Emperor Nicholas II Romanov (1868-1918) succeeded to the throne on 20 October 1894 after the death of his father Alexander III. The years of his reign from 1894 to 1917 were marked by the economic rise of Russia and, at the same time, the growth of revolutionary movements.
The latter was due to the fact that the new sovereign in everything followed the political guidelines that his father inspired him. In his heart, the king was deeply convinced that any parliamentary form of government would harm the empire. For the ideal, patriarchal relations were taken, where the crowned ruler acted as a father, and the people were considered as children.
However, such archaic views did not correspond to the real political situation in the country by the beginning of the 20th century. It was this discrepancy that led the emperor, and with him the empire, to the catastrophe that occurred in 1917.
Emperor Nicholas II
artist Ernest Lipgart
The years of the reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917)
The reign of Nicholas II can be divided into two stages. The first before the revolution of 1905, and the second from 1905 until the abdication of the throne on March 2, 1917. The first period is characterized by a negative attitude towards any manifestation of liberalism. At the same time, the tsar tried to avoid any political transformations and hoped that the people would adhere to autocratic traditions.
But the Russian Empire suffered a complete defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and then a revolution broke out in 1905. All this became the reasons that forced the last ruler of the Romanov dynasty to make compromises and political concessions. However, they were perceived by the sovereign as temporary, so parliamentarism in Russia was hampered in every possible way. As a result, by 1917 the emperor lost support in all strata of Russian society.
Considering the image of Emperor Nicholas II, it should be noted that he was an educated and extremely pleasant person to communicate with. His favorite hobbies were art and literature. At the same time, the sovereign did not have the proper determination and will, which were fully present in his father.
The cause of the disaster was the coronation of the emperor and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna on May 14, 1896 in Moscow. On this occasion, mass celebrations on Khodynka were scheduled for May 18, and it was announced that royal gifts would be distributed to people. This attracted a huge number of residents of Moscow and the Moscow region to the Khodynka field.
As a result, a terrible stampede arose, in which, as journalists claimed, 5 thousand people died. The Mother See was shocked by the tragedy, and the tsar did not even cancel the celebrations in the Kremlin and the ball at the French embassy. People did not forgive the new emperor for this.
The second terrible tragedy was Bloody Sunday on January 9, 1905 (for details, see the article Bloody Sunday). This time, the troops opened fire on the workers who were going to the tsar to hand over the petition. About 200 people died, and 800 were injured of varying severity. This unpleasant incident took place against the backdrop of the Russo-Japanese War, which was extremely unsuccessful for the Russian Empire. After this event, Emperor Nicholas II received the nickname Bloody.
Revolutionary sentiments turned into revolution. A wave of strikes and terrorist attacks swept across the country. They killed policemen, officers, tsarist officials. All this forced the tsar on August 6, 1905 to sign a manifesto on the creation of the State Duma. However, this did not prevent an all-Russian political strike. The emperor had no choice but to sign a new manifesto on 17 October. He expanded the powers of the Duma and gave the people additional freedoms. At the end of April 1906, all this was approved by law. And only after that the revolutionary unrest began to decline.
Heir to the throne Nicholas with his mother Maria Feodorovna
Economic policy
The main creator of economic policy at the first stage of the reign was the Minister of Finance, and then Chairman of the Council of Ministers Sergei Yulievich Witte (1849-1915). He was an active supporter of attracting foreign capital to Russia. According to his project, gold circulation was introduced in the state. At the same time, domestic industry and trade were supported in every possible way. At the same time, the state strictly controlled the development of the economy.
Since 1902, the Minister of the Interior Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Plehve (1846-1904) began to exert great influence on the tsar. The newspapers wrote that he was the royal puppeteer. He was an extremely intelligent and experienced politician, capable of constructive compromises. He sincerely believed that the country needed reforms, but only under the leadership of the autocracy. This outstanding man was killed in the summer of 1904 by the Socialist-Revolutionary Sazonov, who threw a bomb into his carriage in St. Petersburg.
In 1906-1911, the decisive and strong-willed Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin (1862-1911) determined the policy in the country. He fought against the revolutionary movement, peasant revolts and at the same time carried out reforms. He considered the main agrarian reform. Rural communities were disbanded, and the peasants received the rights to create their own farms. To this end, the Peasants' Bank was reorganized and many programs developed. The ultimate goal of Stolypin was the creation of a numerous layer of wealthy peasant farms. He spent 20 years doing this.
However, Stolypin's relationship with the State Duma was extremely difficult. He insisted that the Emperor dissolve the Duma and change the electoral law. Many perceived it as a coup d'état. The next Duma turned out to be more conservative in its composition and more submissive to the authorities.
But not only the Duma members were dissatisfied with Stolypin, but also the tsar and the royal court. These people did not want fundamental reforms in the country. And on September 1, 1911, in the city of Kyiv, at the play "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", Pyotr Arkadievich was mortally wounded by the Socialist-Revolutionary Bogrov. On September 5, he died and was buried in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. With the death of this man, the last hopes for reforms without a bloody revolution disappeared.
In 1913, the country's economy was on the rise. It seemed to many that the "silver age" of the Russian Empire and the era of prosperity of the Russian people had finally come. This year the whole country celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The festivities were magnificent. They were accompanied by balls and festivities. But everything changed on July 19 (August 1), 1914, when Germany declared war on Russia.
The last years of the reign of Nicholas II
With the outbreak of the war, the whole country experienced an extraordinary patriotic upsurge. Demonstrations were held in provincial cities and the capital expressing full support for Emperor Nicholas II. A struggle with everything German swept across the country. Even Petersburg was renamed Petrograd. The strikes stopped, and the mobilization covered 10 million people.
At the front, Russian troops first advanced. But the victories ended in defeat in East Prussia under Tannenberg. Also at the beginning, military operations against Austria, which was an ally of Germany, were successful. However, in May 1915, the Austro-German troops inflicted a heavy defeat on Russia. She had to cede Poland and Lithuania.
The economic situation in the country began to deteriorate. The products manufactured by the military industry did not meet the needs of the front. Theft flourished in the rear, and numerous victims began to cause indignation in society.
At the end of August 1915, the emperor assumed the functions of the supreme commander-in-chief, removing Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich from this post. This was a serious miscalculation, since all military failures began to be attributed to the sovereign, and he did not have any military talents.
The crowning achievement of Russian military art was the Brusilovsky breakthrough in the summer of 1916. During this brilliant operation, a crushing defeat was inflicted on the Austrian and German troops. The Russian army occupied Volyn, Bukovina and most of Galicia. Large war trophies of the enemy were captured. But, unfortunately, this was the last major victory of the Russian army.
The further course of events was deplorable for the Russian Empire. Revolutionary moods intensified, discipline in the army began to fall. It became common to disobey the orders of commanders. Desertions have become more frequent. Both society and the army were annoyed by the influence that Grigory Rasputin had on the royal family. A simple Siberian peasant was gifted with extraordinary abilities. He was the only one who could relieve attacks from Tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia.
Therefore, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna immensely trusted the elder. And he, using his influence at court, interfered in political issues. All this, of course, irritated society. In the end, a conspiracy arose against Rasputin (for details, see the article The Murder of Rasputin). The presumptuous old man was killed in December 1916.
The coming year of 1917 was the last in the history of the Romanov dynasty. The royal power no longer controlled the country. A special committee of the State Duma and the Petrograd Soviet formed a new government headed by Prince Lvov. It demanded that Emperor Nicholas II abdicate the throne. On March 2, 1917, the sovereign signed a renunciation manifesto in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. Michael also renounced supreme power. The Romanov dynasty ended.
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna
artist A. Makovsky
Personal life of Nicholas II
Nicholas married for love. His wife was Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. After the adoption of Orthodoxy, she took the name Alexandra Feodorovna. The marriage took place on November 14, 1894 at the Winter Palace. In marriage, the Empress gave birth to 4 girls (Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia) and in 1904 a boy was born. They named him Alex.
The last Russian emperor lived with his wife in love and harmony until his death. Alexandra Fedorovna herself had a complex and secretive character. She was shy and uncommunicative. Her world was closed on the crowned family, and the wife had a strong influence on her husband in both personal and political affairs.
As a woman, she was deeply religious and prone to all sorts of mysticism. This was greatly facilitated by the illness of Tsarevich Alexei. Therefore, Rasputin, who had a mystical talent, gained such influence at the royal court. But the people did not like the mother empress for her excessive pride and isolation. This harmed the regime to a certain extent.
After the abdication, the former Emperor Nicholas II and his family were arrested and stayed in Tsarskoye Selo until the end of July 1917. Then the crowned persons were transported to Tobolsk, and from there in May 1918 they were transported to Yekaterinburg. There they were settled in the house of the engineer Ipatiev.
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the Russian Tsar and his family were brutally murdered in the basement of the Ipatiev House. After that, their bodies were mutilated beyond recognition and secretly buried (for details on the death of the imperial family, see the article of the Kingslayer). In 1998, the found remains of the dead were reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Thus ended the 300-year epic of the Romanov dynasty. It began in the 17th century in the Ipatiev Monastery, and ended in the 20th century in the house of the engineer Ipatiev. And the history of Russia continued, but in a completely different capacity.
Burial place of the family of Nicholas II
in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg
Leonid Druzhnikov
Years of life : the 6th of May 1868 - July 17, 1918 .
Highlights of life
His reign coincided with the rapid industrial and economic development of the country. Under Nicholas II, Russia was defeated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which was one of the reasons for the Revolution of 1905-1907, during which the Manifesto was adopted on October 17, 1905, which allowed the creation of political parties and established the State Duma; Stolypin agrarian reform began to be carried out.
In 1907, Russia became a member of the Entente, in which it entered the First World War. Since August 1915, the Supreme Commander. During the February Revolution of 1917, on March 2 (15), he abdicated the throne.
Shot with his family in Yekaterinburg.
Upbringing and education
The upbringing and education of Nicholas II took place under the personal guidance of his father on a traditional religious basis. The educators of the future emperor and his younger brother George received the following instruction: “Neither I nor Maria Fedorovna want to make greenhouse flowers out of them. They must pray well to God, study, play, play pranks in moderation. all the severity of the laws, do not encourage laziness in particular. If anything, then address me directly, and I know what needs to be done. I repeat that I do not need porcelain. I need normal Russian children. They will fight - please. But the first whip is for the informer This is my very first requirement."
The training sessions of the future emperor were conducted according to a carefully designed program for thirteen years. The first 8 years were devoted to the subjects of the gymnasium course. Particular attention was paid to the study of political history, Russian literature, French, German and English, which Nikolai Alexandrovich mastered to perfection. The next five years were devoted to the study of military affairs, legal and economic sciences, necessary for a statesman. The teaching of these sciences was conducted by outstanding Russian academic scientists with a worldwide reputation: Beketov N.N., Obruchev N.N., Kui Ts.A., Dragomirov M.I., Bunge N.Kh. and etc.
In order for the future emperor to get acquainted in practice with military life and the order of military service, his father sent him to military training. For the first 2 years, Nikolai served as a junior officer in the ranks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. For two summer seasons, he served in the ranks of the cavalry hussars as a squadron commander, and, finally, in the ranks of the artillery. At the same time, his father introduces him to the affairs of the country, inviting him to participate in meetings of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers.
The education program of the future emperor included numerous trips to various provinces of Russia, which he made with his father. To complete his education, his father gave him a cruiser to travel to the Far East. For 9 months, he and his retinue visited Greece, Egypt, India, China, Japan, and then returned by land through all of Siberia to the capital of Russia. By the age of 23, Nikolai Romanov is a highly educated young man with a broad outlook, an excellent knowledge of history and literature and a perfect command of the main European languages. He combined a brilliant education with deep religiosity and knowledge of spiritual literature, which was rare for statesmen of that time. His father managed to inspire him with selfless love for Russia, a sense of responsibility for her fate. Since childhood, the idea has become close to him that his main mission is to follow the Russian foundations, traditions and ideals.
The model ruler for Nicholas II was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (father of Peter I), who carefully preserved the traditions of antiquity and autocracy as the basis of Russia's power and prosperity.
In one of his first public speeches, he proclaimed:
“Let everyone know that, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, I will protect the beginnings of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my late, unforgettable parent guarded it.”
It wasn't just words. "The beginnings of autocracy" Nicholas II defended firmly and unswervingly: he did not give up a single significant position during the years of his reign until his abdication in 1917, tragic for the fate of Russia. But these events are yet to come.
Development of Russia
The reign of Nicholas II was the period of the highest rates of economic growth in the history of Russia. For 1880-1910 the growth rate of Russian industrial output exceeded 9% per year. According to this indicator, Russia came out on top in the world, ahead of even the rapidly developing United States of America. In terms of the production of the most important agricultural crops, Russia has taken the first place in the world, growing more than half of the world's rye, more than a quarter of wheat, oats and barley, and more than a third of potatoes. Russia became the main exporter of agricultural products, the first "breadbasket of Europe". It accounted for 2/5 of all world exports of peasant products.
Successes in agricultural production were the result of historical events: the abolition of serfdom in 1861 by Alexander II and the Stolypin land reform during the reign of Nicholas II, as a result of which more than 80% of arable land was in the hands of the peasants, and in the Asian part - almost all. The area of landed estates has been steadily declining. Granting the peasants the right to freely dispose of their land and the abolition of communities was of great national importance, the benefits of which, in the first place, were recognized by the peasants themselves.
The autocratic form of government did not hinder the economic progress of Russia. According to the manifesto of October 17, 1905, the population of Russia received the right to inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, press, assembly, and unions. Political parties grew in the country, thousands of periodicals were published. The Parliament, the State Duma, was elected by free will. Russia was becoming a legal state - the judiciary was practically separated from the executive.
The rapid development of the level of industrial and agricultural production and a positive trade balance allowed Russia to have a stable gold convertible currency. The emperor attached great importance to the development of railways. Even in his youth, he participated in the laying of the famous Siberian road.
During the reign of Nicholas II in Russia, the best labor legislation for those times was created, providing for the regulation of working hours, the selection of work elders, remuneration in case of accidents at work, and compulsory insurance of workers against illness, disability and old age. The emperor actively promoted the development of Russian culture, art, science, and the reforms of the army and navy.
All these achievements of the economic and social development of Russia are the result of the natural historical process of the development of Russia and are objectively related to the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty.
Anniversary celebrations for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty
The official celebration of the 300th anniversary began with a service at the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. On the morning of the service, Nevsky Prospekt, along which the tsar's carriages moved, was chock-full of an excited crowd. Despite the ranks of soldiers holding back the people, the crowd, shouting frantic greetings, broke through the cordons and surrounded the carriages of the emperor and empress. The cathedral was packed to capacity. In front were members of the imperial family, foreign ambassadors, ministers and deputies of the Duma. The following days after the service in the Cathedral were filled with official ceremonies. From all over the empire, delegations in national dress arrived to bring gifts to the king. In honor of the monarch, his wife and all the great princes of the Romanovs, the nobility of the capital gave a ball to which thousands of guests were invited. The royal couple attended a performance of Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin). When Their Majesties appeared, the whole hall stood up and gave them an ardent ovation.
In May 1913, the royal family went on a pilgrimage to places memorable for the dynasty in order to follow the path traveled by Mikhail Romanov from his birthplace to the throne. On the Upper Volga, they boarded a steamer and sailed to the ancient Romanov patrimony - Kostroma, where in March 1913 Mikhail was invited to the throne. Along the way, on the banks, peasants lined up to watch the passage of a small flotilla, some even went into the water to see the king closer.
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna recalled this trip:
“Wherever we passed, everywhere we met such loyal manifestations that seemed to border on frenzy. When our steamer sailed along the Volga, we saw crowds of peasants standing chest-deep in water in order to catch at least the tsar’s gaze. In some cities I I saw craftsmen and workers prostrating themselves to kiss his shadow as he passed. The cheers were deafening!"
The culmination of the celebrations of the 300th anniversary reached Moscow. On a sunny June day, Nicholas II rode into the city on horseback, 20 meters ahead of the Cossack escort. On Red Square, he dismounted, walked with his family through the square and entered through the gates of the Kremlin into the Assumption Cathedral for a solemn service.
In the royal family, the anniversary resurrected faith in the indestructible bond between the tsar and the people and boundless love for the anointed of God. It would seem that the popular support for the tsarist regime, shown on the anniversary days, should have strengthened the monarchical system. But, in fact, both Russia and Europe were already on the verge of fatal changes. The wheel of history was about to turn, having accumulated a critical mass. And it turned, releasing the accumulated uncontrollable energy of the masses, which caused an "earthquake". In five years, three European monarchies collapsed, three emperors either died or fled into exile. The oldest dynasties of the Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns and Romanovs collapsed.
Could even for a moment imagine Nicholas II, who saw crowds of people full of enthusiasm and worship during the days of the anniversary, what awaits him and his family in 4 years?
The development of the crisis and the growth of the revolutionary movement
The reign of Nicholas II coincided with the beginning of the rapid development of capitalism and the simultaneous growth of the revolutionary movement in Russia. In order to preserve the autocracy and, most importantly, to ensure the further development and prosperity of Russia, the emperor took measures to ensure the strengthening of the alliance with the emerging bourgeois class and the transfer of the country to the rails of the bourgeois monarchy while maintaining the political omnipotence of the autocracy: the State Duma was established, an agrarian reform was carried out.
The question arises: why, despite the undeniable achievements in the economic development of the country, not reformist, but revolutionary forces won in Russia, which led to the fall of the monarchy? It seems that in such a vast country, the successes achieved as a result of economic reforms could not immediately lead to a real increase in the well-being of all sections of society, especially the poorest. The discontent of the working masses was skillfully picked up and fanned by the extremist left parties, which first led to the revolutionary events of 1905. Crisis phenomena in society began to manifest themselves especially with the outbreak of the First World War. Russia simply did not have enough time to reap the fruits of the economic and social transformations begun on the path of the country's transition to a constitutional monarchy or even to a constitutional bourgeois republic.
An interesting deep interpretation of the events of that time, given by Winston Churchill:
"Fate was not so cruel to any country as to Russia. Her ship sank when the harbor was in sight. She had already endured a storm when everything collapsed. All the victims had already been made, all the work was completed. Despair and betrayal took possession power, when the task was already completed. The long retreats ended, the shortage of shells was defeated; weapons flowed in a wide stream; a stronger, more numerous, better equipped army guarded a huge front; rear assembly points were overflowing with people. Alekseev led the army and Kolchak - the fleet. In addition of this, no more difficult actions were required anymore: to hold, without showing much activity, the weakening enemy forces on their front; in other words, to hold on; that was all that stood between Russia and the fruits of the common victory. The tsar was on the throne; the Russian Empire and the Russian army held out, the front was secured and the victory is indisputable."
According to the superficial fashion of our time, the royal system is usually interpreted as a blind, rotten, incapable tyranny. But an analysis of the thirty months of the war with Austria and Germany should correct these superficial notions. We can measure the strength of the Russian Empire by the blows it has endured, by the inexhaustible forces it has developed, and by the restoration of the forces of which it has proved capable.
In government, when great events are taking place, the leader of the nation, whoever he may be, is condemned for failures and glorified for successes. Why deny Nicholas II this ordeal? The burden of the last decisions lay on him. At the top, where events surpass the understanding of man, where everything is inscrutable, he had to give answers. He was the compass needle. To fight or not to fight? Advance or retreat? Go right or left? Agree to democratization or hold firm? Leave or stay? Here is the battlefield of Nicholas II. Why not honor him for this?
The selfless impulse of the Russian armies that saved Paris in 1914; overcoming a painful, shellless retreat; slow recovery; Brusilov's victories; Russia's entry into the 1917 campaign invincible, stronger than ever; Wasn't he in all of this? Despite the mistakes, the system that he led, to which he gave a vital spark with his personal properties, by this moment had won the war for Russia.
"Now they will slay him. The king is leaving the stage. He and all his lovers are betrayed to suffering and death. His efforts are underestimated; his memory is discredited. Stop and say: who else turned out to be suitable? In talented and courageous people, ambitious people and there was no shortage of proud in spirit, courageous and powerful. But no one was able to answer those few questions on which the life and glory of Russia depended. Holding victory already in her hands, she fell to the ground. "
It is difficult to disagree with this deep analysis and assessment of the personality of the Russian Tsar. For more than 70 years, the rule for official historians and writers in our country was a mandatory negative assessment of the personality of Nicholas II. All humiliating characteristics were attributed to him: from deceit, political insignificance and pathological cruelty to alcoholism, debauchery and moral decay. History has put everything in its place. Under the rays of its searchlights, the whole life of Nicholas II and his political opponents is illuminated to the smallest detail. And in this light it became clear who is who.
Illustrating the "cunning" of the tsar, Soviet historians usually cited the example of Nicholas II removing some of his ministers without any warning. Today he could graciously talk to the minister, and tomorrow send him a resignation. A serious historical analysis shows that the tsar put the cause of the Russian state above individuals (and even his relatives), and if, in his opinion, a minister or dignitary could not cope with the case, he removed it, regardless of previous merits.
In the last years of his reign, the emperor experienced an encirclement crisis (lack of reliable, capable people who shared his ideas). A significant part of the most capable statesmen stood in Western positions, and the people on whom the tsar could rely did not always possess the necessary business qualities. Hence the constant change of ministers, which, with the light hand of ill-wishers, was attributed to Rasputin.
The role and importance of Rasputin, the degree of his influence on Nicholas II were artificially inflated by the left, who thus wanted to prove the political insignificance of the tsar. The dirty hints of the left press about some special relationship between Rasputin and the queen did not correspond to reality. The attachment of the royal couple to Rasputin was associated with the incurable disease of their son and heir to the throne Alexei with hemophilia - blood incoagulability, in which any trifling wound could lead to death. Rasputin, possessing a hypnotic gift, by psychological influence was able to quickly stop the heir's blood, which the best certified doctors could not do. Naturally, loving parents were grateful to him and tried to keep him close. Today it is already clear that many of the scandalous episodes connected with Rasputin were fabricated by the leftist press in order to discredit the tsar.
Accusing the tsar of cruelty and heartlessness, Khodynka is usually cited as an example, on January 9, 1905, the execution of the times of the first Russian revolution. However, documents show that the tsar had nothing to do with either the Khodynka tragedy or the execution on January 9 (Bloody Sunday). He was horrified when he learned about this disaster. Negligent administrators, through whose fault the events occurred, were removed and punished.
Death sentences under Nicholas II were carried out, as a rule, for an armed attack for power, which had a tragic outcome, i.e. for armed banditry. Total for Russia for 1905-1908. there were less than 4,000 death sentences in court (including martial law), mostly against terrorist fighters. For comparison, extrajudicial killings of representatives of the old state apparatus, clergy, citizens of noble origin, dissident intelligentsia in only six months (from the end of 1917 to the middle of 1918) claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. From the second half of 1918, executions went to hundreds of thousands, and subsequently to millions of innocent people.
Alcoholism and debauchery of Nicholas II are just as shameless inventions of the left as his cunning and cruelty. Everyone who knew the king personally notes that he drank wine rarely and little. Throughout his life, the emperor carried love for one woman, who became the mother of his five children. It was Alice of Hesse, a German princess. Seeing her once, Nicholas II remembered her for 10 years. And although his parents, for political reasons, predicted for him the French princess Helena of Orleans as his wife, he managed to defend his love and in the spring of 1894 achieved an engagement with his beloved. Alice of Hesse, who took the name of Alexandra Feodorovna in Russia, became the emperor's lover and friend until the tragic end of their days.
Of course, one should not idealize the personality of the last emperor. He, like any person, had both positive and negative traits. But the main accusation that they are trying to bring to him on behalf of history is political lack of will, as a result of which the collapse of Russian statehood and the collapse of autocratic power occurred in Russia. Here we must agree with W. Churchill and some other objective historians who, based on the analysis of historical materials of that time, believe that in Russia at the beginning of February 1917 there was only one truly outstanding statesman who worked for victory in the war and the prosperity of the country - This is Emperor Nicholas II. But he was just betrayed.
The rest of the politicians thought more not about Russia, but about their personal and group interests, which they tried to pass off as the interests of Russia. At that time, only the idea of a monarchy could save the country from collapse. She was rejected by these politicians, and the fate of the dynasty was sealed.
Contemporaries and historians who accuse Nicholas II of political lack of will believe that if there had been another person in his place, with a stronger will and character, then the history of Russia would have taken a different path. Maybe, but we should not forget that even a monarch of the scale of Peter I with his superhuman energy and genius in the specific conditions of the early twentieth century would hardly have achieved different results. After all, Peter I lived and acted in the conditions of medieval barbarism, and his methods of state administration would not at all fit a society with the principles of bourgeois parliamentarism.
The last act of the political drama was approaching. On February 23, 1917, the Sovereign-Emperor came from Tsarskoye Selo to Mogilev - to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. The political situation became more and more tense, the country was tired of the war, the opposition grew from day to day, but Nicholas II continued to hope that despite all this, feelings of patriotism would prevail. He retained an unshakable faith in the army, he knew that the combat equipment sent from France and England arrived in time and that it improved the conditions in which the army fought. He had high hopes for the new units raised in Russia during the winter, and was convinced that the Russian army would be able to join in the spring the great Allied offensive which would deal a fatal blow to Germany and save Russia. A few more weeks and victory will be assured.
But as soon as he managed to leave the capital, the first signs of unrest began to appear in the working-class districts of the capital. Factories went on strike, and the movement grew rapidly in the following days. 200 thousand people went on strike. The population of Petrograd was subjected to great hardships during the winter, because. due to the lack of rolling stock, the transportation of food and fuel was greatly hindered. Crowds of workers demanded bread. The government failed to take measures to calm the unrest and only irritated the population with ridiculous repressive police measures. They resorted to the intervention of military force, but all the regiments were at the front, and only trained spare parts remained in Petrograd, greatly corrupted by the propaganda organized by the left parties in the barracks, despite supervision. There were cases of disobedience to orders, and after three days of weak resistance, the troops went over to the side of the revolutionaries.
Abdication from the throne. End of the Romanov dynasty
At the beginning, the Headquarters did not realize the significance and scale of the events unfolding in Petrograd, although on February 25 the emperor sent a message to the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov, demanding: "I order you to stop the unrest in the capital tomorrow." The troops opened fire on the demonstrators. But it was already too late. On February 27, almost the entire city was in the hands of the strikers.
February 27, Monday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "Unrest began in Petrograd a few days ago; unfortunately, troops began to take part in them. A disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news. After dinner, I decided to go to Tsarskoye Selo as soon as possible and at one in the morning got on the train.
In the Duma, back in August 1915, the so-called Progressive Bloc of Parties was created, which included 236 members of the Duma out of a total of 442 members. The bloc formulated the conditions for the transition from autocracy to a constitutional monarchy through a "bloodless" parliamentary revolution. Then in 1915, inspired by temporary successes at the front, the tsar rejected the conditions of the bloc and closed the meeting of the Duma. By February 1917, the situation in the country became even more aggravated due to failure at the front, heavy losses in people and equipment, ministerial leapfrog, etc., which caused widespread dissatisfaction with the autocracy in large cities, and above all in Petrograd, as a result of which the Duma was ready to carry out this "bloodless" parliamentary revolution. Chairman of the Duma M. V. Rodzianko continuously sends disturbing messages to the Headquarters, presenting on behalf of the Duma to the government more and more insistent demands for the reorganization of power. Part of the tsar's entourage advises him to make concessions, giving consent to the formation by the Duma of a government that will be subject not to the tsar, but to the Duma. They will only agree on the candidacies of ministers with him. Without waiting for a positive answer, the Duma set about forming a government independent of the tsarist government. This is how the February Revolution of 1917 came about.
On February 28, the tsar sent military units led by General N.I. Ivanov to Petrograd from Mogilev to restore order in the capital. In a nightly conversation with General Ivanov, exhausted, fighting for the fate of Russia and his family, agitated by the embittered demands of the rebellious Duma, the tsar expressed his sad and painful thoughts:
"I did not protect autocratic power, but Russia. I am not convinced that a change in the form of government will give peace and happiness to the people."
This is how the emperor explained his stubborn refusal to the Duma to create an independent government.
The military units of General Ivanov were detained by revolutionary troops on their way to Petrograd. Not knowing about the failure of the mission of General Ivanov, Nicholas II on the night of February 28 to March 1 also decides to leave Headquarters for Tsarskoye Selo.
February 28, Tuesday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "I went to bed at three and a quarter in the morning, because I talked for a long time with N.I. Ivanov, whom I send to Petrograd with troops to restore order. We left Mogilev at five in the morning. The weather was frosty, Sunny. In the afternoon we passed Smolenks, Vyazma, Rzhev, Likhoslavl.
March 1, Wednesday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "At night we turned back from the Malaya Vishchera station, because Lyuban and Tosno were busy. We went to Valdai, Dno and Pskov, where we stopped for the night. I saw General Ruzsky. Gatchina and Luga were also busy. Shame "What a shame! We didn't manage to get to Tsarskoye Selo. But thoughts and feelings are always there. How painful it must be for poor Alix to go through all these events alone! God help us!"
March 2, Thursday. (Diary of Nicholas II): “In the morning, Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the apparatus with Rodzianko. According to him, the situation in Petrograd is such that now the ministry from the Duma seems to be powerless to do anything, because the social democratic party in the person of the working committee. My renunciation is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to the Headquarters, and Alekseev to all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts. By two and a half hours, answers came from everyone. The essence is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace I agreed to take this step. I agreed. A draft Manifesto was sent from Stavka. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them a signed and revised manifesto. At one in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There was treason and cowardice all around , and cheating!"
Explanations should be given to the last entries from the diary of Nicholas II. After the tsar's train was delayed in Malyye Vishery, the Sovereign ordered to go to Pskov under the protection of the headquarters of the Northern Front. The commander-in-chief of the Northern Front was General N.V. Ruzsky. The general, having spoken with Petrograd and Headquarters in Mogilev, suggested that the tsar try to localize the uprising in Petrograd by means of an agreement with the Duma and the formation of a Ministry responsible to the Duma. But the tsar postponed the decision of the issue until the morning, still hoping for the mission of General Ivanov. He did not know that the troops were out of obedience, and three days later he was forced to return to Mogilev.
On the morning of March 2, General Ruzsky reported to Nicholas II that the mission of General Ivanov had failed. Chairman of the State Duma M. V. Rodzianko, through General Ruzsky, stated by telegraph that the preservation of the Romanov dynasty was possible provided that the throne was transferred to the heir to Alexei, under the regency of the younger brother of Nicholas II - Mikhail.
The sovereign instructed General Ruzsky to request the opinion of the front commanders by telegraph. When asked about the desirability of the abdication of Nicholas II, everyone answered positively (even Nicholas's uncle, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, commander of the Caucasian Front), with the exception of Admiral A.V. Kolchak, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, who refused to send a telegram.
The betrayal of the army leadership was a heavy blow for Nicholas II. General Ruzsky told the emperor that he had to surrender to the mercy of the winner, because. the high command at the head of the army is against the emperor, and further struggle will be useless.
Before the tsar there was a picture of the complete destruction of his power and prestige, his complete isolation, and he lost all confidence in the support of the army if its Heads went over to the side of the enemies of the emperor in a few days.
The sovereign did not sleep for a long time that night from 1 to 2 March. In the morning he gave General Ruzsky a telegram notifying the chairman of the Duma of his intention to abdicate in favor of his son Alexei. He and his family intended to live as a private person in the Crimea or the Yaroslavl province. A few hours later, he ordered Professor S.P. Fedorov to be called to his car and said to him: “Sergei Petrovich, answer me frankly, is Alexei’s illness incurable?” Professor Fedorov replied: “Sire, science tells us that this disease is incurable. There are cases, however, when a person possessed by her reaches a respectful age. But Alexei Nikolaevich, nevertheless, will always depend on any chance. The Emperor said sadly: - That's just what the Empress told me ... Well, if this is so, if Alexei cannot be useful to the Motherland, as much as I wish, then we have the right to keep him with us.
The decision was made by him, and on the evening of March 2, when the representative of the Provisional Government A.I. Guchkov, the Minister of War and Marine and a member of the executive committee of the Duma V.V. Shulgin, arrived from Petrograd, he handed them the act of renunciation.
The act of renunciation was printed and signed in 2 copies. The king's signature was made in pencil. The time indicated in the Act - 15 hours, corresponded not to the actual signing, but to the time when Nicholas II decided to abdicate. After the signing of the Act, Nicholas II went back to Headquarters to say goodbye to the army.
March 3, Friday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "I slept long and soundly. I woke up far beyond Dvinsk. The day was sunny and frosty. I talked with my people about yesterday. I read a lot about Julius Caesar. At 8.20 I arrived in Mogilev. All the ranks of the headquarters were on the platform. Accepted Alekseev in the car. At 9.30 he moved into the house. Alekseev came with the latest news from Rodzianko. It turns out that Misha (the younger brother of the tsar) renounced in favor of the elections in 6 months of the Constituent Assembly. God knows who advised him to sign such a vile thing! In Petrograd, the riots stopped “If only it would continue like this.”
So, 300 years and 4 years after a shy sixteen-year-old boy who reluctantly assumed the throne at the request of the Russian people (Mikhail I), his 39-year-old descendant, also named Michael II, under pressure from the Provisional Government and the Duma, lost him, having been on the throne for 8 hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 3, 1917. The Romanov dynasty ceased to exist. The last act of the drama begins.
Arrest and murder of the royal family
On March 8, 1917, after parting with the army, the former emperor decides to leave Mogilev and on March 9 arrives in Tsarskoye Selo. Even before leaving Mogilev, the representative of the Duma at Headquarters announced that the former emperor "should consider himself, as it were, under arrest."
March 9, 1917, Thursday. (Diary of Nicholas II): "Soon and safely arrived in Tsarskoe Selo - 11.30. But God, what's the difference, on the street and around the palace, sentries inside the park, and some ensigns inside the entrance! I went upstairs and there I saw Alix and dear children "She looked cheerful and healthy, but they were still sick in a dark room. But everyone is feeling well, except for Maria, who has measles. It has recently begun. I took a walk with Dolgorukov and worked with him in the kindergarten, because you can’t go out any further "After tea, things were unpacked."
From March 9 to August 14, 1917, Nikolai Romanov and his family lived under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo.
The revolutionary movement intensifies in Petrograd, and the Provisional Government, fearing for the lives of the royal prisoners, decides to transfer them deep into Russia. After a long debate, Tobolsk is determined as the city of their settlement. The Romanov family is being transported there. They are allowed to take the necessary furniture, personal belongings from the palace, and also offer the attendants, if desired, to voluntarily accompany them to the place of new accommodation and further service.
On the eve of his departure, the head of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky arrived and brought with him the brother of the former emperor, Mikhail Alexandrovich. The brothers see each other and speak for the last time - they will not meet again (Mikhail Alexandrovich will be deported to Perm, where on the night of June 13, 1918 he was killed by local authorities).
On August 14, at 6:10 a.m., a train with members of the imperial family and servants under the sign "Japanese Mission of the Red Cross" set off from Tsarskoye Selo. In the second composition, there was a guard of 337 soldiers and 7 officers. Trains are running at maximum speed, the junction stations are cordoned off by troops, the public has been removed.
On August 17, the trains arrive in Tyumen, and on three ships the arrested are transported to Tobolsk. The Romanov family is accommodated in the governor's house specially renovated for their arrival. The family was allowed to walk across the street and the boulevard to worship at the Church of the Annunciation. The security regime here was much lighter than in Tsarskoye Selo. The family leads a calm, measured life.
In April 1918, permission was received from the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the fourth convocation to transfer the Romanovs to Moscow for the purpose of holding a trial against them.
On April 22, 1918, a column of 150 people with machine guns set out from Tobolsk to Tyumen. On April 30, the train from Tyumen arrived in Yekaterinburg. To accommodate the Romanovs, a house belonging to the mining engineer N.I. Ipatiev was temporarily requisitioned. Here, with the Romanov family, 5 people of the attendants lived: Dr. Botkin, footman Trupp, Demidov's room girl, cook Kharitonov and cook Sednev.
In early July 1918, the Ural military commissar Isai Goloshchekin ("Philip") went to Moscow to decide on the fate of the royal family. The execution of the entire family was authorized by the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. In accordance with this decision, the Ural Council, at its meeting on July 12, adopted a resolution on execution, as well as on methods for destroying corpses, and on July 16 transmitted a message about this by direct wire to Petrograd - Zinoviev. At the end of the conversation with Yekaterinburg, Zinoviev sent a telegram to Moscow: “Moscow, the Kremlin, Sverdlov. A copy to Lenin. The following is transmitted from Yekaterinburg by direct wire: Inform Moscow that we cannot wait for the court agreed with Philip due to military circumstances. If your opinion is the opposite , immediately, out of any queue, report to Yekaterinburg. Zinoviev. "
The telegram was received in Moscow on July 16 at 21:22. The phrase "the court agreed with Philip" is in encrypted form the decision on the execution of the Romanovs, which Goloshchekin agreed upon during his stay in the capital. However, the Uralsovet asked to once again confirm this earlier decision in writing, referring to "military circumstances", because. Yekaterinburg was expected to fall under the blows of the Czechoslovak Corps and the White Siberian Army.
A response telegram to Yekaterinburg from Moscow from the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, i.e. from Lenin and Sverdlov with the approval of this decision was immediately sent.
L. Trotsky in his diary dated April 9, 1935, while in France, cited a record of his conversation with Y. Sverdlov. When Trotsky found out (he was away) that the royal family had been shot, he asked Sverdlov: "Who decided?" “We have decided here,” Sverdlov answered him. Ilyich believed that it was impossible to leave them a living banner, especially in the current difficult conditions. Further, Trotsky writes: "Some people think that the Ural Executive Committee, cut off from Moscow, acted independently. This is not true. The decision was made in Moscow."
Was it possible to take the Romanov family out of Yekaterinburg in order to bring them to an open trial, as was announced earlier? Obviously yes. The city fell 8 days after the execution of the family - enough time for evacuation. After all, the members of the Uralsvet Presidium and the perpetrators of this terrible action managed to safely get out of the city and reach the location of the Red Army units.
So, on this fateful day, July 16, 1918, the Romanovs and the servants went to bed, as usual, at 22:30. At 23 hours 30 min. two special representatives from the Ural Council came to the mansion. They handed the decision of the executive committee to the commander of the security detachment, Yermakov, and the commandant of the house, Yurovsky, and suggested that the execution of the sentence be started immediately.
Awakened, family members and staff are told that due to the advance of the white troops, the mansion may be under fire, and therefore, for security reasons, you need to go to the basement. Seven members of the family - Nikolai Alexandrovich, Alexandra Fedorovna, daughters Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia and son Alexei, three voluntarily remaining servants and a doctor descend from the second floor of the house and go into the corner basement room. After everyone entered and closed the door, Yurovsky stepped forward, took a sheet of paper out of his pocket and said: "Attention! The decision of the Ural Council is being announced ..." And as soon as the last words were spoken, shots rang out. They shot: a member of the collegium of the Ural Central Committee - M.A. Medvedev, the commandant of the house L.M. Yurovsky, his assistant G.A. Nikulin, the commander of the guard P.Z. Ermakov and other ordinary soldiers of the guard - Magyars.
8 days after the assassination, Yekaterinburg fell under the onslaught of the Whites, and a group of officers broke into Ipatiev's house. In the yard they found the Tsarevich's hungry spaniel, Joy, wandering around in search of his owner. The house was empty, but its appearance was ominous. All rooms were heavily littered, and the stoves in the rooms were clogged with ashes from burnt things. The daughters' room was empty. An empty candy box, a woolen blanket on the window. Camping beds of the Grand Duchesses were found in the guard rooms. And no jewelry, no clothes in the house. This "tried" protection. In the rooms and in the garbage dump where the guards lived, the most precious thing for the family, icons, was lying around. There are also books left. And there were a lot of bottles of medicine. In the dining room they found a cover from the back of the bed of one of the princesses. The cover was with a bloody trace of wiped hands.
In the garbage they found a St. George ribbon, which the tsar wore on his overcoat until the last days. By this time, the old tsar's servant Chemodurov, who had been released from prison, had already arrived at the Ipatiev House. When among the holy icons scattered around the house Chemodurov saw the image of the Fedorov Mother of God, the old servant turned pale. He knew that his living mistress would never part with this icon.
Only one room of the house was put in order. Everything was washed and cleaned. It was a small room, 30-35 square meters in size, covered with checkered wallpaper, dark; its only window rested on the slope, and the shadow of a high fence lay on the floor. There was a heavy bar on the window. One of the walls - the partition was littered with traces of bullets. It became clear that they had been shot here.
Along the cornices on the floor are traces of washed blood. On the other walls of the room there were also a lot of bullet marks, the traces fanned out along the walls: apparently, the people who were shot were rushing around the room.
On the floor there are dents from bayonet blows (here, obviously, they were pierced) and two bullet holes (they shot at the lying person).
By that time, they had already dug up the garden near the house, examined the pond, dug up mass graves in the cemetery, but they could not find any traces of the royal family. They disappeared.
The supreme ruler of Russia, Admiral A.V. Kolchak, appointed an investigator for especially important cases, Nikolai Alekseevich Sokolov, to investigate the case of the royal family. He led the investigation passionately and fanatically. Kolchak had already been shot, Soviet power returned to the Urals and Siberia, and Sokolov continued his work. With the materials of the investigation, he made a dangerous journey through all of Siberia to the Far East, then to America. In exile in Paris, he continued to take testimony from surviving witnesses. He died of a broken heart in 1924 while continuing his highly professional investigation. It was thanks to the painstaking investigation of N.A. Sokolov that the terrible details of the execution and burial of the royal family became known. Let us return to the events of the night of July 17, 1918.
Yurovsky lined up the arrested in two rows, in the first - the entire royal family, in the second - their servants. The Empress and the heir sat on chairs. Right-flanked in the front row stood the king. At the back of his head was one of the servants. Before the tsar, Yurovsky stood face to face, holding his right hand in his trouser pocket, and in his left he held a small piece of paper, then he read out the verdict ...
Before he had time to finish reading the last words, the king loudly asked him: "What, I didn't understand?" Yurovsky read it a second time, at the last word he immediately pulled out a revolver from his pocket and fired point-blank at the tsar. The king fell down. The queen and daughter Olga tried to make the sign of the cross, but did not have time.
Simultaneously with Yurovsky's shot, shots from the firing squad rang out. All the other ten people fell to the floor. A few more shots were fired at those lying down. The smoke obscured the electric light and made breathing difficult. The shooting was stopped, the doors of the room were opened so that the smoke dispersed.
They brought a stretcher, began to remove the corpses. The corpse of the king was carried out first. The bodies were carried out onto a truck in the yard. When they put one of the daughters on a stretcher, she screamed and covered her face with her hand. Others were also alive. It was no longer possible to shoot; with the doors open, shots could be heard in the street. Ermakov took a rifle with a bayonet from a soldier and pierced everyone who turned out to be alive. When all those arrested were already lying on the floor, bleeding, the heir was still sitting on a chair. For some reason, he did not fall to the floor for a long time and remained still alive ... He was shot in the head and chest, and he fell off his chair. Together with them, the dog that one of the princesses brought with her was also shot.
After loading the dead on the car at about three o'clock in the morning, we drove to the place that Yermakov was supposed to prepare behind the Verkhne-Isetsky plant. Having passed the plant, they stopped and began to reload the corpses on cabs, because. It was impossible to drive further.
When reloading, it turned out that Tatyana, Olga, Anastasia were wearing special corsets. It was decided to strip the corpses naked, but not here, but at the burial place. But it turned out that no one knows where the mine planned for this is.
It was getting light. Yurovsky sent horsemen to look for the mine, but no one found it. Having traveled a little, we stopped a verst and a half from the village of Koptyaki. In the forest they found a shallow mine with water. Yurovsky ordered to undress the corpses. When they undressed one of the princesses, they saw a corset torn in places by bullets, diamonds were visible in the holes. Everything valuable was collected from the corpses, their clothes were burned, and the corpses themselves were lowered into the mine and thrown with grenades. Having finished the operation and leaving the guards, Yurovsky left with a report to the Urals Executive Committee.
On July 18, Yermakov again arrived at the scene of the crime. He was lowered into the mine on a rope, and he tied each of the dead individually and lifted them up. When everyone was pulled out, they laid out firewood, doused it with kerosene, and the corpses themselves with sulfuric acid.
Already in our time - in recent years, researchers have found the remains of the burial of the royal family and, using modern scientific methods, have confirmed that members of the Romanov royal family were buried in the Koptyakov forest.
On the day of the execution of the royal family on July 17, 1918. a telegram was sent from the Ural Council to Sverdlov in Moscow, which spoke of the execution of "the former Tsar Nikolai Romanov, guilty of countless bloody violence against the Russian people, and the family was evacuated to a safe place." The same was reported on July 21 in a notice from the Ural Council to Yekaterinburg.
However, on the evening of July 17 at 21:15. an encrypted telegram was sent from Yekaterinburg to Moscow: "Secret. Council of People's Commissars. Gorbunov. Inform Sverdlov that the whole family suffered the same fate as its head. Officially, the family will die during the evacuation. Beloborodov. Chairman of the Ural Council."
On July 17, the day after the assassination of the tsar, other members of the Romanov dynasty were also brutally murdered in Alapaevsk: Grand Duchess Elizabeth (Alexandra Feodorovna's sister), Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, three sons of Grand Duke Konstantin, son of Grand Duke Paul. In January 1919, four Grand Dukes, including Pavel, the tsar's uncle, and Nikolai Mikhailovich, a liberal historian, were executed in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Thus, Lenin, with extraordinary cruelty, dealt with all members of the Romanov dynasty who remained in Russia for patriotic reasons.
On September 20, 1990, the City Council of Yekaterinburg decided to allocate the site on which the demolished house of Ipatiev stood, to the Yekaterinburg Diocese. A temple will be built here in memory of the innocent victims.
Khronos / www.hrono.ru / FROM ANCIENT RUSSIA TO THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE / Nicholas II Alexandrovich.
On a frosty day on December 16, 1614, in Moscow, at the Serpukhov Gate, a state criminal was executed. The Time of Troubles, going down in history, ended with reprisals against its most active participants, who did not want to recognize the restoration of the rule of law in Russia.
But this execution had little to do with the triumph of the law. The man sentenced to death was not even four years old. Nevertheless, the executioner threw a noose over his small head and hung the unfortunate man.
However, the noose and the gallows were designed for an adult, and not for a frail child's body. As a result, the unfortunate child died for more than three hours, choking, crying and calling for his mother. Perhaps in the end the boy died not even from suffocation, but from the cold.
During the years of the Time of Troubles, Russia got used to atrocities, but the execution on December 16 was out of the ordinary.
was executed Ivan Vorenok sentenced to death "for his evil deeds."
In fact, the three-year-old boy, the massacre of which ended the Time of Troubles, was the son of False Dmitry II and Marina Mnishek. In the eyes of the supporters of his parents, the boy was Tsarevich Ivan Dmitrievich, the rightful heir to the Russian throne.
Of course, in fact, the boy had no right to power. However, supporters of the new tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov believed that the little "prince" could become a "banner" for the opponents of the new dynasty.
“You can’t leave them a banner,” the supporters of the Romanovs decided and sent a three-year-old child to the gallows.
Would any of them then have thought that three centuries later the reign of the Romanovs would end the same way it began?
Heir at any cost
Monarchs from the house of the Romanovs, taught by bitter experience, were afraid of dynastic crises like fire. They could only be avoided if the reigning monarch had an heir, and preferably two or three, in order to avoid accidents.
Personal coat of arms of the heir to the Tsarevich and Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / B. W. Köhne
Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, he is Nicholas II, ascended the throne in 1894, 26 years old. At that time, the new monarch was not even married, although marriage to Victoria Alice Helena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, in the future known as Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, has already been appointed.
The wedding celebrations and the "honeymoon" of the newlyweds were held in the atmosphere of requiems and mourning for the father of Nicholas II, Emperor Alexander III.
But when the grief subsided a little, representatives of the ruling circles of Russia began to carefully observe the empress. The country needed an heir to the throne, and the sooner the better. Alexandra Feodorovna, a woman with a tough and resolute character, was hardly happy with such attention to her person, but nothing can be done - these are the costs of the life of royal families.
The wife of Nicholas II became pregnant regularly and regularly gave birth to daughters - Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia ... And with each new girl, the mood at the Russian court became more and more pessimistic.
And yet, in the tenth year of the reign of Nicholas II, on July 30 (August 12, according to the new style), 1904, Alexandra Feodorovna gave her husband an heir.
By the way, the very birth of a son, named Alexei, greatly spoiled the relationship between Nikolai and his wife. The fact is that before the birth, the emperor gave an order to doctors: in case of a threat to the life of the mother and baby, save the baby first. Alexandra, who learned about her husband's order, could not forgive him for this.
fatal name
The long-awaited son was named Alexei, in honor of St. Alexei of Moscow. Both the boy's father and mother were prone to mysticism, so it is not clear why they gave the heir such an unfortunate name.
Before Alexei Nikolaevich, there were already two Tsarevich Alexei in Russia. The first, Alexei Alekseevich, son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, died of a sudden illness before the age of 16. Second, Alexei Petrovich, son of Peter the Great, was accused by his father of treason and died in prison.
Corporal of the Russian Army Alexei Romanov. 1916. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The fact that a difficult fate awaits the third Alexei became clear already in infancy. He was not even two months old when he suddenly started bleeding from his navel, which was difficult to stop.
Doctors made a terrible diagnosis - hemophilia. Due to a blood clotting disorder, any scratch, any blow was dangerous for Alexei. Internal bleeding, formed due to trifling bruises, caused terrible suffering to the boy and threatened with death.
Hemophilia is a hereditary disease, it affects only men who receive it from their mothers.
For Alexandra Feodorovna, her son's illness became a personal tragedy. In addition, the attitude towards her in Russia, already rather cold, has become even worse. "A German woman who spoiled Russian blood" - this is the popular conclusion about the causes of the prince's illness.
The prince loved "soldier's delicacies"
Except for a serious illness, Tsarevich Alexei was an ordinary boy. Handsome in appearance, kind, adoring parents and sisters, cheerful, he evoked sympathy from everyone. Even at the guards of the "Ipatiev House", where he was to spend his last days ...
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The prince studied well, although not without laziness, which was especially manifested in shirking from reading. The boy really liked everything that was connected with the army.
He preferred to spend time with the soldiers than with the courtiers, and sometimes he typed expressions that his mother was horrified. However, the boy preferred to share his “verbal discoveries” for the most part with his diary.
Alexei adored simple "soldier" food - porridge, cabbage soup, black bread, which was brought to him from the kitchen of the palace guard regiment.
In a word, an ordinary child, unlike many Romanovs, devoid of arrogance, narcissism and pathological cruelty.
But the disease more and more seriously invaded Alexei's life. Any injury turned him practically into an invalid for several weeks, when he could not even move independently.
Renunciation
Once, at the age of 8, the agile prince jumped unsuccessfully into a boat and severely bruised his thigh in the groin area. The consequences were so severe that Alexei's life was in danger.
Children of Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II in Tsarskoe Selo. Grand Duchesses and Tsesarevich: Olga, Alexei, Anastasia and Tatiana. Alexander Park, Tsarskoye Selo. May 1917. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Exhibition "German St. Petersburg"
The suffering of his son turned the soul of both the tsar and Alexandra Feodorovna. It is not surprising that the Siberian man Grigory Rasputin, who knew how to alleviate the suffering of Alexei, soon became one of the most influential people in Russia. But it is precisely this influence of Rasputin that will finally undermine the authority of Nicholas II in the country.
It is clear that the further fate of the son worried the father. Although Alexei's age made it possible to postpone the final decision "until later", Nicholas II consulted with doctors, asking them the main question: will the heir be able to fully fulfill the duties of the monarch in the future?
Doctors shrugged their shoulders: patients with hemophilia can live a long and fulfilling life, but any accident threatens them with the most serious consequences.
Fate decided for the emperor. During the February Revolution, Nicholas II abdicated both for himself and for his son. He considered that Alexei was too young and sick to ascend the throne of a country that had entered an era of great upheaval.
Strangers among their own
Of the entire family of Nicholas II, Alexei, perhaps, was the easiest to endure everything that befell the Romanov family after October 1917. Due to his age and character, he did not feel the threat hanging over them.
The family of the last emperor turned out to be a stranger to everyone in his country. Supporters of the monarchy in Russia in 1918 turned into a real relic of the era - even in the ranks of the White movement, they were a minority. But even among this minority, Nicholas II and his wife had no supporters. Perhaps what both the Reds and the Whites agreed on was their hatred of the deposed imperial couple. They, and not without reason, were considered the culprits of the disasters that befell the country.
Alexei and his sisters were not to blame for anything before Russia, but they became hostages of their origin.
The fate of the Romanov family was largely sealed when England refused to host them. In a country engulfed in civil war, when both sides of the conflict are seized by ever-increasing hatred, belonging to the imperial family becomes a sentence. In this sense, Russia only followed in line with the global trends laid down by the English and French revolutions.
Russian Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Tsarevich Alexei. 1914. Photo: RIA Novosti
"You can't leave them a banner"
At the beginning of 1918, in Tobolsk, the illness of Tsarevich Alexei again reminded of itself. Ignoring the depressed state of the elders, he continued to arrange fun games. One of them was riding on the steps of the stairs of the house where the Romanovs were placed, in a wooden boat with skids. During one of the races, Alexey received a new bruise, which led to another aggravation of the disease.
Alyosha Romanov did not live less than a month before his 14th birthday. When the members of the Ural Council decided the fate of the family of Nicholas II, everyone understood perfectly well that the boy, exhausted by illness, like his sisters, had nothing to do with the historical drama that had covered Russia.
But… “You can’t leave them banners…”
On the night of July 16-17, 1918, in the basement of the Ipatiev House, Tsarevich Alexei was shot along with his parents and sisters.
The last Russian emperor loved port wine, disarmed the planet, raised his stepson and almost moved the capital to Yalta [photo, video]
Photo: RIA Novosti
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Nicholas II ascended the throne on November 2, 1894. What do we all remember about this king? Basically, school clichés stuck in my head: Nicholas is bloody, weak, was strongly influenced by his wife, is to blame for Khodynka, established the Duma, dispersed the Duma, was shot near Yekaterinburg ... Oh yes, he also conducted the first census of the population of Russia, writing himself "master of the land Russian". Moreover, Rasputin looms on the side with his dubious role in history. In general, the image is such that any student is sure: Nicholas II is almost the most shameful Russian tsar in all eras. And this despite the fact that most of the documents, photographs, letters and diaries remained from Nikolai and his family. There is even a recording of his voice, rather low. His life is thoroughly studied, and at the same time - almost unknown to the general public outside of textbook clichés. Do you know, for example, that:
1) Nicholas took the throne in the Crimea. There, in Livadia, the royal estate near Yalta, his father Alexander III died. Confused, literally crying from the responsibility that fell on him, the young man - this is how the future king then looked. Mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna, did not want to swear allegiance to this son of hers! The younger, Michael - that's who she saw on the throne.
2) And since we are talking about Crimea, it was to Yalta that he dreamed of moving the capital from his unloved Petersburg. The sea, the fleet, trade, the proximity of European borders ... But he did not dare, of course.
3) Nicholas II almost handed over the throne to his eldest daughter Olga. In 1900, he fell ill with typhus (again, in Yalta, well, just a fateful city for the family of the last Russian emperor). The king was dying. Since the time of Paul I, the law prescribed: the throne is inherited only through the male line. However, bypassing this order, we started talking about Olga, who was then 5 years old. The king, however, got out, recovered. But the idea of arranging a coup in favor of Olga, and then marrying her off to a suitable candidate who would govern the country instead of the unpopular Nikolai - this thought stirred up the royal relatives for a long time and pushed them to intrigues.
4) It is rarely said that Nicholas II became the first global peacemaker. In 1898, at his suggestion, a note on the general limitation of armaments was published and a program for an international peace conference was developed. It took place the following May in The Hague. 20 European states, 4 Asian, 2 American participated. In the minds of the then progressive intelligentsia of Russia, this act of the tsar simply did not fit. How so, because he is a militarist and an imperialist?! Yes, the idea of a prototype of the UN, of conferences on disarmament, originated precisely in Nikolai's head. And long before World War II.
5) It was Nikolai who completed the Siberian railway. It is still the main artery connecting the country, but for some reason it is not customary to put it in the merit of this king. Meanwhile, he ranked the Siberian railway among his main tasks. Nikolai generally foresaw many of the challenges that Russia then had to deal with in the 20th century. He said, for example, that the population of China is growing astronomically, and this is a reason to strengthen and develop Siberian cities. (And this at a time when China was called sleeping).
The reforms of Nicholas (monetary, judicial, wine monopoly, law on the working day) are also rarely mentioned. It is believed that since the reforms were launched in previous reigns, then the merits of Nicholas II seem to be no special. The king "only" pulled this strap and complained that he "works like a convict." "Only" brought the country to that peak, in 1913, according to which the economy will be reconciled for a long time to come. He only approved two of the most famous reformers in office - Witte and Stolypin. So, 1913: the strongest gold ruble, the income from the export of Vologda oil is higher than from the export of gold, Russia is the world leader in the grain trade.
6) Nicholas was like two drops of water similar to his cousin, the future English King George V. Their mothers are sisters. "Nicky" and "Georgie" were confused even by relatives.
"Nicky" and "Georgie". It looks like even relatives confused them
7) Raised an adopted son and daughter. More precisely, the children of his uncle Pavel Alexandrovich - Dmitry and Maria. Their mother died in childbirth, the father soon entered into a new marriage (unequal), and as a result, Nikolai personally raised the two little grand dukes, they called him “dad”, the empress - “mother”. He loved Dmitry like his own son. (This is the same Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, who later, together with Felix Yusupov, will kill Rasputin, for which he will be exiled, survive during the revolution, escape to Europe and even have time to have an affair with Coco Chanel there).
10) He could not stand women's singing. He ran away when his wife, Alexandra Feodorovna, or one of her daughters or ladies-in-waiting, sat down at the piano and started romances. The courtiers recall that at such moments the king complained: “Well, howled ...”
11) I read a lot, especially contemporaries, subscribed to a lot of magazines. Most of all loved Averchenko.
It is no longer a secret to anyone that the history of Russia has been distorted. This applies especially to the great people of our country. Who are presented to us in the form of tyrants, crazy or weak-willed people. One of the most slandered rulers is Nicholas II.
However, if we look at the numbers, we will see that much of what we know about the last king is a lie.
In 1894, at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, there were 122 million inhabitants in Russia. 20 years later, on the eve of the 1st World War, its population increased by more than 50 million; thus, in Tsarist Russia, the population increased by 2,400,000 a year. If the revolution had not happened in 1917, by 1959 its population would have reached 275,000,000.
Unlike modern democracies, Imperial Russia built its policy not only on deficit-free budgets, but also on the principle of a significant accumulation of gold reserves. Despite this, state revenues from 1,410,000,000 rubles in 1897, without the slightest increase in the tax burden, grew steadily, while state spending remained more or less at the same level.
Over the last 10 years before the First World War, the excess of state revenues over expenditures was expressed in the amount of 2,400,000,000 rubles. This figure seems all the more impressive because during the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, railway tariffs were lowered and redemption payments for lands that had been transferred to the peasants from their former landowners in 1861 were canceled, and in 1914, with the outbreak of war, all types of drinking taxes.
In the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, by law of 1896, a gold currency was introduced in Russia, and the State Bank was allowed to issue 300,000,000 rubles in credit notes not backed by gold reserves. But the government not only never took advantage of this right, but, on the contrary, ensured paper circulation of gold cash by more than 100%, namely: by the end of July 1914, credit notes were in circulation in the amount of 1,633,000,000 rubles, while the gold reserve in Russia was 1.604.000.000 rubles, and in foreign banks 141.000.000 rubles.
The stability of monetary circulation was such that even during the Russo-Japanese War, which was accompanied by widespread revolutionary unrest within the country, the exchange of credit notes for gold was not suspended.
In Russia, taxes, before the First World War, were the lowest in the whole world.
The burden of direct taxes in Russia was almost four times less than in France, more than 4 times less than in Germany and 8.5 times less than in England. The burden of indirect taxes in Russia was on average half that in Austria, France, Germany and England.
The total amount of taxes per inhabitant in Russia was more than half that in Austria, France and Germany and more than four times less than in England.
Between 1890 and 1913 Russian industry quadrupled its productivity. Its income not only almost equaled the income from agriculture, but the goods covered almost 4/5 of the domestic demand for manufactured goods.
During the last four years before the First World War, the number of newly founded joint-stock companies increased by 132%, and the capital invested in them almost quadrupled.
In 1914, the State Savings Bank had deposits of 2,236,000,000 rubles.
The amount of deposits and own capital in small credit institutions (on a cooperative basis) in 1894 was about 70,000,000 rubles; in 1913 - about 620,000,000 rubles (an increase of 800%), and by January 1, 1917 - 1,200,000,000 rubles.
On the eve of the revolution, Russian agriculture was in full bloom. During the two decades leading up to the war of 1914-18, the grain harvest doubled. In 1913, the harvest of the main cereals in Russia was 1/3 higher than that of Argentina, Canada and the United States. States combined.
During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, Russia was the main breadwinner of Western Europe.
Russia supplied 50% of world egg imports.
In the same period of time, sugar consumption per inhabitant increased from 4 to 9 kg. in year.
On the eve of the 1st World War, Russia produced 80% of the world's flax production.
Thanks to extensive irrigation work in Turkestan, undertaken back in the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the cotton harvest in 1913 covered all the annual needs of the Russian textile industry. The latter doubled its production between 1894 and 1911.
The railway network in Russia covered 74,000 versts (one verst equals 1,067 km), of which the Great Siberian Way (8,000 versts) was the longest in the world.
In 1916, i.e. in the midst of the war, more than 2,000 miles of railways were built, which connected the Arctic Ocean (Romanovsk port) with the center of Russia.
In Tsarist Russia in the period from 1880 to 1917, i.e. in 37 years, 58.251 km were built. For 38 years of Soviet power, i.e. by the end of 1956, only 36,250 km had been built. roads.
On the eve of the war of 1914-18. the net income of the state railways covered 83% of the annual interest and amortization of the public debt. In other words, the payment of debts, both internal and external, was provided in proportion to more than 4/5 by the income that the Russian state received from the operation of its railways.
It should be added that the Russian railways, in comparison with others, were the cheapest and most comfortable in the world for passengers.
Industrial development in the Russian Empire was naturally accompanied by a significant increase in the number of factory workers, whose economic well-being, as well as the protection of their life and health, were the subject of special concern for the Imperial government.
It should be noted that it was in Imperial Russia, and moreover, in the 18th century, during the reign of Empress Catherine II (1762-1796), for the first time in the world, laws were issued regarding working conditions: the work of women and children was prohibited, in factories a 10-hour working day was established, and so on. It is characteristic that the code of Empress Catherine, which regulated children's and women's labor, printed in French and Latin, was banned for publication in France and England, as "seditious".
During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, before the convening of the 1st State Duma, special laws were issued to ensure the safety of workers in the mining industry, on railways and in enterprises that are especially dangerous to the life and health of workers.
Child labor under the age of 12 was prohibited, and minors and females could not be employed in factory work between 9 pm and 5 am.
The size of the penalty deductions could not exceed one third of the wages, and each fine had to be approved by the factory inspector. Penalty money went to a special fund designed to meet the needs of the workers themselves.
In 1882, a special law regulated the work of children from 12 to 15 years old. In 1903, worker elders were introduced, who were elected by the factory workers of the respective workshops. The existence of workers' unions was recognized by law in 1906.
At that time, the Imperial social legislation was undoubtedly the most progressive in the world. This prompted Taft, then President of the Union. States, two years before the First World War, to publicly declare, in the presence of several Russian dignitaries: "Your Emperor created such a perfect working legislation that no democratic state can boast of."
During the reign of Emperor Nicholas II, public education reached an extraordinary development. In less than 20 years, loans allocated to the Ministry of Public Education, with 25.2 mil. rubles increased to 161.2 mil. This did not include the budgets of schools that drew their loans from other sources (military, technical schools), or were maintained by local self-government bodies (zemstvos, cities), whose loans for public education increased from 70,000,000 rubles. in 1894 to 300,000,000 rubles. in 1913
At the beginning of 1913, the total budget of public education in Russia reached a colossal figure for that time, namely 1/2 billion rubles in gold.
Initial education was free by law, but from 1908 it became compulsory. Since this year, about 10,000 schools have been opened annually. In 1913 their number exceeded 130,000.
In terms of the number of women studying in higher educational institutions, Russia in the 20th century ranked first in Europe, if not in the whole world.
The reign of Nicholas II was the period of the highest rates of economic growth in the history of Russia. For 1880-1910 the growth rate of Russian industrial output exceeded 9% per year. According to this indicator, Russia came out on top in the world, ahead of even the rapidly developing United States of America (although it should be noted that different economists give different estimates on this issue, some put the Russian Empire in first place, others put the United States in first place, but the fact that the pace growth were comparable - an indisputable fact). In terms of the production of the most important agricultural crops, Russia has taken the first place in the world, growing more than half of the world's rye, more than a quarter of wheat, oats and barley, and more than a third of potatoes. Russia became the main exporter of agricultural products, the first "breadbasket of Europe". It accounted for 2/5 of all world exports of peasant products.
Successes in agricultural production were the result of historical events: the abolition of serfdom in 1861 by Alexander II and the Stolypin land reform during the reign of Nicholas II, as a result of which more than 80% of arable land was in the hands of the peasants, and in the Asian part - almost all. The area of landed estates has been steadily declining. Granting the peasants the right to freely dispose of their land and the abolition of communities was of great national importance, the benefits of which, in the first place, were recognized by the peasants themselves.
The autocratic form of government did not hinder the economic progress of Russia. According to the manifesto of October 17, 1905, the population of Russia received the right to inviolability of the person, freedom of speech, press, assembly, and unions. Political parties grew in the country, thousands of periodicals were published. The Parliament, the State Duma, was elected by free will. Russia was becoming a legal state - the judiciary was practically separated from the executive.
The rapid development of the level of industrial and agricultural production and a positive trade balance allowed Russia to have a stable gold convertible currency. The emperor attached great importance to the development of railways. Even in his youth, he participated in the laying of the famous Siberian road.
During the reign of Nicholas II in Russia, the best labor legislation for those times was created, providing for the regulation of working hours, the selection of work elders, remuneration in case of accidents at work, and compulsory insurance of workers against illness, disability and old age. The emperor actively promoted the development of Russian culture, art, science, and the reforms of the army and navy.
All these achievements of the economic and social development of Russia are the result of the natural historical process of the development of Russia and are objectively related to the 300th anniversary of the reign of the Romanov dynasty.
The French economist Teri wrote: "None of the European peoples has achieved such results."
The myth that the workers lived very poorly.
1. Workers. The average salary of a worker in Russia was 37.5 rubles. Multiply this amount by 1282.29 (the ratio of the tsarist ruble to the modern one) and we get the amount of 48,085 thousand rubles for modern conversion.
2. Janitor 18 rubles or 23081 rubles. with modern money
3. Lieutenant (modern analogue - lieutenant) 70 p. or 89 760 rubles. with modern money
4. Policeman (ordinary police officer) 20.5 p. or 26,287 rubles. with modern money
5. Workers (Petersburg). It is interesting that the average salary in Petersburg was less and amounted to 22 rubles 53 kopecks by 1914. We multiply this amount by 1282.29 and get 28890 Russian rubles.
6. Cook 5 - 8 p. or 6.5.-10 thousand for modern money
7. Primary school teacher 25 p. or 32050 r. with modern money
8. Gymnasium teacher 85 rubles or 108970 rubles. with modern money
9.. Senior janitor 40 rubles. or 51 297 rubles. with modern money
10.. District warden (modern analogue - district police officer) 50 p. or 64,115 in modern money
11. Paramedic 40 rubles. or 51280 r.
12. Colonel 325 rubles or 416 744 rubles. with modern money
13. Collegiate assessor (middle-class official) 62 p. or 79 502 rubles. with modern money
14. Privy Councilor (high-class official) 500 or 641,145 in modern money. The same amount received an army general
And how much, you ask, did the products cost then? A pound of meat in 1914 cost 19 kopecks. The Russian pound weighed 0.40951241 grams. This means that a kilogram, if it were then a measure of weight, would cost 46.39 kopecks - 0.359 grams of gold, that is, in today's money, 551 rubles 14 kopecks. Thus, a worker could buy 48.6 kilograms of meat with his salary, if, of course, he wanted to.
Wheat flour 0.08 r. (8 kopecks) = 1 pound (0.4 kg)
Rice pound 0.12 p. = 1 pound (0.4 kg)
Biscuit 0.60 r. = 1 lb (0.4 kg)
Milk 0.08 r. = 1 bottle
Tomatoes 0.22 rub. = 1 lb
Fish (perch) 0.25 r. = 1 lb
Grapes (raisins) 0.16 r. = 1 pound
Apples 0.03 rub. = 1 lb
A very good life!!!
Hence the opportunity to support a large family.
Now let's see how much it cost to rent a house. Rental housing in St. Petersburg cost 25, and in Moscow and Kyiv 20 kopecks per square arshin per month. These 20 kopecks today amount to 256 rubles, and a square arshin - 0.5058 m². That is, the monthly rent of one square meter in 1914 cost 506 today's rubles. Our clerk would rent an apartment of one hundred square arshins in St. Petersburg for 25 rubles a month. But he did not rent such an apartment, but was content with a basement and attic closet, where the area was smaller, and the rent was lower. Such an apartment was rented, as a rule, by titular advisers who received a salary at the level of an army captain. The bare salary of a titular adviser was 105 rubles per month (134,640 rubles) per month. Thus, a 50-meter apartment cost him less than a quarter of his salary.
The myth of the weakness of the character of the king.
French President Loubet said: “Usually they see in Emperor Nicholas II a kind, generous, but weak person. This is a deep mistake. He always has well-thought-out plans, the implementation of which is slowly achieved. Under visible timidity, the king has a strong soul and a courageous heart, unshakably faithful. He knows where he's going and what he wants."
The royal service required strength of character, which Nicholas II possessed. During the Holy Coronation of the Russian Throne on May 27, 1895, Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow, in his address to the Sovereign, said: “Just as there is no higher, so there is no more difficult on earth royal power, there is no burden heavier than royal service. Through the visible anointing, may an invisible power from above be given to you, acting to exalt your royal virtues ... "
A number of arguments refuting this myth are given in the above-mentioned work by A. Eliseev.
So, in particular, S. Oldenburg wrote that the Sovereign had an iron hand, many are only deceived by the velvet glove put on it.
The presence of a firm will in Nicholas II is brilliantly confirmed by the events of August 1915, when he assumed the duties of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief - against the desire of the military elite, the Council of Ministers and the entire "public opinion". And, I must say, he brilliantly coped with these duties.
The emperor did a lot to improve the country's defense capability, having learned the hard lessons of the Russo-Japanese war. Perhaps his most significant act was the revival of the Russian fleet, which saved the country at the beginning of the First World War. It happened against the will of military officials. The emperor was even forced to dismiss the Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich. Military historian G. Nekrasov writes: “It should be noted that, despite its overwhelming superiority in forces in the Baltic Sea, the German fleet made no attempts to break into the Gulf of Finland in order to bring Russia to its knees with one blow. Theoretically, this was possible, since most of the Russian military industry was concentrated in St. Petersburg. But on the way of the German fleet stood the Baltic Fleet, ready to fight, with ready mine positions. The price of a breakthrough for the German fleet was becoming unacceptably expensive. Thus, only by the fact that he achieved the reconstruction of the fleet, Emperor Nicholas II saved Russia from an imminent defeat. This should not be forgotten!”
Let us especially note that the Sovereign made absolutely all the important decisions that contributed to victorious actions, precisely by himself - without the influence of any "good geniuses". The opinion that Alekseev led the Russian army, and the Tsar was in the post of Commander-in-Chief for the sake of formality, is completely unfounded. This false opinion is refuted by telegrams from Alekseev himself. For example, in one of them, to a request to send ammunition and weapons, Alekseev replies: “I cannot resolve this issue without the Highest permission.”
The myth that Russia was a prison of nations.
Russia was a family of peoples thanks to the balanced and thoughtful policy of the Sovereign. The Russian tsar-father was considered the monarch of all peoples and tribes living on the territory of the Russian Empire.
He pursued a national policy based on respect for traditional religions - the historical subjects of state building in Russia. And this is not only Orthodoxy, but also Islam. So, in particular, the mullahs were supported by the Russian Empire and received a salary. Many Muslims fought for Russia.
The Russian Tsar honored the feat of all peoples who served the Fatherland. Here is the text of the telegram, which serves as a clear confirmation of this:
TELEGRAM
Like a mountain avalanche, the Ingush regiment fell on the German Iron Division. He was immediately supported by the Chechen regiment.
In the history of the Russian Fatherland, including our Preobrazhensky Regiment, there was no case of an enemy heavy artillery attack by cavalry.
4.5 thousand killed, 3.5 thousand captured, 2.5 thousand wounded. In less than 1.5 hours, the iron division ceased to exist, with which the best military units of our allies, including those in the Russian army, were afraid to come into contact.
On my behalf, on behalf of the royal court and on behalf of the Russian army, convey fraternal cordial greetings to the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and brides of these brave eagles of the Caucasus, who put an end to the German hordes with their immortal feat.
Russia will never forget this feat. Honor and praise to them!
With brotherly greetings, Nicholas II.
The myth that Russia under the tsar was defeated in the First World War.
S.S. Oldenburg, in his book The Reign of Emperor Nicholas II, wrote: “The most difficult and most forgotten feat of Emperor Nicholas II was that, under incredibly difficult conditions, he brought Russia to the threshold of victory: his opponents did not let her cross this threshold.”
General N. A. Lokhvitsky wrote: “... It took Peter the Great nine years to turn the Narva vanquished into Poltava winners.
The last Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, Emperor Nicholas II, did the same great work in a year and a half. But his work was also appreciated by the enemies, and between the Sovereign and his Army and the victory "became a revolution."
A. Eliseev cites the following facts. The military talents of the Sovereign were fully revealed at the post of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Already the very first decisions of the new commander-in-chief led to a significant improvement in the situation at the front. So, he organized the Vilna-Molodechno operation (September 3 - October 2, 1915). The sovereign managed to stop a major German offensive, as a result of which the city of Borisov was captured. They issued a timely directive to stop the panic and retreat. As a result, the onslaught of the 10th German Army was stopped, which was forced to withdraw - in some places completely disorderly. The 26th Mogilev Infantry Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Petrov (8 officers and 359 bayonets in total) made his way to the rear of the Germans and captured 16 guns during a surprise attack. In total, the Russians managed to capture 2,000 prisoners, 39 guns and 45 machine guns. “But most importantly,” notes historian P.V. Multatuli, “the troops regained confidence in their ability to beat the Germans.”
Russia definitely began to win the war. After the failures of 1915, the triumphant 1916 came - the year of the Brusilov breakthrough. During the fighting on the Southwestern Front, the enemy lost one and a half million people killed, wounded and taken prisoner. Austria-Hungary was on the verge of defeat.
It was the Sovereign who supported the Brusilov offensive plan, with which many military leaders did not agree. Thus, the plan of the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief M. V. Alekseev provided for a powerful strike against the enemy by the forces of all fronts, with the exception of Brusilov's front.
The latter believed that his front was also quite capable of an offensive, with which other front commanders disagreed. However, Nicholas II strongly supported Brusilov, and without this support the famous breakthrough would have been simply impossible.
Historian A. Zayonchkovsky wrote that the Russian army had reached "in terms of its numbers and technical supply with everything necessary for it, the greatest development in the entire war." The enemy was opposed by more than two hundred combat-ready divisions. Russia was preparing to crush the enemy. In January 1917, the Russian 12th Army launched an offensive from the Riga bridgehead and caught the German 10th Army by surprise, which fell into a catastrophic situation.
The chief of staff of the German army, General Ludendorff, who cannot be suspected of sympathizing with Nicholas II, wrote about the situation in Germany in 1916 and the growth of Russia's military power:
“Russia is expanding military formations. The reorganization undertaken by her gives a great increase in strength. In her divisions, she left only 12 battalions each, and in batteries only 6 guns each, and from the battalions and guns liberated in this way she formed new combat units.
The battles of 1916 on the Eastern Front showed the strengthening of Russian military equipment, the number of firearms increased. Russia has transferred part of its factories to the Donets Basin, raising their productivity tremendously.
We understood that the numerical and technical superiority of the Russians in 1917 would be felt even more sharply by us than in 1916.
Our situation was extremely difficult and there was almost no way out of it. There was nothing to think about their own offensive - all the reserves were necessary for defense. Our defeat seemed inevitable ... it was hard with food. The rear was also badly damaged.
The prospects for the future were extremely bleak."
Moreover, according to Oldenburg, on the initiative of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, in the summer of 1916, a commission was established to prepare a future peace conference in order to determine in advance what Russia's wishes would be. Russia was to receive Constantinople and the straits, as well as Turkish Armenia.
Poland was to be reunited in a personal union with Russia. The sovereign declared (at the end of December) c. Velepolsky that he thinks of free Poland as a state with a separate constitution, separate chambers and its own army (apparently, he meant something like the position of the Kingdom of Poland under Alexander I).
Eastern Galicia, Northern Bukovina and Carpathian Rus were to be included in Russia. The creation of the Czechoslovak kingdom was planned; regiments of captured Czechs and Slovaks were already formed on Russian territory.
B. Brazol "The reign of Emperor Nicholas II in figures and facts"