What was Nicholas II like?

Let's take a closer look at the personality of the last autocrat of Russia, Nicholas II, and the facts of his biography.

Nicholas II Alexandrovich Romanov was born on May 6, 1868. in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. He was the first child of Emperor Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna (Danish princess Dagmara).

In 1875 Enlisted in the Life Guards Erivan Regiment, promoted to ensign, in 1880. - as a lieutenant. May 6, 1884 took the oath. In 1887 promoted to staff captain in 1891. - promoted to captain, in 1892. - to colonel.

He received many awards and titles from European countries, and in 1915. English King George V promoted his cousin Nikolai Alexandrovich to field marshal of the British army.

The Russian emperor was enthusiastic about service even in his youth, although, according to military experts, he did not have great talents in this matter.

He studied a lot (including independently) in the natural sciences, foreign languages, history, political economy and other disciplines. He was not endowed with particularly bright talents, but he took his studies seriously and achieved excellent results in many subjects. He played musical instruments quite well and drew. He was diligent and careful. He inherited patriarchal morals from his father, which he adhered to throughout his life.

In the character of Nicholas II, gentleness and philosophy were strangely combined with rigidity and stubbornness, a penchant for mysticism and religiosity - with pliability and patriarchal beliefs.

Kindness to loved ones and a certain detachment did not correspond to the “position” he occupied and the situation that had developed in Russia by 1914, when the First World War broke out. And especially towards the end of 1916, when a revolution was brewing in a country exhausted by the war.

1917

February 23, 1917 Crowds of people took to the streets of Petrograd. "Of bread!" - people shouted. The stone echo amplified the voice of the crowd. Is there not enough bread in the Russian Empire? Long lines in shops and stores could have alerted state leaders long ago. But the tsarist government, the State Duma and the emperor treated this very calmly. Just think, queues. There is not enough bread, but there is some. We must remember that after the Tsar abdicated the throne, bread suddenly appeared in Petrograd as if by magic.

Of course, the supply of food to the capital had to be taken more seriously. But the government has many other important problems: the war is going on. The Russian military leadership, faithful to its allied duty, was preparing a large-scale offensive. There's no time for queues anymore. The government proposed introducing bread cards in the city to streamline the distribution of bread. This is in February - six months before the next harvest.

No one had yet seen the decree on the introduction of bread cards, but rumors about it instantly spread throughout Petrograd. Hunger!! There was no famine yet. But the thought of him stirred people up.

The next day the crowd grew bolder. She no longer had enough bread. “Down with autocracy! Down with the war! - people shouted. And the red flags defiantly beat their wings, and violent voices quickly grew stronger, singing revolutionary songs.

On February 25, the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov, reported to Headquarters that the number of strikers was about 250,000 people. The general issued an order for arrests. The prisons were packed with demonstrators and onlookers, but the moment for decisive action was lost forever much earlier. And not by S.S. Khabalov, but by those who did not give the people bread on time.

On February 26, people took to the streets again: the songs sounded louder and bolder, there were more red banners in the city, and there was even more anger and determination in the eyes of people. “I command you to stop the riots tomorrow, which are unacceptable in difficult times of war,” Nikolai I ordered in a telegram. And soldiers appeared on the streets of the city.

The last Russian Tsar had a harsh time, and it was not his business to reign in Russia. He should write poetry, keep philosophical diaries, have fun with the kids, but fate made him a king. Those who walked in uneven rebellious columns and sang revolutionary songs, at whom bullets from Russian rifles flew, did not forgive Nicholas II for his orders. They called this man “bloody” back in 1905, and rightly so, because it is a sin to shoot at your own people with rifles.

On February 26, units loyal to the government shot at the demonstrators, but that day there were also military units in the city that unconditionally went over to the side of the rebellious people.

M.V. Rodzianko (Chairman of the State Duma) sent a report to Headquarters in which, briefly outlining the situation and calling it anarchy, he reported the need to “immediately entrust a person enjoying the country’s confidence to form a new government.” The next day, General Alekseev presented a telegram to the Tsar, in which M.V. Rodzianko spoke in a more frank manner about the need to take emergency measures, that is, Nicholas’s abdication in favor of Tsarevich Alexei.

On March 28, Nicholas II left Headquarters, located in Mogilev, for Tsarskoe Selo. He failed to get there: a detachment of revolutionary troops blocked the railway, occupying the Lyuban station. The royal train changed its route, slowly moving towards Pskov. Nicholas II was stalling for time, as if not realizing that someone had already decided everything for him.

On March 1, the formation of the Provisional Government began in St. Petersburg without the order of the monarch. Rodzianko spoke with General Ruzsky. He supported him. They sent a telegram to General Alekseev, in which they expressed their opinion: Russia will be saved only by the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne in favor of his son Alexei under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. The Chief of the General Staff sent a message to the Tsar in which the position of Ruzsky and Rodzianko was supported by similar requests from the front commanders Brusilov and Evert, as well as Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich.

And Nicholas II abdicated the throne, however, in favor of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, explaining this by his reluctance to part with his beloved son.

March 2, 1917 The last manifesto of the last tsar of the Romanov dynasty was published. The next day, Mikhail Alexandrovich abdicated the throne, not accepting a rich gift from his brother - the huge Russian Empire.

On the same day, the now former monarch sent a note to Alekseev outlining his last four requests: 1. Allow him to move to Tsarskoe Selo; 2. Guarantee security there; 3. Provide relocation to the city of Romanov-on-Murman; 4. Allow to return to Russia after the war for permanent residence in Crimean Livadia.

General Alekseev conveyed the first three requests of the former tsar to the head of the Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov, by telephone. The Chief of the General Staff did not even mention the fourth. Indeed, why talk about the impossible?

The manifesto of the abdication of Nicholas II and the renunciation of the throne by Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich were calmly received in the army. The soldiers listened to this most important news in silence: there was neither joy nor grief in the faces of the soldiers - so, in any case, General A.I. Denikin wrote in his memoirs. As if they weren’t talking about their homeland, as if that manifesto didn’t concern the soldiers at all.

During the days of Kornilov's speech. Soldiers who defected to the Provisional Government

The amazing indifference (purely external, of course) with which the soldiers reacted to the greatest event amazed many officers and generals of the “white movement”, but what surprised them even more was the rapid change in relation to everything that was formerly royal.

March 7, 1917 According to the decree of the Provisional Government, the former Tsar Nicholas II and his wife were arrested. In the second half of March, Nicholas II decided to leave with his family for England. The Provisional Government, under pressure from the Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies, with which it practically shared power, did not provide the former tsar with such an opportunity.

On April 3, V.I. Lenin arrived in Russia and spoke on the square of the Finlyandsky Station in St. Petersburg, calling on the people to fight for the socialist revolution. The “April Theses” became the program document of the RSDLP(b).

On July 2-6, an unsuccessful offensive by the Russian army at the front was carried out. The deterioration of the economic situation, the disbandment of some pro-Bolshevik military units, and the government crisis (the Cadets left the Provisional Government) caused an aggravation of the political situation within the country. Demonstrations began, in which soldiers and sailors took an active part. On July 4, 500,000 people moved to the Tauride Palace. The commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Polovtsev, ordered the cadets and Cossacks to disperse the demonstration. As a result, 56 people were killed and 650 people were injured. Arrests began. The dual power is over. Power completely transferred to the Provisional Government. A.F. Kerensky became minister-chairman.

On August 1, the royal family was sent under reinforced escort to Tobolsk, where 6 days later Nicholas II, Alexandra Fedorovna, Anastasia, Olga, Maria, Tatyana, Alexey arrived, as well as those accompanying them, General I. A. Tatishchev, Prince V. A. Dolgoruky, Countess A.V. Gendrikova, E.A. Schneider, teacher Pierre Gilliard, Englishman Gibbs, doctors E.S. Botkin and Derevenko, sailors K.G. Nagorny and I.D. Sednev with their son Leonid; servants Volkov, Kharitonov, Trupp, chamberlain Chemadurov and chambermaid Anna Demidova, commandant Colonel Kobylinsky.

At the end of August, the commander-in-chief of the Southwestern Front, General L.G. Kornilov, made an unsuccessful attempt to seize power and establish a military dictatorship in the country. The main military task was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Corps of General A. M. Krymov. He was supposed to bring troops into Petrograd and establish military order. Kornilov was supported on the Don by General A.M. Kaledin.

The Bolsheviks played a major role in defeating the rebellion. They called on workers and soldiers to defend the revolution, gathered a Red Guard of 15,000 people in three days; At the same time, they criticized the policy of the Provisional Government, with which they entered into an alliance for a joint struggle against L. G. Kornilov.

By August 30, the advance of the rebel troops to the Russian capital was suspended. Fermentation began in Kornilov's army, soldiers and Cossacks began to go over to the side of the revolution. General Krymov shot himself in despair. The leaders of the rebellion and “sympathizers” - generals Kornilov, Lukomsky, Denikin, Markov, Romanovsky and others - were arrested.

Nicholas II and his family

“They died as martyrs for humanity. Their true greatness stemmed not from their kingship, but from the amazing moral height to which they gradually rose. They became an ideal force. And in their very humiliation they were an amazing manifestation of that amazing clarity of soul, against which all violence and all rage are powerless and which triumphs in death itself” (Tsarevich Alexei’s tutor Pierre Gilliard).

NikolaiII Alexandrovich Romanov

Nicholas II

Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II) was born on May 6 (18), 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo. He was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. He received a strict, almost harsh upbringing under the guidance of his father. “I need normal, healthy Russian children,” this was the demand put forward by Emperor Alexander III to the educators of his children.

The future Emperor Nicholas II received a good education at home: he knew several languages, studied Russian and world history, had a deep understanding of military affairs, and was a widely erudite person.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and Princess Alice

Princess Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice was born on May 25 (June 7), 1872 in Darmstadt, the capital of a small German duchy, which by that time had already been forcibly incorporated into the German Empire. Alice's father was Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, and her mother was Princess Alice of England, the third daughter of Queen Victoria. As a child, Princess Alice (Alix, as her family called her) was a cheerful, lively child, for which she was nicknamed “Sunny” (Sunny). There were seven children in the family, all of them were brought up in patriarchal traditions. Their mother set strict rules for them: not a single minute of idleness! The children's clothing and food were very simple. The girls cleaned their rooms themselves and performed some household chores. But her mother died of diphtheria at the age of thirty-five. After the tragedy she experienced (she was only 6 years old), little Alix became withdrawn, alienated, and began to avoid strangers; She calmed down only in the family circle. After the death of her daughter, Queen Victoria transferred her love to her children, especially her youngest, Alix. Her upbringing and education took place under the supervision of her grandmother.

Marriage

The first meeting of the sixteen-year-old heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and the very young Princess Alice took place in 1884, and in 1889, having reached adulthood, Nikolai turned to his parents with a request to bless him for marriage with Princess Alice, but his father refused, citing his youth as the reason for the refusal. I had to submit to my father's will. But usually gentle and even timid in communicating with his father, Nicholas showed persistence and determination - Alexander III gives his blessing for the marriage. But the joy of mutual love was overshadowed by a sharp deterioration in the health of Emperor Alexander III, who died on October 20, 1894 in Crimea. The next day, in the palace church of the Livadia Palace, Princess Alice accepted Orthodoxy and was anointed, receiving the name Alexandra Feodorovna.

Despite the mourning for their father, they decided not to postpone the wedding, but to hold it in the most modest atmosphere on November 14, 1894. This is how family life and the administration of the Russian Empire began simultaneously for Nicholas II; he was 26 years old.

He had a lively mind - he always quickly grasped the essence of the questions presented to him, an excellent memory, especially for faces, and a noble way of thinking. But Nikolai Alexandrovich, with his gentleness, tact in his manners, and modest manners, gave many the impression of a man who had not inherited the strong will of his father, who left him the following political testament: “ I bequeath to you to love everything that serves the good, honor and dignity of Russia. Protect autocracy, bearing in mind that you are responsible for the fate of your subjects before the Throne of the Most High. Let faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the basis of your life. Be strong and courageous, never show weakness. Listen to everyone, there is nothing shameful in this, but listen to yourself and your conscience.”

Beginning of reign

From the very beginning of his reign, Emperor Nicholas II treated the duties of the monarch as a sacred duty. He deeply believed that for the 100 million Russian people, tsarist power was and remains sacred.

Coronation of Nicholas II

1896 is the year of coronation celebrations in Moscow. The Sacrament of Confirmation was performed over the royal couple - as a sign that just as there is no higher and no more difficult on earth royal power, there is no burden heavier than royal service. But the coronation celebrations in Moscow were overshadowed by the disaster on the Khodynskoye Field: a stampede occurred in the crowd awaiting royal gifts, in which many people died. According to official figures, 1,389 people were killed and 1,300 were seriously injured, according to unofficial figures - 4,000. But the coronation events were not canceled in connection with this tragedy, but continued according to the program: in the evening of the same day, a ball was held at the French ambassador. The Emperor was present at all planned events, including the ball, which was perceived ambiguously in society. The Khodynka tragedy was seen by many as a gloomy omen for the reign of Nicholas II, and when the question of his canonization arose in 2000, it was cited as an argument against it.

Family

On November 3, 1895, the first daughter was born into the family of Emperor Nicholas II - Olga; was born after her Tatiana(May 29, 1897) Maria(June 14, 1899) and Anastasia(June 5, 1901). But the family was eagerly awaiting an heir.

Olga

Olga

Since childhood, she grew up very kind and sympathetic, deeply experienced the misfortunes of others and always tried to help. She was the only one of the four sisters who could openly object to her father and mother and was very reluctant to submit to her parents’ will if circumstances required it.

Olga loved to read more than the other sisters, and later she began to write poetry. French teacher and friend of the imperial family Pierre Gilliard noted that Olga learned the lesson material better and faster than her sisters. This came easily to her, which is why she was sometimes lazy. " Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was a typical good Russian girl with a big soul. She impressed those around her with her affection, her charming, sweet way of treating everyone. She behaved evenly, calmly and amazingly simply and naturally with everyone. She did not like housekeeping, but she loved solitude and books. She was developed and very well read; She had a talent for the arts: she played the piano, sang, studied singing in Petrograd, and drew well. She was very modest and did not like luxury."(From the memoirs of M. Diterichs).

There was an unrealized plan for Olga's marriage with the Romanian prince (the future Carol II). Olga Nikolaevna categorically refused to leave her homeland, to live in a foreign country, she said that she was Russian and wanted to remain so.

Tatiana

As a child, her favorite activities were: serso (playing hoop), riding a pony and a bulky tandem bicycle together with Olga, leisurely picking flowers and berries. Among quiet home entertainments, she preferred drawing, picture books, intricate children's embroidery - knitting and a "doll's house."

Of the Grand Duchesses, she was the closest to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; she always tried to surround her mother with care and peace, to listen and understand her. Many considered her the most beautiful of all the sisters. P. Gilliard recalled: “ Tatyana Nikolaevna was rather reserved by nature, had a will, but was less frank and spontaneous than her older sister. She was also less gifted, but made up for this deficiency with great consistency and evenness of character. She was very beautiful, although she did not have the charm of Olga Nikolaevna. If only the Empress made a difference between her Daughters, then Her favorite was Tatyana Nikolaevna. It was not that Her sisters loved Mother less than Her, but Tatyana Nikolaevna knew how to surround Her with constant care and never allowed herself to show that She was out of sorts. With her beauty and natural ability to behave in society, She overshadowed her sister, who was less concerned with Her person and somehow faded away. Nevertheless, these two sisters loved each other dearly, there was only a year and a half difference between them, which naturally brought them closer. They were called “big ones,” while Maria Nikolaevna and Anastasia Nikolaevna continued to be called “little ones.”

Maria

Contemporaries describe Maria as an active, cheerful girl, too large for her age, with light brown hair and large dark blue eyes, which the family affectionately called “Mashka’s saucers.”

Her French teacher Pierre Gilliard said that Maria was tall, with a good physique and rosy cheeks.

General M. Dieterichs recalled: “Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was the most beautiful, typically Russian, good-natured, cheerful, even-tempered, friendly girl. She knew how and loved to talk with everyone, especially with ordinary people. During walks in the park, she would always start conversations with the guard soldiers, question them and remember very well who had the name of their wife, how many children they had, how much land, etc. She always had many common topics for conversations with them. For her simplicity, she received the nickname “Mashka” in her family; That’s what her sisters and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich called her.”

Maria had a talent for drawing and was good at sketching using her left hand, but she had no interest in schoolwork. Many noticed that this young girl, with her height (170 cm) and strength, took after her grandfather, Emperor Alexander III. General M.K. Diterikhs recalled that when the sick Tsarevich Alexei needed to get somewhere, and he himself was unable to go, he called: “Mashka, carry me!”

They remember that little Maria was especially attached to her father. As soon as she started walking, she constantly tried to sneak out of the nursery shouting “I want to go to daddy!” The nanny almost had to lock her so that the little girl would not interrupt another reception or work with ministers.

Like the rest of the sisters, Maria loved animals, she had a Siamese kitten, then she was given a white mouse, which nestled comfortably in her sisters’ room.

According to the recollections of surviving close associates, the Red Army soldiers guarding Ipatiev’s house sometimes showed tactlessness and rudeness towards the prisoners. However, even here Maria managed to inspire respect for herself in the guards; Thus, there are stories about a case when the guards, in the presence of two sisters, allowed themselves to make a couple of greasy jokes, after which Tatyana “white as death” jumped out, while Maria scolded the soldiers in a stern voice, saying that in this way they could only arouse hostility towards themselves attitude. Here, in Ipatiev’s house, Maria celebrated her 19th birthday.

Anastasia

Anastasia

Like other children of the emperor, Anastasia was educated at home. Education began at the age of eight, the program included French, English and German, history, geography, the Law of God, natural sciences, drawing, grammar, arithmetic, as well as dance and music. Anastasia was not known for her diligence in her studies; she hated grammar, wrote with horrific errors, and with childish spontaneity called arithmetic “sinishness.” English teacher Sydney Gibbs recalled that she once tried to bribe him with a bouquet of flowers to improve his grade, and after his refusal, she gave these flowers to the Russian language teacher, Pyotr Vasilyevich Petrov.

During the war, the empress gave many of the palace rooms for hospital premises. The older sisters Olga and Tatyana, together with their mother, became sisters of mercy; Maria and Anastasia, being too young for such hard work, became patronesses of the hospital. Both sisters gave their own money to buy medicine, read aloud to the wounded, knitted things for them, played cards and checkers, wrote letters home under their dictation and entertained them with telephone conversations in the evenings, sewed linen, prepared bandages and lint.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Anastasia was small and dense, with reddish-brown hair, and large blue eyes, inherited from her father.

Anastasia had a rather plump figure, like her sister Maria. She inherited wide hips, a slender waist and a good bust from her mother. Anastasia was short, strongly built, but at the same time seemed somewhat airy. She was simple-minded in face and physique, inferior to the stately Olga and fragile Tatyana. Anastasia was the only one who inherited her father's face shape - slightly elongated, with prominent cheekbones and a wide forehead. She actually looked a lot like her father. Large facial features - large eyes, a large nose, soft lips - made Anastasia look like young Maria Feodorovna - her grandmother.

The girl had a light and cheerful character, loved to play lapta, forfeits, and serso, and could tirelessly run around the palace for hours, playing hide and seek. She easily climbed trees and often, out of pure mischief, refused to go down to the ground. She was inexhaustible with inventions. With her light hand, it became fashionable to weave flowers and ribbons into her hair, which little Anastasia was very proud of. She was inseparable from her older sister Maria, adored her brother and could entertain him for hours when another illness put Alexei to bed. Anna Vyrubova recalled that “Anastasia seemed to be made of mercury, and not of flesh and blood.”

Alexei

On July 30 (August 12), 1904, the fifth child and the only, long-awaited son, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, appeared in Peterhof. The royal couple attended the glorification of Seraphim of Sarov on July 18, 1903 in Sarov, where the emperor and empress prayed for an heir. At birth he was named Alexey- in honor of St. Alexy of Moscow. On his mother's side, Alexey inherited hemophilia, the carriers of which were some of the daughters and granddaughters of Queen Victoria of England. The disease became evident in the Tsarevich already in the fall of 1904, when the two-month-old baby began to bleed heavily. In 1912, while on vacation in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the Tsarevich unsuccessfully jumped into a boat and severely bruised his thigh: the resulting hematoma did not resolve for a long time, the child’s health condition was very serious, and bulletins were officially published about him. There was a real threat of death.

Alexey's appearance combined the best features of his father and mother. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Alexey was a handsome boy, with a clean, open face.

His character was flexible, he adored his parents and sisters, and those souls doted on the young Tsarevich, especially Grand Duchess Maria. Alexey was capable of studies, like his sisters, and made progress in learning languages. From the memoirs of N.A. Sokolov, author of the book “The Murder of the Royal Family: “The heir, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, was a 14-year-old boy, smart, observant, receptive, affectionate, and cheerful. He was lazy and didn’t particularly like books. He combined the features of his father and mother: he inherited his father’s simplicity, was alien to arrogance, but had his own will and obeyed only his father. His mother wanted to, but could not be strict with him. His teacher Bitner says about him: “He had a great will and would never submit to any woman.” He was very disciplined, reserved and very patient. Undoubtedly, the disease left its mark on him and developed these traits in him. He did not like court etiquette, loved to be with the soldiers and learned their language, using purely folk expressions he overheard in his diary. He was reminiscent of his mother in his stinginess: he did not like to spend his money and collected various discarded things: nails, lead paper, ropes, etc.”

The Tsarevich loved his army very much and was in awe of the Russian warrior, respect for whom was passed on to him from his father and from all his sovereign ancestors, who always taught to love the common soldier. The prince’s favorite food was “cabbage soup and porridge and black bread, which all my soldiers eat,” as he always said. Every day they brought him sampler and porridge from the soldiers’ kitchen of the Free Regiment; Alexei ate everything and licked the spoon, saying: “This is delicious, not like our lunch.”

During the First World War, Alexey, who was the chief of several regiments and ataman of all Cossack troops by virtue of his position as heir, visited the active army with his father and awarded distinguished fighters. He was awarded the silver St. George medal of the 4th degree.

Raising children in the royal family

The family's life was not luxurious for the purposes of education - the parents were afraid that wealth and bliss would spoil the character of their children. The imperial daughters lived two to a room - on one side of the corridor there was a “big couple” (eldest daughters Olga and Tatyana), on the other there was a “small couple” (younger daughters Maria and Anastasia).

Family of Nicholas II

In the younger sisters' room, the walls were painted gray, the ceiling was painted with butterflies, the furniture was in white and green, simple and artless. The girls slept on folding army beds, each marked with the owner's name, under thick blue monogrammed blankets. This tradition dates back to the time of Catherine the Great (she first introduced this order for her grandson Alexander). The beds could easily be moved to be closer to warmth in winter, or even in my brother's room, next to the Christmas tree, and closer to open windows in summer. Here, everyone had a small bedside table and sofas with small embroidered thoughts. The walls were decorated with icons and photographs; The girls loved to take photographs themselves - a huge number of photographs have still been preserved, mostly taken in the Livadia Palace - the family’s favorite vacation spot. Parents tried to keep their children constantly busy with something useful; girls were taught to do needlework.

As in simple poor families, the younger ones often had to wear out the things that the older ones had outgrown. They also received pocket money, with which they could buy small gifts for each other.

Children's education usually began when they reached 8 years of age. The first subjects were reading, penmanship, arithmetic, and the Law of God. Later, languages ​​were added to this - Russian, English, French, and even later - German. The imperial daughters were also taught dancing, playing the piano, good manners, natural sciences and grammar.

The imperial daughters were ordered to rise at 8 o'clock in the morning and take a cold bath. Breakfast at 9 o'clock, second breakfast at one or half past twelve on Sundays. At 5 pm - tea, at 8 - general dinner.

Everyone who knew the emperor’s family life noted the amazing simplicity, mutual love and agreement of all family members. Its center was Alexey Nikolaevich, all attachments, all hopes were focused on him. The children were full of respect and consideration towards their mother. When the empress was unwell, the daughters were arranged to take turns on duty with their mother, and the one who was on duty that day remained with her indefinitely. The children's relationship with the sovereign was touching - he was for them at the same time a king, a father and a comrade; Their feelings for their father passed from almost religious worship to complete trust and the most cordial friendship. A very important memory of the spiritual state of the royal family was left by the priest Afanasy Belyaev, who confessed to the children before their departure to Tobolsk: “The impression from the confession was this: God grant that all children be as morally high as the children of the former king. Such kindness, humility, obedience to the parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity of thoughts and complete ignorance of the dirt of earth - passionate and sinful - left me in amazement, and I was absolutely perplexed: is it necessary to remind me as a confessor of sins, maybe they unknown, and how to incite me to repent of the sins known to me.”

Rasputin

A circumstance that constantly darkened the life of the imperial family was the incurable illness of the heir. Frequent attacks of hemophilia, during which the child experienced severe suffering, made everyone suffer, especially the mother. But the nature of the illness was a state secret, and parents often had to hide their feelings while participating in the normal routine of palace life. The Empress understood well that medicine was powerless here. But, being a deeply religious person, she indulged in fervent prayer in anticipation of a miraculous healing. She was ready to believe anyone who was able to help her grief, to somehow alleviate her son’s suffering: the Tsarevich’s illness opened the doors to the palace to those people who were recommended to the royal family as healers and prayer books. Among them, the peasant Grigory Rasputin appears in the palace, who was destined to play his role in the life of the royal family and in the fate of the entire country - but he had no right to claim this role.

Rasputin seemed to be a kind, holy old man helping Alexei. Under the influence of their mother, all four girls had complete trust in him and shared all their simple secrets. Rasputin's friendship with the imperial children was obvious from their correspondence. People who sincerely loved the royal family tried to somehow limit Rasputin’s influence, but the empress strongly resisted this, since the “holy elder” somehow knew how to alleviate the difficult condition of Tsarevich Alexei.

World War I

Russia was at that time at the pinnacle of glory and power: industry was developing at an unprecedented pace, the army and navy were becoming more and more powerful, and agrarian reform was being successfully implemented. It seemed that all internal problems would be successfully resolved in the near future.

But this was not destined to come true: the First World War was brewing. Using the murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne by a terrorist as a pretext, Austria attacked Serbia. Emperor Nicholas II considered it his Christian duty to stand up for the Orthodox Serbian brothers...

On July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which soon became pan-European. In August 1914, Russia launched a hasty offensive in East Prussia to help its ally France, which resulted in heavy defeat. By autumn it became clear that the end of the war was not in sight. But with the outbreak of war, internal divisions subsided in the country. Even the most difficult issues became solvable - it was possible to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages for the entire duration of the war. The Emperor regularly travels to Headquarters, visiting the army, dressing stations, military hospitals, and rear factories. The Empress, having completed nursing courses together with her eldest daughters Olga and Tatyana, spent several hours a day caring for the wounded in her Tsarskoe Selo infirmary.

On August 22, 1915, Nicholas II left for Mogilev to take command of all the armed forces of Russia and from that day on he was constantly at Headquarters, often with the heir. About once a month he came to Tsarskoe Selo for several days. All important decisions were made by him, but at the same time he instructed the empress to maintain relations with the ministers and keep him informed of what was happening in the capital. She was the person closest to him whom he could always rely on. Every day she sent detailed letters and reports to Headquarters, which was well known to the ministers.

The tsar spent January and February 1917 in Tsarskoe Selo. He felt that the political situation was becoming increasingly tense, but continued to hope that a sense of patriotism would still prevail and retained faith in the army, the situation of which had improved significantly. This raised hopes for the success of the great spring offensive, which would deal a decisive blow to Germany. But the forces hostile to him also understood this well.

Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei

On February 22, Emperor Nicholas left for Headquarters - at that moment the opposition managed to sow panic in the capital due to the impending famine. The next day, unrest began in Petrograd caused by interruptions in the supply of bread; they soon developed into a strike under the political slogans “Down with war” and “Down with autocracy.” Attempts to disperse the demonstrators were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, debates were going on in the Duma with sharp criticism of the government - but first of all these were attacks against the emperor. On February 25, Headquarters received a message about unrest in the capital. Having learned about the state of affairs, Nicholas II sends troops to Petrograd to maintain order, and then he himself goes to Tsarskoe Selo. His decision was obviously caused by both the desire to be in the center of events to make quick decisions if necessary, and concern for his family. This departure from Headquarters turned out to be fatal.. 150 versts from Petrograd, the Tsar's train was stopped - the next station, Lyuban, was in the hands of the rebels. We had to go through the Dno station, but even here the path was closed. On the evening of March 1, the emperor arrived in Pskov, at the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky.

There was complete anarchy in the capital. But Nicholas II and the army command believed that the Duma controlled the situation; in telephone conversations with the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko, the emperor agreed to all concessions if the Duma could restore order in the country. The answer was: it's too late. Was this really the case? After all, only Petrograd and the surrounding area were covered by the revolution, and the authority of the tsar among the people and in the army was still great. The Duma's response confronted him with a choice: abdication or an attempt to march on Petrograd with troops loyal to him - the latter meant civil war, while the external enemy was within Russian borders.

Everyone around the king also convinced him that renunciation was the only way out. The front commanders especially insisted on this, whose demands were supported by the Chief of the General Staff M.V. Alekseev. And after long and painful reflection, the emperor made a hard-won decision: to abdicate both for himself and for the heir, due to his incurable illness, in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. On March 8, the commissioners of the Provisional Government, having arrived in Mogilev, announced through General Alekseev the arrest of the emperor and the need to proceed to Tsarskoye Selo. For the last time, he addressed his troops, calling on them to be loyal to the Provisional Government, the very one that arrested him, to fulfill their duty to the Motherland until complete victory. The farewell order to the troops, which expressed the nobility of the emperor’s soul, his love for the army, and faith in it, was hidden from the people by the Provisional Government, which banned its publication.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, following their mother, all the sisters wept bitterly on the day the First World War was declared. During the war, the empress gave many of the palace rooms for hospital premises. The older sisters Olga and Tatyana, together with their mother, became sisters of mercy; Maria and Anastasia became patronesses of the hospital and helped the wounded: they read to them, wrote letters to their relatives, gave their personal money to buy medicine, gave concerts to the wounded and tried their best to distract them from difficult thoughts. They spent days on end in the hospital, reluctantly taking time off from work for lessons.

About the abdication of NicholasII

In the life of Emperor Nicholas II there were two periods of unequal duration and spiritual significance - the time of his reign and the time of his imprisonment.

Nicholas II after abdication

From the moment of abdication, what attracts most attention is the internal spiritual state of the emperor. It seemed to him that he had made the only right decision, but, nevertheless, he experienced severe mental anguish. “If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at the head of it ask me to leave the throne and hand it over to my son and brother, then I am ready to do this, I am even ready to give not only my kingdom, but also my life for the Motherland. I think no one who knows me doubts this."- he said to General D.N. Dubensky.

On the very day of his abdication, March 2, the same general recorded the words of the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count V. B. Fredericks: “ The Emperor is deeply sad that he is considered an obstacle to the happiness of Russia, that they found it necessary to ask him to leave the throne. He was worried about the thought of his family, which remained alone in Tsarskoe Selo, the children were sick. The Emperor is suffering terribly, but he is the kind of person who will never show his grief in public.” Nikolai is also reserved in his personal diary. Only at the very end of the entry for this day does his inner feeling break through: “My renunciation is needed. The point is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front calm, you need to decide to take this step. I agreed. A draft Manifesto was sent from Headquarters. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them the signed and revised Manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There is treason and cowardice and deceit all around!”

The Provisional Government announced the arrest of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife and their detention in Tsarskoe Selo. Their arrest did not have the slightest legal basis or reason.

House arrest

According to the memoirs of Yulia Alexandrovna von Den, a close friend of Alexandra Fedorovna, in February 1917, at the very height of the revolution, the children fell ill with measles one after another. Anastasia was the last to fall ill, when the Tsarskoe Selo palace was already surrounded by rebel troops. The Tsar was at the commander-in-chief's headquarters in Mogilev at that time; only the Empress and her children remained in the palace.

At 9 o'clock on March 2, 1917, they learned of the Tsar's abdication. On March 8, Count Pave Benckendorff announced that the Provisional Government had decided to subject the imperial family to house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. It was suggested that they make a list of people who wanted to stay with them. And on March 9, the children were informed about their father’s abdication.

A few days later Nikolai returned. Life began under house arrest.

Despite everything, the children's education continued. The entire process was led by Gilliard, a French teacher; Nikolai himself taught the children geography and history; Baroness Buxhoeveden taught English and music lessons; Mademoiselle Schneider taught arithmetic; Countess Gendrikova - drawing; Dr. Evgeniy Sergeevich Botkin - Russian language; Alexandra Fedorovna - God's Law. The eldest, Olga, despite the fact that her education was completed, was often present at lessons and read a lot, improving on what she had already learned.

At this time, there was still hope for the family of Nicholas II to go abroad; but George V decided not to risk it and chose to sacrifice the royal family. The Provisional Government appointed a commission to investigate the activities of the emperor, but, despite all efforts to discover at least something discrediting the king, nothing was found. When his innocence was proven and it became obvious that there was no crime behind him, the Provisional Government, instead of releasing the sovereign and his wife, decided to remove the prisoners from Tsarskoe Selo: to send the family of the former tsar to Tobolsk. On the last day before leaving, they managed to say goodbye to the servants and visit their favorite places in the park, ponds, and islands for the last time. On August 1, 1917, a train flying the flag of the Japanese Red Cross mission departed from a siding in the strictest secrecy.

In Tobolsk

Nikolai Romanov with his daughters Olga, Anastasia and Tatyana in Tobolsk in the winter of 1917

On August 26, 1917, the imperial family arrived in Tobolsk on the steamship Rus. The house was not yet completely ready for them, so they spent the first eight days on the ship. Then, under escort, the imperial family was taken to the two-story governor's mansion, where they were henceforth to live. The girls were given a corner bedroom on the second floor, where they were accommodated in the same army beds brought from home.

But life went on at a measured pace and strictly subordinated to family discipline: from 9.00 to 11.00 - lessons. Then an hour break for a walk with my father. Lessons again from 12.00 to 13.00. Dinner. From 14.00 to 16.00 walks and simple entertainment such as home performances or riding down a slide built with one’s own hands. Anastasia enthusiastically prepared firewood and sewed. Next on the schedule was the evening service and going to bed.

In September they were allowed to go to the nearest church for the morning service: the soldiers formed a living corridor right up to the church doors. The attitude of local residents towards the royal family was favorable. The Emperor followed with alarm the events taking place in Russia. He understood that the country was rapidly heading towards destruction. Kornilov suggested that Kerensky send troops to Petrograd to put an end to the Bolshevik agitation, which was becoming more and more threatening day by day, but the Provisional Government rejected this last attempt to save the Motherland. The king understood perfectly well that this was the only way to avoid an inevitable catastrophe. He repents of his renunciation. “After all, he made this decision only in the hope that those who wanted to remove him would still be able to continue the war with honor and would not ruin the cause of saving Russia. He was afraid then that his refusal to sign the renunciation would lead to civil war in the sight of the enemy. The Tsar did not want even a drop of Russian blood to be shed because of him... It was painful for the Emperor to now see the futility of his sacrifice and realize that, having in mind then only the good of his homeland, he had harmed it with his renunciation,”- recalls P. Gilliard, the children’s teacher.

Ekaterinburg

Nicholas II

In March it became known that a separate peace with Germany had been concluded in Brest . “This is such a shame for Russia and it is “tantamount to suicide”“, - this was the emperor’s assessment of this event. When there was a rumor that the Germans were demanding that the Bolsheviks hand over the royal family to them, the Empress said: “I prefer to die in Russia than to be saved by the Germans”. The first Bolshevik detachment arrived in Tobolsk on Tuesday, April 22. Commissioner Yakovlev inspects the house and gets acquainted with the prisoners. A few days later, he reports that he must take the emperor away, assuring that nothing bad will happen to him. Assuming that they wanted to send him to Moscow to sign a separate peace with Germany, the emperor, who under no circumstances abandoned his high spiritual nobility, firmly said: “ I’d rather let my hand be cut off than sign this shameful agreement.”

The heir was ill at that time, and it was impossible to carry him. Despite fear for her sick son, the empress decides to follow her husband; Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna also went with them. Only on May 7, family members remaining in Tobolsk received news from Yekaterinburg: the Emperor, Empress and Maria Nikolaevna were imprisoned in Ipatiev’s house. When the prince's health improved, the rest of the family from Tobolsk were also taken to Yekaterinburg and imprisoned in the same house, but most of the people close to the family were not allowed to see them.

There is little evidence about the Yekaterinburg period of imprisonment of the royal family. Almost no letters. Basically, this period is known only from brief entries in the emperor’s diary and the testimony of witnesses in the case of the murder of the royal family.

Living conditions in the “special purpose house” were much more difficult than in Tobolsk. The guard consisted of 12 soldiers who lived here and ate with them at the same table. Commissar Avdeev, an inveterate drunkard, humiliated the royal family every day. I had to put up with hardships, endure bullying and obey. The royal couple and daughters slept on the floor, without beds. During lunch, a family of seven was given only five spoons; The guards sitting at the same table were smoking, blowing smoke into the faces of the prisoners...

A walk in the garden was allowed once a day, first for 15-20 minutes, and then no more than five. Only Doctor Evgeny Botkin remained next to the royal family, who surrounded the prisoners with care and acted as a mediator between them and the commissars, protecting them from the rudeness of the guards. A few faithful servants remained: Anna Demidova, I.S. Kharitonov, A.E. Trupp and the boy Lenya Sednev.

All prisoners understood the possibility of a speedy end. Once Tsarevich Alexei said: “If they kill, if only they don’t torture...” Almost in complete isolation, they showed nobility and fortitude. In one of the letters Olga Nikolaevna says: “ The father asks to tell all those who remained devoted to him, and those on whom they may have influence, that they do not avenge him, since he has forgiven everyone and prays for everyone, and that they do not avenge themselves, and that they remember that the evil that is now in the world will be even stronger, but that it is not evil that will defeat evil, but only love.”

Even the rude guards gradually softened - they were surprised by the simplicity of all members of the royal family, their dignity, even Commissar Avdeev softened. Therefore, he was replaced by Yurovsky, and the guards were replaced by Austro-German prisoners and people chosen from among the executioners of the “Chreka.” The life of the inhabitants of the Ipatiev House turned into complete martyrdom. But preparations for the execution were made in secret from the prisoners.

Murder

On the night of July 16-17, around the beginning of three, Yurovsky woke up the royal family and spoke about the need to move to a safe place. When everyone got dressed and got ready, Yurovsky led them to a semi-basement room with one barred window. Everyone was outwardly calm. The Emperor carried Alexei Nikolaevich in his arms, the others had pillows and other small things in their hands. In the room where they were brought, the Empress and Alexei Nikolaevich sat on chairs. The Emperor stood in the center next to the Tsarevich. The rest of the family members and servants were in different parts of the room, and at this time the killers were waiting for a signal. Yurovsky approached the emperor and said: “Nikolai Alexandrovich, according to the resolution of the Ural Regional Council, you and your family will be shot.” These words were unexpected for the king, he turned towards the family, stretched out his hands to them and said: “What? What?" The Empress and Olga Nikolaevna wanted to cross themselves, but at that moment Yurovsky shot the Tsar with a revolver almost point-blank several times, and he immediately fell. Almost simultaneously, everyone else started shooting - everyone knew their victim in advance.

Those already lying on the floor were finished off with shots and bayonet blows. When it was all over, Alexey Nikolaevich suddenly groaned weakly - he was shot several more times. Eleven bodies lay on the floor in streams of blood. After making sure that their victims were dead, the killers began to remove their jewelry. Then the dead were taken out into the yard, where a truck was already standing ready - the noise of its engine was supposed to drown out the shots in the basement. Even before sunrise, the bodies were taken to the forest in the vicinity of the village of Koptyaki. For three days the killers tried to hide their crime...

Together with the imperial family, their servants who followed them into exile were also shot: Doctor E. S. Botkin, the Empress’s room girl A. S. Demidov, the court cook I. M. Kharitonov and footman A. E. Trupp. In addition, Adjutant General I.L. Tatishchev, Marshal Prince V.A. Dolgorukov, “uncle” of the heir K.G. Nagorny, children’s footman I.D. Sednev, maid of honor were killed in various places and in different months of 1918 Empress A.V. Gendrikova and goflexress E.A. Schneider.

Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg - built on the site of the house of engineer Ipatiev, where Nicholas II and his family were shot on July 17, 1918

The last Russian emperor loved port wine, disarmed the planet, raised his stepson and almost moved the capital to Yalta [photo, video]

Photo: RIA Novosti

Change text size: A A

Nicholas II ascended the throne on November 2, 1894. What do we all remember about this king? Basically, school cliches are stuck in my head: Nikolai is bloody, weak, was under the strong influence of his wife, is to blame for Khodynka, established the Duma, dispersed the Duma, was shot near Yekaterinburg... Oh yes, he also conducted the first census of Russia, recording himself as “owner of the land” Russian". Moreover, Rasputin looms on the side with his dubious role in history. In general, the image turns out to be such that any schoolchild is sure: Nicholas II is almost the most shameful Russian Tsar of all eras. And this despite the fact that most of the documents, photographs, letters and diaries remained from Nikolai and his family. There is even a recording of his voice, which is quite low. His life has been thoroughly studied, and at the same time it is almost unknown to the general public outside the clichés from the textbook. Did you know, for example, that:

1) Nicholas took the throne in Crimea. There, in Livadia, a royal estate near Yalta, his father Alexander III died. A confused young man, literally crying from the responsibility that had fallen on him - this is how the future king looked then. Mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, did not want to swear allegiance to her son! The younger one, Mikhail, is who she saw on the throne.

2) And since we are talking about Crimea, it was to Yalta that he dreamed of moving the capital from his unloved St. Petersburg. The sea, the fleet, trade, the proximity of European borders... But I didn’t dare, of course.

3) Nicholas II almost handed over the throne to his eldest daughter Olga. In 1900, he fell ill with typhus (again in Yalta, well, just a fateful city for the family of the last Russian emperor). The king was dying. Since the time of Paul I, the law has prescribed: the throne is inherited only through the male line. However, bypassing this order, the conversation turned to Olga, who was then 5 years old. The king, however, pulled out and recovered. But the idea of ​​staging a coup in Olga’s favor, and then marrying her off to a suitable candidate who would rule the country instead of the unpopular Nicholas - this thought excited the royal relatives for a long time and pushed them into intrigue.

4) It is rarely said that Nicholas II became the first global peacemaker. In 1898, at his instigation, a note on a general limitation of armaments was published and a program for an international peace conference was developed. It took place in May of the following year in The Hague. 20 European countries, 4 Asian, 2 American took part. This act of the tsar simply did not fit into the minds of the then progressive intelligentsia of Russia. How can this be, he is a militarist and an imperialist?! Yes, the idea of ​​​​the prototype of the UN, of conferences on disarmament, arose precisely in Nikolai’s head. And long before the World War.

5) It was Nikolai who completed the Siberian railway. It is still the main artery connecting the country, but for some reason it is not customary to give credit to this king. Meanwhile, he considered the Siberian railway one of his main tasks. Nikolai generally foresaw many challenges that Russia then had to deal with in the 20th century. He said, for example, that the population of China is growing astronomically, and this is a reason to strengthen and develop Siberian cities. (And this at a time when China was called sleeping).

Nicholas' reforms (monetary, judicial, wine monopoly, working day law) are also rarely mentioned. It is believed that since the reforms were started in previous reigns, then Nicholas II seems to have no special merit. The Tsar “only” pulled this burden and complained that he “worked like a convict.” “Only” brought the country to that peak, 1913, by which the economy will be measured for a long time to come. He just confirmed two of the most famous reformers in office - Witte and Stolypin. So, 1913: the strongest gold ruble, income from the export of Vologda oil is higher than from the export of gold, Russia is the world leader in grain trade.

6) Nicholas was like two peas in a pod like his cousin, the future English king George V. Their mothers are sisters. Even relatives confused “Nicky” and “Georgie”.

"Nicky" and "Georgie". They are so similar that even their relatives confused them

7) Raised his adopted son and daughter. More precisely, the children of his uncle Pavel Alexandrovich - Dmitry and Maria. Their mother died in childbirth, their father quite soon entered into a new marriage (unequal), and the two little grand dukes were eventually raised by Nicholas personally, they called him “dad”, the empress “mama”. He loved Dmitry like his own son. (This is the same Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, who later, together with Felix Yusupov, will kill Rasputin, for which he will be exiled, survive the revolution, escape to Europe and even manage to have an affair with Coco Chanel there).

10) I couldn’t stand women’s singing. He would run away when his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna, or one of the daughters or ladies-in-waiting sat down at the piano and started playing romances. The courtiers recall that at such moments the king complained: “Well, they howled...”

11) I read a lot, especially contemporaries, subscribed to a lot of magazines. Most of all he loved Averchenko.

Biography of Emperor Nicholas 2 Alexandrovich

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

Childhood

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

The youth of the future emperor

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

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

Nicholas and Alice of Hesse

Nicholas II in childhood and youth

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

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

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

Ascension to the throne

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

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

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

Personal life and royal family

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

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

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

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

Nicholas II with his wife

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

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

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

Reign of Nicholas II

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

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

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

Revolution. Abdication

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

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

Arrest

Nicholas 2 with his wife and children

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

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

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

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

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

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

Execution of the Romanov family

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

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

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

One of the most tragic figures in Russian history is the holy passion-bearer Tsar Nicholas II. What kind of person was he? What kind of king? What kind of politician? Candidate of Historical Sciences, researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Priest Vasily SEKACHEV, shared his vision of the personality of the sovereign with our correspondent.

Parade of guards units on Khodynskoye Field on May 12, 1896. Emperor Nicholas II drinks a glass of vodka

There is a widespread opinion that Tsar Nicholas ruled the country ineptly: he shot people, killed people in wars. How true is this? After all, there is another opinion: “a strong-willed politician of troubled times” - maybe this is more correct?
- I don’t agree with either one or the other. The Emperor was by no means a mediocre person, but his abilities did not find real use. In modern terms, he did not have his own “team”. There were very few people around him who were truly close to him in spirit. At the same time, he was not a dictator or a tyrant. Nicholas II was a man of a very special mental make-up. Since childhood, he was a very religious and at the same time a very trusting person - although this is far from the same thing.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord says: “Behold, I send you out as sheep among wolves: therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Perhaps the Emperor lacked this serpentine wisdom. Brought up in an atmosphere of courtly prosperity, he really did not understand that the last times were coming for the Empire, and he trusted people very much. Meanwhile, if we continue the Gospel quotation, we will hear literally in the next verse: “Beware of people...” (verse 17). But the Emperor was not careful, because he did not see the complete disastrous situation of Russia at that time and at the same time was brought up with amazing faith in people, especially if these people were at the helm of the power of the greatest Christian empire, which occupied one sixth of the land.

- Perdition? Was it really that bad?

Propaganda from the time of the Russo-Japanese War: “A Japanese expelled from the European family. Russia says: “Get out, get out of here, you trashy boy! It’s too early for you, as it turns out, they put you at the same table with the big ones... You don’t know how to behave yet.” behave properly!” Alas, a little more than a decade after the unsuccessful war with Japan, Russia itself placed itself outside the civilized world for a long time

- Judge for yourself: on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War, Admiral General of the Russian Fleet, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the Tsar’s uncle, received a report from the head of the Kronstadt port, Admiral Makarov, warning about the inadmissibility of keeping Russian ships in the outer roadstead of Port Arthur, where they could become a convenient target for a surprise night attack by the Japanese. Alexey Alexandrovich, however, was distinguished by his indifference to the affairs of the fleet entrusted to him, preferring entertainment. The report was not considered, and a little over a month later, the Japanese, without declaring war, carried out a night attack on Russian ships in Port Arthur, sank them and began the Russo-Japanese War, which became unfortunate for us largely because of this

Russo-Japanese War 1904 – 1905 Execution of a spy in the village of Tvelin

Another uncle of the Tsar - Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, commander of the St. Petersburg Military District - on the eve of Bloody Sunday on January 9, 1905, instead of standing aside and allowing the police to take the usual and proven police security measures, he demanded full power for himself, unfortunately, it achieved and declared the capital under martial law. He persuaded the Emperor to leave for Tsarskoye Selo, assuring him that there was nothing dangerous. He himself intended to give a warning to the “troublemakers” and hang several hundred people for this purpose, which he also announced in advance to foreign correspondents. Unfortunately, we know how it all ended
One part of the courtiers and senior officials was in captivity of selfish aspirations, the other dogmatically believed in the inadmissibility of any changes. Many were seized by the idea of ​​saving Russia by rebuilding it in a Western way.
Meanwhile, the Emperor was convinced that all these people - just like himself - consider the Orthodox faith to be the basis of their lives and treat their state activities with the greatest trepidation. However, it was to Christ that almost all of them were surprisingly indifferent. People with a living religious faith in the upper class of Russia were then extremely rare. They were revered as eccentrics or hypocrites, they were ridiculed and persecuted (remember the story when he was commander of the Preobrazhensky Regiment). What can I say, reading the Gospel was revered in the world, and indeed in “society” in general in the 19th century. - a sign of mental illness.
In this sense, the king presented a striking contrast with his surroundings. He was a very religious man and loved church services very much. Even Winston Churchill, then just a minister of the British Empire, wrote that Nicholas II “in his life primarily relied on faith in God.” In general, there is a lot of evidence about this.
It is known that during the reign of Nicholas II, more saints were glorified than during the entire Synodal period (these are the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov and the Hieromartyr Patriarch Hermogenes, as well as Saints Theodosius of Chernigov, Joasaph of Belgorod, Pitirim of Tambov, John of Tobolsk, etc.). And all this was done with the direct participation and often at the insistence of the Sovereign - as, for example, in the case of St. Seraphim.
And of course, the Tsar approached the business of governing the state as a truly Christian, sacrificial service, with very serious responsibility. It is known that he personally, without using the services of a secretary, looked through a huge number of papers, went into the smallest details of completely different cases, and personally sealed his most important resolutions in envelopes.
It seems to me that the Sovereign’s awareness of his royal duty is very convincingly evidenced by the following words from his letter to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich:
“Sometimes, I must admit, tears well up in my eyes at the thought of what a calm, wonderful life could have been for me for many more years, if not for October 20th ! But these tears show human weakness, these are tears of self-regret, and I try to drive them away as soon as possible and carry out my difficult and responsible service to Russia without complaint."

- They say the Tsar even wanted to become a Patriarch?
Nilus writes about this, according to an unknown person, in one of his books. However, the famous church publicist and public figure of the early 20th century, the repentant Narodnaya Volya member Lev Tikhomirov, resolutely denied this fact, justifying his opinion by the fact that he himself could not have known about it. Honestly, I believe Tikhomirov more.

- What kind of education did Nicholas II receive?
- There are conflicting opinions about the education of Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich. Some believe that he was educated superficially, since teachers had no right to give him low grades or even no grades at all, but simply had to deal with him somehow. Others say that the courses he took would have been a credit to the most educated people. First, the Emperor received an education in the scope of an expanded gymnasium course (ancient languages ​​were replaced by the study of mineralogy, botany, zoology, anatomy and physiology, and courses in history, Russian literature and foreign languages ​​were expanded), and then, in 1885-1890. - higher education, connecting the course of the state and economic departments of the university's law faculty with the course of the Academy of the General Staff. First of all, Nikolai Alexandrovich studied political economy, law and military affairs (military jurisprudence, strategy, military geography, service of the General Staff). Classes in vaulting, fencing, drawing, and music were also conducted. The teachers of the future Sovereign were Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K. P. Pobedonostsev, Minister of Finance N. Kh. Bunge, Head of the Academy of the General Staff M. I. Dragomirov and others.
An indicator of education was a love of books and foreign languages. The Emperor had an excellent command of German, French, and English, and somewhat less well in Danish, his mother’s native language. He read a lot. There was a special reading culture in the family of Nicholas II. They read new books together in the evenings, then discussed what they had read.
The Emperor was very fond of poetry. In his diary for 1894, on thirty (!) pages, his and Alexandra Fedorovna’s favorite poems are written in four European languages.

- But they say that Nicholas II left a rather boring philistine diary...
- I wouldn't say that. Judge for yourself: “December 31, 1894. Saturday. It was hard to stand in church thinking about the terrible change that happened this year [referring to the death of the father]. But trusting in God, I look at the coming year without fear... Along with such irreparable grief, the Lord also rewarded me with happiness that I could not even dream of - Alix gave me.” "February 13, 1895 [Alexandra Feodorovna at birth]. The mood is such that I really want to pray, it just asks for it - in church, in prayer - the only, greatest consolation on earth.” “February 14, 1904. At 9 o’clock. We went to Anichkov for mass and partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. What a consolation in these serious times."
It seems to me that these are the diaries of a very religious and living person. Of course, sometimes the notes are very short, but the Emperor religiously wrote them down in a notebook every day, for the sake of self-discipline, so as not to forget anything. It's no secret that people write mainly diaries for others, but he wrote for himself, for self-discipline. In the evening he tried to remember everything that happened that day in order to continue the next day. He was a very complete person.

- Did the Tsar have a certain daily routine?
- Yes, sure. According to the testimony of his valet T. A. Chemodurov, the Emperor always got up at 8 o'clock in the morning and quickly performed his morning toilet. At half past eight he drank tea at his place and until 11 o’clock he went about his business: he read the submitted reports and personally imposed resolutions on them. The Emperor worked alone, without secretaries or assistants. After 11, visitors were received. At about one o'clock the Tsar had breakfast with his family, however, if the reception of the persons introduced to the Tsar took more than the allotted time, then the family waited for the Tsar and did not sit down to breakfast without him.
After breakfast, the Emperor worked again and walked for some time in the park, where he certainly did some kind of physical labor, working with a shovel, saw or axe. After the walk, tea followed, and from 6 to 8 p.m. the Tsar again busied himself with business in his office. At 8 o'clock in the evening the Emperor dined, then sat down to work again until evening tea (at 23 o'clock).
If the reports were extensive and numerous, the Emperor worked well after midnight and went to the bedroom only after finishing his work. The Emperor himself personally placed the most important papers in envelopes and sealed them. Before going to bed, the Emperor took a bath

- Did Nicholas II have any hobbies? What did he love?
- He loved history, especially Russian. He had idealistic ideas about Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, that his reign was the heyday of Holy Rus'. I personally don't agree with this. But he firmly believed in the ideas that, in his opinion, Alexy Mikhailovich believed in: devotion to God, concern for the Church, the good of the people. Unfortunately, Alexei Mikhailovich took a number of measures to subordinate the Orthodox Church to the state, anticipating the anti-church policy of his son Peter the Great.
Tsar Nicholas II loved music very much, loved Tchaikovsky. As we have already said, he was a very well-read man and was interested in Dostoevsky.
In moments of relaxation, the Emperor loved to visit his family, spend time with his relatives - first of all, uncle Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Feodorovna. From communicating with his family, he experienced pure, innocent, some kind of unearthly joy.
The Emperor had certain artistic abilities. He loved photography.
At the same time, it is known that the Emperor was alien to any kind of luxury, did not wear jewelry, loved modest food, and never demanded any special dishes for himself. His everyday clothes were a jacket; the overcoat he wore had patches. According to the testimony of the maid of honor Buxhoeveden, in all residences the rooms of the Imperial couple were decorated at the time of their wedding and were never altered

- How successful can the reign of Nicholas II be considered?
- Speaking about the upbringing of the Sovereign, I did not note one significant fact. Nikolai Alexandrovich received ideas about the life of Russia and the ways of its possible change from the hands of teachers who disagreed with each other.
One of his educators, who was responsible for economic education, former Minister of Finance Nikolai Khristianovich Bunge, oriented him towards the West. Another, who taught the basics of law and church history, Chief Prosecutor of the Synod Konstantin Pobedonostsev believed that it was necessary to adhere to Russian principles, especially the Orthodox faith. Pobedonostsev was distrustful of all kinds of reforms (although he often recognized their necessity), believing that the external circumstances of life change as a result of an internal change in the soul - its turning to truth, to goodness, to God.
Bunge believed that the peasant community must be destroyed in order to free up workers for the development of capitalist production. Pobednostsev was a supporter of preserving the community as the custodian of the good customs of Russian antiquity - first of all, camaraderie and mutual assistance. The peasant community truly represented a unique form of community life and joint farming, which developed largely under the influence of the Orthodox faith. In the community, one can see the fulfillment of the commandments of the Gospel: people united not only to work together, but also for mutual assistance. Moreover, this help was disinterested - it was considered the norm of social life.
But the Emperor, due to the characteristics noted above, perceived that both of his educators were partly right. Thus, a certain contradiction was built into his worldview.
And then it got worse. A. Solzhenitsyn describes this very well in “The Red Wheel”:
“One said one thing, the other said something else, and it was necessary to convene a council to sort it out, but it was still impossible to figure it out. Then Witte proposed creating a commission on peasant affairs - and the young Sovereign agreed. Pobedonostsev came, pointed out the absurdity of this idea - and the Sovereign extinguished. Here Witte sent a sensible note about the urgent need for a commission - and the Tsar in the margins completely agreed, convinced. But Durnovo came to insist that there should be no commission - and Nikolai wrote “to hold off”...
...This was the most painful thing in the role of a monarch: to choose the right one among the opinions of advisers. Each was presented in such a way as to be convincing, but who can determine which is correct? And how good and easy it would be to rule Russia if the opinions of all advisers agreed! What would it take for them to agree, for smart (good) people to agree among themselves! No, by some spell they were doomed to always disagree - and to baffle their Emperor..."
Solzhenitsyn criticizes the Tsar, trying to extol Stolypin, but as a true artist with the gift of insight, he himself, perhaps unwillingly, conveys the Tsar’s worldview very accurately. He shows his childish naivety, his desire to arrange Russia, to bring her happiness in accordance with the Gospel. It shows how it was simply wild for the Emperor, it was incomprehensible why everyone could not agree and rule in harmony, together.
However, everyone wanted to be for themselves, and in an amicable way, they all should have been dispersed, except for Pobedonostsev. Only there was no one to change it.

The highest manifesto on the dissolution of the Second State Duma

- Still, what happened with the Russo-Japanese War?
The story of the origin of this war clearly shows the Emperor’s childish gullibility. Initially, the Sovereign, with his characteristic peacefulness, tried to avoid a conflict with Japan in the Far East, preferring to agree with it on the delimitation of spheres of influence. By the way, Nicholas II was very peaceful. In 1898, he made a proposal unprecedented in world history to abandon wars. When the resistance of the leading world powers to this became obvious, he achieved the convening of the Hague Conference in 1899, which discussed the issues of limiting arms and developing rules of war. The conference decided to prohibit the use of gases, explosive bullets, and the taking of hostages, and also to establish the International Hague Court, which is still in force today.
Returning to Japan, it must be said that in 1895 it won the war against China and annexed Korea and South Manchuria with the ice-free Port Arthur.
However, this was fundamentally contrary to the policy that the Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire S. Yu. Witte was trying to pursue in China. In November 1892, he submitted a note to Alexander III, in which he outlined a broad program of economic penetration into China, including access to the Pacific Ocean and subordination of all Pacific trade to Russian influence. The note was submitted in connection with the start of construction in 1891 of the Great Siberian Railway to Vladivostok. Witte’s peaceful economic plans (which he never tires of talking about in his memoirs) did not prevent him in 1893 from supporting the initiative of the notorious doctor Zh. Badmaev to organize a military intervention in Northern China, which, however, was decisively rejected by Alexander III.
In 1895, Witte was able to convince Nicholas II of the need for confrontation with Japan. The Emperor believed him (we have already talked about the reasons for trusting Witte), although it was against his own convictions. Witte attracted the poet E. E. Ukhtomsky, who was close to Nicholas II, to his side. In 1890, he accompanied the then Tsarevich Nicholas on his semi-circumnavigation of the East and colorfully painted the future Tsar pictures of Russian prosperity in the Far East (which, apparently, he sincerely believed in). In 1896, Witte made Ukhtomsky director of the Russian-Chinese Bank and helped become editor of the St. Petersburg Gazette.
Having secured the support of the Tsar, Witte achieved a revision of the results of the Sino-Japanese War. Under pressure from Germany and France, Japan was forced to return South Manchuria to China and liberate Korea. Thanks to his friendly ties with the French Rothschilds, Witte helped China pay Japan a significant indemnity (it was his friendship with the Rothschilds that helped him win over the French government to his side; the assistance of the German government was provided to Witte by his friendship with the German bankers the Wartburgs).
In exchange for assistance to China, Witte received the consent of the Chinese government to build the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) through Manchuria, which helped lead the Great Siberian Road bypassing the difficult places of the Amur region.
However, Vladivostok froze in winter. Russia (or rather, Witte) needed an ice-free port. And although Witte in his memoirs in every possible way dissociated himself from the idea of ​​seizing Port Arthur in 1898, the agreement on the forced Russian lease of this ice-free port was concluded only thanks to his assistance (as in the case of the agreement on the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, it was not without giving a bribe to the Chinese ruler Li Hong-chang).
The CER, which became Witte’s favorite brainchild, now received a branch to Port Arthur. An armed guard of 10 thousand people was installed on the railway. (the so-called Trans-Amur Border Guard).
It is clear how Japan should have reacted to all this. The thirst for revenge became the prevailing mood in the country, in which the Japanese were strongly supported by the British. England controlled the export of 2/3 of Chinese goods. According to Witte’s note from 1892, she had to cede most of her exports to Russia.
Dissatisfaction with Russian policy, however, also manifested itself in the Chinese environment. According to the Russian-Chinese treaty of 1896, land for the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway was forcibly alienated from Chinese peasants. Theoretically, they should have received some kind of compensation, but in the conditions of China at that time, this apparently did not happen. On the selected lands there were graves of their ancestors, sacred to the Chinese.

Chinese delegation at the 1896 Coronation festivities in Moscow

Hostility towards Russia manifested itself in 1900, during the all-Chinese uprising of the Yihetuan (Boxers), directed against foreigners as such. The Russians, traditionally perceived by the Chinese as, if not friends, then equal partners, now found themselves on a par with other imperialist foreigners.
To save the CER, Witte insisted on the introduction of regular Russian troops into Manchuria. This only intensified the rage of the Japanese.
Subsequently, Witte may have been ready to withdraw his troops. But it was already too late. At court she received influence from the so-called. “Bezobrazov clique” (named after State Secretary Bezobrazov), which began to insist on pursuing an openly adventurist policy in the Far East. This group included the Tsar’s uncle and at the same time son-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, and the new, since 1902, Minister of Internal Affairs Plehve. The latter proved to be Witte's most consistent opponent. He was able to distribute falsified documents that Witte was preparing a coup d'etat, and the Tsar believed it (when in 1904, after the murder of Plehve, the deception was exposed, the upset Nikolai was unable to understand how Plehve could agree to such baseness).
In 1903, Witte was finally removed. “Bezobrazovtsy” took his place in the Far East, finally refused to withdraw troops from Manchuria, and the Japanese began the war with a clear conscience.
It is absolutely clear that we became fascinated by the Far East and found ourselves drawn into an international conflict with the participation of England and then the United States - solely thanks to Witte. Experts believe that Witte generally overestimated Russian capabilities in that region and initially nothing could come of his idea. A.I. Denikin wrote back in 1908 that Witte’s policy towards China from the end of the 19th century. "acquired a specific shade of Machiavellianism that did not correspond to the state interests of Russia"

- But why didn’t the king himself try to delve into the controversial issues?
- Firstly, he was very busy with office work. His signatures were required on many papers. He had such responsibility for what he did that he could not entrust it to anyone. And then he thought that he did not need to go into details if there were people who were tasked with this, experts in their field, who would find the right solution. And the experts contradicted each other and started intrigues.
Because of this, there were a lot of unresolved issues in the state.
The Emperor thought that if laws were given to society, then people would definitely follow them. But, you understand that this, unfortunately, was not the case. It was in violation of labor legislation given by Alexander III that the capitalists mercilessly exploited the workers. And no one was watching this. That is, the officials were supposed to keep an eye on things, but they received bribes from the capitalists and left everything in its place. In pre-revolutionary Russia, unfortunately, there were a lot of unacceptable things: the lawless actions of capitalists (although here, of course, there were welcome exceptions), the arbitrariness of officials, the arbitrariness of local nobles, who, on the contrary, precisely according to the law given by Alexander III, had unlimited power over the peasants (law on zemstvo chiefs of 1889).
The peasants were sincerely perplexed why they could not dispose of most of the arable land, why it belonged to the landowners. The government, unfortunately, did not resolve this issue. Some ministers - conservatives - preferred to freeze everything and not touch it under any circumstances. The other part - Westerners and liberals - insisted on the need for decisive changes, but in a Western way that did not correspond to Russian traditions. This included not only the liquidation of landownership, with which, indeed, something had to be done, but also the abolition of the peasant community, a traditional and irreplaceable form of farming in our country. There were practically no people with a living religious and at the same time state, patriotic consciousness around the Tsar. I repeat that there was no one to really rely on. But the Emperor, with his trust in people, hoped, being deceived every time.

- But there were some successful undertakings? Stolypin?
- Stolypin was the greatest patriot of Russia, a real knight. But, unfortunately, he was a man of Westernist beliefs. “Liberal reforms and strong state power” was his slogan. Stolypin also stood for the destruction of the community, which, in his opinion, hindered the free development of Russia. However, it was precisely in the community, in conditions of jointly enduring difficulties and responsibility for each other, that it was most convenient to fulfill, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “the law of Christ” (Eph. 6:2). Not to mention the fact that in the conditions of the Non-Black Earth Region and the Russian North, the peasant community represented the only possible economic system. The common people, for the most part, perceived Stolypin's efforts to destroy the community very painfully - this was for them further proof that the government was against ordinary people. This was preparing a revolution.
It is clear that the revolution was a godless thing, we are not going to justify it. But the government could still, along with the spread of parochial schools that strengthened the faith of the people (which, thank God, Pobedonostsev did), pursue a more popular policy towards the village.

- What was it supposed to consist of?
- In supporting the peasant community, disseminating advanced farming methods through the community, in the careful development of peasant self-government. After all, this had happened before in Rus', it was familiar to her. This could lead to the revival of the zemstvo, conciliar principle, to a genuine agreement between the authorities and the people.
However, this did not happen, and the people were increasingly inclined to their dream of establishing a kingdom of happiness and justice here on earth, which can only be helped by rebellion and revolution.
The first signs of a peasant revolution appeared in 1902 in adjacent districts of the Poltava and Kharkov provinces. Then, the whole revolution unfolded in 1905. In both cases, the peasants acted coherently, using communal organization, often under the leadership of their elected elders. Everywhere there was a fair division of land, taverns were sealed, community police acted (although absolutely terrible violence was committed against landowners and their property). In 1905, in this way, without any help from revolutionaries, a whole series of peasant republics arose in Russia.
Looking ahead, it must be said that from the same motives, wanting to realize their dream of land and freedom, the peasants supported the Bolsheviks, excluding the period of surplus appropriation (1918-1920). When, after the end of the Civil War, the Bolsheviks returned freedom to the villages and assigned land to the communities, the people lived truly happily in the earthly dimension. But no one, unfortunately, understood that the price of this happiness was terrible: violence against the landowners, betrayal of their Tsar and the former statehood, an alliance with the atheist Bolsheviks. Therefore, the retribution was terrible: the most brutal collectivization (which, of course, was a parody of communalism), which led to the death of the peasantry as a class
It is no coincidence that the communal spirit now exists only in a bandit environment: mutual assistance, a common fund, “perish yourself and help your comrade,” etc. This is all because the Russian people committed a crime in order to save their communal tradition.

- Sometimes you get the feeling that Tsar Nicholas did not know how to communicate with people, he was a very secretive person.
- Didn’t know how to communicate? It's just the opposite. Nicholas II was a very charming man. While visiting the pavilion of Russian artists at the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, the Emperor literally charmed everyone. Here is what one of the organizers of the art exhibition, Prince Sergei Shcherbatov, writes: “His simplicity (alien to many members of the Romanov family), the gentle look of his unforgettable gray eyes left a memory for a lifetime. There was a lot in this look: the desire to trust, to believe to the bottom of the person speaking to him, and sadness, a certain anxiety despite the seeming decent calm, to be on guard, not to make a “fucking”, and the need to throw all this aside and treat the person simply - everything this was felt in the beautiful, noble Sovereign, whom, it seemed, not only to suspect of anything bad, but also to offend in any way was a crime...”
The historian Mikhail Nazarov makes an interesting and partly very accurate comparison of the Sovereign with Prince Myshkin.
At the same time, in childhood the Emperor was a very spontaneous, lively and even hot-tempered child. But he learned to fight his temper, acquired amazing self-control and evenness of soul. It's hard to imagine him yelling at anyone.

- The opposition honored him with all his might. Why did he allow this, which none of the then rulers allowed?- He was very tolerant and was an amazingly friendly person. There are no such people now. Those who were lucky enough to communicate with representatives of the Russian emigration, Russians raised outside Russia (such as, for example, Bishop Vasily (Rodzianko), Father Alexander Kiselev), can imagine what it means when a person is friendly. We are all under the curse of aggression and evil. We are amazingly unkind people.
After the revolution of 1905, the Tsar was offered to destroy several hundred revolutionaries. But he didn't allow it. A person is subject to the influence of evil, but he can repent, the Emperor believed in a completely Christian way.

- In what area was he especially talented?
- He loved military affairs very much. He was in his midst in the army, among the officers. He believed that this was the most important matter for the Emperor. And he was not a martinet in any way.

- How competent a military man was he? Was he involved in making strategic important decisions?- In the First World War, before the Sovereign assumed supreme command in August 1915, a number of erroneous actions were committed. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, who was then the commander, threw the entire non-commissioned officer (sergeant) staff into the heat of the first days of the war. And thus he actually destroyed all the experienced people, veterans of previous campaigns. It is known that without non-commissioned officers the army does not exist. This was done not out of malice, but due to lack of competence. Together with other miscalculations, this led to the spring retreat of 1915, when Nikolai Nikolaevich fell into a hysterical state, crying in the presence of the Emperor.
Bearing in mind the value of Nikolai Nikolayevich’s pleas (in the fall of 1905, he begged Nicholas II to introduce constitutional freedoms - threatening otherwise to put a bullet in his forehead), the Tsar decided to take his place.
The sovereign did not consider himself a military genius, but nevertheless, having a military education, and realizing that the responsibility, in the end, lay with him, he took the supreme command into his own hands. There were no such mistakes with him. Under him, the Brusilov breakthrough of 1916 took place; an offensive operation was planned in the spring of 1917, which was prevented by the revolution.
The sovereign possessed significant personal courage, which is important for a military leader. In November 1914, after Turkey's unexpected entry into the war, he visited Sevastopol, which had suffered from the Turkish bombardment, and then went by ship to Batum, although he was warned that it was unsafe - the Turks dominated the sea. But the Emperor wanted to show that the Black Sea was ours - and this greatly encouraged the sailors. Then in the Caucasus he went to the front line, where he presented soldiers’ awards. I think such examples can still be given.

“Wouldn’t it be possible to avoid this war altogether?”

A demonstration on Palace Square in anticipation of Nicholas II's announcement of the manifesto on Russia's entry into the war. Photo July 20, 1914

The Emperor could not help but get involved in the war. He believed that, as Emperor of the Russian Orthodox Empire, he was obligated to take care of the Orthodox in the Balkans (and, indeed, he cared a lot). And then, in 1914, he could not help but help Serbia, which was incredibly humiliated by the ultimatum of the Austrian Empire. After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Bosnian Serb terrorists (who, by the way, was a potential friend of Russia and believed that it was impossible to fight with Russia), Austria demanded the introduction of its troops into Serbian territory to control the actions of the Serbian public and identify terrorists. This is what America is doing now...
Serbia could not accept such an ultimatum, and Russia could not help but support it. However, the assassination of the Archduke was planned by officers of the Serbian General Staff, who were influenced by French political circles who thirsted for revenge for humiliation in the Franco-Prussian War and sought to take back Alsace and Lorraine from Germany. They, of course, hoped that the Sovereign, their ally, as a man of duty, could not help but protect Serbia, Germany, an ally of Austria, would attack him, and then France would enter the war with a clear conscience. That's how it all happened.

- So he just fell into a trap?
- Yes, you can think so.

- In general, to what extent did the Emperor fall under random influence?
- You and I have already seen that quite often: Witte, Plehve, Stolypin. Only this was not accidental influence, but trust in people vested with full power. There was also the fatal trust in a simple Russian man, as Grigory Rasputin seemed to the Emperor.
The Emperor always believed that our people live strictly according to the commandments, having real faith. In his opinion, only the intelligentsia, who carried away the gullible people with them during the revolution of 1905, retreated from Christ (this point of view was supported by the Tsar and the conservative bureaucracy, which did not want change). And it so happened that it was during the revolution of 1905 that the Tsar met Rasputin. This acquaintance became a saving outlet for him: behold, a simple man had come from the people who would support him and help him rule Russia in harmony with the people. Then it turned out that Rasputin has miraculous abilities.
Rasputin, indeed, as a simple peasant, easily came to the palace to pray for the sick heir, bringing with him an icon of the holy righteous Simeon of Verkhoturye, a national saint. This saint once helped Rasputin himself to recover from a serious illness - insomnia and diuresis. Having been healed, Rasputin left his former sinful life and began to live in piety. Suddenly he began to heal people and show unusual abilities. However, once in St. Petersburg, Rasputin changed greatly. He could not resist the sinful temptation and fell low.
Rasputin did not have a spiritual leader, that is, he considered someone as such, but did not listen to him, but listened only to himself. Such a person is usually subject to the action of his passions and cannot overcome them. When Rasputin sinned, he discovered with horror that he did not want to, but was unable to control himself - he was sinning. If he had a confessor whom he obeyed, he would have come to him and repented. I would have received forgiveness and admonition, but this did not happen. And Rasputin then invented the theory according to which, if you don’t sin, you won’t repent. Only when you sin will you feel the sweetness of repentance. Clearly this is a delight.
The Emperor knew nothing about this. Information about this began to come from people who were opposed to the tsar, from among the same liberal intelligentsia who wanted to change power. The Emperor believed that these were inventions of the enemies of the throne. Therefore, even when spiritual people - including Elizaveta Feodorovna - began to tell him the truth about Rasputin, the Emperor did not believe them.
Rasputin's approach to the Tsar was facilitated by Bishop Feofan (Bistrov), then still an archimandrite. And when he saw how his people’s saint had changed (whom he himself had been passionate about at one time), he tried to persuade him to repent. But Rasputin did not listen to him, then Bishop Feofan denounced Gregory in front of other people. Rasputin stood his ground, not wanting to repent, and then Bishop Feofan told the Tsar everything, but the Tsar did not believe the bishop, believing that he had fallen under the influence of liberal circles. Feofan was exiled to Astrakhan, and then transferred to Poltava.

The death of sinners is fierce: the corpse of Rasputin and the act of burning him. The embalmed body of the murdered “elder” was brought from Tsarskoe Selo to Petrograd, where it was burned in the boiler room of the Polytechnic Institute on the night of March 11, 1917. The participants in this action drew up an act (signed by A. Lunacharsky), in which the very fact of the burning was recorded, but its location was indicated in a veiled form: “near the big road Lesnoy to Piskarevka in the forest.” This was done deliberately to prevent Rasputin’s admirers from turning the boiler room into a place of worship.

Rasputin is both a symbol of the Russian people of that time and a symbol of faith in the people on the part of the Tsar. After all, just like in Rasputin, the Emperor had unlimited faith in the Russian people. And this people lived for a long time practically without God, only formally remaining Orthodox. The catalyst for the process of de-churching was the First World War. People are accustomed to praying ritually: we give God our attention and prayer for a while, and in return He must give us prosperity and help in earthly affairs. And what happens is that we prayed to God during the war so that we could win as quickly as possible and go home, but the Lord, it turns out, did not help. Why, one might ask, did we pray? This means that we must decide our own destiny ourselves, without God.
Just at this time, at the beginning of 1917, a conspiracy against the Tsar began to be carried out by members of the Duma and some generals. At first, all relatives and military leaders renounced Nicholas II: all the commanders of the fronts and fleets (except for Admiral Kolchak) and all the Grand Dukes sent him telegrams to Headquarters that renunciation was necessary. Seeing the general betrayal of those on whom he primarily relied, in whom he saw the support and glory of Russia, the Tsar experienced a terrible shock and was forced to make the fatal decision to abdicate, writing in his diary: “there is treason and cowardice and deception all around.” Then the people also renounced. There was widespread rejoicing at the front, like at Easter - you will read this in any memoir. Meanwhile, the Week of Cross Worship of Great Lent was underway. That is, people were looking for earthly joy without the Cross.

Rejoicing at the front over the abdication of Nicholas II. Photo from early March 1917

It is known that when the Provisional Government came to power and abolished compulsory religious services at the front, only 10% of soldiers began to go to churches.

- So the renunciation was justified? Was there no other way out?
- Yes. Otherwise, the Civil War would have started. Seeing the general retreat, the Emperor considered it best to abdicate. In fact, you see, it was the people who renounced him. It is known that only two people sent news of their readiness to side with the Tsar - Khan of Nakhichevan, a Muslim, head of the Wild Division, and General Fyodor Arturovich Keller, a German by birth. These people felt more Russian than Russian people.
If the Tsar had said: “no, I do not renounce,” then this Wild Division would have gone against the Russian units. The Emperor did not want bloodshed. He believed that if there is a government that takes control of the country and undertakes to wage a war to a victorious end, then let it rule - for the sake of victory. The main goal then was to defeat the Germans. An offensive was planned for the spring of 1917, together with the allies. It was supposed to lead to the defeat of the Kaiser's Germany, but it did not take place because the February Revolution led to a breakdown in discipline and massacres of officers occurred. The army has ceased to be an army.

Can we say that despite all the good intentions, the government was a failure and resulted in disaster?
- Everything was leading up to this. The sovereign and his entourage, and most of the country, lived as if in two different worlds, different cities, according to the word of Blessed Augustine: the City of God and the city of the world. In the first, where the Sovereign was, there was love, joy, peace, hope in God, in the other - division, pride, unbelief. People did not understand the Liturgy at all, did not understand the meaning of Holy Communion, for them it was a heavy duty. They tried to partake of the Holy Mysteries as rarely as possible. By this, the entire teaching of Christ was distorted. Everyone pulled on themselves. Like the builders of the Tower of Babel, the Russian people lost agreement among themselves. The revolution was a natural result.

Watercolor sketches from life by Ivan Vladimirov vividly convey to us the atmosphere of the revolution and post-revolutionary times. Here are the rebel sailors and soldiers in the palace

The collapse was a foregone conclusion. But it was a saving collapse. The Lord, as it were, threw off the masks from all the participants in this drama, and it was revealed who is who in reality. And when the Tsar saw that everything around was not as he had imagined, that our people had long been no longer Orthodox, but a disintegrated, terrible people, he did not renounce his Russia (although she had renounced him), he did not go crazy , did not commit suicide, did not escape from prison when such an opportunity presented itself, but chose to be with his country to the end. It was evident how during all the last months of his imprisonment he, together with all his relatives, was preparing for martyrdom, strengthening himself by reading the holy fathers and prayer.
Father Alexander Schmemann in his “Diary” has wonderful words about Chekhov’s story “The Bishop.” Not yet old, but suffering from consumption, the bishop dies on Holy Saturday next to his old mother. And here are Schmemann's words:
“The mystery of Christianity: the beauty of defeat, liberation from success... “I hid this from the wise” (Matthew 11:25) ... Everything in this story is defeat, and it all glows with an inexplicable, mysterious victory: “Now is the Son of Man glorified...” (John. 13, 31). back 11 On the peasant question in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, there is a very thorough study by T. Shanin, “Revolution as the moment of truth. 1905-1907 - 1917-1922" (M.: "The Whole World", 1997).