalled Grand Duke Alexander. “He took me by the arm and led me downstairs to his room. We hugged and both cried. He couldn't gather his thoughts. He knew that he had now become an emperor, and the severity of this terrible event struck him down... “Sandro, what should I do? - he exclaimed pathetically. - What is going to happen to me, to you... to Alix, to my mother, to all of Russia? I'm not ready to be a king. I never wanted to be him. I don't understand anything about board affairs. I don’t even have a clue how to talk to ministers.’”

The next day, when the palace was draped in black, Alix converted to Orthodoxy and from that day began to be called Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. On November 7, the solemn burial of the late emperor took place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, and a week later the wedding of Nicholas and Alexandra took place. On the occasion of mourning there was no ceremonial reception or honeymoon.

Personal life and royal family

1895, spring - Nicholas II moved his wife to Tsarskoe Selo. They settled in the Alexander Palace, which remained the main home of the imperial couple for 22 years. Everything here was arranged according to their tastes and desires, and therefore Tsarskoye always remained theirs. favorite place. Nikolai usually got up at 7, had breakfast and disappeared into his office to start work.

By nature, he was a loner and preferred to do everything himself. At 11 o'clock the king interrupted his classes and went for a walk in the park. When children appeared, they invariably accompanied him on these walks. Lunch in the middle of the day was a formal ceremonial occasion. Although the Empress was usually absent, the Emperor dined with his daughters and members of his retinue. The meal began, according to Russian custom, with prayer.

Neither Nikolai nor Alexandra liked expensive, complex dishes. He received great pleasure from borscht, porridge, and boiled fish with vegetables. But the king’s favorite dish was roasted young pig with horseradish, which he washed down with port wine. After lunch, Nikolai took a horseback ride along the surrounding rural roads in the direction of Krasnoe Selo. At 4 o'clock the family gathered for tea. According to etiquette, introduced back in the day, only crackers, butter and English biscuits were served with tea. Cakes and sweets were not allowed. Sipping tea, Nikolai quickly looked through newspapers and telegrams. Afterwards he returned to his work, receiving a stream of visitors between 5 and 8 p.m.

Exactly at 20 o'clock everyone official meetings ended, and Nicholas II could go to dinner. In the evening, the emperor often sat in the family living room, reading aloud, while his wife and daughters worked on needlework. According to his choice, it could be Tolstoy, Turgenev or his favorite writer Gogol. However, there could have been some kind of fashionable romance. The sovereign's personal librarian selected for him 20 of the best books a month from all over the world. Sometimes, instead of reading, the family spent evenings pasting photographs taken by the court photographer or themselves into green leather albums embossed with the royal monogram in gold.

Nicholas II with his wife

The end of the day came at 11 pm with the serving of evening tea. Before leaving, the emperor wrote notes in his diary, and then took a bath, went to bed and usually immediately fell asleep. It is noted that, unlike many families of European monarchs, the Russian imperial couple had a common bed.

1904, July 30 (August 12) - the 5th child was born in the imperial family. To the great joy of the parents it was a boy. The king wrote in his diary: “A great, unforgettable day for us, on which the mercy of God so clearly visited us. At 1 o’clock in the afternoon Alix gave birth to a son, who was named Alexei during prayer.”

On the occasion of the appearance of the heir, guns were fired throughout Russia, bells rang and flags fluttered. However, a few weeks later, the imperial couple was shocked by the terrible news - it turned out that their son had hemophilia. Next years passed in a difficult struggle for the life and health of the heir. Any bleeding, any injection could lead to death. The torment of their beloved son tore the hearts of the parents. Alexei's illness had a particularly painful effect on the empress, who over the years began to suffer from hysteria, she became suspicious and extremely religious.

Reign of Nicholas II

Meanwhile, Russia was going through one of the most turbulent stages of its history. After the Japanese War, the first revolution began, suppressed with great difficulty. Nicholas II had to agree to the establishment of the State Duma. The next 7 years were lived in peace and even relative prosperity.

Promoted by the emperor, Stolypin began to carry out his reforms. At one time it seemed that Russia would be able to avoid new social upheavals, but the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 made the revolution inevitable. The crushing defeats of the Russian army in the spring and summer of 1915 forced Nicholas 2 to lead the troops himself.

From that time on, he was on duty in Mogilev and could not delve deeply into state affairs. Alexandra began to help her husband with great zeal, but it seems that she harmed him more than she actually helped. Both senior officials, grand dukes, and foreign diplomats felt the approach of revolution. They tried as best they could to warn the emperor. Repeatedly during these months, Nicholas II was offered to remove Alexandra from affairs and create a government in which the people and the Duma would have confidence. But all these attempts were unsuccessful. The Emperor gave his word, despite everything, to preserve autocracy in Russia and transfer it whole and unshakable to his son; Now, when pressure was put on him from all sides, he remained faithful to his oath.

Revolution. Abdication

1917, February 22 - without making a decision on a new government, Nicholas II went to Headquarters. Immediately after his departure, unrest began in Petrograd. On February 27, the alarmed emperor decided to return to the capital. On the way, at one of the stations, he accidentally learned that a temporary committee of the State Duma, headed by Rodzianko, was already operating in Petrograd. Then, after consulting with the generals of his retinue, Nikolai decided to make his way to Pskov. Here, on March 1, from the commander of the Northern Front, General Ruzsky, Nikolai learned the latest amazing news: the entire garrison of Petrograd and Tsarskoye Selo went over to the side of the revolution.

His example was followed by the Guard, the Cossack convoy and the Guards crew with Grand Duke Kirill at their head. The negotiations with the front commanders, undertaken by telegraph, finally defeated the tsar. All the generals were merciless and unanimous: it was no longer possible to stop the revolution by force; In order to avoid civil war and bloodshed, Emperor Nicholas 2 must abdicate the throne. After painful hesitation, late in the evening of March 2, Nicholas signed his abdication.

Arrest

Nicholas 2 with his wife and children

The next day, he gave the order for his train to go to Headquarters, to Mogilev, as he wanted to say goodbye to the army one last time. Here, on March 8, the emperor was arrested and taken under escort to Tsarskoye Selo. From that day on, a time of constant humiliation began for him. The guard behaved defiantly rudely. It was even more offensive to see the betrayal of those people who were used to being considered the closest. Almost all the servants and most of the ladies-in-waiting abandoned the palace and the empress. Doctor Ostrogradsky refused to go to the sick Alexei, saying that he “finds the road too dirty” for further visits.

Meanwhile, the situation in the country began to deteriorate again. Kerensky, who by that time had become the head of the Provisional Government, decided that for security reasons the royal family should be sent away from the capital. After much hesitation, he gave the order to transport the Romanovs to Tobolsk. The move took place in early August in deep secrecy.

The royal family lived in Tobolsk for 8 months. Her financial situation was very cramped. Alexandra wrote to Anna Vyrubova: “I am knitting socks for little (Alexey). He requires a couple more, since all of his are in holes... I'm doing everything now. Dad’s (the king’s) pants were torn and needed mending, and the girls’ underwear was in rags... I became completely grey...” After the October coup, the situation for the prisoners became even worse.

1918, April - the Romanov family was transported to Yekaterinburg, they were settled in the house of the merchant Ipatiev, which was destined to become their last prison. 12 people lived in the 5 upper rooms of the 2nd floor. Nicholas, Alexandra and Alexey lived in the first, and the Grand Duchesses lived in the second. The rest was divided among the servants. In a new place former emperor and his loved ones felt like real prisoners. Behind the fence and on the street there was an external guard of Red Guards. There were always several people with revolvers in the house.

This internal guard was selected from among the most reliable Bolsheviks and was very hostile. It was commanded by Alexander Avdeev, who called the emperor nothing more than “Nicholas the Bloody.” None of the members of the royal family could have privacy, and even to the toilet the grand duchesses walked accompanied by one of the guards. For breakfast, only black bread and tea were served. Lunch consisted of soup and cutlets. The guards often took pieces from the pan with their hands in front of the diners. The prisoners' clothes were completely shabby.

On July 4, the Ural Soviet removed Avdeev and his people. They were replaced by 10 security officers led by Yurovsky. Despite the fact that he was much more polite than Avdeev, Nikolai felt the threat emanating from him from the first days. In fact, the clouds were gathering over the family of the last Russian emperor. At the end of May, a Czechoslovak rebellion broke out in Siberia, the Urals and the Volga region. The Czechs launched a successful attack on Yekaterinburg. On July 12, the Ural Council received permission from Moscow to decide for itself the fate of the deposed dynasty. The Council decided to shoot all the Romanovs and entrusted the execution to Yurovsky. Later, the White Guards were able to capture several participants in the execution and, from their words, reconstruct in all details the picture of the execution.

Execution of the Romanov family

On July 16, Yurovsky distributed 12 revolvers to the security officers and announced that the execution would take place today. At midnight he woke up all the prisoners, ordered them to quickly get dressed and go downstairs. It was announced that the Czechs and Whites were approaching Yekaterinburg, and the local Council decided that they must leave. Nikolai went down the stairs first, carrying Alexei in his arms. Anastasia held her spaniel Jimmy in her arms. By ground floor Yurovsky led them to a semi-basement room. There he asked to wait until the cars arrived. Nikolai asked for chairs for his son and wife. Yurovsky ordered three chairs to be brought. In addition to the Romanov family, there was Doctor Botkin, footman Trupp, cook Kharitonov and the Empress Demidova's room girl.

When everyone had gathered, Yurovsky re-entered the room, accompanied by the entire Cheka detachment with revolvers in their hands. Coming forward, he quickly said: “Due to the fact that your relatives continue to attack Soviet Russia, the Urals Executive Committee decided to shoot you.”

Nikolai, continuing to support Alexei with his hand, began to rise from the chair. He only managed to say: “What?” and then Yurovsky shot him in the head. At this signal, the security officers began shooting. Alexandra Fedorovna, Olga, Tatyana and Maria were killed on the spot. Botkin, Kharitonov and Trupp were mortally wounded. Demidova remained on her feet. The security officers grabbed their rifles and began to pursue her in order to finish her off with bayonets. Screaming, she rushed from one wall to another and eventually fell, receiving more than 30 wounds. The dog's head was smashed with a rifle butt. When silence reigned in the room, the heavy breathing of the Tsarevich was heard - he was still alive. Yurovsky reloaded the revolver and shot the boy twice in the ear. Just at that moment, Anastasia, who was only unconscious, woke up and screamed. She was finished off with bayonets and rifle butts...

Titled from birth His Imperial Highness Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich. After the death of his grandfather, Emperor Alexander II, in 1881 he received the title of Heir Tsesarevich.

...neither by his figure nor by his ability to speak, the tsar touched the soldier’s soul and did not make the impression that was necessary to lift the spirit and strongly attract hearts to himself. He did what he could, and one cannot blame him in this case, but he did not produce good results in the sense of inspiration.

Childhood, education and upbringing

Nikolai received his home education as part of a large gymnasium course and in the 1890s - according to a specially written program that combined the course of the state and economic departments of the university law faculty with the course of the Academy of the General Staff.

The upbringing and training of the future emperor took place under the personal guidance of Alexander III on a traditional religious basis. Training sessions Nicholas II were carried out according to a carefully developed program for 13 years. The first eight years were devoted to the subjects of the extended gymnasium course. Particular attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, English, German and French, 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. Lectures were given by outstanding Russian academicians of world renown: N. N. Beketov, N. N. Obruchev, Ts. A. Cui, M. I. Dragomirov, N. H. Bunge, K. P. Pobedonostsev and others. Presbyter I. L. Yanyshev taught the Tsarevich canon law in connection with the history of the church, the main departments theology and history of religion.

Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. 1896

For the first two years, Nikolai served as a junior officer in the ranks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. For two summer seasons he served in the ranks of a cavalry hussar regiment as a squadron commander, and then a camp training in the ranks of the artillery. On August 6 he was promoted to colonel. At the same time, his father introduces him to the affairs of governing the country, inviting him to participate in meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers. At the suggestion of the Minister of Railways S. Yu. Witte, Nikolai in 1892, in order to gain experience in government affairs, was appointed chairman of the committee for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. By the age of 23, Nikolai Romanov was a widely educated man.

The emperor's education program included travel to various provinces of Russia, which he made together with his father. To complete his education, his father allocated a cruiser at his disposal for a trip to the Far East. In nine months, he and his retinue visited Austria-Hungary, Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and later returned to the capital of Russia by land through all of Siberia. In Japan, an attempt was made on Nicholas's life (see Otsu Incident). A shirt with blood stains is kept in the Hermitage.

His education was combined with deep religiosity and mysticism. “The Emperor, like his ancestor Alexander I, was always mystically inclined,” recalled Anna Vyrubova.

The ideal ruler for Nicholas II was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich the Quiet.

Lifestyle, habits

Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich Mountain landscape. 1886 Paper, watercolor Signature on the drawing: “Nicky. 1886. July 22” The drawing is pasted on the passe-partout

Most of the time, Nicholas II lived with his family in the Alexander Palace. In the summer he vacationed in Crimea at the Livadia Palace. For recreation, he also annually made two-week trips around the Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea on the yacht "Standart". I read both light entertainment literature and serious scientific works, often on historical topics. He smoked cigarettes, the tobacco for which was grown in Turkey and sent to him as a gift from the Turkish Sultan. Nicholas II was fond of photography and also loved watching films. All his children also took photographs. Nikolai began keeping a diary at the age of 9. The archive contains 50 voluminous notebooks - the original diary for 1882-1918. Some of them were published.

Nikolai and Alexandra

The Tsarevich's first meeting with future wife took place in 1884, and in 1889 Nikolai asked his father for his blessing to marry her, but was refused.

All correspondence between Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II has been preserved. Only one letter from Alexandra Feodorovna was lost; all her letters were numbered by the empress herself.

Contemporaries assessed the empress differently.

Coronation

Accession to the throne and beginning of reign

Letter from Emperor Nicholas II to Empress Maria Feodorovna. January 14, 1906 Autograph. “Trepov is irreplaceable for me, a kind of secretary. He is experienced, smart and careful in giving advice. I let him read thick notes from Witte and then he reports them to me quickly and clearly. This is, of course, a secret from everyone!”

The coronation of Nicholas II took place on May 14 (26) of the year (for the victims of coronation celebrations in Moscow, see “Khodynka”). In the same year, the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition was held in Nizhny Novgorod, which he attended. In 1896, Nicholas II also made a big trip to Europe, meeting with Franz Joseph, Wilhelm II, Queen Victoria (Alexandra Feodorovna's grandmother). The end of the trip was the arrival of Nicholas II in the capital of the allied France, Paris. One of the first personnel decisions of Nicholas II was the dismissal of I.V. Gurko from the post of Governor-General of the Kingdom of Poland and the appointment of A.B. Lobanov-Rostovsky to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs after the death of N.K. Girs. The first of Nicholas II's major international actions was the Triple Intervention.

Economic policy

In 1900, Nicholas II sent Russian troops to suppress the Yihetuan uprising together with the troops of other European powers, Japan and the United States.

The revolutionary newspaper Osvobozhdenie, published abroad, did not hide its fears: “ If the Russian troops defeat the Japanese... then freedom will be calmly strangled amid shouts of cheers and bell ringing triumphant Empire» .

The difficult situation of the tsarist government after the Russo-Japanese War prompted German diplomacy to make another attempt in July 1905 to tear Russia away from France and conclude a Russian-German alliance. Wilhelm II invited Nicholas II to meet in July 1905 in the Finnish skerries, near the island of Bjorke. Nikolai agreed and signed the agreement at the meeting. But when he returned to St. Petersburg, he abandoned it, since peace with Japan had already been signed.

American researcher of the era T. Dennett wrote in 1925:

Few people now believe that Japan was deprived of the fruits of its upcoming victories. The opposite opinion prevails. Many believe that Japan was already exhausted by the end of May and that only the conclusion of peace saved it from collapse or complete defeat in a clash with Russia.

Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (the first in half a century) and the subsequent brutal suppression of the revolution of 1905-1907. (subsequently aggravated by the appearance of Rasputin at court) led to a decline in the authority of the emperor in the circles of the intelligentsia and nobility, so much so that even among the monarchists there were ideas about replacing Nicholas II with another Romanov.

The German journalist G. Ganz, who lived in St. Petersburg during the war, noted a different position of the nobility and intelligentsia in relation to the war: “ The common secret prayer not only of liberals, but also of many moderate conservatives at that time was: “God, help us to be defeated.”» .

Revolution of 1905-1907

With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Nicholas II tried to unite society against an external enemy, making significant concessions to the opposition. So, after the murder of the Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve by a Socialist-Revolutionary militant, he appointed P.D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky, who was considered a liberal, to his post. On December 12, 1904, a decree “On plans for improving the State order” was issued, promising the expansion of the rights of zemstvos, insurance of workers, emancipation of foreigners and people of other faiths, and the elimination of censorship. At the same time, the sovereign declared: “I will never, under any circumstances, agree to a representative form of government, because I consider it harmful for the people entrusted to me by God.”

...Russia has outgrown the form of the existing system. It strives for a legal system based on civil freedom... It is very important to reform the State Council on the basis of the prominent participation of the elected element in it...

Opposition parties took advantage of the expansion of freedoms to intensify attacks on the tsarist government. On January 9, 1905, a large labor demonstration took place in St. Petersburg, addressing the Tsar with political and socio-economic demands. Demonstrators clashed with troops, resulting in big number dead. These events became known as Bloody Sunday, the victims of which, according to V. Nevsky's research, were no more than 100-200 people. A wave of strikes swept across the country, and the national outskirts became agitated. In Courland, the Forest Brothers began to massacre local German landowners, and the Armenian-Tatar massacre began in the Caucasus. Revolutionaries and separatists received support with money and weapons from England and Japan. Thus, in the summer of 1905, the English steamer John Grafton, which ran aground, was detained in the Baltic Sea, carrying several thousand rifles for Finnish separatists and revolutionary militants. There were several uprisings in the navy and in various cities. The largest was the December uprising in Moscow. At the same time, Socialist Revolutionary and anarchist individual terror gained great momentum. In just a couple of years, thousands of officials, officers and policemen were killed by revolutionaries - in 1906 alone, 768 were killed and 820 representatives and agents of the authorities were wounded.

The second half of 1905 was marked by numerous unrest in universities and even in theological seminaries: due to the unrest, almost 50 secondary theological educational institutions were closed. The adoption of a temporary law on university autonomy on August 27 caused a general strike of students and stirred up teachers at universities and theological academies.

The ideas of senior dignitaries about the current situation and ways out of the crisis were clearly manifested during four secret meetings under the leadership of the emperor, held in 1905-1906. Nicholas II was forced to liberalize, moving to constitutional rule, while simultaneously suppressing armed uprisings. From a letter from Nicholas II to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna dated October 19, 1905:

Another way is to provide civil rights to the population - freedom of speech, press, assembly and unions and personal integrity;…. Witte passionately defended this path, saying that although it was risky, it was nevertheless the only one at the moment...

On August 6, 1905, the manifesto on the establishment of the State Duma, the law on the State Duma and the regulations on elections to the Duma were published. But the revolution, which was gaining strength, easily overcame the acts of August 6; in October, an all-Russian political strike began, over 2 million people went on strike. On the evening of October 17, Nicholas signed a manifesto promising: “1. To grant the population the unshakable foundations of civil freedom on the basis of actual personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and association.” On April 23, 1906, the Basic State Laws of the Russian Empire were approved.

Three weeks after the manifesto, the government granted amnesty to political prisoners, except for those convicted of terrorism, and a little over a month later it abolished preliminary censorship.

From a letter from Nicholas II to the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna on October 27:

The people were outraged by the impudence and insolence of the revolutionaries and socialists...hence the Jewish pogroms. It is amazing how unanimously and immediately this happened in all the cities of Russia and Siberia. In England, of course, they write that these riots were organized by the police, as always - an old, familiar fable!.. Incidents in Tomsk, Simferopol, Tver and Odessa clearly showed what lengths an angry crowd could reach when it surrounded houses in The revolutionaries locked themselves in and set them on fire, killing anyone who came out.

During the revolution, in 1906, Konstantin Balmont wrote the poem “Our Tsar”, dedicated to Nicholas II, which turned out to be prophetic:

Our king is Mukden, our king is Tsushima,
Our king is a bloody stain,
The stench of gunpowder and smoke,
In which the mind is dark. Our king is a blind misery,
Prison and whip, trial, execution,
The king is a hanged man, so half as low,
What he promised, but didn’t dare give. He is a coward, he feels with hesitation,
But it will happen, the hour of reckoning awaits.
Who began to reign - Khodynka,
He will end up standing on the scaffold.

The decade between two revolutions

On August 18 (31), 1907, an agreement was signed with Great Britain to delimit spheres of influence in China, Afghanistan and Iran. This was an important step in the formation of the Entente. On June 17, 1910, after lengthy disputes, a law was adopted that limited the rights of the Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Finland (see Russification of Finland). In 1912, Mongolia, which gained independence from China as a result of the revolution that took place there, became a de facto protectorate of Russia.

Nicholas II and P. A. Stolypin

The first two State Dumas turned out to be unable to conduct regular legislative work - the contradictions between the deputies on the one hand, and the Duma with the emperor on the other, were insurmountable. So, immediately after the opening, in a response to the speech of Nicholas II from the throne, the Duma members demanded the liquidation of the State Council (the upper house of parliament), the transfer of appanage (private estates of the Romanovs), monastic and state lands to the peasants.

Military reform

Diary of Emperor Nicholas II for 1912-1913.

Nicholas II and the church

The beginning of the 20th century was marked by a reform movement, during which the church sought to restore the canonical conciliar structure, there was even talk of convening a council and establishing the patriarchate, and there were attempts in the year to restore the autocephaly of the Georgian Church.

Nicholas agreed with the idea of ​​an “All-Russian Church Council,” but changed his mind and on March 31 of the year, at the report of the Holy Synod on the convening of the council, he wrote: “ I admit it is impossible to do..."and established a Special (pre-conciliar) presence in the city to resolve issues of church reform and a Pre-conciliar meeting in the city.

An analysis of the most famous canonizations of that period - Seraphim of Sarov (), Patriarch Hermogenes (1913) and John Maksimovich ( -) allows us to trace the process of growing and deepening crisis in relations between church and state. Under Nicholas II the following were canonized:

4 days after Nicholas’s abdication, the Synod published a message supporting the Provisional Government.

Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod N. D. Zhevakhov recalled:

Our Tsar was one of the greatest ascetics of the Church of recent times, whose exploits were overshadowed only by his high title of Monarch. Standing on the last step of the ladder of human glory, the Emperor saw above him only the sky, towards which his holy soul irrepressibly strove...

World War I

Along with the creation of special meetings, Military-Industrial Committees began to emerge in 1915 - public organizations bourgeoisie, who were semi-oppositional in nature.

Emperor Nicholas II and front commanders at a meeting of Headquarters.

After such severe defeats for the army, Nicholas II, not considering it possible for himself to remain aloof from hostilities and considering it necessary in these difficult conditions to take upon himself full responsibility for the position of the army, to establish the necessary agreement between Headquarters and the governments, and to put an end to the disastrous isolation of power, standing at the head of the army, from the authorities governing the country, on August 23, 1915, assumed the title of Supreme Commander-in-Chief. At the same time, some members of the government, the high army command and public circles opposed this decision of the emperor.

Due to the constant movements of Nicholas II from Headquarters to St. Petersburg, as well as insufficient knowledge issues of troop leadership, the command of the Russian army was concentrated in the hands of his chief of staff, General M.V. Alekseev, and General V.I. Gurko, who replaced him in late and early 1917. The autumn conscription of 1916 put 13 million people under arms, and losses in the war exceeded 2 million.

During 1916, Nicholas II replaced four chairmen of the Council of Ministers (I.L. Goremykin, B.V. Sturmer, A.F. Trepov and Prince N.D. Golitsyn), four ministers of internal affairs (A.N. Khvostova, B. V. Sturmer, A. A. Khvostov and A. D. Protopopov), three foreign ministers (S. D. Sazonov, B. V. Sturmer and Pokrovsky, N. N. Pokrovsky), two military ministers (A. A. Polivanov, D. S. Shuvaev) and three ministers of justice (A. A. Khvostov, A. A. Makarov and N. A. Dobrovolsky).

Probing the world

Nicholas II, hoping for an improvement in the situation in the country if successful spring offensive 1917 (as agreed upon at the Petrograd Conference), he did not intend to conclude a separate peace with the enemy - he saw the victorious end of the war as the most important means of strengthening the throne. Hints that Russia might begin negotiations for a separate peace were a normal diplomatic game and forced the Entente to recognize the need to establish Russian control over the Mediterranean straits.

February Revolution of 1917

The war affected the system of economic ties - primarily between city and countryside. Famine began in the country. The authorities were discredited by a chain of scandals such as the intrigues of Rasputin and his entourage, as they were then called “dark forces”. But it was not the war that gave rise to the agrarian question in Russia, acute social contradictions, conflicts between the bourgeoisie and tsarism and within the ruling camp. Nicholas's commitment to the idea of ​​unlimited autocratic power extremely narrowed the possibility of social maneuvering and knocked out the support of Nicholas's power.

After the situation at the front stabilized in the summer of 1916, the Duma opposition, in alliance with conspirators among the generals, decided to take advantage of the current situation to overthrow Nicholas II and replace him with another tsar. The leader of the cadets, P. N. Milyukov, subsequently wrote in December 1917:

Since February, it was clear that Nicholas’s abdication could take place any day now, the date was given as February 12-13, it was said that a “great act” was coming - the abdication of the Emperor from the throne in favor of the heir, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, that the regent would be Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.

On February 23, 1917, a strike began in Petrograd, and 3 days later it became general. On the morning of February 27, 1917, there was an uprising of soldiers in Petrograd and their union with the strikers. A similar uprising took place in Moscow. The queen, who did not understand what was happening, wrote reassuring letters on February 25

The queues and strikes in the city are more than provocative... This is a “hooligan” movement, boys and girls run around shouting that they don’t have bread just to incite, and the workers don’t let others work. If it were very cold, they would probably stay at home. But all this will pass and calm down if only the Duma behaves decently

On February 25, 1917, with the manifesto of Nicholas II, the meetings of the State Duma were stopped, which further inflamed the situation. Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko sent a number of telegrams to Emperor Nicholas II about the events in Petrograd. This telegram was received at Headquarters on February 26, 1917 at 10 p.m. 40 min.

I most humbly inform Your Majesty that the popular unrest that began in Petrograd is becoming spontaneous and of threatening proportions. Their foundations are the lack of baked bread and the weak supply of flour, inspiring panic, but mainly complete distrust in the authorities, which are unable to lead the country out of a difficult situation.

Civil War has begun and is growing. ...There is no hope for the garrison troops. The reserve battalions of the guards regiments are in revolt... Order the legislative chambers to be reconvened to repeal your highest decree... If the movement spreads to the army... the collapse of Russia, and with it the dynasty, is inevitable.

Abdication, exile and execution

Abdication of the throne by Emperor Nicholas II. March 2, 1917 Typescript. 35 x 22. In the lower right corner is the signature of Nicholas II in pencil: Nikolai; in the lower left corner in black ink over a pencil there is an attestation inscription in the hand of V. B. Frederiks: Minister of the Imperial Household, Adjutant General Count Fredericks."

After the outbreak of unrest in the capital, the tsar on the morning of February 26, 1917 ordered General S.S. Khabalov “to stop the unrest, which is unacceptable in difficult times of war.” Having sent General N.I. Ivanov to Petrograd on February 27

to suppress the uprising, Nicholas II left for Tsarskoye Selo on the evening of February 28, but was unable to travel and, having lost contact with Headquarters, on March 1 arrived in Pskov, where the headquarters of the armies of the Northern Front of General N.V. Ruzsky was located, at about 3 o’clock in the afternoon he made a decision about abdication in favor of his son during the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, in the evening of the same day he announced to the arriving A.I. Guchkov and V.V. Shulgin about the decision to abdicate for his son. On March 2 at 23:40 he handed over to Guchkov the Manifesto of Abdication, in which he wrote: “ We command our brother to rule over the affairs of the state in complete and inviolable unity with the representatives of the people».

The personal property of the Romanov family was looted.

After death

Glorification among the saints

Decision of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of August 20, 2000: “Glorify as passion-bearers in the host of new martyrs and confessors of Russia Royal Family: Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.” .

The act of canonization was accepted Russian society ambiguous: opponents of canonization argue that the canonization of Nicholas II is of a political nature. .

Rehabilitation

Philatelic collection of Nicholas II

Some memoir sources provide evidence that Nicholas II “sinned with postage stamps,” although this hobby was not as strong as photography. On February 21, 1913, at a celebration in the Winter Palace in honor of the anniversary of the House of Romanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Posts and Telegraphs, Actual State Councilor M.P. Sevastyanov, presented Nicholas II with albums in morocco bindings with proof proofs and essays of stamps from the commemorative series published in 300 as a gift. -anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. It was a collection of materials related to the preparation of the series, which was carried out over almost ten years - from 1912. Nicholas II valued this gift very much. It is known that this collection accompanied him among the most valuable family heirlooms in exile, first in Tobolsk, and then in Yekaterinburg, and was with him until his death.

After the death of the royal family, the most valuable part of the collection was plundered, and the remaining half was sold to a certain English army officer stationed in Siberia as part of the Entente troops. He then took her to Riga. Here this part of the collection was acquired by philatelist Georg Jaeger, who put it up for sale at auction in New York in 1926. In 1930, it was again put up for auction in London, and the famous collector of Russian stamps, Goss, became its owner. Obviously, it was Goss who significantly replenished it by buying missing materials at auctions and from private individuals. The 1958 auction catalog described the Goss collection as “a magnificent and unique collection of proofs, prints and essays... from the collection of Nicholas II.”

By order of Nicholas II, the Women's Alekseevskaya Gymnasium, now the Slavic Gymnasium, was founded in the city of Bobruisk

see also

• Family of Nicholas II

• E. Radzinsky. Nicholas II: life and death.
• R. Massey. Nikolai and Alexandra.

Illustrations