Speech therapy portal / Planning / Love story: Love is stronger than death. Nicky and Alix. The great love of the last Russian emperor In what year did Nicholas II get married?

Love story: Love is stronger than death. Nicky and Alix. The great love of the last Russian emperor In what year did Nicholas II get married?

30.10.2023

The other day I discovered a whole treasure - more than a hundred photographs of the last imperial family from the photo album of Anna Vyrubova - the daughter of the chief administrator of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery A.S. Taneyeva. And once again my heart bled... This family, built on great love, complete trust and mutual understanding, could serve as an example for everyone...

You will not see any royalty, any grandeur or luxury in these photographs, everything is like that of ordinary people. Also, children get sick, problems overwhelm them, but what a tender relationship the spouses have with each other and with the children...

And so as not to get bored looking at low-quality black and white photographs, I decided to supplement them with a story about the love story of this beautiful imperial couple - Nicholas and Alexandra Romanov.

The imperial couple on the yacht "Standard"

P.I. Tchaikovsky - Concerto for violin and orchestra

Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was born in 1872 in Darmstadt, the capital of a small German state, the Duchy of Hesse. Her mother died at thirty-five. Six-year-old Alix, the youngest in a large family, was taken in by her grandmother, the famous English Queen Victoria. For her bright character, the English court nicknamed the blond girl Sunny (Sunny).

Family portrait of the Romanov family in the park

In 1884, twelve-year-old Alix was brought to Russia: her sister Ella was marrying Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The heir to the Russian throne, sixteen-year-old Nicholas, fell in love with her at first sight. But only five years later, seventeen-year-old Alix, who came to her sister Ella, reappeared at the Russian court.

In 1889, when the heir to the crown prince turned twenty-one, he turned to his parents with a request to bless him for his marriage to Princess Alice. The answer of Emperor Alexander III was brief: “You are very young, there is still time for marriage, and, in addition, remember the following: you are the heir to the Russian throne, you are engaged to Russia, and we will still have time to find a wife.”

A year and a half after this conversation, Nikolai wrote in his diary: “Everything is in the will of God. Trusting in His mercy, I look calmly and humbly to the future.”

Emperor Nicholas II

Alix’s grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, also opposed this marriage. However, when the wise Victoria later met Tsarevich Nicholas, he made a very good impression on her, and the English ruler’s opinion changed.

On the next visit of the blond German princess, a year later, Nicholas was not allowed to see her. And then the Tsarevich met the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. His relationship with her lasted almost four years...

The imperial family takes a walk in the park

In April 1894, Nikolai went to Coburg for the wedding of Alix's brother Ernie. And soon the newspapers reported the engagement of the crown prince and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. On the day of the engagement, Nikolai Alexandrovich wrote in his diary: “A wonderful, unforgettable day in my life - the day of my engagement to dear Alix. I walk around all day as if outside of myself, not quite fully aware of what is happening to me.” He is happy! Life without love sooner or later turns into vegetation, since true love cannot be replaced by anything: neither money, nor work, nor fame, nor fake feelings.

Emperor Nicholas II and Tsarevich Alexei

Having learned about the engagement, Kshesinskaya sent anonymous letters to the bride, in which the ink of her former lover was written. Alix, having barely read the first line and seeing that the signature was missing, gave them to the groom.

November 14, 1894 is the day of the long-awaited wedding. On their wedding night, Alix wrote in Nikolai’s diary: “When this life ends, we will meet again in another world and will remain together forever...”

After the wedding, the Tsarevich will write in his diary: “Incredibly happy with Alix. It’s a pity that classes take up so much time that I would so much like to spend exclusively with her.” From the correspondence between Nikolai and Alexandra, we know that love and happiness filled them both. More than 600 letters have been preserved, conveying to us the beauty of this love.

Emperor Nicholas II with his son Alexei

The royal children in Europe and Russia were very well-educated people. Well-mannered and educated for life. And family life, especially for the empress, is the most important matter in her life. Alexandra's diary entries reveal the depth of her understanding of the mysteries of love and marriage.

“Divine design is for marriage to bring happiness, to make the lives of husband and wife more complete, so that neither loses and both win. If, nevertheless, marriage does not become happiness and does not make life richer and fuller, then the fault is not in the marriage bonds, but in the people who are united by them.”

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

“The first lesson to be learned and practiced is patience. At the beginning of family life, both the advantages of character and disposition are revealed, as well as the shortcomings and peculiarities of habits, taste, and temperament, which the other half did not even suspect. Sometimes it seems that it is impossible to get used to each other, that there will be eternal and hopeless conflicts, but patience and love overcome everything, and two lives merge into one, more noble, stronger, fuller, richer, and this life will continue in peace and quiet.

Emperor Nicholas II

Another secret of happiness in family life is attention to each other. Husband and wife should constantly show each other signs of the most tender attention and love. The happiness of life is made up of individual minutes, of small pleasures - from a kiss, a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment and countless small but kind thoughts and sincere feelings. Love also needs its daily bread.”

Their love carried them through many difficulties. Alexandra gave birth to 4 daughters. But the son - the heir, the future monarch of Russia - was still missing. Both were worried, especially Alexandra. And finally - the long-awaited prince! After 4 daughters, Alexandra gave birth to a son on July 30, 1904.

The joy in the palace ended when, a week after the boy's birth, it was discovered that the child had inherited an incurable disease - hemophilia. The lining of the arteries in this disease is so fragile that any bruise, fall, or cut causes rupture of the vessels and can lead to a sad end. This is exactly what happened to Alexandra Fedorovna’s brother when he was three years old.

Emperor Nicholas II

Alexei's illness was kept a state secret. The doctors were powerless. The parents' constant concern for Alexy's life became the reason for the appearance of Grigory Rasputin at the imperial court. According to the doctors who were with the heir, Rasputin had the ability to stop bleeding with the help of hypnosis, so in dangerous moments of the disease he became the last hope for saving the child.

The children of the royal Romanov family - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and the heir Tsarevich Alexei - were extraordinary in their ordinariness. Despite the fact that they were born into one of the highest positions in the world and had access to all earthly goods, they grew up like ordinary children. Their father made sure that their upbringing was similar to his own: that they were not treated like hothouse plants or fragile porcelain, but were given homework, prayers, games, and even a moderate amount of fighting and mischief.

Grand Duchesses Maria and Olga

Thus, they grew up as normal, healthy children, in an atmosphere of discipline, order and almost ascetic simplicity. Even Alexei, for whom every fall threatened a painful illness and even death, was changed from bed rest to normal in order for him to gain courage and other qualities necessary for the heir to the throne.

Grand Duchess Olga and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

The royal children were beautiful - not only for their appearance, but even more so for their spiritual qualities. From their father they inherited kindness, modesty, simplicity, an unshakable sense of duty and a comprehensive love for their homeland. From their mother they inherited deep faith, integrity, discipline and fortitude. The queen herself hated laziness and taught her children to always be fruitfully busy.

Tsarevich Alexey

When the First World War began, the queen and her four daughters devoted themselves entirely to works of mercy. During Alexandra's time, the two eldest daughters also became sisters of mercy, often working as surgeon's assistants. The soldiers did not know who these humble sisters were who were bandaging their wounds, which were often purulent and fetid.

Grand Duchess Tatiana

“The higher a person’s position in society,” said Nikolai, “the more he should help others, never reminding them of his position.” Being himself an excellent example of gentleness and responsiveness to the needs of others, the Tsar raised his children in the same spirit.

Grand Duchesses Tatiana and Olga

The Tsarina wrote to her daughter Olga in a card on her birthday: “Try to be an example of what a good, little, obedient girl should be... Learn to make others happy, think of yourself last. Be gentle, kind, never act rude or harsh. Be a true lady in manners and speech. Be patient and polite, help your sisters in every possible way. When you see someone sad, try to cheer them up with a sunny smile... Show your loving heart. First of all, learn to love God with all the strength of your soul, and He will always be with you. Pray to Him with all your heart. Remember that He sees and hears everything. He loves His children dearly, but they must learn to do His will.”

Grand Duchess Olga reading to Anastasia

During the First World War, rumors spread that Alexandra Feodorovna defended the interests of Germany. By personal order of the sovereign, a secret investigation was carried out into “slanderous rumors about the empress’s relations with the Germans and even about her betrayal of the Motherland.” It has been established that rumors about the desire for a separate peace with the Germans and the transfer of Russian military plans by the Empress to the Germans were spread by the German General Staff. After the abdication of the sovereign, the Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry under the Provisional Government tried and failed to establish the guilt of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna of any crimes.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with her daughters at needlework

According to contemporaries, the empress was deeply religious. The church was her main consolation, especially at a time when the heir’s illness worsened. The Empress held full services in the court churches, where she introduced the monastic (longer) liturgical regulations. The Queen's room in the palace was a connection between the empress's bedroom and the nun's cell. The huge wall adjacent to the bed was completely covered with images and crosses.

The pain for their son and for the fate of Russia was a very difficult test for the royal family. But their love, strengthened by hope in God, withstood all the tests.

Emperor Nicholas II and children

From Alexandra Feodorovna’s letter to Nikolai Alexandrovich in 1914: “Oh, how terrible is the loneliness after your departure! Although our children remain with me, a part of my life is leaving with you - you and I are one.”

Nikolai’s response to the letter was no less touching: “My beloved sunshine, darling little wife! My love, you are terribly missed, which is impossible to express!..”

Emperor Nicholas II on the tennis court

Alexandra’s letter to Nikolai: “I’m crying like a big child. 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.”

Emperor of the Russian Empire Nicholas II

Letter from Nicholas on December 31, 1915 to Alexandra: “The warmest thanks for all your love. If only you knew how much this supports me. Really, I don’t know how I could have withstood all this if God had not been pleased to give me you as a wife and friend. I say this seriously, sometimes it’s hard for me to utter this truth, it’s easier for me to put it all on paper - out of stupid shyness.”

But these lines were written by people who lived 21 years in marriage!.. The greatest happiness for them was the sublimity, the high spirituality of their relationship. And if they weren’t a royal couple, they would still be the richest people in the world: after all, love is the highest wealth and happiness.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

The tragic year 1917 came. Over the course of several stages of imprisonment - first in their palace in Tsarskoe Selo, then in the governor's house in Tobolsk, and finally in the Ipatiev house - the "House of Special Purpose" - in Yekaterinburg, their guards became more and more impudent, heartless and cruel, subjecting their insults, ridicule and deprivation.

The Emperor reads a book by the bed of Grand Duchess Tatiana during her illness with typhus

The royal family endured everything with steadfastness, Christian humility and complete acceptance of the will of God. They sought solace in prayer, worship, and spiritual reading. During this tragic time, the empress was distinguished by extraordinary greatness of spirit and “amazingly bright calm, which then supported her and her entire family until the day of their death” (Gilliard. P. 162).

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

British Consul T. Reston tried to secretly facilitate the release of the Romanovs. On his initiative, a plan was developed to kidnap the family at night; white officers with false documents tried to enter Ipatiev’s house. But the fate of the Romanovs was already predetermined... The Soviet government hoped to prepare a “exemplary” trial of Nikolai, but there was not enough time for this.

The Empress during an attack of illness in the heir Alexei

On July 12, under the pretext of the Czechoslovak Corps and units of the Siberian Army approaching Yekaterinburg, the Bolshevik Urals Council adopted a resolution to kill the royal family. There is an opinion that the military commissar of the Urals F.I. Goloshchekin, in the beginning. July 1918, who visited Moscow, received the consent of V.I. Lenin. On July 16, a telegram was sent to Lenin in which the Urals Council reported that the execution of the royal family could no longer tolerate delay, and asked to immediately inform whether Moscow had any objections. Lenin did not respond to the telegram, which the Urals Council may have considered as a sign of agreement.

Emperor Nicholas II plays with a dog

At 2 o'clock in the morning from July 16 to July 17, the prisoners were woken up and ordered to go down to the semi-basement floor of the house, supposedly to move to another place. According to the executioners, the empress and eldest daughters managed to cross themselves before their death. The Tsar and Empress were killed first. They did not see the execution of their children, who were finished off with bayonets.

Empress and Tsarevich Alexei

Thanks to the diplomatic efforts of the European powers, the royal family could go abroad and escape, as many of Russia’s high-ranking citizens escaped. After all, even from the place of initial exile, from Tobolsk, it was possible to escape at first. Why, after all?.. Nikolai himself answers this question from the distant year 18: “In such difficult times, not a single Russian should leave Russia.”

Sledding near the Bastion, with the White Tower in the background. Alexandrovsky Park

And they stayed. We stayed together forever, as we promised each other once in our youth.

Nicholas II and children on the bank of the canal

The Emperor and Empress read telegrams wishing the recovery of Tsarevich Alexei

Nicholas II and one of his daughters

Nicholas II with his daughters and sister Olga (third from left), an officer and a court lady with skis

Father and son in the uniform of His Majesty's Life Guards Cossack Regiment. Balcony of the Alexander Palace

Emperor Nicholas II

Grand Duchess Tatiana and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Tsarevich Alexei and Emperor Nicholas II on the balcony of the Alexander Palace

Tsarevich and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Unlike his crowned ancestors, who earned unambiguous epithets like the Quiet, the Great, or the already mentioned Liberator, Nicholas II is remembered in memory by two mutually exclusive words - Bloody and Holy. Until now, he is perceived either this way or that way. Although in fairness, for the sake of the last Russian emperor, it would be worth calling the Family Man, since Nicholas was never as successful in anything as in his family.

Augustus Romeo

Judge for yourself. 1905 - 1906 Tsushima defeat. There is a revolution going on in the country. The sailors had a beautiful walk on the battleship Potemkin, the Semyonov soldiers shot no less beautifully at the Muscovites on Krasnaya Presnya, and the Emperor noted such absolutely important events in his diaries. “May 8th. I was walking and killed a cat.” “May 28. I rode a bicycle and killed two crows.” "February 2. I was walking and killed a crow.” And it’s completely different in Nikolai’s correspondence with his wife. “I put your dear letters and telegrams on the bed, so that when I wake up at night, I can touch something of yours” - such an attitude on the part of the wife still needs to be earned. Well, the phrase: “I endlessly kiss all your dear and intimate places. Smell this letter"? By the way, 13 years passed between the quoted messages - an enviable constancy of feelings. No, definitely family and marital duty for Nicholas were more important than any revolutions and wars. And even the fate of the empire.

They met almost at the age of Romeo and Juliet: Romanov was 16, Gessen was 12 years old. The young princess arrived in Russia for the wedding ceremony of her sister Ella with Nikolai's uncle Sergei. The heir to the throne immediately fell in love with the pretty girl.

Five years later, he asked his father to bless their marriage.

Alexander III’s answer was sharp: “You are very young, there is still time to get married. And besides, remember the following: you are the heir to the Russian throne, you are engaged to Russia, and we will still have time to find a wife.”

The princess’s grandmother, Queen Victoria of England, who did not like Russians in general, and Alexander III in particular, also opposed the marriage.

Nikolai had to wait another five years, and he managed to break the will of not only his father, known for his firmness, but also the whims of the obstinate and arrogant Englishwoman. In the spring of 1894, the marriage was blessed by both parties. All Nikolai’s diaries over these ten years opened with a portrait of his beloved and so distant Alice...

Japanese corps de ballet

True, a year after his first request for marriage with Alisa, Nikolai fell madly in love with the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya. This happened by accident and even against his will. In 1890, at the graduation party at the school at the Alexandrinsky Theater, Emperor Alexander III almost forcibly seated the quick-eyed Malya between himself and the heir, jokingly threatening: “Watch me - don’t flirt too much!” He jinxed it, of course. Within six months, the scandalous but carefully hidden romance was in full swing. Both Nikolai and Matilda were thrilled with their happiness, but the wanderjahr was inevitably approaching - as in German they called the mandatory journey upon reaching adulthood and completing their studies.

"Wonderful Year"

For the happy lover, this journey was no less desirable than Matilda’s caresses. Nikolai, who received his education under pressure, wrote with relief in his diary: “April 28, 1890. Today I finally and forever stopped my studies. Yesterday we drank 125 bottles of champagne.” And whistled around the world. Malya shed tears, carefully read all the newspapers telling about the Tsarevich’s journey, and almost fell ill with a nervous fever when she read about the attempt by a Japanese fanatic on her Nikolenka. It’s good that no one told Male about what really happened on Japanese soil.

The matter, in general, was simpler than steamed turnips. In the city of Otsu, a company led by the crown prince entered the red light district. Of course, the heir to the throne needed top-class escort service specialists. But bad luck - each of them worked with a “roof”. And the “roof” was armed with a sword. So Nikolai, one might say, was lucky - the Japanese, in response to the antics and insults of the drunken heir, did not draw his sword, but simply hit the ringleader on the head with the scabbard.

“Darling Sunshine”

Nicholas settled down only at the deathbed of his parent, in the fall of 1894. According to tradition, the new emperor was obliged to marry. Fortunately, the marriage had already been blessed by that time. And so, seeing Princess Alice again, who converted to Orthodoxy before marriage under the name of Alexandra Feodorovna, Nikolai was delighted: “I cannot thank God enough for the treasure that He sent me in the form of a wife.” Peace and love came to the august family. Only with his “beloved darling Sun” did Nikolai feel calm and confident. These feelings were especially evident during the First World War. Celebrating the New Year, 1916, Alexandra wrote to her husband: “I’m crying like a big child. I see in front of me your sad eyes, full of affection. 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.” And here is the answer from Nikolai from Headquarters on the Western Front: “The warmest thanks for all your love. I say this seriously, sometimes it’s hard for me to utter this truth, it’s easier for me to put it all on paper - out of stupid shyness.” 21 years of family life - and such a storm... It was not for nothing that other contemporaries said with slight envy: “Their honeymoon lasted 23 years...” Yes, after that correspondence between the Commander-in-Chief Headquarters and Tsarskoye Selo, Nika and Alix’s love lived on for another two years. And it was interrupted by execution in the basement of the Ipatiev house. What was said at the wedding came true: “Until death do you part...”

Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova - the last Russian empress, wife of Nicholas II. Today we will get acquainted with the life and work of this undoubtedly important historical person.

Childhood and youth

The future empress was born on May 25, 1872, in the German city of Darmstadt. Her father was Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and her mother was Grand Duchess Alice, second daughter of Queen Victoria of England. The girl was baptized Lutheran and received the name Alice Victoria Elena Brigitte Louise Beatrice, in honor of her mother and aunts. The family began to call the girl simply Alice. The mother was raising the child. But when Alice was only six years old, her mother died. She cared for patients with diphtheria and became infected herself. At that time, the woman was only 35 years old.

After losing her mother, Alice began to live with her grandmother Queen Victoria. In the English court, the girl received a good upbringing and education. She was fluent in several languages. In her youth, the princess received a philosophical education at the University of Heidelberg.

In the summer of 1884, Alexandra visited Russia for the first time. She came there for the wedding of her sister, Princess Ella, with Prince Sergei Alexandrovich. At the beginning of 1889, she visited Russia again with her brother and father. Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was the heir to the throne, fell in love with the young princess. However, the imperial family did not attach any importance to this, in the hope that he would connect his life with the royal family of France.

Wedding

In 1894, when the condition of Emperor Alexander III sharply deteriorated, it was necessary to suddenly resolve the issue of the prince’s marriage and succession to the throne. On April 8, 1894, Princess Alice was engaged to Tsarevich Nicholas. On October 5 of the same year, she received a telegram asking her to urgently come to Russia. Five days later, Princess Alice was in Livadia. Here she stayed with the royal family until October 20, the day when Alexander III died. The next day, the princess was accepted into the fold of the Orthodox Church and named Alexandra Fedorovna, in honor of Queen Alexandra.

On the birthday of Empress Maria, November 14, when it was possible to retreat from strict mourning, Alexandra Romanova married Nicholas II. The wedding took place in the Church of the Winter Palace. And on May 14, 1896, the royal couple was crowned in the Assumption Cathedral.

Children

Tsarina Romanova Alexandra Fedorovna tried to be an assistant for her husband in all his endeavors. Together, their union became a true example of a truly Christian family. The couple gave birth to four daughters: Olga (in 1895), Tatyana (in 1897), Maria (in 1899), Anastasia (in 1901). And in 1904, a long-awaited event for the whole family took place - the birth of the heir to the throne, Alexei. He was given the disease that Queen Victoria's ancestors suffered from - hemophilia. Hemophilia is a chronic disease associated with poor blood clotting.

Upbringing

Empress Alexandra Romanova tried to take care of the whole family, but she paid special attention to her son. Initially, she taught him on her own, later she called teachers and supervised the progress of his training. Being very tactful, the empress kept her son’s illness a secret from outsiders. Due to constant concern for Alexy’s life, Alexandra invited G.E. Rasputin, who knew how to stop bleeding using hypnosis, to the courtyard. In dangerous moments, he was the family's only hope.

Religion

As contemporaries testified, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, the wife of Nicholas 2, was very religious. In the days when the heir’s illness worsened, the church was her only salvation. Thanks to the imperial family, several temples were built, including in Alexandra’s homeland. Thus, in memory of Maria Alexandrovna, the first Russian Empress from the House of Hesse, the Church of Mary Magdalene was erected in the city of Darmstadt. And in memory of the coronation of the Emperor and Empress, in 1896, a temple in the name of All Saints was founded in the city of Hamburg.

Charity

According to the rescript of her husband, dated February 26, 1896, the Empress took up the patronage of the imperial women's Patriotic Community. Being unusually hardworking, she devoted a lot of time to needlework. Alexandra Romanova organized charity bazaars and fairs where homemade souvenirs were sold. Over time, she took many charities under her patronage.

During the war with the Japanese, the Empress was personally involved in the preparation of ambulance trains and warehouses of medicines to be sent to the battlefields. But Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova carried out the greatest labors during the First World War. From the very beginning of the confrontations, in the Tsarskoye Selo community, together with her eldest daughters, the empress took courses in caring for the wounded. Later, they more than once saved the military from painful death. In the period from 1914 to 1917, the Empress's Warehouse Committee worked in the Winter Palace.

Smear campaign

During the First World War, and in general, in the last years of her reign, the Empress became the victim of a baseless and merciless slander campaign. Its instigators were revolutionaries and their accomplices in Russia and Germany. They tried to spread rumors as widely as possible that the empress was cheating on her husband with Rasputin and was giving Russia over to please Germany. None of the rumors were confirmed by facts.

Abdication

On March 2, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne personally for himself and for his heir, Tsarevich Alexei. Six days later, in Tsarskoe Selo, Alexandra Romanova was arrested along with her children. On the same day, the emperor was arrested in Mogilev. The next day, a convoy took him to Tsarskoye Selo. That same year, on August 1, the whole family left for exile in Tobolsk. There, imprisoned in the governor's house, she lived for the next eight months.

On April 26 of the following year, Alexandra, Nikolai and their daughter Maria were sent to Yekaterinburg, leaving Alexei's three sisters in the care. Four days later, they were settled in a house that previously belonged to engineer N. Ipatiev. The Bolsheviks called it “a special purpose house.” And they called the prisoners “tenants.” The house was surrounded by a high fence. It was guarded by 30 people. On May 23, the remaining children of the imperial family were brought here. The former sovereigns began to live like prisoners: complete isolation from the outside environment, meager food, daily hour-long walks, searches, and a biased hostile attitude from the guards.

Murder of the royal family

On July 12, 1918, the Bolshevik Uralsovet, under the pretext of the approach of the Czechoslovak and Siberian armies, adopted a resolution on the murder of the imperial family. There is an opinion that the Ural military commissar F. Goloshchekin at the beginning of the same month, having visited the capital, enlisted the support of V. Lenin for the execution of the royal family. On June 16, Lenin received a telegram from the Uralsovet, which reported that the execution of the Tsar’s family could no longer be delayed. The telegram also asked Lenin to immediately communicate his opinion on this matter. Vladimir Ilyich did not answer, and it is obvious that the Urals Council considered this as agreement. The execution of the decree was led by Y. Yurovsky, who on July 4 was appointed commandant of the house in which the Romanovs were imprisoned.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the murder of the royal family followed. The prisoners were woken up at 2 a.m. and ordered to go down to the basement of the house. There the entire family was shot by armed security officers. According to the testimony of the executioners, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, together with her daughters, managed to cross herself before her death. The Tsar and Tsarina were the first to fall at the hands of the Chekists. They did not see how the children were finished off with bayonets after the execution. The bodies of those killed were destroyed using gasoline and sulfuric acid.

Investigation

The circumstances of the murder and destruction of the body became known after Sokolov’s investigation. Individual remains of the imperial family, which Sokolov also found, were transferred to the Temple of Job the Long-Suffering, built in Brussels in 1936. In 1950, it was consecrated in memory of Nicholas II, his relatives and all the new martyrs of Russia. The temple also contains the found rings of the imperial family, icons and the Bible, which Alexandra Feodorovna gave to her son Alexei. In 1977, due to the influx of ladles, the Soviet authorities decided to destroy Ipatiev's house. In 1981, the royal family was canonized by the foreign Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1991, in the Sverdlovsk region, a burial was officially opened, which was discovered by G. Ryabov in 1979 and mistook for the grave of the royal family. In August 1993, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation into the murder of the Romanov family. At the same time, a commission was created to identify and subsequently rebury the found remains.

In February 1998, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate, it was decided to bury the found remains in a symbolic grave-monument as soon as any grounds for doubt regarding their origin disappeared. Ultimately, the secular authorities of Russia decided to rebury the remains on July 17, 1998 in the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Cathedral. The funeral service was led personally by the rector of the cathedral.

At the Council of Bishops in 2000, Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova, whose biography became the subject of our conversation, and the rest of the royal passion-bearers, were canonized in the Council of Russian New Martyrs. And on the site of the house in which the royal family was executed, a Monument Temple was built.

Conclusion

Today we learned how Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova lived her eventful but short life. The historical significance of this woman, as well as her entire family, is difficult to overestimate, because they were the last representatives of tsarist power on the territory of Russia. Despite the fact that the heroine of our story was always a busy woman, she found time to describe her life and worldview in her memoirs. The memoirs of Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova were published almost a century after her death. They were included in a series of books called “The Romanovs. The Fall of a Dynasty."

On December 12, “Channel One” will show an 8-episode series dedicated to the last days of the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, as well as one of the most mysterious close associates of the royal family - the elder. Nicholas II and his family (wife and children) are the last representatives of the House of Romanov and the last rulers of the Russian Empire, shot by the Bolsheviks in July 1918.

In Soviet textbooks, the autocrat was presented as a “strangler of freedoms” who was not interested in state affairs, and the Russian Orthodox Church (though already in our days) canonized the tsar as a martyr and passion-bearer. Let's figure out how modern historians evaluate life and reign.

Life and reign of Nicholas II

Tradition

Nicholas, the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III, was born in Tsarskoe Selo on May 6 (18), 1868. The heir to the throne received a thorough education at home: he knew several languages, world history, and understood economics and military affairs. Together with his father, Nikolai made many trips to the provinces of Russia.

Tradition

Alexander III did not make concessions: he wanted his offspring to behave like ordinary children - they played, fought, sometimes played pranks, but most importantly, they studied well and “didn’t think about any thrones.”

Contemporaries described Nicholas II as very easy to communicate with, full of true dignity as a person. He never interrupted his interlocutor or raised his voice, even to those of lower rank. The emperor was lenient towards human weaknesses and had a good-natured attitude toward ordinary people - peasants, but never forgave what he called “dark money matters.”

In 1894, after the death of his father, Nicholas II ascended the throne. The years of his reign came during a turbulent period in history. Revolutionary movements arose all over the world, and the First World War began in 1914. However, even in such difficult times, he managed to significantly improve the economic situation of the state.

Arguments and Facts

Here are just some facts about the reign of Nicholas II:

During his reign, the population of the empire increased by 50 million people.
4 million rubles, left by Alexander III as an inheritance to his children and kept in a London bank, were spent on charity.
The emperor approved all petitions for pardon that were sent to him.
The grain harvest has doubled.
Nicholas II carried out a military reform: he shortened the terms of service, improved living conditions for soldiers and sailors, and also contributed to the rejuvenation of the officer corps.
During the First World War, he did not sit in the palace, but took command of the Russian army, finally managing to repel Germany.

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However, the emerging revolutionary sentiments increasingly captured people's thoughts. On March 2, 1917, under pressure from the high command, he handed over the Manifesto of Abdication, in which he bequeathed the army to obey the Provisional Government.

Modern historians believe that the Manifesto was a fake. In the original draft, Nicholas II only called for listening to your superiors, maintaining discipline and “defending Russia with all your might.” Later, Alekseev only added a couple of sentences (“For the last time I am addressing you...”) to change the meaning of the autocrat’s words.

Wife of Nicholas II - Alexandra Feodorovna

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The Empress (nee Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was born on May 25 (June 6), 1872. She received a new name after baptism and marriage to Nicholas II. The future empress was raised by the English Queen Victoria, who adored her granddaughter.

Alice graduated from the University of Heidelberg with a Bachelor of Philosophy.

In May 1884, at the wedding of her sister Elizaveta Fedorovna, she met Nikolai Alexandrovich. The wedding took place on November 14 (26), 1894, just 3 weeks after the death of Emperor Alexander.

During the war, Empress Alexandra and the Grand Duchesses personally assisted in operations in hospitals, accepted amputated limbs from surgeons and washed purulent wounds.

Arguments and Facts

Despite the fact that the empress was not popular in her new fatherland, she herself fell in love with Russia with all her soul. Doctor Botkin’s daughter wrote in her diary that after Nicholas II read out the manifesto on the war with Germany (her historical homeland), Alexandra cried with joy.

However, liberals considered her the head of the court Germanophile group and accused Nicholas II of being too dependent on his wife’s opinion. Because of the negative attitude, the once sparkling joy of the princess, the “Windsor ray of sunshine” (as Nicholas II called Alexandra in his time) gradually became isolated in a narrow circle of her family and 2-3 close associates.

Her friendship with the elder, Siberian peasant Grigory Rasputin, caused a lot of controversy.

Children of Nicholas II

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The family of Nicholas II Romanov raised five children: four daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia) and a son, the heir to the throne, Alexei Nikolaevich.

Olga Nikolaevna Romanova

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Olga, the eldest daughter of Nicholas II, gave the impression of a gentle and fragile girl. From an early age she showed a passion for books and was a very erudite child. However, at times the Grand Duchess was hot-tempered and stubborn. Teachers noted that the girl had an almost perfect ear for music - she could play almost any melody heard somewhere.

Princess Olga did not like luxury and was distinguished by modesty. She didn’t like housework, but she enjoyed reading, playing the piano and drawing.

Tatyana Nikolaevna Romanova

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Tatyana Nikolaevna was born on May 29, 1897. As a child, what she loved most was riding a pony and a tandem bicycle with her sister Olga; she could spend hours wandering around the garden, picking flowers and berries.

Tatyana's character was similar to her mother: she laughed less often than the other sisters, and was often thoughtful and strict.

Unlike her older sister, the girl loved to be in charge, and she was great at it. When her mother was away, Tatyana embroidered, ironed clothes and managed to look after the younger children.

Maria Nikolaevna Romanova

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The third daughter in the family of Nicholas II - Maria - was born on the night of June 14, 1899 at the summer residence in Peterhof. Very large and strong for her age, she later carried her brother Alexei in her arms when it was difficult for him to walk. Because of her simplicity and cheerful disposition, the sisters called her Masha. The girl loved to talk with the guard soldiers and always remembered the names of their wives and how many children they had.

At the age of 14 she became a colonel of the 9th Kazan Dragoon Regiment. At the same time, her affair with officer Demenkov broke out. When her lover went to the front, Maria personally sewed a shirt for him. In telephone conversations, he assured that the shirt was just right. Unfortunately, the end of the love story was tragic: Nikolai Demenkov was killed during the civil war.

Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova

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Princess Anastasia was born when the family of Nicholas II and Alexandra already had three daughters. Outwardly she looked like her father, she often laughed and laughed loudly. From the diaries of those close to the royal family, you can find out that Anastasia had a very cheerful and even mischievous character. The girl loved to play lapta and forfeits, could tirelessly run around the palace, play hide and seek, and climb trees. But she was never particularly diligent in her studies and even tried to bribe teachers with bouquets of flowers.

Alexey Nikolaevich Romanov

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The long-awaited son of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna was the youngest of the children of the royal couple. The boy was born on July 30 (August 12), 1904. At first, the Tsarevich grew up as a cheerful, cheerful child, but later a terrible genetic disease appeared - hemophilia. This complicated the upbringing and training of the future emperor. Only Rasputin managed to find a way to alleviate the boy’s suffering.

Alexei Nikolaevich himself wrote in his diary: “When I am king, there will be no poor and unhappy people, I want everyone to be happy.”

Execution of Nicholas II and his family

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After signing the manifesto, from March 9 to August 14, 1917, the royal family of Nicholas II lived under arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. In the summer they were transported to Tobolsk, where the regime was a little softer: the Romanovs were allowed to go across the street to the Church of the Annunciation and lead a quiet home life.

While imprisoned, the family of Tsar Nicholas II did not sit idle: the former monarch personally chopped wood and looked after the garden.

In the spring of 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to transfer the Romanov family to Moscow for trial. However, it never took place. On July 12, the Ural Council of Workers' Deputies decided to execute the former emperor. Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, as well as Doctor Botkin and the servants were shot in Yekaterinburg in the “House of Special Purpose” on the night of July 17, 1918.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas II

The last Russian empress...the closest to us in time, but perhaps also the least known in its original form, 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 younger sister May died from it.

Ludwig IV of Hesse and Duchess Alice (second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) are Alex's parents

And then the girl is taken in by her English grandmother. 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."

In June 1884, at the age of 12, Alice visited Russia for the first time, when her older sister Ella (in Orthodoxy - Elizaveta Fedorovna) married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. In 1886, she came to visit her sister, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna (Ella), the 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.

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, young people of royal blood united. 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 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. It was not without her pressure that Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, popular among the troops, resigned. 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.”

Typically, the wives of Russian heirs to the throne were in secondary roles for a long time. 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.

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 gripped the queen when communicating with strangers prevented her from establishing simple, relaxed relationships with representatives of high society, which she vitally needed.

Alexandra Fedorovna did not know how to win the hearts of her subjects at all; even those who were ready to bow to members of the 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 the 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 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.

The illness of the heir played a fatal role - they had to keep it a 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.”

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.

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: of course, possessing the secrets of unconventional methods of treatment, being an extraordinary person, Rasputin was able to inspire the empress with 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.

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 and lay with a high fever. The courtiers fled, leaving only a handful of loyal 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.

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. With his selfless act, the former king wanted only one thing - to save his 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 Fedorovna...

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 on Ganina Yama there is a monastery in honor of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.