On May 6, 1868, a joyful event occurred in the royal family: Emperor Alexander II had his first grandson! Guns fired, fireworks roared, and the highest favors were showered. The father of the newborn was Tsarevich (heir to the throne) Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III, the mother was Grand Duchess and Tsarevna Maria Feodorovna, nee Danish princess Dagmara. The baby was named Nikolai. He was destined to become the eighteenth and last emperor of the Romanov dynasty. For the rest of her life, his mother remembered the prophecy she heard while she was expecting her first child. They said that an old clairvoyant woman predicted to her: “Your son will reign, everyone will climb the mountain in order to gain wealth and great honor. Only if he doesn’t climb the mountain itself, he will fall by the hands of a peasant.”

Little Niki was a healthy and mischievous child, so members of the imperial family sometimes had to pull the ears of the naughty heir. Together with his brothers Georgiy and Mikhail and sisters Olga and Ksenia, he grew up in a strict, almost Spartan environment. My father punished the mentors: “Teach well, don’t make concessions, ask in all severity, don’t encourage laziness in particular... I repeat that I don’t need porcelain. I need normal, healthy Russian children. If they fight, please. But the first whip is for the one who proves it.” ".

Nicholas was prepared for the role of ruler from an early age. He received a comprehensive education from the best teachers and specialists of his time. The future emperor completed an eight-year general education course based on the classical gymnasium program, then a five-year course of higher education at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and the Academy of the General Staff. Nikolai was extremely diligent and acquired fundamental knowledge of political economy, jurisprudence and military sciences. He was also taught horse riding, fencing, drawing, and music. He had an excellent command of French, English, and German (he knew Danish less well), and wrote Russian very competently. He was a passionate book lover and, over the years, surprised his interlocutors with the breadth of his knowledge in the fields of literature, history and archaeology. From an early age, Nikolai had a great interest in military affairs and was, as they say, a born officer. His military career began at the age of seven, when his father enrolled his heir in the Volyn Life Guards Regiment and awarded him the military rank of ensign. He later served in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, the most prestigious unit of the Imperial Guard. Having received the rank of colonel in 1892, Nikolai Alexandrovich remained in this rank until the end of his days.

From the age of 20, Nikolai had to attend meetings of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers. And although these visits to the highest state bodies did not bring him much pleasure, they significantly expanded the horizons of the future monarch. But he took to heart his appointment in 1893 as chairman of the Siberian Railway Committee, which was in charge of the construction of the world's longest railway line. Nikolai quickly got into the swing of things and coped with his role quite successfully.

“The heir to the crown prince was very interested in this undertaking...” wrote S. Yu. Witte, who was then the Minister of Railways, in his memoirs, “which, however, is not at all surprising, since Emperor Nicholas II is undoubtedly a very quick mind and quick abilities; In general, he quickly grasps everything and understands everything quickly." Nicholas became Tsarevich in 1881, when his father ascended the throne under the name of Alexander III. This happened under tragic circumstances. 13-year-old Niki saw his grandfather, the reformer Alexander II, die , crippled by a terrorist bomb. Twice Nicholas himself was on the brink of death. The first time - in 1888, when at the Borki station, under the weight of the royal train, the rails parted and the carriages collapsed downhill. Then the crowned family survived only by a miracle. Another time mortal danger awaited the crown prince during a trip around the world, which he undertook at the request of his father in 1890-1891. Having visited Greece, Egypt, India, China and other countries, Nicholas, accompanied by relatives and retinue, arrived in Japan.

Here, in the city of Father, on April 29, he was unexpectedly attacked by a mentally ill policeman who tried to hack him to death with a saber. But this time everything worked out fine: the saber only grazed the crown prince’s head without causing him serious harm. In a letter to his mother, Nikolai described this event as follows: “We left in rickshaws and turned into a narrow street with crowds on both sides. At that time, I received a strong blow to the right side of my head, above my ear. I turned around and saw the disgusting face of a policeman who the second time he swung his saber at me... I just shouted: “What, what do you want?” And jumped out over the rickshaw onto the pavement.” The military personnel accompanying the Tsarevich hacked to death the attempted policeman with sabers. The poet Apollo Maykov dedicated a poem to this incident, which contained the following lines:

A royal youth, twice saved!
Revealed to twice-touched Rus'
God's Providence shield over You!

It seemed that providence twice saved the future emperor from death only to hand him, along with his entire family, into the hands of the regicides 20 years later.

Beginning of reign

On October 20, 1894, Alexander III died in Livadia (Crimea), suffering from an ironic kidney disease. His death was a deep shock for the 26-year-old Tsarevich, who had now become Emperor Nicholas II. And it was not only that the son had lost his beloved father. Later, Nicholas II admitted that the very thought of the coming royal burden, heavy and inevitable, horrified him. “The worst thing happened for me, namely that I was so afraid of life,” he wrote in his diary. Even three years after his accession to the throne, he told his mother that only the “holy example of his father” prevents him from “losing in spirit when sometimes moments of despair come.” Shortly before his death, realizing that his days were numbered, Alexander III decided to speed up the marriage of the crown prince: after all, according to tradition, the new emperor must be married. Nicholas's fiancée, the German princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria, was urgently summoned to Livadia. She received a blessing from the dying tsar, and on October 21, in a small Livadia church, she was anointed, becoming the Orthodox Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna.

A week after the funeral of Alexander III, a modest wedding ceremony took place between Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. This happened on November 14, the birthday of the Tsar’s mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, when Orthodox tradition made it possible to ease the strict mourning. Nicholas II had been waiting for this marriage for several years, and now the great sorrow in his life was combined with great joy. In a letter to his brother George, he wrote: “I cannot thank God enough for the treasure that He sent me in the form of a wife. I am immeasurably happy with my darling Alix... But for that the Lord gave me a heavy cross to bear... ".

The accession to the throne of the new sovereign stirred up a whole wave of hopes in society for the liberalization of the country's life. On January 17, 1395, Nicholas received a deputation of the nobility, leaders of zemstvos and cities at the Anichkov Palace. The Emperor was very worried, his voice trembled, and he kept looking at the folder with the text of the speech. But the words spoken in the hall were far from uncertain: “I know that recently in some zemstvo meetings the voices of people have been heard who were carried away by meaningless dreams about the participation of zemstvo representatives in the affairs of internal government. Let everyone know that I, devoting everything strength for the good of the people, I will guard the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable late parent guarded it.” Out of excitement, Nikolai couldn’t control his voice and said the last phrase very loudly, almost shouting. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna still did not understand Russian well and, alarmed, asked the Grand Duchesses standing nearby: “What did he say?” “He explains to them that they are all idiots,” one of the august relatives answered her calmly. The public very quickly became aware of the incident; they said that the actual text of the speech said “baseless dreams,” but the king could not really read the words. They also said that the leader of the nobility of the Tver province, Utkin, frightened by Nicholas's cry, dropped the golden tray with bread and salt from his hands." This was considered a bad omen for the coming reign. Four months later, magnificent coronation celebrations took place in Moscow. May 14, 1896 in Uspensky Nicholas II and his wife were crowned kings in the Kremlin Cathedral.

On these May holidays the first great misfortune happened in the history of the last reign. It was named “Khodynki”. On the night of May 18, at least half a million people gathered on the Khodynskoye field, where the troops of the Moscow garrison usually held exercises. They expected a massive distribution of royal gifts, which seemed unusually rich. There was a rumor that money would also be distributed. In fact, the “coronation gift” consisted of a commemorative mug, a large gingerbread, sausage and cod. At dawn there was a huge stampede, which eyewitnesses would later call the “doomsday.” As a result, 1,282 people were killed and several hundred were injured.

This event shocked the king. Many advised him to refuse to go to the ball, which was given that evening by the French ambassador Count of Montebello. But the tsar knew that this reception was supposed to demonstrate the strength of the political union between Russia and France. He did not want to offend the French allies. And although the crowned spouses did not stay at the ball for long, public opinion did not forgive them for this step. The next day, the Tsar and Tsarina attended a memorial service for the dead and visited the Old Catherine Hospital, where the wounded were located. The Tsar ordered to issue 1,000 rubles for each family of the victims, to establish a special shelter for orphaned children, and to accept all funeral expenses at his expense. But the people were already calling the tsar an indifferent, heartless person. In the illegal revolutionary press, Nicholas II received the nickname “Tsar Khodynsky.”

Grigory Rasputin

On November 1, 1905, Emperor Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “We met the man of God - Gregory from the Tobolsk province.” On that day, Nicholas II did not yet know that 12 years later many would associate the fall of the Russian autocracy with the name of this man, that the presence of this man at court would become evidence of the political and moral degradation of the tsarist power.

Grigory Efimovich Rasputin was born in 1864 or 1865 (the exact date is unknown) in the village of Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk province. He came from a middle-income peasant family. It seemed that he was destined for the usual fate of a peasant from a remote village. Rasputin began drinking early, at the age of 15. After getting married at the age of 20, his drinking only intensified. At the same time, Rasputin began to steal, for which he was repeatedly beaten by his fellow villagers. And when a criminal case was opened against him in the Pokrovsky volost court, Gregory, without waiting for the outcome, went to the Perm province to the Verkhotursky monastery. With this three-month pilgrimage began new period life of Rasputin. He returned home greatly changed: he stopped drinking and smoking, and stopped eating meat. For several years, Rasputin, forgetting about family and housekeeping, visited many monasteries, even reaching the sacred Greek Mount Athos. In his native village, Rasputin began to preach in the prayer house he had built. The newly-minted “elder” taught his parishioners moral liberation and healing of the soul through the commission of the sin of adultery: if you don’t sin, you won’t repent; if you don’t repent, you won’t be saved. Such “worship services” usually ended in outright orgies.

The fame of the new preacher grew and strengthened, and he willingly enjoyed the benefits of his fame. In 1904, he came to St. Petersburg and was introduced by Bishop Theophan of Yamburg to aristocratic salons, where he successfully continued his sermons. The seeds of Rasputinism fell into fertile soil. The Russian capital was in a severe moral crisis in those years. The hobby has become widespread other world, sexual promiscuity reached extreme proportions. In a very short time, Rasputin acquired many fans, ranging from noble ladies and girls to ordinary prostitutes.

Many of them found an outlet for their emotions in “communication” with Rasputin, others tried to solve money problems with his help. But there were also those who believed in the holiness of the “elder”. It was thanks to such fans of his that Rasputin ended up at the emperor’s court.

Rasputin was far from the first in a series of “prophets”, “righteous men”, “seers” and other rogues who at various times appeared in the circle of Nicholas II. Even before him, the royal family included the soothsayers Papus and Philip, various holy fools and other dark personalities .

Why did the royal couple allow themselves to communicate with such people? Such sentiments were characteristic of the empress, who, from childhood, was interested in everything unusual and mysterious. Over time, this character trait became even stronger in her. Frequent childbirth, tense anticipation of the birth of a male heir to the throne, and then his serious illness brought Alexandra Fedorovna to religious exaltation. Constant fear for the life of her son, who had hemophilia (incoagulability), forced her to seek protection in religion and even turn to outright charlatans.

It was these feelings of the empress that Rasputin skillfully played on. Rasputin's remarkable hypnotic abilities helped him gain a foothold at court, primarily as a healer. More than once he managed to “speak” the blood of the heir and relieve the empress’s migraines. Very soon, Rasputin inspired Alexandra Feodorovna, and through her, Nicholas II, that as long as he was at court, nothing bad would happen to the imperial family. Moreover, in the first years of their communication with Rasputin, the Tsar and Tsarina did not hesitate to offer their entourage to use the healing services of the “elder”. There is a known case when P. A. Stolypin, a few days after the explosion on Aptekarsky Island, discovered Rasputin praying at the bedside of his seriously wounded daughter. The empress herself recommended inviting Rasputin to Stolypin’s wife.

Rasputin was able to gain a foothold at court largely thanks to A. A. Vyrubova, the empress’s maid of honor and her closest friend. At Vyrubova's dacha, located not far from the Tsarskoye Selo Alexander Palace, the Empress and Nicholas II met with Rasputin. Rasputin's most devoted fan, Vyrubova served as a kind of link between him and the royal family. Rasputin’s closeness to the imperial family quickly became public, which the “elder” subtly took advantage of. Rasputin refused to accept any money from the Tsar and Tsarina. He more than made up for this “loss” in high society salons, where he accepted offerings from aristocrats seeking closeness to the tsar, bankers and industrialists defending their interests, and others hungry for the patronage of the supreme power. By the highest order, the Police Department assigned guards to Rasputin. However, starting in 1907, when the “elder” became more than a “preacher” and a “healer,” external surveillance was established over him. The observation diaries of the spies impartially recorded Rasputin's pastime: carousing in restaurants, going to the bathhouse in the company of women, trips to the gypsies, etc. Since 1910, reports about Rasputin's riotous behavior began to appear in newspapers. The scandalous fame of the “elder” acquired alarming proportions, compromising the royal family.

At the beginning of 1911, P. A. Stolypin and Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod S. M. Lukyanov presented Nicholas II with a detailed report, debunking the holiness of the “elder” and depicting his adventures based on documents. The tsar's reaction was very harsh, but, having received help from the empress, Rasputin not only survived, but also strengthened his position even more. For the first time, a “friend” (as Alexandra Fedorovna called Rasputin) had a direct influence on the appointment of a statesman: the opponent of the “elder” Lukyanov was dismissed, and B. K. Sabler, who was loyal to Rasputin, was appointed in his place. In March 1912, the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko launched an attack on Rasputin. Having previously talked with the mother of Nicholas II, Maria Feodorovna, with documents in hand at an audience with the emperor, he painted a terrible picture of the depravity of the tsar’s close associate and emphasized the huge role that he played in the loss of the supreme power’s reputation. But neither Rodzianko’s admonitions, nor the subsequent conversations between the Tsar and his mother, his uncle Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, who was considered the keeper of traditions in the imperial family, nor the efforts of the Empress’s sister, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, shook the position of the “elder.” It was to this time that the phrase of Nicholas II dates back to: “Better one Rasputin than ten scandals a day.” Sincerely loving wife Nicholas could no longer resist her influence and in relation to Rasputin invariably took the side of the empress. For the third time, Rasputin's position at court was shaken in June - August 1915 after a noisy revelry in the Moscow restaurant "Yar", where, having drunk heavily, the "holy elder" began to loudly boast of his exploits, reporting obscene details about his many fans, not while missing out on the royal family. As they later reported to Comrade Minister of Internal Affairs V.F. Dzhunkovsky, “Rasputin’s behavior took on the completely ugly character of some kind of sexual psychopathy...”. It was this scandal that Dzhunkovsky reported in detail to Nikolai P. The Emperor was extremely irritated by the behavior of his “friend”, agreed with the general’s requests to send the “elder” home, but... a few days later he wrote to the Minister of Internal Affairs: “I insist on the immediate expulsion of General Dzhunkovsky.” .

This was the last serious threat to Rasputin's position at court. From this time until December 1916, Rasputin's influence reached its apogee. Until now, Rasputin was only interested in church affairs. The case with Dzhunkovsky showed that civil authorities could also be dangerous to the “holiness” of the royal “illuminator”. From now on, Rasputin seeks to control the official government, and primarily the key posts of the ministers of internal affairs and justice.

Rasputin's first victim was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. Once upon a time, it was the prince’s wife, with his direct participation, who brought Rasputin into the palace. Having settled into the royal chambers, Rasputin managed to ruin the relationship between the king and the Grand Duke, becoming the latter's worst enemy. After the start of the war, when Nikolai Nikolaevich, who was popular among the troops, was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Rasputin intended to visit the Supreme Headquarters in Baranovichi. In response, he received a laconic telegram: “Come and I’ll hang you!” Moreover, in the summer of 1915, Rasputin found himself “on a hot frying pan” when, on the direct advice of the Grand Duke, Nicholas II fired four of the most reactionary ministers, including Sabler, whose place was taken by Rasputin’s ardent and open enemy A.D. Samarin - Moscow provincial leader of the nobility.

Rasputin managed to convince the empress that Nikolai Nikolaevich's presence at the head of the army threatened the tsar with a coup, after which the throne would pass to the Grand Duke, respected by the military. It ended with Nicholas II himself taking the post of Supreme Commander, and the Grand Duke was sent to the secondary Caucasian front.

Many domestic historians believe that this moment became the key moment in the crisis of the supreme power. Far from St. Petersburg, the emperor finally lost control over the executive branch. Rasputin acquired unlimited influence over the empress and was given the opportunity to dictate the personnel policy of the autocracy.

Rasputin's political tastes and preferences are shown by the appointment, under his patronage, as Minister of Internal Affairs A. N. Khvostov, the former Nizhny Novgorod governor, leader of conservatives and monarchists in the State Duma, who had long bore the nickname Nightingale the Robber. This enormous “man without holding centers,” as he was called in the Duma, ultimately sought to occupy the highest bureaucratic post - chairman of the Council of Ministers. Khvostov’s comrade (deputy) was S.P. Beletsky, known within the family circle as an exemplary family man, and among acquaintances as the organizer of “Athenian evenings”, erotic shows in the ancient Greek style.

Khvostov, having become a minister, carefully concealed Rasputin's involvement in his appointment. But the “old man,” wanting to keep Khvostov in his hands, advertised his role in his career in every possible way. In response, Khvostov decided... to kill Rasputin. However, Vyrubova became aware of his attempts. After a huge scandal, Khvostov was dismissed. The remaining appointments at the behest of Rasputin were no less scandalous, especially two of them: B.V. Sturmer, completely incapable of any action, took simultaneously the posts of Minister of Internal Affairs and Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and A.D. Protopopov, whose reaction to time even eclipsed the notoriety of the “elder” himself, he became deputy chairman. In many ways, these and other appointments of random people to responsible positions upset the internal economy of the country, contributing directly or indirectly to the rapid fall of monarchical power.

Both the Tsar and the Empress were well aware of the “elder’s” lifestyle and the very specific aroma of his “holiness.” But, in spite of everything, they continued to listen to their “friend”. The fact is that Nicholas II, Alexandra Fedorovna, Vyrubova and Rasputin formed a kind of circle of like-minded people. Rasputin never proposed candidates that did not completely suit the Tsar and Tsarina. He never recommended anything without consulting Vyrubova, who gradually convinced the queen, after which Rasputin spoke himself.

The tragedy of the moment was that the representative of the Romanov dynasty in power and his wife were worthy of such a favorite as Rasputin. Rasputin only illustrated the complete lack of logic in governing the country in the last pre-revolutionary years. “What is this, stupidity or treason?” - P. N. Milyukov asked after each phrase of his speech in the Duma on November 1, 1916. In reality, it was a simple inability to rule. On the night of December 17, 1916, Rasputin was secretly killed by representatives of the St. Petersburg aristocracy, who hoped to save the tsar from destructive influences and save the country from collapse. This murder became a kind of parody of the palace coups of the 18th century: the same solemn surroundings, the same, albeit vain, mystery, the same nobility of the conspirators. But this step could not change anything. The tsar's policy remained the same, and there was no improvement in the situation of the country. The Russian Empire was moving uncontrollably towards its collapse.

"Master of the Russian Land"

The royal “cross” turned out to be difficult for Nicholas P. The Emperor never doubted that Divine Providence had placed him in his highest position in order to rule for the strengthening and prosperity of the state. WITH youth he was brought up in the belief that Russia and the autocracy are inseparable things. In the questionnaire for the first All-Russian population census in 1897, when asked about his occupation, the emperor wrote: “Master of the Russian Land.” He fully shared the point of view of the famous conservative Prince V.P. Meshchersky, who believed that “the end of autocracy is the end of Russia.”

Meanwhile, there was almost no “autocracy” in the appearance and character of the last sovereign. He never raised his voice and was polite to ministers and generals. Those who knew him closely spoke of him as a “kind”, “extremely well-mannered” and “charming man.” One of the main reformers of this reign, S. Yu. Witte (see the article “Sergei Witte”; wrote about what was hidden behind the charm and the courtesy of the emperor: “...Emperor Nicholas II, having ascended the throne quite unexpectedly, representing himself as a kind man, far from stupid, but shallow, weak-willed, in the end a good man, who did not inherit all the qualities of his mother and partly his ancestors (Paul) and very few qualities of his father, was not created to be an emperor in general, but an unlimited emperor of such an empire as Russia, in particular. His main qualities were courtesy when he wanted it, cunning and complete spinelessness and weak-willedness." A general who knew the emperor well A.A. Mosolov, head of the office of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, wrote that “Nicholas II was by nature very shy, did not like to argue, partly for fear that he might be proven wrong in his views or convince others of this... The Tsar was not only polite, but even helpful and affectionate with all those who came into contact with him. He never paid attention to the age, position or social status of the person he was talking to. Both for the minister and for the last valet, the tsar always had an even and polite manner." Nicholas II was never distinguished by his lust for power and looked at power as a heavy duty. He performed his "royal work" carefully and carefully, never allowing himself relax. Contemporaries were surprised by the amazing self-control of Nicholas II, the ability to control himself under any circumstances. His philosophical calm, mainly associated with the peculiarities of his worldview, seemed to many to be “terrible, tragic indifference.” God, Russia and family were the most important life values ​​of the last emperor. He was a deeply religious man, and this explains a lot about his fate as a ruler. From childhood, he strictly observed all Orthodox rituals, knew church customs and traditions well. Faith filled the king’s life with deep content, freed him from the slavery of earthly circumstances, and helped him endure numerous shocks. and adversity. Over time, the crown bearer became a fatalist, who believed that everything was in the hands of the Lord and one must humbly submit to His holy will." Shortly before the fall of the monarchy, when everyone felt the approaching denouement, he remembered the fate of the biblical Job, whom God, wanting to test, deprived him of his children, health, and wealth. Responding to complaints from relatives about the state of affairs in the country, Nicholas II said: “Everything is God’s will. I was born on May 6, the day of commemoration of the long-suffering Job. I am ready to accept my fate.”

The second most important value in the life of the last tsar was Russia. From a young age, Nikolai Alexandrovich was convinced that imperial power was good for the country. Shortly before the start of the revolution of 1905-1907. he stated: “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.” The monarch, according to Nicholas, was a living personification of law, justice, order, supreme power and traditions. He perceived the departure from the principles of power he had inherited as a betrayal of the interests of Russia, as an outrage against the sacred foundations bequeathed by his ancestors. “The autocratic power bequeathed to me by my ancestors, I must transfer safely to my son,” Nikolai believed. He was always keenly interested in the country's past, and in Russian history, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed the Quietest, aroused his special sympathy. The time of his reign seemed to Nicholas II as the golden age of Russia. The last emperor would have gladly failed his reign so that he too could be awarded the same nickname.

And yet Nicholas was aware that the autocracy at the beginning of the 20th century. already different compared to the era of Alexei Mikhailovich. He could not help but take into account the demands of the time, but was convinced that any drastic changes in public life Russia are fraught with unpredictable consequences that are disastrous for the country. Thus, well aware of the ill-being of the many millions of peasants who suffered from landlessness, he categorically objected to the forcible seizure of land from landowners and defended the inviolability of the principle of private property. The Tsar always sought to ensure that innovations were implemented gradually, taking into account traditions and past experience. This explains his desire to leave the implementation of reforms to his ministers, while remaining in the shadows himself. The Emperor supported the policy of industrialization of the country, pursued by Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte, although this course was met with hostility in various circles of society. The same thing happened with P. A. Stolypin’s program of agrarian restructuring: only reliance on the will of the monarch allowed the prime minister to carry out the planned reforms.

The events of the first Russian revolution and the forced publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905 were perceived by Nicholas as a deep personal tragedy. The Emperor knew about the impending march of workers to the Winter Palace on January 3, 1905. He told his family that he wanted to go out to the demonstrators and accept their petition, but the family united against such a step, calling it “madness.” The Tsar could easily have been killed both by terrorists who had infiltrated the ranks of the workers, and by the crowd itself, whose actions were unpredictable. The gentle, susceptible Nikolai agreed and spent January 5 in Tsarskoye Selo near Petrograd. News from the capital plunged the sovereign into horror. “It’s a hard day!” he wrote in his diary, “There are serious unrest in St. Petersburg... The troops had to shoot, there are many killed and wounded in different parts of the city. Lord, how painful and difficult it is!”

By signing the Manifesto granting civil liberties to his subjects, Nicholas violated those political principles that he considered sacred. He felt betrayed. In his memoirs, S. Yu. Witte wrote about this: “During all the October days, the sovereign seemed completely calm. I don’t think he was afraid, but he was completely confused, otherwise, given his political tastes, of course, he would not have gone on the constitution. It seems to me that in those days the sovereign was looking for support in force, but did not find anyone among the admirers of force - everyone became cowardly." When Prime Minister P. A. Stolypin informed the emperor in 1907 that “the revolution was generally suppressed,” he heard a stunned answer: “I don’t understand what kind of revolution you are talking about. True, we had riots, but this not a revolution... And the riots, I think, would have been impossible if more energetic and courageous people were in power.” Nicholas II could rightfully apply these words to himself.

Neither in reforms, nor in military leadership, nor in suppressing unrest did the emperor take full responsibility.

Royal family

An atmosphere of harmony, love and peace reigned in the emperor's family. Here Nikolai always rested his soul and drew strength to fulfill his duties. On April 8, 1915, on the eve of the next anniversary of their engagement, Alexandra Fedorovna wrote to her husband: “Dear, we have gone through so many difficult trials over all these years, but in our native nest it has always been warm and sunny.”

Having lived a life full of turmoil, Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna maintained a lovingly enthusiastic attitude towards each other to the end. Their honeymoon lasted more than 23 years. Few people guessed at the time about the depth of this feeling. Only in the mid-20s, when three voluminous volumes of correspondence between the Tsar and Tsarina (about 700 letters) were published in Russia, the amazing story of their boundless and all-consuming love for each other was revealed. 20 years after the wedding, Nikolai wrote in his diary: “I can’t believe that today is our twentieth wedding anniversary. The Lord blessed us with rare family happiness; if only we could be worthy of His great mercy during the rest of our lives.”

Five children were born into the royal family: Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Tsarevich Alexei. Daughters were born one after another. In the hope of an heir, the imperial couple became interested in religion and initiated the canonization of Seraphim of Sarov. Piety was complemented by an interest in spiritualism and the occult. Various soothsayers and holy fools began to appear at court. Finally, in July 1904, their son Alexei was born. But the parental joy was overshadowed - the child was diagnosed with an incurable hereditary disease hemophilia.

Pierre Gilliard, the teacher of the royal daughters, recalled: “The best thing about these four sisters was their simplicity, naturalness, sincerity and unaccountable kindness.” Also characteristic is the entry in the diary of the priest Afanasy Belyaev, who during the Easter days of 1917 had the opportunity to confess to the arrested members of the royal family. “God grant that all children be as morally high as the children of the former boyfriend. Such gentleness, humility, obedience to the parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity of thoughts and complete ignorance of the dirt of the earth, passionate and sinful, left me in amazement.” , he wrote.

Heir to the throne Tsarevich Alexei

“An unforgettable great day for us, on which the mercy of God so clearly visited us. At 12 noon, Alix had a son, who was named Alexei during prayer.” This is what Emperor Nicholas II wrote in his diary on July 30, 1904.

Alexei was the fifth child of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna. Not only the Romanov family, but also the whole of Russia had been waiting for his birth for many years, because the significance of this boy for the country was enormous. Alexei became the first (and only) son of the emperor, and therefore the Heir Tsarevich, as the heir to the throne was officially called in Russia. His birth determined who, in the event of the death of Nicholas II, would have to lead the huge power. After Nicholas's accession to the throne, Grand Duke Georgy Alexandrovich, the Tsar's brother, was declared heir. When Georgy Alexandrovich died of tuberculosis in 1899, the tsar’s younger brother, Mikhail, became the heir. And now, after the birth of Alexei, it became clear that the direct line of succession to the Russian throne would not be stopped.

From birth, the life of this boy was subordinated to one thing - the future reign. Even the parents gave the name to the heir with meaning - in memory of the idol of Nicholas II, the “quiet” Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Immediately after birth, little Alexey was included in the lists of twelve guards military units. By the time he came of age, the heir had to already have a fairly high military rank and be listed as the commander of one of the battalions of a guards regiment - in accordance with tradition, the Russian emperor had to be a military man. The newborn was also entitled to all other grand-ducal privileges: his own lands, an efficient staff of service persons, monetary support, etc.

At first, nothing foreshadowed trouble for Alexei and his parents. But one day, three-year-old Alexey fell while out for a walk and seriously hurt his leg. An ordinary bruise, which many children do not pay attention to, has grown to alarming proportions, and the heir’s temperature has risen sharply. The verdict of the doctors who examined the boy was terrible: Alexey was sick with a serious illness - hemophilia. Hemophilia, a disease in which blood does not clot, threatened the heir to the Russian throne with serious consequences. Now every bruise or cut could be fatal for the child. Moreover, it was well known that the life expectancy of patients with hemophilia is extremely short.

From now on, the entire routine of the heir’s life was subordinated to one main goal - to protect him from the slightest danger. A lively and active boy, Alexey was now forced to forget about active games. With him on walks was his assigned “uncle” - sailor Derevenko from the imperial yacht "Standard". Nevertheless, new attacks of the disease could not be avoided. One of the most severe attacks of the disease occurred in the fall of 1912. During a boat trip, Alexey, wanting to jump ashore, accidentally hit the side. A few days later he was no longer able to walk: the sailor assigned to him carried him in his arms. The hemorrhage turned into a huge tumor that took over half of the boy's leg. The temperature rose sharply, reaching almost 40 degrees on some days. The largest Russian doctors of that time, professors Rauchfuss and Fedorov, were urgently called to the patient. However, they were not able to achieve a radical improvement in the child’s health. The situation was so threatening that it was decided to begin publishing official bulletins about the health of the heir in the press. Alexei's serious illness continued throughout the autumn and winter, and only by the summer of 1913 was he able to walk independently again.

Alexei owed his serious illness to his mother. Hemophilia is a hereditary disease that affects only men, but it is transmitted through the female line. Alexandra Feodorovna inherited a serious illness from her grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, whose wide family relations led to the fact that in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century hemophilia began to be called the disease of kings. Many of the descendants of the famous English queen suffered from a serious illness. Thus, Alexandra Fedorovna’s brother died of hemophilia.

Now the disease has struck the only heir to the Russian throne. However, despite his serious illness, Alexei was prepared for the fact that he would one day ascend the Russian throne. Like all his immediate relatives, the boy was educated at home. The Swiss Pierre Gilliard was invited to be his teacher, teaching the boy languages. The most famous Russian scientists of that time were preparing to teach the heir. But illness and war prevented Alexey from studying normally. With the outbreak of hostilities, the boy often visited the army with his father, and after Nicholas II assumed supreme command, he was often with him at Headquarters. The February Revolution found Alexei with his mother and sisters in Tsarskoe Selo. He was arrested along with his family, and together with them he was sent to the east of the country. Together with all his relatives, he was killed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich

IN late XIX c., by the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II, the Romanov family numbered about two dozen members. The Grand Dukes and Duchesses, the Tsar's uncles and aunts, his brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces - all of them were quite prominent figures in the life of the country. Many of the grand dukes held responsible government positions, participated in the command of the army and navy, and the activities of government agencies and scientific organizations. Some of them had significant influence on the tsar and allowed themselves, especially in the first years of the reign of Nicholas II, to interfere in his affairs. However, most of the grand dukes had a reputation as incompetent leaders, unsuited for serious work.

However, among the great princes there was one whose popularity was almost equal to that of the king himself. This is Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, son of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Sr., who commanded Russian troops during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. was born in 1856. He studied at the Nikolaev Military Engineering School, and in 1876 he graduated from the Nikolaev Military Academy with a silver medal, and his name was on the marble plaque of honor of this most prestigious military educational institution. The Grand Duke also took part in Russian-Turkish war 1877-78

In 1895, Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed inspector general of cavalry, effectively becoming the commander of all cavalry units. At this time, Nikolai Nikolaevich gained significant popularity among guards officers. Tall (his height was 195 cm), fit, energetic, with noble gray hair at the temples, the Grand Duke was the outer embodiment of the ideal officer. And the Grand Duke’s overflowing energy only contributed to an increase in his popularity.

Nikolai Nikolaevich is known for his integrity and severity not only towards soldiers, but also towards officers. While inspecting the troops, he ensured that they were well trained and mercilessly punished negligent officers, getting them to pay attention to the needs of the soldiers. This made him famous among the lower ranks, quickly gaining popularity in the army no less than the popularity of the king himself. The owner of a courageous appearance and a loud voice, Nikolai Nikolaevich personified the strength of royal power for the soldiers.

After military failures during the Russo-Japanese War, the Grand Duke was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the Guard and the St. Petersburg Military District. He very quickly managed to extinguish the fire of discontent in the guards units with the incompetent leadership of the army. Largely thanks to Nikolai Nikolayevich, the guard troops, without hesitation, dealt with the uprising in Moscow in December 1905. During the revolution of 1905, the influence of the Grand Duke increased enormously. Commanding the capital's military district and the guard, he became one of the key figures in the fight against the revolutionary movement. The position in the capital, and therefore the ability of the state apparatus of the empire to govern the vast country, depended on his determination. Nikolai Nikolaevich used all his influence to persuade the Tsar to sign the famous manifesto on October 17. When the then Chairman of the Council of Ministers S.Yu. Witte presented the draft manifesto to the tsar for signature, Nikolai Nikolayevich did not leave the emperor a single step until the manifesto was signed. The Grand Duke, according to some courtiers, even threatened to shoot the Tsar in his chambers if he did not sign a document that would save the monarchy. And although this information can hardly be considered true, such an act would be quite typical for the Grand Duke.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich remained one of the main leaders of the Russian army in subsequent years. In 1905-1908 he chaired the State Defense Council, which was responsible for planning the combat training of troops. His influence on the emperor was just as great, although after signing the manifesto on October 17, Nicholas II treated his cousin without the tenderness that had characterized their relationship before.

In 1912, Minister of War V.A. Sukhomlinov, one of those whom the Grand Duke could not stand, prepared a big military game - staff maneuvers, in which all commanders of military districts were supposed to take part. The king himself was to lead the game. Nikolai Nikolaevich, who hated Sukhomlinov, spoke with the emperor half an hour before the start of the maneuvers, and... the war game, which had been prepared for several months, was cancelled. The Minister of War had to resign, which, however, the Tsar did not accept.

When did the first one begin? World War, Nicholas II had no doubts about the candidacy of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. They appointed Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. The Grand Duke did not possess any special military leadership talents, but it was thanks to him that the Russian army emerged with honor from the most difficult trials of the first year of the war. Nikolai Nikolaevich knew how to competently select his officers. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief gathered competent and experienced generals at headquarters. He knew how, after listening to them, make the most correct decision, for which now only he had to bear responsibility. True, Nikolai Nikolaevich did not remain at the head of the Russian army for long: a year later, on August 23, 1915, Nicholas II took over the supreme command, and “Nikolasha” was appointed commander of the Caucasian Front. By removing Nikolai Nikolayevich from command of the army, the tsar sought to get rid of a relative who had acquired unprecedented popularity. In Petrograd salons there was talk that “Nikolasha” could replace his not very popular nephew on the throne.

A.I. Guchkov recalled that many political figures at that time believed that it was Nikolai Nikolaevich who, with his authority, was able to prevent the collapse of the monarchy in Russia. Political gossips called Nikolai Nikolaevich a possible successor to Nicholas II in the event of his voluntary or forcible removal from power.

Be that as it may, Nikolai Nikolaevich established himself during these years both as a successful commander and as a smart politician. The troops of the Caucasian Front, led by him, successfully advanced in Turkey, and the rumors associated with his name remained rumors: the Grand Duke did not miss an opportunity to assure the Tsar of his loyalty.

When the monarchy in Russia was overthrown and Nicholas II abdicated the throne, it was Nikolai Nikolaevich who was appointed Supreme Commander by the Provisional Government. True, he remained there for only a few weeks, after which, due to his belonging to the imperial family, he was again removed from command.

Nikolai Nikolaevich left for Crimea, where, together with some other representatives of the Romanov family, he settled in Dulber. As it turned out later, leaving Petrograd saved their lives. When the Civil War began in Russia, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich found himself in territory occupied by the White Army. Remembering the enormous popularity of the Grand Duke, General A.I. Denikin approached him with a proposal to lead the fight against the Bolsheviks, but Nikolai Nikolaevich refused to participate in the Civil War and left Crimea in 1919, going to France. He settled in the south of France, and in 1923 he moved to the town of Choigny near Paris. In December 1924, he received from Baron P.N. Wrangel leadership of all foreign Russian military organizations, which, with his participation, were united into the Russian All-Military Union (EMRO). During these same years, Nikolai Nikolaevich fought with his nephew, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich for the right to be locum tenens of the Russian throne.

Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich died in 1929.

On the eve of great upheaval

The First World War, in which Russia took the side of England and France against the Austro-German bloc, played a decisive role in the fate of the country and the monarchy. Nicholas II did not want Russia to enter the war. Russian Foreign Minister S.D. Sazonov later recalled his conversation with the emperor on the eve of the announcement of mobilization in the country: “The Emperor was silent. Then he told me in a voice that sounded deep emotion: “This means dooming hundreds of thousands of Russian people to death. How not to stop before such a decision?

The beginning of the war caused an upsurge of patriotic feelings, uniting representatives of various social forces. This time became a kind of finest hour of the last emperor, who turned into a symbol of hope for a quick and complete victory. On July 20, 1914, the day war was declared, crowds of people holding portraits of the Tsar poured into the streets of St. Petersburg. A Duma deputation came to the Winter Palace to express support for the Emperor. One of its representatives, Vasily Shulgin, spoke about this event: “Constricted so that he could stretch out his hand to the front rows, the sovereign stood. This was the only time when I saw excitement on his brightened face. And how could one not worry? ? Why did this crowd of not young men, but elderly people shout? They shouted: “Lead us, sir!”

But the first successes of Russian weapons in East Prussia and Galicia turned out to be fragile. In the summer of 1915, under powerful enemy pressure, Russian troops abandoned Poland, Lithuania, Volyn, and Galicia. The war gradually became protracted and was far from over. Having learned about the capture of Warsaw by the enemy, the emperor exclaimed with anger: “This cannot continue, I cannot sit here and watch my army being destroyed; I see mistakes - and I must remain silent!” Wanting to raise the morale of the army, Nicholas II in August 1915 assumed the duties of Commander-in-Chief, replacing Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich in this post. As S.D. Sazonov recalled, “in Tsarskoye Selo a mystical confidence was expressed that the mere appearance of the Emperor at the head of the troops was supposed to change the state of affairs at the front.” He now spent most of his time at the Supreme Command Headquarters in Mogilev. Time worked against the Romanovs. The protracted war exacerbated old problems and constantly gave birth to new ones. Failures at the front caused dissatisfaction, which erupted in critical speeches in newspapers and in the speeches of State Duma deputies. The unfavorable course of affairs was associated with poor leadership of the country. Once, talking with the Chairman of the Duma M.V. Rodzianko about the situation in Russia, Nikolai almost groaned: “Have I really been trying for twenty-two years to make everything better, and for twenty-two years I was wrong?!”

In August 1915, several Duma and other public groups united into the so-called “Progressive Bloc”, the center of which was the Cadet Party. Their most important political demand was the creation of a ministry responsible to the Duma - a “cabinet of trust.” It was assumed that leading positions in it would be taken by persons from Duma circles and the leadership of a number of socio-political organizations. For Nicholas II, this step would mean the beginning of the end of autocracy. On the other hand, the tsar understood the inevitability of serious reforms of public administration, but considered it impossible to carry them out in war conditions. Silent ferment intensified in society. Some confidently said that “treason is nesting” in the government, that high-ranking officials are collaborating with the enemy. Among these “agents of Germany” Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna was often named. No evidence was ever given to support this. But public opinion did not need proof and once and for all delivered its merciless verdict, which played a large role in the growth of anti-Romanov sentiments. These rumors also penetrated to the front, where millions of soldiers, mostly former peasants, suffered and died for goals that were known only to their superiors. Talk about the betrayal of high-ranking officials here aroused indignation and hostility towards all the “well-fed metropolitan whippersnappers.” This hatred was skillfully fueled by left-wing political groups, primarily the Socialist Revolutionaries and Bolsheviks, who advocated the overthrow of the “Romanov clique.”

Abdication

By the beginning of 1917, the situation in the country had become extremely tense. At the end of February, unrest began in Petrograd caused by interruptions in food supplies to the capital. These riots, without encountering serious opposition from the authorities, a few days later grew into mass protests against the government and against the dynasty. The Tsar learned about these events in Mogilev. “Unrest began in Petrograd,” the tsar wrote in his diary on February 27, “unfortunately, troops began to take part in them. It’s a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news!” Initially, the tsar wanted to restore order in Petrograd with the help of troops, but was unable to reach the capital. On March 1, he wrote in his diary: “Shame and disgrace! It was not possible to get to Tsarskoe. But my thoughts and feelings are there all the time!”

Some high-ranking military officials, members of the imperial retinue and representatives public organizations convinced the emperor that to pacify the country a change of government was required, his abdication of the throne was necessary. After much thought and hesitation, Nicholas II decided to renounce the throne. The choice of a successor was also difficult for the emperor. He asked his doctor to frankly answer the question whether Tsarevich Alexei could be cured of a congenital blood disease. The doctor just shook his head - the boy’s illness was fatal. “If God decided so, I will not part with her as my poor child,” Nikolai said. He renounced power. Nicholas II sent a telegram to the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko: “There is no sacrifice that I would not make in the name of real good and for the salvation of my dear mother Russia. Therefore, I am ready to abdicate the throne in favor of my son, in order to remained with me until I came of age, during the regency of my brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich." Then the tsar's brother Mikhail Alexandrovich was elected heir to the throne. On March 2, 1917, on the way to Petrograd, at the small Dno station near Pskov, in the salon carriage of the imperial train, Nicholas II signed an act of abdication. In his diary on this day, the former emperor wrote: “There is treason, cowardice, and deception all around!”

In the text of the renunciation, Nikolai wrote: “In the days of the great struggle with the external enemy, who has been striving to enslave our homeland for almost three years. The Lord God was pleased to send Russia a new and difficult test. The outbreak of internal popular unrest threatens to have a disastrous effect on the further conduct of a stubborn war... During these decisive days in the life of Russia, We considered it a duty of conscience to facilitate for our people the close unity and rallying of all the people's forces for the speedy achievement of victory, and in agreement with the State Duma, we recognized it as good to renounce the Throne of the Russian State and relinquish the Supreme power..."

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, under pressure from Duma deputies, refused to accept the imperial crown. At 10 a.m. on March 3, the Provisional Committee of the Duma and members of the newly formed Provisional Government went to see Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The meeting took place in Prince Putyatin’s apartment on Millionnaya Street and lasted until two o’clock in the afternoon. Of those present, only the Minister of Foreign Affairs P. N. Milyukov and the Minister of War and Navy A. I. Guchkov persuaded Mikhail to accept the throne. Miliukov recalled that when, upon arrival in Petrograd, he “went straight to the railway workshops and announced to the workers about Mikhail,” he “barely escaped beatings or murder.” Despite the rejection of the monarchy by the rebel people, the leaders of the Cadets and Octobrists tried to convince the Grand Duke to take the crown, seeing in Mikhail the guarantee of the continuity of power. The Grand Duke greeted Miliukov with a playful remark: “Well, it’s good to be in a position English king. Very easy and convenient! Eh?” To which he quite seriously replied: “Yes, Your Highness, to rule very calmly, observing the constitution.” Miliukov conveyed in his memoirs his speech addressed to Mikhail: “I argued that to strengthen the new order we need strong power and that it can only be like this when it is based on a symbol of power familiar to the masses. The monarchy is such a symbol. The Provisional Government alone, without relying on this symbol, simply will not live to see the opening of the Constituent Assembly. It will turn out to be a fragile boat that will drown in the ocean of popular unrest. The country is in danger of losing all consciousness of statehood and complete anarchy."

However, Rodzianko, Kerensky, Shulgin and other members of the delegation already realized that Mikhail would not be able to have a calm reign like the British monarch and that, given the agitation of the workers and soldiers, he was unlikely to actually take power. Mikhail himself was convinced of this. His manifesto, prepared by Duma member Vasily Alekseevich Maksakov and professors Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov (father of the famous writer) and Boris Nolde, read: “Animated by the same thought with all the people that the good of our homeland is above all, I made a firm decision in that only case to accept Supreme power, if such is the will of our great people, who must, by popular vote, through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish the form of government and new fundamental laws of the Russian State." Interestingly, before the publication of the manifesto, a dispute arose that lasted for six hours. Its essence was as follows. Cadets Nabokov and Milyukov, foaming at the mouth, argued that Mikhail should be called emperor, since before his abdication he seemed to have reigned for a day. They tried to maintain at least a weak clue for the possible restoration of the monarchy in the future. However, the majority of members of the Provisional Government eventually came to the conclusion that Mikhail was and remained just a Grand Duke, since he refused to accept power.

Death of the royal family

The Provisional Government that came to power arrested the Tsar and his family on March 7 (20), 1917. The arrest served as a signal for the flight of the Minister of the Court V.B. Fredericks, palace commandant V.N. Voeikov, some other courtiers. “These people were the first to abandon the tsar in a difficult moment. This is how the sovereign did not know how to choose loved ones,” M.V. later wrote. Rodzianko. V.A. agreed to voluntarily share the conclusion. Dolgorukov, P.K. Benkendorf, maids of honor S.K. Buxhoeveden and A.V. Gendrikova, doctors E.S. Botkin and V.N. Derevenko, teachers P. Gilliard and S. Gibbs. Most of them shared the tragic fate of the royal family.

Deputies of the city councils of Moscow and Petrograd demanded a trial of the former emperor. The head of the Provisional Government, A.F. Kerensky, responded to this: “Until now, the Russian revolution has proceeded bloodlessly, and I will not allow it to be overshadowed... The Tsar and his family will be sent abroad, to England.” However, England refused to accept the family of the deposed emperor until the end of the war. For five months, Nikolai and his relatives were kept under strict supervision in one of the palaces in Tsarskoe Selo. Here on March 21, a meeting between the former sovereign and Kerensky took place. “A disarmingly charming man,” the leader of the February Revolution later wrote. After the meeting, he said with surprise to those accompanying him: “But Nicholas II is far from stupid, contrary to what we thought about him.” Many years later, in his memoirs, Kerensky wrote about Nikolai: “Going into private life brought him nothing but relief. Old Mrs. Naryshkina conveyed to me his words: “It’s good that you no longer need to attend these tedious receptions and sign these endless documents.” . I will read, go for walks and spend time with the children."

However, the former emperor was too politically significant a figure to be allowed to quietly “read, walk and spend time with children.” Soon the royal family was sent under guard to the Siberian city of Tobolsk. A.F. Kerensky later justified himself that the family was expected to be transported from there to the United States. Nikolai was indifferent to the change in location. The Tsar read a lot, took part in amateur performances, and was involved in the education of children.

Having learned about the October revolution, Nikolai wrote in his diary: “It’s sickening to read the description in the newspapers of what happened in Petrograd and Moscow! Much worse and more shameful than the events of the Time of Troubles!” Nicholas reacted especially painfully to the message about the armistice, and then about peace with Germany. At the beginning of 1918, Nikolai was forced to remove his colonel's shoulder straps (his last military rank), which he perceived as a grave insult. The usual convoy was replaced by Red Guards.

After the Bolshevik victory in October 1917, the fate of the Romanovs was sealed. They spent the last three months of their lives in the capital of the Urals, Yekaterinburg. Here the exiled sovereign was settled in the mansion of engineer Ipatiev. The owner of the house was evicted on the eve of the arrival of the guards; the house was surrounded by a double board fence. The living conditions in this “special purpose house” turned out to be much worse than in Tobolsk. But Nikolai behaved courageously. His firmness was passed on to his family. The king's daughters learned to wash clothes, cook food, and bake bread. The Ural worker A.D. was appointed commandant of the house. Avdeev, but because of his sympathetic attitude towards the royal family, he was soon removed, and the Bolshevik Yakov Yurovsky became the commandant. “We like this guy less and less...” Nikolai wrote in his diary.

The Civil War pushed back the plan for the trial of the Tsar, which the Bolsheviks had originally hatched. On the eve of the fall of Soviet power in the Urals, a decision was made in Moscow to execute the Tsar and his relatives. The murder was entrusted to Ya.M. Yurovsky and his deputy G.P. Nikulin. Latvians and Hungarians from among the prisoners of war were allocated to help them.

On the night of July 17, 1913, the former emperor and his family were awakened and asked to go down to the basement under the pretext of their safety. “The city is restless,” Yurovsky explained to the prisoners. The Romanovs and the servants went down the stairs. Nicholas carried Tsarevich Alexei in his arms. Then 11 security officers entered the room, and Yurovsky announced to the prisoners that they were sentenced to death. Immediately after this, indiscriminate shooting began. Tsar Y.M. himself Yurovsky shot him with a pistol at point-blank range. When the volleys died down, it turned out that Alexei, the three Grand Duchesses and the Tsar's doctor Botkin were still alive - they were finished off with bayonets. The corpses of the dead were taken outside the city, doused with kerosene, they tried to burn them, and then buried them.

A few days after the execution, on July 25, 1918, Yekaterinburg was occupied by the troops of the White Army. Her command began an investigation into the regicide case. The Bolshevik newspapers that reported on the execution presented the matter in such a way that the execution took place on the initiative of local authorities without coordination with Moscow. However, the investigative commission created by the White Guards N.A. Sokolova, who conducted the investigation in hot pursuit, discovered evidence refuting this version. Later, in 1935, L.D. admitted this. Trotsky: “The liberals seemed to be inclined to believe that the Ural executive committee, cut off from Moscow, acted independently. This is incorrect. The resolution was made in Moscow.” Further, the former leader of the Bolsheviks recalled that, having once arrived in Moscow, he asked Ya.M. Sverdlov: “Yes, where is the king?” “It’s over,” answered Sverdlov, “he was shot.” When Trotsky clarified: “Who decided?”, the chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee replied: “We decided here. Ilyich believed that it was impossible to leave them a living banner, especially in the current difficult conditions.”

Investigator Sergeev discovered on the southern side of the basement room where the family of the last emperor died along with their servants, stanzas of Heine’s poem “Belshazzar” on German, which in poetic translation sound like this:

And before the dawn rose,
Slaves killed the king...

Another controversial and incomprehensible figure in the history of our country is the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II Romanov, whose death ended an entire era in the history of the country. He was called the most weak-willed ruler, and he himself considered government to be the heaviest burden and burden. During his reign, tension increased enormously, foreign policy ties became increasingly shaky, and revolutionary sentiments raged within the country. Nevertheless, he managed to make his feasible contribution to the political and economic development of the state. Let's figure out together where the truth is and where the fiction is in his difficult life path.

The last Russian Emperor Nicholas 2: short biography

Many people are accustomed to presenting exactly the kind of story that was advantageous to present under a certain “sauce.” Nikolai 2 Romanov had a firmly established reputation as an incompetent, lazy and slightly stupid person who did not see anything beyond his own nose. They nicknamed him the Bloody because of the incident in Khodynka, they predicted bad news for him, imminent death and the end of his reign, and they practically guessed it right. So who was this man, what qualities did he have, what did he dream and think about, what did he hope for? Let's look at his life from a historical perspective to better understand ourselves.

By the time little Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov was born, his name had already become traditional in the family of monarchs. Moreover, they named him, according to the old Russian tradition, in honor of his father’s brother, the so-called “naming after his uncle.” He died at a young age, without even having time to get married. It is interesting that they had the same not only names, but also patronymics and even namesake saints.

Childhood and growing up

Little Niki, as he was called at home, was born on May 6, 1868 in the family of the Russian Tsar Alexander III, as well as his wife Maria Fedorovna. The heir to the throne was born in Tsarskoe Selo, and in the same month he was baptized by Protopresbyter Vasily Bazhanov, the personal confessor of the royal family. By that time, his father did not even think that he would be on the throne, since it was planned that his older brother would become the heir. However, life took its own course and soon Nicholas, in poor health, died, Alexander 3 had to prepare to take the helm of a huge empire.

When the terrorist managed to throw a bomb at the Tsar’s feet, Alexander 3 was faced with a fact. However, he was a completely unique king; he preferred to live in Gatchina, with its narrow closet rooms, and not in the city residence - the Winter Palace. It was in this huge cold building with millions of rooms and thousands of narrow corridors that the future heir to the throne spent his early childhood. Remembering very well his own academic successes and aspirations in childhood, he tried to raise his children in such a way that early age instill in them the idea of ​​the need for education and the inadmissibility of laziness.

As soon as the boy was four years old, he was assigned a personal tutor, a real Englishman, Karl Osipovich Heath, who instilled in him an irresistible love for foreign languages. From the age of six, young Nikolai began to study languages ​​and succeeded a lot. At the age of eight, the Tsarevich, like other children, received a course of general gymnasium education. Then Grigory Grigoryevich Danilovich, a real infantry general, began to monitor this process. The future Tsar Nicholas II did well in all subjects, but he especially loved military affairs, like all the other boys. By the age of five, he became the chief of the Life Guards of the Reserve Infantry Regiment, while dashing through his teacher’s problems on strategy, military tactics or geography.

Youth and personal qualities of Nikolai Romanov

The personality of Nicholas 2 appears quite contradictory already from early childhood. He was not stupid, well educated, but he still managed to allow what happened later. All this will come later, but for now, from 1885 to 1890, he also took a course at the university’s law faculty, which was combined with a course at the Academy of the General Staff. In general, the education of the emperor's children lasted exactly thirteen years, and not ten or eleven, as in the modern world. First of all, subjects taught were: foreign languages, political history, Russian and foreign literature.

In the last five years, other subjects, more military in orientation, as well as economic and legal knowledge, prevailed. The teenage future ruler, like his brothers and sisters, was taught by the most illustrious minds on the planet, not just our country. Among the teachers of the last emperor of Russia one can find such names as Nikolai Beketov, Mikhail Dragomirov, Caesar Cui, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Nikolai Obruchev, Nikolai Bunge and many others. The prince even received very good grades for his studies.

As for his personal qualities, which determined the subsequent reign of Nicholas 2, we can rely on the opinion of people who knew him personally. The maid of honor and Baroness Sofia Karlovna Buxhoeveden wrote that he was unusually easy to use, but at the same time had an innate dignity that never allowed those around him to forget with whom they were talking. At the same time, it is believed that, for an aristocrat, Nicholas had a very sentimental and tearful, and perhaps even pitiful, worldview. He was very responsible about his own debt, but for others he could easily make concessions.

He was quite attentive and sensitive to the needs of the peasantry. The only thing he did not tolerate in any form was dirty money fraud, and he never forgave anyone for anything like that. All this undoubtedly influenced the historical portrait of Nicholas 2 and the memory of him, which, despite the efforts of the Bolsheviks, was nevertheless preserved, today paints somewhat different pictures than we could have imagined previously.

The reign of Nicholas II: the hard path of the last tsar

Some historians emphasize the weakness of spirit and character throughout the years of Nicholas II’s life. Such thoughts were expressed, for example, by Sergei Witte, Alexander Izvolsky, and even the Tsar’s wife Alexandra Fedorovna herself. A French teacher who, from 1905 until the tragic events of 1918, Pierre Gilliard, said that the burden placed on the fragile shoulders of such a romantic and sentimental person was too heavy for him. Moreover, even his wife suppressed him, she subordinated his will to hers, and he did not even have time to notice it. In 1884, the heir took his first oath in the Great Church of the Winter Palace.

Worth knowing

There is information that Emperor Nikolai Romanov never aspired to become one. A member of the State Duma, as well as a radical opposition politician, Viktor Obninsky, in his book “The Last Autocrat,” writes that at one time he actively refused the throne, even wanted to abdicate in favor of his younger brother Mishenka. However, Alexander the Third decided to insist and on May 6, 1884, a manifesto was signed, and in honor of this, fifteen thousand gold rubles were distributed to those in need.

Beginning of reign: Nikolka the Bloody

For the first time, Alexander began to involve the heir in state affairs quite early, and already in 1889, Nicholas for the first time took part in meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and the State Council. Around that time, the father sent his son on a trip around the country, as well as abroad, so that before he assumed the throne, he would have a clear idea of ​​what he was dealing with. In the company of his brothers and servants, Nikolai traveled to many countries, China, Japan, Greece, India, Egypt and many others.

On October 20, 1894, Alexander III, having held the collapsed roof of the carriage on his mighty shoulders and after all this having lain with kidney nephritis for only a month, ordered him to live long. He died and after an hour and a half, his son, the new Tsar Nicholas 2, was already taking the oath of allegiance to the country and the throne. Tears choked the emperor, but he had to hold on, and he held on as best he could. On November 14 of the same year, in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, the young ruler was married to the nee Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, who received the name Alexandra Feodorovna in Orthodoxy. The newlyweds' honeymoon was marked by funeral services and the necessary sympathetic visits.

Like his father, the emperor began to rule the country, even issued some decrees, supervised something, delimited his influence in the world with an excessively insolent Britain, but was in no hurry to be crowned. He also hoped that everything would “resolve” on its own, but it didn’t work out that way. The Tsar and his wife, the Great Tsarina, were crowned on May 14, 1896 in Moscow. All celebrations were scheduled four days later, when the real tragedy happened. Poor organization of the holiday and careless organizers are to blame for the tragedy that happened.

Interesting

The emperor's mother Maria Fedorovna, who believed that Niki was not capable of governing not only the country, but even himself, did not take the oath to him. Until the end of her life, she never swore allegiance to her son as emperor, believing that he was not worthy of the memory of his great father, who, when he could not prevail with knowledge or ingenuity, prevailed with perseverance and diligence.

The start of the festivities, where festive bags with sweets and souvenirs were to be distributed, was scheduled for ten o'clock in the morning, but already in the evening people began to gather on Khodynskoye Field, where the festivities were to be held. By five o'clock in the morning there were already at least half a million people there. When at ten they began to distribute colorful bundles of food and a mug, the police were unable to contain the pressure of the crowd. Distributors began throwing bundles into the crowd, but this made the situation even worse.

In a terrible stampede, diagnosed with compression asphyxia, more than one thousand three hundred people died. Despite this, further festivities were not cancelled, for which the king subsequently received the nickname Bloody. The accession to the throne of Nicholas II did not go well, as did his further path.

On the throne: the reign of Nicholas 2

Despite the weak will and non-fighting character, in the first years of the reign of Nicholas II, many reforms and improvements were carried out in the state system. A general population census was carried out, and monetary reform was implemented. Moreover, the Russian ruble was then almost twice as expensive as the German mark. Moreover, his dignity was ensured by pure gold. In 1897, Stolypin began to introduce his agrarian and factory reforms, and made worker insurance and primary education mandatory. In addition, some preventive measures for criminals were completely abolished. For example, there was no longer anyone to be frightened by exile to Siberia.

• On January 24, 1904, Russia was given a note about the severance of diplomatic relations with Japan, and already on January 27, war was declared, which we lost in disgrace.
• On January 6, 1905, just on the bright holiday of Epiphany, which was held on the frozen waters of the Neva, a cannon suddenly fired in front of the Winter Palace. On January 9 of the same year in St. Petersburg, on the initiative of priest Georgy Gapon, a procession was held to the Winter Palace and a “Petition for Workers’ Needs” was drawn up. The protesters were dispersed, but it was rumored that there were more than two hundred dead and about a thousand wounded.
• On February 4, 1905, a terrorist threw a bomb at the feet of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Unrest began to grow in the country, “forest brothers” were rampant everywhere, and various swindlers and bandits began to emerge under the noise of the revolution.
• On August 18, 1907, an agreement was finally signed with Britain on delimiting spheres of influence in Persia, Afghanistan and China.
• On June 17, 1910, Russification laws in Finland were regulated by law.
• In 1912-1914, Mongolia asked for help and the Russian Empire met it halfway, helping it gain independence.
• On July 19, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which it did not expect at all. Nicholas II Romanov made every effort to prevent it, but he failed to influence anything, and on October 20 of the same year, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire.
• The February Revolution of 1917 began as a kind of spontaneous action, which grew into something more. On February 7, 1917, the Tsar received news that almost the entire Petrograd garrison had gone over to the side of the revolutionaries. On February 28, the Mariinsky Palace was captured, and on March 2, the sovereign had already abdicated the throne in favor of the young heir, on the condition that his brother Mikhail would become regent.

On March 8, 1917, the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet, which heard about the former tsar’s plans to leave for England, decided to arrest the tsar and his family, confiscate property and abolish all civil rights.

Personal life and death of Nikolai Romanov: beloved Alix and unnecessary execution

The father of the future king, Alexander, spent a long time choosing a bride for him, but he didn’t like everything, and his wife was meticulous in matters of blood. Nicholas 2 had a chance to see his bride for the first time only in 1889, when the marriage was already a done deal. This was Princess Alice's second visit to Russia, then the future emperor fell in love with her and even gave her the affectionate nickname Alix.

Most of the time, the tsar, together with his royal family, lived in Tsarskoe Selo, where the Alexander Palace was located. This was the favorite place of Nikolai and his wife. The couple also visited Peterhof often, but in the summer they always went to Crimea, where they lived in the Livadia Palace. They loved to take pictures, read a lot of books, and the king also had the largest fleet of vehicles on the continent at that time.

Family and Children

On a bright autumn day on November 14, 1894, in the church of the Winter Palace, the wedding of Nicholas II with Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna took place, because this was the name she received when converting to Orthodoxy, which was mandatory for Russian rulers. It was this sickly and neurasthenic woman who bore him all his children.

• Olga (November 3, 1895)
• Tatiana (May 29, 1897).
• Maria (June 14, 1899).
• Anastasia (June 5, 1901).
• Alexey (July 30, 1904).

The last Tsarevich, the only boy and heir to the throne, had a blood disease from birth - hemophilia, which he inherited from his mother, who was a carrier, but did not suffer from it herself.

Death of the last Russian Tsar and perpetuation of memory

The years of reign for Nicholas 2 turned out to be difficult, but his life’s journey ended in an undeservedly tragic way. After the revolutionary events, he dreamed of simply leaving the country to lick his wounds somewhere, but the new government could not allow such a situation to happen. The provisional government was going to transport the royal family to Tobolsk, from where they were supposed to go to the United States. However, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, who came to power, ordered to send the tsar, his wife, son and daughters to Yekaterinburg.

The Bolsheviks were going to hold a show trial and try the Tsar for all his sins, in turn, for the fact that he was the Tsar. However, the unfolding Civil War did not allow distractions, otherwise it was possible to lose what had already been won. On a troubled and windy night from July 16 to 17, 1918, the decision was made and put into practice to shoot the monarch himself, as well as his entire family. The bodies were doused with kerosene and burned, and the ashes were buried in the ground.

It is clear that Soviet ideology did not in any way imply any perpetuation of the memory of the tsar who died so tragically, killed without trial. However, starting in the twenties of the last century, the so-called “Union of Zealots of the Memory of Emperor Nicholas II” was created abroad, which regularly held memorial and funeral services for him. On October 19, 1981, he was canonized by the Russian foreign church, and on August 14, 2000, by the internal Orthodox Church. In Yekaterinburg, right where the house of engineer Ipatiev stood, in which the royal family was killed, the Temple on the Blood was built in the name of All Saints who shone in the Russian land.

Emperor Nicholas II Romanov (1868-1918) ascended the throne on October 20, 1894, after the death of his father Alexander III. The years of his reign from 1894 to 1917 were marked by the economic rise of Russia and at the same time the growth of revolutionary movements.

The latter was due to the fact that the new sovereign followed in everything the political guidelines that his father had instilled in him. In his soul, the king was deeply convinced that any parliamentary forms of government would harm the empire. Patriarchal relations were taken as the ideal, where the crowned ruler acted as a father, and the people were considered as children.

However, such archaic views did not correspond to the real political situation that had developed in the country at the beginning of the 20th century. It was this discrepancy that led the emperor, and with him the empire, to the disaster that occurred in 1917.

Emperor Nicholas II
artist Ernest Lipgart

Years of reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917)

The years of the reign of Nicholas II can be divided into two stages. The first before the revolution of 1905, and the second from 1905 until the abdication of the throne on March 2, 1917. The first period is characterized by a negative attitude towards any manifestation of liberalism. At the same time, the tsar tried to avoid any political transformations and hoped that the people would adhere to autocratic traditions.

But the Russian Empire suffered a complete defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and then in 1905 a revolution broke out. All this became the reasons that forced the last ruler of the Romanov dynasty to make compromises and political concessions. However, they were perceived by the sovereign as temporary, so parliamentarism in Russia was hindered in every possible way. As a result, by 1917 the emperor had lost support in all layers of Russian society.

Considering the image of Emperor Nicholas II, it should be noted that he was an educated and extremely pleasant person to talk to. His favorite hobbies were art and literature. At the same time, the sovereign did not have the necessary determination and will, which were fully present in his father.

The cause of the disaster was the coronation of the emperor and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna on May 14, 1896 in Moscow. On this occasion, mass celebrations on Khodynka were scheduled for May 18, and it was announced that royal gifts would be distributed to people. This attracted a huge number of residents of Moscow and the Moscow region to Khodynskoye Field.

As a result of this, a terrible stampede arose in which, as journalists claimed, 5 thousand people died. The Mother See was shocked by the tragedy, and the tsar did not even cancel the celebrations in the Kremlin and the ball at the French embassy. People did not forgive the new emperor for this.

The second terrible tragedy was Bloody Sunday on January 9, 1905 (read more in the article Bloody Sunday). This time, the troops opened fire on the workers who were going to the Tsar to present the petition. About 200 people were killed, and 800 were injured of varying degrees of severity. This unpleasant incident occurred against the backdrop of the Russo-Japanese War, which was fought extremely unsuccessfully for the Russian Empire. After this event, Emperor Nicholas II received the nickname Bloody.

Revolutionary sentiments resulted in a revolution. A wave of strikes and terrorist attacks swept across the country. They killed policemen, officers, and tsarist officials. All this forced the tsar to sign a manifesto on the creation of the State Duma on August 6, 1905. However, this did not prevent an all-Russian political strike. The Emperor had no choice but to sign a new manifesto on October 17. He expanded the powers of the Duma and gave the people additional freedoms. At the end of April 1906, all this was approved by law. And only after this the revolutionary unrest began to decline.

Heir to the throne Nicholas with his mother Maria Feodorovna

Economic policy

The main creator of economic policy at the first stage of the reign was the Minister of Finance, and then the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Sergei Yulievich Witte (1849-1915). He was an active supporter of attracting foreign capital to Russia. According to his project, gold circulation was introduced in the state. At the same time, domestic industry and trade were supported in every possible way. At the same time, the state strictly controlled the development of the economy.

Since 1902 big influence The Minister of Internal Affairs, Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Pleve (1846-1904), began to influence the tsar. The newspapers wrote that he was the royal puppeteer. He was an extremely intelligent and experienced politician, capable of constructive compromises. He sincerely believed that the country needed reforms, but only under the leadership of the autocracy. This extraordinary man was killed in the summer of 1904 by the Socialist Revolutionary Sazonov, who threw a bomb at his carriage in St. Petersburg.

In 1906-1911, policy in the country was determined by the decisive and strong-willed Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin (1862-1911). He fought the revolutionary movement, peasant revolts and at the same time carried out reforms. He considered the main thing to be agrarian reform. Rural communities were dissolved, and peasants received the rights to create their own farms. For this purpose, the Peasant Bank was transformed and many programs were developed. Stolypin's ultimate goal was to create a large layer of wealthy peasant farms. He set aside 20 years for this.

However, Stolypin's relations with the State Duma were extremely difficult. He insisted that the emperor dissolve the Duma and change the electoral law. Many perceived this as a coup d'etat. The next Duma turned out to be more conservative in its composition and more submissive to the authorities.

But not only the Duma members were dissatisfied with Stolypin, but also the tsar and the royal court. These people did not want radical reforms in the country. And on September 1, 1911, in the city of Kyiv, at the play “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,” Pyotr Arkadyevich was mortally wounded by the Socialist Revolutionary Bogrov. On September 5 he died and was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. With the death of this man, the last hopes for reform without a bloody revolution disappeared.

In 1913, the country's economy was booming. It seemed to many that the “Silver Age” of the Russian Empire and the era of prosperity for the Russian people had finally arrived. This year the whole country celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The festivities were magnificent. They were accompanied by balls and folk festivals. But everything changed on July 19 (August 1), 1914, when Germany declared war on Russia.

The last years of the reign of Nicholas II

With the outbreak of the war, the whole country experienced an extraordinary patriotic upsurge. Demonstrations took place in provincial cities and the capital expressing full support for Emperor Nicholas II. The fight against everything German swept across the country. Even St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. The strikes stopped, and mobilization covered 10 million people.

At the front, Russian troops initially advanced. But the victories ended in defeat in East Prussia under Tannenberg. Also, military operations against Austria, an ally of Germany, were initially successful. However, in May 1915, Austro-German troops inflicted a heavy defeat on Russia. She had to cede Poland and Lithuania.

The economic situation in the country began to deteriorate. The products produced by the military industry did not meet the needs of the front. Theft flourished in the rear, and numerous victims began to cause indignation in society.

At the end of August 1915, the emperor assumed the functions of supreme commander-in-chief, removing Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich from this post. This became a serious miscalculation, since all military failures began to be attributed to the sovereign, who did not have any military talents.

The crowning achievement of Russian military art was the Brusilov breakthrough in the summer of 1916. During this brilliant operation, a crushing defeat was inflicted on the Austrian and German troops. The Russian army occupied Volyn, Bukovina and most of Galicia. Large enemy war trophies were captured. But, unfortunately, this was the last major victory of the Russian army.

The further course of events was disastrous for the Russian Empire. Revolutionary sentiments intensified, discipline in the army began to decline. It became common practice not to follow orders from commanders. Cases of desertion have become more frequent. Both society and the army were irritated by the influence that Grigory Rasputin had on the royal family. A simple Siberian man was gifted with extraordinary abilities. He was the only one who could relieve attacks from Tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia.

Therefore, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna trusted the elder immensely. And he, using his influence at court, intervened in political issues. All this, naturally, irritated society. In the end, a conspiracy arose against Rasputin (for details, see the article The Murder of Rasputin). The presumptuous old man was killed in December 1916.

The coming year 1917 was the last in the history of the House of Romanov. The tsarist government no longer controlled the country. A special committee of the State Duma and the Petrograd Council formed a new government, headed by Prince Lvov. It demanded that Emperor Nicholas II abdicate the throne. On March 2, 1917, the sovereign signed a manifesto of abdication in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. Michael also renounced supreme power. The reign of the Romanov dynasty is over.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
artist A. Makovsky

Personal life of Nicholas II

Nikolai married for love. His wife was Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. After converting to Orthodoxy, she took the name Alexandra Fedorovna. The wedding took place on November 14, 1894 in the Winter Palace. During the marriage, the Empress gave birth to 4 girls (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia) and in 1904 a boy was born. They named him Alexey

The last Russian emperor lived with his wife in love and harmony until his death. Alexandra Fedorovna herself had a complex and secretive character. She was shy and uncommunicative. Her world was confined to the crowned family, and the wife had a strong influence on her husband in both personal and political affairs.

She was a deeply religious woman and prone to all mysticism. This was greatly facilitated by the illness of Tsarevich Alexei. Therefore, Rasputin, who had a mystical talent, gained such influence at the royal court. But the people did not like Mother Empress for her excessive pride and isolation. This to a certain extent harmed the regime.

After his abdication, former Emperor Nicholas II and his family were arrested and remained in Tsarskoye Selo until the end of July 1917. Then the crowned persons were transported to Tobolsk, and from there in May 1918 they were transported to Yekaterinburg. There they were settled in the house of engineer Ipatiev.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the Russian Tsar and his family were brutally murdered in the basement of the Ipatiev House. After this, their bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and secretly buried (for more details about the death of the imperial family, read the article Regicides). In 1998, the found remains of the murdered were reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Thus ended the 300-year epic of the Romanov dynasty. It began in the 17th century in the Ipatiev Monastery, and ended in the 20th century in the house of engineer Ipatiev. And the history of Russia continued, but in a completely different capacity.

Burial place of the family of Nicholas II
in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg

Leonid Druzhnikov

Emperor Nicholas II was born in 1868, on May 6 (18) in Tsarskoe Selo by Empress Maria Feodorovna. Nikolai Alexandrovich's father is Alexander III. At the age of 8 (1876) he became an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, and in 1894 he became emperor.

During the reign of Emperor Nicholas 2, Russia experienced rapid development in the economy and industrial spheres. Under him, Russia lost the war of 1904–1905 to Japan, which accelerated the Revolution of 1905–1907. In the first year of the Revolution, on October 17, a Manifesto appeared, which legitimized the emergence political parties and established the State Duma. At the same time, the implementation of Stolypin's agrarian reform began.

During World War I, Russia had allies in the form of members of the Entente, into which it was admitted in 1907. Since August 1915, Emperor Nicholas 2 has been the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Abdicated the throne in 1917, March 2 (15), during the February Revolution. Soon after this, he was arrested and then killed by the Bolsheviks (along with his wife and children) in Yekaterinburg in 1918, on July 17. Canonized in 2000.

The emperor's childhood and adolescence

Teachers began studying with Nikolai when he reached the age of eight. First there was a training program of an eight-year general education course, then five years of higher education. The emperor's education was based on the modified course of the classical gymnasium. Nikolai studied natural sciences instead of classical “dead” languages. The history course was expanded, and the study of native literature was also more complete. Foreign languages ​​were also taught to the future emperor according to a more comprehensive program. Higher education subjects included political economy and law. Higher military affairs included the study of military law, strategy, geography and the service of the General Staff.

Nikolai studied the art of using a rapier, vaulting, drawing and music. Teachers and mentors were strictly selected by the crowned parents themselves. The teaching staff included learned men, statesmen and military figures, such as N. Kh. Bunge, N. K. Girs, K. P. Pobedonostsev, N. N. Obruchev, M. I. Dragomirov and A. R. Drenteln.

First steps in career

Knowing military regulations and internal officer traditions perfectly, Nikolai was drawn to military affairs from an early age. It was not difficult for him to endure difficulties during camp training and maneuvers; he easily and humanly communicated with ordinary soldiers, while at the same time feeling his responsibility to them - as a mentor and patron.

His army career began immediately after birth: his name was included in the lists of the regiments of the Imperial Guard, and in the 65th Moscow Infantry Regiment he was appointed chief. When Nikolai was five years old, the Life Guards Reserve Infantry Regiment received him as chief. In 1875 he was enrolled in the Life Guards Erivan Regiment. He received his first military rank in 1875 (in December), became a second lieutenant in 1880, and a lieutenant another 4 years later.

Since 1884, Nicholas II has been an active military man; in July 1887 he was accepted into Preobrazhensky Regiment, where he received the rank of staff captain. After 4 years, the future Emperor became a captain, and in 1892 - a colonel.

Serving as Emperor of Russia

Nicholas was crowned at the age of 26, on October 20, 1894 in Moscow. He took the oath and received the name Nicholas II. In 1896, on May 18, the coronation celebrations on Khodynskoye Field were overshadowed by tragic events. The political situation during the reign of the last emperor became very tense. The foreign policy situation also sharply worsened: this was the time of the war between Russia and Japan, the bloody January 9, the revolution of 1905-1907, the First World War and the “bourgeois” revolution of February 1917.

During his reign, the process of industrialization of Russia took place. New cities were built and grew, populated areas were connected everywhere railways, plants and factories were built. Nikolai was progressive in relation to the economic and social development of the country and the growth of modernization. He supported agrarian reform, signed laws on the introduction of gold circulation of the ruble and insurance of workers, and took the side of universal primary education and religious tolerance.

By his nature, Nicholas was not inclined to reform. He accepted many changes against his will, forcedly, since they went against his beliefs. He did not believe that Russia was ready to adopt a constitution, gain rights and freedoms, as well as voting rights. Go against the strong social movement He did not want political reforms, and as a result he signed the Manifesto. Thus, on October 17, 1905, democratic freedoms were proclaimed.

The State Duma began its activities in 1906, its establishment was also spelled out in the Manifesto. This was the first time in Russian history: the population elected a representative body of power. The gradual transformation of Russia into a constitutional monarchy began.

Despite these changes, the power of the emperor was still enormous: laws in the form of decrees were not repealed, and the appointment of ministers and a prime minister accountable only to the emperor was his prerogative. The army, the court and the ministers of the Church were still subject to him, and it was he who determined the course of foreign policy.

Emperor Nicholas II as a person

Contemporaries assessed the positive and negative personality traits of Nicholas II in very contradictory ways. Some considered him almost “spineless” and weak-willed, others noted his persistence in achieving his goals, often reaching the point of stubbornness. In fact, someone else's will was imposed on him only once, when he signed the Manifesto and thereby allowed it to be.

At first glance, there was nothing strong, stern and powerful in his appearance, character and behavior, like that of his father Alexander III. Nevertheless, people who knew him closely noted exceptional self-control, which could be mistakenly interpreted as indifference to people and the fate of the country. An example of this is his composure at the news that Port Arthur had fallen and that the Russian army had again lost another battle (during the First World War). This impassivity struck those around him to the depths of his soul. Emperor Nicholas 2 dealt with state affairs very diligently and carefully, doing almost everything himself - he never had a personal secretary, and all the seals on the letters were put by his hand. In general, managing vast Russia was difficult for him. According to contemporaries, the emperor was very observant, had a tenacious memory, was modest, sensitive and friendly. He valued peace of mind, health and well-being of himself and his family.

Family of Nicholas II

In difficult times, his family was his support. The emperor's wife was Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, and when she was married to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

She was a true friend to Nikolai, supported him and helped him with advice. They had many similarities - in habits, ideas about life and cultural interests. They got married in 1894, on November 14. The Empress gave birth to four daughters and an only son: in 1895 - Olga, in 1897 - Tatiana, in 1899 - Maria, in 1901 - Anastasia and in 1904 - Alexei.

Alexey had an incurable disease that caused loving parents constant suffering: blood incoagulability, or hemophilia.

The acquaintance of the royal couple with Grigory Rasputin occurred precisely because of the prince’s illness. Rasputin had long had a reputation as a healer and seer, and he often helped Alexei cope with attacks of illness.

World War I

The fate of Emperor Nicholas 2 changed dramatically in the year the First World War began. For a very long time he tried to prevent a bloody clash, to avoid hostilities. Alas, hopes were not justified: the war began in 1914, Russia received the “glove” from Germany on August 1.

When a streak of military failures began, and this was in August 1915, the emperor assumed the functions of commander-in-chief. Previously, this duty was performed by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (junior). From that time on, the emperor almost never visited St. Petersburg; Mogilev and the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief became his “home”.

Problems within the country “thanks to” the war became much more acute. There were rumors that the government had “warmed up” the traitors. The main burden of responsibility for too long military operations and failures on the battlefields fell on the shoulders of the tsar and the government. Together with the allies, England and France, the General Staff, led by Nicholas II, prepared a plan for the final offensive. They planned to end the war before the summer of 1917.

Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II. Execution

The capital's unrest in February 1917 did not meet with serious resistance from the government. Seeing no resistance, the masses intensified and launched large-scale protests against the dynasty and the authorities. Emperor Nicholas 2 did not restore order by force, fearing limitless bloodshed.

There were people in the government actively persuading the tsar to abdicate the throne. High military officials, some members of the royal retinue and individual political subjects explained this by saying that a change of power was required to calm the unrest in the country. The fatal step was taken on March 2, 1917. After much painful reflection in the carriage of the imperial train, in Pskov, the tsar signed his abdication of the throne. The throne was transferred to Grand Duke Mikhail, Nicholas's brother, but he did not accept the crown.

The emperor and his family were arrested on March 9. For five months they lived in Tsarskoe Selo, under constant guard. At the end of the summer they were transported to Tobolsk, where they stayed until April 1918. The next and final refuge of the royal family was Yekaterinburg, Ipatiev’s house, where they remained in the basement until July 17. That night they were shot: every single one of them, seven and four close associates, without a trial or investigation.

On the same night in the Urals, in the Alapaevskaya mine, six more close relatives of the royal dynasty were shot.

The last Russian Emperor Nicholas 2 was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Dedicated to the centenary of revolutionary events.

Not a single Russian tsar has had as many myths created as about the last one, Nicholas II. What really happened? Was the sovereign a sluggish and weak-willed person? Was he cruel? Could he have won the First World War? And how much truth is there in the black fabrications about this ruler?..

The story is told by Gleb Eliseev, candidate of historical sciences.

The Black Legend of Nicholas II

Rally in Petrograd, 1917

17 years have already passed since the canonization of the last emperor and his family, but you are still faced with an amazing paradox - many, even quite Orthodox, people dispute the fairness of canonizing Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich.

No one raises any protests or doubts about the legitimacy of the canonization of the son and daughters of the last Russian emperor. I have not heard any objections to the canonization of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Even at the Council of Bishops in 2000, when it came to the canonization of the Royal Martyrs, a special opinion was expressed only regarding the sovereign himself. One of the bishops said that the emperor did not deserve to be glorified, because “he is a state traitor... he, one might say, sanctioned the collapse of the country.”

And it is clear that in such a situation the spears are not broken at all over the martyrdom or Christian life of Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich. Neither one nor the other raises doubts even among the most rabid monarchy denier. His feat as a passion-bearer is beyond doubt.

The point is different - a latent, subconscious resentment: “Why did the sovereign allow a revolution to happen? Why didn’t you save Russia?” Or, as A. I. Solzhenitsyn so neatly put it in his article “Reflections on the February Revolution”: “Weak tsar, he betrayed us. All of us - for everything that follows."

The myth of the weak king, who supposedly voluntarily surrendered his kingdom, obscures his martyrdom and obscures the demonic cruelty of his tormentors. But what could the sovereign do in the current circumstances, when Russian society, like a herd of Gadarene pigs, was rushing into the abyss for decades?

Studying the history of Nicholas's reign, one is struck not by the weakness of the sovereign, not by his mistakes, but by how much he managed to do in an atmosphere of whipped-up hatred, malice and slander.

We must not forget that the sovereign received autocratic power over Russia completely unexpectedly, after the sudden, unforeseen and unanticipated death of Alexander III. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled the state of the heir to the throne immediately after his father’s death: “He could not gather his thoughts. He was aware that he had become the Emperor, and this terrible burden of power crushed him. “Sandro, what am I going to do! - he exclaimed pathetically. - What will happen to Russia now? I am not yet prepared to be a King! I can't rule the Empire. I don’t even know how to talk to ministers.”

However, after a brief period of confusion, the new emperor firmly took the helm of government and held it for twenty-two years, until he fell victim to a conspiracy at the top. Until “treason, cowardice, and deception” swirled around him in a dense cloud, as he himself noted in his diary on March 2, 1917.

The black mythology directed against the last sovereign was actively dispelled by both emigrant historians and modern Russian ones. And yet, in the minds of many, including fully churchgoers, of our fellow citizens, evil tales, gossip and anecdotes, which were presented as truth in Soviet history textbooks, stubbornly linger.

The myth of the guilt of Nicholas II in the Khodynka tragedy

It is tacitly customary to start any list of accusations with Khodynka - a terrible stampede that occurred during the coronation celebrations in Moscow on May 18, 1896. You might think that the sovereign ordered this stampede to be organized! And if anyone is to be blamed for what happened, then it would be the emperor’s uncle, Moscow Governor-General Sergei Alexandrovich, who did not foresee the very possibility of such an influx of public. It should be noted that they did not hide what happened, all the newspapers wrote about Khodynka, all of Russia knew about her. The next day, the Russian emperor and empress visited all the wounded in hospitals and held a memorial service for the dead. Nicholas II ordered the payment of pensions to the victims. And they received it until 1917, until politicians, who had been speculating on the Khodynka tragedy for years, made it so that any pensions in Russia ceased to be paid at all.

And the slander that has been repeated for years sounds absolutely vile, that the tsar, despite the Khodynka tragedy, went to the ball and had fun there. The sovereign was indeed forced to go to an official reception at the French embassy, ​​which he could not help but attend for diplomatic reasons (an insult to the allies!), paid his respects to the ambassador and left, having spent only 15 (!) minutes there.

And from this they created a myth about a heartless despot, having fun while his subjects die. This is where the absurd nickname “Bloody”, created by radicals and picked up by the educated public, came from.

The myth of the monarch's guilt in starting the Russo-Japanese War

The Emperor bids farewell to the soldiers of the Russo-Japanese War. 1904

They claim that the sovereign incited Russia into Russian-Japanese war, because the autocracy needed a “small victorious war.”

Unlike the “educated” Russian society, which was confident in the inevitable victory and contemptuously called the Japanese “macaques,” the emperor knew very well all the difficulties of the situation in the Far East and tried with all his might to prevent war. And we must not forget - it was Japan that attacked Russia in 1904. Treacherously, without declaring war, the Japanese attacked our ships in Port Arthur.

For the defeats of the Russian army and navy in the Far East, one can blame Kuropatkin, Rozhdestvensky, Stessel, Linevich, Nebogatov, and any of the generals and admirals, but not the sovereign, who was located thousands of miles from the theater of military operations and nevertheless did everything for victory.

For example, the fact that by the end of the war there were 20, and not 4, military trains per day along the unfinished Trans-Siberian Railway (as at the beginning) is the merit of Nicholas II himself.

And our revolutionary society “fought” on the Japanese side, which needed not victory, but defeat, which its representatives themselves honestly admitted. For example, representatives of the Socialist Revolutionary Party clearly wrote in their appeal to Russian officers: “Every victory of yours threatens Russia with the disaster of strengthening order, every defeat brings the hour of deliverance closer. Is it any surprise if the Russians rejoice at the success of your enemy?” Revolutionaries and liberals diligently stirred up trouble in the rear of the warring country, doing this, among other things, with Japanese money. This is now well known.

The Myth of Bloody Sunday

For decades, the standard accusation against the Tsar remained “Bloody Sunday” - the shooting of a supposedly peaceful demonstration on January 9, 1905. Why, they say, didn’t he leave the Winter Palace and fraternize with the people loyal to him?

Let's start with the simplest fact - the sovereign was not in Winter, he was at his country residence, in Tsarskoe Selo. He did not intend to come to the city, since both the mayor I. A. Fullon and the police authorities assured the emperor that they “had everything under control.” By the way, they didn’t deceive Nicholas II too much. In a normal situation, troops deployed to the streets would be enough to prevent unrest.

No one foresaw the scale of the January 9 demonstration, as well as the activities of the provocateurs. When Socialist Revolutionary militants began shooting at soldiers from the crowd of supposedly “peaceful demonstrators,” it was not difficult to foresee retaliatory actions. From the very beginning, the organizers of the demonstration planned a clash with the authorities, and not a peaceful march. They did not need political reforms, they needed “great upheavals.”

But what does the sovereign himself have to do with it? During the entire revolution of 1905–1907, he sought to find contact with Russian society and made specific and sometimes even overly bold reforms (like the provisions according to which the first State Dumas were elected). And what did he receive in response? Spitting and hatred, calls “Down with autocracy!” and encouraging bloody riots.

However, the revolution was not “crushed.” The rebellious society was pacified by the sovereign, who skillfully combined the use of force and new, more thoughtful reforms (the electoral law of June 3, 1907, according to which Russia finally received a normally functioning parliament).

The myth of how the Tsar “surrendered” Stolypin

They reproach the sovereign for allegedly insufficient support for “Stolypin’s reforms.” But who made Pyotr Arkadyevich prime minister, if not Nicholas II himself? Contrary, by the way, to the opinion of the court and immediate circle. And if there were moments of misunderstanding between the sovereign and the head of the cabinet, then they are inevitable in any intense and complex work. Stolypin's supposedly planned resignation did not mean a rejection of his reforms.

The myth of Rasputin's omnipotence

Tales about the last sovereign are not complete without constant stories about the “dirty man” Rasputin, who enslaved the “weak-willed tsar.” Now, after many objective investigations of the “Rasputin legend”, among which “The Truth about Grigory Rasputin” by A. N. Bokhanov stands out as fundamental, it is clear that the influence of the Siberian elder on the emperor was negligible. And the fact that the sovereign “did not remove Rasputin from the throne”? Where could he remove it from? From the bedside of his sick son, whom Rasputin saved when all the doctors had already given up on Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich? Let everyone think for themselves: is he ready to sacrifice the life of a child for the sake of stopping public gossip and hysterical newspaper chatter?

The myth of the sovereign’s guilt in the “misconduct” of the First World War

Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II. Photo by R. Golike and A. Vilborg. 1913

Emperor Nicholas II is also reproached for not preparing Russia for the First World War. The public figure I. L. Solonevich wrote most clearly about the efforts of the sovereign to prepare the Russian army for a possible war and about the sabotage of his efforts on the part of the “educated society”: “The “Duma of People’s Wrath,” as well as its subsequent reincarnation, rejects military loans: We are democrats and we don’t want militarism. Nicholas II arms the army by violating the spirit of the Basic Laws: in accordance with Article 86. This article provides for the right of the government, in exceptional cases and during parliamentary recess, to pass temporary laws without parliament - so that they are retroactively introduced at the very first parliamentary session. The Duma was dissolving (holidays), loans for machine guns went through even without the Duma. And when the session began, nothing could be done.”

And again, unlike ministers or military leaders (like Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich), the sovereign did not want war, he tried to delay it with all his might, knowing about the insufficient preparedness of the Russian army. For example, he directly spoke about this to the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria Neklyudov: “Now, Neklyudov, listen to me carefully. Do not forget for one minute the fact that we cannot fight. I don't want war. I have made it my immutable rule to do everything to preserve for my people all the advantages of a peaceful life. At this moment in history, it is necessary to avoid anything that could lead to war. There is no doubt that we cannot get involved in a war - at least for the next five or six years - until 1917. Although, if the vital interests and honor of Russia are at stake, we will be able, if absolutely necessary, to accept the challenge, but not before 1915. But remember - not one minute earlier, whatever the circumstances or reasons and whatever position we are in.”

Of course, many things in the First World War did not go as the participants planned. But why should these troubles and surprises be blamed on the sovereign, who at the beginning was not even the commander-in-chief? Could he have personally prevented the “Samson catastrophe”? Or the breakthrough of the German cruisers Goeben and Breslau into the Black Sea, after which plans to coordinate the actions of the Allies in the Entente went up in smoke?

When the will of the emperor could correct the situation, the sovereign did not hesitate, despite the objections of ministers and advisers. In 1915, the threat of such complete defeat loomed over the Russian army that its Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, literally sobbed in despair. It was then that Nicholas II took the most decisive step - he not only stood at the head of the Russian army, but also stopped the retreat, which threatened to turn into a stampede.

The Emperor did not consider himself a great commander; he knew how to listen to the opinions of military advisers and choose successful solutions for the Russian troops. According to his instructions, the work of the rear was established; according to his instructions, new and even cutting-edge equipment was adopted (like Sikorsky bombers or Fedorov assault rifles). And if in 1914 the Russian military industry produced 104,900 shells, then in 1916 - 30,974,678! They prepared so much military equipment that it was enough for five years. Civil War, and into service with the Red Army in the first half of the twenties.

In 1917, Russia, under the military leadership of its emperor, was ready for victory. Many people wrote about this, even W. Churchill, who was always skeptical and cautious about Russia: “Fate has never been as cruel to any country as to Russia. Her ship sank while the harbor was in sight. She had already weathered the storm when everything collapsed. All the sacrifices have already been made, all the work has been completed. Despair and betrayal took over the government when the task was already completed. The long retreats are over; shell hunger is defeated; weapons flowed in a wide stream; a stronger, more numerous, better equipped army guarded a huge front; the rear assembly points were crowded with people... In the management of states, when great events happen, the leader of the nation, whoever he is, is condemned for failures and glorified for successes. The point is not who did the work, who drew up the plan of struggle; blame or praise for the outcome falls on the one who has the authority of supreme responsibility. Why deny Nicholas II this ordeal?.. His efforts are downplayed; His actions are condemned; His memory is being defamed... Stop and say: who else turned out to be suitable? There was no shortage of talented and courageous people, ambitious and proud in spirit, courageous and powerful people. But no one was able to answer those few simple questions, on which the life and glory of Russia depended. Holding victory already in her hands, she fell to the ground alive, like Herod of old, devoured by worms.”

At the beginning of 1917, the sovereign really failed to cope with the joint conspiracy of the top military and the leaders of opposition political forces.

And who could? It was beyond human strength.

The myth of voluntary renunciation

And yet, the main thing that even many monarchists accuse Nicholas II of is precisely renunciation, “moral desertion,” “flight from office.” The fact that he, according to the poet A. A. Blok, “renounced, as if he had surrendered the squadron.”

Now, again, after the scrupulous work of modern researchers, it becomes clear that there is no voluntary there was no abdication. Instead, a real coup took place. Or, as the historian and publicist M.V. Nazarov aptly noted, it was not “renunciation,” but “renunciation” that took place.

Even in the darkest Soviet times, they did not deny that the events of February 23 - March 2, 1917 at the Tsarist Headquarters and in the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front were a coup at the top, “fortunately”, coinciding with the beginning of the “February bourgeois revolution”, launched (of course Well!) by the forces of the St. Petersburg proletariat.

Material on the topic

On March 2, 1917, Russian Emperor Nicholas II signed an abdication of the throne in favor of his brother Mikhail (who soon also abdicated). This day is considered the date of the death of the Russian monarchy. But there are still many questions about renunciation. We asked Gleb Eliseev, candidate of historical sciences, to comment on them.

With the riots in St. Petersburg fueled by the Bolshevik underground, everything is now clear. The conspirators only took advantage of this circumstance, exorbitantly exaggerating its significance, in order to lure the sovereign out of Headquarters, depriving him of contact with any loyal units and the government. And when the royal train, with great difficulty, reached Pskov, where the headquarters of General N.V. Ruzsky, commander of the Northern Front and one of the active conspirators, was located, the emperor was completely blocked and deprived of communication with the outside world.

In fact, General Ruzsky arrested the royal train and the emperor himself. And the cruel thing began psychological pressure on the sovereign. Nicholas II was begged to give up power, which he never aspired to. Moreover, this was done not only by Duma deputies Guchkov and Shulgin, but also by the commanders of all (!) fronts and almost all fleets (with the exception of Admiral A.V. Kolchak). The Emperor was told that his decisive step would be able to prevent unrest and bloodshed, that this would immediately put an end to the St. Petersburg unrest...

Now we know very well that the sovereign was basely deceived. What could he have thought then? At the forgotten Dno station or on the sidings in Pskov, cut off from the rest of Russia? Didn’t you consider that it was better for a Christian to humbly cede royal power rather than shed the blood of his subjects?

But even under pressure from the conspirators, the emperor did not dare to go against the law and conscience. The manifesto he compiled clearly did not suit the envoys of the State Duma. The document, which was eventually published as a text of renunciation, raises doubts among a number of historians. Its original has not been preserved; only a copy is available in the Russian State Archives. There are reasonable assumptions that the sovereign's signature was copied from the order on the assumption of supreme command by Nicholas II in 1915. The signature of the Minister of the Court, Count V.B. Fredericks, who allegedly certified the abdication, was also forged. Which, by the way, the count himself clearly spoke about later, on June 2, 1917, during interrogation: “But for me to write such a thing, I can swear that I would not do it.”

And already in St. Petersburg, the deceived and confused Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich did something that, in principle, he had no right to do - he transferred power to the Provisional Government. As A.I. Solzhenitsyn noted: “The end of the monarchy was the abdication of Mikhail. He is worse than abdicating: he blocked the path to all other possible heirs to the throne, he transferred power to an amorphous oligarchy. His abdication turned the change of monarch into a revolution.”

Usually, after statements about the illegal overthrow of the sovereign from the throne, both in scientific discussions and on the Internet, cries immediately begin: “Why didn’t Tsar Nicholas protest later? Why didn’t he expose the conspirators? Why didn’t you raise loyal troops and lead them against the rebels?”

That is, why didn’t he start a civil war?

Yes, because the sovereign did not want her. Because he hoped that by leaving he would calm down the new unrest, believing that the whole point was the possible hostility of society towards him personally. After all, he, too, could not help but succumb to the hypnosis of the anti-state, anti-monarchist hatred to which Russia had been subjected for years. As A. I. Solzhenitsyn correctly wrote about the “liberal-radical Field” that engulfed the empire: “For many years (decades) this Field flowed unhindered, its lines of force thickened - and penetrated and subjugated all the brains in the country, at least in some way touched enlightenment, at least the beginnings of it. It almost completely controlled the intelligentsia. More rare, but permeated by its power lines were state and official circles, the military, and even the priesthood, the episcopate (the entire Church as a whole is already... powerless against this Field), and even those who fought most against the Field: the most right-wing circles and the throne itself."

And did these troops loyal to the emperor exist in reality? After all, even Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich on March 1, 1917 (that is, before the formal abdication of the sovereign) transferred the Guards crew subordinate to him to the jurisdiction of the Duma conspirators and appealed to other military units to “join the new government”!

The attempt of Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich to prevent bloodshed by renouncing power, through voluntary self-sacrifice, ran into the evil will of tens of thousands of those who wanted not the pacification and victory of Russia, but blood, madness and the creation of “heaven on earth” for a “new man”, free from faith and conscience.

And even the defeated Christian sovereign was like a sharp knife in the throat of such “guardians of humanity.” He was intolerable, impossible.

They couldn't help but kill him.

The myth that the execution of the royal family was the arbitrariness of the Ural Regional Council

Emperor Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei
in the link. Tobolsk, 1917-1918

The more or less vegetarian, toothless early Provisional Government limited itself to the arrest of the emperor and his family, the socialist clique of Kerensky achieved the exile of the sovereign, his wife and children to. And for whole months, right up to the Bolshevik revolution, one can see how the dignified, purely Christian behavior of the emperor in exile contrasts with the evil vanity of the politicians of the “new Russia”, who sought “to begin with” to bring the sovereign into “political oblivion.”

And then an openly atheistic Bolshevik gang came to power, which decided to transform this non-existence from “political” into “physical”. After all, back in April 1917, Lenin declared: “We consider Wilhelm II to be the same crowned robber, worthy of execution, as Nicholas II.”

Only one thing is unclear - why did they hesitate? Why didn’t they try to destroy Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich immediately after the October Revolution?

Probably because they were afraid of popular indignation, afraid of public reaction with their still fragile power. Apparently, the unpredictable behavior of “abroad” was also frightening. In any case, the British Ambassador D. Buchanan warned the Provisional Government: “Any insult inflicted on the Emperor and His Family will destroy the sympathy aroused by the March and the course of the revolution, and will humiliate the new government in the eyes of the world.” True, in the end it turned out that these were just “words, words, nothing but words.”

And yet there remains a feeling that, in addition to rational motives, there was some inexplicable, almost mystical fear of what the fanatics were planning to do.

After all, for some reason, years after the Yekaterinburg murder, rumors spread that only one sovereign was shot. Then they declared (even at a completely official level) that the Tsar’s killers were severely condemned for abuse of power. And later, almost all Soviet period, the version about the “arbitrariness of the Yekaterinburg Council”, allegedly frightened by the white units approaching the city, was officially accepted. They say that so that the sovereign would not be released and become the “banner of the counter-revolution,” he had to be destroyed. The fog of fornication hid the secret, and the essence of the secret was a planned and clearly conceived savage murder.

Its exact details and background have not yet been clarified, the testimony of eyewitnesses is surprisingly confused, and even the discovered remains of the Royal Martyrs still raise doubts about their authenticity.

Now only a few unambiguous facts are clear.

On April 30, 1918, Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and their daughter Maria were escorted from Tobolsk, where they had been in exile since August 1917, to Yekaterinburg. They were placed in custody in the former house of engineer N.N. Ipatiev, located on the corner of Voznesensky Prospekt. The remaining children of the Emperor and Empress - daughters Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia and son Alexei - were reunited with their parents only on May 23.

Was this an initiative of the Yekaterinburg Council, not coordinated with the Central Committee? Hardly. Judging by indirect evidence, at the beginning of July 1918, the top leadership of the Bolshevik party (primarily Lenin and Sverdlov) decided to “liquidate the royal family.”

Trotsky, for example, wrote about this in his memoirs:

“My next visit to Moscow came after the fall of Yekaterinburg. In a conversation with Sverdlov, I asked in passing:

Yes, where is the king?

“It’s over,” he answered, “he was shot.”

Where is the family?

And his family is with him.

All? - I asked, apparently with a tinge of surprise.

That’s it,” Sverdlov answered, “but what?”

He was waiting for my reaction. I didn't answer.

-Who decided? - I asked.

We decided here. Ilyich believed that we should not leave them a living banner, especially in the current difficult conditions.”

(L.D. Trotsky. Diaries and letters. M.: “Hermitage”, 1994. P.120. (Record dated April 9, 1935); Leon Trotsky. Diaries and letters. Edited by Yuri Felshtinsky. USA, 1986 , p.101.)

At midnight on July 17, 1918, the emperor, his wife, children and servants were awakened, taken to the basement and brutally killed. It is in the fact that they killed brutally and cruelly that all the eyewitness accounts, so different in other respects, amazingly coincide.

The bodies were secretly taken outside of Yekaterinburg and somehow tried to be destroyed. Everything that remained after the desecration of the bodies was buried just as secretly.

The Yekaterinburg victims had a presentiment of their fate, and it was not for nothing that Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna, during her imprisonment in Yekaterinburg, wrote out the lines in one of her books: “Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ went to death as if on a holiday, facing inevitable death, they retained the same wondrous calm of spirit , which did not leave them for a minute. They walked calmly towards death because they hoped to enter into a different, spiritual life, which opens up for a person beyond the grave.”

P.S. Sometimes they notice that “Tsar Nicholas II atoned for all his sins before Russia with his death.” In my opinion, this statement reveals some kind of blasphemous, immoral quirk of public consciousness. All the victims of the Yekaterinburg Golgotha ​​were “guilty” only of persistent confession of the faith of Christ until their death and died a martyr’s death.

And the first of them is the passion-bearer sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich.

On the screensaver there is a fragment of a photo: Nicholas II on the imperial train. 1917