How many more secrets does Russian history keep? "The affairs of bygone days …" - how difficult it is today to reveal the secrets of events about which there are almost no documents left. The death of the Russian Emperor Alexander I will remain such a historical secret. Unfortunately, time erases a lot and even the crumbs of information that can still be found. In addition, the royal family also took all the necessary measures to keep this secret.
The cold December morning of 1825 at the Taganiy Rog cape did not please the inhabitants. The piercing wind from the bay brought icy breath to the streets of a small provincial Russian town. A strong wind swayed the crowns of trees, tore off the shutters from the windows, drove uncleared garbage along the pavements. Residents of the city were in no hurry to leave their warm beds so early. Only in one of the houses on Grecheskaya Street all the tenants have long been on their feet. And it was difficult to compare them with ordinary inhabitants of this town: expensive clothes, military uniforms, exquisite manners and confident looks. Well-trained footmen scurried between the gentlemen in silent shadows, ready to carry out any order. There was a tense expectation in the air. The appearance of a beautiful lady attracted many glances to her. She looked intently and hopefully in the eyes of only one person,but he dropped his gaze, and the lady's face darkened. She went into a room adjacent to the hall, followed by many eyes. The minutes passed slowly. Finally the door of the room opened and a tall, stately man came out, who, with a trembling voice, said: "Gentlemen, the Emperor of the Russian Empire, Alexander the First, has just died."
This course of events was supported by the royal family throughout the years of the existence of the ruling monarchy. It was announced that the Russian emperor had died in Taganrog during his inspection trip to Crimea. Sources pointed to various causes of the autocrat's death: from cholera and typhoid fever to a simple cold, which caused a complication. According to the recollections of those who were close to the emperor, the sovereign rode on horseback on his trip, and the weather at that time did not contribute to such long transitions: a piercing wind, cold air from the sea. So there were plenty of reasons to get a bad cold. Moreover, Alexander I could not tolerate any medicine.
As evidenced by archival records, the body of the deceased was taken to St. Petersburg. When parting with her son, Maria Fedorovna noted that the face of her boy looks very emaciated and significantly thinner. The emperor was buried with all honors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which is the burial vault of the Romanov dynasty.
Everything seems to be clear. But for some reason, no one paid attention to the mysterious secondary events that took place during his trip, surrounded by the emperor. It was worth it. Indeed, immediately after the death of the emperor, rumors appeared that something was unclean in this death. So, many became aware of the story of a soldier who was on guard duty, a day before the death of Alexander I, near the house where the emperor himself and his retinue settled. The serviceman thought it strange that in the middle of the night a man came out of the back door, carefully wrapped in a long dark cloak. The unknown man, turning his back to the sentry, walked quickly away. Not far off, a gig was waiting for him, which immediately set off, as soon as its passenger took a place in it. The soldier is sure that it was the emperor: he recognized the characteristic tilt of the head, gait. Confirmation of what was said could be the story of an orderly of one of the nobles from the sovereign's retinue. He said that shortly before the tragic events, General Diebitsch instructed him to get old clothes and a worn cloak. The soldier fulfilled the order, buying clothes from local residents, and then, on the instructions of the commander, took them to the sovereign's chambers.
During the emperor's trip, his company was guarded by the Semenovsky regiment. A certain non-commissioned officer Strumensky served in it. They said that he was very similar in appearance to Alexander I, only shorter in height. In some way, the officer who had made a mistake was subjected to a rather severe disciplinary punishment - they drove through the formation of soldiers, who beat him with long rods of a ditch. After such a punishment, Strumensky died of injuries inflicted on him. The soldiers took Stumensky's body to the church for the funeral service, and then no information about where and how the officer was buried.
It is not clear, in light of the official death of the sovereign, the behavior of his widow looks. Elizaveta Alekseevna did not go to St. Petersburg to accompany her husband's coffin. Explaining her act by feeling unwell, she remained in Taganrog. Only four months later, in April 1826, when the roads dried up, she left the city. Although they helped her in every possible way, in Kaluga, in the house of the merchant Dorofeev, where she stayed with her retinue, she became much worse, and in the morning the widow of Alexander I died. Her mother-in-law, who was in such a hurry to meet her sick daughter-in-law, did not have time for just a few hours to find her alive. Elizaveta Alekseevna was buried next to her husband in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
But what did the Dowager Empress do for four months in Taganrog? According to the archives, she communicated a lot with itinerant and devout people. Among them, a stately tall man was very noticeable. It was believed that he was a righteous person and had great holiness, since he was allowed to enter the empress's private chambers. None of the servants could remember his face, as he always modestly lowered his head, which was covered by a hood. After these meetings, Elizaveta Alekseevna was very upset, she was seen with eyes red from tears, and sometimes she looked joyful and peaceful.
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By the way, the sudden death of the Empress also seemed strange. There were rumors that she was alive and became a novice of the Syrkov monastery.
11 years have passed since those events. Once a very interesting person drove into one of the villages of the Perm district on a cart: his clothes were simple, worn out, but the traveler had a proud posture, was tall, broad-shouldered, blue eyes shone with a kind smile, had blond hair, slightly touched by gray hair. The local blacksmith found the traveler strange, and he told the headman about him. The next morning, the unknown wanderer was detained, he did not have any documents, he did not want to talk about himself, he only gave his name - Fyodor Kozmich Kozmin. Convicted of vagrancy, the elder Fyodor was exiled to Siberia. The elder went the hardest way with the rest of the prisoners: people got sick, lost strength, died, but Fyodor Kozmich himself held on and supported the others as much as he could - after all, a kind word and prayer always helped the Russian people. The pious man aroused the confidence of the guards, and they removed his shackles, which was never practiced during such movements. Upon arrival in Tomsk, the elder was assigned as a laborer at a state-owned enterprise that produced vodka. Soon he was completely released from obligatory work, but the elder did not sit idle: he looked after the sick, told the children history and geography, and conducted spiritual conversations.
After the time of exile had expired, the elder accepted the invitation of the Cossack of Beloyarskaya stanitsa. For him, the owner built a cell-hut. He led a secluded life: only prayers and walks in the woods.
The most interesting events began after Fyodor Kozmich moved to live with the Cossack Berezin, who had previously served in St. Petersburg and had repeatedly seen Alexander I. Berezin assured that the elder was very similar to the late emperor. Fyodor Kozmich did not answer questions. He had to leave these places in order to avoid unwanted rumors. The settler's family took him in. Fyodor Kozmich worked in gold mines in the summer, and in the winter he taught local children to read and write, history, told a lot about overseas countries and customs of the peoples of the world. He showed himself to be a very educated person. Subsequently, having settled on the banks of the Chulym River in a cell built for him, he began to live apart: he received only pilgrims who brought him correspondence from Europe. What these letters were about is not known for certain. Very respectable people, high-ranking clergymen and officials came to him. The elder talked with them for a long time. They said that they spoke only in French. Elder Theodore himself wrote many letters and transmitted them through the people who visited him. He did not trust the postal service, and did not want his addressees to become known. His behavior and the visiting strangers caused a lot of rumors among the inhabitants. As soon as the local priest, who previously lived in St. Petersburg, said that Elder Fyodor was very similar to Alexander I, Fyodor Kozmich immediately decided to leave these places.so that its addressees become known. His behavior and the visiting strangers caused a lot of rumors among the inhabitants. As soon as the local priest, who previously lived in St. Petersburg, said that Elder Fyodor was very similar to Alexander I, Fyodor Kozmich immediately decided to leave these places.so that its addressees become known. His behavior and the visiting strangers caused a lot of rumors among the inhabitants. As soon as the local priest, who previously lived in St. Petersburg, said that Elder Fyodor was very similar to Alexander I, Fyodor Kozmich immediately decided to leave these places.
Elder Fyodor lived in the middle of the taiga nature, away from people for a long time. Once a merchant, in whose house the elder often visited, asked him to give his real name and he replied: “No, it can never be revealed. Bishop Innokenty and Athanasius asked me about this, and he told them the same thing that I am telling you, punk. " In the house of this merchant Khromov in 1964, on January 20, the elder died. They buried him at the cemetery of the Theotokos-Alekseevsky monastery in Tomsk. On a simple wooden cross there is an inscription: "The body of the Great Blessed Elder Theodore Kozmich is buried here." The merchant took apart the things belonging to the deceased. Among them was the crucifixion of a marvelous ivory work, the order chain of the highest order of the Russian Empire - Andrew the First-Called. The most intriguing were the notes found on two paper tapes, covered in small print. Until now, no one has been able to decipher them.
The entire life of the elder was shrouded in impenetrable mystery. Because of this mystery, a rumor arose that the elder was none other than the "deceased" Emperor Alexander I, who secretly left Taganrog and incarnated into a wandering man of God.
Although there are some doubts about this. It is known that Alexander I was a very competent politician. Under him, the Russian Empire expanded its borders, he carried out many reforms that served the benefit of the fatherland. It was he who developed the project for the abolition of serfdom; under his rule, Russia won the Patriotic War of 1812. As for the character of the emperor, he was secretive and insincere. Alexander I easily won over people, charmed by his simplicity in communication. But those who knew him were in no hurry to believe in this feigned arrangement. Perhaps the origins of this character lie in the fact that from his very birth, Alexander was between two openly warring family camps - he had to communicate with his grandmother Catherine II and Father Paul I and adapt to both.
As a result, the character of Alexander I showed excessive emotionality, vulnerability and impressionability. The monarch often hesitated in decision-making and repeatedly followed the lead of strong-willed and strong people. He perfectly understood that he had gained power thanks to the actions of the conspirators, but he was sure that his father would not be killed, but only forced to abdicate in favor of his son. But things didn't go as he hoped. And, by and large, he became an accomplice in the murder of his father. It is not excluded that it turned out to be difficult for such a devout person with a refined psyche to bear the burden of the gravest sin. As a rule, a person who has committed such an act seeks salvation in serving God, so that by constant prayers and the life of a righteous person he can earn the forgiveness of the Most High.
It is even difficult to imagine what could have forced the Russian autocrat to voluntarily relinquish power and go as a wanderer into the world of ordinary people. Or maybe all this is speculation, and Emperor Alexander I died in Taganrog from a sudden illness?
But until the mystery of Elder Fyodor is solved, the mysterious death of the reformer emperor, the victorious emperor Napoleon will excite the minds of people.