Nikolai 2 Alexandrovich (May 6, 1868 - July 17, 1918) - the last Russian emperor, who ruled from 1894 to 1917, the eldest son of Alexander 3 and Maria Feodorovna, was an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In the Soviet historiographic tradition, he was given the epithet "Bloody". The life of Nicholas 2 and his reign are described in this article.
Briefly about the reign of Nicholas 2
During the years there was an active economic development of Russia. At the same time, the country lost to the sovereign in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which was one of the reasons for the revolutionary events of 1905-1907, in particular, the adoption of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, according to which the creation of various political parties was allowed, and also formed The State Duma. According to the same manifesto, agrarian activity began. In 1907, Russia became a member of the Entente and participated in the First World War as part of it. In August 1915, Nikolai 2 Romanov became the supreme commander in chief. On March 2, 1917, the sovereign abdicated. He and his entire family were shot. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized them in 2000.
Childhood, early years
When Nikolai Aleksandrovich was 8 years old, his home education began. The program included a general education course lasting eight years. And then - a course of higher sciences lasting five years. It was based on the program of the classical gymnasium. But instead of Greek and Latin, the future king mastered botany, mineralogy, anatomy, zoology and physiology. The courses of Russian literature, history and foreign languages were expanded. In addition, the higher education program provided for the study of law, political economy and military affairs (strategy, jurisprudence, the service of the General Staff, geography). Nicholas 2 was also engaged in fencing, vaulting, music, and drawing. Alexander 3 and his wife Maria Feodorovna themselves chose mentors and teachers for the future tsar. Among them were military and statesmen, scientists: N. Kh. Bunge, K. P. Pobedonostsev, N. N. Obruchev, M. I. Dragomirov, N. K. Girs, A. R. Drenteln.
Carier start
From childhood, the future emperor Nicholas 2 was interested in military affairs: he perfectly knew the traditions of the officer environment, the soldier did not shy away, realizing himself as their mentor-patron, he easily endured the inconveniences of army life during camp maneuvers and training camps.
Immediately after the birth of the future sovereign, he was enrolled in several guards regiments and made commander of the 65th Moscow Infantry Regiment. At the age of five, Nicholas 2 (dates of reign - 1894-1917) was appointed commander of the Life Guards of the Reserve Infantry Regiment, and a little later, in 1875, of the Erivan Regiment. The future sovereign received his first military rank (ensign) in December 1875, and in 1880 he was promoted to second lieutenant, and four years later - to lieutenant.
Nicholas 2 entered active military service in 1884, and starting from July 1887 he served in and reached the rank of captain. He became a captain in 1891, and a year later - a colonel.
Beginning of the reign
After a long illness, Alexander 1 died, and Nicholas 2 took over the reign in Moscow on the same day, at the age of 26, on October 20, 1894.
During his solemn official coronation on May 18, 1896, dramatic events took place on the Khodynka field. There were mass riots, thousands of people were killed and injured in a spontaneous stampede.
The Khodynka field was not previously intended for festivities, since it was a training base for the troops, and therefore it was not landscaped. There was a ravine right next to the field, and the field itself was covered with numerous pits. On the occasion of the celebration, the pits and the ravine were covered with boards and covered with sand, and along the perimeter they set up benches, booths, stalls for distributing free vodka and food. When people, attracted by rumors about the distribution of money and gifts, rushed to the buildings, the flooring that covered the pits collapsed, and people fell, not having time to stand up: a crowd was already running along them. The police, swept away by the wave, could not do anything. Only after reinforcements arrived did the crowd gradually disperse, leaving the bodies of mutilated and trampled people on the square.
The first years of the reign
In the first years of the reign of Nicholas 2, a general census of the country's population and a monetary reform were carried out. During the reign of this monarch, Russia became an agrarian-industrial state: railways were built, cities grew, industrial enterprises arose. The sovereign made decisions aimed at the social and economic modernization of Russia: the golden circulation of the ruble was introduced, several laws on workers' insurance, Stolypin's agrarian reform was carried out, laws on religious tolerance and universal primary education were adopted.
Main events
The years of the reign of Nicholas 2 were marked by a strong aggravation in the internal political life of Russia, as well as a difficult foreign policy situation (the events of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Revolution of 1905-1907 in our country, the First World War, and in 1917 - the February Revolution) .
The Russo-Japanese War, which began in 1904, although it did not cause much damage to the country, however, significantly shook the authority of the sovereign. After numerous failures and losses in 1905, the Battle of Tsushima ended in a crushing defeat for the Russian fleet.
Revolution 1905-1907
On January 9, 1905, the revolution began, this date is called Bloody Sunday. Government troops shot down a demonstration of workers, organized, as is commonly believed, by Georgy of the transit prison in St. Petersburg. As a result of the executions, more than a thousand demonstrators died, who participated in a peaceful procession to the Winter Palace in order to submit a petition to the sovereign about the needs of the workers.
After this uprising swept many other Russian cities. Armed performances were in the navy and in the army. So, on June 14, 1905, the sailors took possession of the battleship Potemkin, brought it to Odessa, where at that time there was a general strike. However, the sailors did not dare to land ashore to support the workers. "Potemkin" headed to Romania and surrendered to the authorities. Numerous speeches forced the king to sign the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, which granted citizens civil liberties.
Not being a reformer by nature, the king was forced to implement reforms that did not correspond to his convictions. He believed that in Russia the time had not yet come for freedom of speech, a constitution, and universal suffrage. However, Nicholas 2 (whose photo is presented in the article) was forced to sign the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, as an active public movement for political transformation began.
Establishment of the State Duma
The State Duma was established by the tsar's manifesto of 1906. In the history of Russia, for the first time, the emperor began to rule in the presence of a representative elected body from the population. That is, Russia is gradually becoming a constitutional monarchy. However, despite these changes, the emperor during the reign of Nicholas 2 still had enormous powers of authority: he issued laws in the form of decrees, appointed ministers and the prime minister accountable only to him, was the head of the court, the army and the patron of the Church, determined the foreign policy the course of our country.
The first revolution of 1905-1907 showed the deep crisis that existed at that time in the Russian state.
Personality of Nicholas 2
From the point of view of his contemporaries, his personality, main character traits, advantages and disadvantages were very ambiguous and sometimes caused conflicting assessments. According to many of them, Nicholas 2 was characterized by such an important feature as weak will. However, there is a lot of evidence that the sovereign stubbornly strove to implement his ideas and undertakings, sometimes reaching stubbornness (only once, when signing the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, he was forced to submit to someone else's will).
In contrast to his father, Alexander 3, Nicholas 2 (see his photo below) did not create the impression of a strong personality. However, according to people close to him, he had exceptional self-control, sometimes interpreted as indifference to the fate of people and the country (for example, with composure that struck the sovereign’s entourage, he met the news of the fall of Port Arthur and the defeat of the Russian army in World War I war).
Being engaged in public affairs, Tsar Nicholas 2 showed "extraordinary perseverance", as well as attentiveness and accuracy (for example, he never had a personal secretary, and he put all the seals on letters with his own hand). Although, in general, the management of a huge power was still a "heavy burden" for him. According to contemporaries, Tsar Nicholas 2 had a tenacious memory, observation, in communication he was a friendly, modest and sensitive person. Most of all, he valued his habits, peace, health, and especially the well-being of his own family.
Nicholas 2 and his family
The support of the sovereign was his family. Alexandra Fedorovna was not just a wife for him, but also an adviser, a friend. Their wedding took place on November 14, 1894. The interests, ideas and habits of the spouses often did not coincide, largely due to cultural differences, because the empress was a German princess. However, this did not interfere with family harmony. The couple had five children: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei.
The drama of the royal family was caused by the illness of Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia (blood incoagulability). It was this disease that caused the appearance in the royal house of Grigory Rasputin, who was famous for the gift of healing and foresight. He often helped Alexei cope with bouts of illness.
World War I
1914 was a turning point in the fate of Nicholas 2. It was at this time that the First World War began. The sovereign did not want this war, trying until the very last moment to avoid a bloody massacre. But on July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany nevertheless decided to start a war with Russia.
In August 1915, marked by a series of military setbacks, Nicholas 2, whose reign was already drawing to a close, assumed the role of commander in chief of the Russian army. Previously, it was assigned to Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich (the Younger). Since then, the sovereign only occasionally came to the capital, spending most of his time in Mogilev, at the headquarters of the Supreme Commander.
The First World War intensified Russia's internal problems. The king and his entourage began to be considered the main culprit for the defeats and the protracted campaign. There was an opinion that treason was "breeding" in the Russian government. The military command of the country, headed by the emperor, at the beginning of 1917 created a plan for a general offensive, according to which it was planned to end the confrontation by the summer of 1917.
Abdication of Nicholas 2
However, at the end of February of the same year, unrest began in Petrograd, which, due to the absence of strong opposition from the authorities, grew in a few days into mass political uprisings against the tsar's dynasty and government. At first, Nicholas 2 planned to use force to achieve order in the capital, but, realizing the true scale of the protests, he abandoned this plan, fearing even more bloodshed that it could cause. Some of the high-ranking officials, political figures and members of the sovereign's retinue convinced him that a change in government was necessary to suppress the unrest, the abdication of Nicholas 2 from the throne.
After painful reflections on March 2, 1917 in Pskov, during a trip on the imperial train, Nicholas 2 decided to sign an act of abdication from the throne, transferring the reign to his brother, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich. However, he refused to accept the crown. The abdication of Nicholas 2 thus meant the end of the dynasty.
Last months of life
Nicholas 2 and his family were arrested on March 9 of the same year. First, for five months they were in Tsarskoye Selo, under guard, and in August 1917 they were sent to Tobolsk. Then, in April 1918, the Bolsheviks moved Nicholas and his family to Yekaterinburg. Here, on the night of July 17, 1918, in the center of the city, in the basement in which the prisoners were imprisoned, Emperor Nicholas 2, his five children, his wife, as well as several close associates of the king, including the family doctor Botkin and servants, without any trial and the investigations were shot. In total, eleven people were killed.
In 2000, by decision of the Church, Nicholas 2 Romanov, as well as his entire family, were canonized, and an Orthodox church was erected on the site of the Ipatiev house.
The upbringing he received under the guidance of his father was strict, almost harsh. “I need normal healthy Russian children” - such a requirement was put forward by the emperor to the educators of his children. Such an upbringing could only be Orthodox in spirit. Even as a small child, the Tsarevich showed a special love for God, for His Church. The heir received a very good education at home - he knew several languages, studied Russian and world history, was deeply versed in military affairs, and was a widely erudite person. But the plans of the father to prepare his son for bearing the royal duty were not destined to be fully realized.
The first meeting of the sixteen-year-old heir Nicholas Alexandrovich and the young princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt took place in the year when her older sister, the future Reverend Martyr Elizabeth, married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the uncle of the Tsarevich. A strong friendship began between them, which later turned into a deep and ever-growing love. When in a year, having reached the age of majority, the heir turned to his parents with a request to bless him for marriage with Princess Alice, his father refused, citing his youth as the reason for the refusal. Then he resigned himself to his father's will, but in the year, seeing the unshakable determination of his son, usually gentle and even timid in communication with his father, Emperor Alexander III gave his blessing to the marriage.
The joy of mutual love was overshadowed by a sharp deterioration in the health of Emperor Alexander III, who died on October 20 of the year. Despite the mourning, it was decided not to postpone the marriage, but it took place in the most modest atmosphere on November 14 of the year. The days of family happiness that followed were soon replaced by the need for the new emperor to take on the entire burden of governing the Russian Empire, despite the fact that he had not yet been fully introduced to the course of higher state affairs.
Reign
The character of Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was twenty-six years old at the accession to the throne, and his worldview by this time were completely determined. The faces that stood close to the court marked his lively mind - he always quickly grasped the essence of the issues reported to him, an excellent memory, especially for faces, the nobility of his way of thinking. At the same time, Nikolai Alexandrovich, with his gentleness, tact in handling, and modest manners, gave the impression to many of a man who did not inherit the strong will of his father.
The guide for Emperor Nicholas II was the political testament of his father:
“I bequeath to you to love everything that serves the good, honor and dignity of Russia. Protect the autocracy, remembering, moreover, that you are responsible for the fate of your subjects before the Throne of the Most High. Faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the foundation of your life for you. Be firm and courageous, never show weakness. Listen to everyone, there is nothing shameful in this, but listen to yourself and your conscience ".
From the very beginning of his reign as a Russian power, Emperor Nicholas II treated the performance of the duties of the monarch as a sacred duty. The sovereign deeply believed that for the Russian people the royal power was and remains sacred. He always had the idea that the king and queen should be closer to the people, see them more often and trust them more. Having become the supreme ruler of a vast empire, Nikolai Alexandrovich took upon himself an enormous historical and moral responsibility for everything that happened in the state entrusted to him. One of his most important duties he considered the preservation of the Orthodox faith.
Emperor Nicholas II paid great attention to the needs of the Orthodox Church throughout his reign. Like all Russian emperors, he generously donated to the construction of new churches, including those outside Russia. During the years of his reign, the number of parish churches in the empire increased by more than 10 thousand, more than 250 new monasteries were opened. He himself participated in the laying of new churches and other church celebrations. The personal piety of the Sovereign was also manifested in the fact that during the years of his reign more saints were canonized than in the two previous centuries, when only 5 saints were glorified - during his reign, St. Seraphim of Sarov (city), Holy Princess Anna of Kashinskaya (restoration of veneration in the city), Saint Joasaph of Belgorod (city), Saint Hermogen of Moscow (city), Saint Pitirim of Tambov (city), Saint John of Tobolsk (city) . At the same time, the emperor was forced to show special perseverance, seeking the canonization of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov, Saints Joasaph of Belgorod and John of Tobolsk. Emperor Nicholas II highly revered the holy righteous father John of Kronstadt and after his blessed death ordered that his nationwide prayer commemoration be performed on the day of repose.
During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, the synodal system of governing the Church was preserved, but it was under him that the church hierarchy got the opportunity not only to widely discuss, but also to practically prepare the convocation of the Local Council.
The desire to introduce Christian religious and moral principles of one's worldview into public life has always distinguished the foreign policy of Emperor Nicholas II. Back in the year, he turned to the governments of Europe with a proposal to convene a conference to discuss issues of maintaining peace and reducing armaments. The consequence of this was the peace conferences in The Hague in 1997, whose decisions have not lost their significance to this day.
But, despite the sovereign's sincere desire for peace, during his reign Russia had to participate in two bloody wars that led to internal unrest. In the year without a declaration of war, Japan began hostilities against Russia, and the result of this difficult war for Russia was the revolutionary turmoil of the year. The sovereign perceived the unrest that took place in the country as a great personal grief.
In an informal setting, few spoke with the Sovereign. And everyone who knew his family life firsthand noted the amazing simplicity, mutual love and consent of all members of this closely knit family. The relationship of the children with the sovereign was touching - for them he was at the same time king, father and comrade; their feelings changed depending on the circumstances, passing from almost religious worship to complete gullibility and the most cordial friendship.
But the center of the family was Alexei Nikolaevich, on whom all affections and hopes were concentrated. His incurable illness darkened the life of the family, but the nature of the illness remained a state secret, and parents often had to hide their feelings. At the same time, the illness of the Tsarevich opened the doors to the palace for those people who were recommended to the royal family as healers and prayer books. Among them, the peasant Grigory Rasputin appears in the palace, whose healing abilities gave him great influence at court, which, together with the bad fame that spread about him, undermined the faith and loyalty of many to the imperial house.
At the beginning of the war, on the wave of patriotism in Russia, internal disagreements largely subsided, even the most difficult issues became solvable. It was possible to carry out the sovereign's long-conceived ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages for the entire duration of the war - his conviction in the usefulness of this measure was stronger than all economic considerations.
The sovereign regularly traveled to Headquarters, visiting various sectors of his huge army, dressing stations, military hospitals, rear factories - everything that played a role in waging a grandiose war.
From the beginning of the war, the emperor considered his tenure as supreme commander in chief as the fulfillment of a moral and state duty to God and the people. However, the Sovereign always gave the leading military experts a broad initiative in resolving all military-strategic and operational-tactical issues. On August 22, the sovereign left for Mogilev in order to take command of all the armed forces of Russia, and from that day on he was constantly at Headquarters. Only about once a month did the Emperor come to Tsarskoye Selo for a few days. All responsible decisions were made by him, but at the same time he instructed the empress to maintain relations with the ministers and keep him informed of what was happening in the capital.
Imprisonment and execution
“If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at the head of it ask me to leave the throne and pass it on to my son and brother, then I am ready to do this, I am ready not only to give my kingdom, but also to give my life for the Motherland. I think no one doubts this from those who know me..
“You need my renunciation. The bottom line is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace, you need to decide on this step. I agreed ... At one in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. Around treason and cowardice and deceit!
For the last time, he turned to his troops, calling on them to be loyal to the Provisional Government, the very one that arrested him, to fulfill their duty to the Motherland until complete victory. The farewell order to the troops, which expressed the nobility of the Sovereign's soul, his love for the army, faith in it, was hidden from the people by the Provisional Government, which banned its publication.
The sovereign accepted and endured all the trials sent down to him firmly, meekly and without a shadow of grumbling. On March 9, the emperor, who had been arrested the day before, was transported to Tsarskoe Selo, where the whole family was impatiently waiting for him. An almost five-month period of indefinite stay in Tsarskoye Selo began. The days passed measuredly - in regular worship, joint meals, walks, reading and communication with loved ones. However, at the same time, the life of the prisoners was subjected to petty embarrassments - the sovereign was announced by A.F. Kerenskythat he should live separately and see the empress only at the table, and speak only in Russian, guard soldiers made rude remarks to him, access to the palace persons close to the royal family were forbidden. Once, the soldiers even took away a toy gun from the heir under the pretext of a ban on carrying weapons. Father Afanasy Belyaev, who regularly performed divine services in the Alexander Palace during this period, left his testimonies about the spiritual life of the Tsarskoye Selo prisoners. Here is how the service of Good Friday Matins on March 30 took place in the palace:
“The service went on reverently and touchingly ... Their Majesties listened to the entire service while standing. Folding lecterns were placed in front of them, on which the Gospels lay, so that they could follow the reading. Everyone stood until the end of the service and left through the common hall to their rooms. One must see for oneself and be so close in order to understand and make sure how the former royal family zealously, in the Orthodox way, often on their knees, prays to God. With what humility, meekness, humility, completely surrendering themselves to the will of God, they stand behind the divine service!.
In the palace Church or in the former royal chambers, Father Athanasius regularly served the All-Night and Divine Liturgy, which were always attended by all members of the imperial family. After the day of the Holy Trinity, disturbing messages appear more and more often in the diary of Father Athanasius - he notes the growing irritation of the guards, sometimes reaching rudeness towards the royal family. The state of mind of the members of the royal family does not remain without his attention - yes, they all suffered, he notes, but along with suffering, their patience and prayer increased.
Meanwhile, the Provisional Government appointed a commission to investigate the activities of the emperor, but, despite all efforts, they could not find at least something discrediting the king. However, instead of releasing the royal family, it was decided to remove them from Tsarskoye Selo - on the night of August 1, they were sent to Tobolsk, allegedly due to possible unrest, and arrived there on August 6. The first weeks of his stay in Tobolsk were perhaps the calmest for the entire period of imprisonment. On September 8, the feast day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the prisoners were allowed to go to church for the first time. Subsequently, this consolation very rarely fell to their lot.
“He made this decision [on renunciation] only in the hope that those who wanted his removal would still be able to continue the war with honor and not ruin the cause of saving Russia. He was then afraid that his refusal to sign the renunciation would lead to civil war in the sight of the enemy. The tsar did not want even a drop of Russian blood to be shed because of him ... It was painful for the emperor now to see the futility of his sacrifice and to realize that, having in mind then only the good of the motherland, he harmed her by his renunciation ".
Meanwhile, the Bolsheviks had already come to power in Petrograd - a period had come, about which the Sovereign wrote in his diary: "much worse and more shameful than the events of the Time of Troubles." The soldiers guarding the governor's house took a liking to the royal family, and several months passed after the Bolshevik coup before the change of power began to affect the situation of the prisoners. In Tobolsk, a “soldier’s committee” was formed, which, striving in every possible way for self-affirmation, demonstrated its power over the Sovereign - either they forced him to remove his shoulder straps, or they destroyed the ice hill arranged for the royal children, and from March 1 of the year, “Nikolai Romanov and his family are transferred to soldier's pack." The letters and diaries of members of the imperial family testify to the deep experience of the tragedy that unfolded before their eyes. But this tragedy did not deprive the royal prisoners of strength of mind, firm faith and hope for God's help. Consolation and meekness in enduring sorrows were provided by prayer, the reading of spiritual books, divine services and Communion. In sufferings and trials, spiritual knowledge, knowledge of oneself, of one's soul, multiplied. Striving for eternal life helped endure suffering and gave great consolation:
“... Everything that I love suffers, there is no count of all the dirt and suffering, and the Lord does not allow despondency: He protects from despair, gives strength, confidence in a bright future still in this world”.
In March, it became known that a separate peace was concluded with Germany in Brest, about which the sovereign wrote that this was "tantamount to suicide." The first Bolshevik detachment arrived in Tobolsk on Tuesday 22 April. Commissar Yakovlev examined the house, got acquainted with the prisoners, and a few days later announced that he had to take the Sovereign away, assuring him that nothing bad would happen to him. Assuming that they want to send him to Moscow to sign a separate peace with Germany, the sovereign said firmly: "I'd rather let my hand be cut off than sign this shameful treaty." The heir at that time was ill, and it was impossible to take him, but the Empress and Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna followed the emperor and were transported to Yekaterinburg, for imprisonment in the Ipatiev house. When the health of the Heir recovered, the rest of the family from Tobolsk were imprisoned in the same house, but most of those close to them were not allowed.
Much less evidence remains about the Yekaterinburg period of imprisonment of the Imperial Family - there are almost no letters, basically this period is known only from brief entries in the diary of the emperor and the testimony of witnesses. Especially valuable is the testimony of Archpriest John Storozhev, who performed the last divine services in the Ipatiev House. Father John served there twice on Sundays at Mass; for the first time it was on May 20 (June 2), when, according to his testimony, members of the royal family "Prayed very earnestly ...". Living conditions in the "special purpose house" were much more difficult than in Tobolsk. The guard consisted of 12 soldiers who lived in close proximity to the prisoners, ate with them at the same table. Commissar Avdeev, an inveterate drunkard, daily contrived, together with his subordinates, to invent new humiliations for the prisoners. I had to put up with hardships, endure bullying and obey the demands of rude people, including former criminals. The royal couple and princesses had to sleep on the floor, without beds. At dinner, a family of seven was given only five spoons; The guards sitting at the same table smoked, brazenly exhaling smoke in the faces of the prisoners, and rudely took away their food. A walk in the garden was allowed once a day, at first for 15-20 minutes, and then no more than five. The behavior of the guards was completely obscene.
Only doctor Yevgeny Botkin remained next to the royal family, who surrounded the prisoners with care and acted as an intermediary between them and the commissars, trying to protect them from the rudeness of the guards, and several tried and true servants.
The faith of the prisoners supported their courage, gave them strength and patience in suffering. All of them understood the possibility of a speedy end and expected it with nobility and clarity of spirit. In one of Olga Nikolaevna's letters there are the following lines:
“The father asks to convey to all those who remained devoted to him, and to those on whom they can have influence, so 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 overcome evil, but only love..
Most of the testimonies speak of the prisoners of the Ipatiev House as suffering people, but deeply believing, undoubtedly submissive to the will of God. Despite bullying and insults, they led a decent family life in the Ipatiev house, trying to brighten up the oppressive atmosphere with mutual communication, prayer, reading and feasible activities. One of the witnesses to their life in captivity, the educator of the heir, Pierre Gilliard, wrote:
“The Sovereign and Empress believed that they were dying martyrs for their homeland ... Their true greatness did not stem from their royal dignity, but from that amazing moral height to which they gradually rose ... And in their very humiliation they were an amazing manifestation of that amazing clarity of the soul, against which all violence and all rage are powerless, and which triumphs in death itself..
Even the rude guards gradually softened in dealing with the prisoners. They were surprised by their simplicity, they were subdued by the full dignity of spiritual clarity, and they soon felt the superiority of those whom they thought to keep in their power. Even Commissar Avdeev relented. Such a change did not escape the eyes of the Bolshevik authorities. Avdeev was replaced by Yurovsky, the guards were replaced by Austro-German prisoners and selected people from among the executioners of the "emergency". The life of its inhabitants turned into a continuous martyrdom. On July 1 (14), Father John Storozhev performed the last divine service in the Ipatiev House. Meanwhile, in the strictest confidence from the prisoners, preparations were made for their execution.
Together with the imperial family, their servants, who followed their masters into exile, were also shot: Dr.
Nicholas II Alexandrovich. Born on May 6 (18), 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo - shot on July 17, 1918 in Yekaterinburg. Emperor of All Russia, Tsar of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He reigned from October 20 (November 1), 1894 to March 2 (15), 1917. From the Imperial House of the Romanovs.
Full title of Nicholas II as Emperor: “By the grace of God, Nicholas II, emperor and autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod; Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Chersonese Tauride, Tsar of Georgia; the Sovereign of Pskov and the Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuanian, Volyn, Podolsky and Finland; Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalsky, Samogitsky, Belostoksky, Korelsky, Tversky, Yugorsky, Permsky, Vyatsky, Bulgarian and others; Sovereign and Grand Duke of Novgorod of the Nizovsky lands, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav and all Northern countries ruler; and sovereign of Iver, Kartalinsky and Kabardian lands and regions of Armenia; Cherkasy and Mountain princes and other hereditary sovereign and owner, the sovereign of Turkestan; heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarsen and Oldenburg and others, and others, and others.
Nicholas II Alexandrovich was born on May 6 (18th according to the old style) May 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo.
The eldest son of the Emperor and Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Immediately after his birth, on May 6 (18), 1868, he was named Nikolai. This is a traditional Romanov name. According to one version, it was “the name of the uncle” - a custom known from the Rurikovich: it was named in memory of the father’s elder brother and mother’s fiancé, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843-1865), who died young.
Two great-great-grandfathers of Nicholas II were siblings: Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel and Karl of Hesse-Kassel, and two great-great-grandmothers were cousins: Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt and Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt.
The baptism of Nikolai Alexandrovich was performed by the confessor of the imperial family, Protopresbyter Vasily Bazhanov, in the Resurrection Church of the Grand Tsarskoye Selo Palace on May 20 of the same year. The godparents were: Queen Louise of Denmark, Crown Prince Friedrich of Denmark, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna.
From birth, he was titled His Imperial Highness (sovereign), Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich. After the death as a result of a terrorist attack committed by populists, on March 1, 1881, his grandfather, Emperor Alexander II, received the title of heir to the Tsarevich.
In early childhood, the Englishman Karl Osipovich His (Charles Heath, 1826-1900), who lived in Russia, was the teacher of Nikolai and his brothers. General G. G. Danilovich was appointed his official educator as an heir in 1877.
Nikolai was educated at home as part of a large gymnasium course.
In 1885-1890 - according to a specially written program that connected the course of the state and economic departments of the law faculty of the university with the course of the Academy of the General Staff.
The training sessions were conducted for 13 years: the first eight years were devoted to the subjects of the extended gymnasium course, where special attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, English, German and French (Nikolai Alexandrovich spoke English as his native language). The next five years were devoted to the study of military affairs, legal and economic sciences, necessary for a statesman. Lectures were given by world-famous scientists: N. N. Beketov, N. N. Obruchev, Ts. A. Cui, M. I. Dragomirov, N. Kh. Bunge, and others. All of them were just lecturing. They had no right to ask questions to check how the material was learned. Protopresbyter John Yanyshev taught the crown prince canon law in connection with the history of the church, the main departments of theology and the history of religion.
On May 6 (18), 1884, upon reaching the age of majority (for the heir), he took the oath in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, which was announced by the highest manifesto.
The first act published on his behalf was a rescript addressed to the Moscow governor-general V. A. Dolgorukov: 15 thousand rubles for distribution, at the discretion of that, “between the residents of Moscow who most need help.”
For the first two years, Nikolai served as a junior officer in the ranks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. For two summer seasons, he served in the ranks of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment as a squadron commander, and then camp duty in the ranks of the artillery.
On August 6 (18), 1892 he was promoted to colonel. At the same time, his father introduces him to the affairs of the country, inviting him to participate in meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers. At the suggestion of the Minister of Railways S. Yu. Witte, in 1892 Nikolai was appointed chairman of the committee for the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in order to gain experience in public affairs. By the age of 23, the Heir was a man who received extensive information in various fields of knowledge.
The education program included trips to various provinces of Russia, which he made with his father. To complete his education, his father placed at his disposal the cruiser "Memory of Azov" as part of a squadron to travel to the Far East.
For nine months, he visited Austria-Hungary, Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan with his retinue, and later returned by land from Vladivostok through all of Siberia to the capital of Russia. During the trip, Nikolai kept a personal diary. In Japan, an assassination attempt was made on Nikolai (the so-called Otsu Incident) - a shirt with blood stains is kept in the Hermitage.
Growth of Nicholas II: 170 centimeters.
Personal life of Nicholas II:
The first woman of Nicholas II was a famous ballerina. They were in an intimate relationship during the period 1892-1894.
Their first meeting took place on March 23, 1890 during the final exam. Their romance developed with the approval of members of the royal family, starting from Emperor Alexander III, who organized this acquaintance, and ending with Empress Maria Feodorovna, who wanted her son to become a man. Matilda called the young Tsarevich Nika.
Their relationship ended after Nicholas II's engagement to Alice of Hesse in April 1894. By her own admission, Kshesinskaya, she had a hard time with this gap.
Matilda Kshesinskaya
The first meeting of Tsarevich Nicholas with his future wife took place in January 1889 during the second visit of Princess Alice to Russia. Then there was a mutual attraction. In the same year, Nikolai asked his father for permission to marry her, but was refused.
In August 1890, during Alice's 3rd visit, Nikolai's parents did not allow him to meet her. A letter in the same year to the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna from the English Queen Victoria, in which the grandmother of a potential bride probed the prospects for a marriage, also had a negative result.
However, due to the deteriorating health of Alexander III and the perseverance of the Tsarevich, he was allowed by his father to make an official proposal to Princess Alice and on April 2 (14), 1894, Nicholas, accompanied by his uncles, went to Coburg, where he arrived on April 4. Queen Victoria and German Emperor Wilhelm II also came here.
On April 5, the Tsarevich proposed to Princess Alice, but she hesitated due to the issue of changing her religion. However, three days after the family council with relatives (Queen Victoria, sister Elizabeth Feodorovna), the princess gave her consent to marriage and on April 8 (20), 1894 in Coburg at the wedding of the Duke of Hesse Ernst-Ludwig (Alice's brother) and Princess Victoria-Melita of Edinburgh (daughter of Duke Alfred and Maria Alexandrovna), their engagement took place, announced in Russia by a simple newspaper notice.
In his diary, Nikolai called this day "Wonderful and unforgettable in my life".
On November 14 (26), 1894, in the palace church of the Winter Palace, the marriage of Nicholas II with the German princess Alice of Hesse took place, who took the name after chrismation (performed on October 21 (November 2), 1894 in Livadia). The newlyweds initially settled in the Anichkov Palace next to Empress Maria Feodorovna, but in the spring of 1895 they moved to Tsarskoe Selo, and in the fall to the Winter Palace in their chambers.
In July-September 1896, after the coronation, Nikolai and Alexandra Feodorovna made a big European tour as a royal couple and visited the Austrian emperor, the German Kaiser, the Danish king and the British queen. The trip ended with a visit to Paris and a rest in the homeland of the Empress in Darmstadt.
In subsequent years, the royal couple had four daughters:
Olga(November 3 (15), 1895;
Tatiana(May 29 (June 10), 1897);
Maria(14 (26) June 1899);
Anastasia(5 (18) June 1901).
The Grand Duchesses used the abbreviation to refer to themselves in diaries and correspondence. "OTMA", compiled by the first letters of their names, following in the order of birth: Olga - Tatyana - Maria - Anastasia.
On July 30 (August 12), 1904, the fifth child appeared in Peterhof and The only son- Tsarevich Alexey Nikolaevich.
All correspondence between Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II (in English) has been preserved, only one letter from Alexandra Feodorovna has been lost, all her letters are numbered by the Empress herself; published in Berlin in 1922.
At the age of 9 he began to keep a diary. The archive contains 50 voluminous notebooks - the original diary for 1882-1918, some of them have been published.
Contrary to the assurances of Soviet historiography, the tsar was not among the richest people in the Russian Empire.
Most of the time, Nicholas II lived with his family in the Alexander Palace (Tsarskoye Selo) or Peterhof. In the summer, he rested in the Crimea in the Livadia Palace. For recreation, he also annually made two-week trips around the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea on the Shtandart yacht.
He read both light entertainment literature and serious scientific works, often on historical topics - Russian and foreign newspapers and magazines.
Smoked cigarettes.
He was fond of photography, he also liked to watch movies, and all his children also took pictures.
In the 1900s, he became interested in a then new type of transport - cars. He formed one of the most extensive car parks in Europe.
In 1913, the official government press organ wrote in an essay on the domestic and family side of the emperor's life: “The sovereign does not like the so-called secular pleasures. His favorite entertainment is the hereditary passion of the Russian Tsars - hunting. It is arranged both in the permanent places of the Tsar's stay, and in special places adapted for this - in Spala, near Skiernevitsy, in Belovezhye.
He had a habit of shooting crows, homeless cats and dogs on walks.
Nicholas II. Documentary
Coronation and accession to the throne of Nicholas II
A few days after the death of Alexander III (October 20 (November 1), 1894) and his accession to the throne (the highest manifesto was published on October 21), on November 14 (26), 1894 in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, he married Alexandra Feodorovna. The honeymoon passed in the atmosphere of requiems and mourning visits.
One of the first personnel decisions of Emperor Nicholas II was the dismissal in December 1894 of the conflicting I. V. Gurko from the post of Governor-General of the Kingdom of Poland and the appointment in February 1895 to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky - after the death of N. K. Gears.
As a result of the exchange of notes dated March 27 (April 8), 1895, "the delimitation of the spheres of influence of Russia and Great Britain in the Pamirs region, to the east of Lake Zor-Kul (Victoria)", along the Pyanj River, was established. The Pamir volost became part of the Osh district of the Fergana region, the Wakhan ridge on Russian maps received the designation of the ridge of Emperor Nicholas II.
The first major international act of the emperor was the Triple Intervention - simultaneous (11 (23) April 1895), at the initiative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the presentation (together with Germany and France) of demands for Japan to revise the terms of the Shimonoseki peace treaty with China, renouncing claims to the Liaodong Peninsula .
The first public speech of the emperor in St. Petersburg was his speech delivered on January 17 (29), 1895 in the Nicholas Hall of the Winter Palace in front of deputations of the nobility, zemstvos and cities who arrived "to express loyal feelings to Their Majesties and bring congratulations on their marriage." The delivered text of the speech (the speech was written in advance, but the emperor only delivered it from time to time looking at the paper) read: “I know that recently in some zemstvo meetings the voices of people who were carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvos in matters of internal administration have been heard. Let everyone know that I, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, will protect the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable, late parent guarded it..
The coronation of the emperor and his wife took place on May 14 (26), 1896. The celebration resulted in mass casualties on the Khodynka field, the incident is known as Khodynka.
The Khodynka disaster, also known as a mass crush, occurred in the early morning of May 18 (30), 1896 on the Khodynka field (north-western part of Moscow, the beginning of modern Leningradsky Prospekt) on the outskirts of Moscow during the celebrations on the occasion of the coronation on May 14 (26) of Emperor Nicholas II . It killed 1,379 people and crippled more than 900. Most of the corpses (except those identified immediately on the spot and given out for burial in their parishes) were collected at the Vagankovsky cemetery, where they were identified and buried. In 1896, at the Vagankovsky cemetery on a mass grave, a monument was erected to the victims of the stampede on the Khodynka field, designed by architect I. A. Ivanov-Shitz, with the date of the tragedy engraved on it: “May 18, 1896”.
In April 1896, the Russian government formally recognized the Bulgarian government of Prince Ferdinand. In 1896, Nicholas II also made a big trip to Europe, meeting with Franz Joseph, Wilhelm II, Queen Victoria (grandmother of Alexandra Feodorovna), the trip ended with his arrival in the capital of allied France, Paris.
By the time of his arrival in Great Britain in September 1896, there was a sharp aggravation of relations between Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire, associated with the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and the simultaneous rapprochement between St. Petersburg and Constantinople.
Visiting Queen Victoria in Balmoral, Nicholas, agreeing to the joint development of a reform project in the Ottoman Empire, rejected the proposals made to him by the British government to remove Sultan Abdul-Hamid, keep Egypt for England, and in return receive some concessions on the issue of the Straits.
Arriving in Paris in early October of the same year, Nicholas approved joint instructions to the ambassadors of Russia and France in Constantinople (which the Russian government had categorically refused until that time), approved the French proposals on the Egyptian question (which included "guarantees of the neutralization of the Suez Canal" - the goal, which was previously outlined for Russian diplomacy by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Lobanov-Rostovsky, who died on August 30 (September 11), 1896).
The Paris agreements of the tsar, who was accompanied on the trip by N. P. Shishkin, provoked sharp objections from Sergei Witte, Lamzdorf, Ambassador Nelidov and others. Nevertheless, by the end of the same year, Russian diplomacy returned to its former course: strengthening the alliance with France, pragmatic cooperation with Germany on certain issues, freezing the Eastern Question (that is, supporting the Sultan and opposition to England's plans in Egypt).
From the plan approved at the meeting of ministers on December 5 (17), 1896, under the chairmanship of the tsar, it was decided to abandon the plan for the landing of Russian troops on the Bosphorus (under a certain scenario). In March 1897, Russian troops took part in the international peacekeeping operation in Crete after the Greco-Turkish war.
During 1897, 3 heads of state arrived in St. Petersburg to pay a visit to the Russian emperor: Franz Joseph, Wilhelm II, French President Felix Faure. During the visit of Franz Josef, an agreement was concluded between Russia and Austria for 10 years.
The Manifesto of February 3 (15), 1899 on the order of legislation in the Grand Duchy of Finland was perceived by the population of the Grand Duchy as an infringement on its autonomy rights and caused mass discontent and protests.
The manifesto of June 28 (July 10), 1899 (published on June 30) announced the death of the same June 28 "heir to the Tsarevich and Grand Duke George Alexandrovich" (the oath to the latter, as heir to the throne, was previously taken along with the oath to Nicholas) and read further: “From now on, until the Lord is pleased to bless us with the birth of a son, the next right of succession to the All-Russian throne, on the exact basis of the main State Law on Succession to the Throne, belongs to our most kind brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.”
The absence in the manifesto of the words “heir to the Tsarevich” in the title of Mikhail Alexandrovich aroused bewilderment in court circles, which prompted the emperor to issue a personal imperial decree on July 7 of the same year, which commanded to call the latter “sovereign heir and grand duke”.
According to the first general census conducted in January 1897, the population of the Russian Empire was 125 million people. Of these, for 84 million native was the Russian language, literate among the population of Russia was 21%, among people aged 10-19 years - 34%.
In January of the same year, monetary reform, which established the gold standard for the ruble. Switching to the golden ruble, among other things, was the devaluation of the national currency: on the imperials of the previous weight and standard, “15 rubles” was now indicated - instead of 10; nevertheless, the stabilization of the ruble at the rate of "two-thirds", contrary to forecasts, was successful and without shocks.
Much attention was paid to the labor issue. On June 2 (14), 1897, a law was issued on the limitation of working hours, which established the maximum working day limit of no more than 11.5 hours on ordinary days, and 10 hours on Saturday and pre-holiday days, or if at least part of the working day fell on a night time.
In factories with more than 100 workers, free medical care was introduced, covering 70 percent of the total number of factory workers (1898). In June 1903, the Rules on the Remuneration of Victims of Industrial Accidents were approved, obliging the entrepreneur to pay benefits and pensions to the victim or his family in the amount of 50-66% of the victim's maintenance.
In 1906, workers' trade unions were created in the country. The law of June 23 (July 6), 1912 introduced compulsory insurance of workers against illness and accidents in Russia.
A special tax on landowners of Polish origin in the Western Territory, introduced as a punishment for the Polish uprising of 1863, was abolished. Decree of 12 (25) June 1900 abolished exile to Siberia as a punishment.
The reign of Nicholas II was a period of economic growth: in 1885-1913, the growth rate of agricultural production averaged 2%, and the growth rate of industrial production was 4.5-5% per year. Coal mining in the Donbass increased from 4.8 million tons in 1894 to 24 million tons in 1913. Coal mining began in the Kuznetsk coal basin. Oil production developed in the vicinity of Baku, Grozny and on Emba.
The construction of railways continued, the total length of which, which was 44 thousand km in 1898, by 1913 exceeded 70 thousand km. In terms of the total length of railways, Russia surpassed any other European country and was second only to the United States, however, in terms of the provision of railways per capita, it was inferior to both the United States and the largest European countries.
Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
Back in 1895, the emperor foresaw the possibility of a clash with Japan for dominance in the Far East, and therefore prepared for this fight - both diplomatically and militarily. From the resolution of the tsar on April 2 (14), 1895, in the report of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, his desire for the further expansion of Russia in the South-East (Korea) was clear.
On May 22 (June 3), 1896, a Russian-Chinese treaty on a military alliance against Japan was concluded in Moscow; China agreed to the construction of a railway through Northern Manchuria to Vladivostok, the construction and operation of which was provided to the Russian-Chinese Bank.
On September 8 (20), 1896, a concession agreement was signed between the Chinese government and the Russian-Chinese Bank for the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER).
On March 15 (27), 1898, Russia and China in Beijing signed the Russo-Chinese Convention of 1898, according to which the ports of Port Arthur (Lyushun) and Dalny (Dalian) with adjacent territories and water space were leased to Russia for 25 years; in addition, the Chinese government agreed to extend the concession granted by it to the CER Society for the construction of a railway line (South Manchurian Railway) from one of the CER points to Dalniy and Port Arthur.
On August 12 (24), 1898, according to the order of Nicholas II, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count M. N. Muravyov, handed over to all representatives of foreign powers staying in St. Petersburg a government message (circular note), which read among other things: “To put an end to continuous armaments and to find means to avert the misfortunes that threaten the whole world - such is now the highest duty for all States. Filled with this feeling, the Sovereign Emperor ordered me to deign to address the Governments of the states, whose representatives are accredited to the Highest Court, with a proposal to convene a conference in the form of discussing this important task..
In 1899 and 1907, the Hague Peace Conferences were held, some decisions of which are still valid today (in particular, the Permanent Court of Arbitration was created in The Hague). For the initiative to convene the Hague Peace Conference and contribution to its holding, Nicholas II and the famous Russian diplomat Fedor Fedorovich Martens were nominated in 1901 for the Nobel Peace Prize. In the UN Secretariat to this day there is a bust of Nicholas II and his Appeal to the powers of the world on the convening of the first Hague Conference is placed.
In 1900, Nicholas II sent Russian troops to suppress the Ihetuan uprising together with the troops of other European powers, Japan and the United States.
The lease of the Liaodong Peninsula by Russia, the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the establishment of a naval base in Port Arthur, the growing influence of Russia in Manchuria clashed with the aspirations of Japan, which also laid claim to Manchuria.
On January 24 (February 6), 1904, the Japanese ambassador presented the Russian Foreign Minister V. N. Lamzdorf with a note announcing the termination of negotiations, which Japan considered "useless", and the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. Japan withdrew its diplomatic mission from St. Petersburg and reserved the right to resort to "independent actions" to protect its interests, as it deemed necessary. On the evening of January 26 (February 8), 1904, the Japanese fleet attacked the Port Arthur squadron without declaring war. The highest manifesto, given by Nicholas II on January 27 (February 9), 1904, declared war on Japan.
The border battle on the Yalu River was followed by battles near Liaoyang, on the Shahe River and near Sandepa. After a major battle in February - March 1905, the Russian army left Mukden.
After the fall of the fortress of Port Arthur, few people believed in a favorable outcome of the military campaign. The patriotic upsurge was replaced by irritation and despondency. This situation contributed to the intensification of anti-government agitation and critical sentiment. The emperor for a long time did not agree to admit the failure of the campaign, believing that these were only temporary setbacks. He certainly wanted peace, only the honorable peace that a strong military position could provide.
By the end of the spring of 1905, it became obvious that the possibility of changing the military situation existed only in the distant future.
The outcome of the war was decided by the sea battle of Tsushima May 14-15 (28), 1905, which ended with the almost complete destruction of the Russian fleet.
On May 23 (June 5), 1905, the emperor received, through the US ambassador in St. Petersburg, Meyer, President T. Roosevelt's proposal for mediation to conclude peace. The answer was not long in coming. On May 30 (June 12), 1905, Foreign Minister V. N. Lamzdorf informed Washington by official telegram of the acceptance of T. Roosevelt's mediation.
The Russian delegation was headed by S.Yu. Witte, the authorized representative of the tsar, and in the United States he was joined by the Russian ambassador to the United States, Baron R.R. Rosen. The difficult situation of the Russian government after the Russo-Japanese War prompted German diplomacy to make another attempt in July 1905 to tear Russia away from France and conclude a Russian-German alliance: Wilhelm II invited Nicholas II to meet in July 1905 in the Finnish skerries, near the island of Björke. Nikolai agreed, and at the meeting he signed the agreement, returning to St. Petersburg, he refused it, since on August 23 (September 5), 1905, a peace treaty was signed in Portsmouth by Russian representatives S. Yu. Witte and R. R. Rosen. Under the terms of the latter, Russia recognized Korea as a sphere of influence of Japan, ceded to Japan South Sakhalin and the rights to the Liaodong Peninsula with the cities of Port Arthur and Dalniy.
The American researcher of the era T. Dennett in 1925 stated: “Few people now believe that Japan was deprived of the fruits of the upcoming victories. The opposite opinion prevails. Many believe that Japan was already exhausted by the end of May, and that only the conclusion of peace saved her from collapse or complete defeat in a clash with Russia.. Japan spent about 2 billion yen on the war, and its public debt increased from 600 million yen to 2.4 billion yen. In interest alone, the Japanese government had to pay 110 million yen annually. The four foreign loans received for the war were a heavy burden on the Japanese budget. In the middle of the year, Japan was forced to take out a new loan. Realizing that the continuation of the war due to lack of funding becomes impossible, the Japanese government, under the guise of the "personal opinion" of Minister of War Terauti, through the American ambassador, already in March 1905 brought to the attention of T. Roosevelt the desire to end the war. The calculation was made on the mediation of the United States, which eventually happened.
The defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (the first in half a century) and the subsequent suppression of the unrest of 1905-1907, which was subsequently aggravated by the appearance of rumors about influences, led to a fall in the authority of the emperor in the ruling and intellectual circles.
Bloody Sunday and the first Russian revolution 1905-1907
With the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, Nicholas II made some concessions to liberal circles: after the assassination of the Minister of Internal Affairs V.K.
On December 12 (25), 1904, the highest decree was given to the Senate "On the plans for the improvement of the state order", promising the expansion of the rights of zemstvos, insurance of workers, the emancipation of foreigners and non-believers, and the elimination of censorship. When discussing the text of the Decree of December 12 (25), 1904, he, however, privately said to Count Witte (according to the latter’s memoirs): “I will never, in any case, agree to a representative form of government, because I consider it harmful to the person entrusted to me. God of the people."
January 6 (19), 1905 (on the feast of Epiphany), during the blessing of water on the Jordan (on the ice of the Neva), in front of the Winter Palace, in the presence of the emperor and members of his family, at the very beginning of the singing of the troparion, a shot rang out from a gun, in which accidentally (according to the official version) there was a charge of buckshot left after the exercises on January 4th. Most of the bullets hit the ice next to the royal pavilion and into the facade of the palace, in 4 windows of which glass was broken. In connection with the incident, the editor of the synodal publication wrote that “it is impossible not to see something special” in the fact that only one policeman named “Romanov” was mortally wounded and the flagpole of the “nursery of our ill-fated fleet” was shot through - the banner of the naval corps.
On January 9 (22), 1905, in St. Petersburg, at the initiative of priest Georgy Gapon, a procession of workers to the Winter Palace took place. On January 6-8, the priest Gapon and a group of workers drew up a petition for workers' needs in the name of the emperor, which, along with economic ones, contained a number of political demands.
The main demand of the petition was the elimination of the power of officials and the introduction of popular representation in the form of a Constituent Assembly. When the government became aware of the political content of the petition, it was decided not to allow the workers to the Winter Palace, but, if necessary, to detain them by force. On the evening of January 8, Minister of the Interior P. D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky informed the emperor of the measures taken. Contrary to popular belief, Nicholas II did not give the order to fire, but only approved the measures proposed by the head of government.
On January 9 (22), 1905, columns of workers headed by the priest Gapon moved from different parts of the city to the Winter Palace. Electrified by fanatical propaganda, the workers stubbornly strove for the city center, despite warnings and even attacks by cavalry. To prevent the accumulation of a crowd of 150,000 in the center of the city, the troops were forced to fire rifle volleys at the columns.
According to official government data, on January 9 (22), 1905, 130 people were killed and 299 wounded. According to the calculations of the Soviet historian V.I. Nevsky, up to 200 people were killed, and up to 800 people were wounded. On the evening of January 9 (22), 1905, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: "Hard day! Serious riots took place in St. Petersburg due to the desire of the workers to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different parts of the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and hard!”.
The events of January 9 (22), 1905 became a turning point in Russian history and marked the beginning of the First Russian Revolution. The liberal and revolutionary opposition placed all the blame for the events on Emperor Nicholas.
The priest Gapon, who had fled from police persecution, wrote an appeal on the evening of January 9 (22), 1905, in which he called on the workers to an armed uprising and the overthrow of the dynasty.
On February 4 (17), 1905, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, who professed extreme right-wing political views and had a certain influence on his nephew, was killed by a terrorist bomb in the Moscow Kremlin.
On April 17 (30), 1905, a decree “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance” was issued, which abolished a number of religious restrictions, in particular with regard to “schismatics” (Old Believers).
Strikes continued in the country, unrest began on the outskirts of the empire: in Courland, the Forest Brothers began to massacre local German landowners, and the Armenian-Tatar massacre began in the Caucasus.
Revolutionaries and separatists received support in money and weapons from England and Japan. So, in the summer of 1905, the English steamer John Grafton, which had run aground, carrying several thousand rifles for Finnish separatists and revolutionary militants, was detained in the Baltic Sea. There were several uprisings in the fleet and in various cities. The largest was the December uprising in Moscow. At the same time, the Socialist-Revolutionary and anarchist individual terror gained a large scope. In just a couple of years, thousands of officials, officers and policemen were killed by revolutionaries - in 1906 alone, 768 were killed and 820 representatives and agents of power were wounded.
The second half of 1905 was marked by numerous unrest in universities and theological seminaries: due to the riots, almost 50 secondary theological educational institutions were closed. The adoption on August 27 (September 9), 1905, of a provisional law on the autonomy of universities caused a general strike of students and stirred up teachers at universities and theological academies. The opposition parties took advantage of the expansion of freedoms to intensify attacks on the autocracy in the press.
On August 6 (19), 1905, a manifesto was signed on the establishment of the State Duma (“as a legislative institution, which is given the preliminary development and discussion of legislative proposals and consideration of the schedule of state revenues and expenditures” - the Bulygin Duma) and the law on the State Duma and the regulation on elections in Duma.
But the revolution, which was gaining strength, stepped over the acts of August 6: in October, an all-Russian political strike began, more than 2 million people went on strike. On the evening of October 17 (30), 1905, Nikolai, after psychologically difficult hesitation, decided to sign a manifesto, commanding, among other things: "1. Grant the population an unshakable foundation of civil freedom on the basis of real inviolability of the individual, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and association... participation in the supervision of the regularity of the actions of the authorities appointed by us”.
On April 23 (May 6), 1906, the Fundamental State Laws of the Russian Empire were approved, providing for a new role for the Duma in the legislative process. From the point of view of the liberal public, the manifesto marked the end of the Russian autocracy as the unlimited power of the monarch.
Three weeks after the manifesto, political prisoners were amnestied, except for those convicted of terrorism; a decree of November 24 (December 7), 1905, abolished both preliminary general and spiritual censorship for time-based (periodical) publications published in the cities of the empire (April 26 (May 9), 1906, all censorship was abolished).
After the publication of the manifestos, the strikes subsided. The armed forces (except for the fleet, where unrest took place) remained faithful to the oath. An extreme right-wing monarchist public organization, the Union of the Russian People, arose and was tacitly supported by Nicholas.
From the First Russian Revolution to the First World War
On August 18 (31), 1907, an agreement was signed with Great Britain on the delimitation of spheres of influence in China, Afghanistan and Persia, which on the whole completed the process of forming an alliance of 3 powers - the Triple Entente, known as Entente (Triple-Entente). However, mutual military obligations at that time existed only between Russia and France - under the agreement of 1891 and the military convention of 1892.
On May 27 - 28 (June 10), 1908, the meeting of the British King Edward VII with the tsar took place - on a roadstead in the harbor of Reval, the tsar received from the king the uniform of the admiral of the British fleet. The Revel meeting of the monarchs was interpreted in Berlin as a step towards the formation of an anti-German coalition - despite the fact that Nicholas was a staunch opponent of rapprochement with England against Germany.
The agreement (Potsdam Agreement) concluded between Russia and Germany on August 6 (19), 1911 did not change the general vector of Russia's and Germany's involvement in opposing military-political alliances.
On June 17 (30), 1910, the law on the procedure for issuing laws relating to the Principality of Finland, approved by the State Council and the State Duma, was approved - known as the law on the order of general imperial legislation.
The Russian contingent, which had been in Persia since 1909 due to the unstable political situation, was reinforced in 1911.
In 1912, Mongolia became a de facto protectorate of Russia, having gained independence from China as a result of the revolution that took place there. After this revolution in 1912-1913, the Tuvan noyons (ambyn-noyon Kombu-Dorzhu, Chamzy Khamby-lama, noyon Daa-ho.shuna Buyan-Badyrgy and others) several times turned to the tsarist government with a request to accept Tuva under the protectorate of the Russian Empire. On April 4 (17), 1914, by a resolution on the report of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a Russian protectorate was established over the Uryankhai region: the region was included in the Yenisei province with the transfer of political and diplomatic affairs in Tuva to the Irkutsk Governor-General.
The beginning of military operations of the Balkan Union against Turkey in the autumn of 1912 marked the collapse of the diplomatic efforts undertaken after the Bosnian crisis by the Minister of Foreign Affairs S. D. Sazonov in the direction of an alliance with the Port and at the same time keeping the Balkan states under their control: contrary to the expectations of the Russian government, the troops of the latter successfully pushed Turks and in November 1912 the Bulgarian army was 45 km from the Ottoman capital of Constantinople.
In connection with the Balkan war, the behavior of Austria-Hungary became more and more defiant towards Russia, and in this regard, in November 1912, at a meeting with the emperor, the issue of mobilizing the troops of three Russian military districts was considered. Minister of War V. Sukhomlinov advocated this measure, but Prime Minister V. Kokovtsov managed to convince the emperor not to take such a decision, which threatened to drag Russia into the war.
After the actual transfer of the Turkish army under the German command (German General Liman von Sanders at the end of 1913 took over as chief inspector of the Turkish army), the question of the inevitability of war with Germany was raised in Sazonov's note to the emperor of December 23, 1913 (January 5, 1914), Sazonov's note also discussed at the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
In 1913, a wide celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty took place: the imperial family made a trip to Moscow, from there to Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, and then along the Volga to Kostroma, where the first tsar was called to the throne in the Ipatiev Monastery on March 14 (24), 1613 from the Romanovs - Mikhail Fedorovich. In January 1914, a solemn consecration took place in St. Petersburg of the Fedorovsky Cathedral, erected to commemorate the anniversary of the dynasty.
The first two State Dumas were unable to conduct regular legislative work: the contradictions between the deputies, on the one hand, and the emperor, on the other, were insurmountable. So, immediately after the opening, in a response to the throne speech of Nicholas II, the left-wing Duma members demanded the liquidation of the State Council (the upper house of parliament), the transfer of monastery and state lands to the peasants. On May 19 (June 1), 1906, 104 deputies of the Labor Group put forward a draft land reform (Draft 104), the content of which was reduced to the confiscation of landed estates and the nationalization of all land.
The Duma of the first convocation was dissolved by the Emperor by a Personal Decree to the Senate of July 8 (21), 1906 (published on Sunday, July 9), which set the time for the convocation of the newly elected Duma on February 20 (March 5), 1907. The subsequent imperial manifesto of July 9 explained the reasons, among which were: “The elected from the population, instead of working to build a legislative one, deviated into an area that did not belong to them and turned to investigating the actions of local authorities appointed by us, to pointing out to Us the imperfections of the Fundamental Laws, changes of which can be undertaken only by our royal will, and to actions that are clearly illegal, as an appeal on behalf of the Duma to the population. By decree of July 10 of the same year, the sessions of the State Council were suspended.
Simultaneously with the dissolution of the Duma, instead of I. L. Goremykin, he was appointed chairman of the Council of Ministers. Stolypin's agrarian policy, the successful suppression of unrest, and his bright speeches in the Second Duma made him the idol of some of the right.
The second Duma turned out to be even more left-wing than the first, since the Social Democrats and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who boycotted the first Duma, participated in the elections. The idea was ripening in the government to dissolve the Duma and change the electoral law.
Stolypin was not going to destroy the Duma, but to change the composition of the Duma. The reason for the dissolution was the actions of the Social Democrats: on May 5, a gathering of 35 Social Democrats and about 30 soldiers of the St. Petersburg garrison was discovered by the police in the apartment of a Duma member from the RSDLP Ozol. In addition, the police found various propaganda materials calling for the violent overthrow of the state system, various orders from soldiers of military units and false passports.
On June 1, Stolypin and the chairman of the St. Petersburg Court of Justice demanded from the Duma that the entire composition of the Social Democratic faction be removed from Duma meetings and that the immunity of 16 members of the RSDLP be lifted. The Duma refused the demands of the government, the result of the confrontation was the manifesto of Nicholas II on the dissolution of the Second Duma, published on June 3 (16), 1907, along with the Regulations on elections to the Duma, that is, the new electoral law. The manifesto also indicated the opening date of the new Duma - November 1 (14), 1907. The act of June 3, 1907 in Soviet historiography was called the “June 3 coup,” as it conflicted with the manifesto of October 17, 1905, according to which no new law could be adopted without the approval of the State Duma.
Since 1907, the so-called "Stolypin" agrarian reform. The main direction of the reform was the consolidation of lands, previously collectively owned by the rural community, to the peasant proprietors. The state also provided extensive assistance in the purchase of landed estates by peasants (through lending by the Peasant Land Bank), and subsidized agronomic assistance. During the reform, much attention was paid to the fight against striping (a phenomenon in which a peasant cultivated many small strips of land in different fields), the allocation of plots “to one place” (cut, farms) to peasants was encouraged, which led to a significant increase in the efficiency of the economy.
The reform, which required a huge amount of land management work, unfolded rather slowly. Before the February Revolution, no more than 20% of communal lands were assigned to the peasants. The results of the reform, obviously noticeable and positive, did not have time to manifest themselves in full.
In 1913, Russia (excluding the Vistula provinces) was in first place in the world in the production of rye, barley and oats, third (after Canada and the USA) in wheat production, fourth (after France, Germany and Austria-Hungary) in the production of potatoes. Russia has become the main exporter of agricultural products, accounting for 2/5 of all world agricultural exports. Grain yield was 3 times lower than English or German, potato yield was 2 times lower.
The military transformations of 1905-1912 were carried out after the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which revealed serious shortcomings in the central administration, organization, recruitment system, combat training and technical equipment of the army.
In the first period of military transformations (1905-1908), the highest military administration was decentralized (the Main Directorate of the General Staff was established independent of the Military Ministry, the Council of State Defense was created, the inspector generals were directly subordinate to the emperor), the terms of active service were reduced (in the infantry and field artillery from 5 to 3 years, in other branches of the military from 5 to 4 years, in the Navy from 7 to 5 years), the officer corps was rejuvenated, the life of soldiers and sailors (food and clothing allowance) and the financial situation of officers and re-enlisted personnel were improved.
In the second period (1909-1912), the centralization of the highest administration was carried out (the Main Directorate of the General Staff was included in the Ministry of War, the Council of State Defense was abolished, inspector generals were subordinate to the Minister of War). Due to the weak reserve and fortress troops in combat, the field troops were strengthened (the number of army corps increased from 31 to 37), a reserve was created at the field units, which, during mobilization, was allocated for the deployment of secondary ones (including field artillery, engineering and railway troops, communications units) , machine-gun teams were created in the regiments and corps squadrons, cadet schools were transformed into military schools that received new programs, new charters and instructions were introduced.
In 1910, the Imperial Air Force was created.
Nicholas II. A thwarted triumph
World War I
Nicholas II made efforts to prevent the war in all the pre-war years, and in the last days before it began, when (July 15 (28), 1914) Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and began bombing Belgrade. On July 16 (29), 1914, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Wilhelm II with a proposal to “transfer the Austro-Serbian question to the Hague Conference” (to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague). Wilhelm II did not reply to this telegram.
Opposition parties both in the Entente countries and in Russia (including the Social Democrats) at the beginning of WWI considered Germany to be the aggressor. in the autumn of 1914, he wrote that it was Germany that unleashed the war, at a convenient time for her.
On July 20 (August 2), 1914, the emperor issued and by the evening of the same day published a manifesto on the war, as well as a royal decree in which he, “not recognizing it possible, for reasons of a national nature, now become the head of our land and sea forces intended for military operations, "ordered Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich to be the Supreme Commander.
By decrees of July 24 (August 6), 1914, classes of the State Council and the Duma were interrupted from July 26.
On July 26 (August 8), 1914, a manifesto was issued on the war with Austria. On the same day, the highest reception was held for members of the State Council and the Duma: the emperor arrived at the Winter Palace on a yacht together with Nikolai Nikolaevich and, entering the Nikolaevsky Hall, addressed the audience with the following words: “Germany and then Austria declared war on Russia. That huge upsurge of patriotic feelings of love for the Motherland and devotion to the throne, which, like a hurricane, swept through our entire land, serves in my eyes and, I think, in yours, as a guarantee that our great mother Russia will bring the war sent down by the Lord God to the desired end . ... I am sure that each and every one of you in your place will help me endure the test sent down to me and that everyone, starting with me, will fulfill their duty to the end. Great is the God of the Russian Land!. In conclusion of his response speech, the Chairman of the Duma, Chamberlain M. V. Rodzianko, said: “Without a difference of opinions, views and convictions, the State Duma, on behalf of the Russian Land, calmly and firmly says to its tsar: “Go for it, sovereign, the Russian people are with you and, firmly trusting in the mercy of God, will not stop at any sacrifice until the enemy is broken and the dignity of the Motherland will not be protected".
During the period of command of Nikolai Nikolaevich, the tsar went to Headquarters several times for meetings with the command (September 21 - 23, October 22 - 24, November 18 - 20). In November 1914 he also traveled to the south of Russia and the Caucasian front.
At the beginning of June 1915, the situation on the fronts deteriorated sharply: Przemysl, a fortified city, was surrendered, captured in March with huge losses. Lvov was abandoned at the end of June. All military acquisitions were lost, the loss of the Russian Empire's own territory began. In July, Warsaw, all of Poland and part of Lithuania were surrendered; the enemy continued to advance. There was talk in society about the inability of the government to cope with the situation.
Both on the part of public organizations, the State Duma, and on the part of other groups, even many grand dukes, they started talking about creating a "ministry of public trust."
At the beginning of 1915, the troops at the front began to experience a great need for weapons and ammunition. The need for a complete restructuring of the economy in accordance with the requirements of the war became clear. On August 17 (30), 1915, Nicholas II approved the documents on the formation of four Special Meetings: on defense, fuel, food and transportation. These meetings, which consisted of representatives of the government, private industrialists, members of the State Duma and the State Council and were headed by the relevant ministers, were supposed to unite the efforts of the government, private industry and the public in mobilizing industry for military needs. The most important of these was the Special Defense Conference.
On May 9 (22), 1916, the All-Russian Emperor Nicholas II, accompanied by his family, General Brusilov and others, held a review of troops in the Bessarabian province in the city of Bendery and visited the infirmary located in the city Auditorium.
Along with the creation of special conferences, military-industrial committees began to emerge in 1915 - public organizations of the bourgeoisie, which bore a semi-oppositional character.
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich's reassessment of his abilities resulted in a number of major military mistakes, and attempts to deflect the relevant accusations from himself led to inflated Germanophobia and spy mania. One of these most significant episodes was the case of Lieutenant Colonel Myasoedov, which ended with the execution of the innocent, where Nikolai Nikolayevich played first violin along with A. I. Guchkov. The front commander, due to the disagreement of the judges, did not approve the verdict, but Myasoedov’s fate was decided by the resolution of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich: “Hang anyway!” This case, in which the Grand Duke played the first role, led to an increase in the clearly oriented suspicion of society and played its role, including in the May 1915 German pogrom in Moscow.
Failures at the front continued: on July 22, Warsaw and Kovno were surrendered, the fortifications of Brest were blown up, the Germans were approaching the Western Dvina, and the evacuation of Riga was begun. In such conditions, Nicholas II decided to remove the Grand Duke who could not cope and himself to stand at the head of the Russian army.
On August 23 (September 5), 1915, Nicholas II assumed the title of Supreme Commander, replacing the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, who was appointed commander of the Caucasian Front. M. V. Alekseev was appointed chief of staff of the headquarters of the Supreme Commander.
The soldiers of the Russian army met the decision of Nicholas to take the post of Supreme Commander without enthusiasm. At the same time, the German command was satisfied with the departure of Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich from the post of supreme commander in chief - they considered him a tough and skillful opponent. A number of his strategic ideas were praised by Erich Ludendorff as eminently bold and brilliant.
During the Sventsyansky breakthrough on August 9 (22), 1915 - September 19 (October 2), 1915, the German troops were defeated, and their offensive was stopped. The parties switched to a positional war: the brilliant Russian counterattacks that followed in the Vilna-Molodechno region and the events that followed made it possible, after a successful September operation, to prepare for a new stage of the war, no longer fearing an enemy offensive. All over Russia, work was in full swing on the formation and training of new troops. The industry at an accelerated pace produced ammunition and military equipment. This speed of work became possible due to the emerging confidence that the enemy's offensive was stopped. By the spring of 1917, new armies had been raised, better supplied with equipment and ammunition than at any time before in the entire war.
The autumn draft of 1916 put 13 million people under arms, and the losses in the war exceeded 2 million.
In 1916, Nicholas II replaced four chairmen of the Council of Ministers (I. L. Goremykin, B. V. Shtyurmer, A. F. Trepov and Prince N. D. Golitsyn), four ministers of the interior (A. N. Khvostov, B. V. Shtyurmer, A. A. Khvostov and A. D. Protopopov), three Ministers of Foreign Affairs (S. D. Sazonov, B. V. Shtyurmer and N. N. Pokrovsky), two Ministers of War (A. A. Polivanov, D.S. Shuvaev) and three Ministers of Justice (A.A. Khvostov, A.A. Makarov and N.A. Dobrovolsky).
By January 1 (14), 1917, there were changes in the State Council. Nicholas expelled 17 members and appointed new ones.
On January 19 (February 1), 1917, a meeting of high-ranking representatives of the Allied Powers opened in Petrograd, which went down in history as the Petrograd Conference: from the allies of Russia, it was attended by delegates from Great Britain, France and Italy, who also visited Moscow and the front, had meetings with politicians of various political orientations, with the leaders of the Duma factions. The latter unanimously spoke to the head of the British delegation about the imminent revolution - either from below or from above (in the form of a palace coup).
Nicholas II, hoping for an improvement in the situation in the country in the event of the success of the spring offensive of 1917, which was agreed upon at the Petrograd Conference, was not going to conclude a separate peace with the enemy - he saw the most important means of consolidating the throne in the victorious end of the war. Hints that Russia might start negotiations for a separate peace were a diplomatic game that forced the Entente to recognize the need for Russian control over the Straits.
The war, during which there was a broad mobilization of the able-bodied male population, horses and a massive requisition of livestock and agricultural products, had a detrimental effect on the economy, especially in the countryside. In the environment of the politicized Petrograd society, the authorities turned out to be discredited by scandals (in particular, those related to the influence of G. E. Rasputin and his proteges - “dark forces”) and suspicions of treason. Nicholas' declarative adherence to the idea of "autocratic" power came into sharp conflict with the liberal and leftist aspirations of a significant part of the Duma members and society.
Abdication of Nicholas II
The general testified about the mood in the army after the revolution: “As for the attitude to the throne, then, as a general phenomenon, in the officer corps there was a desire to distinguish the person of the sovereign from the court dirt that surrounded him, from the political mistakes and crimes of the tsarist government, which clearly and steadily led to the destruction of the country and to the defeat of the army. . They forgave the sovereign, they tried to justify him. As we will see below, by 1917 this attitude in a certain part of the officer corps also wavered, causing the phenomenon that Prince Volkonsky called the "revolution from the right", but already on purely political grounds..
Forces in opposition to Nicholas II had been preparing a coup d'état since 1915. These were the leaders of various political parties represented in the Duma, and big military men, and the top of the bourgeoisie, and even some members of the Imperial Family. It was assumed that after the abdication of Nicholas II, his minor son Alexei would ascend the throne, and the younger brother of the tsar, Mikhail, would become regent. During the February Revolution, this plan began to be implemented.
Since December 1916, a "coup" in one form or another was expected in the court and political environment, the possible abdication of the emperor in favor of Tsarevich Alexei under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.
On February 23 (March 8), 1917, a strike began in Petrograd. After 3 days it became universal. On the morning of February 27 (March 12), 1917, the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison rebelled and joined the strikers, only the police counteracted the rebellion and unrest. A similar uprising took place in Moscow.
On February 25 (March 10), 1917, by decree of Nicholas II, the meetings of the State Duma were terminated from February 26 (March 11) until April of the same year, which further aggravated the situation. Chairman of the State Duma M. V. Rodzianko sent a number of telegrams to the emperor about the events in Petrograd.
The Headquarters learned about the beginning of the revolution two days late, according to the reports of General S. S. Khabalov, the Minister of War Belyaev and the Minister of the Interior Protopopov. The first telegram announcing the beginning of the revolution was received by General Alekseev only on February 25 (March 10), 1917 at 18:08: “I report that on February 23 and 24, due to a lack of bread, a strike broke out at many factories ... 200 thousand workers ... At about three o'clock in the afternoon on Znamenskaya Square, the bailiff Krylov was killed while dispersing the crowd. The crowd is scattered. In the suppression of unrest, in addition to the Petrograd garrison, five squadrons of the Ninth Reserve Cavalry Regiment from Krasnoye Selo, one hundred L.-Gds. Consolidated Cossack Regiment from Pavlovsk and five squadrons of the Guards Reserve Cavalry Regiment were called to Petrograd. No. 486. Sec. Khabalov". General Alekseev reports to Nicholas II the contents of this telegram.
At the same time, the palace commandant Vojekov reported to Nicholas II a telegram from the Minister of the Interior Protopopov: "Bid. Palace commandant. ...On February 23, a strike broke out in the capital, accompanied by street riots. On the first day, about 90,000 workers went on strike, on the second day - up to 160,000, today - about 200,000. Street riots are expressed in demonstrative processions, some with red flags, the destruction of some points of shops, the partial cessation of tram traffic by the strikers, and clashes with the police. ... the police fired several shots in the direction of the crowd, from which return shots followed. ... bailiff Krylov was killed. The movement is unorganized and spontaneous. ... It's calm in Moscow. MIA Protopopov. No. 179. February 25, 1917".
After reading both telegrams, Nicholas II on the evening of February 25 (March 10), 1917 ordered General S. S. Khabalov to stop the unrest by military force: “I order tomorrow to stop the unrest in the capital, unacceptable in the difficult time of the war with Germany and Austria. NIKOLAY".
February 26 (March 11), 1917 at 17:00 Rodzianko's telegram arrives: “The situation is serious. Anarchy in the capital. ...There is a random shooting going on in the streets. Parts of the troops fire at each other. It is necessary to immediately instruct a person who enjoys confidence to form a new government.. Nicholas II refuses to respond to this telegram, stating to the Minister of the Imperial Court, Frederiks, that “again, that fat Rodzianko wrote me various nonsense, to which I will not even answer him”.
Rodzianko's next telegram arrives at 22:22, and also has a similar panic character.
On February 27 (March 12), 1917 at 19:22, a telegram from Minister of War Belyaev arrives at Headquarters, announcing that the Petrograd garrison has almost completely gone over to the side of the revolution, and demanding that troops loyal to the tsar be sent, at 19:29 he reports that the Council of Ministers has declared a state of siege in Petrograd. General Alekseev reports the contents of both telegrams to Nicholas II. The tsar orders General N.I. Ivanov to go at the head of loyal army units to Tsarskoye Selo to ensure the safety of the imperial family, then, as Commander of the Petrograd Military District, to take command of the troops that were supposed to be transferred from the front.
From 11 pm to 1 am, the Empress sends two telegrams from Tsarskoye Selo: “The revolution assumed terrifying proportions yesterday... Concessions are necessary. ... Many troops went over to the side of the revolution. Alix".
At 0:55 a telegram from Khabalov arrives: “I ask you to report to His Imperial Majesty that I could not fulfill the order to restore order in the capital. Most of the units, one after the other, betrayed their duty, refusing to fight against the rebels. Other units fraternized with the rebels and turned their weapons against the troops loyal to His Majesty. Those who remained true to duty fought the rebels all day, suffering heavy losses. By evening, the rebels had captured most of the capital. Faithful to the oath remain small units of different regiments, gathered at the Winter Palace under the command of General Zankevich, with whom I will continue the fight. Gen.-leit. Khabalov".
February 28 (March 13), 1917 at 11 am, General Ivanov raised the alarm Battalion of St. George Cavaliers of 800 people, and sent him from Mogilev to Tsarskoe Selo via Vitebsk and Dno, leaving at 13:00.
The battalion commander, Prince Pozharsky, announces to his officers that he will not "shoot at the people in Petrograd, even if Adjutant General Ivanov demands it."
Chief Marshal Benckendorff telegraphs from Petrograd to Headquarters that the Lithuanian Life Guards Regiment shot its commander, and the battalion commander of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment was shot.
February 28 (March 13), 1917 at 21:00, General Alekseev orders the Chief of Staff of the Northern Front, General Yu. Danilov, to send two cavalry and two infantry regiments, reinforced by machine-gun teams, to help General Ivanov. It is planned to send about the same second detachment from the South-Western Front of General Brusilov as part of the Preobrazhensky, Third Rifle and Fourth Rifle regiments of the Imperial Family. Alekseev also proposes, on his own initiative, to add one cavalry division to the "punitive expedition".
On February 28 (March 13), 1917, at 5 am, the tsar departed (at 4:28 train Letter B, at 5:00 train Letter A) to Tsarskoye Selo, but could not pass.
February 28 8:25 General Khabalov sends a telegram to General Alekseev about his desperate situation, and at 9:00 - 10:00 he talks with General Ivanov, stating that “At my disposal, in the Glavn. admiralty, four guard companies, five squadrons and hundreds, two batteries. The rest of the troops have gone over to the side of the revolutionaries or remain, by agreement with them, neutral. Separate soldiers and gangs roam the city, shooting at passers-by, disarming officers ... All stations are in the power of the revolutionaries, they are strictly guarded ... All artillery establishments are in the power of the revolutionaries ".
At 13:30, Belyaev's telegram arrives about the final surrender of units loyal to the tsar in Petrograd. The king receives it at 15:00.
On the afternoon of February 28, General Alekseev tries to take control of the Ministry of Railways through Comrade (Deputy) Minister General Kislyakov, but he convinces Alekseev to reverse his decision. On February 28, General Alekseev by a circular telegram stopped all combat-ready units on the way to Petrograd. His circular telegram falsely asserted that the unrest in Petrograd had subsided and the need to suppress the rebellion had disappeared. Some of these units were already an hour or two from the capital. All of them were stopped.
Adjutant General I. Ivanov received Alekseev's order already in Tsarskoye Selo.
Duma deputy Bublikov occupies the Ministry of Railways, arresting its minister, and prohibits the movement of military trains for 250 miles around Petrograd. At 21:27 in Likhoslavl, a message was received about Bublikov's orders to the railway workers.
February 28 at 20:00 the uprising of the Tsarskoye Selo garrison began. The units that have retained their loyalty continue to guard the palace.
At 3:45 am the train approaches Malaya Vishera. They reported that the way ahead was captured by the insurgent soldiers, and two revolutionary companies with machine guns were stationed at the Lyuban station. Subsequently, it turns out that in fact, at the Lyuban station, the rebel soldiers plundered the buffet, but they were not going to arrest the king.
At 4:50 am on March 1 (14), 1917, the tsar orders to turn back to Bologoye (where they arrived at 9:00 on March 1), and from there to Pskov.
According to a number of testimonies, on March 1 at 16:00 in Petrograd, the cousin of Nicholas II, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who led the Guards fleet crew to the Tauride Palace, went over to the side of the revolution. Subsequently, the monarchists declared this a slander.
On March 1 (14), 1917, General Ivanov arrives in Tsarskoye Selo, and receives information that the Tsarskoye Selo Guards Company has rebelled, and has voluntarily left for Petrograd. Also, the rebel units were approaching Tsarskoe Selo: a heavy division and one guards battalion of a reserve regiment. General Ivanov leaves Tsarskoye Selo for Vyritsa and decides to inspect the Tarutinsky regiment handed over to him. At the Semrino station, railway workers block his further movement.
On March 1 (14), 1917 at 15:00, the tsarist train arrives at the Dno station, at 19:05 to Pskov, where the headquarters of the armies of the Northern Front, General N. V. Ruzsky, was located. General Ruzsky, in his political convictions, believed that the autocratic monarchy in the twentieth century was an anachronism, and personally disliked Nicholas II. Upon the arrival of the royal train, the general refused to arrange the usual ceremony of welcoming the king, and appeared alone and only after a few minutes.
General Alekseev, who in the absence of the tsar at Headquarters was assigned the duties of the Supreme Commander, on February 28 received a report from General Khabalov that he had only 1,100 people left in the right units. Having learned about the beginning of the unrest in Moscow, on March 1 at 15:58 he telegraphs the tsar that “The revolution, and the last one is inevitable, once unrest begins in the rear, marks a shameful end to the war with all the grave consequences for Russia. The army is too closely connected with the life of the rear, and it can be said with certainty that unrest in the rear will cause the same in the army. It is impossible to demand from the army that it fight calmly when a revolution is going on in the rear. The current young composition of the army and the officer corps, among which a huge percentage of those called up from the reserve and promoted to officers from higher educational institutions, does not give any reason to believe that the army will not respond to what will happen in Russia ".
After receiving this telegram, Nicholas II received General Ruzsky N.V., who spoke in favor of establishing a government responsible to the Duma in Russia. At 10:20 p.m., General Alekseev sends Nicholas II a draft of a proposed manifesto on the establishment of a responsible government. At 17:00 - 18:00 telegrams about the uprising in Kronstadt arrive at the Headquarters.
On March 2 (15), 1917, at one in the morning, Nicholas II telegraphs General Ivanov “I ask you not to take any measures until my arrival and report to me,” and instructs Ruzsky to inform Alekseev and Rodzianko that he agrees to the formation of a responsible government. Then Nicholas II goes to the sleeping car, but falls asleep only at 5:15, sending a telegram to General Alekseev “You can announce the submitted manifest by marking it with Pskov. NICHOLAS".
On March 2, at 3:30 am, Ruzsky contacts Rodzianko M.V., and during a four-hour conversation he gets acquainted with the tense situation that had developed by that time in Petrograd.
Having received a record of Ruzsky’s conversation with Rodzianko M.V., on March 2 at 9:00 Alekseev ordered General Lukomsky to contact Pskov and immediately wake the tsar, to which he received an answer that the tsar had just recently fallen asleep, and that Ruzsky’s report was scheduled for 10:00 .
At 10:45 Ruzsky began his report, informing Nicholas II of his conversation with Rodzianko. At this time, Ruzsky received the text of a telegram sent by Alekseev to the commanders of the fronts on the question of the desirability of renunciation, and read it to the tsar.
March 2, 14:00 - 14:30 began to receive answers from the front commanders. Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich stated that “as a loyal subject, I consider it my duty to take the oath and the spirit of the oath to kneel and pray to the sovereign to renounce the crown in order to save Russia and the dynasty.” Also, Generals Evert A.E. (Western Front), Brusilov A.A. (South-Western Front), Sakharov V.V. (Romanian Front), Commander of the Baltic Fleet Admiral Nepenin A.I., and General Sakharov called the Provisional Committee of the State Duma "a robber bunch of people who took advantage of a convenient moment," but "sobbing, I have to say that abdication is the most painless way out," and General Evert noted that "you can’t count on the army in its present composition to suppress unrest .. I take every measure to ensure that information about the current state of affairs in the capitals does not penetrate into the army in order to protect it from undoubted unrest. There are no means to stop the revolution in the capitals.” The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral A. Kolchak, did not send a response.
Between 14:00 and 15:00, Ruzsky entered the tsar, accompanied by generals Yu. N. Danilov and Savich, taking with him the texts of telegrams. Nicholas II asked the generals to speak. All of them were in favor of renunciation.
Around 3 p.m. March 2 the tsar decided to abdicate in favor of his son under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.
At this time, Ruzsky was informed that representatives of the State Duma A. I. Guchkov and V. V. Shulgin had advanced to Pskov. At 15:10 this was reported to Nicholas II. Representatives of the Duma arrive on the royal train at 21:45. Guchkov informed Nicholas II that there was a danger of unrest spreading at the front, and that the troops of the Petrograd garrison went over to the side of the rebels immediately, and, according to Guchkov, the remnants of loyal troops in Tsarskoye Selo went over to the side of the revolution. After listening to him the king announces that he has already decided to abdicate for himself and for his son.
On March 2 (15), 1917 at 23:40 (in the document, the time of signing was indicated by the tsar, as 15:00 - the time for making a decision) Nikolai handed over to Guchkov and Shulgin Abdication Manifesto which, in particular, read: “We command our brother to govern the affairs of the state in full and inviolable unity with the representatives of the people in legislative institutions, on those principles that will be established by them, taking an inviolable oath to that”.
Guchkov and Shulgin also demanded that Nicholas II sign two decrees: on the appointment of Prince G. E. Lvov as head of government and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich as supreme commander in chief, the former emperor signed the decrees, indicating in them the time of 14 hours.
After that, Nikolai writes in his diary: “In the morning Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the phone with Rodzianko. According to him, the situation in Petrograd is such that now the ministry from the Duma seems to be powerless to do anything, since the Social[ial]-Dem[ocratic] Party represented by the workers' committee is fighting against it. I need my renunciation. Ruzsky passed this conversation on to the headquarters, and Alekseev to all the commanders-in-chief. By 2½ o'clock the answers came from everyone. The bottom line is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace, you need to decide on this step. I agreed. From the rate sent a draft manifesto. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them a signed and revised manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy sense of experience. Around treason, and cowardice, and deception ".
Guchkov and Shulgin leave for Petrograd on March 3 (16), 1917 at three in the morning, having informed the government in advance by telegraph of the text of the three adopted documents. At 6 am, the provisional committee of the State Duma contacted Grand Duke Mikhail, informing him of the abdication of the already former emperor in his favor.
During a meeting on the morning of March 3 (16), 1917, with Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Rodzianko, he declares that if he accepts the throne, a new uprising will immediately break out, and consideration of the issue of the monarchy should be transferred to the Constituent Assembly. He is supported by Kerensky, opposed by Milyukov, who declared that “the government alone without a monarch ... is a fragile boat that can sink in the ocean of popular unrest; the country under such conditions may be threatened with the loss of any consciousness of statehood. After listening to the representatives of the Duma, the Grand Duke demanded a private conversation with Rodzianko, and asked if the Duma could guarantee his personal safety. Hearing that he can't Grand Duke Michael signed a manifesto on renunciation of the throne.
On March 3 (16), 1917, Nicholas II, having learned about the refusal of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich of the throne, wrote in his diary: “It turns out that Misha renounced. His manifesto ends with a four tail for elections in 6 months of the Constituent Assembly. God knows who advised him to sign such a disgusting thing! In Petrograd, the riots have stopped - if only it continued like this.”. He draws up the second version of the renunciation manifesto, again in favor of the son. Alekseev took away the telegram, but did not send it. It was too late: two manifestos had already been announced to the country and the army. Alekseev did not show this telegram to anyone, “so as not to embarrass the minds”, he kept it in his wallet and handed it to me at the end of May, leaving the supreme command.
On March 4 (17), 1917, the commander of the Guards Cavalry Corps sends a telegram to the Headquarters to the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander “We have received information about major events. I ask you not to refuse to throw at the feet of His Majesty the boundless devotion of the Guards Cavalry and the readiness to die for your adored Monarch. Khan of Nakhichevan". In a reply telegram, Nikolai said: “I never doubted the feelings of the guards cavalry. I ask you to submit to the Provisional Government. Nicholas". According to other sources, this telegram was sent back on March 3, and General Alekseev never gave it to Nikolai. There is also a version that this telegram was sent without the knowledge of the Khan of Nakhichevan by his chief of staff, General Baron Vineken. According to the opposite version, the telegram, on the contrary, was sent by Khan Nakhichevan after a meeting with the commanders of the corps.
Another well-known telegram of support was sent by the commander of the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the Romanian Front, General F. A. Keller: “The third cavalry corps does not believe that You, Sovereign, voluntarily renounced the throne. Command, King, we will come and protect You". It is not known whether this telegram reached the tsar, but it reached the commander of the Romanian Front, who ordered Keller to surrender command of the corps under threat of being accused of treason.
On March 8 (21), 1917, the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet, when it became known about the tsar's plans to leave for England, decided to arrest the tsar and his family, confiscate property and deprive him of civil rights. The new commander of the Petrograd district, General L. G. Kornilov, arrives in Tsarskoye Selo, who arrested the empress and posted guards, including to protect the tsar from the rebellious Tsarskoye Selo garrison.
On March 8 (21), 1917, the tsar in Mogilev said goodbye to the army, and issued a farewell order to the troops, in which he bequeathed to "fight until victory" and "obey the Provisional Government." General Alekseev transmitted this order to Petrograd, but the Provisional Government, under pressure from the Petrograd Soviet, refused to publish it:
“For the last time I turn to you, my beloved troops. After my abdication for myself and for my son from the throne of Russia, power was transferred to the Provisional Government, which arose at the initiative of the State Duma. May God help him lead Russia along the path of glory and prosperity. May God help you, valiant troops, to defend Russia from the evil enemy. In the course of two and a half years, you have carried out hourly heavy military service, much blood has been shed, much effort has been made, and the hour is near when Russia, bound with its valiant allies by one common desire for victory, will break the last effort of the enemy. This unprecedented war must be brought to complete victory.
Whoever thinks about peace, who desires it, is a traitor to the Fatherland, his traitor. I know that every honest warrior thinks this way. Fulfill your duty, defend our valiant Great Motherland, obey the Provisional Government, listen to your superiors, remember that any weakening of the order of service only plays into the hands of the enemy.
I firmly believe that the boundless love for our Great Motherland has not faded in your hearts. May the Lord God bless you and may the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George lead you to victory.
Before Nikolai leaves Mogilev, the representative of the Duma at Headquarters tells him that he "should consider himself, as it were, under arrest."
The execution of Nicholas II and the royal family
From March 9 (22), 1917 to August 1 (14), 1917, Nicholas II, his wife and children lived under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoe Selo.
At the end of March, the Minister of the Provisional Government, P. N. Milyukov, tried to send Nicholas and his family to England, in the care of George V, to which the preliminary consent of the British side was obtained. But in April, due to the unstable internal political situation in England itself, the king chose to abandon such a plan - according to some evidence, against the advice of Prime Minister Lloyd George. However, in 2006, some documents became known that, until May 1918, the MI 1 unit of the British military intelligence agency carried out preparations for the operation to rescue the Romanovs, which was never brought to the stage of practical implementation.
In view of the intensification of the revolutionary movement and anarchy in Petrograd, the Provisional Government, fearing for the lives of the prisoners, decided to transfer them deep into Russia, to Tobolsk, they were allowed to take the necessary furniture, personal belongings from the palace, and also invite the attendants to voluntarily accompany them to the place of the new accommodation and further service. On the eve of his departure, the head of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky arrived and brought with him the brother of the former emperor, Mikhail Alexandrovich. Mikhail Alexandrovich was exiled to Perm, where on the night of June 13, 1918 he was killed by the local Bolshevik authorities.
On August 1 (14), 1917 at 6:10 a.m., a train with members of the imperial family and servants under the sign "Japanese Mission of the Red Cross" set off from Tsarskoye Selo from the Alexandrovskaya railway station.
On August 4 (17), 1917, the train arrived in Tyumen, then those arrested on the steamships "Rus", "Breadwinner" and "Tyumen" were transported along the river to Tobolsk. The Romanov family settled in the governor's house specially renovated for their arrival.
The family was allowed to walk across the street and the boulevard to worship at the Church of the Annunciation. The security regime here was much easier than in Tsarskoye Selo. The family led a calm, measured life.
In early April 1918, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) authorized the transfer of the Romanovs to Moscow for the purpose of holding a trial against them. At the end of April 1918, the prisoners were transferred to Yekaterinburg, where a private house was requisitioned to house the Romanovs. Here, five people of the attendants lived with them: the doctor Botkin, the lackey Trupp, the room girl Demidova, the cook Kharitonov and the cook Sednev.
Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, Dr. Botkin and three servants (except for the cook Sednev) were killed with cold and firearms in the "House of Special Purpose" - the Ipatiev mansion in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 16-17, 1918.
Since the 1920s, in the Russian diaspora, at the initiative of the Union of Zealots for the Memory of Emperor Nicholas II, regular funeral commemorations of Emperor Nicholas II were held three times a year (on his birthday, name day and on the anniversary of the murder), but his veneration as a saint began to spread after Second World War.
On October 19 (November 1), 1981, Emperor Nicholas and his family were canonized by the Russian Church Abroad (ROCOR), which at that time did not have church communion with the Moscow Patriarchate in the USSR.
The decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church of August 14, 2000: “To glorify as martyrs in the host of new martyrs and confessors of Russia the royal family: Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia” (their memory - 4 July according to the Julian calendar).
The act of canonization was perceived by Russian society ambiguously: opponents of canonization argue that the proclamation of Nicholas II as a saint was of a political nature. On the other hand, ideas are circulating in a part of the Orthodox community that glorifying the tsar as a martyr is not enough, and he is a “king-redeemer”. The ideas were condemned by Alexy II as blasphemous, since "there is only one redemptive feat - our Lord Jesus Christ."
In 2003, in Yekaterinburg, on the site of the demolished house of engineer N. N. Ipatiev, where Nicholas II and his family were shot, the Temple-on-the-Blood was built in the name of All Saints, who shone in the Russian land, in front of which a monument to the family was erected Nicholas II.
In many cities, the construction of churches in honor of the holy Royal Passion-Bearers began.
In December 2005, the representative of the head of the Russian Imperial House, Maria Vladimirovna Romanova, sent a statement to the Russian prosecutor's office about the rehabilitation of the executed ex-emperor Nicholas II and members of his family as victims of political repression. According to the application, after a series of refusals to satisfy, on October 1, 2008, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decided on the rehabilitation of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family (despite the opinion of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, which stated in court that the requirements for rehabilitation do not comply with the provisions of the law due to the fact that these persons were not arrested for political reasons, and no court decision on execution was made).
On October 30 of the same 2008, it was reported that the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation decided to rehabilitate 52 people from the entourage of Emperor Nicholas II and his family.
In December 2008, at a scientific and practical conference held on the initiative of the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, with the participation of geneticists from Russia and the United States, it was stated that the remains found in 1991 near Yekaterinburg and buried on June 17, 1998 in the Catherine's aisle of the Peter and Paul Cathedral (St. Petersburg), belong to Nicholas II. Nicholas II had a Y-chromosomal haplogroup R1b and a mitochondrial haplogroup T.
In January 2009, the Investigative Committee completed the investigation of the criminal case into the circumstances of the death and burial of the family of Nicholas II. The investigation was terminated "due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing to justice and the death of the perpetrators of the premeditated murder." The representative of M. V. Romanova, who calls herself the head of the Russian Imperial House, stated in 2009 that “Maria Vladimirovna fully shares the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on this issue, which did not find sufficient grounds for recognizing the “Ekaterinburg remains” as belonging to members of the royal family. Other representatives of the Romanovs, led by N. R. Romanov, took a different position: the latter, in particular, took part in the burial of the remains in July 1998, saying: "We have come to close the era."
On September 23, 2015, the remains of Nicholas II and his wife were exhumed for investigative actions as part of the identification of the remains of their children, Alexei and Maria.
Nicholas II in cinema
Several feature films have been made about Nicholas II and his family, among which are Agony (1981), the English-American film Nicholas and Alexandra (Nicholas and Alexandra, 1971) and two Russian films The Regicide (1991) and Romanovs. Crowned family "(2000).
Hollywood made several films about the allegedly saved daughter of the Tsar Anastasia "Anastasia" (Anastasia, 1956) and "Anastasia, or the secret of Anna" (Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, USA, 1986).
Actors who played the role of Nicholas II:
1917 - Alfred Hickman - Fall of the Romanovs (USA)
1926 - Heinz Hanus - Die Brandstifter Europas (Germany)
1956 - Vladimir Kolchin - Prologue
1961 - Vladimir Kolchin - Two Lives
1971 - Michael Jaston - Nicholas and Alexandra (Nicholas and Alexandra)
1972 - - The Kotsiubinsky family
1974 - Charles Kay - Fall of Eagles (Fall of Eagles)
1974-81 - - Agony
1975 - Yuri Demich - Trust
1986 - - Anastasia, or the secret of Anna (Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna)
1987 - Alexander Galibin - Life of Klim Samgin
1989 - - Eye of God
2014 - Valery Degtyar - Grigory R.
2017 - - Matilda.
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
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Nicholas II ascended the throne on November 2, 1894. What do we all remember about this king? Basically, school clichés stuck in my head: Nicholas 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 the population of Russia, writing himself "master of the land Russian". Moreover, Rasputin looms on the side with his dubious role in history. In general, the image is such that any student is sure: Nicholas II is almost the most shameful Russian tsar in 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, rather low. His life is thoroughly studied, and at the same time - almost unknown to the general public outside of textbook clichés. Do you know, for example, that:
1) Nicholas took the throne in the Crimea. There, in Livadia, the royal estate near Yalta, his father Alexander III died. Confused, literally crying from the responsibility that fell on him, the young man - this is how the future king then looked. Mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, did not want to swear allegiance to this son of hers! The younger, Michael - that's 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 Petersburg. The sea, the fleet, trade, the proximity of European borders ... But he did not 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 prescribed: the throne is inherited only through the male line. However, bypassing this order, we started talking about Olga, who was then 5 years old. The king, however, got out, recovered. But the idea of arranging a coup in favor of Olga, and then marrying her off to a suitable candidate who would govern the country instead of the unpopular Nikolai - this thought stirred up the royal relatives for a long time and pushed them to intrigues.
4) It is rarely said that Nicholas II became the first global peacemaker. In 1898, at his suggestion, a note on the general limitation of armaments was published and a program for an international peace conference was developed. It took place the following May in The Hague. 20 European states, 4 Asian, 2 American participated. In the minds of the then progressive intelligentsia of Russia, this act of the tsar simply did not fit. How so, because he is a militarist and an imperialist?! Yes, the idea of a prototype of the UN, of conferences on disarmament, originated precisely in Nikolai's head. And long before World War II.
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 put it in the merit of this king. Meanwhile, he ranked the Siberian railway among his main tasks. Nikolai generally foresaw many of the 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).
The reforms of Nicholas (monetary, judicial, wine monopoly, law on the working day) are also rarely mentioned. It is believed that since the reforms were launched in previous reigns, then the merits of Nicholas II seem to be no special. The king "only" pulled this strap and complained that he "works like a convict." "Only" brought the country to that peak, in 1913, according to which the economy will be reconciled for a long time to come. He only approved two of the most famous reformers in office - Witte and Stolypin. So, 1913: the strongest gold ruble, the income from the export of Vologda oil is higher than from the export of gold, Russia is the world leader in the grain trade.
6) Nicholas was like two drops of water similar to his cousin, the future English King George V. Their mothers are sisters. "Nicky" and "Georgie" were confused even by relatives.
"Nicky" and "Georgie". It looks like even relatives confused them
7) Raised an adopted son and daughter. More precisely, the children of his uncle Pavel Alexandrovich - Dmitry and Maria. Their mother died in childbirth, the father soon entered into a new marriage (unequal), and as a result, Nikolai personally raised the two little grand dukes, they called him “dad”, the empress - “mother”. 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 during the revolution, flee to Europe and even have time to have an affair with Coco Chanel there).
10) He could not stand women's singing. He ran away when his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, or one of her daughters or ladies-in-waiting, sat down at the piano and started romances. The courtiers recall that at such moments the king complained: “Well, howled ...”
11) I read a lot, especially contemporaries, subscribed to a lot of magazines. Most of all loved Averchenko.
According to official history, on the night of July 16-17, 1918, Nikolai Romanov, along with his wife and children, was shot. After the burial was opened and identified, the remains were reburied in 1998 in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. However, then the ROC did not confirm their authenticity.
“I cannot rule out that the church will recognize the royal remains as genuine if convincing evidence of their authenticity is found and if the examination is open and honest,” said Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, in July this year.
As you know, the Russian Orthodox Church did not participate in the burial of the remains of the royal family in 1998, explaining this by the fact that the church is not sure whether the true remains of the royal family are buried. The Russian Orthodox Church refers to the book of the Kolchak investigator Nikolai Sokolov, who concluded that all the bodies were burned.
Some of the remains collected by Sokolov at the place of burning are stored in Brussels, in the church of St. Job the Long-suffering, and they have not been examined. At one time, a version of the note by Yurovsky, who supervised the execution and burial, was found - it became the main document before the transfer of the remains (along with the book of the investigator Sokolov). And now, in the upcoming year of the 100th anniversary of the execution of the Romanov family, the Russian Orthodox Church has been instructed to give a final answer to all the dark places of execution near Yekaterinburg. To obtain a final answer under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church, research has been conducted for several years. Once again, historians, geneticists, graphologists, pathologists and other specialists are rechecking the facts, powerful scientific forces and prosecutors are again involved, and all these actions again take place under a dense veil of secrecy.
Research on genetic identification is carried out by four independent groups of scientists. Two of them are foreign, working directly with the ROC. At the beginning of July 2017, the secretary of the church commission for studying the results of the study of the remains found near Yekaterinburg, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Yegoryevsk, said: a large number of new circumstances and new documents were discovered. For example, Sverdlov's order to execute Nicholas II was found. In addition, according to the results of recent research, forensic experts confirmed that the remains of the king and queen belong to them, since a trace was suddenly found on the skull of Nicholas II, which is interpreted as a trace from a saber blow he received when visiting Japan. As for the queen, dentists identified her by the world's first porcelain veneers on platinum pins.
Although, if you open the conclusion of the commission, written before the burial in 1998, it says: the bones of the sovereign's skull are so destroyed that the characteristic callus cannot be found. The same conclusion noted severe damage to the teeth of the alleged remains of Nikolai by periodontal disease, since this person had never been to the dentist. This confirms that it was not the tsar who was shot, since the records of the Tobolsk dentist, whom Nikolai turned to, remained. In addition, the fact that the growth of the skeleton of "Princess Anastasia" is 13 centimeters larger than her lifetime growth has not yet been found. Well, as you know, miracles happen in the church ... Shevkunov did not say a word about the genetic examination, and this despite the fact that the genetic studies of 2003, conducted by Russian and American specialists, showed that the genome of the body of the alleged empress and her sister Elizabeth Feodorovna do not match , which means no relationship
In addition, in the museum of the city of Otsu (Japan) there are things left after the injury of the policeman Nicholas II. They have biological material that can be examined. According to them, Japanese geneticists from the Tatsuo Nagai group proved that the DNA of the remains of "Nicholas II" from near Yekaterinburg (and his family) does not 100% match the DNA of biomaterials from Japan. During the Russian DNA examination, second cousins were compared, and in the conclusion it was written that "there are matches." The Japanese compared relatives of cousins. There are also the results of a genetic examination of the President of the International Association of Forensic Physicians, Mr. Bonte from Dusseldorf, in which he proved that the found remains and twins of the family of Nicholas II Filatov are relatives. Perhaps, from their remains in 1946, the “remains of the royal family” were created? The problem has not been studied.
Earlier, in 1998, the Russian Orthodox Church, on the basis of these conclusions and facts, did not recognize the existing remains as authentic, but what will happen now? In December, all the conclusions of the Investigative Committee and the commission of the Russian Orthodox Church will be considered by the Council of Bishops. It is he who will decide on the attitude of the church to the Yekaterinburg remains. Let's see why everything is so nervous and what is the history of this crime?
Worth the fight for that kind of money
Today, some of the Russian elites have suddenly awakened interest in one very piquant story of relations between Russia and the United States, connected with the Romanov royal family. Briefly, the story is this: more than 100 years ago, in 1913, the United States created the Federal Reserve System (FRS) - the central bank and printing press for the production of international currency, which still operates today. The Fed was created for the emerging League of Nations (now the UN) and would be a single world financial center with its own currency. Russia contributed 48,600 tons of gold to the "authorized capital" of the system. But the Rothschilds demanded that Woodrow Wilson, who was then re-elected as President of the United States, transfer the center to their private property along with gold. The organization became known as the Fed, where Russia owned 88.8%, and 11.2% - 43 international beneficiaries. Receipts stating that 88.8% of gold assets for a period of 99 years are under the control of the Rothschilds, six copies were transferred to the family of Nicholas II.
The annual income on these deposits was fixed at 4%, which was supposed to be transferred to Russia annually, but settled on the X-1786 account of the World Bank and on 300 thousand accounts in 72 international banks. All these documents confirming the right to 48,600 tons of gold pledged to the FRS from Russia, as well as income from leasing it, the mother of Tsar Nicholas II, Maria Fedorovna Romanova, deposited in one of the Swiss banks. But the conditions for access there are only for the heirs, and this access is controlled by the Rothschild clan. For the gold provided by Russia, gold certificates were issued that allowed the metal to be claimed in parts - the royal family hid them in different places. Later, in 1944, the Bretton Woods Conference confirmed Russia's right to 88% of the Fed's assets.
This “golden” issue was once proposed by two well-known Russian oligarchs – Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky. But Yeltsin "did not understand" them, and now, apparently, that very "golden" time has come ... And now this gold is remembered more and more often - though not at the state level.
Some speculate that the surviving Tsarevich Alexei later grew up to be Soviet Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin.
For this gold they kill, fight and make fortunes on it
Today's researchers believe that all wars and revolutions in Russia and in the world occurred due to the fact that the Rothschild clan and the United States did not intend to return the gold to the Russian Federal Reserve. After all, the execution of the royal family made it possible for the Rothschild clan not to give away gold and not pay for its 99-year lease. “Now, out of three Russian copies of the agreement on gold invested in the Fed, two are in our country, the third is presumably in one of the Swiss banks,” researcher Sergei Zhilenkov believes. - In the cache, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, there are documents from the royal archive, among which there are 12 "golden" certificates. If they are presented, then the global financial hegemony of the United States and the Rothschilds will simply collapse, and our country will receive a lot of money and all the opportunities for development, since it will no longer be strangled from across the ocean, ”the historian is sure.
Many wanted to close questions about royal assets with the reburial. Professor Vladlen Sirotkin also has an estimate for the so-called military gold exported to the West and East during the First World War and the Civil War: Japan - 80 billion dollars, Great Britain - 50 billion, France - 25 billion, USA - 23 billion, Sweden - 5 billion, the Czech Republic - $1 billion. Total - 184 billion. Surprisingly, officials in the US and UK, for example, do not dispute these figures, but are surprised at the lack of requests from Russia. By the way, the Bolsheviks remembered Russian assets in the West in the early 20s. Back in 1923, People's Commissar for Foreign Trade Leonid Krasin ordered a British law firm to evaluate Russian real estate and cash deposits abroad. By 1993, the firm reported that it had amassed a $400 billion data bank! And this is legal Russian money.
Why did the Romanovs die? Britain did not accept them!
There is a long-term study, unfortunately, by Professor Vladlen Sirotkin (MGIMO), who has already passed away, “Foreign Gold of Russia” (M., 2000), where the gold and other holdings of the Romanov family accumulated in the accounts of Western banks are also estimated at no less than 400 billion dollars, and together with investments - more than 2 trillion dollars! In the absence of Romanov heirs, the closest relatives turn out to be members of the English royal family... These are the interests of which may be the background of many events of the 19th-21st centuries...
By the way, it is not clear (or, on the contrary, it is understandable) for what reasons the royal house of England denied asylum three times to the Romanov family. The first time in 1916, at the apartment of Maxim Gorky, an escape was planned - the rescue of the Romanovs by abduction and the internment of the royal couple during their visit to an English warship, then sent to Great Britain. The second was Kerensky's request, which was also rejected. Then they did not accept the request of the Bolsheviks. And this despite the fact that the mothers of George V and Nicholas II were sisters. In the surviving correspondence, Nicholas II and George V call each other "Cousin Nicky" and "Cousin Georgie" - they were cousins with an age difference of less than three years, and in their youth these guys spent a lot of time together and were very similar in appearance. As for the queen, her mother, Princess Alice, was the eldest and beloved daughter of the English Queen Victoria. At that time, 440 tons of gold from the gold reserves of Russia and 5.5 tons of personal gold of Nicholas II were in England as collateral for military loans. Now think about it: if the royal family died, then to whom would the gold go? Close relatives! Isn't that the reason why Cousin Georgie was denied admission to Cousin Nicky's family? To get gold, its owners had to die. Officially. And now all this must be connected with the burial of the royal family, which will officially testify that the owners of untold wealth are dead.
Versions of life after death
All versions of the death of the royal family that exist today can be divided into three. The first version: the royal family was shot near Yekaterinburg, and their remains, with the exception of Alexei and Maria, were reburied in St. Petersburg. The remains of these children were found in 2007, all examinations were carried out on them, and they, apparently, will be buried on the day of the 100th anniversary of the tragedy. When confirming this version, it is necessary for accuracy to once again identify all the remains and repeat all examinations, especially genetic and pathological anatomical ones. The second version: the royal family was not shot, but was scattered throughout Russia and all family members died of natural causes, having lived their lives in Russia or abroad, in Yekaterinburg, a family of twins was shot (members of the same family or people from different families, but similar members of the emperor's family). Nicholas II had twins after Bloody Sunday 1905. When leaving the palace, three carriages left. In which of them Nicholas II sat is unknown. The Bolsheviks, having seized the archive of the 3rd department in 1917, had these twins. There is an assumption that one of the families of twins - the Filatovs, who are distantly related to the Romanovs - followed them to Tobolsk. The third version: the secret services added false remains to the burial places of members of the royal family as they died naturally or before opening the grave. For this, it is necessary to carefully track, among other things, the age of the biomaterial.
Here is one of the versions of the historian of the royal family, Sergei Zhelenkov, which seems to us the most logical, although very unusual.
Before investigator Sokolov, the only investigator who published a book about the execution of the royal family, worked investigators Malinovsky, Nametkin (his archive was burned along with his house), Sergeev (dismissed from the case and killed), Lieutenant General Diterikhs, Kirsta. All these investigators concluded that the royal family was not killed. Neither the Reds nor the Whites wanted to disclose this information - they understood that the American bankers were primarily interested in obtaining objective information. The Bolsheviks were interested in the money of the king, and Kolchak declared himself the Supreme Ruler of Russia, which could not be with a living sovereign.
Investigator Sokolov conducted two cases - one on the fact of the murder and the other on the fact of the disappearance. In parallel, military intelligence in the person of Kirst conducted an investigation. When the whites left Russia, Sokolov, fearing for the collected materials, sent them to Harbin - some of his materials were lost on the way. Sokolov's materials contained evidence of the financing of the Russian revolution by the American bankers Schiff, Kuhn and Loeb, and Ford became interested in these materials, in conflict with these bankers. He even called Sokolov from France, where he settled, to the USA. When returning from the USA to France, Nikolai Sokolov was killed.
Sokolov's book came out after his death, and many people "worked" on it, removing many scandalous facts from there, so it cannot be considered completely truthful. The surviving members of the royal family were watched by people from the KGB, where a special department was created for this, which was dissolved during perestroika. The archive of this department has been preserved. The royal family was saved by Stalin - the royal family was evacuated from Yekaterinburg through Perm to Moscow and fell into the hands of Trotsky, then People's Commissar of Defense. To further save the royal family, Stalin carried out a whole operation, stealing it from Trotsky's people and taking them to Sukhumi, to a specially built house next to the former house of the royal family. From there, all family members were distributed to different places, Maria and Anastasia were taken to the Glinsk desert (Sumy region), then Maria was transported to the Nizhny Novgorod region, where she died of illness on May 24, 1954. Anastasia subsequently married Stalin's personal bodyguard and lived very secluded on a small farm, died on June 27, 1980 in the Volgograd region.
The eldest daughters, Olga and Tatyana, were sent to the Serafimo-Diveevsky convent - the empress was settled not far from the girls. But they did not live here for long. Olga, having traveled through Afghanistan, Europe and Finland, settled in Vyritsa, Leningrad Region, where she died on January 19, 1976. Tatyana lived partly in Georgia, partly in the territory of the Krasnodar Territory, was buried in the Krasnodar Territory, died on September 21, 1992. Alexei and his mother lived in their dacha, then Alexei was transferred to Leningrad, where he was "made" a biography, and the whole world recognized him as a party and Soviet leader Alexei Nikolaevich Kosygin (Stalin sometimes called him a prince in front of everyone). Nicholas II lived and died in Nizhny Novgorod (December 22, 1958), and the tsarina died in the village of Starobelskaya, Lugansk region, on April 2, 1948, and was subsequently reburied in Nizhny Novgorod, where she and the emperor share a common grave. Three daughters of Nicholas II, except for Olga, had children. N.A. Romanov talked with I.V. Stalin, and the wealth of the Russian Empire was used to strengthen the power of the USSR ...
Yakov Tudorovsky
Yakov Tudorovsky
The Romanovs were not shot
According to official history, on the night of July 16-17, 1918, Nikolai Romanov, along with his wife and children, was shot. After the burial was opened and identified, the remains were reburied in 1998 in the tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. However, then the ROC did not confirm their authenticity. “I cannot rule out that the church will recognize the royal remains as genuine if convincing evidence of their authenticity is found and if the examination is open and honest,” said Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, in July this year. As you know, the Russian Orthodox Church did not participate in the burial of the remains of the royal family in 1998, explaining this by the fact that the church is not sure whether the true remains of the royal family are buried. The Russian Orthodox Church refers to the book of the Kolchak investigator Nikolai Sokolov, who concluded that all the bodies were burned. Some of the remains collected by Sokolov at the place of burning are stored in Brussels, in the church of St. Job the Long-suffering, and they have not been examined. At one time, a version of the note by Yurovsky, who supervised the execution and burial, was found - it became the main document before the transfer of the remains (along with the book of the investigator Sokolov). And now, in the upcoming year of the 100th anniversary of the execution of the Romanov family, the Russian Orthodox Church has been instructed to give a final answer to all the dark places of execution near Yekaterinburg. To obtain a final answer under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church, research has been conducted for several years. Once again, historians, geneticists, graphologists, pathologists and other specialists are rechecking the facts, powerful scientific forces and prosecutors are again involved, and all these actions again take place under a dense veil of secrecy. Research on genetic identification is carried out by four independent groups of scientists. Two of them are foreign, working directly with the ROC. At the beginning of July 2017, the secretary of the church commission for studying the results of the study of the remains found near Yekaterinburg, Bishop Tikhon (Shevkunov) of Yegoryevsk, said: a large number of new circumstances and new documents were discovered. For example, Sverdlov's order to execute Nicholas II was found. In addition, according to the results of recent research, forensic experts confirmed that the remains of the king and queen belong to them, since a trace was suddenly found on the skull of Nicholas II, which is interpreted as a trace from a saber blow he received when visiting Japan. As for the queen, dentists identified her by the world's first porcelain veneers on platinum pins. Although, if you open the conclusion of the commission, written before the burial in 1998, it says: the bones of the sovereign's skull are so destroyed that the characteristic callus cannot be found. The same conclusion noted severe damage to the teeth of the alleged remains of Nikolai by periodontal disease, since this person had never been to the dentist. This confirms that it was not the tsar who was shot, since the records of the Tobolsk dentist, whom Nikolai turned to, remained. In addition, the fact that the growth of the skeleton of "Princess Anastasia" is 13 centimeters larger than her lifetime growth has not yet been found. Well, as you know, miracles happen in the church ... Shevkunov did not say a word about the genetic examination, and this despite the fact that the genetic studies of 2003, conducted by Russian and American specialists, showed that the genome of the body of the alleged empress and her sister Elizabeth Feodorovna do not match , which means no relationship.
