Nicholas II Alexandrovich (born - May 6 (18), 1868, death - July 17, 1918, Yekaterinburg) - Emperor of All Russia, from the imperial house of the Romanovs.
Childhood
The heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, grew up in the atmosphere of a luxurious imperial court, but in a strict and, one might say, Spartan setting. His father, Emperor Alexander III, and his mother, the Danish princess Dagmara (Empress Maria Feodorovna), fundamentally did not allow any weakness and sentimentality in raising children. A strict daily routine was always established for them, with obligatory daily lessons, attending church services, obligatory visits to relatives, obligatory participation in many official ceremonies. The children slept on simple soldier's bunks with hard pillows, in the morning they took cold baths for breakfast, and they gave oatmeal.
Youth of the future emperor
1887 - Nikolai was promoted to staff captain and assigned to the Life Guard of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. There he was listed for two years, first performing the duties of a platoon commander and then a company commander. Then, to join the cavalry service, his father transferred him to the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, where Nikolai took command of the squadron.
Due to his modesty and simplicity, the prince was quite popular among his fellow officers. 1890 - his training is completed. The father did not burden the heir to the throne with state affairs. He appeared from time to time at meetings of the Council of State, but his gaze was constantly fixed on the clock. Like all the officers of the guard, Nikolai devoted a lot of time to social life, often visited the theater: he adored opera and ballet.
Promotional video:
Nikolay and Alisa Gessenskaya
Apparently the women also occupied him. But it is interesting that Nikolai experienced his first serious feeling for Princess Alice of Hesse, who later became his wife. They first met in 1884 in St. Petersburg at the wedding of Ella Gessenskaya (Alice's older sister) with the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. She was 12 years old, he was 16. 1889 - Alix spent 6 weeks in St. Petersburg.
Nicholas II in childhood and adolescence
Later, Nikolai wrote: “I dream of marrying Alix G. someday. I have loved her for a long time, but especially deeply and strongly since 1889… All this for a long time I did not believe my feeling, did not believe that my cherished dream could come true”.
In fact, the heir had to overcome many obstacles. Parents offered Nikolai other parties, but he resolutely refused to associate himself with any other princess.
Ascension to the throne
1894, spring - Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna were forced to give in to their son's wishes. Preparations for the wedding began. But before they could play it, on October 20, 1894, Alexander III died. The death of the emperor was not more significant for anyone than for the 26-year-old young man who inherited his throne.
“I saw tears in his eyes,” recalled the Grand Duke Alexander. He took my arm and led me downstairs to his room. We hugged and we both burst into tears. He could not collect his thoughts. He knew that he had now become emperor, and the severity of this terrible event struck him down … “Sandro, what should I do? he exclaimed pathetically. - What should happen to me, to you … to Alix, to the mother, to all of Russia? I'm not ready to be king. I never wanted to be. I don't understand anything about board matters. I don't even have a clue how to talk to ministers."
The next day, when the palace was draped in black, Alix converted to Orthodoxy and from that day began to be called the Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. On November 7, the ceremonial burial of the late emperor took place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, and a week later, the wedding of Nicholas and Alexandra took place. On the occasion of mourning, there was no gala reception or honeymoon trip.
Personal life and royal family
Spring 1895 - Nicholas II moved his wife to Tsarskoe Selo. They settled in the Alexander Palace, which remained the main home of the imperial couple for 22 years. Everything here was arranged according to their tastes and desires, and therefore Tsarskoe was always their favorite place. Nikolai usually got up at 7, had breakfast and disappeared into his office to get started.
By nature, he was a loner and preferred to do everything himself. At 11 o'clock the tsar interrupted his studies and went for a walk in the park. When the children appeared, they invariably accompanied him on these walks. Lunch in the middle of the day was the official ceremonial procedure. Although the empress was usually absent, the emperor dined with his daughters and members of his retinue. According to Russian custom, the meal began with a prayer.
Neither Nikolai nor Alexandra liked expensive complicated dishes. He got great pleasure from borscht, porridge, boiled fish with vegetables. But the king's favorite dish was a roasted young pig with horseradish, which he washed down with port. After lunch, Nikolai went for a horse ride along the surrounding rural roads in the direction of Krasnoe Selo. At 4 o'clock the family gathered for tea. According to etiquette introduced by Catherine II, only crackers, butter and English biscuits were served with tea. No cakes or sweets allowed. Sipping his tea, Nikolai skimmed through newspapers and telegrams. Then he returned to his work, receiving a stream of visitors between 17 and 20 o'clock.
Exactly at 20 o'clock, all official meetings ended, and Nicholas II could go to dinner. In the evening, the emperor would often sit in the family living room, reading aloud, while his wife and daughters did needlework. By his choice, it could be Tolstoy, Turgenev or his favorite writer Gogol. However, there could be some fashion novel. The Tsar's personal librarian selected for him 20 of the best books a month from all over the world. Sometimes, instead of reading, the family spent evenings pasting photographs taken by the court photographer or by themselves into green leather albums embossed with a golden royal monogram.
Nicholas II with his wife
The end of the day came at 11 pm with evening tea serving. Before leaving, the emperor made notes in his diary, and then took a bath, went to bed and usually fell asleep immediately. It is noted that, unlike many families of European monarchs, the Russian imperial couple had a common bed.
1904, July 30 (August 12) - the 5th child was born in the imperial family. To the great joy of his parents, it was a boy. The king wrote in his diary: “A great unforgettable day for us, on which the mercy of God so clearly visited us. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon Alix gave birth to a son, who was named Alexei during prayer."
On the occasion of the appearance of the heir, cannons fired all over Russia, bells rang and flags fluttered. However, a few weeks later the imperial couple was shocked by the terrible news - it turned out that their son was sick with hemophilia. The next years passed in a difficult struggle for the life and health of the heir. Any bleeding, any injection could lead to death. The torment of his beloved son tore the hearts of his parents. In particular, Alexei's illness affected the Empress, who over the years began to suffer from hysteria, she became suspicious and extremely religious.
Board of Nicholas II
Meanwhile, Russia was going through one of the most turbulent stages in its history. After the Japanese war, the first revolution began, suppressed with great difficulty. Nicholas II had to agree to the establishment of the State Duma. The next 7 years were lived in peace and even with relative prosperity.
Stolypin, nominated by the emperor, began to carry out his reforms. At one time it seemed that Russia would be able to avoid new social upheavals, but the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 made the revolution inevitable. The crushing defeats of the Russian army in the spring and summer of 1915 forced Nicholas II to lead the troops himself.
From that time on, he was on duty in Mogilev and could not delve deeply into state affairs. Alexandra with great zeal undertook to help her husband, but it seems that she harmed him more than she actually helped. Both high officials and grand dukes and foreign diplomats felt the approach of revolution. They tried their best to warn the emperor. Repeatedly in these months, Nicholas II was offered to remove Alexander from affairs and create a government in which the people and the Duma would have confidence. But all these attempts were unsuccessful. The emperor gave his word against all odds to preserve the autocracy in Russia and to hand it over to his son, whole and unshakable; now, with pressure on him from all sides, he remained true to his oath.
The revolution. Abdication
1917, February 22 - without making a decision on a new government, Nicholas II went to Headquarters. Immediately after his departure, unrest began in Petrograd. On February 27, the alarmed emperor decided to return to the capital. On the way to one of the stations, he accidentally learned that a temporary State Duma committee headed by Rodzianko was already operating in Petrograd. Then, after consulting with the generals of his suite, Nikolai decided to make his way to Pskov. Here, on March 1, from the commander of the Northern Front, General Ruzsky, Nikolai learned the latest amazing news: the entire garrison of Petrograd and Tsarskoye Selo went over to the side of the revolution.
His example was followed by the Guards, the Cossack convoy and the Guards carriage with the Grand Duke Kirill at the head. The tsar was finally defeated by negotiations with the front commanders, undertaken by telegraph. All the generals were merciless and unanimous: it is already impossible to stop the revolution by force; to avoid civil war and bloodshed, Emperor Nicholas II must abdicate the throne. After painful hesitation, late in the evening on March 2, Nikolai signed his abdication.
Arrest
The next day, he ordered his train to go to Headquarters, to Mogilev, as he wanted to say goodbye to the army at last. Here on March 8, the emperor was arrested and taken under escort to Tsarskoe Selo. From that day on, a time of constant humiliation began for him. The guard behaved defiantly rude. It was even more offensive to see the betrayal of those people whom they used to consider the closest. Almost all the servants and most of the ladies-in-waiting left the palace and the empress. Doctor Ostrogradsky refused to go to the sick Alexei, saying that he "finds the road too dirty" for further visits.
Nikolay 2 with his wife and children
Meanwhile, the situation in the power began to deteriorate again. Kerensky, who by that time had become the head of the Provisional Government, decided that for security reasons the royal family should be sent away from the capital. After much hesitation, he gave the order to transport the Romanovs to Tobolsk. The move took place in early August in deep secrecy.
The royal family lived in Tobolsk for 8 months. Her financial situation was very constrained. Alexandra wrote to Anna Vyrubova: “I knit socks for little (Alexei). He demands a couple more, since everything is in holes … I'm doing everything now. Papa's (tsar's) pants were torn and needed mending, and the girls' underwear was in rags … I became completely gray …”After the October coup, the situation of the prisoners became even worse.
1918, April - the Romanov family was transported to Yekaterinburg, they were settled in the house of the merchant Ipatiev, who was destined to become their last prison. 12 people settled in the 5 upper rooms of the 2nd floor. In the first lived Nikolai, Alexandra and Alexei, in the second - the grand duchesses. The rest were divided among the servants. In the new place, the former emperor and his relatives felt like real prisoners. Behind the fence and on the street was an external guard from the Red Guards. There were always several people in the house with revolvers.
This inner guard was taken from the most reliable Bolsheviks and was very hostile. It was commanded by Alexander Avdeev, who called the emperor no other than "Nicholas the Bloody". None of the members of the royal family could retire, and even to the dressing room the Grand Duchesses were accompanied by one of the guards. Only black bread and tea were served for breakfast. Lunch consisted of soup and cutlets. The guards often took pieces from the pan with their hands in front of the diners. The clothes of the prisoners were completely dilapidated.
On July 4, the Ural Council removed Avdeev and his people. They were replaced by 10 security officers led by Yurovsky. Despite the fact that he was much more polite than Avdeev, Nikolai from the first days felt the threat coming from him. In fact, clouds were gathering over the family of the last Russian emperor. At the end of May in Siberia, the Urals and the Volga region, a Czechoslovak rebellion broke out. The Czechs launched a successful offensive against Yekaterinburg. On July 12, the Ural Soviet received permission from Moscow to decide the fate of the deposed dynasty. The council decided to shoot all the Romanovs and entrusted the execution of the execution to Yurovsky. Later, the White Guards were able to capture several participants in the execution and, from their words, restore in all details the picture of the execution.
The execution of the Romanov family
On July 16, Yurovsky distributed 12 revolvers to the Chekists and announced that the execution would take place today. At midnight, he woke up all the prisoners, ordered them to quickly get dressed and go downstairs. It was announced that the Czechs and whites were approaching Yekaterinburg, and the local council ruled that they should leave. Nikolai went down the stairs first, carrying Alexei in his arms. Anastasia was holding Jimmy the spaniel in her arms. Along the basement Yurovsky led them to the basement room. There he asked to wait until the cars came. Nikolai asked for chairs for his son and wife. Yurovsky ordered three chairs to be brought. In addition to the Romanov family, there were Dr. Botkin, Trupp's footman, the cook Kharitonov and the Empress Demidov's room girl.
When everyone had gathered, Yurovsky entered the room again, accompanied by the entire detachment of the Cheka with revolvers in hand. Stepping forward, he quickly said: "In view of the fact that your relatives continue to attack Soviet Russia, the Ural Executive Committee decided to shoot you."
Nikolai, continuing to support Alexei with his hand, began to rise from the chair. He only had time to say: "What?" and then Yurovsky shot him in the head. At this signal, the Chekists began shooting. Alexandra Feodorovna, Olga, Tatiana and Maria were killed on the spot. Botkin, Kharitonov and Trup were mortally wounded. Demidova remained on her feet. The Chekists grabbed rifles and started chasing her in order to finish off with bayonets. Screaming, she rushed from one wall to another and eventually fell, receiving more than 30 wounds. They smashed the dog's head with the butt. When silence reigned in the room, the heavy breathing of the Tsarevich was heard - he was still alive. Yurovsky reloaded his revolver and shot the boy twice in the ear. Just at that moment, Anastasia, who was only unconscious, woke up and screamed. She was finished off with bayonets and rifle butts …
Recommended for viewing: "The Emperor Who Knew His Destiny. Nicholas II"
K. Ryzhov