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.
145 years ago, on June 6, 1872, a fourth daughter was born into the family of the Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine. She was named Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt. Her grandmother, the Queen of England, called her Sunny. Pets - Alix. In Russia, where she was destined to become the last empress, upon baptism into the Orthodox faith she received the name Alexandra Fedorovna. Behind the scenes - the nickname “Hessian fly”.
The perception of rulers among the people, or, as is commonly expressed in scientific community, the representation of power is an important point in understanding certain historical periods. This is especially true for great upheavals such as revolutions or the era of reforms. Just now the power was exclusively from God and did not raise doubts about its legitimacy among the people. But then something happens, and people immediately begin to produce stories and legends about their leaders. Peter the Great becomes not only the king-carpenter, but also the Antichrist, and Ivan groznyj turns into “Ivashka, the bloody king.” The last Russian emperor was awarded the same nickname. Nicholas II. Something similar happened to his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna. With only one difference. If at first some hopes were still pinned on Nicholas, then we immediately and completely disliked the empress.
Voice of the people
After the family of the last Romanov was canonized, they try to obscure the memory of how exactly the people perceived Alexandra Fedorovna with leafy memories. For example, like this: “The Empress organized 4 large bazaars in favor of tuberculosis patients in 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914; they brought in a ton of money. She worked herself, painted and embroidered for the bazaar and, despite her poor health, stood at the kiosk all day, surrounded by a huge crowd of people. Small Alexey Nikolaevich stood next to her on the counter, holding out his hands with things to the enthusiastic crowd. The delight of the population knew no bounds." However, literally a few lines later, the author of these memoirs, maid of honor and closest friend of the Empress Anna Vyrubova, makes a revealing disclaimer: “The people, at that time untouched by revolutionary propaganda, adored Their Majesties, and this can never be forgotten.”
Princess Vera Gedroits (right) and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in the dressing room of the Tsarskoye Selo hospital. 1915 Source: Public Domain
Interesting thing. In 1911, the people, according to the court, turned out to be full of enthusiasm for their queen. The blindness is amazing. Because the people themselves, past and shame Russo-Japanese War, and the Revolution of 1905-1907, has a completely different opinion. Here is a fragment of one Ural tale: “After nine hundred and five, the queen could not see the red-colored stone. Either she was imagining red flags here, or something else was triggering her memory, but only from the age of five, if you didn’t approach the queen with a red stone, she would scream at the top of her lungs, lose all her Russian words and swear in German.”
There is no smell of delight here. More like sarcasm. And Alexandra Fedorovna should have observed such an attitude towards her person literally from the first day. Moreover, she herself, willingly or unwillingly, gave rise to this. Here is what the same Anna Vyrubova says about this: “When Alexandra Fedorovna had just arrived in Russia, she wrote countess Rantzau, maid of honor to his sister, Princess Irene: “My husband is surrounded by hypocrisy and deceit from everywhere. I feel that there is no one here who could be his real support. Few love him and their Fatherland.”
For some reason, this is viewed as an exclusively highly spiritual message, full of grief and sadness. In fact, it is full of arrogance and conceit. Having barely arrived in a foreign country and not yet having learned the language, the sovereign’s wife immediately begins to insult her subjects. According to her authoritative opinion, Russians do not love their Motherland and, in general, everyone is a potential traitor.
The wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The reverse side of “adoration”
The word is not a sparrow, and you cannot hide an awl in a sack. What was the property of the highest spheres, after a couple of days, through servants, stokers and coachmen, becomes the property of the general public. And it’s no wonder that after such a sparkling speech by the new queen, the police begin to register more and more cases classified as “lese majeste.”
Alexandra Fedorovna remembered everything. Even things that weren't her fault. Thus, the wedding of Nicholas and Alexandra, and their entire honeymoon, coincided with mourning for Nicholas’s recently deceased father, the emperor Alexander III. The people's conclusion was immediate. And partly prophetic: “This German woman, just like that, rode to us on her coffin, will bring misfortune.”
Subsequently, everything that came from Alexandra Feodorovna was ridiculed. All her endeavors—at times truly good and necessary—became the target of bullying. Sometimes - in an extremely cynical form. It is curious that the tsar himself was not touched upon and was even pitied. Here is a fragment of the protocol of one of the cases of “lese majeste”: “Vasily L., a tradesman from Kazan, 31 years old, pointing to a portrait of the royal family, said: “This is the first b... And her daughters b... And everyone goes to them... And it’s a pity for our sovereign - they, b... Germans, are deceiving him, because the son is not his, but a replacement!”
It will not be possible to attribute this “beauty” to the machinations of Freemasons or Bolsheviks. If only for the reason that 80% of convictions in such cases were handed down to peasants, among whom the same Bolsheviks will not begin agitation very soon - when the peasants are drafted and become soldiers.
However, even then there was no need to campaign specifically against the empress. From the very beginning of the war, she was already declared a German spy and traitor. This popular opinion was so widespread that it reached ears that were not intended for it. This is what he writes British Vice Consul in Moscow Bruce Lockhart: “There are several walking good stories, concerning the Germanophile tendencies of the empress. Here's one of the best. The prince is crying. The nanny says: “Baby, why are you crying?” - “Well, when they beat our people, dad cries, when the Germans, mom cries, and when should I cry?”
It was during the war years that “Hessian Fly” appeared among Alexandra Fedorovna’s other nicknames. There really is such an insect - it is a serious pest that attacks rye and wheat, capable of killing almost the entire crop. If you consider that the February Revolution began precisely with a shortage of bread, you will inevitably think that sometimes the voice of the people is really the voice of God.
Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, whom her husband Nicholas II affectionately called “Alix,” was distinguished by impeccable taste and was known as a trendsetter. At the same time, she herself was not interested in fashion magazines and did not follow modern trends - her Puritan upbringing and natural restraint excluded a passion for luxury and the hunt for fashionable novelties. She categorically rejected the “extremes of fashion”: if popular styles of dresses seemed uncomfortable to her, she did not wear them.
To many court ladies, Alexandra Fedorovna seemed too prim, unfriendly and cold, which they even saw as signs of illness. However, this behavior was explained only by shyness and embarrassment due to communicating with unfamiliar people, as well as the English upbringing that she received from her grandmother, Queen Victoria of England. Puritan views were reflected in her behavior, taste preferences and style. Many luxury items and fashionable outfits were rejected by her as “useless.” For example, the empress refused to wear a tight skirt because it was uncomfortable to walk in.
The last Russian empress preferred outfits from the Worth brothers (sons of the famous French couturier Charles Worth), Albert Brisac, Redfern, Olga Bulbenkova and Nadezhda Lamanova. The brothers Worth and Brizak made evening and ball gowns for her, Olga Bulbenkova made formal dresses with gold embroidery, she ordered comfortable city clothes for visits and walks from Redfern, and both casual clothes and dresses for balls and receptions from Lamanova.
Her wardrobe was dominated by clothes in delicate pastel shades, light pink, blue, pale lilac and light gray outfits of the Art Nouveau era. Fashion designer Paul Poiret called these colors the “neurasthenic range.” The Empress did not like satin shoes; she preferred suede shoes with a long narrow toe, golden or white.
Her style was characterized by calm, elegant silhouettes and subtle, refined shades that corresponded to her status, harmonized with her type of appearance and at the same time were a reflection of her natural restraint and modesty. Her contemporaries noted that “she dressed very well, but not extravagantly,” and some even argued that she was not at all interested in clothes.
Alexandra Fedorovna practically did not use cosmetics, did not do a manicure, explaining that the emperor did not like “manicured nails”, and curled her hair only on the eve of big palace appearances. Her favorite scents were White Rose by Atkinson and Verbena eau de toilette. She called these fragrances the most “transparent”.
The Empress was well versed in jewelry, of which she preferred to wear rings and bracelets. In her memoirs, one of her contemporaries, characterizing Alexandra Fedorovna’s style, says that she “always wore a ring with a large pearl, as well as a cross studded with precious stones.”
Alexandra Feodorovna treated her toilet with German pedantry and accuracy. According to the recollections of contemporaries, “the empress selected clothes in advance for the week in advance, based on her participation in certain events, as well as in accordance with personal preferences. She reported her choice to the chamberlains. Then, every day, Alexandra Fedorovna received from them a short written list of clothes planned for the next day, and gave final instructions regarding her wardrobe. Sometimes the Empress doubted what to wear and asked to prepare several sets of clothes so that she could choose.”
On November 26 (14), 1894, in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, the wedding of Nicholas II and the granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria, daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine - Alexandra took place. The lovers' honeymoon, according to the memoirs of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, took place in an atmosphere of mourning and funeral services - a few days before the ceremony, the groom's father, Emperor Alexander III, died.
“The most deliberate dramatization could not have invented a more suitable prologue for the historical tragedy of the last Russian Tsar,” the prince wrote in his memoirs.
On the anniversary of the wedding of the last Russian emperor, the site recalls what the marriage of the emperor was like, who allowed himself to marry for love.
At the behest of the heart
The first meeting of Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt and the eldest son of Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna took place in St. Petersburg in January 1889. During the six weeks of her stay in the city on the Neva, the young lady was able to charm 20-year-old Nikolai, and after her departure a correspondence began between them.
During her six weeks of stay in the city on the Neva, the young lady was able to charm 20-year-old Nikolai. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The feelings of the future emperor that he felt for the German princess are evidenced by the entry that he made in his diary in 1892: “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”...
Despite the sympathy that the Tsarevich showed for the fragile Alix, his parents dreamed of another daughter-in-law. In the role of his chosen one, they wanted to see the daughter of the Count of Paris - Elena Louise Henrietta. In those years, she was known as an enviable bride, distinguished by her beauty and intelligence. The Washington Post even called her "the embodiment women's health and beauty, a graceful athlete and a charming polyglot.” But Nikolai was adamant. His persistence did its job, and his parents approved of his choice.
When the health of Alexander III began to rapidly deteriorate, the engagement of the young couple was announced. The bride arrived in Russia, where she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Alexandra, began to study the Russian language and culture of the country, which from now on was to become her homeland.
After the death of the emperor, mourning was declared. Nicholas's wedding ceremony could have been postponed for a year, but, according to some historians, the lovers were not ready to wait that long. A difficult conversation took place between Nikolai and his mother Maria Feodorovna, during which a loophole was found that allowed certain rules of decency to be observed and a speedy ceremony to be held. The wedding was scheduled for the day the Empress Dowager was born. This made it possible for the royal family to temporarily interrupt the mourning.
Preparations for the wedding took place under force majeure. The golden wedding dress for the bride was sewn by the best fashion designers in St. Petersburg. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands and the image of Fedorovskaya were delivered to the Court Cathedral in gold frames. Mother of God, wedding rings and silver saucer.
On November 26, in the Malachite Hall of the Winter Palace, the bride was dressed in a chic dress with a heavy mantle and taken to the Great Church.
The golden wedding dress for the bride was sewn by the best fashion designers in St. Petersburg. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Later, in her letter to her sister Victoria, Alexandra wrote: “You can imagine our feelings. One day in deep mourning, we mourn a dearly loved person, and the next day we stand down the aisle in magnificent clothes. It’s impossible to imagine a greater contrast, and all these circumstances brought us even closer.”
“The woman is good, but abnormal”
After the wedding, the relationship between the 22-year-old princess and the 26-year-old emperor, according to the recollections of those close to them, was touching and tender. Letters and diaries kept by the emperor and his wife have survived to this day. They are full of tender words and declarations of love.
Even many years later, when Alexandra Fedorovna was 42 years old, she wrote a letter to her husband at the front on the day of their engagement, April 8:
“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... How time flies - 21 years have already passed! You know, I saved that “princess dress” I was wearing that morning, and I’ll wear your favorite brooch...”
The relationship between the spouses was touching and tender. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Reading these lines, it is difficult to imagine that many considered Alexandra Feodorovna to be a cold and arrogant woman. However, according to people who knew her closely, this external aloofness was more likely a consequence of her shyness.
“Embarrassment prevented her from establishing simple, relaxed relationships with people who introduced herself to her, including the so-called city ladies, and they spread jokes around the city about her coldness and inaccessibility,” wrote actual state councilor Vladimir Gurko about her.
Chairman of the Council of Ministers Sergei Witte, whom historians nicknamed “the grandfather of Russian industrialization,” had a different opinion. In her he saw a powerful woman who had completely enslaved her own husband:
“He married a good woman, but a woman who was completely abnormal and took him into her arms, which was not difficult given his lack of will. Thus, the empress not only did not balance out his shortcomings, but on the contrary, she significantly aggravated them, and her abnormality began to be reflected in the abnormality of some of the actions of her august husband.”
Her communication with the man of God Grigory Rasputin did not have the best effect on the empress’s image. The poor health of her son, who had hemophilia, forced the desperate mother to believe the peasant from the Tobolsk province.
In difficult moments, the royal family turned to him for help. Rasputin was either called to the palace from his apartment on Gorokhovaya, or they simply held a telephone receiver to the boy’s ear, and the “holy devil” whispered to him the cherished words that helped the child.
In Soviet historiography, there was an opinion that Rasputin completely enslaved the empress, subordinating her to his will, and she, in turn, influenced her husband. According to another version, the close relationship between Alexandra Fedorovna and Grigory Efimovich is nothing more than “black PR”, which was intended to denigrate the image of the queen in society.
In 1905, when political life the country was tense, Nicholas II began to hand over the state acts he issued to his wife for review. This trust was not to the liking of all statesmen, who saw this as the emperor’s weakness.
“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 all woven from authority, which was also based on her inherent arrogance,” wrote Senator Gurko.
Alexandra Fedorovna with her daughters Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
“I feel like the mother of the country”
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, in Yekaterinburg, in the “House of Special Purpose” - Ipatiev’s mansion - Nicholas II, Alexandra Fedorovna, their children, Doctor Botkin and three servants were shot.
Shortly before these terrible events, while in exile, Alexandra Fedorovna wrote to her close friend Anna Vyrubova: “I thank God for everything that happened, that I received - and I will live with memories that no one will take away from me... How old I have become, but I feel 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 you cannot 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."
WIFE OF NICHOLAS II
ALEXANDRA Fedorovna (wife of Nicholas II)
ALEXA;NDRA Fedorovna (May 25 (June 6), 1872 - July 16 (29), 1918, Yekaterinburg), Russian Empress, wife of Nicholas II Alexandrovich (see NICHOLAY II Alexandrovich) (from November 14, 1894); daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt Louis IV, granddaughter of the English Queen Victoria (see VICTORIA (queen)).
Before her marriage she was named Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice. The imperious and hysterical Alexandra Feodorovna had great influence on Nicholas II, was an ardent supporter of unlimited autocracy, and the head of the Germanophile group at court. She was extremely superstitious and had unlimited faith in G.E. Rasputin (see RASPUTIN Grigory Efimovich), who used the queen’s location in resolving political issues. During the First World War, Alexandra Feodorovna was a supporter of concluding a separate peace with Germany. After the February Revolution, in March 1917 she was arrested along with the entire royal family, exiled to Tobolsk, and then to Yekaterinburg, where, by order of the Ural Regional Council, she was shot along with her family in July 1918.
Biography
Relations with society
<…>
In culture
Maria Fedorovna
Children
Alexander I
Konstantin Pavlovich
Alexandra Pavlovna
Ekaterina Pavlovna
Elena Pavlovna
Maria Pavlovna
Olga Pavlovna
Anna Pavlovna
Nicholas I
Mikhail Pavlovich
Alexander I
Elizaveta Alekseevna
Nicholas I
Alexandra Fedorovna
Children
Alexander II
Maria Nikolaevna
Olga Nikolaevna
Alexandra Nikolaevna
Konstantin Nikolaevich
Nikolai Nikolaevich
Mikhail Nikolaevich
Alexander II
Maria Alexandrovna
Children
Alexandra Alexandrovna
Nikolai Alexandrovich
Alexander III
Maria Alexandrovna (Grand Duchess)
Vladimir Alexandrovich
Aleksey Aleksandrovich
Sergey Aleksandrovich
Pavel Alexandrovich
Alexander III
Maria Fedorovna
Children
Nicholas II
Alexander Alexandrovich
Georgy Alexandrovich
Ksenia Alexandrovna
Mikhail Alexandrovich
Olga Alexandrovna
Nicholas II
Alexandra Fedorovna
Children
Olga Nikolaevna
Tatyana Nikolaevna
Maria Nikolaevna
Anastasia Nikolaevna
Alexey Nikolaevich
Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna with her family, Livadia, Crimea, 1913
Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna with her sister Tsarina Alexandra and son-in-law Tsar Nicholas II
Interesting Facts
According to diplomat M.V. Mayorov, Alexandra Fedorovna not only did not seek, out of pro-German sympathies, to persuade her husband to a separate peace with Germany, as is usually attributed to her, but, on the contrary, played “a detrimental role in Nicholas II’s intention to wage a “war to a victorious end” “, while even “not paying attention to the colossal human losses of the Russian army.”
Biography
The fourth daughter (and sixth child) of the Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine Ludwig IV and Duchess Alice, granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England.
She was born in Darmstadt (Hesse), on the day of the third discovery of the head of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John.
In 1884, she came to visit her sister, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Here she met the heir to the Russian throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich.
On November 2, 1894 (the day after the death of Emperor Alexander III) she converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy, accepting Russian name, and already on November 26 she married the new Emperor of Russia Nicholas II.
She considered the Siberian peasant G. E. Rasputin-Novy an elder and friend of her family.
She was killed along with her entire family in 1918 in Yekaterinburg. In 1981 she was canonized as a Russian saint. Orthodox Church abroad, and in 2000 by the Moscow Patriarchate.
When she was canonized, she became Queen Alexandra the New, since Queen Alexandra was already among the saints.
Relations with society
During her lifetime, Alexandra Feodorovna failed to become popular in her new homeland, especially in high society. Empress-mother Maria Feodorovna was fundamentally against her son’s marriage to a German princess, and this, along with a number of other external circumstances, coupled with the young empress’s painful shyness, immediately affected the attitude of the entire Russian court towards her.
As A. A. Mosolov, who was the head of the office of the Minister of the Court in 1916, believed, Maria Feodorovna, being a devout Dane, hated the Germans, not forgiving them for the annexation of Schleswig and Holstein in 1864.
The French ambassador M. Paleologue, however, noted in 1915:
Several times now I have heard the empress reproached for maintaining sympathy, preference, and deep tenderness for Germany on the throne. The unfortunate woman in no way deserves this accusation, which she knows and which drives her into despair.
Alexandra Feodorovna, born a German, was never her in mind or heart.<…>Her upbringing, her training, her mental and moral education were also entirely English. And now she is also English in her appearance, in her posture, in some inflexibility and puritanism, in the irreconcilable and militant severity of her conscience, and finally, in many of her intimate habits. This, however, is the extent of everything that stems from its Western origin.
The basis of her nature became completely Russian. Above all, and despite the hostile legend that I see springing up around her, I have no doubt about her patriotism. She loves Russia with a passionate love. And how can she not be tied to this adopted homeland, which for her summarizes and personifies all her interests as a woman, wife, empress, mother?
When she ascended the throne in 1894, it was already known that she did not like Germany and especially Prussia.
According to the testimony of the daughter of life physician E. S. Botkin, after the emperor read out the manifesto on the war with Germany, Alexandra Fedorovna cried with joy. And during the second Boer War, Empress Alexandra was, like Russian society, on the side of the Boers (although she was horrified by the losses among the British officers).
In addition to the Empress-Mother, other relatives of Nicholas II did not like the young Empress. If you believe the testimony of her maid of honor A.A. Vyrubova, then the reason for this was, in particular, the following:
…Last years little cadets came to play with the Heir. They were all told to handle Alexei Nikolaevich carefully. The Empress was afraid for him and rarely invited his cousins, frisky and rude boys, to see him. Of course, my family was angry about this.
In a difficult time for Russia, when there was World War, high society amused itself with a new and very interesting activity - spreading all kinds of gossip about Alexandra Feodorovna. If you believe A.A. Vyrubova, then around the winter of 1915/1916, the excited Mrs. Marianne von Derfelden (her sister-in-law) somehow ran to her sister Alexandra Pistolkors, the wife of a chamber cadet of the Highest Court, with the words:
Today we are spreading rumors in factories that the Empress is getting the Tsar drunk, and everyone believes it.
Other enemies of Alexandra Fedorovna did not hesitate to express their innermost thoughts on paper. Thus, her “namesake” A.F. Kerensky wrote in his memoirs:
...who could have predicted that the sparkling joy of the princess, the “Windsor ray of sunshine,” as Nicholas II affectionately called her, was destined to become a gloomy Russian queen, a fanatical adherent of the Orthodox Church.
The reason for the enmity towards the empress was not a mystery to N. N. Tikhanovich-Savitsky (leader of the Astrakhan People's monarchist party), who wrote to Nicholas II:
Sovereign! The plan of the intrigue is clear: by defaming the Tsarina and pointing out that everything bad comes from her, they inspire the population that You are weak, which means that it is necessary to take control of the country from You and transfer it to the Duma.
“If we allow our Friend to be persecuted, then we and our country will suffer for it” (about G. Rasputin and Russia, from a letter to my husband dated June 22, 1915)
“I want to beat off almost all the ministers...” (from a letter to my husband dated August 29, 1915)
“Big brutes, I cannot call them anything else” (about the Holy Synod, from a letter to my husband dated September 12, 1915)
“...a country where a man of God helps the sovereign will never perish. This is true" (about G. Rasputin and Russia, from a letter to my husband dated December 5, 1915)
“Yes, I am more Russian than many others, and I will not sit quietly” (from a letter to my husband dated September 20, 1916)
“Why do they hate me? Because they know that I have a strong will and that when I am convinced of the rightness of something (and if Gregory blessed me), then I do not change my mind, and this is unbearable for them" (about his enemies and about G. Rasputin, from a letter to his husband dated December 4, 1916)
“Why don’t the generals allow you to send R. to the army? Banner" (small patriotic newspaper)? Dubrovin thinks that this is a shame (I agree) - but can they read all sorts of proclamations? Our bosses, really, are idiots” (about the newspaper “Russian Banner” and its Black Hundred publisher, from a letter to my husband dated December 15, 1916)
“I can’t understand people who are afraid to die. I have always looked at death as a deliverance from earthly suffering” (from a conversation with friend Julia Den on December 18, 1916)
“I prefer to die in Russia than to be saved by the Germans” (from a conversation in prison, March 1918)
In culture
The singer Zhanna Bichevskaya has a song “Queen Alexandra” on the album “We are Russians” (2002):
She lived by love simply, prayerfully and modestly -
I'm not afraid to say in front of the whole world -
Queen Alexandra is like the archangels,
That Rus' is begging for the last times...
The last Russian empress... is the closest to us in time, but perhaps also the least known in her authentic appearance, untouched by the pen of interpreters. Even during her lifetime, not to mention the decades that followed the tragic 1918, speculation and slander, and often outright slander, began to cling to her name. No one will know the truth now.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt; May 25 (June 6), 1872 - July 17, 1918) - wife of Nicholas II (since 1894). The fourth daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine, Ludwig IV, and Duchess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England. She was born in Germany, in Darmstadt. The fourth daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse and Rhine, Ludwig IV, and Duchess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria of England.
When little Alex was six years old, a diphtheria epidemic spread in Hesse in 1878. Alice’s mother and her mother died from it. younger sister May.
father Alex (280x403, 32Kb)mother Alex (280x401, 26Kb)
Ludwig IV of Hesse and Duchess Alice (second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) are Alex's parents
And then he takes the girl to his place English granny. Alice was considered the favorite granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who called her Sunny. So Alix spent most of her childhood and adolescence in England, where she was raised. Queen Victoria, by the way, did not like the Germans and had a special dislike for Emperor William II, which was passed on to her granddaughter. All her life, Alexandra Fedorovna felt more drawn to her homeland on her mother’s side, to her relatives and friends there. Maurice Paleologue, the French ambassador to Russia, wrote about her: “Alexandra Fedorovna is not German either in mind or in heart and never has been. Of course, she is one by birth. Her upbringing, education, formation of consciousness and morality have become completely English. And now she is still English in her appearance, demeanor, a certain tension and puritanical character, intransigence and militant severity of conscience. Finally, in many of her habits."
2Alexandra Fedorovna (374x600, 102Kb)
In June 1884, at age 12, Alice visited Russia for the first time when she elder sister Ella (in Orthodoxy - Elizaveta Fedorovna) married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. In 1886 she came to visit her sister, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna (Ella), wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Then she met the heir, Nikolai Alexandrovich. The young people, who were also quite closely related (they were second cousins through the princess’s father), immediately fell in love with each other.
Sergey Alexander., brother Nick 11 (200x263, 52Kb) Eliz. Fedor.-sister (200x261, 43Kb)
Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna (Ella)
While visiting her sister Ella in St. Petersburg, Alix was invited to social events. The verdict handed down by high society was cruel: “Uncharming. It holds on as if it had swallowed an arshin.” What does high society care about the problems of little Princess Alix? Who cares that she grows up without a mother, suffers greatly from loneliness, shyness, and terrible pain in the facial nerve? And only the blue-eyed heir was completely absorbed and delighted with the guest - he fell in love! Not knowing what to do in such cases, Nikolai asked his mother for an elegant brooch with diamonds and quietly placed it in the hand of his twelve-year-old lover. Out of confusion, she did not answer. The next day, the guests were leaving, a farewell ball was given, and Alix, taking a moment, quickly approached the Heir and just as silently returned the brooch to his hand. Nobody noticed anything. Only now there was a secret between them: why did she return her?
The childish naive flirtation of the heir to the throne and Princess Alice on the girl’s next visit to Russia three years later began to acquire the serious nature of a strong feeling.
However, the visiting princess did not please the parents of the crown prince: Empress Maria Feodorovna, like a true Dane, hated the Germans and was against the marriage with the daughter of Ludwig of Hesse of Darmstadt. His parents hoped until the very end for his marriage to Elena Louise Henrietta, daughter of Louis Philippe, Count of Paris.
Alice herself had reason to believe that the beginning of an affair with the heir to the Russian throne could have favorable consequences for her. Returning to England, the princess begins to study the Russian language, gets acquainted with Russian literature, and even has long conversations with the priest of the Russian embassy church in London. Queen Victoria, who loves her dearly, of course, wants to help her granddaughter and writes a letter to Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The grandmother asks to find out in more detail about the intentions of the Russian imperial house in order to decide whether Alice should be confirmed according to the rules of the Anglican Church, because according to tradition, members of the royal family in Russia had the right to marry only women of the Orthodox faith.
Another four years passed, and blind chance helped decide the fates of the two lovers. As if an evil fate hovering over Russia, unfortunately united young people royal blood. Truly this union turned out to be tragic for the fatherland. But who thought about it then...
In 1893, Alexander III became seriously ill. Here a dangerous question for the succession to the throne arose - the future sovereign is not married. Nikolai Alexandrovich categorically stated that he would choose a bride only for love, and not for dynastic reasons. Through the mediation of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the emperor's consent to his son's marriage to Princess Alice was obtained. However, Maria Feodorovna poorly concealed her dissatisfaction with the unsuccessful, in her opinion, choice of an heir. The fact that the Princess of Hesse joined the Russian imperial family during the mournful days of the suffering of the dying Alexander III probably set Maria Feodorovna even more against the new empress.
April 3, 1894, Coburg-Alex agreed to become Nicholas's wife (486x581, 92Kb)
April 1894, Coburg, Alex agreed to become Nikolai's wife
(in the center is Queen Victoria, Alex's grandmother)
And why, having received the long-awaited parental blessing, Nikolai could not persuade Alix to become his wife? After all, she loved him - he saw it, felt it. What it took for him to persuade his powerful and authoritarian parents to agree to this marriage! He fought for his love and now, the long-awaited permission has been received!
Nicholas goes to the wedding of Alix's brother at Coburg Castle, where everything is already prepared for the Heir to the Russian Throne to propose to Alix of Hesse. The wedding went on as usual, only Alix... was crying.
“We were left alone, and then that conversation began between us, which I had long and strongly desired and, at the same time, was very afraid of. They talked until 12 o'clock, but to no avail, she still resists the change of religion. She, poor thing, cried a lot.” But is it just one religion? In general, if you look at portraits of Alix from any period of her life, it is impossible not to notice the stamp of tragic pain that this face carries. It seems like she always KNEW... She had a presentiment. Cruel fate, the basement of the Ipatiev House, terrible death... She was afraid and tossed about. But the love was too strong! And she agreed.
In April 1894, Nikolai Alexandrovich, accompanied by a brilliant retinue, went to Germany. Having gotten engaged in Darmstadt, the newlyweds spend some time at the English court. From that moment on, the Tsarevich’s diary, which he kept throughout his life, became available to Alex.
Already at that time, even before her accession to the throne, Alex had a special influence on Nicholas. Her entry appears in his diary: “Be persistent... don’t let others be first and bypass you... Reveal your personal will and don’t let others forget who you are.”
Subsequently, Alexandra Feodorovna’s influence on the emperor often took increasingly decisive, sometimes excessive, forms. This can be judged from the published letters from the Empress Nicholas to the front. Not without her pressure, a popular man in the army received his resignation Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. Alexandra Fedorovna was always worried about her husband’s reputation. And she more than once pointed out to him the need for firmness in relations with the courtiers.
Alix the bride was present during the agony of the groom's father, Alexander III. She accompanied his coffin from Livadia across the country with her family. On a sad November day, the body of the emperor was transferred from the Nikolaevsky station to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. A huge crowd crowded along the path of the funeral procession, moving along the pavements dirty with wet snow. The commoners whispered, pointing to the young princess: “She came to us behind the coffin, she brings misfortune with her.”
Tsarevich Alexander and Princess Alice of Hesse
On November 14 (26), 1894 (on the birthday of Empress Maria Feodorovna, which allowed for a retreat from mourning), the wedding of Alexandra and Nicholas II took place in the Great Church of the Winter Palace. After the wedding, a thanksgiving prayer service was served by members of the Holy Synod, led by Metropolitan Palladius (Raev) of St. Petersburg; While singing “We praise You, God,” a cannon salute of 301 shots was fired. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich wrote in his emigrant memoirs about their first days of marriage: “The wedding of the young Tsar took place less than a week after the funeral of Alexander III. Their honeymoon passed in an atmosphere of funeral services and mourning visits. The most deliberate dramatization could not have invented a more suitable prologue for the historical tragedy of the last Russian Tsar.”
5coronation (528x700, 73Kb)
Usually the wives of Russian heirs to the throne for a long time were on the sidelines. Thus, they had time to carefully study the mores of the society they would have to manage, had time to navigate their likes and dislikes, and most importantly, had time to acquire the necessary friends and helpers. Alexandra Fedorovna was unlucky in this sense. She ascended the throne, as they say, having fallen from a ship to a ball: not understanding the life that was alien to her, not being able to understand the complex intrigues of the imperial court.
9-Wedding of Nick 11 and Grand Duchess Alex.Fedor. (700x554, 142Kb)
In truth, her very inner nature was not adapted for the vain royal craft. Painfully withdrawn, Alexandra Feodorovna seemed to be the opposite example of a friendly dowager empress - our heroine, on the contrary, gave the impression of an arrogant, cold German woman who treated her subjects with disdain. The embarrassment that invariably engulfs the queen when communicating with strangers, prevented the establishment of simple, relaxed relationships with representatives of high society, which were vital for her.
19-alex.fedor-tsarina (320x461, 74Kb)
Alexandra Fedorovna did not know how to win the hearts of her subjects, even those who were ready to bow to their members imperial family, did not receive food for this. So, for example, in women's institutes, Alexandra Fedorovna could not squeeze out a single friendly word. This was all the more striking, since the former Empress Maria Fedorovna knew how to evoke in college students a relaxed attitude toward herself, which turned into enthusiastic love for the bearers of royal power. The consequences of the mutual alienation that grew over the years between society and the queen, sometimes taking on the character of antipathy, were very diverse and even tragic. Alexandra Fedorovna’s excessive pride played a fatal role in this.
6tsaritsa-al.fed. (525x700, 83Kb)
The first years of married life turned out to be tense: the unexpected death of Alexander III made Niki emperor, although he was completely unprepared for this. He was bombarded with advice from his mother and five respectable uncles, who taught him to rule the state. Being a very delicate, self-possessed and well-mannered young man, Nikolai at first obeyed everyone. Nothing good came of this: on the advice of their uncles, after the tragedy on Khodynka Field, Niki and Alix attended a ball at the French ambassador - the world called them insensitive and cruel. Uncle Vladimir decided to pacify the crowd in front of the Winter Palace on his own, while the Tsar’s family lived in Tsarskoe - Bloody Sunday ensued... Only over time will Niki learn to say a firm “no” to both uncles and brothers, but... never to HER.
7nikolai 11 with his wife photo (560x700, 63Kb)
Immediately after the wedding, he returned her diamond brooch - a gift from an inexperienced sixteen-year-old boy. And the Empress will not part with her throughout her entire life together - after all, this is a symbol of their love. They always celebrated the day of their engagement - April 8th. In 1915, the forty-two-year-old empress wrote a short letter to her beloved at the front: “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... How time flies - 21 years have already passed! You know, I saved that “princess dress” I was wearing that morning, and I’ll wear your favorite brooch...”
The queen's intervention in the affairs of government did not appear immediately after her wedding. Alexandra Feodorovna was quite happy with the traditional role of a homemaker, the role of a woman next to a man engaged in difficult, serious work. She is, first of all, a mother, busy with her four daughters: taking care of their upbringing, checking their assignments, protecting them. She is the center, as always subsequently, of her closely knit family, and for the emperor, she is the only beloved wife for life.
Her daughters adored her. From the initial letters of their names they made up a common name: “OTMA” (Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia) - and under this signature they sometimes gave gifts to their mother and sent letters. There was an unspoken rule among the Grand Duchesses: every day one of them seemed to be on duty with her mother, without leaving her a single step. It is curious that Alexandra Fedorovna spoke English to the children, and Nicholas II spoke only Russian. The empress communicated with those around her mostly in French. She also mastered Russian quite well, but spoke it only to those who did not know other languages. And only German speech was not present in their everyday life. By the way, the Tsarevich was not taught this.
8 al.fed. with daughters (700x432, 171Kb)
Alexandra Fedorovna with her daughters
Nicholas II, a domestic man by nature, for whom power seemed more like a burden than a way of self-realization, rejoiced at any opportunity to forget about his state concerns in a family setting and gladly indulged in those petty domestic interests for which he generally had a natural inclination. Perhaps, if this couple had not been so highly elevated by fate above mere mortals, she would have calmly and blissfully lived until her death hour, raising beautiful children and resting in God, surrounded by numerous grandchildren. But the mission of monarchs is too restless, the lot is too difficult to allow them to hide behind the walls of their own well-being.
Anxiety and confusion gripped the reigning couple even when the empress, with some fatal sequence, began to give birth to girls. Nothing could be done against this obsession, but Alexandra Feodorovna, who had learned with her mother’s milk her destiny as a queen of a woman, perceived the absence of an heir as a kind of heavenly punishment. On this basis, she, an extremely impressionable and nervous person, developed pathological mysticism. Gradually, the entire rhythm of the palace obeyed the tossing of the unfortunate woman. Now every step of Nikolai Alexandrovich himself was checked against one or another heavenly sign, and state policy was imperceptibly intertwined with childbirth. The queen's influence on her husband intensified, and the more significant it became, the further the date for the appearance of the heir moved forward.
10Alex.Fedoroo (361x700, 95Kb)
The French charlatan Philip was invited to the court, who managed to convince Alexandra Feodorovna that he was able to provide her, through suggestion, with male offspring, and she imagined herself to be pregnant and felt all the physical symptoms of this condition. Only after several months of the so-called false pregnancy, which was very rarely observed, the empress agreed to be examined by a doctor, who established the truth. But the most important misfortune was not in the false pregnancy or in the hysterical nature of Alexandra Fedorovna, but in the fact that the charlatan received, through the queen, the opportunity to influence state affairs. One of Nicholas II’s closest assistants wrote in his diary in 1902: “Philip inspires the sovereign that he does not need any other advisers except representatives of the highest spiritual, heavenly powers, with whom he, Philip, puts him in contact. Hence the intolerance of any contradiction and complete absolutism, sometimes expressed as absurdity. If at the report the minister defends his opinion and does not agree with the opinion of the sovereign, then a few days later he receives a note with a categorical order to carry out what he was told.”
Philip was still able to be expelled from the palace, because the Police Department, through its agent in Paris, found indisputable evidence of the French subject’s fraud.
Alex.fedor (527x700, 63Kb)
With the outbreak of the war, the couple were forced to separate. And then they wrote letters to each other... “Oh, my love! It’s so hard to say goodbye to you and see your lonely pale face with big sad eyes in the train window - my heart is breaking, take me with you... I kiss your pillow at night and passionately wish you were next to me... We have been through so much over these 20 years, we understand each other without words..." "I must thank you for your arrival with the girls, for bringing me life and sunshine, despite rainy weather. Of course, as always, I didn’t have time to tell you even half of what I was going to, because when I meet you after a long separation, I always become shy. I just sit and look at you - this in itself is a great joy for me...”
And soon the long-awaited miracle followed - the heir Alexey was born.
The four daughters of Nikolai and Alexandra were born beautiful, healthy, real princesses: father's favorite romantic Olga, serious beyond her years Tatyana, generous Maria and funny little Anastasia. It seemed that their love could conquer everything. But love cannot defeat Fate. Their The only son turned out to be sick with hemophilia, in which the walls of blood vessels burst from weakness and lead to difficult-to-stop bleeding.
12-Tsar and Family (237x300, 18Kb)The illness of the heir played a fatal role - they had to keep it secret, they painfully searched for a way out and could not find it. At the beginning of the last century, hemophilia remained incurable and patients could only hope for 20-25 years of life. Alexey, who was born a surprisingly handsome and intelligent boy, was ill almost all his life. And his parents suffered with him. Sometimes, when the pain was very severe, the boy asked for death. “When I die, will it hurt me anymore?” - he asked his mother during indescribable attacks of pain. Only morphine could save him from them, but the Tsar did not dare to have as heir to the throne not just a sick young man, but also a morphine addict. Alexei's salvation was loss of consciousness. From pain. He went through several serious crises, when no one believed in his recovery, when he rushed about in delirium, repeating one single word: “Mom.”
Alexey Nikol.-Tsesarevich (379x600, 145Kb)
Tsarevich Alexey
Having turned gray and aged several decades at once, my mother was nearby. She stroked his head, kissed his forehead, as if this could help the unfortunate boy... The only, inexplicable thing that saved Alexei was Rasputin’s prayers. But Rasputin brought an end to their power.
13-Rasputin and the Emperor (299x300, 22Kb)
Thousands of pages have been written about this major adventurer of the 20th century, so it is difficult to add anything to the multi-volume research in a small essay. Let's just say: certainly had secrets unconventional methods treatment, being an extraordinary personality, Rasputin was able to instill in the empress the idea that he, a person sent by God to the family, had a special mission - to save and preserve the heir to the Russian throne. And Alexandra Feodorovna’s friend, Anna Vyrubova, brought the elder into the palace. This gray, unremarkable woman had such a huge influence on the queen that it is worth special mention about her.
14-Taneeva-Vyrubova (225x500, 70Kb) She was the daughter of the outstanding musician Alexander Sergeevich Taneyev, an intelligent and dexterous man who held the position of chief manager of His Majesty’s office at court. It was he who recommended Anna to the queen as a partner for playing the piano four hands. Taneyeva pretended to be an extraordinary simpleton to such an extent that she was initially declared unfit for court service. But this prompted the queen to intensively promote her wedding with naval officer Vyrubov. But Anna’s marriage turned out to be very unsuccessful, and Alexandra Fedorovna, as an extremely decent woman, considered herself to some extent guilty. In view of this, Vyrubova was often invited to the court, and the empress tried to console her. Apparently, nothing strengthens female friendship more than trusting compassion in amorous matters.
Soon, Alexandra Fedorovna already called Vyrubova her “personal friend,” especially emphasizing that the latter did not have an official position at court, which means that her loyalty and devotion to the royal family were completely selfless. The empress was far from thinking that the position of a friend of the queen was more enviable than the position of a person belonging by position to her entourage. In general, it is difficult to fully appreciate the enormous role played by A. Vyrubova in the last period of the reign of Nicholas II. Without her active participation, Rasputin, despite all the power of his personality, would not have been able to achieve anything, since direct relations between the notorious old man and the queen were extremely rare.
Apparently, he did not strive to see her often, realizing that this could only weaken his authority. On the contrary, Vyrubova entered the queen’s chambers every day and did not part with her on trips. Having fallen entirely under the influence of Rasputin, Anna became the best conductor of the elder’s ideas in the imperial palace. In essence, in the stunning drama that the country experienced two years before the collapse of the monarchy, the roles of Rasputin and Vyrubova were so closely intertwined that there is no way to find out the degree of significance of each of them separately.
Anna Vyrubova on a walk in a wheelchair with Grand Duke Olga Nikolaevna, 1915-1916.
The last years of Alexandra Feodorovna's reign were full of bitterness and despair. The public at first transparently hinted at the pro-German interests of the empress, and soon began to openly vilify the “hated German woman.” Meanwhile, Alexandra Fedorovna sincerely tried to help her husband, she was sincerely devoted to the country, which had become her only home, the home of her closest people. She turned out to be an exemplary mother and raised her four daughters with modesty and decency. The girls, despite their high origins, were distinguished by their hard work, many skills, did not know luxury and even assisted during operations in military hospitals. This, oddly enough, was also blamed on the empress, they say, she allows her young ladies too much.
Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. Livadia, 1914
When a rioting revolutionary crowd overran Petrograd, and the Tsar's train was stopped at Dno station for the abdication to be drafted, Alix was left alone. The children had measles, lay with high temperature. The courtiers fled, only a handful remained faithful people. The electricity was turned off, there was no water - we had to go to the pond, break off the ice and heat it on the stove. The palace with defenseless children remained under the protection of the Empress.
18-alex (280x385, 23Kb) She alone did not lose heart and did not believe in renunciation until the last. Alix supported the handful of loyal soldiers who remained to stand guard around the palace - now this was her entire Army. On the day when the ex-Sovereign, who had abdicated the Throne, returned to the palace, her friend, Anna Vyrubova, wrote in her diary: “Like a fifteen-year-old girl, she ran along the endless stairs and corridors of the palace towards him. Having met, they hugged, and when left alone, they burst into tears...” While in exile, anticipating an imminent execution, in a letter to Anna Vyrubova, the Empress summed up her life: “Dear, my dear... Yes, the past is over. I thank God for everything that happened, that I received - and I will live with 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.”
The abdication of Nicholas II from the throne brought the royal family to Tobolsk, where they, along with the remnants of their former servants, lived under house arrest. By your selfless act former king I wanted only one thing - to save my beloved wife and children. However, the miracle did not happen; life turned out to be worse: in July 1918, the couple went down to the basement of the Ipatiev mansion. Nikolai carried his sick son in his arms... Following, walking heavily and holding her head high, was Alexandra Feodorovna...
On that last day of their lives, which is now celebrated by the church as the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Royal Martyrs, Alix did not forget to wear “his favorite brooch.” Having become material evidence No. 52 for the investigation, for us this brooch remains one of the many evidence of that Great Love. The shooting in Yekaterinburg ended the 300-year reign of the House of Romanov in Russia.
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, after the execution, the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his family and associates were taken to this place and thrown into the mine. Nowadays it is located on Ganina Yama monastery in honor of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.
male monastery (700x365, 115Kb)
In the marriage of Nikolai Alexandrovich with Alexandra Fedorovna, five children were born:
Olga (1895-1918);
Tatiana (1897-1918);
Maria (1899-1918);
Anastasia (1901-1918);
Alexey (1904-1918).
