Nicholas II Alexandrovich was born on May 6 (18 according to the old style) May 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo. Russian Emperor, who reigned from October 21 (November 1), 1894 to March 2 (March 15), 1917. belonged to Romanov dynasty, was the son and successor of Alexander III.

Nikolai Alexandrovich from birth had the title - His Imperial Highness the Grand Duke. In 1881, he received the title of Tsarevich's Heir after the death of his grandfather, Emperor Alexander II.

Full title Nicholas II as emperor from 1894 to 1917: “By God's hastening mercy, We, Nicholas II (Church Slavonic form in some manifestos - Nicholas II), Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod; Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan, Tsar of Poland, Tsar of Siberia, Tsar of Tauric Chersonese, Tsar of Georgia; Sovereign of Pskov and Grand Duke of Smolensk, Lithuanian, Volyn, Podolsk and Finland; Prince of Estonia, Livonia, Courland and Semigalsky, Samogitsky, Belostoksky, Korelsky, Tversky, Yugorsky, Permsky, Vyatsky, Bulgarian and others; Sovereign and Grand Duke of Novgorod Nizovsky lands, Chernigov, Ryazan, Polotsk, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Obdorsky, Kondia, Vitebsk, Mstislav and all northern countries Sovereign; and Sovereign of Iversky, Kartalinsky and Kabardian lands and regions of Armenia; Cherkasy and Mountain Princes and other Hereditary Sovereign and Possessor, Sovereign of Turkestan; Heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn, Ditmarsen and Oldenburg and others, and others, and others.

Peak economic development Russia and at the same time the growth of the revolutionary movement, which resulted in the revolutions of 1905-1907 and 1917, fell precisely on the reign of Nicholas II. Foreign policy at that time was aimed at Russia's participation in blocs of European powers, the contradictions that arose between which became one of the reasons for the start of the war with Japan and I-st world war.

After the events February Revolution 1917 Nicholas II abdicated the throne, and a period of civil war soon began in Russia. The provisional government sent Nicholas to Siberia, then to the Urals. Together with his family, he was shot in Yekaterinburg in 1918.

Contemporaries and historians characterize the personality of Nicholas inconsistently; most of them believed that his strategic abilities in the conduct of public affairs were not successful enough to change for the better the political situation at that time.

After the revolution of 1917, it became known as Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov(prior to this, the surname "Romanov" was not indicated by members of the imperial family, titles indicated the family affiliation: emperor, empress, Grand Duke, Tsesarevich).

With the nickname Nicholas the Bloody, which was given to him by the opposition, he appeared in Soviet historiography.

Nicholas II was the eldest son of Empress Maria Feodorovna and Emperor Alexander III.

In 1885-1890. Nicholas was educated at home as part of a gymnasium course according to a special program that combined the course of the Academy General Staff and the Faculty of Law of the University. Training and education took place under the personal supervision of Alexander III with a traditional religious basis.

Nicholas II most often he lived with his family in the Alexander Palace. And he preferred to relax in the Livadia Palace in the Crimea. For annual trips to the Baltic Sea and the Finnish Sea, he had at his disposal the Shtandart yacht.

From 9 years old Nicholas started keeping a diary. The archive has preserved 50 thick notebooks for the years 1882-1918. Some of them have been published.

The emperor was fond of photography, he liked to watch movies. I also read serious works, especially on historical themes and entertainment literature. He smoked cigarettes with tobacco grown specially in Turkey (a gift from the Turkish Sultan).

On November 14, 1894, a significant event took place in the life of Nikolai - the marriage with the German princess Alice of Hesse, who, after the rite of baptism, took the name - Alexandra Feodorovna. They had 4 daughters - Olga (November 3, 1895), Tatyana (May 29, 1897), Maria (June 14, 1899) and Anastasia (June 5, 1901). And the long-awaited fifth child on July 30 (August 12), 1904 was the only son - Tsarevich Alexei.

May 14 (26), 1896 took place coronation of Nicholas II. In 1896 he made a trip to Europe, where he met with Queen Victoria (his wife's grandmother), Wilhelm II, Franz Joseph. The final stage of the trip was a visit by Nicholas II to the capital of the allied France.

His first personnel reshuffle was the fact of the dismissal of the Governor-General of the Kingdom of Poland Gurko I.V. and the appointment of A.B. Lobanov-Rostovsky as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

And the first major international action Nicholas II was the so-called Triple Intervention.

Having made huge concessions to the opposition at the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, Nicholas II made an attempt to unite Russian society against external enemies.

In the summer of 1916, after the situation at the front had stabilized, the Duma opposition teamed up with the generals' conspirators and decided to take advantage of the situation to overthrow Emperor Nicholas II.

They even called the date February 12-13, 1917, as the day the emperor abdicated from the throne. It was said that a “great act” would take place - the sovereign emperor would abdicate the throne, and the heir Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich would be appointed the future emperor, and it was Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich who would become regent.

On February 23, 1917, a strike began in Petrograd, which became general three days later. On February 27, 1917, in the morning, soldiers' uprisings took place in Petrograd and Moscow, as well as their association with the strikers.

The situation escalated after the proclamation of the manifesto Nicholas II February 25, 1917 on the termination of the meeting of the State Duma.

On February 26, 1917, the tsar gave an order to General Khabalov "to stop the riots, unacceptable in the difficult time of the war." General N.I. Ivanov was sent on February 27 to Petrograd with the aim of suppressing the uprising.

Nicholas II On February 28, in the evening, he went to Tsarskoe Selo, but could not pass, and, due to the loss of communication with Headquarters, he arrived in Pskov on March 1, where the headquarters of the armies of the Northern Front under the leadership of General Ruzsky was located.

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, the emperor decided to abdicate in favor of the Tsarevich under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, and in the evening of the same day, Nikolai announced to V. V. Shulgin and A. I. Guchkov about the decision to abdicate the throne for his son. March 2, 1917 at 23:40 Nicholas II handed over to Guchkov A.I. The renunciation manifesto, where he wrote: “We command our brother to rule the affairs of the state in complete and indestructible unity with the representatives of the people.”

Nikolai Romanov with his family from March 9 to August 14, 1917 he lived under arrest in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

In connection with the strengthening of the revolutionary movement in Petrograd, the Provisional Government decided to transfer the royal prisoners to the depths of Russia, fearing for their lives. After long disputes, Tobolsk was chosen as the city of settlement of the former emperor and his family. They were allowed to take personal belongings, necessary furniture with them and offer the attendants a voluntary escort to the place of the new settlement.

On the eve of his departure, A.F. Kerensky (head of the Provisional Government) brought the brother of the former tsar, Mikhail Alexandrovich. Mikhail was soon exiled to Perm and on the night of June 13, 1918 was killed by the Bolshevik authorities.

On August 14, 1917, a train set off from Tsarskoye Selo under the sign "Japanese Mission of the Red Cross" with members of the former imperial family. He was accompanied by a second squad, which included guards (7 officers, 337 soldiers).

The trains arrived in Tyumen on August 17, 1917, after which the arrested were taken on three ships to Tobolsk. The Romanov family settled in the governor's house, specially renovated for their arrival. They were allowed to go to worship at the local Church of the Annunciation. The regime of protection of the Romanov family in Tobolsk was much easier than in Tsarskoye Selo. The family led a measured, calm life.

The permission of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (All-Russian Central Executive Committee) of the fourth convocation to transfer Romanov and members of his family to Moscow for the purpose of holding a trial against them was received in April 1918.

On April 22, 1918, a convoy with machine guns of 150 people left Tobolsk for the city of Tyumen. On April 30, the train arrived in Yekaterinburg from Tyumen. To accommodate the Romanov family, a house was requisitioned, which belonged to the mining engineer Ipatiev. Lived in the same house service staff families: cook Kharitonov, doctor Botkin, room girl Demidova, lackey Trupp and cook Sednev.

To resolve the issue of the future fate of the imperial family in early July 1918, the military commissar F. Goloshchekin urgently left for Moscow. All-Russian Central Executive Committee and Council People's Commissars authorized the execution of all members of the Romanov family. After that, on July 12, 1918, on the basis of the decision taken, the Ural Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies at a meeting decided to execute royal family.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918 in Yekaterinburg, in the Ipatiev mansion, the so-called "House of Special Purpose", the former emperor of Russia was shot Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their children, Dr. Botkin and three servants (except for the cook).

The personal property of the former royal family of the Romanovs was looted.

Nicholas II and members of his family were canonized by the Catacomb Church in 1928.

In 1981, Nicholas was canonized by the Orthodox Church abroad, and in Russia the Orthodox Church canonized him as a martyr only 19 years later, in 2000.

In accordance with the decision of August 20, 2000 of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, princesses Maria, Anastasia, Olga, Tatiana, Tsarevich Alexei were canonized as holy new martyrs and confessors of Russia, revealed and unmanifested.

This decision was perceived by society ambiguously and was criticized. Some opponents of canonization believe that reckoning Nicholas II to the face of the saints is most likely a political character.

The result of all the events related to the fate of the former royal family was the appeal of the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Romanova, head of the Russian Imperial House in Madrid to the Prosecutor General's Office Russian Federation in December 2005, demanding the rehabilitation of the royal family, who was shot in 1918.

On October 1, 2008, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (Russian Federation) decided to recognize the last Russian emperor Nicholas II and members of the royal family as victims of illegal political repression and rehabilitated them.

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

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

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

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

The heir especially excelled in the study of foreign languages, therefore, in addition to English, he was fluent in French, German and Danish. After eight years of the general gymnasium program, Nicholas II began to be taught the necessary higher sciences for the future statesman, included in the course of the economic department of the Law University.

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

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

Ascension to the throne

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

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

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

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

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

Reign and abdication

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

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

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

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

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

Execution of Nicholas II and his family

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

After October revolution and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, headed by the royal family, were transported to Yekaterinburg and imprisoned in a "special purpose house". Then the Bolsheviks began hatching a plan litigation over the monarch, but Civil War prevented them from carrying out their plans.

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

Personal life and the royal family

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

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

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

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

Professor Sergei Mironenko on the personality and fatal mistakes of the last Russian emperor

In the year of the 100th anniversary of the revolution, talk about Nicholas II and his role in the tragedy of 1917 does not stop: the truth and myths in these conversations are often mixed. Scientific director of the State Archive of the Russian Federation Sergey Mironenko- about Nicholas II as a man, ruler, family man, martyr.

"Nicky, you're just some kind of Muslim!"

Sergei Vladimirovich, in one of your interviews you called Nicholas II "frozen". What did you mean? What was the emperor like as a person, as a person?

Nicholas II loved the theatre, opera and ballet, he loved physical exercise. He had unassuming tastes. He liked to drink a glass or two of vodka. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled that when they were young, he and Nicky once sat on a sofa and pushed with their feet, who would knock someone off the sofa. Or another example - a diary entry during a visit to relatives in Greece about how nicely they left oranges with cousin Georgie. He was already quite an adult young man, but something childish remained in him: leaving oranges, kicking his feet. Absolutely alive person! But still, it seems to me, he was so kind of ... not a daring, not “eh!”. You know, sometimes meat is fresh, and sometimes when it was first frozen, and then thawed, you know? In this sense - "frostbitten".

Sergei Mironenko
Photo: DP28

Restrained? Many noted that he very dryly described the terrible events in his diary: next to him was the shooting of the demonstration, and the lunch menu. Or that the emperor remained absolutely calm when receiving heavy news from the front Japanese war. What does this indicate?

In the imperial family, keeping a diary was one of the elements of education. A person was taught to write down what happened to him at the end of the day, and in this way to give an account of how you lived this day. If the diaries of Nicholas II are used for the history of the weather, then this would be a wonderful source. “Morning, so many degrees of frost, got up at so much.” Always! Plus or minus: "sunny, windy" - he always wrote it down.

Similar diaries were kept by his grandfather Emperor Alexander II. War Department published small commemorative books: each sheet is divided into three days, and so Alexander II managed all day, from the moment he got up to the moment he went to bed, to paint his whole day on such a small sheet. Of course, this was only a record of the formal side of life. Basically, Alexander II wrote down who he received, with whom he dined, with whom he dined, where he was, at a review or somewhere else, etc. Rarely-rarely something emotional breaks through. In 1855, when his father, Emperor Nicholas I, was dying, he wrote: “Such an hour. Last terrible torment. This is a different type of diary! And Nikolai's emotional assessments are extremely rare. In general, he seemed to be an introvert by nature.

- Today you can often see in the press a certain average image of Tsar Nicholas II: a man of noble aspirations, an exemplary family man, but a weak politician. How true is this image?

As for the fact that one image was established - this is wrong. There are diametrically opposed points of view. For example, academician Yuri Sergeevich Pivovarov claims that Nicholas II was a major, successful statesman. Well, you yourself know that there are many monarchists who bow before Nicholas II.

I think that this is just the right image: he really was a very good person, a wonderful family man and, of course, a deeply religious person. But as a politician, he was absolutely out of place, I would say so.

Coronation of Nicholas II

When Nicholas II ascended the throne, he was 26 years old. Why, despite a brilliant education, he was not ready to be king? And there is such evidence that he did not want accession to the throne, was he burdened by this?

Behind me are the diaries of Nicholas II, which we published: if you read them, everything becomes clear. He was actually a very responsible person, he understood all the burden of responsibility that fell on his shoulders. But, of course, he did not think that his father, Emperor Alexander III, would die at 49, he thought that he still had some time to spare. Nicholas was weighed down by the ministers' reports. Although one can treat Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich differently, I think he was absolutely right when he wrote about the features characteristic of Nicholas II. For example, he said that Nikolai was right in the one who came to him last. Various issues are being discussed, and Nikolai takes the point of view of the one who came into his office last. Maybe it was not always like this, but this is a certain vector that Alexander Mikhailovich speaks about.

Another trait of his is fatalism. Nicholas believed that since he was born on May 6, the day of Job the Long-suffering, he was destined to suffer. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich told him about this: “Niki (that was the name of Nicholas in the family) you're just some kind of muslim! We have the Orthodox faith, it gives free will, and your life depends on you, there is no such fatalistic destiny in our faith.” But Nicholas was sure that he was destined to suffer.

In one of your lectures, you said that he really had a lot of suffering. Do you think that this was somehow connected with his warehouse, mood?

You see, each person makes his own destiny. If you think from the very beginning that you are created to suffer, in the end, so it will be in life!

The most important misfortune, of course, is that they had a terminally ill child. This cannot be discounted. And it turned out literally immediately after birth: the umbilical cord of the Tsarevich was bleeding ... This, of course, frightened the family, they hid for a very long time that their child was sick with hemophilia. For example, the sister of Nicholas II, Grand Duchess Xenia, found out about this almost 8 years after the birth of the heir!

Then, difficult situations in politics - Nicholas was not ready to manage the vast Russian Empire in such a difficult period of time.

On the birth of Tsarevich Alexei

The summer of 1904 was marked by a joyful event, the birth of the unfortunate crown prince. Russia has been waiting for an heir for so long, and how many times has this hope turned into disappointment that his birth was greeted with enthusiasm, but the joy did not last long. Even in our house there was despondency. Uncle and aunt no doubt knew that the child was born with hemophilia, a disease that bleeds due to the inability of the blood to clot quickly. Of course, the parents quickly learned about the nature of their son's illness. One can imagine what a terrible blow this was to them; from that moment on, the character of the empress began to change, from painful experiences and constant anxiety Her health, both physical and mental, deteriorated.

- But after all, he was prepared for this from childhood, like any heir!

You see, cook - don't cook, and you can't discount a person's personal qualities. If you read his correspondence with his bride, who later became Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, you will see that he writes to her how he rode twenty miles and feels good, and she told him about how she was in church, how she prayed. Their correspondence shows everything from the very beginning! Do you know what he called her? He called her "owl", and she called him "calf". Even this detail gives a clear idea of ​​their relationship.

Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna

Initially, the family was against his marriage to the princess of Hesse. Can we say that Nicholas II showed character here, some strong-willed qualities, insisting on his own?

They didn't really mind. They wanted to marry him to a French princess - because of the turn that emerged in the early 90s of the XIX century foreign policy Russian Empire from an alliance with Germany, Austria-Hungary to an alliance with France. Alexander III also wanted to strengthen family ties with the French, but Nicholas categorically refused. little known fact- Alexander III and his wife Maria Feodorovna, when Alexander was still only the heir to the throne, became the godparents of Alice of Hesse - the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna: they were the godmother and father of the young! So there were still connections. Yes, and Nikolai wanted to marry at all costs.

- But he was still a follower?

Of course there was. You see, it is necessary to distinguish between stubbornness and will. Very often, weak-willed people are stubborn. I think that in a certain sense Nikolai was like that too. There are wonderful moments in their correspondence with Alexandra Fedorovna. Especially during the war, when she writes to him: “Be Peter the Great, be Ivan the Terrible!”, and then adds: “I see how you smile.” She writes to him “be”, but she herself perfectly understands that he cannot be, according to his temperament, the way his father was.

For Nikolai, his father has always been an example. He wanted, of course, to be like him, but he could not.

Dependence on Rasputin led Russia to destruction

- And how strong was the influence of Alexandra Feodorovna on the emperor?

Alexandra Fedorovna had a huge influence on him. And through Alexandra Fedorovna - Rasputin. And, by the way, relations with Rasputin became one of the rather strong catalysts for the revolutionary movement, general dissatisfaction with Nicholas. Even not so much the figure of Rasputin caused discontent, but the image of a dissolute old man created by the press, which influences political decision-making. Add to this the suspicion that Rasputin is a German agent, which was fueled by the fact that he was against the war with Germany. Rumors spread that Alexandra Feodorovna was also a German spy. In general, everything rolled along the well-known road, which led, in the end, to renunciation ...

Caricature of Rasputin

Pyotr Stolypin

- What other political mistakes have become fatal?

There were many. One of them is distrust of prominent statesmen. Nicholas could not save them, could not! The example of Stolypin is very indicative in this sense. Stolypin is truly an outstanding person. Outstanding not only and not so much because he uttered in the Duma those words that everyone is now repeating: "You need great upheavals, but we need a great Russia."

That's not why! But because he understood: the main brake in a peasant country is the community. And he firmly pursued a line of destruction of the community, and this was contrary to the interests of a fairly wide range of people. After all, when Stolypin arrived in Kyiv in 1911 as prime minister, he was already a lame duck. The issue of his resignation was resolved. He was killed, but the end of it political career came earlier.

There is no subjunctive mood in history, as you know. But I really want to dream. But what if Stolypin had been at the head of the government longer, if he had not been killed, if the situation had turned out differently, what would have happened? Would Russia have entered the war with Germany so recklessly, was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand worth getting involved in this world war?..

1908 Royal Village. Rasputin with the Empress, five children and a governess

However, I really want to use the subjunctive mood. The events taking place in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century seem so spontaneous, irreversible - the absolute monarchy has outlived its usefulness, and sooner or later what happened would happen, the personality of the tsar did not play a decisive role. This is wrong?

You know, this question, from my point of view, is useless, because the task of history is not to guess what would have happened if, but to explain why it happened this way and not otherwise. It has already happened. But why did it happen? After all, history has many paths, but for some reason it chooses one out of many, why?

Why did it happen that the previously very friendly, close-knit Romanov family (the ruling house of the Romanovs) turned out to be completely split by 1916? Nikolai and his wife were alone, and the whole family - I emphasize, the whole family - was against it! Yes, Rasputin played a role - the family split largely because of him. Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, tried to talk to her about Rasputin, it was useless to dissuade her! Nicholas's mother, Empress Dowager Maria Feodorovna, tried to speak, but to no avail.

In the end, it came to the Grand Duke's conspiracy. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, Nicholas II's favorite cousin, was involved in Rasputin's assassination. Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich wrote to Maria Feodorovna: "The hypnotist has been killed, now it's the turn of the hypnotized, she must disappear."

They all saw that this indecisive policy, this dependence on Rasputin, was leading Russia to destruction, but they could not do anything! They thought that they would kill Rasputin, and things would somehow get better, but they didn’t get better - everything had gone too far. Nikolai believed that relations with Rasputin were a private matter of his family, in which no one had the right to interfere. He did not understand that the emperor could not have private relations with Rasputin, that the matter had taken on a political turn. And he miscalculated cruelly, although one can understand him as a person. Therefore, personality is certainly of great importance!

About Rasputin and his murder
From memories Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

Everything that happened to Russia due to the direct or indirect influence of Rasputin can, in my opinion, be regarded as a vindictive expression of the dark, terrible, all-consuming hatred that burned for centuries in the soul of the Russian peasant in relation to the upper classes, who did not try to understand him or attract him to your side. Rasputin, in his own way, loved both the empress and the emperor. He felt sorry for them, as children feel sorry for those who have made a mistake through the fault of adults. They both liked his seeming sincerity and kindness. His speeches - they had never heard anything like it before - attracted them with their simple logic and novelty. The emperor himself strove for intimacy with his people. But Rasputin, who had no education and was not accustomed to such an environment, was spoiled by the boundless trust that his high patrons placed in him.

Emperor Nicholas II and Supreme Commander led. Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich during a review of the fortifications of the Przemysl fortress

Is there evidence that Empress Alexandra Feodorovna directly influenced her husband's specific political decisions?

Certainly! At one time there was such a book by Kasvinov “23 steps down”, about the murder of the royal family. So, one of the most serious political mistakes of Nicholas II was the decision to become the most supreme commander in 1915. It was, if you like, the first step towards renunciation!

- And only Alexandra Feodorovna supported this decision?

She convinced him! Alexandra Fedorovna was a very strong-willed, very smart and very cunning woman. What did she fight for? For the future of their son. She was afraid that Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich (commander-in-chief Russian army in 1914-1915 - ed.), who was very popular in the army, will deprive Nike of the throne and become emperor himself. Let us leave aside the question of whether this was actually the case.

But, believing in the desire of Nikolai Nikolaevich to take the Russian throne, the empress began to intrigue. “In this difficult time of trials, only you can lead the army, you must do it, this is your duty,” she persuaded her husband. And Nikolai succumbed to her persuasion, sent his uncle to command the Caucasian front and took command of the Russian army. He did not listen to his mother, who begged him not to take a disastrous step - she just perfectly understood that if he became commander in chief, all the failures at the front would be associated with his name; nor the eight ministers who wrote him a petition; nor State Duma Chairman Rodzianko.

The emperor left the capital, lived for months at headquarters, and as a result could not return to the capital, where a revolution took place in his absence.

Emperor Nicholas II and commanders of the fronts at a meeting of the Headquarters

Nicholas II at the front

Nicholas II with Generals Alekseev and Pustovoitenko at Headquarters

What kind of person was the empress? You said - strong-willed, smart. But at the same time, she gives the impression of a sad, melancholy, cold, closed person ...

I wouldn't say she was cold. Read their letters - after all, in letters a person opens up. She is a passionate, loving woman. A woman of power who fights for what she sees fit, fighting to ensure that the throne is passed to her son despite his terminal illness. You can understand her, but she, in my opinion, lacked the breadth of her vision.

We will not say why Rasputin acquired such influence over her. I am deeply convinced that the matter is not only in the sick Tsarevich Alexei, whom he helped. The fact is that the Empress herself needed a person who would support her in this hostile world for her. She arrived, shy, embarrassed, in front of her is the rather strong Empress Maria Feodorovna, whom the court loves. Maria Fedorovna loves balls, but Alix does not like balls. Petersburg society is accustomed to dancing, accustomed to, accustomed to having fun, and the new empress is a completely different person.

Nicholas II with his mother Maria Feodorovna

Nicholas II with his wife

Nicholas II with Alexandra Feodorovna

Gradually, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law gets worse and worse. And in the end it comes to a complete break. Maria Fedorovna, in her last diary before the revolution, in 1916, calls Alexandra Fedorovna only "fury". “This fury” - she can’t even write her name ...

Elements of the great crisis that led to the renunciation

- Nevertheless, Nikolai and Alexandra were a wonderful family, right?

Definitely a wonderful family! They sit, read books to each other, their correspondence is wonderful, tender. They love each other, they are spiritually close, physically close, they have wonderful children. Children are different, some of them are more serious, some, like Anastasia, more mischievous, some secretly smoke.

About the atmosphere in the family of Nikolai II and Alexandra Feodorovna
From the memoirs of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

The emperor and his wife were always tender in their relations with each other and children, and it was so pleasant to be in an atmosphere of love and family happiness.

At a costume ball. 1903

But after the assassination of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (Governor-General of Moscow, uncle of Nicholas II, husband of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna - ed.) in 1905, the family locks up in Tsarskoe Selo, no more - not a single big ball, the last big ball takes place in 1903, a costume ball, where Nikolai is in the costume of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Alexander is in the costume of the queen. And then they become more and more closed.

Alexandra Feodorovna did not understand much, did not understand the situation in the country. For example, failures in the war... When you are told that Russia almost won the First World War, do not believe it. A serious socio-economic crisis was growing in Russia. First of all, he manifested himself in the inability railways deal with traffic. It was impossible to simultaneously deliver food to big cities and carry military supplies to the front. Despite the railway boom that began under Witte in the 1880s, Russia had a poorly developed railway network compared to European countries.

Groundbreaking ceremony for the Trans-Siberian Railway

- Despite the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, for such big country was that not enough?

Absolutely! This was not enough, the railways could not cope. Why am I talking about this? When food shortages began in Petrograd, in Moscow, what does Alexandra Fyodorovna write to her husband? "Our Friend advises (Friend - so Alexandra Fedorovna called Rasputin in correspondence. - Ed.): order to attach one or two wagons with food to each echelon that goes to the front. To write this means to be completely unaware of what is happening. This is a search simple solutions, solutions to the problem, the roots of which do not lie in this at all! What is one or two carriages for the multi-million dollar Petrograd and Moscow?..

Yet it grew!

Prince Felix Yusupov, participant in the conspiracy against Rasputin

Two or three years ago we received the Yusupov archive - Viktor Fedorovich Vekselberg bought it and donated it State archive. This archive contains letters from the teacher Felix Yusupov in the Corps of Pages, who went with Yusupov to Rakitnoye, where he was exiled after participating in the murder of Rasputin. Two weeks before the revolution, he returned to Petrograd. And he writes to Felix, who is still in Rakitnoye: “Can you imagine that I haven’t seen or eaten a piece of meat in two weeks?” There is no meat! The bakeries are closed because there is no flour. And this is not the result of some malicious conspiracy, as they sometimes write about it, which is complete nonsense and nonsense. And evidence of the crisis that has gripped the country.

Milyukov, leader of the Kadet Party, speaks in State Duma- seems to be a wonderful historian, a wonderful person - but what does he say from the Duma rostrum? He throws accusations after accusations against the government, addressing them to Nicholas II, of course, and ends each passage with the words: “What is this? Stupidity or treason? The word "treason" has already been dropped.

It's always easy to blame your failures on someone else. It's not we who fight badly, it's treason! Rumors begin to circulate that from Tsarskoye Selo the empress has a direct gold cable laid to Wilhelm's headquarters, that she is selling state secrets. When she arrives at headquarters, the officers are defiantly silent in her presence. It's like a snowball growing! The economy, the railroad crisis, failures at the front, the political crisis, Rasputin, the family split - all these are elements of a great crisis, which eventually led to the abdication of the emperor and the collapse of the monarchy.

By the way, I am sure that those people who thought about the abdication of Nicholas II, and he himself, did not at all assume that this was the end of the monarchy. Why? Because they had no experience political struggle, did not understand that they do not change horses at the crossing! Therefore, the commanders of the fronts, as one, wrote to Nicholas that in order to save the Motherland and continue the war, he must abdicate the throne.

About the situation at the beginning of the war

From the memoirs of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

In the beginning, the war went well. Every day a crowd of Muscovites staged patriotic demonstrations in the square opposite our house. The people in the front rows held flags and portraits of the emperor and empress. With bare heads they sang National anthem, shouted words of approval and greetings and calmly dispersed. People took it as entertainment. Enthusiasm took on more and more violent forms, but the authorities did not want to prevent this expression of loyal feelings, people refused to leave the square and disperse. The last gathering turned into rampant drinking and ended with bottles and stones thrown at our windows. The police were called and lined up along the sidewalk to block access to our house. Excited cries and muffled murmurs of the crowd came from the street all night.

About the bomb in the temple and the changing moods

From the memoirs of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

On Easter Eve, when we were in Tsarskoye Selo, a conspiracy was uncovered. Two members of the terrorist organization, disguised as singers, tried to get into the choir, which sang at services in the palace church. Apparently, they planned to carry bombs under their clothes and detonate them in the church during the Easter service. The emperor, although he knew about the plot, went with his family to church as usual. Many people were arrested that day. Nothing happened, but it was the saddest service I have ever attended.

Abdication of the throne of Emperor Nicholas II.

There are still myths about the renunciation - that it had no legal force, or that the emperor was forced to abdicate ...

This just surprises me! How can you say such nonsense? You see, the renunciation manifesto was published in all the papers, in all! And in the year and a half that Nikolai lived after that, he never said: “No, they forced me, this is not my real renunciation!”

The attitude towards the emperor and empress in society is also “steps down”: from delight and devotion to ridicule and aggression?

When Rasputin was killed, Nicholas II was at headquarters in Mogilev, and the Empress was in the capital. What is she doing? Alexandra Fedorovna summons the Petrograd Chief of Police and orders the arrest of Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and Yusupov, participants in the murder of Rasputin. This caused an outburst of indignation in the family. Who is she?! What right does she have to order someone to be arrested? This proves 100% who rules with us - not Nikolai, but Alexandra!

Then the family (mother, grand dukes and grand duchesses) turned to Nikolai with a request not to punish Dmitry Pavlovich. Nikolay imposed a resolution on the document: “I am surprised by your appeal to me. No one is allowed to kill!" Decent answer? Of course yes! No one dictated this to him, he himself, from the depths of his soul, wrote it.

In general, Nicholas II as a person can be respected - he was an honest, decent person. But not too smart and without a strong will.

“I don’t feel sorry for myself, but I feel sorry for the people”

Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna

The phrase of Nicholas II is known after the abdication: "I do not feel sorry for myself, but I feel sorry for the people." He really rooted for the people, for the country. How well did he know his people?

I will give you an example from another area. When Maria Fedorovna married Alexander Alexandrovich and when they - then the Tsarevich and Tsesarevna - traveled around Russia, she described such a situation in her diary. She, who grew up in a rather poor but democratic Danish royal court, could not understand why her beloved Sasha did not want to communicate with the people. He does not want to leave the ship on which they traveled, to the people, he does not want to take bread and salt, he is absolutely not interested in all this.

But she arranged it so that he had to get off at one of the points of their route, where they landed. He did everything flawlessly: he received the foremen, bread and salt, charmed everyone. He came back and ... gave her a wild scandal: he stamped his feet, broke the lamp. She was horrified! Her sweet and beloved Sasha, who is throwing a kerosene lamp on the wooden floor, is about to burst into flames! She couldn't understand why? Because the unity of the king and the people was like a theater where everyone played their roles.

Even chronicle footage has been preserved of Nicholas II sailing away from Kostroma in 1913. People go into the water up to their chests, stretch their hands to him, this is the king-father ... and after 4 years these same people sing shameful ditties about both the king and the queen!

- The fact that, for example, his daughters were sisters of mercy, was it also a theater?

No, I think it was sincere. They were still deeply religious people, and, of course, Christianity and mercy are almost synonymous. The girls really were sisters of mercy, Alexandra Fedorovna really assisted in operations. Some of the daughters liked it, some didn't, but they were no exception among the imperial family, among the Romanovs. They gave their palaces for hospitals - there was a hospital in the Winter Palace, and not only the emperor's family, but also other grand duchesses. The men fought and the women did charity work. So mercy is just not ostentatious.

Princess Tatiana in the hospital

Alexandra Fedorovna - sister of mercy

Princesses with the wounded in the infirmary of Tsarskoye Selo, winter 1915-16

But in a sense, any court action, any court ceremony is a theater, with its own scenario, with its own actors and so on.

Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna in the hospital for the wounded

From the memoirs of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna

The Empress, who spoke Russian very well, made her rounds through the wards and talked for a long time with each patient. I walked behind and not so much listened to the words - she said the same thing to everyone - how much I watched the expression on their faces. Despite the sincere sympathy of the empress for the suffering of the wounded, something prevented her from expressing her true feelings and comforting those to whom she addressed. Although she spoke Russian correctly and almost without an accent, people did not understand her: her words did not find a response in their souls. They looked at her with fear when she approached and started a conversation. I visited hospitals with the emperor more than once. His visits looked different. The emperor behaved simply and charmingly. With his appearance, a special atmosphere of joy arose. Despite his small stature, he always seemed taller than everyone present and moved from bed to bed with extraordinary dignity. After a short conversation with him, the expression of anxious expectation in the eyes of the patients was replaced by a joyful animation.

1917 - This year marks the 100th anniversary of the revolution. How, in your opinion, should we talk about it, how should we approach the discussion of this topic? Ipatiev house

How was the decision to canonize them made? "Dug", as you say, weighed. After all, the commission did not immediately declare him a martyr, there were quite big disputes on this score. After all, it was not in vain that he was canonized as a martyr, as one who gave his life for the Orthodox faith. Not because he was an emperor, not because he was an outstanding statesman, but because he did not renounce Orthodoxy. Until your martyr's end royal family she constantly invited priests who served Mass, even in the Ipatiev House, not to mention Tobolsk. The family of Nicholas II was a deeply religious family.

- But even about canonization there are different opinions.

They were canonized as passion-bearers - what different opinions can there be?

Some insist that the canonization was hasty and politically motivated. What to say to this?

From the report of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly,Chairman of the Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints at the Bishops' Jubilee Council

... Behind the many sufferings endured by the Royal Family over the last 17 months of their lives, which ended with execution in the basement of the Yekaterinburg Ipatiev House on the night of July 17, 1918, we see people who sincerely strived to embody the commandments of the Gospel in their lives. In the suffering endured by the Royal Family in captivity with meekness, patience and humility, in their martyrdom, the light of Christ's faith conquering evil was revealed, just as it shone in the life and death of millions of Orthodox Christians who suffered persecution for Christ in the 20th century. It is in understanding this feat of the Royal Family that the Commission, in complete unanimity and with the approval of the Holy Synod, finds it possible to glorify in the Cathedral of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia in the face of the Passion-Bearers Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, Tsarevich Alexy, Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatyana, Maria and Anastasia.

- How do you generally assess the level of discussions about Nicholas II, about the imperial family, about 1917 today?

What is a discussion? How can you argue with the ignorant? In order to say something, a person must know at least something, if he does not know anything, it is useless to discuss with him. About the royal family and the situation in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century last years there was so much garbage. But what is pleasing is that there are also very serious works, for example, studies by Boris Nikolaevich Mironov, Mikhail Abramovich Davydov, which are engaged in economic history. So Boris Nikolayevich Mironov has a wonderful work, where he analyzed the metric data of people who were called up for military service. When a person was called up for service, his height, weight, and so on were measured. Mironov was able to establish that in the fifty years that have passed since the liberation of the serfs, the growth of conscripts has increased by 6-7 centimeters!

- That is, they began to eat better?

Certainly! Live better! But what did Soviet historiography talk about? "The exacerbation, beyond the ordinary, of the needs and calamities of the oppressed classes," "relative impoverishment," "absolute impoverishment," and so on. In fact, as I understand it, if you believe the works that I named - and I have no reason not to believe them - the revolution did not come about because people began to live worse, but because, paradoxically as it sounds, what is better began to live! But everyone wanted to live even better. The situation of the people even after the reform was extremely difficult, the situation was terrible: the working day was 11 hours, terrible working conditions, but in the countryside they began to eat better, dress better. There was a protest against the slow movement forward, we wanted to go faster.

Sergei Mironenko.
Photo: Alexander Bury / russkiymir.ru

They don't look for good from good, in other words? Sounds menacing...

Why?

Because one involuntarily wants to draw an analogy with our days: over the past 25 years, people have learned that it is possible to live better ...

They don't look for good from good, yes. For example, the Narodnaya Volya revolutionaries who killed Alexander II, the liberator Tsar, were also dissatisfied. Although he is the king-liberator, he is indecisive! He does not want to go further in the reforms - he needs to be pushed. If he doesn't go, he must be killed, those who oppress the people must be killed... You can't fence yourself off from this. We need to understand why this all happened. I do not advise you to draw analogies with today, because analogies are usually erroneous.

Usually today they repeat something else: the words of Klyuchevsky that history is a warden who punishes for ignorance of her lessons; that those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat its mistakes...

Of course, one must know history not only in order not to make the same mistakes. I think the main thing for which you need to know your history is in order to feel like a citizen of your country. Without knowing your own history, you cannot be a citizen, in literally this word.

Reign of Nicholas II (briefly)

Reign of Nicholas II (briefly)

Nicholas II, the son of Alexander III, was the last emperor of the Russian Empire and ruled from May 18, 1868 to July 17, 1918. He was able to get a wonderful education, was fluent in several foreign languages, and was also able to rise to the rank of colonel in the Russian army, field marshal and admiral of the fleet of the British army. Nicholas had to take the throne after the sudden death of his father. At that time, the young man was twenty-six years old.

From childhood, Nicholas was prepared for the role of the future ruler. In 1894, a month after the death of his father, he marries the German princess Alice of Hesse, later known as Alexandra Feodorovna. Two years later, the official coronation took place, which took place in mourning, because due to the huge crush, many people died who wanted to see the new emperor with their own eyes.

The emperor had five children (four daughters and a son). Despite the fact that doctors discovered hemophilia in Alexei (son), he, like his father, was prepared to rule the Russian Empire.

During the reign of Nicholas II, Russia was in the stage of economic ascension, but the political situation inside the country worsened every day. It was the failure of the emperor as a ruler that led to internal unrest. As a result, after the dispersal of the workers' rally on January 9, 1905 (this event is also known as "Bloody Sunday"), the state was on fire with revolutionary sentiments. The revolution of 1905-1907 took place. The result of these events is the nickname among the people of the king, whom people dubbed Nicholas "Bloody".

In 1914, the First World War began, which had a negative impact on the state of Russia and aggravated the already unstable political situation. The unsuccessful military operations of Nicholas II lead to the fact that in 1917 an uprising begins in Petrograd, the result of which was the abdication of the king from the throne.

In the early spring of 1917, the entire royal family was taken under arrest, and later sent into exile. The execution of the whole family took place on the night of the sixteenth to the seventeenth of July.

Here are the main reforms during the reign of Nicholas II:

· Management: formed the State Duma, and the people received civil rights.

· Military reform, carried out after the defeat in the war with Japan.

· Agrarian reform: land was assigned to private peasants, not to communities.

Today marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian emperor. Although a lot has been written about Nicholas II, much of what has been written refers to "folk fiction", delusions.

The king was modest in dress. unpretentious

Nicholas II was remembered by the many surviving photographic materials as an unpretentious man. In food, he was really unpretentious. He loved fried dumplings, which he often ordered while walking on his favorite yacht Shtandart. The king kept fasts and generally ate moderately, tried to keep himself in shape, so he preferred simple food: cereals, rice cutlets and pasta with mushrooms.

Among the guards officers, the snack "nikolashka" was a success. Her recipe is attributed to Nicholas II. Powdered sugar was mixed with ground coffee, this mixture was sprinkled with a slice of lemon, which was used to eat a glass of cognac.

With regard to clothing, the situation was different. The wardrobe of Nicholas II in the Alexander Palace alone consisted of several hundred items. military uniform and civilian clothing: frock coats, uniforms of guards and army regiments and overcoats, cloaks, sheepskin coats, shirts and underwear made in the capital's Nordenstrem workshop, hussar mentic and dolman, in which Nicholas II was on his wedding day. When receiving foreign ambassadors and diplomats, the tsar put on the uniform of the state where the envoy came from. Often, Nicholas II had to change clothes six times a day. Here, in the Alexander Palace, a collection of cigarette cases collected by Nicholas II was kept.

It must be admitted, however, that out of the 16 million allocated per year for the royal family, the lion's share went to the payment of benefits for employees of the palaces (one Winter Palace served a staff of 1200 people), to support the Academy of Arts (the royal family was a trustee, so they bore the costs) and other needs.

The spending was serious. The construction of the Livadia Palace cost the Russian treasury 4.6 million rubles, 350 thousand rubles a year were spent on the royal garage, and 12 thousand rubles a year for photographing.

This is taking into account the fact that the average expenditure of households in the Russian Empire at that time was about 85 rubles per capita per year.

Each Grand Duke was also entitled to an annual annuity of two hundred thousand rubles. Each of the Grand Duchesses was given a dowry of one million rubles upon marriage. At birth, a member of the imperial family received a capital of one million rubles.

The Tsar Colonel personally went to the front and led the armies

Many photographs have been preserved where Nicholas II takes the oath, arrives at the front and eats from the field kitchen, where he is "the father of the soldiers." Nicholas II really loved everything military. He practically did not wear civilian clothes, preferring uniforms.

It is generally accepted that the emperor himself led the actions of the Russian army in. However, it is not. The generals and the military council decided. Several factors influenced the improvement of the situation at the front with the assumption of command by Nikolai. Firstly, by the end of August 1915, the Great Retreat was stopped, the German army suffered from stretched communications, and secondly, the situation was also affected by the change of the commanders-in-chief of the General Staff - Yanushkevich to Alekseev.

Nicholas II really went to the front, loved to live in Headquarters, sometimes with his family, often took his son with him, but never (unlike his cousins ​​George and Wilhelm) approached the front line closer than 30 kilometers. The emperor accepted IV degree shortly after a German plane flew over the horizon during the arrival of the king.

On domestic politics the absence of the emperor in St. Petersburg had a bad effect. He began to lose influence on the aristocracy and the government. This proved fertile ground for intra-corporate splits and indecision during the February Revolution.

From the emperor's diary on August 23, 1915 (the day he assumed the duties of the Supreme High Command): "Slept well. The morning was rainy: in the afternoon the weather improved and it became quite warm. At 3.30 he arrived at his Headquarters, one verst from the mountains. Mogilev. Nikolasha was waiting for me. After talking with him, he accepted the gene. Alekseev and his first report. Everything went well! After drinking tea, I went to inspect the surrounding area. The train stops in a small dense forest. Dined at 7½. Then I took another walk, the evening was excellent.

The introduction of gold security is the personal merit of the emperor

It is customary to refer to the economically successful reforms that Nicholas II carried out as the monetary reform of 1897, when the gold backing of the ruble was introduced in the country. However, preparations for monetary reform began as early as the mid-1880s, under the finance ministers Bunge and Vyshnegradsky, during the reign.

The reform was a forced means of avoiding credit money. can be considered its author. The tsar himself avoided resolving monetary issues; by the beginning of World War I, Russia's external debt was 6.5 billion rubles, only 1.6 billion were secured with gold.

Made personal "unpopular" decisions. Often in defiance of the Duma

It is customary to say about Nicholas II that he personally carried out reforms, often in defiance of the Duma. However, in fact, Nicholas II rather "did not interfere." He didn't even have a personal secretariat. But under him, well-known reformers were able to develop their abilities. Such as Witte and. At the same time, relations between the two "second politicians" were far from idyllic.

Sergei Witte wrote about Stolypin: "No one has destroyed even the semblance of justice as he, Stolypin, and that's all, accompanied by liberal speeches and gestures."

Pyotr Arkadyevich did not lag behind. Witte, dissatisfied with the results of the investigation about the attempt on his life, he wrote: “From your letter, Count, I must draw one conclusion: either you consider me an idiot, or you find that I am also participating in the attempt on your life ... ".

About the death of Stolypin, Sergei Witte wrote succinctly: "Killed."

Nicholas II personally never wrote detailed resolutions, he limited himself to marginal notes, most often he simply put a “reading mark”. He sat on official commissions no more than 30 times, always on extraordinary occasions, the emperor's remarks at meetings were brief, he chose one side or another in the discussion.

The Hague court is a brilliant "brainchild" of the king

It is believed that the Hague International Court was the brilliant brainchild of Nicholas II. Yes, indeed the Russian Tsar was the initiator of the First Hague Peace Conference, but he was not the author of all its decisions.

The most useful thing that the Hague Convention was able to do concerned military laws. Thanks to the agreement, the prisoners of war of the First World War were kept in acceptable conditions, they could contact the house, they were not forced to work; sanitary posts were protected from attacks, the wounded were cared for, the civilian population was not subjected to mass violence.

But in reality, the Permanent Court of Arbitration has not brought much benefit in its 17 years of operation. Russia did not even approach the Chamber during the Japanese crisis, and so did the other signatories. “Turned into a zilch” and the Convention on the Peaceful Settlement of International Issues. The Balkans broke out in the world, and then the First World War.

The Hague does not influence international affairs even today. Few of the heads of state of world powers appeal to the international court.

Grigory Rasputin had a strong influence on the king

Even before the abdication of Nicholas II, rumors began to appear among the people about excessive influence on the king. According to them, it turned out that the state was controlled not by the tsar, not by the government, but personally by the Tobolsk "elder".

Of course, this was far from true. Rasputin had influence at court, and was well received into the emperor's house. Nicholas II and the Empress called him “our friend” or “Gregory”, and he called them “dad and mother”.

However, Rasputin still exerted influence on the empress, while government decisions were made without his participation. Thus, it is well known that Rasputin opposed Russia's entry into the First World War, and even after Russia's entry into the conflict, he tried to convince the royal family to go to peace negotiations with the Germans.

Most of the (grand dukes) supported the war with Germany and focused on England. For the last separate peace between Russia and Germany threatened with defeat in the war.

Do not forget that Nicholas II was a cousin of both the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the brother of the British King George V. Rasputin also performed an applied function at court - he relieved the suffering of the heir Alexei. A circle of exalted admirers really formed around him, but Nicholas II did not belong to them.

Didn't abdicate

One of the most enduring misconceptions is the myth that Nicholas II did not abdicate, and the abdication document is a fake. It really has a lot of oddities: it was written on a typewriter on telegraph forms, although there were pens and writing paper on the train where Nicholas abdicated on March 15, 1917. Supporters of the version about the falsification of the renunciation manifesto cite the fact that the document was signed with a pencil.

There is just nothing strange about this. Nikolai signed many documents with a pencil. Another strange thing. If this is really a fake and the tsar did not renounce, he should have written at least something about it in his correspondence, but there is not a word about this. Nicholas abdicated for himself and his son in favor of his brother, Mikhail Alexandrovich.

The diary entries of the tsar's confessor, rector of the Fedorovsky Cathedral, Archpriest Athanasius Belyaev, have been preserved. In a conversation after confession, Nicholas II told him: “... And now, alone, without a close adviser, deprived of liberty, like a caught criminal, I signed an act of renunciation both for myself and for my son’s heir. I decided that if it is necessary for the good of the motherland, I am ready for anything. I'm sorry for my family!".

The very next day, March 3 (16), 1917, Mikhail Alexandrovich also abdicated, transferring the decision on the form of government to the Constituent Assembly.

Yes, the manifesto was obviously written under pressure, and it was not Nicholas himself who wrote it. It is unlikely that he himself would have written: "There is no sacrifice that I would not make in the name of a real good and for the salvation of my dear Mother Russia." However, there was a formal renunciation.

Interestingly, the myths and cliches about the abdication of the king largely came from the book of Alexander Blok " Last days imperial power." The poet enthusiastically accepted the revolution and became the literary editor of the Extraordinary Commission for the affairs of the former tsarist ministers. That is, he literally processed the verbatim records of interrogations.

Against the creation of the role of the tsar-martyr, young Soviet propaganda carried out active agitation. Its effectiveness can be judged from the diary of the peasant Zamaraev (he kept it for 15 years), preserved in the museum of the city of Totma Vologda region. The head of a peasant is full of cliches imposed by propaganda:

“Romanov Nikolai and his family have been deposed, they are all under arrest and receive all the food on an equal basis with others on the cards. Indeed, they did not at all care about the welfare of their people, and the patience of the people burst. They brought their state to hunger and darkness. What was going on in their palace? This is terrible and shameful! It was not Nicholas II who ruled the state, but the drunkard Rasputin. All the princes were replaced and dismissed from their posts, including the commander-in-chief Nikolai Nikolaevich. Everywhere in all cities there is a new administration, there is no old police.”