Despite the fact that the royal family in Russia was an example to follow, many rulers hid terrible secrets from the people. Behind the shoulders of each king and queen were sins, which the admirers of the royal family try not to talk about. This post will tell us about these terrible secrets.

Mikhail Fedorovich (from 1613 to 1645)

The first of the Romanovs was crowned king at the age of 16, and at that time he could hardly read. The following year, by his decree, the three-year-old son of Marina Mnishek was hanged in Moscow - allegedly the grandson and heir of Ivan the Terrible, to whom individual cities managed to swear allegiance. This was after the heavy Troubles, and the fear of new possible impostors forced the competitor to be eliminated publicly.

Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676)

The father of the future Emperor Peter the Great was a religious maniac, sometimes he prayed for six hours in a row and cracked down on those who missed church services: without asking about the reasons, he ordered them to be thrown into an icy river.

Peter I (1682-1725)

Many terrible scenes are described in history, when Peter showed himself to be violent, inhumanly cruel and inadequate to the point of madness. Here are just some of the facts. Shooting executions. 26-year-old Peter himself cut off heads in front of a huge crowd and forced each of his retinue to take up an ax (unless the foreigners refused, justifying themselves by the fact that they were afraid to incur the hatred of the Russians). Mass executions actually turned into a grand show: the crowd was poured free vodka and it roared with delight, expressing devotion and love to the dashing sovereign. In a drunken stupor, the king immediately invited everyone who wanted to be the executioners, and many agreed.

Lifetime portrait of 44-year-old Peter, artist Antoine Pen:

"Morning of the Streltsy Execution", Vasily Surikov:

Death of Tsarevich Alexei. Acutely in conflict with his eldest son, Peter forced him to abdicate and began to zealously investigate his misdeeds, for which he specially created the Secret Chancellery. 28-year-old Aleksey was sentenced to death for treason and, after the verdict, he was tortured in prison: in the presence of his father, he received 25 lashes with a whip. According to some reports, he died from this. And Peter the next day feasted noisily, with an orchestra and fireworks, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.

"Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof", Nikolai Ge:

"Maria Hamilton before her execution", Pavel Svedomsky:

Execution of a mistress. The next year, Peter sent his former mistress, one of the most beautiful ladies-in-waiting at court, Maria Hamilton (Gamontova), to the chopping block, having learned that she twice provoked miscarriages and strangled the third baby. Although at that time she was already living with another, the king, apparently, suspected that the children could be from him, and was furious at such "murder". At the execution, he behaved strangely: he raised the severed head of Mary, kissed it and calmly began to lecture the people on anatomy, showing the organs affected by the ax, after which he again kissed the dead lips, threw his head into the mud and left.

Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

The niece of Peter I, like himself, was a big hunter for entertainment with the participation of dwarfs and "fools" - court jesters. If many of them really were distinguished by their wit, then the inventions of the Empress herself, which led her into stormy fun, were rather obscene. Once, for example, one of her favorites, the Italian violinist Pietro Miro, nicknamed Pedrillo (Petrillo, Petrushka), laughed off an attempt to ridicule his ugly wife, saying that his “goat” was pregnant and would soon bring “kids”. It immediately occurred to Anna Ioannovna to put him to bed with a real goat, dressed for laughs in a peignoir, and to force the whole yard to bring them gifts. Pedrillo, who pleased his mistress, enriched himself by several thousand rubles on that day alone. “Jesters at the court of Empress Anna Ioannovna”, Valery Jacobi (Pedrillo on the left, depicted with a violin, in the center of the picture in a yellow caftan jumps the famous jester Balakirev above all):

The Empress generally adored all sorts of obscenities, especially gossip and stories of a pornographic nature. Knowing this, specially selected girls were sent to the court, capable of conducting such conversations and inventing more and more stories with juicy details.

Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1762)

The daughter of Peter I from childhood was known as a beauty and only did what she had fun, but she took care of her own appearance, remaining almost uneducated. She never read, and even in adulthood she did not know that Great Britain is an island. Most of all, Elizabeth was occupied with masquerades and especially the so-called "metamorphoses", where all the ladies had to appear in men's clothes, and men in women's. Moreover, the empress was convinced that her court rivals had ugly legs and that in men's leggings everyone except her made themselves a laughingstock. One of her successful rivals, the lady of state Natalya Lopukhina, who was considered a beauty, Elizabeth “mercifully” saved from the death penalty, instead ordering her to be whipped, her tongue torn out and exiled to Siberia. Officially, Lopukhina was arrested and tortured in the case of a political conspiracy, but unofficially it was the empress's revenge for repulsed cavaliers and ridicule in her youth.

Natalya Fedorovna Lopukhina, engraving by Lavrenty Seryakov:

Finally, Elizabeth doomed to a terrible existence the legitimate heir to the throne, appointed before her death by Anna Ioannovna. Emperor Ivan VI was only a year and a half old when Peter's daughter staged a coup and secretly ordered him to be thrown into prison, forever separating him from his parents and protecting him from human contact. The “famous prisoner,” as he was called after the strictest ban on mentioning his name, was stabbed to death by guards at the age of 23, already under Catherine II.

Catherine II (1762-1796)

33-year-old Catherine overthrew and arrested her own husband and second cousin Peter III, with whom relations did not work out from the very beginning. They were married when she was 16 and he was 17. According to one version, he was infantile almost to the point of dementia and avoided marital duty for 9 years, allegedly not knowing what to do in bed with a woman. According to another version (and Catherine admitted this in biographical notes), he did not love her and did not make attempts to get closer. At the same time, he openly made mistresses and even planned to marry one, but died under unclear circumstances 10 days after the deposition.

Coronation portrait of Emperor Peter III, Lucas Conrad Pfanzelt:

Meanwhile, the unfortunate marriage made Catherine herself the greatest mistress on the Russian throne. She gave birth to her first child, the future Emperor Paul I, only in the 10th year after the wedding, which gave rise to rumors that he was not from Peter, although he looked like him. From different lovers, the empress had two more children, and she gave birth to one in complete secrecy from her husband - in order to distract the emperor and take him away from the palace, her faithful valet set fire to her own house.

Modern painting "The Triumph of Catherine", Vasily Nesterenko (on the right hand of the Empress, her famous favorite, Prince Grigory Potemkin)

The “lecherous empress” brought her last favorite at the age of 60: it was the 21-year-old nobleman Platon Zubov, whom she enriched inexpressibly and who, five years after her death, participated in the murder of her son Paul I.

Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov, artist Ivan Eggink:

Alexander I (1801-1825)

The 23-year-old grandson of Catherine came to power as a result of a conspiracy against his own father: he was convinced that if Paul was not overthrown, he would destroy the empire. At the same time, Alexander did not allow the murder, but the performers - officers flushed with champagne - decided otherwise: in the middle of the night they struck the emperor with a powerful blow to the temple with a golden snuffbox and strangled him with a scarf. Alexander, having learned about the death of his father, sobbed, and then one of the main conspirators said in French: “Enough childishness, go reign!”

Alexander II (1855-1881)

Having ascended the throne, Alexander, who had previously lived in a happy marriage with many children, began to have favorites, from whom, according to rumors, he had illegitimate children. And at the age of 48, he began to secretly meet with the 18-year-old Princess Katya Dolgorukova, who years later became his second wife.

Their extensive erotic correspondence has been preserved - perhaps the most frank on behalf of the head of state: “Waiting for our meeting, I am again trembling all over. I represent your pearl in the shell"; “We possessed each other the way you wanted. But I must confess to you: I will not rest until I see your charms again ... "

Nicholas II (1894-1917)

The most terrible secret was and remains the death of the family of the last Russian emperor. For many years after the execution in the basement without trial, the Soviet authorities lied to the whole world that only Nikolai was killed, and his wife, four daughters and son were alive and well and "transported to a safe place where nothing threatens them." This gave rise to popular rumors about the allegedly saved princesses and Tsarevich Alexei and contributed to the emergence of a huge army of impostor adventurers. In 2015, at the insistence of the Church, the investigation into the death of the royal family began "from scratch." A new genetic examination has confirmed the authenticity of the remains of Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the three Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana and Anastasia, found near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Reconstructed from the remains of the faces of Nicholas II and Princess Anastasia:

Then they began to compare them with the genetic materials of Alexei and Maria, found in 2007. The timing of their burial depends on the readiness of the Church to recognize the remains.

For 10 centuries, the representatives of the ruling dynasties determined the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian state. As you know, the greatest prosperity of the state was under the rule of the Romanov dynasty, the descendants of an old noble family. Its ancestor is Andrey Ivanovich Kobyla, whose father, Glanda-Kambila Divonovich, baptized Ivan, came to Russia in the last quarter of the 13th century from Lithuania.

The youngest of the 5 sons of Andrei Ivanovich, Fedor Koshka, left numerous offspring, which include such surnames as Koshkin-Zakharyins, Yakovlevs, Lyatskys, Bezzubtsevs and Sheremetevs. In the sixth generation from Andrei Kobyla, in the Koshkin-Zakharyin family, there was a boyar Roman Yuryevich, from whom the boyar family originates, and later the Romanov tsars. This dynasty ruled in Russia for three hundred years.

Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov (1613 - 1645)

The beginning of the reign of the Romanov dynasty can be considered February 21, 1613, when the Zemsky Sobor took place, at which the Moscow nobles, supported by the townspeople, proposed to elect the sovereign of all Russia, 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. The proposal was accepted unanimously, and on July 11, 1613, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Mikhail was married to the kingdom.

The beginning of his reign was not easy, because the central government still did not control a significant part of the state. In those days, the robber Cossack detachments of Zarutsky, Balovia and Lisovsky walked around Russia, which ruined the state, already exhausted by the war with Sweden and Poland.

So, the newly elected king had two important tasks: the first, the end of hostilities with his neighbors, and the second, the pacification of his subjects. He was able to cope with this only after 2 years. 1615 - all free Cossack groups were completely destroyed, and in 1617 the war with Sweden ended with the conclusion of the Stolbovsky peace. According to this agreement, the Muscovite state lost access to the Baltic Sea, but peace and tranquility were restored in Russia. It was possible to begin to bring the country out of a deep crisis. And then the government of Michael had a chance to make a lot of efforts to restore the devastated country.

At first, the authorities undertook the development of industry, for which foreign industrialists were invited to Russia on favorable terms - miners, gunsmiths, foundry workers. Then the turn came to the army - it was obvious that for the prosperity and security of the state it was necessary to develop military affairs, in connection with this, in 1642, transformations began in the armed forces.

Foreign officers trained Russian military men in military affairs, “regiments of a foreign system” appeared in the country, which was the first step towards creating a regular army. These transformations were the last in the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich - 2 years later the tsar died at the age of 49 from "water sickness" and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin.

Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed the Quietest (1645-1676)

His eldest son Alexei began to reign, who, according to contemporaries, was one of the most educated people of his time. He himself wrote and edited many decrees and was the first of the Russian tsars to personally sign them (for Mikhail, decrees were signed by others, for example, his father Filaret). Meek and devout, Alexei earned the people's love and the nickname of the Quietest.

In the first years of his reign, Alexei Mikhailovich took little part in state affairs. The state was ruled by the tsar's educator boyar Boris Morozov and the tsar's father-in-law Ilya Miloslavsky. Morozov's policy, which was aimed at strengthening the tax oppression, as well as the lawlessness and abuse of Miloslavsky, caused popular indignation.

1648, June - an uprising broke out in the capital, followed by uprisings in southern Russian cities and in Siberia. The result of this rebellion was the removal of Morozov and Miloslavsky from power. 1649 - Alexei Mikhailovich had a chance to take over the government of the country. On his personal instructions, they compiled a set of laws - the Cathedral Code, which satisfied the main wishes of the townspeople and nobles.

In addition, the government of Alexei Mikhailovich encouraged the development of industry, supported Russian merchants, protecting them from the competition of foreign merchants. They adopted customs and new trade charters, which contributed to the development of domestic and foreign trade. Also, during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the Muscovite state expanded its borders not only to the south-west, but also to the south and east - Russian explorers mastered Eastern Siberia.

Fedor III Alekseevich (1676 - 1682)

1675 - Alexei Mikhailovich declared his son Fyodor the heir to the throne. 1676, January 30 - Alexey died at the age of 47 and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin. Fedor Alekseevich became the sovereign of all Russia and on June 18, 1676 he was married to the kingdom in the Assumption Cathedral. Tsar Fyodor ruled for only six years, he was extremely independent, power was in the hands of his maternal relatives - the boyars Miloslavsky.

The most important event of the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich was the destruction in 1682 of localism, which made it possible for not very noble, but educated and enterprising people to advance in the service. In the last days of the reign of Fyodor Alekseevich, a project was drawn up on the establishment in Moscow of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and theological school for 30 people. Fedor Alekseevich died on April 27, 1682 at the age of 22, without making any order regarding the succession to the throne.

Ivan V (1682-1696)

After the death of Tsar Fyodor, ten-year-old Peter Alekseevich, at the suggestion of Patriarch Joachim and at the insistence of the Naryshkins (his mother was from this family), was proclaimed king, bypassing his older brother, Tsarevich Ivan. But from May 23 of the same year, at the request of the boyars Miloslavsky, he was approved by the Zemsky Sobor as the "second tsar", and Ivan - the "first". And only in 1696, after the death of Ivan Alekseevich, did Peter become the sovereign tsar.

Peter I Alekseevich, nickname the Great (1682 - 1725)

Both emperors pledged to be allies in the conduct of hostilities. However, in 1810 relations between Russia and France began to take on an openly hostile character. And in the summer of 1812, a war broke out between the powers. The Russian army, having expelled the invaders from Moscow, completed the liberation of Europe with a triumphant entry into Paris in 1814. The successfully ended wars with Turkey and Sweden strengthened the country's international position. In the reign of Alexander I, Georgia, Finland, Bessarabia, and Azerbaijan became part of the Russian Empire. 1825 - during a trip to Taganrog, Emperor Alexander I caught a bad cold and died on November 19.

Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855)

After the death of Alexander, Russia lived for almost a month without an emperor. On December 14, 1825, the oath was announced to his younger brother Nikolai Pavlovich. On the same day, an attempted coup d'état took place, later called the Decembrist uprising. The day of December 14 made an indelible impression on Nicholas I, and this was reflected in the nature of his entire reign, during which absolutism reached its highest rise, the costs of officials and the army absorbed almost all state funds. During the years, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was compiled - a code of all legislative acts that existed in 1835.

1826 - a Secret Committee was established to deal with the peasant question, in 1830 a general law on estates was developed, in which a number of improvements were designed for the peasants. About 9,000 rural schools were organized for the primary education of peasant children.

1854 - the Crimean War began, ending with the defeat of Russia: according to the Paris Treaty of 1856, the Black Sea was declared neutral, and Russia was able to regain the right to have a fleet there only in 1871. It was the defeat in this war that decided the fate of Nicholas I. Not wanting to admit the fallacy of his views and beliefs, which led the state not only to a military defeat, but also to the collapse of the entire system of state power, the emperor, it is believed, deliberately took poison on February 18, 1855.

Alexander II the Liberator (1855-1881)

The next from the Romanov dynasty came to power - Alexander Nikolaevich, the eldest son of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna.

It should be noted that he was able to somewhat stabilize the situation both within the state and at external borders. Firstly, under Alexander II, serfdom was abolished in Russia, for which the emperor was nicknamed the Liberator. 1874 - a decree on universal military service was issued, which abolished recruiting kits. At this time, higher educational institutions for women were created, three universities were founded - Novorossiysk, Warsaw and Tomsk.

Alexander II was able to finally conquer the Caucasus in 1864. Under the Argun Treaty with China, the Amur Territory was annexed to Russia, and under the Beijing Treaty, the Ussuri Territory. 1864 - Russian troops began a campaign in Central Asia, during which the Turkestan Territory and the Ferghana Region were captured. Russian dominion extended up to the peaks of the Tien Shan and the foot of the Himalayan range. Russia also had possessions in the United States.

However, in 1867 Russia sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to America. The most important event in Russian foreign policy during the reign of Alexander II was the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which ended with the victory of the Russian army, which resulted in the proclamation of the independence of Serbia, Romania and Montenegro.

Russia received part of Bessarabia, torn away in 1856 (except for the islands of the Danube Delta) and a cash contribution of 302.5 million rubles. In the Caucasus, Ardagan, Kars and Batum with their environs were annexed to Russia. The emperor could still do a lot for Russia, but on March 1, 1881, his life was tragically cut short by a bomb of terrorists of the People's Volunteers, and the next representative of the Romanov dynasty, his son Alexander III, ascended the throne. Hard times have come for the Russian people.

Alexander III the Peacemaker (1881-1894)

During the reign of Alexander III, administrative arbitrariness increased to a large extent. In order to develop new lands, mass migration of peasants to Siberia began. The government took care of improving the life of workers - the work of minors and women was limited.

In foreign policy at that time, there was a deterioration in Russian-German relations and there was a rapprochement between Russia and France, which ended with the conclusion of the Franco-Russian alliance. Emperor Alexander III died in the fall of 1894 from kidney disease, which worsened due to bruises received during a railway accident near Kharkov and constant immoderate alcohol consumption. And power passed to his eldest son Nikolai, the last Russian emperor from the Romanov dynasty.

Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917)

The entire reign of Nicholas II passed in an atmosphere of growing revolutionary movement. At the beginning of 1905, a revolution broke out in Russia, which laid the foundation for reforms: 1905, on October 17, the Manifesto was issued, which established the foundations of civil freedom: the inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, assembly and unions. They established the State Duma (1906), without the approval of which no law could enter into force.

According to the project of P.A. Stolshin, an agrarian reform was carried out. In the field of foreign policy, Nicholas II took some steps to stabilize international relations. Despite the fact that Nicholas was more democratic than his father, popular dissatisfaction with the autocrat was growing rapidly. At the beginning of March 1917, the chairman of the State Duma, M.V. Rodzianko, told Nicholas II that the preservation of autocracy was possible only if the throne was handed over to Tsarevich Alexei.

But, given the poor health of his son Alexei, Nicholas abdicated in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. Mikhail Alexandrovich, in turn, abdicated in favor of the people. The republican era has begun in Russia.

From March 9 to August 14, 1917, the former emperor and members of his family were kept under arrest in Tsarskoye Selo, then they were transferred to Tobolsk. On April 30, 1918, the prisoners were brought to Yekaterinburg, where on the night of July 17, 1918, by order of the new revolutionary government, the former emperor, his wife, children, and the doctor and servants who remained with them were shot by the Chekists. Thus ended the reign of the last dynasty in the history of Russia.

The main condition for the existence of immortality is death itself.

Stanislav Jerzy Lec

The execution of the Romanov royal family on the night of July 17, 1918 is one of the most important events of the era of the Civil War, the formation of Soviet power, as well as Russia's exit from the First World War. The murder of Nicholas 2 and his family was largely predetermined by the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks. But in this story, not everything is as simple as it is commonly said. In this article, I will present all the facts that are known in this case in order to assess the events of those days.

History of events

We should start with the fact that Nicholas 2 was not the last Russian emperor, as many believe today. He abdicated (for himself and for his son Alexei) in favor of his brother, Mikhail Romanov. So he is the last emperor. This is important to remember, we will return to this fact later. Also, in most textbooks, the execution of the royal family is equated with the murder of the family of Nicholas 2. But these were far from all the Romanovs. To understand how many people we are talking about, I will give only data on the last Russian emperors:

• Nicholas 1 - 4 sons and 4 daughters.
• Alexander 2 - 6 sons and 2 daughters.
• Alexander 3 - 4 sons and 2 daughters.
• Nicholas 2 - son and 4 daughters.

That is, the family is very large, and any of the list above is a direct descendant of the imperial branch, which means a direct contender for the throne. But most of them also had children of their own ...

Arrest of members of the royal family

Nicholas 2, having abdicated the throne, put forward rather simple demands, the fulfillment of which the Provisional Government guaranteed. The requirements were as follows:

• Safe transfer of the emperor to Tsarskoe Selo to his family, where at that time Tsarevich Alexei was more.
• The safety of the whole family at the time of their stay in Tsarskoye Selo until the full recovery of Tsarevich Alexei.
• The safety of the road to the northern ports of Russia, from where Nicholas 2 and his family should cross to England.
• After the end of the Civil War, the royal family will return to Russia and live in Livadia (Crimea).

It is important to understand these points in order to see the intentions of Nicholas 2 and later the Bolsheviks. The emperor abdicated the throne so that the current government would provide him with a safe exit to England.

What is the role of the British government?

The provisional government of Russia, after receiving the demands of Nicholas 2, turned to England with the question of the consent of the latter to host the Russian monarch. A positive response was received. But here it is important to understand that the request itself was a formality. The fact is that at that time an investigation was underway against the royal family, for the period of which it was impossible to leave Russia. Therefore, England, giving consent, did not risk anything at all. Something else is much more interesting. After the complete justification of Nicholas 2, the Provisional Government again makes a request to England, but more specific. This time the question was no longer posed abstractly, but concretely, because everything was ready for the move to the island. But then England refused.

Therefore, when today Western countries and people, screaming at every corner about the innocently killed, talk about the execution of Nicholas 2, this only causes a reaction of disgust at their hypocrisy. One word from the British government that they agree to accept Nicholas 2 with his family, and in principle there would be no execution. But they refused...

In the photo on the left is Nicholas 2, on the right is George 4, King of England. They were distant relatives and had an obvious resemblance in appearance.

When was the royal family of the Romanovs executed?

Michael's murder

After the October Revolution, Mikhail Romanov approached the Bolsheviks with a request to remain in Russia as an ordinary citizen. This request was granted. But the last Russian emperor was not destined to live "quietly" for long. Already in March 1918 he was arrested. There is no reason for the arrest. Until now, not a single historian has been able to find a single historical document explaining the reason for the arrest of Mikhail Romanov.

After his arrest, on March 17 he was sent to Perm, where he lived for several months in a hotel. On the night of July 13, 1918, he was taken away from the hotel and shot. This was the first victim of the Romanov family by the Bolsheviks. The official reaction of the USSR to this event was ambivalent:

• It was announced to its citizens that Mikhail shamefully fled from Russia abroad. Thus, the authorities got rid of unnecessary questions, and, most importantly, received a legitimate reason to tighten the maintenance of the rest of the members of the royal family.
• For foreign countries, it was announced through the media that Mikhail was missing. They say he went out on the night of July 13 for a walk and did not return.

The execution of the family of Nicholas 2

The backstory here is quite interesting. Immediately after the October Revolution, the Romanov royal family was arrested. The investigation did not reveal the guilt of Nicholas 2, so the charges were dropped. At the same time, it was impossible to let the family go to England (the British refused), and the Bolsheviks really did not want to send them to the Crimea, because there were “whites” very close by. Yes, and throughout almost the entire Civil War, Crimea was under the control of the white movement, and all the Romanovs who were on the peninsula were saved by moving to Europe. Therefore, they decided to send them to Tobolsk. The fact of secrecy of the dispatch is noted in his diaries by Nikolay 2, who writes that they were taken to ONE of the cities in the depths of the country.

Until March, the royal family lived relatively calmly in Tobolsk, but on March 24 an investigator arrived here, and on March 26 a reinforced detachment of Red Army soldiers arrived. In fact, since that time, enhanced security measures have begun. The basis is the imaginary flight of Michael.

Subsequently, the family was moved to Yekaterinburg, where she settled in the Ipatiev house. On the night of July 17, 1918, the Romanov royal family was shot. Together with them, their servants were also shot. In total that day died:

• Nicholas 2,
• His wife, Alexandra
• The emperor's children are Tsarevich Alexei, Maria, Tatyana and Anastasia.
• Family doctor - Botkin
• Maid - Demidova
• Personal chef - Kharitonov
• Footman - Troupe.

In total, 10 people were shot. The corpses, according to the official version, were thrown into the mine and filled with acid.

Who killed the family of Nicholas 2?

I have already said above that since March, the protection of the royal family has been significantly increased. After moving to Yekaterinburg, it was already a full-fledged arrest. The family was settled in the house of Ipatiev, and a guard was presented to them, the head of the garrison of which was Avdeev. On July 4, almost the entire composition of the guard was replaced, as was his chief. In the future, it was these people who were accused of murdering the royal family:

• Yakov Yurovsky. Supervised the execution.
• Grigory Nikulin. Yurovsky's assistant.
• Peter Ermakov. Head of the Emperor's Guard.
• Mikhail Medvedev-Kudrin. Cheka representative.

These are the main persons, but there were also ordinary performers. It is noteworthy that all of them significantly survived this event. Most later took part in the Second World War, received a pension from the USSR.

Reprisal against the rest of the family

Since March 1918, other members of the royal family have been gathering in Alapaevsk (Perm province). In particular, Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna, Princes John, Konstantin and Igor, as well as Vladimir Paley are imprisoned here. The latter was the grandson of Alexander 2, but had a different surname. Subsequently, all of them were transported to Vologda, where on July 19, 1918 they were thrown alive into the mine.

The latest events in the destruction of the Romanov dynastic family date back to January 19, 1919, when princes Nikolai and Georgy Mikhailovich, Pavel Alexandrovich and Dmitry Konstantinovich were shot in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Reaction to the assassination of the Romanov imperial family

The murder of the family of Nicholas 2 had the greatest resonance, which is why it needs to be studied. There are many sources indicating that when Lenin was informed about the murder of Nicholas 2, he did not seem to even react to it. It is impossible to verify such judgments, but one can refer to archival documents. In particular, we are interested in Protocol No. 159 of the meeting of the Council of People's Commissars of July 18, 1918. The protocol is very short. Heard the question of the murder of Nicholas 2. Decided - to take note. That's it, just take note. There are no other documents regarding this case! This is complete absurdity. In the yard of the 20th century, but not a single document is preserved regarding such an important historical event, except for one note “Take note” ...

However, the underlying reaction to the murder is investigation. They started

Investigations into the murder of the family of Nicholas 2

The leadership of the Bolsheviks, as expected, began an investigation into the murder of the family. The official investigation began on 21 July. She conducted an investigation quickly enough, since Kolchak's troops approached Yekaterinburg. The main conclusion of this official investigation is that there was no murder. Only Nikolai 2 was shot by the verdict of the Yekaterinburg Soviet. But there are a number of very weak points that still cast doubt on the veracity of the investigation:

• The investigation began a week later. In Russia, the former emperor is being killed, and the authorities react to this a week later! Why was this week of pause?
• Why conduct an investigation if there was a shooting on the orders of the Soviets? In this case, right on July 17, the Bolsheviks were supposed to report that “the execution of the Romanov royal family took place on the orders of the Yekaterinburg Soviet. Nikolai 2 was shot, but his family was not touched.
• There are no supporting documents. Even today, all references to the decision of the Yekaterinburg Council are oral. Even in Stalin's times, when they were shot by the millions, documents remained, they say, "by the decision of the troika and so on" ...

On the 20th of July 1918, Kolchak's army entered Yekaterinburg, and one of the first orders was to begin an investigation into the tragedy. Today everyone is talking about investigator Sokolov, but before him there were 2 more investigators with the names Nametkin and Sergeev. No one has officially seen their reports. Yes, and Sokolov's report was published only in 1924. According to the investigator, the entire royal family was shot. By this time (back in 1921), the Soviet leadership had voiced the same data.

The sequence of the destruction of the Romanov dynasty

In the story of the execution of the royal family, it is very important to observe the chronology, otherwise it is very easy to get confused. And the chronology here is this - the dynasty was destroyed in the order of contenders for succession to the throne.

Who was the first pretender to the throne? That's right, Mikhail Romanov. I remind you again - back in 1917, Nicholas 2 abdicated the throne for himself and for his son in favor of Mikhail. Therefore, he was the last emperor, and he was the first claimant to the throne, in the event of the restoration of the Empire. Mikhail Romanov was killed on July 13, 1918.

Who was next in line of succession? Nicholas 2 and his son, Tsarevich Alexei. The candidacy of Nicholas 2 is controversial here, in the end he renounced power on his own. Although in his attitude everyone could play the other way, because in those days almost all laws were violated. But Tsarevich Alexei was a clear contender. The father had no legal right to relinquish the throne for his son. As a result, the entire family of Nicholas 2 was shot on July 17, 1918.

Next in line were all the other princes, of whom there were quite a few. Most of them were gathered in Alapaevsk and killed on July 19, 1918. As they say, rate the speed: 13, 17, 19. If we were talking about random murders that were not related to each other, then there would simply not be such a similarity. In less than 1 week, almost all pretenders to the throne were killed, and in order of succession, but history today considers these events isolated from each other, and absolutely not paying attention to disputed places.

Alternative versions of the tragedy

A key alternative version of this historical event is set forth in Tom Mangold and Anthony Summers' book The Murder That Wasn't. It hypothesizes that there was no execution. In general terms, the situation is as follows ...

• The reasons for the events of those days should be sought in the Brest peace treaty between Russia and Germany. The argument is that despite the fact that the secrecy stamp from the documents has long been removed (it was 60 years old, that is, in 1978 there should have been a publication), there is not a single full version of this document. An indirect confirmation of this is that the “executions” began precisely after the signing of the peace treaty.
• It is a well-known fact that the wife of Nicholas 2, Alexandra, was a relative of the German Kaiser Wilhelm 2. It is assumed that Wilhelm 2 introduced a clause into the Treaty of Brest, according to which Russia undertakes to ensure the safe departure to Germany of Alexandra and her daughters.
• As a result, the Bolsheviks extradited women to Germany, and Nicholas 2 and his son Alexei were left as hostages. Subsequently, Tsarevich Alexei grew up in Alexei Kosygin.

A new round of this version was given by Stalin. It is a well-known fact that one of his favorites was Alexei Kosygin. There are no big reasons to believe this theory, but there is one detail. It is known that Stalin always called Kosygin nothing more than "tsarevich".

Canonization of the royal family

In 1981, the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad canonized Nicholas 2 and his family as great martyrs. In 2000, this happened in Russia as well. To date, Nicholas 2 and his family are great martyrs and innocently killed, therefore they are saints.

A few words about the Ipatiev house

The Ipatiev House is the place where the family of Nicholas 2 was imprisoned. There is a very well-reasoned hypothesis that it was possible to escape from this house. Moreover, unlike the unfounded alternative version, there is one significant fact. So, the general version is that there was an underground passage from the basement of the Ipatiev house, which no one knew about, and which led to a factory located nearby. Proof of this has already been provided in our day. Boris Yeltsin gave the order to demolish the house and build a church in its place. This was done, but one of the bulldozers during the work fell into this same underground passage. There is no other evidence of a possible escape of the royal family, but the fact itself is curious. At the very least, it leaves room for thought.

To date, the house has been demolished, and the Church on the Blood has been erected in its place.

Summarizing

In 2008, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the family of Nicholas 2 as a victim of repression. Case is closed.

The Romanovs, a boyar family, from 1613 - the royal, and from 1721 - the imperial dynasty in Russia, which ruled until February 1917. The documented ancestor of the Romanovs was Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, the boyar of the Moscow princes of the middle of the 14th century. The ancestors of the Romanovs before the beginning of the 16th century. were called Koshkins (from the nickname of the 5th son of Andrei Ivanovich - Fedor Koshka), then Zakharyins. The rise of the Zakharyins dates back to the 2nd third of the 16th century. and is associated with the marriage of Ivan IV to the daughter of Roman Yurievich - Anastasia (died in 1560). The ancestor of the Romanovs was the 3rd son of Roman - Nikita Romanovich (died in 1586) - a boyar from 1562, an active participant in the Livonian War and many diplomatic negotiations; after the death of Ivan IV, he headed the regency council (until the end of 1584). Of his sons, the most famous are Fedor (see Filaret) and Ivan (died in 1640) - a boyar since 1605, was a member of the government of the so-called "Seven Boyars"; after the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov - the son of Filaret and nephew Ivan, the latter and his son Nikita (see Romanov N.I.) enjoyed very great influence at court. In 1598, with the death of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, the Rurik dynasty came to an end. In preparation for the election of a new tsar, Fedor Nikitich Romanov was named as a possible candidate for the tsar's throne. Under Boris Godunov, the Romanovs fell into disgrace (1600) and their exile (1601) to Beloozero, Pelym, Yarensk and other places far from Moscow, and Fedor was tonsured a monk under the name of Filaret. The new rise of the Romanovs began in the reign of I "False Dmitry I. In the Tushino camp II" False Dmitry II, Filaret was named the Russian patriarch.

At the Zemsky Sobor of 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the son of Fyodor (Filaret) Romanov, was elected Russian Tsar (reigned 1613-1645). Michael was a man of small mind, indecisive and, moreover, painful. The main role in governing the country was played by his father, Patriarch Filaret (until his death in 1633). During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-76), transformations began in the social and political fields. Alexey himself participated in government, was an educated person for his time. He was succeeded by Fedor Alekseevich, sickly and far from state affairs (reigned in 1676-1682); then his brother the Great Peter I the Great (1682-1725) became king, during whose reign the largest reforms were carried out in Russia, and a successful foreign policy made it one of the strongest countries in Europe. In 1721 Russia became an empire, and Peter I became the first Emperor of All Russia. By Peter's decree of February 5, 1722, on the succession to the throne (confirmed in 1731 and 1761), the emperor appointed himself a successor from among the members of the imperial family. Peter I did not have time to appoint a successor, and after his death, his wife Catherine I Alekseevna (1725-27) took the throne.

The son of Peter I - Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich was executed on June 26, 1718 for actively opposing the reforms. The son of Alexei Petrovich - Peter II Alekseevich occupied the throne from 1727 to 1730. With his death in 1730, the Romanov dynasty in the direct male generation was cut short. In 1730-40, the granddaughter of Alexei Mikhailovich, the niece of Peter I, Anna Ivanovna, ruled, and from 1741, the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, with whose death in 1761 the Romanov dynasty was stopped along the female line. However, the surname Romanovs was carried by representatives of the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty: Peter III (son of the Duke of Holstein Friedrich Karl and Anna, daughter of Peter I), who ruled in 1761-62, his wife Catherine II, nee Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst, who ruled in 1762-96, their son Paul I (1796-1801) and his descendants. Catherine II, Paul I, Alexander I (1801-25), Nicholas I (1825-55), in the conditions of the development of capitalist relations, tried in every possible way to preserve the feudal system with an absolute monarchy, brutally suppressed the revolutionary liberation movement. Alexander II (1855-81), son of Nicholas I, was forced to abolish serfdom in 1861. However, in the hands of the nobility, the most important posts in the government, the state apparatus and the army were practically preserved. Desiring to continue to hold power, the Romanovs, especially Alexander III (1881-94) and Nicholas II (1894-1917), pursued a reactionary course in domestic and foreign policy. Among the many great princes from the Romanov dynasty, who occupied the highest positions in the army and in the state apparatus, Nikolai Nikolaevich (the Elder) (1831-91), Mikhail Nikolaevich (1832-1909), Sergei Alexandrovich (1857-1905) and Nikolai Nikolaevich (Younger) (1856-1929).

The Last of the Romanov Dynasty

Small surviving photo albums allow you to see with your own eyes the moments of the personal life of not one martyr, but the whole family - the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers of the Romanovs.

The personal life of the last Russian Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II and his family was carefully hidden from prying eyes. Sincerely and invariably keeping the commandments of Christ, living according to them not for show, but with their hearts, the Sovereign and Empress carefully avoided everything evil and unclean that only surrounds all those in power, finding for themselves endless joy and rest in their family, arranged according to the word of Christ like a small Church, where respect, understanding and mutual love reigned until the last moments of their lives. Likewise, their children, hidden by parental love from the corrupting influence of time and brought up in the spirit of Orthodoxy from birth, did not find greater joy for themselves than common family meetings, walks or holidays. Being deprived of the opportunity to be near their royal parents incessantly, they especially appreciated and cherished those days, and sometimes just minutes, that they could spend together with their dearly beloved father and mother.

Personality of Nicholas II

Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov) (05/19/1868 - 07/17/1918), Russian tsar, Russian emperor, martyr, son of Tsar Alexander III. Nicholas II was brought up and educated under the personal guidance of his father, on a traditional religious basis, in Spartan conditions. The subjects were taught by outstanding Russian scientists K. P. Pobedonostsev, N. N. Beketov, N. N. Obruchev, M. I. Dragomirov and others. Much attention was paid to the military training of the future tsar.

Nicholas II ascended the throne at the age of 26, earlier than expected, as a result of the premature death of his father. Nicholas II managed to quickly recover from the initial confusion and began to pursue an independent policy, which caused dissatisfaction with part of his entourage, who hoped to influence the young tsar. The basis of the state policy of Nicholas II was the continuation of his father's desire "to give Russia more internal unity by asserting the Russian elements of the country."

In his first address to the people, Nikolai Alexandrovich announced that “henceforth, having imbued with the precepts of his deceased parent, he accepts a sacred vow before the face of the Almighty to always have as a single goal the peaceful prosperity, power and glory of dear Russia and the happiness of all His loyal subjects.” In an address to foreign states, Nicholas II declared that “he would devote all his concerns to the development of the internal well-being of Russia and in no way deviate from the completely peaceful, firm and straightforward policy that so powerfully contributed to the general calm, and Russia will continue to see in respect for the right and legal order is the best guarantee of the security of the state”.

The model of a ruler for Nicholas II was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who carefully preserved the traditions of antiquity.

In addition to a strong will and a brilliant education, Nikolai possessed all the natural qualities necessary for state activity, above all, a huge ability to work. If necessary, he could work from morning until late at night, studying the numerous documents and materials received in his name. (By the way, he also willingly engaged in physical labor - sawing firewood, removing snow, etc.) Possessing a lively mind and a broad outlook, the king quickly grasped the essence of the issues under consideration. The king had an exceptional memory for faces and events. He remembered by sight most of the people he had to deal with, and there were thousands of such people.

However, the time in which Nicholas II fell to reign was very different from the era of the first Romanovs. If then the folk foundations and traditions served as a unifying banner of a society that was revered by both the common people and the ruling class, then to n. 20th century Russian foundations and traditions become the object of denial on the part of an educated society. A significant part of the ruling stratum and intelligentsia rejects the path of following Russian foundations, traditions and ideals, many of which they consider obsolete and ignorant. Russia's right to its own path is not recognized. Attempts are being made to impose on it an alien model of development - either Western European liberalism or Western European Marxism.

The reign of Nicholas II is the most dynamic period in the growth of the Russian people in its entire history. In less than a quarter of a century, the population of Russia has increased by 62 million people. The economy grew rapidly. Between 1885 and 1913, industrial output increased fivefold, exceeding the rates of industrial growth in the most developed countries of the world. The Great Siberian Railway was built, in addition, 2 thousand km of railways were built annually. The national income of Russia, according to the most underestimated calculations, has grown from 8 billion rubles. in 1894 to 22-24 billion in 1914, that is, almost three times. The average per capita income of Russian people has doubled. The incomes of workers in industry grew at a particularly high rate. For a quarter of a century, they have grown at least three times. The total expenditure on the share of public education and culture increased by 8 times, more than twice the expenditure on education in France and one and a half times - in England.

The personality of Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Nicholas II)

She was born in Darmstadt (Germany) in 1872. She was baptized on July 1, 1872 according to the Lutheran rite. The name given to her consisted of her mother's name (Alice) and the four names of her aunts. The godparents were: Edward, Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII), Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich (future Emperor Alexander III) with his wife, Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, the youngest daughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Beatrice, Augusta von Hesse-Kassel, Duchess of Cambridge and Maria Anna , Princess of Prussia.

In 1878, a diphtheria epidemic spread in Hesse. Alice's mother and her younger sister May died from her, after which Alice lived most of the time in the UK at Balmoral Castle and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. Alice was considered the favorite granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who called her Sunny (“Sunny”).

In June 1884, at the age of 12, Alice visited Russia for the first time, when her older sister Ella (in Orthodoxy - Elizaveta Feodorovna) was married to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. For the second time, she arrived in Russia in January 1889 at the invitation of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. After staying in the Sergievsky Palace (Petersburg) for six weeks, the princess met and attracted the special attention of the heir to Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.

In the early 1890s, the marriage of Alice and Tsarevich Nicholas was opposed by the latter's parents, who hoped for his marriage to Helen Louise Henriette, daughter of Louis Philippe, Count of Paris. A key role in arranging Alice's marriage with Nikolai Alexandrovich was played by the efforts of her sister, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, and the latter's husband, through whom the lovers corresponded. The position of Emperor Alexander and his wife changed due to the perseverance of the crown prince and the deteriorating health of the emperor; On April 6, 1894, the engagement of the Tsarevich and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt was announced in a manifesto. The following months, Alice studied the basics of Orthodoxy under the guidance of the court protopresbyter John Yanyshev and the Russian language with the teacher E. A. Schneider. On October 10 (22), 1894, she arrived in the Crimea, in Livadia, where she stayed with the imperial family until the day of the death of Emperor Alexander III - October 20. On October 21 (November 2), 1894, she accepted Orthodoxy there through chrismation with the name Alexander and patronymic Fedorovna (Feodorovna).

The personalities of the children of Alexandra and Nikolai

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanova.

She was born in November 1895. Olga became the first child in the family of Nicholas II. Parents could not get enough of the appearance of the child. Olga Nikolaevna Romanova distinguished herself by her abilities in the study of sciences, she loved solitude and books. The Grand Duchess was very smart, she had creative abilities. Olga behaved with everyone simply and naturally. The princess was surprisingly responsive, sincere and generous. The first daughter of Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova inherited facial features, posture, as well as golden hair from her mother. From Nikolai Alexandrovich, the daughter inherited the inner world. Olga, like her father, had an amazingly pure Christian soul. The princess was distinguished by an innate sense of justice, did not like lies.

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, with her enchanting 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.

Olga Nikolaevna was remarkably smart and capable, and teaching was a joke to her, which is why she was sometimes lazy. Her characteristic features were a strong will and an incorruptible honesty and directness, in which She was like a Mother. She had these wonderful qualities from childhood, but as a child Olga Nikolaevna was often stubborn, disobedient and very quick-tempered; afterwards she knew how to restrain herself. She had wonderful blond hair, large blue eyes and a marvelous complexion, a slightly upturned nose, resembling the Sovereign.

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova.

She was born on June 11, 1897, and was the second child in the Romanov couple. Like Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Tatyana outwardly resembled her mother, but her character was paternal. Tatyana Nikolaevna Romanova was less emotional than her sister. Tatyana's eyes were similar to the eyes of the Empress, the figure was graceful, and the color of blue eyes harmoniously combined with brown hair. Tatyana was rarely naughty, and had amazing, according to contemporaries, self-control. Tatyana Nikolaevna had a highly developed sense of duty and a penchant for order in everything. Because of her mother's illness, Tatyana Romanova often managed the household, and this did not burden the Grand Duchess in any way. She loved needlework, embroidered and sewed well. The princess was of sound mind. In cases requiring decisive action, she always remained herself.

Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna was just as charming as her older sister, but in her own way. She was often called proud, but I did not know anyone who would have been less proud than her. The same thing happened to her as to Her Majesty. Her shyness and restraint were taken for arrogance, but as soon as you got to know Her better and win Her trust, the restraint disappeared and the real Tatyana Nikolaevna appeared before you. She had a poetic nature, longed for true friendship. His Majesty dearly loved the second Daughter, and the Sisters joked that if you need to turn to the Sovereign with some kind of request, then "Tatyana should ask Papa to let us do this." Very tall, thin as a reed, She was endowed with a graceful cameo profile and brown hair. She was fresh, fragile and pure as a rose.

Maria Nikolaevna Romanova.

She was born on June 27, 1899. She became the third child of the Emperor and Empress. Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna Romanova was a typical Russian girl. She was characterized by good nature, gaiety, and affability. Maria had a beautiful appearance and vitality. According to the memoirs of some of her contemporaries, she was very similar to her grandfather Alexander III. Maria Nikolaevna loved her parents very much. She was strongly attached to them, much more than the rest of the children of the royal couple. The fact is that she was too small for the older daughters (Olga and Tatiana), and too old for the younger children (Anastasia and Alexei) of Nicholas II.

The successes of the Grand Duchess were average. Like the other girls, she was capable of languages, but she only fluently mastered English (which she constantly communicated with her parents) and Russian - the girls spoke it among themselves. Not without difficulty, Gilliard managed to learn her French at a level "quite tolerable", but no more. German - despite all the efforts of Fraulein Schneider - remained undeveloped.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova.

She was born on June 18, 1901. The sovereign had been waiting for an heir for a long time, and when the daughter turned out to be the long-awaited fourth child, he was saddened. Soon the sadness passed, and the Emperor loved the fourth daughter, no less than his other children.

They were expecting a boy, but a girl was born. Anastasia Romanova, in her agility, could give odds to any boy. Anastasia Nikolaevna wore simple clothes inherited from her older sisters. The bedroom of the fourth daughter was not richly cleaned. Necessarily every morning Anastasia Nikolaevna took a cold shower. It was not easy to keep an eye on Princess Anastasia. As a child, she was very nimble. She liked to climb, where not getting, to hide. When she was a child, Grand Duchess Anastasia loved to play pranks, as well as to make others laugh. In addition to gaiety, Anastasia reflected such character traits as wit, courage and observation.

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 childlike 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 in the evenings entertained them with telephone conversations, sewed linen, prepared bandages and lint.

Tsarevich Alexei was the fourth child in the family of Nicholas II.

Alexei was a long-awaited child. From the first days of his reign, Nicholas II dreamed of an heir. The Lord sent only daughters to the emperor. Tsesarevich Alexei was born on August 12, 1904. The heir to the Russian throne was born a year after the Sarov celebrations. The entire royal family fervently prayed for the birth of a boy. Tsarevich Alexei inherited all the best from his father and mother. Parents loved the heir very much, he answered them with great reciprocity. The father was a real idol for Alexei Nikolaevich. The young prince tried to imitate him in everything. The royal couple did not even think about how to name the newborn prince. Nicholas II had long wanted to name his future heir Alexei. The tsar said that "it's time to break the line of Alexandrov and Nikolaev." Also, Nicholas II was sympathetic to the personality of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, and the emperor wanted to name his son in honor of the great ancestor.

On the mother's side, Alexei inherited hemophilia, which was carried by some of the daughters and granddaughters of the English Queen Victoria.

The heir Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolayevich was a boy of 14 years old, intelligent, 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.

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

Death of the last of the Romanov dynasty

After the Bolshevik Revolution, the tsar and his family were placed under house arrest. Members of the imperial family were executed on July 17, 1918, during the Civil War, because the Bolsheviks feared that whites might unite around the living tsar.

The night of July 16-17, 1918 was fatal for the last Romanovs. On this night, the former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, the former Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, 14-year-old Alexei, daughters, Olga (22 years old), Tatiana (20 years old), Maria (18 years old) and Anastasia (16 years old), as well as the doctor E. S. Botkin, the maid A. Demidova, the cook Kharitonov and the lackey, who were with them, were shot in the basement of the House of Special Purpose (the former house of engineer Ipatiev) in Yekaterinburg. At the same time, the bodies of those shot in a car were taken outside the city and, not far from the village of Koptyaki, were dumped into an old mine.

But the fear that the whites approaching Yekaterinburg would find the corpses and turn them into "holy relics" forced a reburial. The next day, the executed were taken out of the mine, again loaded onto a car, which moved along a dead road into the forest. In a swampy place, the car stalled, and then, after trying to burn the corpses, they decided to bury them right on the road. The grave was filled and leveled.



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

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

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

She was prudent and stingy, but humble and very pious. She knew how to do a lot: she was engaged in needlework, painted, and during the First World War she looked after the wounded - and taught her daughters how to dress. The simplicity of the royal upbringing can be judged by the letters of the Grand Duchesses to their father: they easily wrote to him about the "idiotic photographer", "nasty handwriting" or that "the stomach wants to eat, it is already cracking." Tatyana in letters to Nikolai signed "Your faithful Ascension", Olga - "Your faithful Elisavetgradets", and Anastasia did it like this: "Your daughter Nastasya, who loves You. Shvybzik. ANRPZSG Artichokes, etc."

A German who grew up in the UK, Alexandra wrote mostly in English, but she spoke Russian well, albeit with an accent. She loved Russia - just like her husband. Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra's maid of honor and close friend, wrote that Nikolai was ready to ask his enemies for one thing: not to expel him from the country and let him live with his family "the simplest peasant." Perhaps the imperial family would really be able to live by their work. But the Romanovs were not allowed to live a private life. Nicholas from the king turned into a prisoner.

"The thought that we are all together pleases and comforts..."Arrest in Tsarskoye Selo

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

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

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

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

"You can't go there, Colonel"

On March 9, Nicholas arrived in Tsarskoye Selo, where he was first greeted not as an emperor. "The officer on duty shouted: 'Open the gates to the former tsar.' (...) When the sovereign passed by the officers gathered in the vestibule, no one greeted him. The sovereign did it first. Only then did everyone give him greetings," wrote valet Alexei Volkov.

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

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

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

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

Alexei's mentor Pierre Gilliard (he was called Zhilik in the family) recalled that Alexandra was furious. "To do this to the sovereign, to do this disgusting thing to him after he sacrificed himself and abdicated in order to avoid a civil war - how low, how petty!" she said. But in her diary there is only one discreet entry about this: "N<иколаю>and I'm only allowed to meet at mealtimes, not to sleep together."

The measure did not last long. On April 12, she wrote: "Tea in the evening in my room, and now we sleep together again."

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

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

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

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

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

In correspondence, the family was not limited, but all messages were viewed. Alexandra corresponded a lot with Anna Vyrubova, who was either released or arrested again. They sent parcels to each other: the former maid of honor once sent "a wonderful blue blouse and delicious marshmallow", and also her perfume. Alexandra answered with a shawl, which she also perfumed - with vervain. She tried to help her friend: "I send pasta, sausages, coffee - although fasting is now. I always pull greens out of the soup so that I don’t eat the broth, and I don’t smoke." She hardly complained, except for the cold.

In Tobolsk exile, the family managed to maintain the old way of life in many ways. Even Christmas was celebrated. There were candles and a Christmas tree - Alexandra wrote that the trees in Siberia are of a different, unusual variety, and "it smells strongly of orange and tangerine, and resin flows all the time along the trunk." And the servants were presented with woolen vests, which the former empress knitted herself.

In the evenings, Nikolai read aloud, Alexandra embroidered, and her daughters sometimes played the piano. Alexandra Feodorovna's diary entries of that time are everyday: "I drew. I consulted with an optometrist about new glasses", "I sat and knitted on the balcony all afternoon, 20 ° in the sun, in a thin blouse and a silk jacket."

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

Nikolai loved to do physical labor: cut firewood, work in the garden, clean the ice. After moving to Yekaterinburg, all this turned out to be banned.

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

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

Food card. “Before the October Revolution, everything was plentiful, although they lived modestly,” recalled the valet Alexei Volkov. “Dinner consisted of only two courses, but sweet things happened only on holidays.”

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

Last days.In "house of special purpose"

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

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

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

The instruction ordered the commandant to be polite. But during the first search, a reticule was snatched from Alexandra's hands, which she did not want to show. “Until now, I have dealt with honest and decent people,” Nikolai remarked. But I received an answer: "Please do not forget that you are under investigation and arrest." The tsar's entourage was required to call family members by their first and patronymic names instead of "Your Majesty" or "Your Highness". Alexandra was truly pissed off.

The arrested got up at nine, drank tea at ten. The rooms were then checked. Breakfast - at one, lunch - about four or five, at seven - tea, at nine - dinner, at eleven they went to bed. Avdeev claimed that two hours of walking were supposed to be a day. But Nikolai wrote in his diary that only an hour was allowed to walk a day. To the question "why?" the former king was answered: "To make it look like a prison regime."

All prisoners were forbidden any physical labor. Nicholas asked permission to clean the garden - refusal. For a family that spent the past few months only chopping firewood and cultivating beds, this was not easy. At first, the prisoners could not even boil their own water. Only in May, Nikolai wrote in his diary: "They bought us a samovar, at least we will not depend on the guard."

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

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

Only towards the end of July one of the windows was finally opened. "Such joy, finally, delicious air and one window pane, no longer smeared with whitewash," Nikolai wrote in his diary. After that, the prisoners were forbidden to sit on the windowsills.

There were not enough beds, the sisters slept on the floor. They all dined together, and not only with the servants, but also with the Red Army soldiers. They were rude: they could put a spoon into a bowl of soup and say: "You still get nothing to eat."

Vermicelli, potatoes, beet salad and compote - such food was on the table of the prisoners. Meat was a problem. “They brought meat for six days, but so little that it was only enough for soup,” “Kharitonov cooked a macaroni pie ... because they didn’t bring meat at all,” Alexandra notes in her diary.

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

"I took a sitz bath as hot water could only be brought in from our kitchen," Alexandra writes of minor domestic inconveniences. Her notes show how gradually for the former empress, who once ruled over "a sixth part of the earth", household trifles become important: "great pleasure, a cup of coffee", "good nuns now send milk and eggs for Alexei and us, and cream ".

Products were really allowed to be taken from the women's Novo-Tikhvinsky monastery. With the help of these parcels, the Bolsheviks staged a provocation: they handed over in the cork of one of the bottles a letter from a "Russian officer" with an offer to help them escape. The family replied: "We do not want and cannot RUN. We can only be kidnapped by force." The Romanovs spent several nights dressed, waiting for a possible rescue.

Like a prisoner

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

Of the monastery transfers, he allowed to leave only milk. Alexandra once wrote that the commandant "had breakfast and ate cheese; he won't let us eat cream anymore." Yurovsky also forbade frequent baths, saying that they did not have enough water. He confiscated jewelry from family members, leaving only a watch for Alexei (at the request of Nikolai, who said that the boy would be bored without them) and a gold bracelet for Alexandra - she wore it for 20 years, and it was possible to remove it only with tools.

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

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

Alexandra, it seems, was the hardest in the family to experience the loss of the throne. Yurovsky recalled that if she went for a walk, she would certainly dress up and always put on a hat. "It must be said that she, unlike the rest, with all her exits, tried to maintain all her importance and the former," he wrote.

The rest of the family was simpler - the sisters dressed rather casually, Nikolai walked in patched boots (although, according to Yurovsky, he had enough whole ones). His wife cut his hair. Even the needlework that Alexandra was engaged in was the work of an aristocrat: she embroidered and wove lace. The daughters washed handkerchiefs, darned stockings and bed linen together with the maid Nyuta Demidova.