Recent photos of Nicholas 2 and his family. New color photographs of the royal family

Despite the fact that the royal family in Russia was an example to follow, many rulers hid terrible secrets from the people. Behind the shoulders of each king and queen were sins, which the admirers of the royal family try not to talk about. About these terrible secrets this post tells us.

Mikhail Fedorovich (from 1613 to 1645)

The first of the Romanovs was crowned king at the age of 16, and at that time he could hardly read. The following year, by his decree, the three-year-old son of Marina Mnishek was hanged in Moscow - allegedly the grandson and heir of Ivan the Terrible, to whom individual cities managed to swear allegiance. This was after the heavy Troubles, and the fear of new possible impostors forced the competitor to be eliminated publicly.

Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676)

The father of the future Emperor Peter the Great was a religious maniac, sometimes he prayed for six hours in a row and cracked down on those who missed church service: without asking about the reasons, he ordered to throw them into the icy river.

Peter I (1682-1725)

Many terrible scenes are described in history, when Peter showed himself to be violent, inhumanly cruel and inadequate to the point of madness. Here are just some of the facts. Shooting executions. 26-year-old Peter himself cut off heads in front of a huge crowd and forced each of his retinue to take up an ax (unless the foreigners refused, justifying themselves by the fact that they were afraid to incur the hatred of the Russians). Mass executions actually turned into a grand show: the crowd was poured free vodka and it roared with delight, expressing devotion and love to the dashing sovereign. In a drunken stupor, the king immediately invited everyone who wanted to be the executioners, and many agreed.

Lifetime portrait of 44-year-old Peter, artist Antoine Pen:

"Morning of the Streltsy Execution", Vasily Surikov:

Death of Tsarevich Alexei. Acutely in conflict with his eldest son, Peter forced him to abdicate the throne and began to zealously investigate his misdeeds, for which he specially created secret office. 28-year-old Aleksey was sentenced to death for treason and, after the verdict, he was tortured in prison: in the presence of his father, he received 25 lashes with a whip. According to some reports, he died from this. And Peter the next day feasted noisily, with an orchestra and fireworks, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.

"Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof", Nikolai Ge:

"Maria Hamilton before her execution", Pavel Svedomsky:

Execution of a mistress. The next year, Peter sent his former mistress, one of the most beautiful ladies-in-waiting at court, Maria Hamilton (Gamontova), having learned that she twice provoked miscarriages, and strangled the third baby. Although at that time she was already living with another, the king, apparently, suspected that the children could be from him, and was furious at such "murder". At the execution, he behaved strangely: he raised the severed head of Mary, kissed it and calmly began to lecture the people on anatomy, showing the organs affected by the ax, after which he again kissed the dead lips, threw his head into the mud and left.

Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

The niece of Peter I, like himself, was a big hunter for entertainment with the participation of dwarfs and "fools" - court jesters. If many of them really were distinguished by their wit, then the inventions of the Empress herself, which led her into stormy fun, were rather obscene. Once, for example, one of her favorites, the Italian violinist Pietro Miro, nicknamed Pedrillo (Petrillo, Petrushka), laughed off an attempt to ridicule his ugly wife, saying that his “goat” was pregnant and would soon bring “kids”. It immediately occurred to Anna Ioannovna to put him to bed with a real goat, dressed for laughs in a peignoir, and to force the whole yard to bring them gifts. Pedrillo, who pleased his mistress, enriched himself by several thousand rubles on that day alone. “Jesters at the court of Empress Anna Ioannovna”, Valery Jacobi (Pedrillo on the left, depicted with a violin, in the center of the picture in a yellow caftan jumps the famous jester Balakirev above all):

The Empress generally adored all sorts of obscenities, especially gossip and stories of a pornographic nature. Knowing this, specially selected girls were sent to the court, capable of conducting such conversations and inventing more and more stories with juicy details.

Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1762)

The daughter of Peter I from childhood was known as a beauty and only did what she had fun, but she took care of her own appearance, remaining almost uneducated. She never read, and even in adulthood she did not know that Great Britain is an island. Most of all, Elizabeth was occupied with masquerades and especially the so-called "metamorphoses", where all the ladies had to appear in men's clothes, and men in women's. Moreover, the empress was convinced that her court rivals had ugly legs and that in men's leggings everyone except her made themselves a laughingstock. One of the successful rivals, the lady of state Natalya Lopukhina, who was considered a beauty, Elizabeth "graciously" saved from death penalty, ordering instead to flog with a whip, pull out the tongue and exile to Siberia. Officially, Lopukhina was arrested and tortured in the case of a political conspiracy, but unofficially it was the empress's revenge for repulsed cavaliers and ridicule in her youth.

Natalya Fedorovna Lopukhina, engraving by Lavrenty Seryakov:

Finally, Elizabeth doomed to a terrible existence the legitimate heir to the throne, appointed before her death by Anna Ioannovna. Emperor Ivan VI was only a year and a half old when Peter's daughter staged a coup and secretly ordered him to be thrown into prison, forever separating him from his parents and protecting him from human contact. The “famous prisoner,” as he was called after the strictest ban on mentioning his name, was stabbed to death by guards at the age of 23, already under Catherine II.

Catherine II (1762-1796)

33-year-old Catherine overthrew and arrested her own husband and second cousin Peter III, with whom relations did not work out from the very beginning. They were married when she was 16 and he was 17. According to one version, he was infantile almost to the point of dementia and for 9 years avoided marital debt, allegedly not knowing what to do in bed with a woman. According to another version (and Catherine admitted this in biographical notes), he did not love her and did not make attempts to get closer. At the same time, he openly made mistresses and even planned to marry one, but died under unclear circumstances 10 days after the deposition.

Coronation portrait of Emperor Peter III, Lucas Conrad Pfanzelt:

Meanwhile, the unfortunate marriage made Catherine herself the greatest mistress on the Russian throne. She gave birth to her first child, the future Emperor Paul I, only in the 10th year after the wedding, which gave rise to rumors that he was not from Peter, although he looked like him. From different lovers, the empress had two more children, and she gave birth to one in complete secrecy from her husband - in order to distract the emperor and take him away from the palace, her faithful valet set fire to own house.

Modern painting"The Triumph of Catherine", Vasily Nesterenko (after right hand from the Empress to her famous favorite Prince Grigory Potemkin)

The “lecherous empress” brought her last favorite at the age of 60: it was the 21-year-old nobleman Platon Zubov, whom she enriched inexpressibly and who, five years after her death, participated in the murder of her son Paul I.

Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov, artist Ivan Eggink:

Alexander I (1801-1825)

The 23-year-old grandson of Catherine came to power as a result of a conspiracy against his own father: he was convinced that if Paul was not overthrown, he would destroy the empire. At the same time, Alexander did not allow the murder, but the performers - officers flushed with champagne - decided otherwise: in the middle of the night they struck the emperor with a powerful blow to the temple with a golden snuffbox and strangled him with a scarf. Alexander, having learned about the death of his father, sobbed, and then one of the main conspirators said in French: “Enough childishness, go reign!”

Alexander II (1855-1881)

Having ascended the throne, Alexander, who had previously lived in a happy marriage with many children, began to have favorites, from whom, according to rumors, he had illegitimate children. And at the age of 48, he began to secretly meet with the 18-year-old Princess Katya Dolgorukova, who years later became his second wife.

Their extensive erotic correspondence has been preserved - perhaps the most frank on behalf of the head of state: “Waiting for our meeting, I am again trembling all over. I represent your pearl in the shell"; “We possessed each other the way you wanted. But I must confess to you: I will not rest until I see your charms again ... "

Nicholas II (1894-1917)

The most terrible secret was and remains the death of the family of the last Russian emperor. Many more years after the execution in the basement without trial Soviet authorities they lied to the whole world that only Nikolai was killed, and his wife, four daughters and son were alive and well and "transported to a safe place where nothing threatens them." This gave rise to popular rumors about the allegedly surviving princesses and Tsarevich Alexei and contributed to the emergence of a huge army of impostor adventurers. In 2015, at the insistence of the Church, the investigation into the death of the royal family began "from scratch." A new genetic examination has confirmed the authenticity of the remains of Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the three Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana and Anastasia, found near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Reconstructed from the remains of the faces of Nicholas II and Princess Anastasia:

Then they began to compare them with the genetic materials of Alexei and Maria, found in 2007. The timing of their burial depends on the readiness of the Church to recognize the remains.

On the night of July 17, 1918, in the basement of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg, the royal family of the Russian Emperor Nicholas II and members of her retinue were executed. The execution took place by order of the executive committee of the Ural Regional Council of Workers, Peasants and Red Army Deputies, which was headed by the Bolsheviks.

Decree:
“In view of the fact that the Czechoslovak gangs threaten the capital of the Red Urals, Yekaterinburg; in view of the fact that the crowned executioner can avoid the trial of the people (a conspiracy of the White Guards had just been discovered, which had the aim of kidnapping the entire Romanov family), the Presidium of the Regional Committee, in pursuance of the will of the people, decided: to shoot the former Tsar Nikolai Romanov, guilty before the people of countless bloody crimes.

To this day, there is no unanimity of opinion among modern historians on the issues of whether the sanction was given for the execution of Nicholas II without trial, which actually happened, and whether the sanction was given for the execution of the entire family, and not just the emperor. In addition, there is also no consensus among lawyers on the issue of whether the execution was sanctioned by the top leadership.

According to the records, the participants in the shooting did not know how the "execution" would be carried out. On the night of July 17, a truck for transporting corpses arrived at Ipatiev’s house, after which the doctor Botkin from the royal retinue was awakened, who was informed that everyone urgently needed to go to the basement due to the alarming situation in the city. IN basement Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Fedorovna, five children (Olga, Tatyana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexei) and four people from the royal suite crossed. Then the commandant of the Ipatiev house, Yakov Yurovsky, led the firing squad and read out the verdict. The emperor was the first to be killed, but the son and daughters of Nicholas II, as well as the maid and the doctor, were not immediately killed by the executioners. According to Yurovsky, the emperor's daughters wore bodices entirely embroidered with diamonds and precious stones, which, in some way, saved from fatal bullets. According to the investigation, the survivors were finished off with a bayonet.

After Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks, the collection personal photos The royal family was smuggled out of Russia. Albums offer a look at everyday life the Romanov family.

The photograph is one of the few in the Romanovs' albums that focuses on the common people of Russia.

Grand Duchess Olga - the firstborn of Nicholas II

Tsarevich Alexei is the heir to the Russian throne. The boy was 13 years old when he and his family were killed

Empress Alexandra with her devoted friend Anna Vyrubova and daughter Olga. Anna Vyrubova was arrested after the revolution, but managed to escape to Finland with albums containing more than 2,600 photographs of the Romanovs' private life. She died in Helsinki in 1964

In the photographic heritage of the Romanovs, especially many pictures are associated with the family of Nicholas II. The imperial family was portrayed by many famous photographers. There are studio shootings of the outstanding masters of Russian photography G. Denier, S. L. Levitsky, A. Pasetti, C. Bergamasco. During your stay abroad royal family famous foreign photographers shot: in Denmark - L. Danielson, M. Steen, G. Gansen, in Poland - L. Kovalsky, in Germany - O. Skovranek, F. Telgman and others. When visiting Romanov cities Russian Empire shooting was entrusted to the best urban photographers: F. Orlov in Yalta, M. Mazur in Sevastopol, V. Barkanov in Tiflis, A. M. Ivanitsky in Kharkov, etc.

Emperor Nicholas II. 1900s

Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna with their daughters Grand Duchesses Olga and Tatyana. 1898

The largest collection of photographs of the last Russian emperor and his family was left by the K. E. von Hahn and Co.". The atelier was opened in Tsarskoe Selo in 1887. It was owned by the wife of an assistant senior mechanical engineer Kazimir-Ludwig Evgenievna Yakobson, nee Gan. In 1891, Alexander Karlovich Yagelsky became a co-owner of the atelier, who since 1897 receives the exclusive right to photograph Emperor Nicholas II and his family. in Finnish skerries, in Livadia, hunting in the estates of Spala and Belovezh.These photographs rarely reached the public and made up the imperial family's own photo archive.In 1911, A.K.Yagelsky received honorary title Photographer of His Majesty's Court.

Parade of troops of the Moscow garrison. Moscow, 1903

Yagelsky was also the only one who was allowed to film the royal family. From 1900 until his death in October 1916, he was the personal cameraman of Emperor Nicholas II and left a very significant film archive.

Rope pull. Finnish skerries, 1911

Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia. Tsarskoye Selo, 1903

The famous reportage photographer K. K. Bulla took a lot of pictures of Nicholas II. In 1904, he received permission to film "views of the capital, as well as celebrations in the Highest Presence." From the General Staff of the Military Ministry, Bulla had a certificate of permission "to make photographic surveys during maneuvers and exercises of the troops of the Guards and the St. ships and in general all events relating to marine life.

The heir Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. 1911

Many personal albums with photographs were left by the Romanovs themselves - the emperor, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, all the children, including the heir, were passionate amateur photographers. Since Nicholas II got his first camera in 1896, he has never parted with it. Some of the albums were filled in by the emperor himself, personally gluing and signing photographs. Each member of the family had personal photo albums, usually annual or two or three years together.

Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in costumes of Russian tsars of the 17th century. 1903

Another category of the photographic heritage of the Romanovs is the photo albums of their close associates, those who, on duty, were with the emperor and his family on trips around the country and abroad, and especially during their holidays. The Romanovs themselves, their personal photographer A.K. Yagelsky and the emperor’s associates took the greatest number of family photographs precisely on vacation, when members of the august family were left to their own devices and were less bound by the conventions of court etiquette. This close circle, which had the opportunity to take informal photographs of the family of Nicholas II, included large court officials, members of the emperor’s retinue, maids of honor, ladies of state, officers of the imperial yacht Shtandart and whole line other people.

Royal hunting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Sitting: Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (2nd from left), Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (3rd from left), Emperor Nicholas II (4th from left), Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich (6th from left). Standing: Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. (1st from left), Duke Albert of Saxe-Altenburg (2nd from left), head of the court youth department A. A. Grunwald (3rd from left), Baron V. B. Frederiks (7th from left), etc. Belovezh, 1897

The fate of the photographic heritage of the Romanov family in Soviet Russia quite confused and bears the imprint tragic fate their owners. After the execution, documents and photographs of the Romanovs' house were repeatedly transferred from archive to archive. The photographic heritage is still insufficiently studied. We do not even know the approximate number of photographic objects in government storage Russian Federation; it is also not known what heritage has been preserved in the CIS countries and abroad.

Nicholas II in his office, 1900

From July 6 to September 9, 2018, the ROSPHOTO State Museum and Exhibition Center will host an anniversary exhibition dedicated to Emperor Nicholas II. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian emperor.

The Imperial family was photographed by the best photographers of the Russian Empire. On trips abroad, the Romanovs certainly ordered photographic portraits from famous foreign masters. The exhibition features studio portraits of families Alexander III and Nicholas II, which occupy a special place in the work of their authors, outstanding domestic and foreign photographers.

The unique component of the exhibition is the photographs taken by Nicholas II and members of his family. The emperor himself, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, all the children, including the heir, were passionate amateur photographers.

Based on materials provided by ROSPHOTO Found in the Yale University Manuscript Library rare photos the last Tsar of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II, who were taken out of Russia. Not royal photos at all, let's face it, they look more like staged ones.
There are forces that benefit from considering Nicholas 2nd killed in order to claim the Russian throne.

Tsar Nicholas II on the rocky coast of Finland. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

After Tsar Nicholas II and his family were shot by the Bolshevik revolutionaries, a collection of personal photographs of the royal family was smuggled out of Russia.

The photographs were found in the Yale University Library. We offer a glimpse into the life of the royal family, which ended so tragically.

After early death Nicholas II confessed to his father to a friend: “I am not yet ready to be king. I don't know anything about government."

The young heir suffered from hemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting.

Anna Vyrubova (right) on the beach with Princesses Tatyana and Olga. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

After the royal family was shot, Anna, a close friend of the family, managed to escape from Soviet Russia with 6 albums of family photographs.

Empress Alexandra (left) with Anna Vyrubova and Olga. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

After the revolution, Anna was arrested, but she managed to escape to Finland with albums that contain more than 2600 photographs. privacy Romanovs. Vyrubova died in Helsinki in 1964.

Empress Alexandra is welcomed aboard the Standart, the imperial yacht. In the background are her little daughters. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Two Grand Duchesses aboard the Standard. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

When the children were small, a sailor looked after each so that they would not fall overboard.

Nicholas II and his daughters in the Crimea. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Pedestrian bridge in Spala, Poland. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

When the Siberian mystic Rasputin helped the prince recover from internal bleeding from a bruised thigh, he became a close friend and confidant of the royal family.

Empress Alexandra and her daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

They were said to be especially close.

Tsar Nicholas II (left) greets King Gustav of Sweden aboard the Standart. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

The boy was 13 years old when he and his family were shot.

Tsarevich Alexei, third from left, playing soldier. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Gilliard, the family's French tutor, with his students Olga and Tatiana Romanov. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

After the murder of the family, he helped in the investigation, and then fled from Russia. At measures in Switzerland in 1962.

On board the Standard, the sailors took turns bouncing on the mats. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Tatyana was described as "a poetic girl, always striving for the ideal and dreaming of a great friendship."

Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria on board the Standard in 1914. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

The sisters were 22, 21 and 19 years old when they were killed.

Empress Alexandra with her likeness according to the model - in clay. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Olga Romanova in a wicker chair aboard the Standard. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Villagers in the photo during the trip of the king and his family. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Anastasia, the youngest of the Grand Duchesses, was photographed after a round of tennis with an officer and her father, Nicholas II. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

In the months following the 1917 revolution, Grand Duchess Tatiana helps dig the garden while being held captive by the revolutionaries. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale

Tsar Nicholas II and his son Alexei sawing wood, in captivity. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University

Nicholas 2 and three Grand Duchesses are sailing in a boat along the canal in Tserskoye Selo, near St. Petersburg.

A few months after the 1917 revolution, Grand Duchess Tatiana helps plant vegetables in her garden while she is being held captive by the Bolsheviks.

Tsar Nicholas 2 and his son Alexei in captivity (with the Bolsheviks) are sawing firewood.
(The boy with hemophilia, it's not even an hour, he will cut himself)
They were killed after a few months.
In the diary of one of the top Soviet leaders, it was written that Vladimir Lenin decided to kill the Romanov family and thereby not leave the anti-Bolshevik forces as a living emblem, especially in such dire circumstances.

Nicholas II is an ambiguous personality, historians speak very negatively about his rule of Russia, most people who know and analyze history are inclined to the version that the last All-Russian Emperor had little interest in politics, did not keep pace with the times, hindered the development of the country, was not a far-sighted ruler, did not he was able to catch the jet in time, did not keep his nose in the wind, and even when everything practically flew into hell, discontent was already whipped up not only from the bottom, but also from the top were indignant, even then Nicholas II could not draw any correct conclusions. He did not believe that his removal from government was real; in fact, he was doomed to become the last autocrat in Russia. But Nicholas II was a great family man. He would like to be, for example, the Grand Duke, and not the emperor, not to delve into politics. Five children are no joke, their upbringing requires a lot of attention and effort. Nicholas II loved his wife long years, in separation from her, he yearned, did not lose his physical and spiritual attraction to her even after many years of marriage.

I have collected many photographs of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna (born Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IV), their children: daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, son Alexei.

This family was very fond of being photographed, and the shots turned out to be very beautiful, spiritual, bright. Look at the attractive faces of the children of the last Russian Emperor. These girls did not know marriage, never kissed lovers and could not know the joys and sorrows of love. And they died a martyr's death. Even though they weren't at fault. In those days, many died. But this family was the most famous, the most high-ranking, and its death still does not give anyone peace, a black page in the history of Russia, the brutal murder of the royal family. The fate was prepared for these beauties as follows: girls were born in turbulent times. Many people dream of being born in a palace, with a golden spoon in their mouth: to be princesses, princes, kings, queens, kings and queens. But how often life was not easy blue blood? They were incited, killed, hounded, strangled, and very often their own people, close to the monarchs, destroyed and occupied the vacated throne, alluring with its limitless possibilities.

Alexander II was blown up by a Narodnaya Volya, Paul II was killed by conspirators, Peter III died under mysterious circumstances, Ivan VI was also destroyed, the list of these unfortunates can be continued for a very long time. Yes, and those who were not killed did not live long by today's standards, either they get sick, or they undermine their health while ruling the country. And after all, it was not only in Russia that such a high mortality rate of monarchs was, there are countries where the reigning personalities were even more dangerous. But all the same, everyone always rushed so zealously to the throne, and pushed their children there at any cost. I wanted, though not for long, but to live well, beautifully, to go down in history, to take advantage of all the benefits, to be in luxury, to be able to order slaves, decide the fate of people and rule the country.

But Nicholas II never longed to be emperor, but he understood that being the ruler of the Russian Empire was his duty, his destiny, especially since he was a fatalist in everything.

Today we will not talk about politics, we will just look at the photos.