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

Parade of guards units on the Khodynka field on May 12, 1896. Emperor Nicholas II drinks a glass of vodka

It is widely believed that Tsar Nicholas mediocrely ruled the country: he shot the people, killed people in wars. How true is this? After all, there is another opinion: “a strong-willed politician of troubled times” - perhaps this is more accurate?
- I do not agree with either one or the other. The sovereign was by no means a mediocre person, but his abilities did not find real application. In modern terms, he did not have his own "team". There were very few people around him who were really close to him in spirit. At the same time, he was not a dictator or a tyrant. Nicholas II was a man of a very special mental disposition. Since childhood, he was a very religious and at the same time a very trusting person - although this is far from the same thing.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord says: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep among wolves: therefore be wise like serpents and simple like doves” (Matt. 10:16). Maybe the Sovereign lacked this serpentine wisdom. Brought up in an atmosphere of court prosperity, he really did not understand that the last times were coming for the Empire, and he trusted people very much. Meanwhile, if we continue the gospel quote, we will hear literally in the next verse: "Beware of people ..." (verse 17). But the Sovereign was not afraid, because he did not see all the fatality of the then situation in Russia, and at the same time he was brought up with amazing faith in people, especially if these people were at the helm of the greatest Christian empire, which occupied one sixth of the land.

- Fatality? Was it really that bad?

Agitation during the Russo-Japanese War: "Japanese, expelled from the European family. Russia says:" Go, go away from here, a trashy boy! It's too early, as it turns out, they put you at the same table with the big ones ... behave properly!" Alas, a little more than a decade after the unsuccessful war with Japan, Russia itself placed itself outside the civilized world for a long time.

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

Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905 The execution of a spy in the village of Twelin

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

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

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

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

- Did the Tsar have a certain daily routine?
- Oh sure. According to the testimony of his valet T. A. Chemodurov, the Sovereign invariably got up at 8 o'clock in the morning and quickly made his morning toilet. At half past nine I drank tea at my place and went about business until 11 o'clock: I read the reports presented and imposed resolutions on them with my own hand. The sovereign worked alone, without secretaries and assistants. After 11 there was a reception of visitors. At about one o'clock the Sovereign had breakfast with his family, however, if the reception of persons introduced to the Sovereign took more than the prescribed time, then the family expected the Sovereign and did not sit down to breakfast without him.
After breakfast, the Tsar worked again and for some time walked in the park, where he certainly engaged in some kind of physical labor, working with a shovel, saw or axe. Tea followed after the walk, and from 18:00 to 20:00 the Tsar again went about his business in his office. At 8 o'clock in the evening the Sovereign dined, then again sat down to work until evening tea (at 23 o'clock).
If the reports were extensive and numerous, the Sovereign worked well past midnight and went to the bedroom only after finishing his work. The most important papers the Sovereign personally put into envelopes and sealed. Before going to bed, the Emperor took a bath

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

- How successful can you still consider the reign of Nicholas II?
- Speaking about the upbringing of the Sovereign, I did not mention one essential fact. Nikolai Alexandrovich received ideas about the life of Russia and the ways of its possible change from the hands of teachers who disagreed with each other.
One of his tutors, who was in charge of economic education, - the former Minister of Finance Nikolai Khristianovich Bunge - oriented him towards the West. Another, who taught fundamentals of law and church history, Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, believed that it was necessary to adhere to Russian principles, especially the Orthodox faith. Pobedonostsev distrusted all kinds of reforms (although he often recognized their necessity), believing that the external circumstances of life change as a result of an internal change in the soul - its appeal to truth, to goodness, to God.
Bunge believed that the peasant community should be destroyed in order to free up workers for the development of capitalist production. Pobednostsev was a supporter of preserving the community as the custodian of the good customs of Russian antiquity - above all, camaraderie and mutual assistance. The peasant community really was a unique form of community life and joint housekeeping, which was largely influenced by the Orthodox faith. The community shows the fulfillment of the commandments of the Gospel: people united not only for joint work, but also for mutual assistance. Moreover, this help was disinterested - it was considered the norm of public life.
But the Sovereign, by virtue of the features noted above, perceived that both of his educators were partly right. Thus, a certain contradiction was laid in his worldview.
And then it got worse. This is very well described by A. Solzhenitsyn in The Red Wheel:
“One said one thing, the other said something else, and it was necessary to convene a council to figure it out, but it was still impossible to figure it out. Either Witte proposed creating a commission on peasant affairs - and the young Sovereign agreed. Pobedonostsev came, pointed out the nonsense of this undertaking - and the Sovereign extinguished. Here Witte sent a sensible note about the urgent need for a commission - and the Sovereign fully agreed in the margins, convinced. But Durnovo came to insist that there should not be a commission - and Nikolai wrote "to wait" ...
... This was the most painful thing in the role of a monarch: to choose the right one among the opinions of advisers. Each was stated in such a way as to be convincing, but who can determine where is the right one? And how good and easy it would be to rule Russia if the opinions of all advisers converged! What would it cost them - to converge, smart (good) people - to agree among themselves! No, by some spell they were doomed to always disagree - and put their Emperor to a standstill..."
Solzhenitsyn criticizes the Sovereign, trying to exalt Stolypin, but as a real artist with the gift of insight, he himself, perhaps not even though, conveys the attitude of the Sovereign very accurately. He shows his childish naivete, the desire to arrange Russia, bring her happiness in accordance with the Gospel. It shows how the Sovereign was simply wild, it is not clear why everyone should not agree and rule in harmony, together.
However, everyone wanted to be for himself, and in a good way, all of them should have been dispersed, except for Pobedonostsev. Only now there was no one to change.

The highest manifesto on the dissolution of the II State Duma

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

Chinese delegation at the Coronation Celebrations of 1896 in Moscow

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

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

- But after all, there were some successful undertakings? Stolypin?
- Stolypin was the greatest patriot of Russia, a real knight. But, unfortunately, he was a man of Western convictions. "Liberal reforms and strong state power" - that was his slogan. Stolypin also stood for the destruction of the community, which, in his opinion, hindered the free development of Russia. However, it was precisely in the community, in the conditions of joint transfer of difficulties and responsibility for each other, that it was most convenient to fulfill, in the words of the Apostle Paul, “the law of Christ” (Eph. 6, 2). Not to mention the fact that in the conditions of the Non-Black Earth Region and the Russian North, the peasant community was the only possible system of management. Ordinary people, in general, perceived Stolypin's efforts to destroy the community very painfully - it was for him more proof that the government was against ordinary people. This set the stage for a revolution.
It is clear that the revolution was a godless thing, we are not going to justify it. But the government could, along with the spread of parochial schools that strengthened the faith of the people (which, thank God, Pobedonostsev did), conduct a more popular policy towards the countryside.

What was it supposed to be?
- In support of the peasant community, in the dissemination of advanced methods of farming through the community, in the careful development of peasant self-government. After all, it was before in Russia, it was familiar to her. This could lead to the revival of the zemstvo, conciliar principle, to a genuine agreement between the authorities and the people.
However, this did not happen, and the people were more and more inclined towards their dream of arranging a kingdom of happiness and justice here on earth, to which only rebellion and revolution could help.
The first signs of a peasant revolution appeared in 1902 in the adjacent counties of the Poltava and Kharkov provinces. Then, a whole revolution unfolded in 1905. In both cases, the peasants acted in concert, using the communal organization, often under the leadership of their elected elders. Everywhere there was a fair division of the land, taverns were sealed, the communal militia acted (although absolutely terrible violence was committed against the landowners and their property). In 1905, in this way, without any help from the revolutionaries, a number of peasant republics arose in Russia.
Looking ahead, it must be said that out of the same motives, wanting to realize their dream of land and freedom, the peasants supported the Bolsheviks, excluding the period of the surplus appraisal (1918-1920). When, after the end of the Civil War, the Bolsheviks returned freedom to the village, secured the land for the communities, the people in the earthly dimension began to live really happily. But, unfortunately, no one understood that the price of this happiness was terrible: violence against the landlords, betrayal of their Tsar and the former statehood, an alliance with the godless Bolsheviks. Therefore, the retribution was terrible: the most severe collectivization (which, of course, was a parody of communality), which led to the death of the peasantry as a class
It is no coincidence that the communal spirit now exists only in a gangster environment: mutual assistance, a common fund, “die yourself, but help a comrade out,” etc. This is all because a Russian person went to crime in order to save his communal tradition.

- Sometimes there is a feeling that Tsar Nicholas could not communicate with people, he was a very secretive person.
- Couldn't communicate? It's just the opposite. Nicholas II was a very charming person. During his visit to the pavilion of Russian artists at the All-Russian exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, the Tsar literally enchanted everyone. Here is what one of the organizers of the art exhibition, Prince Sergei Shcherbatov, writes: “His simplicity (alien to many members of the Romanov family), the gentle look of unforgettable gray eyes left a memory for a lifetime. There was a lot in this look: both the desire to trust, to believe to the bottom of the one who was speaking to him, and sadness, some anxiety in the face of seeming worthy calm, to be on guard, not to make a "gafa", and the need to throw it all off and simply relate to a person - all this was felt in the beautiful, noble Sovereign, whom, it seemed, not only to be suspected of something bad, but also to offend in any way, was a crime ... ".
The historian Mikhail Nazarov owns an interesting and partly very accurate comparison of the Sovereign with Prince Myshkin.
At the same time, in childhood, the Emperor was a very spontaneous, lively and even quick-tempered child. But he learned to deal with his temper, acquired amazing self-control and evenness of soul. It's hard to imagine that he could yell at someone.

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

In what area was he especially talented?
- He was very fond of military affairs. He was in his midst in the army, among the officers. He believed that this was the most important thing for the Emperor. And he was by no means a martinet.

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

“Couldn’t this war have been avoided altogether?”

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

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

So he just fell into a trap?
- Yes, you can count it.

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

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

Rasputin is both a symbol of the Russian people of that time and a symbol of faith in the people on the part of the Tsar. After all, just as in Rasputin, the Sovereign had boundless faith in the Russian people. And this people lived for a long time actually without God, only formally remaining Orthodox. The First World War became the catalyst for the process of dechurching. After all, the people are accustomed to pray ritually: we give God our attention, prayer for some time, and He must give us prosperity, help in earthly affairs for this. And what happens, we prayed to God in the war, so that we would soon win and go home, but the Lord, it turns out, did not help. Why, you ask, did we pray? So, we must ourselves, without God, dispose of our own destiny.
Just at this time, at the beginning of 1917, a conspiracy began to be carried out against the Tsar by the Duma members and some generals. First, all relatives and military leaders renounced Nicholas II: all the commanders of the fronts and fleets (except for Admiral Kolchak) and all the Grand Dukes sent him a telegram to the Headquarters that the abdication was necessary. Seeing the general betrayal of those whom he first of all hoped for, in whom he saw the support and glory of Russia, the Sovereign experienced a terrible shock and was forced to make a fatal decision to abdicate, writing in his diary: “treason and cowardice and deceit are all around.” Then the people also renounced. Rejoicing at the front was widespread, like at Easter - you will read this in any memoirs. Meanwhile, the Holy Week of Great Lent was going on. That is, people were looking for earthly joy without the Cross.

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

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

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

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

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

The collapse was a foregone conclusion. But it was a saving grace. The Lord, as it were, threw off the masks from all the participants in this drama, and it was revealed who really is who. And when the Sovereign saw that everything around was not as he imagined, that our people had long ceased to be Orthodox, but a debauched, terrible people, he did not renounce his Russia (although she renounced him), he did not go crazy , did not lay hands on himself, did not escape from prison when such an opportunity presented itself - but preferred to be with his country to the end. It was evident how during all the last months of his imprisonment he, along with all his relatives, was preparing for martyrdom, fortifying himself by reading the holy fathers and prayer.
Father Alexander Schmemann in his "Diary" has wonderful words about Chekhov's story "The Bishop". Not yet old, but suffering from consumption, the bishop dies on Great Saturday next to his old mother. Here are Schmemann's words:
“The mystery of Christianity: the beauty of defeat, liberation from success… “I hid this from the wise” (Matt. 11:25)… Everything in this story is defeat, and it all shines with an inexplicable, mysterious victory: “Now the Son of Man is glorified…” (Jn. 13, 31). back 11 On the peasant question in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, there is a very thorough study by T. Shanin “Revolution as a moment of truth. 1905-1907 - 1917-1922" (M.: "Ves Mir", 1997).

We are approaching the centenary of the February Revolution, which dramatically changed the course of the entire history of our country. What happened to the government on the eve of the February events: was the abdication of Nikolai Romanov inevitable? And did he face a conspiracy against the Russian State, or did he become a victim of the inexorable course of historical events?

According to diaries NicholasII, the king lived in some kind of his own world, far from reality. Due to problems with the supply of bread, the number of dissatisfied people in the capital is growing, but the autocrat does not attach any importance to this and writes:

“After breakfast, I sat upstairs for an hour and a half by the tooth. doctor Kostritsky, who came from Yalta. Walked with my daughters. The frost was decent. January 3, 1917 Tuesday" (NikolaiII).

On a walk

Beginning of the 17th year. In the midst of the First World War. The unsuccessful attempt of another offensive by Russian troops led to the death of more than 23,000 soldiers.

There is not a word about this in the emperor's diary either.

“After breakfast, I sat by the tooth again. doctor and took a walk with Tatyana and Maria. Before tea, I received General Schilder, director of the Lyceum. Before dinner I received Gurko, the cat. Arrived from Mogilev for 3-4 days. Worked for a short time. January 5, 1917 Thursday"(NikolaiII).

Most NicholasII worries about the health of children and the weather. Well, almost nothing is said about the impending storm of revolution in his diary. No strikes or strikes. Only a happy and carefree life: reading books, walking, playing snowballs and dominoes.

Meanwhile, a conspiracy among representatives of the liberal wing is brewing against the tsar. The political elite is trying to turn the people and the army against the head of state.

Nicholas II stood in the way of the aspirations of the liberal bourgeoisie, and the aspirations consisted in one thing: parliamentary government of the country (so that the State Duma would appoint ministers and sanction all management decisions). And the role of the monarch would be more representative, so that it would be, for example, like in England, where the monarch rules, but does not govern.

Nicholas II knows about the impending conspiracy, but does nothing against the opposition, deciding to trust, in his words, God's will.

Rodzianko:“Your Majesty, save yourself. We are on the eve of great events, the outcome of which cannot be foreseen. What your government and you yourself are doing irritates the population to such an extent that anything is possible. Every rogue commands everyone. If a crook can, why can't I, a decent person? Here is the public opinion. From the public it will pass into the army, and complete anarchy will result. You sometimes deigned to obey me, and it turned out well..

Nicholas II: « I will do what God puts on my soul.”

(Fragment from Alexander Blok's book "The Last Days of Imperial Power").

According to Nicholas II only autocratic power will save Russia, but this idea was not shared by the majority of liberal-minded deputies. Opposition politicians tried to play on the mood of the residents, who could hardly endure the hardships of wartime.

Rasputin and the royal family

The press now and then published articles about the favorite of the royal family - the scandalous Grigory Rasputin. The news that the famous Siberian man was killed was received with joy in the country, but for the royal family it was a real shock.

The killers were found right there, so what?

And nothing.

The chief murderer of the prince Yusupov sent to his estate to sit out. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, who participated in the murder, was sent to our contingent in Iran (in Persia, at that time).

No one was punished, that is, the people who hatched the plans for a coup saw that you can do whatever you want, and nothing will happen.

Eliminating Rasputin, the conspirators hoped to reconcile Nicholas and the Russian elite of that time. But the murder of the elder only led to a political crisis. After the emperor condemned the murderers, the whole house Romanovs rebelled against him.

After death Rasputin, after his funeral, there was a complete alienation of him from the royal family, from these one hundred and ten, with more than, relatives, who, in fact, acted on the side Dmitry Pavlovich, that is, the one who took part in the murder. In fact, the royal family, the royal family was in opposition Nicholas II.

Russia's main ally in the First World War, Great Britain, knew about the impending conspiracy in the capital. However, she decided to support, including financially, the liberal opposition, which in London was considered absolutely manageable.

In addition, the generals participating in the conspiracy hid from the king the true state of affairs in the country. And although most of the army commanders expressed their readiness to suppress the outbreak of the uprising, Nicholas II knew nothing about it.

Nicholas I I and the government, all together, as power, if we consider them as what we understand by power, made a mistake and allowed the most cruel defeat. This defeat is informational. They lost the information war, in modern terms, outright lost.

Information technologies owned by the State Duma, public organizations (paid for by the Moscow merchants), they turned out to be so effective that the royal family itself was completely discredited in the eyes of the broad masses.

In February 1917, the emperor is going to go to headquarters. A decisive offensive was being prepared. It was supposed to turn the tide in the war and thereby strengthen the autocracy, but this did not suit the opposition in any way. The liberal establishment decided to take advantage of the absence of the king and overthrow the government.

On February 22, the imperial train left for Mogilev, and the very next day riots broke out in Petrograd. It is still not clear what it was: an uncontrollable element or a well-prepared operation.

It is clear that there were conspiracies, because there are always conspiracies. And Nicholas II, indeed, knew about the conspiracies being prepared against him.

In the autumn of 1916, he was informed about this by the palace commandant Voeikov, in December - Black Hundreds Tikhanovich-Savitsky, and in January 1917 - Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Prince Golitsyn and adjutant wing Mordvinov.

Nicholas II he was afraid during the war to act openly against the liberal opposition and completely entrusted his life and the life of the empress to the "will of God."

But in addition to conspiracies, after all, there were also objective reasons for the historical process itself. The contradictions that the Russian Empire faced were insurmountable. And they could not lead to anything else but to a revolution.

At the same time, Russia Nicholas II achieved outstanding success: first place in the world in terms of economic growth, including industrial growth, all this was, but in a situation where the management system does not work, Nicholas II could not take any very drastic measures to tip the scales of history by his actions. He was unable to do this.

Moreover, the subordinates did not want to upset the emperor. Only in Mogilev did he learn about the events that had taken place in the capital, but for a long time he refused to believe in them.

Officially, the revolution began with unrest among Petrograd housewives, forced to stand long hours in long lines for bread. Many of them became workers in weaving factories during the war years.

By February 23, about 100,000 workers from fifty enterprises were already on strike in the capital. The demonstrators demanded not only bread and an end to the war, but also the overthrow of the autocracy.

But the unrest in Petrograd is quickly forgotten.

In rate Nicholas II puzzled by new problems. The children who remained in Tsarskoye Selo became infected with measles. This is his thoughts now. This is now his thoughts, and not about how to suppress the uprising in the capital.

“My angel, my love! Well, Olga and Alexei have measles. Olga has a rash all over her face and her eyes hurt. February 23, 1917" (Alexandra Fedorovna).

“The weather was bad - a blizzard. I took a short walk in the garden. I read and wrote. Yesterday Olga and Alexei got measles, and today Tatyana followed suit. February 24, 1917 Friday" (Nicholas II).

According to historians, Nicholas II learned about the beginning of the revolution only on February 25 at about 18:00 from two sources: from General Khabalova and from the minister Protopopov.

In his own diary Nicholas first wrote about the revolutionary events only on February 27 (on the fourth day): “Unrest broke out in Petrograd a few days ago; unfortunately, the troops began to take part in them. It's a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news!

On February 27, a mass transition of soldiers to the side of the people began: in the morning, 10,000 soldiers rebelled. By the evening of the next day, there were already 127,000 rebel soldiers.

And by March 1, almost the entire Petrograd garrison had gone over to the side of the striking workers. Government troops melted every minute. And this is not surprising, because the soldiers were yesterday's peasant recruits, not ready to raise bayonets against their brothers. Therefore, it is more fair to consider this rebellion not of soldiers, but of peasants.

On February 28, the rebels arrested the general Khabalova and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Following Petrograd, Moscow also went on strike.

On February 27, it was declared under a state of siege, and all rallies were prohibited. But the unrest could not be prevented.

By March 2, the railway stations, arsenals and the Kremlin were already captured. Representatives of the Committee of Public Organizations of Moscow and the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies, created during the days of the revolution, took power into their own hands ...

The seemingly invincible Russian Empire disappeared without resistance. Throughout the revolutionary days Nicholas reading a book about military successes Julius Caesar. The last Russian emperor reported about this in his diary.

Apparently, at that moment the fate of the Roman commander worried him much more than the fate of the country and his own life.

Viktor Kolmogorov

Nicholas II in the train car window. Immediately after abdication

Dedicated to the centenary of revolutionary events.

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

The candidate of historical sciences Gleb Eliseev tells.

Black legend about Nicholas II

Rally in Petrograd, 1917

Already 17 years have passed since the canonization of the last emperor and his family, but you are still faced with an amazing paradox - many, even completely Orthodox, people dispute the justice of reckoning Tsar Nikolai Alexandrovich to the canon of saints.

No one raises any protests or doubts about the legitimacy of the canonization of the son and daughters of the last Russian emperor. Nor did I hear any objections to the canonization of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Even at the Council of Bishops in 2000, when it came to the canonization of the Royal Martyrs, a special opinion was expressed only with regard to the sovereign himself. One of the bishops said that the emperor did not deserve to be glorified, because "he is a traitor ... he, one might say, sanctioned the collapse of the country."

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

The thing is different - in the latent, subconscious resentment: “Why did the sovereign admit that a revolution had taken place? Why didn't you save Russia? Or, as A. I. Solzhenitsyn pointedly put it in his article “Reflections on the February Revolution”: “Weak tsar, he betrayed us. All of us - for everything that follows.

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

Studying the history of the Nicholas reign, one is amazed not at the weakness of the sovereign, not at his mistakes, but at how much he managed to do in an atmosphere of fanned hatred, malice and slander.

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

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

The black mythology directed against the last sovereign was actively dispelled both by emigrant historians and modern Russian ones. And yet, in the minds of many, including those who were completely churched, our fellow citizens stubbornly settled down vicious stories, gossip and anecdotes that were presented as truth in Soviet history textbooks.

The myth about the wine of Nicholas II in the Khodynka tragedy

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

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

And from this they created the myth of a heartless despot having fun while his subjects die. From here the absurd nickname “Bloody” created by the radicals and picked up by the educated public crawled.

The myth of the monarch's guilt in unleashing the Russo-Japanese war

The emperor admonishes the soldiers of the Russo-Japanese War. 1904

They say that the sovereign dragged Russia into the Russo-Japanese war, because the autocracy needed a "small victorious war."

Unlike the "educated" Russian society, confident in the inevitable victory and contemptuously calling the Japanese "macaques", the emperor was well aware of all the difficulties of the situation in the Far East and did his best to prevent war. And do not forget - it was Japan that attacked Russia in 1904. Treacherously, without declaring war, the Japanese attacked our ships in Port Arthur.

Kuropatkin, Rozhestvensky, Stessel, Linevich, Nebogatov, and any of the generals and admirals, but not the sovereign, who was thousands of miles from the theater of operations and nevertheless did everything for victory.

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

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

The myth of Bloody Sunday

For decades, the tsar's duty accusation was "Bloody Sunday" - the execution of an allegedly peaceful demonstration on January 9, 1905. Why, they say, did he not leave the Winter Palace and fraternize with the people devoted to him?

Let's start with the simplest fact - the sovereign was not in Zimny, he was in his country residence, in Tsarskoye Selo. He was not going to come to the city, since both the mayor I. A. Fullon and the police authorities assured the emperor that they had "everything under control." By the way, they did not deceive Nicholas II too much. In a normal situation, the troops brought out into the street would have been sufficient to prevent riots.

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

But what about the Emperor himself? During the entire revolution of 1905-1907, he sought to find contact with Russian society, went on specific and sometimes even overly bold reforms (like the provision by which the first State Dumas were elected). And what did he get in return? Spitting and hatred, calls "Down with the autocracy!" and encouraging bloody riots.

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

The myth of how the tsar "surrendered" Stolypin

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

The myth of Rasputin's omnipotence

Tales about the last sovereign cannot do without constant stories about the “dirty peasant” Rasputin, who enslaved the “weak-willed king”. Now, after many objective investigations of the “Rasputin legend”, among which A. N. Bokhanov’s “The Truth about Grigory Rasputin” stands out as fundamental, it is clear that the influence of the Siberian elder on the emperor was negligible. And the fact that the sovereign "did not remove Rasputin from the throne"? How could he remove it? From the bed of a sick son, whom Rasputin saved, when all the doctors had already abandoned Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich? Let everyone think for himself: is he ready to sacrifice the life of a child for the sake of stopping public gossip and hysterical newspaper chatter?

The myth of the fault of the sovereign in the "wrong conduct" of the First World War

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

Emperor Nicholas II is also reproached for not preparing Russia for the First World War. The public figure I. L. Solonevich most clearly wrote about the sovereign’s efforts to prepare the Russian army for a possible war and about the sabotage of his efforts by the “educated society”: we are democrats and we do not want the military. Nicholas II arming the army by violating the spirit of the Fundamental Laws: in accordance with Article 86. This article provides for the government's right, in exceptional cases and during parliamentary recesses, to pass provisional laws without parliament, so that they would be introduced retroactively at the very first parliamentary session. The Duma was dissolved (holidays), loans for machine guns went through even without the Duma. And when the session began, nothing could be done.”

And again, unlike ministers or military leaders (like Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich), the sovereign did not want war, he tried to delay it with all his might, knowing about the insufficient preparedness of the Russian army. For example, he directly spoke about this to the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, Neklyudov: “Now, Neklyudov, listen to me carefully. Never for a moment forget the fact that we cannot fight. I don't want war. I have made it my absolute rule to do everything to preserve for my people all the advantages of a peaceful life. At this moment in history, anything that could lead to war must be avoided. There is no doubt that we cannot go to war - at least not for the next five or six years - before 1917. Although, if the vital interests and honor of Russia are at stake, we can, if it is absolutely necessary, accept the challenge, but not before 1915. But remember - not one minute earlier, no matter what the circumstances or reasons are, and no matter what position we are in.

Of course, much in the First World War did not go as planned by its participants. But why should the sovereign be blamed for these troubles and surprises, who at the beginning of it was not even the commander-in-chief? Could he personally prevent the "Samsonian catastrophe"? Or the breakthrough of the German cruisers "Goeben" and "Breslau" into the Black Sea, after which the plans for coordinating the actions of the allies in the Entente went to waste?

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

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

In 1917, Russia, under the military leadership of its emperor, was ready for victory. Many wrote about this, even W. Churchill, who was always skeptical and cautious about Russia: “Fate has not been so cruel to any country as to Russia. Her ship sank when the harbor was in sight. She had already weathered the storm when everything collapsed. All the sacrifices have already been made, all the work is done. Despair and treason seized power when the task was already completed. The long retreats are over; shell hunger is defeated; weapons flowed in a wide stream; a stronger, more numerous, better equipped army guarded a vast front; rear assembly points were overflowing with people... In government, when great events are taking place, the leader of the nation, whoever he may be, is condemned for failures and glorified for successes. It's not about who did the work, who drew up the plan of struggle; censure or praise for the outcome prevails on him on whom the authority of supreme responsibility. Why deny Nicholas II this ordeal?.. His efforts are downplayed; His actions are condemned; His memory is being denigrated... Stop and say: who else turned out to be suitable? There was no shortage of talented and courageous people, ambitious and proud in spirit, brave and powerful people. But no one was able to answer those few simple questions on which the life and glory of Russia depended. Holding the victory already in her hands, she fell to the ground alive, like Herod of old, devoured by worms.

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

And who could? It was beyond human strength.

The myth of voluntary renunciation

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

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

Even in the most remote Soviet times, they did not deny that the events of February 23 - March 2, 1917 at the tsarist Headquarters and at the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front were an apex coup, “fortunately”, coinciding with the beginning of the “February bourgeois revolution”, started (of course same!) by the forces of the St. Petersburg proletariat.

Related material

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

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

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

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

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

And already in St. Petersburg, the deceived and confused Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich did what he had no right to do in principle - he transferred power to the Provisional Government. As AI Solzhenitsyn noted: “The end of the monarchy was the abdication of Mikhail. He is worse than abdicated: he blocked the way for all other possible heirs to the throne, he transferred power to an amorphous oligarchy. It was his abdication that turned the change of monarch into a revolution."

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

That is - why did not start a civil war?

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

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

The attempt of Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich to prevent bloodshed with the help of renunciation of power, with the help of voluntary self-sacrifice, stumbled upon the evil will of tens of thousands of those who did not want the pacification and victory of Russia, but blood, madness and the creation of a "paradise on earth" for the "new man", free from faith and conscience.

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

They couldn't help but kill him.

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

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

The more or less vegetarian, toothless early Provisional Government limited itself to the arrest of the emperor and his family, the socialist clique of Kerensky achieved the exile of the sovereign, his wife and children in. And for whole months, until the very Bolshevik coup, one can see how the dignified, purely Christian behavior of the emperor in exile and the vicious fuss of the politicians of the “new Russia”, who sought “for a start” to bring the sovereign into “political oblivion”, contrast with each other.

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

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

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

And yet there is a feeling that, in addition to rational motives, there was some inexplicable, almost mystical fear of what the fanatics planned to commit.

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

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

Now only a few unambiguous facts are clear.

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

Was this an initiative of the Yekaterinburg Soviet, not coordinated with the Central Committee? Hardly. Judging by indirect data, in early July 1918, the top leadership of the Bolshevik Party (primarily Lenin and Sverdlov) decided to "liquidate the royal family."

For example, Trotsky wrote about this in his memoirs:

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

Yes, where is the king?

- It's over, - he answered, - shot.

Where is the family?

And his family is with him.

All? I asked, apparently with a hint of surprise.

Everything, - Sverdlov answered, - but what?

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

- And who decided? I asked.

We have decided here. Ilyich believed that it was impossible to leave us a living banner for them, especially in the current difficult conditions.

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

At midnight on July 17, 1918, the emperor, his wife, children and servants were awakened, taken to the basement and brutally murdered. Here in the fact that they were killed brutally and cruelly, in an amazing way, all the testimonies of eyewitnesses, which differ so much in the rest, coincide.

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

The Yekaterinburg victims had a premonition of their fate, and it was not for nothing that Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna, while imprisoned in Yekaterinburg, crossed out the lines in one of the books: “Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ went to their death as if on a holiday, facing inevitable death, retaining the same wondrous peace of mind that never left them for a minute. They walked calmly towards death because they hoped to enter into a different, spiritual life, opening up for a person beyond the grave.

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

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

On the screen saver is a photo fragment: Nicholas II in the imperial train. 1917

Who was Nicholas II?

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

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

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

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

The Russian emperor treated the service with enthusiasm even in his youth, although, according to military experts, he did not possess great talents in this matter.

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

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

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

1917 year

February 23, 1917 Crowds of people took to the streets of Petrograd. "Of bread!" people shouted. The stone echo amplified the voice of the crowd. Is there not enough bread in the Russian Empire? Long queues in shops and stores could have alerted the leaders of the state for a long time. But the tsarist government, the State Duma and the emperor were very calm about this. Think queues. Bread is scarce, but there is. It must be remembered that after the abdication of the king from the throne, bread suddenly appeared in Petrograd as if by magic.

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

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

The next day the crowd grew bolder. She didn't have enough bread. “Down with autocracy! Down with the war! people shouted. And the red flags boldly fluttered their wings, and the violent voices that sang revolutionary songs quickly grew stronger.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the abdication of the throne of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich were taken calmly in the army. The soldiers listened to this most important news in silence: there was neither joy nor grief in the faces of the soldiers - so, in any case, General A. I. Denikin wrote in his memoirs. As if it was not about the homeland, as if the soldier did not touch that manifesto at all.

In the days of the Kornilov speech. Soldiers who went over to the side of the Provisional Government

The amazing indifference (purely external, of course), with which the soldiers reacted to the greatest event, struck many officers and generals of the "white movement", but they were even more surprised by their rapid change in relation to everything that was former, royal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nicholas II and his family

“They died martyrs for humanity. Their true greatness did not stem from their royal dignity, but from that amazing moral height to which they gradually rose. They have become the perfect force. And in their very humiliation, they were a striking manifestation of that amazing clarity of the soul, against which all violence and all rage are powerless, and which triumphs in death itself ”(Pierre Gilliard, educator of Tsarevich Alexei).

NicholasII Aleksandrovich Romanov

Nicholas II

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

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

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and Princess Alice

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

marriage

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

Despite the mourning for the father, they decided not to postpone the marriage, but to hold it in the most modest atmosphere on November 14, 1894. So for Nicholas II, family life and the management of the Russian Empire began at the same time, he was 26 years old.

He had a lively mind - he always quickly grasped the essence of the issues reported to him, an excellent memory, especially for faces, the nobility of the way of thinking. But 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, who left him the following political testament: “ I bequeath to you to love everything that serves the good, honor and dignity of Russia. Protect autocracy, remembering that you are responsible for the fate of your subjects before the Throne of the Most High. Faith in God and the holiness of your royal duty be the foundation of your life for you. Be firm and courageous, never show weakness. Listen to everyone, there is nothing shameful in this, but listen to yourself and your conscience.

Beginning of the reign

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

Coronation of Nicholas II

1896 is the year of coronation celebrations in Moscow. The sacrament of chrismation was performed over the royal couple - as a sign that, just as there is no higher, there is no harder on earth royal power, there is no burden heavier than royal service. But the coronation celebrations in Moscow were overshadowed by the disaster at the Khodynka field: a stampede occurred in the crowd waiting for the royal gifts, in which many people died. According to official figures, 1389 people died and 1300 were seriously injured, according to unofficial data - 4000. But the events on the occasion of the coronation were not canceled in connection with this tragedy, but continued according to the program: in the evening of the same day, a ball was held at the French ambassador. The sovereign was present at all planned events, including the ball, which was perceived ambiguously in society. The tragedy on Khodynka was perceived by many as a gloomy omen for the reign of Nicholas II, and when in 2000 the question of his canonization arose, it was cited as an argument against it.

A family

On November 3, 1895, the first daughter was born in the family of Emperor Nicholas II - Olga; she was born Tatiana(May 29, 1897), Maria(June 14, 1899) and Anastasia(June 5, 1901). But the family was waiting for the heir.

Olga

Olga

From childhood, she grew up very kind and sympathetic, deeply worried about other people's misfortunes and always tried to help. She was the only one of the four sisters who could openly object to her father and mother and was very reluctant to submit to her parents' will if circumstances required it.

Olga loved to read more than other sisters, later she began to write poetry. The French teacher and friend of the imperial family, Pierre Gilliard, noted that Olga learned the material of the lessons better and faster than the sisters. It was easy for her, that's why she was sometimes lazy. " Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was a typical good Russian girl with a big soul. She made an impression on those around her with her tenderness, her charming sweet treatment of everyone. She behaved with everyone evenly, calmly and amazingly simply and naturally. She did not like housekeeping, but she loved solitude and books. She was developed and very well-read; she had an aptitude for the arts: she played the piano, sang, and studied singing in Petrograd, drawing well. She was very modest and did not like luxury.”(From the memoirs of M. Dieterikhs).

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

Tatiana

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

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

Maria

Contemporaries describe Maria as a lively, cheerful girl, too large for her age, with light blond hair and large dark blue eyes, which the family affectionately called "Masha's saucers."

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

General M. Dieterikhs recalled: “Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna was the most beautiful, typically Russian, good-natured, cheerful, even-tempered, friendly girl. She knew how and loved to talk with everyone, especially with a simple person. During walks in the park, she always used to start conversations with the soldiers of the guard, questioned them and perfectly remembered who had what to call his wife, how many children, how much land, etc. She always found many common topics for conversations with them. For her simplicity, she received the nickname "Mashka" in the family; that was the name of her sisters and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.

Maria had a talent for drawing, she was good at sketching, using her left hand for this, but she had no interest in schoolwork. Many noticed that this young girl was 170 cm tall and by force went to her grandfather, Emperor Alexander III. General M. K. Diterichs recalled that when the sick Tsarevich Alexei needed to get somewhere, and he himself was unable to walk, he called: “Masha, carry me!”

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

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

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

Anastasia

Anastasia

Like other children of the emperor, Anastasia was educated at home. Education began at the age of eight, the program included French, English and German, history, geography, the Law of God, natural sciences, drawing, grammar, arithmetic, as well as dance and music. Anastasia did not differ in diligence in her studies, she could not stand grammar, she wrote with terrifying mistakes, and called arithmetic with childish immediacy "svin'". English teacher Sydney Gibbs recalled that once she tried to bribe him with a bouquet of flowers to increase her grade, and after he refused, she gave these flowers to a Russian teacher, Pyotr Vasilyevich Petrov.

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

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

The figure of Anastasia was quite dense, like her sister Maria. She inherited wide hips, a slender waist and a good bust from her mother. Anastasia was short, strongly built, but at the same time seemed somewhat airy. Her face and physique were rustic, yielding to the stately Olga and the fragile Tatyana. Anastasia was the only one who inherited the shape of her face from her father - slightly elongated, with protruding cheekbones and a wide forehead. She was very much like her father. Large facial features - big eyes, a large nose, soft lips made Anastasia look like a young Maria Fedorovna - her grandmother.

The girl was distinguished by a light and cheerful character, she loved to play bast shoes, forfeits, in serso, she could tirelessly rush around the palace for hours, playing hide and seek. She easily climbed trees and often, out of sheer mischief, refused to descend to the ground. She was inexhaustible in her imagination. With her light hand, it became fashionable to weave flowers and ribbons into her hair, which little Anastasia was very proud of. She was inseparable from her older sister Maria, adored her brother and could entertain him for hours when another illness put Alexei to bed. Anna Vyrubova recalled that "Anastasia was as if made of mercury, and not of flesh and blood."

Alexei

On July 30 (August 12), 1904, the fifth child and the only, long-awaited son, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich, appeared in Peterhof. The royal couple attended the glorification of Seraphim of Sarov on July 18, 1903 in Sarov, where the emperor and empress prayed for the granting of an heir. Named at birth Alexey- in honor of St. Alexis of Moscow. On the mother's side, Alexei inherited hemophilia, which was carried by some of the daughters and granddaughters of the English Queen Victoria. The disease became apparent in the Tsarevich already in the autumn of 1904, when a two-month-old baby began to bleed heavily. In 1912, while resting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the Tsarevich unsuccessfully jumped into a boat and severely injured his thigh: the hematoma that arose did not resolve for a long time, the child’s health was very difficult, and bulletins were officially published about him. There was a real threat of death.

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

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

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

During the First World War, Alexei, who was the chief of several regiments and chieftain of all Cossack troops, visited the active army with his father, awarded distinguished fighters. He was awarded the silver St. George medal of the 4th degree.

Raising children in the royal family

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

Family of Nicholas II

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

As in simple poor families, the younger ones often had to wear out the things that the older ones grew out of. They also relied on pocket money, which could be used to buy each other small gifts.

The education of children usually began when they reached the age of 8. The first subjects were reading, calligraphy, arithmetic, the Law of God. Later, languages ​​\u200b\u200bare added to this - Russian, English, French, and even later - German. Dancing, playing the piano, good manners, natural sciences and grammar were also taught to the imperial daughters.

Imperial daughters were ordered to get up at 8 o'clock in the morning, take a cold bath. Breakfast at 9 o'clock, second breakfast - at one or half past one on Sundays. At 5 pm - tea, at 8 - common dinner.

Everyone who knew the family life of the emperor noted the amazing simplicity, mutual love and consent of all family members. Aleksey Nikolayevich was its center; all attachments, all hopes were concentrated on him. In relation to the mother, the children were full of respect and courtesy. When the empress was unwell, the daughters arranged alternate duty with their mother, and the one who was on duty that day remained hopelessly with her. The relationship of the children with the sovereign was touching - for them he was at the same time king, father and comrade; their feelings for their father went from almost religious worship to complete gullibility and the most cordial friendship. A very important memory of the spiritual state of the royal family was left by the priest Afanasy Belyaev, who confessed the children before their departure to Tobolsk: “The impression from the confession turned out like this: grant, Lord, that all children be morally as high as the children of the former king. Such gentleness, humility, obedience to parental will, unconditional devotion to the will of God, purity in thoughts and complete ignorance of earthly dirt - passionate and sinful - led me to amazement, and I was decidedly perplexed: should I, as a confessor, be reminded of sins, maybe they unknown, and how to dispose to repentance in the sins known to me.

Rasputin

A circumstance that constantly darkened the life of the imperial family was the incurable illness of the heir. Frequent attacks of hemophilia, during which the child experienced severe suffering, made everyone suffer, especially the mother. But the nature of the disease was a state secret, and parents often had to hide their feelings while participating in the normal routine of palace life. The Empress was well aware that medicine was powerless here. But, being a deep believer, she indulged in fervent prayer in anticipation of a miraculous healing. She was ready to believe anyone who was able to help her grief, somehow alleviate the suffering of her son: 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, who was destined to play a role in the life of the royal family and in the fate of the whole country - but he had no right to claim this role.

Rasputin was presented as a kind holy old man helping Alexei. Under the influence of their mother, all four girls had complete confidence in him and shared all their simple secrets. Rasputin's friendship with the imperial children was evident from their correspondence. Those who sincerely loved the royal family tried to somehow limit the influence of Rasputin, but the empress resisted this very much, since the “holy elder” somehow knew how to alleviate the plight of Tsarevich Alexei.

World War I

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

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

On July 19 (August 1), 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, which soon became a pan-European one. In August 1914, Russia launched a hasty offensive in East Prussia to help its ally France, this led to a heavy defeat. By autumn, it became clear that the near end of the war was not in sight. But with the outbreak of war, internal disagreements subsided in the country. Even the most difficult issues became solvable - it was possible to implement a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages for the entire duration of the war. The sovereign regularly travels to Headquarters, visits the army, dressing stations, military hospitals, rear factories. The Empress, having taken courses as sisters of mercy, together with her eldest daughters Olga and Tatyana, looked after the wounded in her Tsarskoye Selo infirmary for several hours a day.

On August 22, 1915, Nicholas II left for Mogilev to take command of all the armed forces of Russia and from that day on he was constantly at Headquarters, often with him was the heir. About once a month he came to Tsarskoe 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. She was the closest person to him, whom he could always rely on. Every day she sent detailed letters-reports to Headquarters, which was well known to the ministers.

The tsar spent January and February 1917 in Tsarskoye Selo. He felt that the political situation was becoming more and more tense, but he continued to hope that the feeling of patriotism would nevertheless prevail, he maintained faith in the army, whose situation had improved significantly. This raised hopes for the success of the great spring offensive, which would deal a decisive blow to Germany. But this was well understood by the forces hostile to him.

Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei

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

In the capital came complete anarchy. But Nicholas II and the army command believed that the Duma was in control of the situation; in telephone conversations with the chairman of the State Duma, M. V. Rodzianko, the emperor agreed to all concessions if the Duma could restore order in the country. The answer was: it's too late. Was it really so? After all, only Petrograd and its environs were embraced by the revolution, and the tsar's authority among the people and in the army was still great. The answer of the Duma confronted him with a choice: renunciation or an attempt to go to Petrograd with troops loyal to him - the latter meant a civil war, while the external enemy was within Russian borders.

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

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

On the abdication of NicholasII

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

Nicholas II after abdication

From the moment of renunciation, the inner spiritual state of the emperor attracts the most attention. It seemed to him that he made the only right decision, but, nevertheless, he experienced severe mental anguish. “If I am an obstacle to the happiness of Russia and all the social forces now at the head of it ask me to leave the throne and 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,- he said to General D.N. Dubensky.

On the very day of his abdication, March 2, the same general recorded the words of the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count V. B. Frederiks: “ The sovereign is deeply sad that he is considered an obstacle to the happiness of Russia, that they found it necessary to ask him to leave the throne. He was worried about the thought of a family that remained alone in Tsarskoye Selo, the children were sick. The sovereign suffers terribly, but he is such a person who will never show his grief in public. Nikolai is also restrained in his personal diary. Only at the very end of the entry for that day does his inner feeling break through: “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. A draft Manifesto was sent from Headquarters. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and handed them the signed and revised Manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. Around treason and cowardice and deceit!

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

House arrest

According to the memoirs of Yulia Alexandrovna von Den, a close friend of Alexandra Feodorovna, in February 1917, at the very height of the revolution, the children fell ill with measles one by one. Anastasia was the last to fall ill, when the Tsarskoye Selo palace was already surrounded by the insurgent troops. The tsar was at that time at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief in Mogilev, only the empress with her children remained in the palace.

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

Nicholas returned a few days later. Life under house arrest began.

Despite everything, the education of children continued. The whole process was led by Gilliard, a teacher of French; Nicholas himself taught the children geography and history; Baroness Buxhoeveden taught English and music lessons; Mademoiselle Schneider taught arithmetic; Countess Gendrikova - drawing; Dr. Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin - Russian; Alexandra Feodorovna - The Law of God. The eldest, Olga, despite the fact that her education was completed, often attended classes and read a lot, improving in what had already been learned.

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

In Tobolsk

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

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

But life went on at a measured pace and strictly subject to the discipline of the family: from 9.00 to 11.00 - lessons. Then an hour break for a walk with his father. Again lessons from 12.00 to 13.00. Dinner. From 14.00 to 16.00 walks and simple entertainment like home performances or skiing from a slide built by oneself. Anastasia enthusiastically harvested firewood and sewed. Further on the schedule followed the evening service and going to bed.

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

Yekaterinburg

Nicholas II

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

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

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

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

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

All the prisoners understood the possibility of an early end. Once, Tsarevich Alexei said: “If they kill, if only they don’t torture ...” Almost in complete isolation, they showed nobility and fortitude. In one of her letters, Olga Nikolaevna says: 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.

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

Murder

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

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

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

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