The family of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna. Alexandra Fedorovna (wife of Nicholas II) - biography, information, personal life

Unlike his crowned ancestors, who deserved unambiguous epithets like the Quietest, the Great, or the already mentioned Liberator, Nicholas II is marked in memory by two mutually exclusive words - Bloody and Holy. Until now, it is perceived either this way or that way. Although in fairness for the sake of the last emperor of Russia, it would be worth calling the Family Man, since Nikolai was not so successful in anything else as in the family.

August Romeo

Judge for yourself. 1905 - 1906 Tsushima defeat. There is a revolution going on in the country. The sailors beautifully roamed on the Potemkin battleship, the Semyonov soldiers shot at the Muscovites on Krasnaya Presnya no less beautifully, and the sovereign emperor notes such unquestionably important events in his diaries. May 8th. Walked and killed a cat. May 28th. I rode a bicycle and killed two crows.” "February 2. Walked and killed a crow. And quite another - in the correspondence of Nikolai 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 from the wife still needs to be earned. Well, the phrase: “I kiss all your dear and intimate places without end. Smell this letter"? By the way, 13 years have passed between the quoted messages - an enviable constancy of feelings. No, definitely the family and conjugal 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 turned 16, Gessen - 12 years old. The young princess arrived in Russia for the wedding ceremony of her sister Ella and Nikolai's uncle Sergei. The heir to the throne immediately fell in love with a pretty girl.

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

The answer of Alexander III was sharp: “You are very young, there is still time for marriage. 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, the English Queen Victoria, 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 of 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 the first request for marriage with Alice, Nikolai fell in love with the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya without memory. It happened by accident and even against his will. In 1890, at the graduation ball at the school at the Alexandrinsky Theater, Emperor Alexander III almost forcibly seated the quick-eyed Malya between himself and the heir, jokingly threatening: “Look at me - don’t flirt too much!” He jinxed it, of course. Six months later, the scandalous, but carefully hidden romance was in full swing. Both, Nikolai and Matilda, trembled with their happiness, but the wanderjahr was inevitably approaching - that was the name in German for the obligatory journey upon reaching the age of majority and graduating.

"A wonderful year"

For a happy lover, this journey was no less desirable than the caresses of Matilda. Nikolai, who was being educated under duress, wrote in his diary with relief: “April 28, 1890. Today I finally and forever stopped my studies. We drank 125 bottles of champagne yesterday.” And whistled around the world. Malya shed tears, carefully read all the newspapers telling about the journey of the Tsarevich, and almost fell ill in a nervous fever when she read about the attempt of 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 a steamed turnip. In the city of Otsu, a company led by the Tsarevich filled up the red-light district. Of course, for the heir to the throne, specialists in escort services of the highest class were needed. But here's the bad luck - each of them worked with a "roof". And the "roof" was armed with a sword. So, one might say, Nikolai was lucky - the Japanese, in response to the tricks and insults of the tipsy heir, did not draw his sword, but simply went over the head with the scabbard.

"Beloved darling-Sun"

Nicholas settled down only at the deathbed of his parent, in the autumn of 1894. According to tradition, the new emperor was obliged to marry. Fortunately, the marriage had already been blessed by that time. And now, when he again saw Princess Alice, who converted to Orthodoxy under the name of Alexandra Feodorovna before marriage, 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" Nikolai felt calm and confident. These feelings were especially pronounced during the First World War. Meeting the new year, 1916, Alexandra wrote to her husband: “I am crying like a big child. I see before me your sad eyes, full of affection. For the first time in 21 years we spend this day not together, but how vividly I remember everything! My dear boy, what happiness and what love you have given me over the years." And here is the answer of Nikolai from Headquarters on the Western Front: “The warmest thanks for all your love. I say this seriously, sometimes it is difficult for me to pronounce this truth, it is 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 Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief and Tsarskoye Selo, the love of Nicky and Alix lived for another two years. And she was interrupted by execution in the basement of the Ipatiev house. What was said at the wedding came true: "Until death do you part ..."

The love story of Nicholas Romanov (Nicholas II) and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt (Alexandra Feodorovna)

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). 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 Nikolai - 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 Tsarevich was twenty-one years old, he turned to his parents with a request to bless him for marriage with Princess Alice. The answer of Emperor Alexander III was short: “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 calmly and humbly look to the future.”

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 opinion of the English ruler changed.

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

In April 1894, Nikolai went to Coburg for the wedding of Alix's brother, Ernie. And soon the newspapers reported on the engagement of the Tsarevich and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. On the day of the engagement, Nikolai Alexandrovich wrote in his diary: “A wonderful, unforgettable day in my life is the day of my engagement to dear Alix. I walk all day as if beside myself, not fully aware of what is happening to me.

He is happy! Life without love sooner or later turns into a stagnation, since true love cannot be replaced by anything: neither money, nor work, nor fame, nor fake feelings.

Upon learning of the engagement, Kshesinskaya sent anonymous letters to the bride, in which the ink of the former lover. Alix, barely reading the first line and seeing that the signature was missing, gave them to the groom.

November 14, 1894 - the day of the long-awaited wedding. On the wedding night, Alix wrote in Nikolai's diary: "When this life ends, we will meet again in another world and stay together forever ...".

After the wedding, the crown prince writes in his diary: “Unbelievably 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. ” According to the correspondence between Nikolai and Alexandra, we know that love and happiness filled them both. More than 600 letters have been preserved that convey to us the beauty of this love.

The royal children in Europe and Russia were very well-bred people. Raised and educated for life. And family life, especially for the empress, is the most important thing in her life. Alexandra's diary entries reveal the depth of her understanding of the mysteries of love and marriage: “The divine plan is for marriage to bring happiness, so that it makes the life of a husband and wife more complete, so that neither of them loses, but both win. If, nevertheless, marriage does not become happiness and does not make life richer and fuller, then the fault is not in marriage ties, but in the people who are connected by them.

“The first lesson to be learned and practiced is patience. At the beginning of family life, both the virtues of character and disposition are revealed, as well as the shortcomings and peculiarities of habits, taste, temperament, which the other half did not 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, strong, full, rich, and this life will continue in peace and quiet. Another secret of happiness in family life is attention to each other. Husband and wife should constantly give 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 hardships. Alexandra gave birth to 4 daughters. But there was no son - heir, the future monarch of Russia. Both experienced, especially Alexander. 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 birth of the boy, it was discovered that the child had inherited an incurable disease - hemophilia. The shell of the arteries in this disease is so fragile that any bruise, fall, cut causes rupture of the vessels and can lead to a sad end. This is exactly what happened to Alexandra Feodorovna's brother when he was three years old.

Alexei's illness was kept a state secret. The doctors were powerless. The constant concern of parents for the life of Alexei was the reason for the appearance at the imperial court of Grigory Rasputin. 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 illness, he became the last hope for saving the child.

The children of the Romanov royal family - the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia and the heir Tsarevich Alexei - were unusual in their ordinariness. Despite the fact that they were born in 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. So that they are not treated like hothouse plants or fragile porcelain, but are allowed to do their homework, learn prayers, play games, and even moderately fight and play pranks. Thus, they grew up as normal, healthy children, in an atmosphere of discipline, order, and almost ascetic simplicity. Even Alexei, who was threatened with a painful illness and even death with every fall, was changed to regular bed rest in order for him to gain courage and other qualities necessary for the heir to the throne.

The royal children were beautiful - not only in their appearance, but even more so in their spiritual qualities. From their father they inherited kindness, modesty, simplicity, an unshakable sense of duty and an all-encompassing love for the motherland. From their mother they inherited deep faith, directness, discipline and fortitude. The queen herself hated laziness and taught her children to always be fruitfully busy. When the First World War began, the queen with four daughters devoted themselves entirely to the works of mercy. At that time, Alexandra and her two older daughters also became sisters of mercy, often working as surgeon's assistants. The soldiers did not know who these humble sisters were, dressing their wounds, often festering and fetid.

“The higher the position of a person in society,” Nikolai said, “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 king raised his children in the same spirit.

The queen wrote to her daughter Olga in a postcard on her birthday: “Try to be an example of what a good, little, obedient girl should be ... Learn to make others happy, think about yourself last. Be gentle, kind, never be rude or harsh. In manner and speech, be a real lady. Be patient and polite, help the sisters in every possible way. When you see someone in sadness, try to cheer 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.”

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 relations of the Empress 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, 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 Investigation Commission under the Provisional Government tried and failed to establish the guilt of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna of any crimes.

According to contemporaries, the empress was deeply religious. The church was the main consolation for her, especially at a time when the heir's illness worsened. The empress stood full services in the court churches, where she introduced the monastic (longer) liturgical charter. The queen's room in the palace was a combination of the empress's bedroom with the nun's cell. The huge wall adjacent to the bed was completely hung with icons and crosses.

Pain for his 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 tests. From a letter from Alexandra Feodorovna to Nikolai Alexandrovich in 1914: “Oh, how terrible the loneliness after your departure! Although our children remained with me, a part of my life is leaving with you - we are one with you.

Nikolai's response to the letter was no less touching: “My beloved sun, dear wife! My love, you are terribly lacking, which is impossible to express! ..».

Alexandra's letter to Nikolay: “I am crying like a big child. I see before me your sad eyes, full of affection. I send you my warmest wishes for tomorrow. For the first time in 21 years, we spend this day not together, but how vividly I remember everything! My dear boy, what happiness and what love you have given me over the years."

Letter from Nikolai on December 31, 1915 to Alexandra: “The warmest thanks for all your love. If only you knew how it keeps me going. Truly, I don’t know how I would have endured all this if God had not been pleased to give me you as a wife and friend. I say this seriously, sometimes it is difficult for me to pronounce this truth, it is easier for me to put it all on paper - out of stupid shyness.

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

The tragic year of 1917 came. Over several stages of detention - first in their palace in Tsarskoye 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 them to insults , ridicule and deprivation.

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 an extraordinary greatness of spirit and "amazingly bright calmness, which supported her and her entire family until the day of their death."

The British consul Thomas Reston tried to covertly facilitate the release of the Romanovs. On his initiative, a plan was developed for the night kidnapping of the family, white officers with false documents tried to enter Ipatiev's house. But the fate of the Romanovs was already a foregone conclusion... The Soviet authorities hoped to prepare an "exemplary" trial of Nikolai, but there was not enough time for this.

On July 12, under the pretext of approaching the Czechoslovak Corps and parts of the Siberian Army to Yekaterinburg, the Bolshevik Ural Council adopted a resolution on the murder of the royal family. There is an opinion that the military commissar of the Urals, Philip Goloshchekin, who visited Moscow in early July 1918, received Vladimir Lenin's consent to this. On July 16, a telegram was sent to Lenin, in which the Ural Council announced that the execution of the royal family could no longer be postponed, and asked him to immediately inform if Moscow had any objections. Lenin did not reply to the telegram, which the Uralsoviet may have considered a sign of agreement.

At 2 am from 16 to 17 July, the prisoners were awakened and ordered to go down to the basement floor of the house, supposedly to move to another place. According to the testimonies of the executioners, the Empress and the eldest daughters managed to cross themselves before their death. The sovereign and empress were the first to be killed. They did not see the execution of their children, who were finished off with bayonets.

Through the diplomatic efforts of the European powers, the royal family could go abroad, save themselves, as many of the high-ranking subjects of Russia were saved. After all, even from the place of the initial exile, from Tobolsk, it was possible at first to flee. Why, after all?.. Nikolai himself answers this question from the distant eighteenth year: “In such a difficult time, not a single Russian should leave Russia” ...

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

Killed in the Ipatiev house. Nicholas II with his family. From left to right: Olga, Maria, Nikolai, Alexandra, Anastasia, Alexei and Tatiana. Life physician Evgeny Botkin, life chef Van Kharitonov, room girl Anna Demidova, valet Colonel Aloisy Trupp

According to the materials of the site "Women who managed to change the world for the better"

July 23, 2013, 00:55

The birth of children is a joy, and in the imperial family it is a double joy, especially if a boy is born, since the boys ensured the "stability" of the ruling dynasty. In general, since the time of Paul I, who had four sons, the problem of the heir throughout the 19th century. It was not relevant for the imperial family. There was always a “reserve” in a straight descending line, which made it possible, painlessly for the country, to replace emperors or crown princes who “dropped out” for various reasons.

All Russian empresses gave birth at home, that is, in those imperial residences in which they found themselves at the time of childbirth. As a rule, during childbirth or in the immediate vicinity of the delivery room, all relatives who happened to be nearby were present. And the husband literally “held his wife by the hand” while in the maternity ward. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages, in order to verify the truth of the birth and the heir.

Beginning with Paul I, all imperial families had many children. There was no question of any birth control. Empresses, princesses and grand duchesses gave birth, how many "God gave." The exemplary family man Nicholas I and his wife had 7 children, four sons and three daughters. In the family of Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna, despite the poor health of the latter, there were eight children - two daughters and six sons. The family of Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna had six children, one of whom died at an early age. There are three sons and two daughters left in the family. Five children were born in the family of Nicholas II. For Nicholas, the absence of an heir could turn into serious political consequences - numerous male relatives from the younger branches of the Romanov dynasty were ready with a great desire to inherit the throne, which did not suit the royal spouses at all.

The birth of children in the family of Nicholas II.

The first childbirth of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was difficult. Nikolai's diary mentions time - from one in the morning until late in the evening, almost a day. As the younger sister of the king, Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, recalled, “the baby was dragged with tongs.” Late in the evening of November 3, 1895, the Empress gave birth to a girl, whom her parents named Olga. Pathological childbirth, apparently, was due to both the poor health of the Empress, who at the time of childbirth was 23 years old, and the fact that from adolescence she suffered from sacro-lumbar pain. Pain in her legs haunted her all her life. Therefore, households often saw her in a wheelchair. After a difficult birth, the Empress “got on her feet” only by November 18, and immediately sits in a wheelchair. “I sat with Alix, who rode in a rolling chair and even visited me.”

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna

The Empress gave birth again less than two years later. This pregnancy was also difficult. In the early stages of pregnancy, doctors feared a miscarriage, since the documents dully mention that the Empress got out of bed only on January 22, 1897, i.e. stayed for about 7 weeks. Tatyana was born on May 29, 1897 in the Alexander Palace, where the Family moved for the summer. Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote in his diary: “In the morning, God gave Their Majesties ... a daughter. The news spread quickly and everyone was disappointed as they were expecting a son.”

Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna

In November 1998, it turned out that the Empress was pregnant for the third time. As with the first birth, she immediately sits down in a stroller, as she cannot walk because of pain in her legs, and travels around the halls of the Winter Palace "in armchairs." On June 14, 1899, the third daughter, Maria, was born in Peterhof. The series of daughters in the royal family caused a steady mood of disappointment in society. Even the closest relatives of the king in their diaries repeatedly noted that the news of the birth of another daughter caused a sigh of disappointment throughout the country.

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna

The beginning of the fourth pregnancy was confirmed by court physicians in the fall of 1900. The expectation became unbearable. In the diary of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich it is written: “She has become very prettier ... therefore, everyone tremblingly hopes. That this time there will be a son. On June 5, 1901, the fourth daughter of the Tsar, Anastasia, was born in Peterhof. From the diary of Xenia Alexandrovna: “Alix feels great - but, my God! What a disappointment! Fourth girl!

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna

The empress herself was in despair. Her fifth pregnancy began in November 1901. Since the royal family associated this pregnancy exclusively with the “passes” of the court psychic Philip, she was hidden even from her closest relatives. On the recommendation of Philip, the Empress did not allow medical doctors to visit her until August 1902, i.e. almost to term. Meanwhile, the birth did not come. Finally, the empress agreed to let herself be examined. The life obstetrician Ott, after the examination, Alix announced that "the Empress is not pregnant and was not pregnant." This news struck a terrible blow to the psyche of Alexandra Fedorovna. The child she had been carrying since November was simply gone. It came as a shock to everyone. The official Government Gazette published a message that the empress's pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. After that, the police ordered to exclude from the opera "Tsar Saltan" the words "the queen gave birth on the night of either a son, or a daughter, not a dog, not a frog, so, an unknown little animal."

The Empress with Tsarevich Alexei

It is paradoxical that after an unsuccessful pregnancy, the empress did not lose faith in Philip. In 1903, following the advice of Philip, the whole family visited the Sarov Hermitage. After visiting the village of Diveeva, the empress became pregnant for the sixth time. This pregnancy ended with the successful birth of Tsarevich Alexei on July 30, 1904. Nikolai wrote in his diary: “An unforgettable great day for us, on which the mercy of God so clearly visited us. At 1.4 days, Alix had a son, who, during prayer, was named Alexei. It all happened remarkably soon—for me, at least.” The Empress gave birth to an heir very easily "in half an hour." In her notebook she wrote: "weight - 4660, length - 58, head circumference - 38, chest - 39, on Friday, July 30, at 1:15 in the afternoon." Against the backdrop of the festive bustle of the royal parents, they were worried about whether alarming signs of a terrible illness would appear. A number of documents testify that the parents found out about hemophilia in the heir literally on the day of his birth - the baby had bleeding from the umbilical wound.

Tsesarevich Alexei

Igor Zimin, "Children's World of Imperial Residences".

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).

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 Nikolai, 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 Tsarevich was twenty-one years old, he turned to his parents with a request to bless him for marriage with Princess Alice. The answer of Emperor Alexander III was short: “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 calmly and humbly look to the future.”

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 opinion of the English ruler changed.

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

In April 1894, Nikolai went to Coburg for the wedding of Alix's brother Ernie. And soon the newspapers reported on the engagement of the Tsarevich and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt.

On the day of the engagement, Nikolai Alexandrovich wrote in his diary: “A wonderful, unforgettable day in my life is the day of my engagement to dear Alix. I walk all day as if beside myself, not fully aware of what is happening to me. He is happy! Life without love sooner or later turns into a stagnation, since true love cannot be replaced by anything: neither money, nor work, nor fame, nor fake feelings.

Upon learning of the engagement, Kshesinskaya sent anonymous letters to the bride, in which the ink of the former lover. Alix, barely reading the first line and seeing that the signature was missing, gave them to the groom.

November 14, 1894 - 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 stay together forever.
..»

After the wedding, the crown prince writes in his diary: “Unbelievably 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. ” According to the correspondence between Nikolai and Alexandra, we know that love and happiness filled them both. More than 600 letters have been preserved that convey to us the beauty of this love.

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

“The divine design is that marriage brings happiness, that it makes the life of a husband and wife more complete, so that neither of them loses, but both win. If, nevertheless, marriage does not become happiness and does not make life richer and fuller, then the fault is not in marriage ties, but in the people who are connected by them.

“The first lesson to be learned and practiced is patience. At the beginning of family life, both the virtues of character and disposition are revealed, as well as the shortcomings and peculiarities of habits, taste, temperament, which the other half did not 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, strong, full, rich, and this life will continue in peace and quiet.

Another secret of happiness in family life is attention to each other. Husband and wife should constantly give 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 hardships. Alexandra gave birth to 4 daughters. A there was no son - heir, the future monarch of Russia. Both experienced, especially Alexander. 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 birth of the boy, it was discovered that the child had inherited an incurable disease - hemophilia. The shell of the arteries in this disease is so fragile that any bruise, fall, cut causes rupture of the vessels and can lead to a sad end. This is exactly what happened to Alexandra Feodorovna's brother when he was three years old.

Alexei's illness was kept a state secret. The doctors were powerless. The constant concern of parents for the life of Alexy was the reason for the appearance at the imperial court of Grigory Rasputin. 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 illness, he became the last hope for saving the child.

The children of the Romanov royal family - the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia, and the heir Tsarevich Alexei - were unusual in their ordinariness. Despite the fact that they were born in 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 china, but let them do their homework, learn prayers, play games, and even moderate fights and mischief. Thus, they grew up as normal, healthy children, in an atmosphere of discipline, order, and almost ascetic simplicity. Even Alexei, who was threatened with a painful illness and even death with every fall, was changed to regular bed rest in order for him to gain courage and other qualities necessary for the heir to the throne.

The royal children were beautiful - not only in their appearance, but even more so in their spiritual qualities. From their father they inherited kindness, modesty, simplicity, an unshakable sense of duty and an all-encompassing love for the motherland. From their mother they inherited deep faith, directness, discipline and fortitude. The queen herself hated laziness and taught her children to always be fruitfully busy. When the First World War began, the queen with four daughters devoted themselves entirely to the works of mercy. During Alexander'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 dressed their wounds, often purulent and fetid.

“The higher the position of a person 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.

The queen wrote to her daughter Olga in a postcard on her birthday: “Try to be an example of what a good, little, obedient girl should be ... Learn to make others happy, think about yourself last. Be gentle, kind, never be rude or harsh. In manner and speech, be a real lady. Be patient and polite, help the sisters in every possible way. When you see someone in
sadness, try to cheer 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.”

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 relations of the Empress 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, the transfer of Russian military plans by the Empress to the Germans, were spread by the Germans. general headquarters. After the abdication of the sovereign
The Extraordinary Investigation Commission under the Provisional Government tried and failed to establish the guilt of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna in any crimes.

According to contemporaries, the empress was deeply religious. The church was the main consolation for her, especially at a time when the heir's illness worsened. The empress stood full services in the court churches, where she introduced the monastic (longer) liturgical charter. The Queen's room in the palace was a combination of the Empress's bedroom with the nun's cell. The huge wall adjacent to the bed was completely hung with icons and crosses.

The pain for his 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 tests.

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

Nikolai's response to the letter was no less touching: “My beloved sun, dear wife! My love, you are terribly lacking, which is impossible to express! ..».

Alexandra's letter to Nikolai: “I am crying like a big child. I see before me your sad eyes, full of affection. I send you my warmest wishes for tomorrow. For the first time in 21 years we spend this day not together, but how vividly I remember everything! My dear boy, what happiness and what love you have given me over the years."

Letter from Nikolai on December 31, 1915 to Alexandra: “The warmest thanks for all your love. If only you knew how it keeps me going. Truly, I don’t know how I would have endured all this if God had not been pleased to give me you as a wife and friend. I say this seriously, sometimes it is difficult for me to pronounce this truth, it is easier for me to put it all on paper - out of stupid shyness.

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

The tragic year of 1917 came. During several stages of imprisonment - first in their palace in Tsarskoye 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, exposing their insults, ridicule and deprivation. 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 an extraordinary greatness of spirit and “amazingly bright calm, which later supported her and her entire family until the day of their death” (Gilliard, p. 162).

The British consul T. Reston tried to secretly facilitate the release of the Romanovs. On his initiative, a plan was developed for the night kidnapping of the family; white officers with false documents tried to get into Ipatiev's house. But the fate of the Romanovs was already a foregone conclusion... The Soviet authorities hoped to prepare an "exemplary" trial of Nikolai, but there was not enough time for this.

On July 12, under the pretext of approaching the Czechoslovak Corps and parts of the Siberian Army to Yekaterinburg, the Bolshevik Ural Council adopted a resolution on the murder of the royal family. There is an opinion that the military commissar of the Urals F.I. Goloshchekin, at 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 Ural Council announced that the execution of the royal family could no longer be postponed, and asked him to immediately inform if Moscow had any objections. Lenin did not reply to the telegram, which the Uralsoviet may have considered a sign of agreement.

At 2 am from 16 to 17 July, the prisoners were awakened and ordered to go down to the basement floor of the house, supposedly to move to another place. According to the testimonies of the executioners, the Empress and the eldest daughters managed to cross themselves before their death. The sovereign and empress were the first to be killed. They did not see the execution of their children, who were finished off with bayonets.

Through the diplomatic efforts of the European powers, the royal family could go abroad, save themselves, as many of the high-ranking subjects of Russia were saved. After all, even from the place of the initial exile, from Tobolsk, it was possible at first to flee. Why, after all?.. Nikolai himself answers this question from the distant eighteenth year: “In such a difficult time, not a single Russian should leave Russia.”

And they stayed. They stayed together forever, as they promised each other once in their youth.

Nicholas II is the last Russian emperor who went down in history as the most weak-willed tsar. According to historians, the government of the country was a “heavy burden” for the monarch, but this did not prevent him from making a feasible contribution to the industrial and economic development of Russia, despite the fact that the revolutionary movement was actively growing in the country during the reign of Nicholas II, and the foreign policy situation was becoming more complicated. . In modern history, the Russian emperor is referred to by the epithets "Nicholas the Bloody" and "Nicholas the Martyr", since assessments of the activities and character of the tsar are ambiguous and contradictory.

Nicholas II was born on May 18, 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo of the Russian Empire in the imperial family. For his parents, and, he became the eldest son and the only heir to the throne, who from an early age was taught the future work of his whole life. From birth, the future tsar was educated by the Englishman Karl Heath, who taught the young Nikolai Alexandrovich to speak English fluently.

The childhood of the heir to the royal throne passed within the walls of the Gatchina Palace under the strict guidance of his father Alexander III, who raised his children in the traditional religious spirit - he allowed them to play and play pranks in moderation, but at the same time he did not allow the manifestation of laziness in studies, suppressing all thoughts of his sons about future throne.

At the age of 8, Nicholas II began to receive general education at home. His education was carried out within the framework of the general gymnasium course, but the future tsar did not show much zeal and desire for learning. His passion was military affairs - already at the age of 5 he became the chief of the Life Guards of the Reserve Infantry Regiment and happily mastered military geography, jurisprudence and strategy. Lectures to the future monarch were read by the best scientists of world renown, who were personally selected for their son by Tsar Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna.

Especially the heir succeeded in learning foreign languages, therefore, in addition to English, he was fluent in French, German and Danish. After eight years of the general gymnasium program, Nicholas II began to be taught the necessary higher sciences for a future statesman, which are included in the course of the economic department of the law university.

In 1884, upon reaching adulthood, Nicholas II took the oath in the Winter Palace, after which he entered active military service, and three years later he began regular military service, for which he was awarded the rank of colonel. Fully devoting himself to military affairs, the future tsar easily adapted to the inconveniences of army life and endured military service.

The first acquaintance with state affairs at the heir to the throne took place in 1889. Then he began to attend meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers, at which his father brought him up to date and shared his experience on how to govern the country. In the same period, Alexander III made numerous trips with his son, starting from the Far East. Over the next 9 months, they traveled by sea to Greece, India, Egypt, Japan and China, and then through all of Siberia by land returned to the Russian capital.

Ascension to the throne

In 1894, after the death of Alexander III, Nicholas II ascended the throne and solemnly promised to protect the autocracy as firmly and steadily as his late father. The coronation of the last Russian emperor took place in 1896 in Moscow. These solemn events were marked by the tragic events at the Khodynka field, where mass riots took place during the distribution of royal gifts, which took the lives of thousands of citizens.

Due to the mass crush, the monarch who came to power even wanted to cancel the evening ball on the occasion of his ascension to the throne, but later decided that the Khodynka disaster was a real misfortune, but not worth it to overshadow the coronation holiday. These events were perceived by the educated society as a challenge, which laid the foundation for the creation of a liberation movement in Russia from the dictator-tsar.

Against this background, the emperor introduced a tough internal policy in the country, according to which any dissent among the people was persecuted. In the first few years of the reign of Nicholas II in Russia, a census was carried out, as well as a monetary reform, which established the gold standard of the ruble. The gold ruble of Nicholas II was equal to 0.77 grams of pure gold and was half “heavier” than the mark, but twice “lighter” than the dollar at the exchange rate of international currencies.

In the same period, the "Stolypin" agrarian reforms were carried out in Russia, factory legislation was introduced, several laws on compulsory insurance of workers and universal primary education were passed, as well as the abolition of tax collection from landowners of Polish origin and the abolition of penalties such as exile to Siberia.

In the Russian Empire during the time of Nicholas II, large-scale industrialization took place, the pace of agricultural production increased, and coal and oil production started. At the same time, thanks to the last Russian emperor, more than 70 thousand kilometers of the railway were built in Russia.

Reign and abdication

The reign of Nicholas II at the second stage took place during the years of aggravation of the domestic political life of Russia and a rather difficult foreign political situation. At the same time, the Far East direction was in the first place. The main obstacle of the Russian monarch to dominance in the Far East was Japan, which without warning in 1904 attacked the Russian squadron in the port city of Port Arthur and, due to the inaction of the Russian leadership, defeated the Russian army.

As a result of the failure of the Russian-Japanese war, a revolutionary situation began to develop rapidly in the country, and Russia had to cede the southern part of Sakhalin and the rights to the Liaodong Peninsula to Japan. It was after this that the Russian emperor lost authority in the intelligentsia and ruling circles of the country, who accused the tsar of defeat and ties with, who was an unofficial "adviser" to the monarch, but who was considered in society a charlatan and a swindler, having full influence over Nicholas II.

The turning point in the biography of Nicholas II was the First World War of 1914. Then the emperor, on the advice of Rasputin, tried with all his might to avoid a bloody massacre, but Germany went to war against Russia, which was forced to defend itself. In 1915, the monarch took over the military command of the Russian army and personally traveled to the fronts, inspecting military units. At the same time, he made a number of fatal military mistakes, which led to the collapse of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Empire.

The war exacerbated the internal problems of the country, all military failures in the environment of Nicholas II were assigned to him. Then “treason” began to “nest” in the government of the country, but despite this, the emperor, together with England and France, developed a plan for the general offensive of Russia, which should have been triumphant for the country by the summer of 1917 to end the military confrontation.

The plans of Nicholas II were not destined to come true - at the end of February 1917, mass uprisings began in Petrograd against the royal dynasty and the current government, which he initially intended to stop by force. But the military did not obey the orders of the king, and members of the monarch's retinue persuaded him to abdicate the throne, which supposedly would help suppress the unrest. After several days of painful deliberation, Nicholas II decided to abdicate in favor of his brother, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich, who refused to accept the crown, which meant the end of the Romanov dynasty.

Execution of Nicholas II and his family

After the signing of the abdication manifesto by the tsar, the Provisional Government of Russia issued an order to arrest the tsar's family and his associates. Then many betrayed the emperor and fled, so only a few close people from his entourage agreed to share the tragic fate with the monarch, who, together with the tsar, were sent to Tobolsk, from where, supposedly, the family of Nicholas II was supposed to be transported to the USA.

After the October Revolution and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, headed by the royal family, they were transported to Yekaterinburg and imprisoned in a "special purpose house". Then the Bolsheviks began to hatch a plan for the trial of the monarch, but the Civil War did not allow their plan to be realized.

Because of this, in the upper echelons of Soviet power, it was decided to shoot the tsar and his family. On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the family of the last Russian emperor was shot in the basement of the house where Nicholas II was imprisoned. The tsar, his wife and children, as well as several of his entourage were taken to the basement under the pretext of evacuation and shot point-blank without explanation, after which the victims were taken outside the city, their bodies were burned with kerosene, and then buried in the ground.

Personal life and the royal family

The personal life of Nicholas II, unlike many other Russian monarchs, was the standard of the highest family virtue. In 1889, during the visit of the German princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt to Russia, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich paid special attention to the girl and asked his father for his blessing to marry her. But the parents did not agree with the choice of the heir, so they refused their son. This did not stop Nicholas II, who did not lose hope of marriage with Alice. They were assisted by the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, the sister of the German princess, who arranged secret correspondence for the young lovers.

After 5 years, Tsarevich Nikolai again persistently asked his father's consent to marry a German princess. Alexander III, in view of his rapidly deteriorating health, allowed his son to marry Alice, who, after chrismation, became. In November 1894, the wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra took place in the Winter Palace, and in 1896 the couple accepted the coronation and officially became the rulers of the country.

In the marriage of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II, 4 daughters were born (Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia) and the only heir Alexei, who had a serious hereditary disease - hemophilia associated with the process of blood clotting. The illness of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich forced the royal family to get acquainted with Grigory Rasputin, widely known at that time, who helped the royal heir to fight bouts of illness, which allowed him to gain a huge influence on Alexandra Feodorovna and Emperor Nicholas II.

Historians report that the family for the last Russian emperor was the most important meaning of life. He always spent most of his time in the family circle, did not like secular pleasures, especially valued his peace, habits, health and well-being of his relatives. At the same time, worldly hobbies were not alien to the emperor - he went hunting with pleasure, participated in horse riding competitions, skating with passion and played hockey.