Alexandra Fedorovna Sr. The mystery of the last empress: Why the wife of Nicholas II was disliked in Russia. Why didn't they love her?
Today is the holiday of the image of “Unexpected Joy”, I have now started to always read it, and you, darling, do the same. It’s the anniversary of our last trip, remember how cozy it was. The good old lady also left, her image is always with me. Once I received a letter from Demidova from Siberia. Very poor. I really want to see Annushka, she will tell me a lot. Yesterday it was 9 months that they were locked. More than 4 that we live here. Was it the English sister who wrote to me? Or what? I’m surprised that Nini and the family did not receive the image that she sent them before we left... It’s a pity that kind Fedosya is not with you. Hello and thanks to my faithful, old Berchik and Nastya. This year I can’t give them anything under the tree, how sad. My dear, well done dear, Christ is with you. I hope we can unite in prayer. Thank you to Father Dosifei and Father John for not forgetting.
I'm writing in bed in the morning and Jimmy sleeps right under my nose and prevents me from writing. Ortipo is on his feet, it makes them warmer. Think about it, good Makarov (commissar) sent me 2 months ago Saint Simeon of Verkhoturye, the Annunciation, from the “Mande” room and from the bedroom above the Madonna washstand; 4 small engravings above the “Mande” couch, 5 Kaulbach pastels from the large living room, I assembled everything myself and took my head (Kaulbach). Your enlarged photo from Livadia, Tatiana and I, Alexey near the booth with a sentry, watercolors of Alexander III, Nicholas I. A small rug from the bedroom - my straw couch (it now stands in the bedroom between other pillows, the one from the roses from Side Mufti-Zade , who did the whole journey with us). Last night I took it from Tsarskoe Selo and slept on it on the train and on the ship - the wonderful smell pleased me. Have you heard from Gaham? Write to him and bow. Syroboyarsky visited him in the summer, do you remember him? He is now in Vladivostok.
22 degrees today, clear sun. I would like to send a photo, but I don’t dare by mail. Do you remember Claudia M. Bitner, a nurse at the Lianozovsky hospital, she gives lessons to children, such happiness. The days fly by, it’s Saturday again, all-night vigil at 9 o’clock. We settled comfortably with our icons and lamps in the corner of the hall, but this is not a church. During these 3.5 years, we got used to being at the infirmary near Znamenya almost every day - it’s sorely missed. I advise Zhilik to write. The pen has been filled again! I'm sending pasta, sausages, coffee - although it's fasting now. I always take the greens out of the soup so that I don’t eat the broth, and I don’t smoke. It’s all so easy for me to be without air, and often I hardly sleep, my body doesn’t bother me, my heart is better, since I live very calmly and without moving, I was terribly thin, now it’s less noticeable, although the dresses are like bags and without a corset even more skinny. Hair also turns gray quickly. All seven are in good spirits. The Lord is so close, you feel His support, you are often surprised that you endure things and separations that would have killed you before. Peaceful in your soul, although you suffer greatly, greatly for your Motherland and for You, but you know that in the end everything is for the better, but you absolutely don’t understand anything else - everyone has gone crazy. I love you endlessly and grieve for my “little daughter” - but I know that she has become big, experienced, a real warrior of Christ. Remember the Bride of Christ card? I know that you are drawn to the monastery (despite your new friend)! Yes, the Lord leads everything, I still want to believe that we will see another temple, the Intercession with its chapels in its place - with a large and small monastery. Where are sister Maria and Tatyana. General Orlov's mother wrote: You know, Ivan was killed in the war, and the bride killed herself out of despair, they are lying with their father. Alexey is in the South, I don’t know where. Hello to my dear lancers and Father John, I always pray for them all.
After the anniversary, in my opinion, the Lord will have mercy on the Motherland. I could write for hours, but I can’t. My joy, always burn the letters, in our troubled times it is better, I also have nothing left of the past, dear. We all kiss you tenderly and bless you. The Lord is great and will not leave His all-encompassing love... stay awake... I will especially remember on the Holiday, pray and hope that we will see each other when, where and how, only He knows, and we will surrender everything to Him, who knows everything better than us.
Empress Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova... Her personality in Russian history is very ambiguous. On the one hand, a loving wife, mother, and on the other, a princess, categorically not accepted by Russian society. A lot of mysteries and secrets are associated with Alexandra Feodorovna: her passion for mysticism, on the one hand, and deep faith, on the other. Researchers attribute responsibility for the tragic fate of the imperial house to her. What mysteries does the biography of Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova hold? What is its role in the fate of the country? We will answer in the article.
Childhood
Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova was born on June 7, 1872. The parents of the future Russian empress were the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Ludwig and the English princess Alice. The girl was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and this relationship will play an important role in the development of Alexandra's character.
Her full name is Victoria Alix Elena Louise Beatrice (in honor of her aunts). In addition to Alix (as the relatives called the girl), the Duke’s family had seven children.
Alexandra (Romanova later) received a classical English education, she was brought up in strict traditions. Modesty was in everything: in everyday life, food, clothing. Even children slept in soldiers' beds. Already at this time, shyness can be traced in the girl; all her life she will struggle with natural suppression in an unfamiliar society. At home, Alix was unrecognizable: nimble, smiling, she earned herself a second name - “sunshine”.
But childhood was not so cloudless: first, his brother dies as a result of an accident, then his younger sister May and Princess Alice, Alix’s mother, die from diphtheria. This was the impetus for the six-year-old girl to withdraw into herself and become alienated.
Youth
After the death of her mother, according to Alexandra herself, a dark cloud hung over her and obscured her entire sunny childhood. She is sent to England to live with her grandmother, the reigning Queen Victoria. Naturally, government affairs took up all of the latter’s time, so the upbringing of the children was entrusted to the governess. Later, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna would not forget the lessons she received in her youth.
Margaret Jackson - that was the name of her teacher and teacher - moved away from the prim Victorian mores, she taught the girl to think, reflect, form and voice her opinion. Classical education did not provide for diversified development, but by the age of fifteen, the future Empress Alexandra Romanova understood politics, history, played excellent music and knew several foreign languages.
It was in her teenage years, at the age of twelve, that Alix first met her future husband Nikolai. This happened at the wedding of her sister and Grand Duke Sergei. Three years later, at the invitation of the latter, she again comes to Russia. Nikolai was captivated by the girl.
Wedding with Nicholas II
Nikolai's parents were not delighted with the union of young people - in their opinion, a wedding with the daughter of the French Count Louis-Philippe was more profitable for him. For the lovers, five long years of separation begin, but this circumstance brought them together even more and taught them to appreciate the feeling.
Nikolai does not want to accept his father’s will; he continues to insist on marrying his beloved. The current emperor has to give in: he senses an approaching illness, and the heir must have a party. But here, too, Alix, who after the coronation received the name Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, faced a serious test: she had to convert to Orthodoxy and leave Lutheranism. She studied the basics for two years, after which she was converted to the Russian faith. It should be said that Alexandra entered Orthodoxy with an open heart and pure thoughts.
The wedding of the young people took place on November 27, 1894, again, it was performed by John of Kronstadt. The sacrament took place in the Church of the Winter Palace. Everything happens against the backdrop of mourning, because 3 days after Alix arrived in Russia, Alexander III dies (many then said that she “came for the coffin”). Alexandra notes in a letter to her sister the striking contrast between grief and great triumph - this brought the spouses together even more. Everyone, even haters of the imperial family, subsequently noticed the strength of the union and the fortitude of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II.
The blessing of the young couple for their reign (coronation) took place on May 27, 1896 in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. From that time on, Alix the “sunshine” acquired the title Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova. Later she noted in her diary that this was her second wedding - with Russia.
Place at court and in political life
From the very first day of her reign, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was support and support for her husband in his difficult state affairs.
In public life, the young woman tried to encourage people to give to charity, something she had learned from her parents as a child. Unfortunately, her ideas were not accepted at court; moreover, the empress was hated. The courtiers saw deceit and unnaturalness in all her proposals and even her facial expressions. But in fact, they were simply accustomed to idleness and did not want to change anything.
Of course, like any woman and wife, Alexandra Romanova influenced her husband’s government activities.
Many prominent politicians of that time noted that she had a negative influence on Nicholas. This was the opinion, for example, of S. Witte. And General A. Mosolov and Senator V. Gurko regretfully note its non-acceptance by Russian society. Moreover, the latter blames not the capricious character and some nervousness of the current empress, but the widow of Alexander III, Maria Fedorovna, who never fully accepted her daughter-in-law.
Nevertheless, her subjects obeyed her, and not out of fear, but out of respect. Yes, she was strict, but she was the same towards herself. Alix never forgot her requests and instructions, each of them was clearly thought out and balanced. Those who were close to the empress sincerely loved her and knew her not by hearsay, but deeply personally. For others, the empress remained a “dark horse” and the subject of gossip.
There were also very warm reviews about Alexander. So, the ballerina (by the way, she was Nikolai’s mistress before the latter’s wedding to Alix) mentions her as a woman of high morality and a broad soul.
Children: Grand Duchesses
The first Grand Duchess Olga was born in 1895. People's dislike for the empress increased even more, because everyone was waiting for a boy, an heir. Alexandra, not finding a response or support for her endeavors from her subjects, completely delves into family life, she even feeds her daughter on her own, without using the services of anyone, which was atypical even for noble families, not to mention the empress.
Later Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia are born. Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alexandra Fedorovna raised their children in simplicity and purity of spirit. It was an ordinary family, devoid of any arrogance.
Tsarina Alexandra Romanova herself was involved in education. The only exception was subjects with a narrow focus. Much attention was paid to outdoor sports and sincerity. The mother was the person to whom the girls could turn at any moment and with any request. They lived in an atmosphere of love and absolute trust. It was an absolutely happy, sincere family.
The girls grew up in an atmosphere of modesty and goodwill. Their mother independently ordered dresses for them in order to protect them from excessive extravagance and to cultivate meekness and chastity. They very rarely took part in social events. Their access to society was limited only by the requirements of palace etiquette. Alexandra Fedorovna, the wife of Nicholas 2, was afraid that the spoiled daughters of the nobility would have a detrimental effect on the girls.
Alexandra Fedorovna coped with the function of a mother brilliantly. The Grand Duchesses grew up to be unusually pure, sincere young ladies. In general, an extraordinary spirit of Christian splendor reigned in the family. Both Nicholas II and Alexandra Romanova noted this in their diaries. The quotes below only confirm the above information:
“Our love and our life are one whole... Nothing can separate us or reduce our love” (Alexandra Fedorovna).
“The Lord blessed us with rare family happiness” (Emperor Nicholas II).
Birth of an heir
The only thing that darkened the life of the spouses was the absence of an heir. Alexandra Romanova was very worried about this. On such days she became especially nervous. Trying to understand the reason and solve the problem, the empress begins to get involved in mysticism and gets even more involved in religion. This also affects her husband, Nicholas II, because he feels the mental torment of the woman he loves.
It was decided to attract the best doctors. Unfortunately, among them there was a real charlatan, Philip. Arriving from France, he so inspired the empress with thoughts of pregnancy that she really believed that she was carrying an heir. Alexandra Feodorovna developed a very rare disease - “false pregnancy”. When it became clear that the Russian Tsarina’s belly was growing under the influence of a psycho-emotional state, an official announcement had to be made that there would be no heir. Philip is expelled from the country in disgrace.
A little later, Alix nevertheless conceives and gives birth to a boy, Tsarevich Alexei, on August 12, 1904.
But she did not receive the long-awaited happiness of Alexander Romanov. Her biography says that the empress’s life from that moment on became tragic. The fact is that the boy is diagnosed with a rare disease - hemophilia. This is a hereditary disease, the carrier of which is a woman. Its essence is that blood does not clot. The person is overcome by constant pain and attacks. The most famous carrier of the hemophilia gene was Queen Victoria, nicknamed the grandmother of Europe. For this reason, this disease received the following names: “Victorian disease” and “Royal disease”. With the best care, the heir could live to a maximum of 30 years, but on average, patients rarely surpassed the age barrier of 16 years.
Rasputin in the life of the Empress
In some sources you can find information that only one person was able to help Tsarevich Alexei - Grigory Rasputin. Although this disease is considered chronic and incurable, there is a lot of evidence that the “man of God” could allegedly stop the suffering of the unfortunate child with his prayers. It is difficult to say how this is explained. It should be noted that the Tsarevich’s illness was a state secret. From this we can conclude how much the imperial family trusted this uncouth Tobolsk man.
A lot has been written about the relationship between Rasputin and the empress: some attribute to him exclusively the role of the savior of the heir, others - a love affair with Alexandra Fedorovna. The latest speculations are not unfounded - the society of that time was sure of the empress’s adultery, and there were rumors surrounding the tsarina’s betrayal of Nicholas II and Gregory. After all, the elder himself spoke about this, but then he was fairly drunk, so he could easily pass off wishful thinking. But it doesn’t take much to create gossip. According to those close to him, who did not harbor hatred for the august couple, the main reason for the close relationship between Rasputin and the imperial family was solely Alexei’s attacks of hemophilia.
How did Nikolai Alexandrovich react to rumors discrediting the pure name of his wife? He considered all this to be nothing more than fiction and an inappropriate interference in the private life of the family. The emperor considered Rasputin himself “a simple Russian man, very religious and believer.”
One thing is certain: the royal family had deep sympathy for Gregory. They were one of the few who sincerely grieved after the murder of the elder.
Romanov during the war
The First World War forced Nicholas II to leave St. Petersburg for Headquarters. Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova took upon herself government concerns. The Empress pays special attention to charity. She perceived the war as her personal tragedy: she sincerely grieved as she saw off the soldiers to the front, and mourned the dead. She read prayers over each new grave of a fallen warrior, as if he were her relative. We can safely say that Alexandra Romanova received the title “Saint” during her lifetime. This is the time when Alix becomes more and more involved in Orthodoxy.
It would seem that the rumors should subside: the country is suffering from war. Far from it, they became even more cruel. For example, she was accused of being passionate about spiritualism. This could not possibly be true, because even then the empress was a deeply religious person who rejected everything otherworldly.
Help for the country during the war was not limited to prayers. Together with her daughters, Alexandra mastered the skills of nurses: they began to work at the hospital, helping surgeons (assisting in operations), and providing all kinds of care to the wounded.
Every day at half past ten in the morning their service began: along with other sisters of mercy, the Empress removed amputated limbs, dirty clothes, and bandaged severe wounds, including gangrenous ones. This was alien to representatives of the upper noble class: they collected donations for the front, visited hospitals, and opened medical institutions. But none of them worked in operating rooms, as the empress did. And all this despite the fact that she was tormented by problems with her own health, undermined by nervous experiences and frequent childbirth.
The royal palaces were converted into hospitals, Alexandra Feodorovna personally formed sanitary trains and warehouses for medicines. She made a vow that while the war was going on, neither she nor the grand duchesses would sew a single dress for themselves. And she remained true to her word to the end.
The spiritual appearance of Alexandra Romanova
Was Alexandra Romanova really a deeply religious person? Photos and portraits of the empress that have survived to this day always show the sad eyes of this woman; some kind of sorrow lurks in them. Even in her youth, she fully embraced the Orthodox faith, abandoning Lutheranism, the truths of which she had been brought up with since childhood.
Life's upheavals make her closer to God; she often retires to pray when she is trying to conceive a boy, and then when she learns about her son's fatal illness. And during the war, she frantically prays for the soldiers who were wounded and died for their Motherland. Every day before her service in the hospital, Alexandra Fedorovna sets aside a certain time for prayer. For these purposes, the Tsarskoye Selo Palace even has a special prayer room.
However, her service to God consisted not only in diligent prayers: the empress launched truly large-scale charitable activities. She organized an orphanage, a home for the disabled, and numerous hospitals. She found time for her maid of honor, who had lost the ability to walk: she talked with her about God, spiritually instructed and supported her every day.
Alexandra Fedorovna never flaunted her faith; most often, when traveling around the country, she visited churches and hospitals incognito. She could easily merge with the crowd of believers, because her actions were natural, coming from the heart. Religion was a purely personal matter for Alexandra Fedorovna. Many at court tried to find notes of hypocrisy in the queen, but nothing worked.
So was her husband, Nicholas II. They loved God and Russia with all their hearts, and could not imagine another life outside of Russia. They made no distinctions between people, did not draw a line between titled persons and ordinary people. Most likely, this is why an ordinary Tobolsk man, Grigory Rasputin, at one time “took root” in the imperial family.
Arrest, exile and martyrdom
Alexandra Fedorovna ends her life by accepting martyrdom in the Ipatiev House, where the emperor’s family was exiled after the 1917 revolution. Even in the face of approaching death, while being held at gunpoint by a firing squad, she made the sign of the cross.
The “Russian Golgotha” was predicted to the imperial family more than once; they lived with it all their lives, knowing that everything would end very sadly for them. They submitted to the will of God and thus defeated the forces of evil. The royal couple was buried only in 1998.
June 6 marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian empress, wife of Nicholas II Alexandra Feodorovna, née Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. Despite the fact that there were sincere feelings between the spouses, people disliked her from the moment she appeared in Russia and called her a “hated German.” And although she made every effort to win sympathy in society, the attitude towards her never changed. Was it deserved?
She first visited Russia in 1884, when her older sister married Nicholas's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. She came to St. Petersburg for the second time at the beginning of 1889. From the moment of this visit, sympathy arose between 20-year-old Nikolai Romanov and 16-year-old Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt (or Alix, as Nikolai called her). His parents did not approve of his choice - they did not consider the girl a suitable match for the future emperor, but Nicholas firmly stood his ground. In 1892 he wrote in his diary: “ I dream of someday marrying Alix G. I have loved her for a long time, but especially deeply and strongly since 1889, when she spent 6 weeks in St. Petersburg. All this time I didn’t believe my feeling, I didn’t believe that my cherished dream could come true».
Due to the fact that Alexander III's health had deteriorated greatly, the family had to come to terms with Nicholas's choice. Alice began to study the Russian language and the basics of Orthodoxy, because she had to renounce Lutheranism and accept a new religion. In the fall of 1894, Alice arrived in Crimea, where she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Alexandra Feodorovna and spent several weeks with the royal family until the day of the death of Emperor Alexander III. After this, mourning was declared, and the wedding ceremony should have been postponed for a year, but Nikolai was not ready to wait that long.
It was decided to schedule the wedding on the birthday of the Dowager Empress, which allowed the royal family to temporarily interrupt mourning. On November 26, 1894, the wedding of Nikolai Romanov and Alexandra Fedorovna took place in the Great Church of the Winter Palace. Later, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: “ The young tsar's wedding took place less than a week after the funeral of Alexander III. Their honeymoon passed in an atmosphere of funeral services and mourning visits».
From the moment the German princess appeared in Russia, many disliked her both in the inner circle of the royal family and among the people. She seemed too cold, arrogant, withdrawn and aloof, and only those close to her knew the real reason for this behavior - natural shyness. Russian statesman and publicist Vladimir Gurko wrote about her: “ The alienation of the queen from St. Petersburg society was significantly facilitated by the external coldness of her treatment and her lack of outward friendliness. This coldness arose, apparently, mainly from the extraordinary shyness inherent in Alexandra Fedorovna and the embarrassment she experienced when communicating with strangers. Embarrassment prevented her from establishing simple, relaxed relationships with people who introduced themselves to her, including the so-called city ladies, and they spread jokes around the city about her coldness and unapproachability" According to a contemporary, she was reproached for “ she held on as if she had swallowed an arshin, and did not bow to the deputations».
Few people believed in the sincere love, mutual respect and devotion of spouses to each other. Some representatives of high society were confident that Alexandra Feodorovna had completely subjugated her husband, suppressing his will. Vladimir Gurko wrote: “ If the sovereign, due to his lack of the necessary internal power, did not possess the authority required for a ruler, then the empress, on the contrary, was entirely woven from authority, which was also based on her inherent arrogance».
The reasons for the hostile attitude towards Alexandra Fedorovna among the people were different. At first, discontent in society was caused by the fact that the wedding with Nikolai took place almost immediately after the death of his father. And during the coronation of the royal family in May 1896, a terrible tragedy occurred, leading to the death of hundreds of people. On the day of public festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II, a terrible stampede occurred on Khodynka Field, during which more than 1,300 people were trampled, but the imperial couple did not cancel the planned celebrations.
There were rumors among the people that the German princess defended the interests of Germany even after her marriage, that she was preparing a coup to become regent for her young son, and that the “German party” rallied around her. On this occasion, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich wrote: “ It's amazing how unpopular poor Alix is. One can, of course, argue that she did absolutely nothing to give reason to suspect her of sympathizing with the Germans, but everyone is trying to claim that she sympathizes with them. The only thing she can be blamed for is that she failed to be popular" And one of her contemporaries said: “ Rumor attributes all failures, all changes in appointments to the empress. Hair stands on end: no matter what they accuse her of, each layer of society from its own point of view, but the common, friendly impulse is dislike and distrust».
Alexandra Feodorovna felt the unkind attitude of the people towards her and made every effort to change the situation. She was engaged in charitable activities, was a trustee of 33 charitable societies, communities of sisters of mercy and shelters, organized schools for nurses, clinics for children, and schools of folk art. During the First World War, she financed several ambulance trains, established and patronized infirmaries, trained herself in nursing, made dressings and assisted in operations. And she did it at the call of her heart. However, despite all her efforts, the empress did not earn sympathy. And another reason for her dislike was her attachment to the odious Grigory Rasputin, who had a huge influence on her.
When the empress had a son with hemophilia, she became interested in religious and mystical teachings, often turning to Rasputin for help and advice, who helped Tsarevich Alexei fight a disease against which official medicine was powerless. They said that Alexandra Fedorovna trusted him completely, while Rasputin’s reputation was very ambiguous - he was later called a symbol of the moral degradation of power under the last Russian emperor. Many believed that Rasputin subjugated the very religious and exalted empress to his will, and she, in turn, influenced Nicholas II. According to another version, ill-wishers deliberately spread rumors among the people about Alexandra Feodorovna’s close relationship with Rasputin in order to denigrate her image in society, and in fact he was her spiritual mentor.
In July 1918, members of the imperial family were shot. Who was the last Russian empress really - a fiend from hell, an innocent victim or a hostage of circumstances? Her own words, which she said shortly before her death in a letter to her close associate Anna Vyrubova, speak volumes: “ I thank God for everything that happened, that I received - and I will live with the memories that no one will take away from me... How old I have become, but I feel like the mother of the country, and I suffer as if for my child and I love my Motherland, despite all the horrors now ...You know that it is impossible to tear love out of my heart, and Russia too... Despite the black ingratitude to the Emperor, which tears my heart... Lord, have mercy and save Russia».
Such a tender attitude of spouses towards each other was very rare in ruling families: .
Name: Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt)
State: Russian empire
Field of activity: Policy
Greatest Achievement: Wife of Emperor Nicholas II. Took control of the state's internal policy and made changes in the cabinet of ministers.
Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was born on June 6, 1872 in a place called Darmstadt (German Empire). In 1894 she became the wife of Nicholas II. Having no support at court, when her son fell ill with hemophilia, she turned to the sorcerer Grigory Rasputin for help. As soon as Nikolai went to the front, Alexandra replaced all the key ministers with those indicated by Rasputin. At the end of the 1917 revolution, she was imprisoned and killed on the night of July 16-17, 1918. Her reign is believed to hastened the collapse of the Russian Empire.
early years
Alexandra Fedorovna was born in Germany, in the city of Darmstadt. At birth she was named Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was born on June 6, 1872 and was the sixth child in the family of Ludwig IV and Duchess Alice - daughter of the Queen of Great Britain -. Among her family they called her Alix. When Alexandra was six years old, her mother died and the girl was given to be raised by her grandmother, Queen Victoria. Alix spent most of her childhood in Britain, surrounded by her cousins. Alexandra studied philosophy at the University of Heidelberg.
When Alexandra was 19 years old, she met the heir to the Russian throne. This acquaintance soon became romantic in nature, but there were no prospects for marriage. Firstly, Nikolai’s father had a great dislike for Germany and the Germans, and secondly, Alix’s family expressed open contempt for the Russian people. In addition, there were rumors that Alix suffered from hemophilia as a child, and this disease was considered fatal at that time and it was known that it was inherited. But despite this, Nikolai and Alexandra were in love and on November 26, 1894 they got married. Alix was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church and received the name Alexandra Fedorovna.
Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna
Nicholas and Alexandra lived in Tsarskoe Selo, in a private imperial residence. At first they enjoyed a calm and happy family life. Until this life was destroyed by the serious illness of their son and two wars that ended in collapse.
By 1901 the couple had their first year, Nicholas and Alexandra, but they were all girls. The Romanov family needed an heir and Alexandra reached despair in trying to give her husband a son. She turned to sorcerers and priests to conceive a boy - but to no avail. Alexandra brought herself to the point that in 1903 she had a false pregnancy. Finally, in 1904, she gave birth to Nikolai’s son, who was named Alexei. But the joy in the family was short-lived. It soon became known that the Tsarevich had hemophilia.
Meeting Rasputin
Alexandra's love for mysticism led her to in 1908. Rasputin quickly gained Alexandra's trust by what she believed was healing her son using some form of hypnosis. The boy felt better after Rasputin left. For Alexandra, Rasputin became the last hope and savior of her child, but among the people Rasputin was known as a charlatan and a libertine, and Alexandra’s communication with him cast a shadow of shame on the royal court.
As all events in the royal family revolved around the illness of the heir, a serious crisis was brewing in Russia and in the world. The people received Alexandra very coldly as the wife of Nicholas II. At court they also did not like her and refused to accept her. Intrigues were woven inside the royal court, and meanwhile war was brewing in the world.
First World War and Revolution
When this led to conflict between Russia and Germany, Nicholas II went to the front, where he took personal command of the armed forces. Alexandra Feodorovna remained as regent and was supposed to supervise the work of the government. Trusting Rasputin limitlessly, she made him her advisor. Guided by Rasputin's instructions, Alexandra fired experienced ministers, replacing them with new, incompetent people.
The Russian army performed very poorly during the fighting. This served to spread rumors that Alexandra was a secret agent for Germany, which further aggravated her already difficult position in society. On December 16, 1916, Rasputin was killed by conspirators from the royal court. Left without her husband and without her main adviser, Alexandra began to lose emotional stability.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
In the winter of 1917, Alexandra's illiterate rule led to a food shortage in the country and famine began. Due to the food collapse, workers went on strike and people took to the streets of St. Petersburg, riots began. Nicholas, feeling powerless in the face of current events, decides to abdicate the throne.
In February 1917, a revolution began in Russia. The political and economic crisis contributed to spontaneous riots sweeping across the country. Weakened by the war and internal problems, the country's leadership was unable to take control of the situation. A serious split was formed and matured in society.
In the spring of 1917, Vladimir Lenin, campaigning for the overthrow of the monarchy, received widespread support from the Russian people. The Bolsheviks seized power in the country and a civil war began.
The last days and death of Alexandra Feodorovna
In April 1918, Alexandra, along with her husband and children, was transported to Yekaterinburg, captured by the Bolsheviks, and placed under house arrest in Ipatiev’s house. The family was in the dark about their future fate. Alexandra and her family had to go through a real nightmare. Being in the dark about their future fate, they could only wonder whether they would survive and whether they would be able to stay together. On the night of July 16-17, Alexandra, along with Nikolai and the children, were taken to the basement, where they were shot by the Bolsheviks. This marked the end of more than three centuries of the Romanov dynasty.
Alexandra Feodorovna (née Alice of Hesse), the last Russian empress, according to the memoirs of her contemporaries, also had mystical talents; her relatives called these abilities “shamanic disease.” She had frightening prophetic dreams, which she told only to her loved ones. One of the dreams on the eve of the revolution is as if the ship is leaving, she wants to get on board and extends her hand, asking for help... but the passengers do not see her... and the ship leaves, leaving the queen alone on the shore.
Since childhood, the Empress was attracted to mystical phenomena. As usual, the interest of the rulers is transferred to the subjects. In Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, the fashion for spiritualistic seances, fortune-tellers and magic clubs began. The Empress knew about the gloomy predictions that predicted the collapse of the empire and the death of her husband.
Which lady is your favorite? (several options are possible)
She understood the inevitability of the law of balance, that success and happiness will sooner or later be replaced by adversity. And the one who survives suffering finds happiness. “In the life of every home, sooner or later, bitter experience comes - the experience of suffering. There may be years of cloudless happiness, but there will probably also be sorrows. The stream, which has flown for so long, like a cheerful stream running in bright sunlight through meadows among flowers, deepens, darkens, plunges into a gloomy gorge or falls over a waterfall.- Alexandra wrote in her diary.
The sorcerer Rasputin played a fatal role in the fate of the empress. One might say, the Russian Count Cagliostro, who had the talent of a hypnotist. Rasputin took advantage of the serious illness of Tsarevich Alexei and manipulated his mother-empress. “As long as I’m alive, nothing will happen to you. If I don’t exist, you won’t either.”- said Rasputin.
The sorcerer suspected that the royal relatives would want to get rid of him, and threatened the Romanov house with a curse. “I feel that I will not live until the first of January... If your relatives are involved in this, then none of the members of the royal family, that is, none of the children or relatives, will live more than two years. The Russian people will kill them.". The magician was not mistaken, the revenge of the killers overtook him. Dying, Rasputin kept his word... he cursed the entire family of his royal benefactors; Rasputin's killers were relatives of the emperor.
Tsarevich Alexey
Rasputin was killed by Prince Felix Yusupov (who was married to the niece of Nicholas II and Grand Duke Dmitry (cousin of Nicholas II). The young people decided to stop the hypnotic influence of the sorcerer on their crowned relatives.
Prince Felix Yusupov once experienced Rasputin's hypnosis. “I gradually sank into a sleepy state, as if under the influence of a powerful sleeping pill. All I could see were Rasputin's sparkling eyes."- the prince recalled.
Foreign novelists write that the vile Rasputin conjured not only the revolution in Russia, but also the First World War. He opened some hellish gates and released all kinds of evil spirits into our world.
The sad ending of the Romanov family was predicted long before Rasputin. On the eve of his death, Emperor Paul I wrote a message to his descendants, which he placed in a box and ordered to be opened exactly one hundred years after his death. The letter contained the prediction of the monk Abel about the fate of the royal family.
Kings walked on rooftops before it became mainstream :)
On March 12, 1901, the emperor and his wife opened a message from the past, which read “He will replace the royal crown with a crown of thorns, he will be betrayed by his people, as the Son of God once was, and in the year 18 he will meet a painful death.”
According to the memoirs of the royal confidant S.A. Nilus: “On January 6, 1903, at the Winter Palace, during a gun salute from the Peter and Paul Fortress, one of the guns turned out to be loaded with grapeshot, and part of it hit the gazebo where the clergy and the sovereign himself were located. The calmness with which the sovereign reacted to the incident was so amazing that it attracted the attention of the retinue around him. He, as they say, didn’t even raise an eyebrow... “Until I’m 18, I’m not afraid of anything,” the king remarked.”
On the eve of the wedding, 1894
There was another casket with a letter from the 17th century, from the time of Peter I’s father, Alexei the Quiet. The king received this gift in honor of his coronation. The text of the message spoke of a gloomy prophecy that the emperor who would ascend the throne at the end of the 19th century would be the last. He is destined to atone for all the sins of the family.
The wedding took place on November 14, 1894. Alexandra is 22 years old, Nikolay is 26 years old.
Nicholas's father, Emperor Alexander III, did not live to see his son's wedding. The wedding took place a week after his funeral; they decided not to postpone the wedding on the occasion of mourning. Foreign guests were preparing to move from grief for the dead to joy for the living. The modest wedding ceremony left a “painful impression” on many guests.
Nikolai wrote to his brother George about his experiences: “The wedding day was a terrible torment for her and me. The thought that our dear, selflessly beloved Dad was not between us and that you were far from your family and completely alone did not leave me during the wedding; I had to strain all my strength, so as not to burst into tears here in church in front of everyone. Now everything has calmed down a little - life has begun completely new for me..."
“I cannot thank God enough for the treasure that he sent me in the form of a wife. I am immeasurably happy with my darling Alix and I feel that we will live just as happily until the end of our lives.”- wrote Nikolai.
Alexandra was also happy with her marriage: “I never imagined that I could be so absolutely happy in the whole world, so feel the unity of two mortals.”
Years later, they retained their old feelings:
“I can’t believe that today is our twentieth wedding anniversary! The Lord blessed us with rare family happiness; just to be able to prove worthy of His great mercy during the rest of my life.”- wrote Nikolai.
“I'm crying like a big baby. I see in front of me your sad eyes, full of affection. I send you my warmest wishes for tomorrow. For the first time in 21 years we are not spending this day together, but how vividly I remember everything! My dear boy, what happiness and what love you have given me over all these years."- from Alexandra's letter.
Monarchs rarely find family happiness. Often the law of balance of the universe plays a cruel joke. They found simple human happiness, but lost their throne and life.
The empress avoided court life. She was the opposite of her secular mother-in-law, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who could easily start a conversation with both the king and the servant. Evil tongues called Empress Alexandra a “Hessian fly.” Empress Alexandra's thoughtfulness was often mistaken for arrogance.
Prince Felix Yusupov quite accurately, although harshly, described the empress’s character traits:
“Princess Alice of Hesse came to Russia in mourning. She became a queen without having time to either get comfortable or make friends with the people over whom she was going to reign. But, immediately finding herself in the center of everyone’s attention, she, naturally shy and nervous, became completely embarrassed and stiff . And therefore she was known as cold and callous. And then both arrogant and contemptuous. But she had faith in her special mission and a passionate desire to help her husband, shocked by the death of his father and the burden of his new role. She began to interfere in the affairs of the state. It was then decided that "She is also power-hungry, and the sovereign is weak. The young queen realized that neither the court nor the people liked her, and completely withdrew into herself."
Princess Alice with her grandmother, Queen Victoria
Alice with her father Ludwig of Hesse
Alexandra Fedorovna and her daughters were not glamorous white-handed girls. During the First World War, they worked in the hospital as nurses and even became assistants during operations. They were taught medicine by the first female surgeon in Russia, Vera Gedroits. This is a separate interesting topic that I will also write about.
In her diary, the Empress did not write about her experiences during the years of the revolution. Her notes continue to describe the family structure. She even writes about deportations and relocations calmly, as if she were talking about a planned royal trip.
It seems to me that Alexandra Fedorovna looks like Princess Diana. More precisely, Princess Diana is similar to Alexandra Feodorovna, chronologically speaking.
Brief entries were made in Alexandra's diary about revolutionary events.
“Terrible things are happening in St. Petersburg. Revolution". February 27 Monday
It’s an interesting coincidence that on the eve of the February revolution, Alexandra Feodorovna served a memorial service at the grave of Rasputin, who cursed them, which she wrote about in her diary: “ Lily and Anya met at the station, funeral service, grave.” The next day, the sorcerer's grave was desecrated by rioters, and his remains were burned.
During the February Revolution, the Empress was in Tsarskoe Selo, from where she sent a telegram to her husband “The revolution yesterday took on terrifying proportions... Concessions are necessary. ... Many troops went over to the side of the revolution. Alix."
From March to August 1917, the royal family lived under house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. Then the Romanovs were transported to Tobolsk to the house of the local governor. The Romanovs lived here for eight months.
On the eve of the revolution
In revolutionary exile, 1918
The royal family was informationally isolated from political events. According to contemporary Zhilard:
“One of our greatest deprivations during our Tobolsk imprisonment was the almost complete lack of news. Letters reached us only very sloppily and with great delay, as for newspapers, we had to be content with a miserable local sheet printed on wrapping paper; it told us only news that was several days late and, most often, distorted and truncated. Meanwhile, the Emperor watched with alarm the events unfolding in Russia. He understood that the country was heading towards destruction...
Nicholas II in a portrait by Serov
...That was the first time I heard from the Emperor an expression of regret about his abdication. He made this decision in the hope that those who wanted him removed would be able to bring the war to a happy end and save Russia. He was afraid that his resistance would not serve as a reason for civil war in the presence of the enemy, and did not want the blood of at least one Russian to be shed for him. But wasn’t his departure followed very soon by the appearance of Lenin and his associates, paid mercenaries of Germany, whose criminal propaganda led the army to collapse and corrupted the country? He now suffered at the sight of the fact that his self-denial had turned out to be useless and that, guided only by the good of his homeland, he had actually done her a disservice by leaving. This thought began to haunt him more and more and subsequently became the cause of great moral torment for him...”
“2nd revolution. The provisional government has been removed. Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Trotsky. Settled in Smolny. The Winter Palace was badly damaged." October 28, Saturday. Tobolsk– Alexandra wrote briefly in her diary.
In April, Commissar Yakovlev received an order to deliver the royal family to Moscow. On the way near Omsk, the train was stopped, Yakovlev received another order - to proceed to Yekaterinburg.
“On April 28, 1918, when transporting tsarist prisoners from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg imprisonment, the route was changed, the train turned to Omsk. The path was blocked, and the train carrying Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna and daughter Maria Nikolaevna stopped at the Lyubinskaya station. Commissioner Yakovlev, who accompanied the crowned family, left for Omsk to negotiate permission to travel. Regardless of Yakovlev’s motives, which historians argue about, the fate of the Emperor would not have been so tragic if the crowned family had moved into the city of Omsk, which within six months became the capital of Siberia.”- from the inscription on the memorial plaque of the Lyubinskaya station.
Empress with daughters
Alexandra Fedorovna again calmly describes their last route in her diary as a planned trip. Only the phrase “the heart has greatly expanded” speaks of strong emotions.
The Romanov spouses and daughter Maria traveled on one train, the rest of the royal children on another.
15(28). April. Sunday. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. Vai week. Palm Sunday. 4 1/2 hours. We left Tyumen. We hardly slept. Beautiful sunny weather. Nikolai and I are in the same compartment, the door to Maria and Nyuta’s compartment, in the nearest one is Valya Dolgorukov and E.S. Botkin. Then 2 of our people, then 4 of our shooters. On the other hand - these 2 commissioners and their assistants, and the toilet team.
Vagay. The rest were brought soup and hot food, but we ate tea and the provisions that we had taken with us from Tobolsk. Nazyvaevskaya station - Maria and Nyuta (Demidova) left the carriage once or twice to stretch their legs a little.
I wrote to children. In the evening, a second telegram arrived, sent after leaving Tyumen. “We are traveling in good conditions. How is the little one's health? The Lord is with you.
16(29). April. Monday. Holy Week. 91/4 hours. Passage 52.
Beautiful weather. We didn’t reach Omsk and turned back.
11 o'clock. The same station again, Nazyvaevskaya. The rest were brought food, I drank coffee. 12 1\6 hours. Masyanskaya station. The rest got out of the carriage for a walk. Soon after that, they went out for a walk again, as the axle of one of the carriages caught fire and had to be uncoupled. Sednev* prepared us a good dinner again today.
I wrote our 5th letter to the children. Nikolai read me the Gospel for today. (The Omsk Council of Deputies did not allow us to pass through Omsk, because they were afraid that someone would want to take us to Japan). The heart has expanded greatly."
*Leonid Sednev is the family's cook, the only one of the Romanovs' close associates who managed to avoid execution.
Alexandra Fedorovna - drawing by V.A. Serova
In Yekaterinburg, the Romanovs were brought to their last refuge - the house of the merchant Ipatiev.
The final entry in the Empress's diary.
"Ekaterinburg. 3 (16). July. Tuesday.
Irina 23rd<ень>R<ождения>+11°.
Cloudy morning, later - nice sunny weather. Baby* has a slight cold. Everyone went out for a walk in the morning for ½ hour. Olga and I prepared our medicines. T<атьяна>the Spirit read to me<овное>reading. They went out for a walk, T<атьяна>stayed with me, and we read: Book<игу>etc<орока>Amos, etc.<орока>Avdija. Weaving lace. Every morning a commandant comes to our rooms<ант>Finally, a week later, he brought eggs for Baby.
8 hours<асов>. Dinner.
Quite unexpectedly, Lika Sednev was sent to visit his uncle, and he ran away - I would like to know if this is true and whether we will ever see this boy!
Played bezique with N<иколаем>.
10 ½ [hours]. She went to bed. +15 degrees.”
*Baby—that’s what the empress called her son Alexei.
House of merchant Ipatiev
On the night of July 17, the royal family was shot in the basement of Ipatiev’s house. Together with the Romanovs, four loyal confidants were executed, who remained with the royal family until the end, sharing with them the hardships of exile (I will write about these brave people separately). Among those killed was Dr. Evgeniy Botkin, son of the famous physician Sergei Botkin.
Memoirs of G.P. Nikulin, a participant in the execution.
“... comrade Ermakov, who behaved rather indecently, subsequently assuming the leading role for himself, that he did it all, so to speak, single-handedly, without any help... In fact, there were 8 of us executors: Yurovsky, Nikulin, Mikhail Medvedev, Medvedev Pavel is four, Ermakov Peter is five, but I’m not sure that Kabanov Ivan is six. And I don’t remember the names of two more.
When we went down to the basement, we also didn’t even think of putting chairs there at first to sit down, because this one was... didn’t walk, you know, Alexey, we had to sit him down. Well, then they brought it up instantly. When they went down to the basement, they began to look at each other in bewilderment, they immediately brought in chairs, sat down, which means Alexandra Fedorovna, the heir, was imprisoned, and Comrade Yurovsky uttered the following phrase: “Your friends are advancing on Yekaterinburg , and therefore you are condemned to death." They didn’t even realize what was going on, because Nikolai just said immediately: “Ah!”, and at that time our salvo was already one, two, three. Well, there’s someone else there, which means, so to speak, well, or something, they weren’t quite completely killed yet. Well, then I had to shoot someone else..."
According to one version, the younger children, Anastasia and Alexei, managed to escape.