Figure 1.--Nicolas II with his parents in 18??. Like most European boys from wealthy families, he wore resses as a small child. |
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Nicholas II, the last Russian Emperor, was the eldest son of Alexander III and was born on May 6, 1868. Nicholas was born on the Alexander Palace, as the eldest son of Tsar Alexander III and Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, of the House of Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp, in the small town of Tsarskoe Selo ("The Tsar's Village" in Russian), near St. Petersburg. Nicholas and his siblings were brought up very simply. They were brought up in the Imperial Palace of Gatchina, their father's favorite residence. Despite the palace having 900 rooms, their quarters were located on the mezzanine level, firstly destinated for servants. They slept in army camp beds without pillows or mats and they took cold showers every morning. Their father didn't want them spoiled. Being Tsarevitch and as a rule in the family of a Tsar, Nicholas was brought up by tutors and private teachers, the best of their time. Nicholas and his siblings attended classes in separate rooms but the same curriculum was given. Nicholas ascended the throne after the untimely death of his father on October 20, 1894, and was crowned on May 14, 1896. Nicholas was only 28 years old and probably not yet read for the emense responsinbilties he faced. According to contemporaries, Nicholas was gentle and approachable. Those who met him easily forgot that they were face to face with the Emperor. In private life, he was undemanding but had contradictions in his character, tending to weakness and inconsistency. A stubborn supporter of the right of the sovereign, despite
growing pressure for revolution, he did not give way on a single issue, even when common sense and circumstances demanded it. Nicholas married the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig of Hessen, Alice Victoria Eleanor Louisa Beatrice (Alexandra Feodorovna). The story of Nicholas and Alexander is one of the great love stories of the 20th Century. The two were devoted to each other throughout their lives. They had five children. The youngest child, Alexis Nicolaievich, was born August 12, 1904. The Czarevich Alexei suffered from hemophilia and was a permanent invalid. There were four daughters. Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The First World War sealed the fate of Nicholas and his family. Without the War, Russia may have been able to have evolved into a democratic government. It would have been difficult, but not impossible. The War made such a transition virtually impossible. Horendous losses were suffered in World War I, which Russia entered on the Allied side on August 1, 1914. Russian participation forced the Germans to divide their forces, probably saving France on the western front. Russia's loss of territory, massive casualties and confusion at home were the main reasons for the Second Russian Revolution in February 1917. Nicholas II abdicated on March 2, 1917, in favor of his brother Michael. Lenin ordered them to be shot on July 17, 1918. The bodies were hidden and have only recently been found and identified. They were given a Christian burial in 199?. A good-hearted man, he was not capable of guiding his huge empire into the modern world and the disaster of World War I.
Alexander was the second son of Alexander II. He was born in St. Petersburg on February
26, 1845. Alexander III became official heir to the throne after the death of his elder
brother, Nicholas, in 1865. He came to the throne on March 1, 1881, at the age 36 after
the assassination of his father and was crowned in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow
Kremlin on May 15, 1883. Alexander III's reign coincided with an industrial revolution in
Russia and the strengthening of capitalism. His domestic policy was particularly harsh,
directed not only against revolutionaries but other liberal movements. Fearing an attempt on
his life, he refused to live in the Winter Palace; instead, he lived away from St. Petersburg in Gatchina, the palace of his great-grandfather, Paul I, which was designed like a medieval fortress surrounded by ditches and watchtowers. He married the Danish Princess Dagmar (Maria Feodorovna) and had six children. Alexander was a mountain of a man and
renowed throughout Russia for his strength and vigor.Alexander III died on October 20,
1894, in Livadia, Crimea, and was buried in the Cathedral of the St. Peter and St. Paul
Fortress in St. Petersburg. I have no information yet on his childhood or how he was
dressed as a boy, but am attempting to obtain some.
Prince Dagmar was the daughter of Christian IX. The princess grew up in frugal circumstances. She was very close to her sister Alexandra who married the future
Edward VII. Both girls were beautiful, perhaps why princes from such a small country married into two of the leading European families. Dagmar "Marie" was born in 1847. She was not as beautiful as her older sister Alexandra, the future Princess of Wales, to whom she was very close. Dagmar had large eyes and a wide smile. She had a tiny girl, but slender and ellegant. She was not as beautiful as her eldest sister Alexandra, the future Princess of Wales, to whom she was very attached, but she had large eyes and a wide smile on her livelier and engaging face. She had a tiny figure, but slender and ellegant. Dagmar
became engaged to the eldest son of Tsar Alexander II of Russia, the Tsarevitch Nicholas, in the summer of 1864 during the war with Prussia and Austria. Nicholas
was a handsome, but delicate young man. He was well-read and the two became deeply attached. Nicholas did not have a strong constitution and contracted
bronchitis. He was sent to the souther France to recuperate, but his condition deterriorated. Dagmar came from Denmark to visit his fiance but Nicholas died some
days later. She then found herself in the compromising position of bethroting the new Tsarevitch, Nicholas's brother. Alexander was the complete opposite of his
delicate older brother. He was a bear of a man broad shoulders that towered over Dagmar. More importantly, he was poorly read and had a rigid mind. Dagmar
had a great sense of her family duty. Denmark needed powerfull allies. She thus accepted engagement to Alexander, without caring about his appearence, because it
was convenient for Denmark. She mairred the future Tsar Alexander III Alexandrovich in 1866 and became Tsarina. They had six children. The oldest became Tsar
Nicholas II, the last Tsar who was murdered by the Bolshevicks in 1918. Dasgemar died in Copenhagen in 1928.
The Imperail family was in many ways a protypical Victorain family, but towered over by the pesence of Czar Alexander--a larger than life presence.
After the birth of Nicholas, the Imperial family grew rapidly in size. The next baby, Alexander, born in 1869, unfortunaltely died before he was 12 months old. Then George was born, in 1871, followed by Xenia, in 1875, Michael, in 1878, and finally Olga, in 1882. George and Xenia became Nicholas's playmates in childhood games.
Despite Alexander being both a good husband and father, he dominated his family like the very incarnation of the proverbial Russian bear--as he dominated his Empire. Because of his preoccupation in ruling the country, it was Maria who looked after the children and served as a buffer between them and their father. Alexander was so fearsome and strong that he sometimes freightened his own children as he sometimes did his subjects.
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Nicholas stood in awe of his father, Tsar Alexander III. The Tsar was a giant of a man--especially imposing to a small child raised in an austere, but loving Victorian family. The Tsar was renowned in Russia for his strength and vigor. Nicholas wanted to, but could not match is father's reputation, even as he got older. Matching his physical presence, the Tsar was a very domineering father.
Nicholas and his siblings were brought up very simply. They were brought up in the
Imperial Palace of Gatchina, their father's favorite residence. Despite the palace having
900 rooms, their quarters were located on the mezzanine level, firstly destinated for
servants. They slept in army camp beds without pillows or mats and they took cold
showers every morning. Their father didn't want them spoiled. They were also trained in
outdoor games as a indispensable component of their everyday life, for their future benefit.
They were offered pets such as dogs, birds or rabbits and they had to take care of them
themselves.
The entire family was very religious. Their favorite holiday was Easter and the children
helped the parents making Easter eggs. Also, since Orthodox Easter is celebrated more
lavishly and democratically than its western equivalent, the entire family exchanged the
traditional Russian "three kiss salutation" among them and with their friends, servants and
guards.
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The family possessed many traditions and shared pastimes. All members of the family loved
reading, specially in the evenings, with Nicholas' father reading alound, and the birthdays
were moments of great fun, with the children preparing gifts in secret. The children also loved to cut pictures from English and French magazines and past them on walls and corridors of the family's palaces. These pictures featured famous people, ceremonies and monuments. In
those moments of fun, Nicholas developed a sense of diligence and self organization that
would help him very much in the future. When he was Tsar, during his long hours in his
working study occupied with affaires of state, he managed it all without a secretary. He real all the correspondence, he replied to all the letters personally and he sealed the envelopes
himself.
Being Tsarevitch and as a rule in the family of a Tsar, Nicholas was brought up by tutors and private teachers, the best of their time. Nicholas and his siblings attended classes in separate rooms but the same curriculum was given, over a 13 year span. During the first years, they learned Russian, English, French, German, Religion and Natural History. They had also Calligraphy, Drawing, Dancing and Music. Later, it was included Chemistry, Phisics, Geography, Biology, History and fundaments of Mineralogy. They were also
trained in riding and fencing. Foreign languages were given special attention.
Nicholas was a good, if unimagnitive student. Nicholas's English was so good that he could have fouled an Oxford teacher. His German was understandable and he could even speak Danish relatively well, very possibly due to his mother's influence. His memory was excellent and, as a way to induce a well organized and practical life, he was taught to keep a diary. He recorded every event like the weather, the number of birds he had shot and the people he had walked or dined. His diary was very similar to his English cousin's, George, Prince of Wales, later King George V of England,
with almost the same events, written in a monotonous and unpretencious way, like a
catalogue. Ironically, Nicholas's diary was used by many people to show a negative image
of him, while his cousin's diary was praised for the revelation of his honest character.
But the heavy study schedule also offered fun and relaxation and sometimes the Imperial family would leave the city of St. Petersburg and go to the Imperial Estate of Gatchina. They played and worked in the gardens and, in winter, they went skiing and sledging down the
hills full of snow. Meanwhile, Nicholas always had a good sense of humour. He and his
siblings played many pranks to the tutors but overall relations were friendly. His English tutor was mentioned many times in his diaries and he sent him his best regards whenever any opportunity arouse.
Due to this very extensive educational background, Nicholas was very well read and cultured and was, perhaps, one of the best educated monarchs of his time. He read Russian, English and French authors, all in the original. After he became Tsar, Nicholas built a huge and library which was kept on the Winter Palace.
Nicholas' education, while extensive was not broad. His education excluded a critical assessment of the liberal ideas that were sweeping Western Europe. His education was limited to subjects deemed appropriate by his autocratic father and his advisers. He
was thus not exposed to ideas and influences outside of the narrow range of the Imperial court. He never attended schools with other boys and was not exposed to the ideas and problems of middle class Russians--let alone those of workers and serfs. Thus despite his education, he was illprepared to guide Russia
into the 20th Century. A critical failure that doomed Nicholas, his family and millions of Russians
One possibly liberating influence from the Imperial court was Nicholas' family background. He was the grandson of the King of Denmark and the nephew of King Edward VII of England and Kaiser Willhelm II of Germany. Alexander was a granddaughter of
Queen Victoria. Liberal ideas had penetrated many of the Western European
monarchies. The family ties, however, seem to have had little
impact on Nicholas after he became Tsar.
Nicholas fell in love with the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig of Hessen, Alice Victoria Eleanor Louisa Beatrice (Alexandra Feodorovna). Her mother was Queen Victoria's second daughter, Princess Allice. The story of Nicholas and Alexander is one of the great love stories of the 20th Century. A potential mattiage offered strong ties to both the German and English royal families, but more than anything else, it was a true love match between the two.
The Tsarevitch Nicholas had been in love with Princess Alix for some time. She hesitated, in part because a conversion to Orthodoxy would be required, but finally consented. [Battiscombe, pp. 204-205.] Nicholas became Tsar in 1894 after the untimely death of his father, Alexander III, who died from Bright's disease at only 49. Tsar Alexander's death and Tsar Nicholas' marriage took place at almost the same time, casting a palor of gloom over the ceremonies. The story of Nicholas and Alexander is one of the great love stories of the 20th Century. The two were devoted to each other throughout their lives. They had five children. The youngest child, Alexis Nicolaievich, was born August 12, 1904. The Czarevich Alexei suffered from hemophilia and was a permanent invalid. There were four daughters:
Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia. The two were devoted to each other throughout their lives. They had five children. The youngest child, Alexis Nicolaievich, was born August 12, 1904. The Czarevich Alexei suffered from hemophilia and was a permanent invalid. There were four daughters. Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.
Nicholas ascended the throne after the untimely death of his father on October 20, 1894, and was crowned on May 14, 1896. Nicholas was only 28 years old and probably not yet ready for the emense responsinbilties he faced. The coronation ceremony in Moscow was overshadowed by a catastrophe on Khodynskoe Field, where more than a thousand spectators were crushed to death.
According to contemporaries, Nicholas was gentle and approachable. Those who met him easily forgot that they were face to face with the Emperor. In private life, he was undemanding but had contradictions in his character, tending to weakness and inconsistency. A stubborn supporter of the right of the sovereign, despite growing pressure for revolution, he did not give way on a single issue, even when common sense and circumstances demanded it. He struggled desperately to hold on to power during both the 1905 and 1917 revolutions. Freedoms accorded to people in his manifesto of October 17, 1905, were soon annulled. He was not the most competent of political leaders, and his ministers were almost uniformly reactionaries. Nicholas II in foreign policy issues took steps to stabilize the international situation, initiating two
peace congresses at The Hague. During his reign, Russia was
involved in two wars. In 1904-5, the country suffered a
disastrous defeat by Japan--400,000 men were killed, wounded
or captured, and material losses were valued at 2.5-billion
gold rubles.
Perhaps the most important personal relationship at the turn of the 20th century was that between Tsar Nicholas and Kaiser Wilhelm. There were no real terrotorial or philosphical disputes that divided their two countries. There was no reason to believe that the two countries would wage a war that would destrouy both empires. In fact the two shared a common interest in maintaining the European system largely conducted by monarchy. I am not sure when the two first met. They even had family ties. In fact they were cousins. Wilhelm was a second cousin to Nicholas' father. (Wilhelm's mother was the aunt of Tsarina Alexandra.) A more distant common ancestor was King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia (1770-1840). I am not sure when Nicholas and Wilhelm frst mey. Wilhelm had even closer ties with the British royal family, being the grand son of Queen Victoria. Wilhelm had caused trouble as a little boy and increasinly alienated his English relatives as he got older--even his rather pro-German grandmother. I'm less sure about his behavior with his Russian relatives. W do know that it was Kaiser Wilhelm who after dismissing Bismarck allowed the treaty with Russia to lapse, prfoundly altering the European ballance of power. The two men met several times as adults. One of the most notable
was at Björkö. Kaiser Wihelm had convinced himself that his uncle (King Edward VII of England) had engineered a system of treaties surrounding Germany. He also considered himself a skilled diplomat and that his personal diplomacy could undo this, In particular he believed his personal relationship with his cousin Tsar Nicholas could prevent war between the two empires. The two met at Björkö (1905). It was in fact a personal meeting, but the two concluded a treaty of alliance without any consultation with their governments. Both governments rejected it.
The two also met at Swinemünde, a German Baltic-coast spa town. Kaiser Wilhelm visited the town regularly from 1882 soon after becoming kaiser. It was here he Tsar Nicholas in a well publicized meeting (August 4, 1907). There was much talk in the press of the meeting. Some journalists felt that the meeting would resolve political issues and ensure European peace for decades. Wilhelm arrived aboard the the white imperial yacht Hohenzollern. Nicholas asrrived aboard the black Kronstadt.
As was the custom of European royalty, the two emperors wore each other's uniforms. Wilhelm wore the uniform of a Cossack colonel. Nicholas wore the uniform of a Prussian dragoon colonel. They both swore eternal friendship and at night two letters were lit bright in the night sky--N and W.
It is probably true that Wilhelm and Nicholas got on better personally than Wilhelm got on wuth his Uncle Edward VII. This is probably because the family ties between Wilhelm and Edward were closer and as result the two had more opportunities to irritate each other than did Wilhelm and Nicholas.
In the days leading up to World War I, the two exchanged telegrams in a vain attempt to avoid war--the famous Dear Nikki and Willi telegrams. Nicholas wanted to only mobilise against Austria-Hungary, but is generals explained that this was impossible. He thus ordered a general mobilisation (meanig against Germany as well as Austria-Hungary). The two attempted to renew the "personal diplomacy" of Björkö. They tried to avoid war with Russia by an exchange of telegrams with Nicholas II in the lNicholas assured Wilhelm in a telegram that the mobilisation was NOT against Germany. This was unacceptable to Wilhelm and his ministers. Thus the the telegrams proved futile and Wilhelm ordered the activization of the Schlieffen Plan launching World War I.
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Nicholas and Alexandra were deeply in love. Whatever the political failings of the Tsar and the Tsarina's aristocratic outlook, in purely personal terms the two were extremely close. They had five children, four girls and a finally a boy. The girls were: Olga (1895), Tatiana (1897), Maria (1899), and Anastasia (1901). We do not know much about the four girls. Of the four, Anastasia is best known, primarily because after they were killed by the Bolshevicks (1918), an imposter appeared claiming to be the Grand Duchess. Four girls in a row, however, healthy were a major political concern. Nicholas was by all accounts a loving and devoted father. A boy was needed, however, to perpetuate the family line. Thus there was considerable relief when Alexis finally arrived (1904).
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Following the jubilation over Alexi's arrival (August 12, 1904) was the discovery that Alexi was afflicted with hemophilia. This disease is transmitted genetically and prevents blood from clotting properly. This meant that a person could easily die from a minor bruise, something that all children experience. Doctors at the time had no medicl treatment for it. As a result, most people with hemophilia at the time died in infancy or early childhood. Nicholas and Alexandra after learning of the disease decided to keep it a family secret. Here the decession was based on the increasing unpopularity of the monarchy as well as concern that Alexi's place in the line of secession might be questioned if the severity of his condition was known. Alexi almost died as an infant. Alexi was very cloesly looked after by his nurses and the sailor Clement Nagorny looked after the Tsarevich bginning in early childhood. As Alexi got older he became very frustrated with this. Frustrated by the inability of her doctors to help Alexi, Alexandra turned to a Siberia peasant monk. Uneducated and crude beyond belief, Grigori Rasputin was also a mystic that seemed to have somehow saved Alexi, or at least appeared to have done so in Alexandra's eyes. Some bekieve that Rasputin's secret with Alexi was hynosis. This may have had a calming influence which helped to to stem the bleeding. This is the most reasonable explanation, but in fact no one really knows.
Alexandra at any rate became increasingly dependent on Rasputin. She was not well liked in the public eye, in part because of her German origins. This relationship with the uncouth Rasputin further undermined her poularity leading to all kinds of wild rumors.
Alexandra at any rate also accepted Rasputin's advice on non-medical subjects as if it was the word of God. Rasputin was murdered by Grand Duke Dmitri and his associates (December 1916). It took poison, bullets, and freesing water to finally kill him.
Most historians are relentlessky critical of Nicholas as Tsar, viewing him a weak and indesisive. Generally a very different picture emerges of Nicholas as family man. He was absolutely devolted to his family. He loved Alexanda and unlike many in his position had no extramrital affairs. He was devoted to his children, especoially his last chld--the Tsarevitch Alexis. Nothing appealed to Nicholas more than times away from the weighty affairs of state with his family. He was a doting father and adored by all the children. There are numerous formal portraits of the family. There are also numerous informal snapshots which show Nicholas with the children and obvously enjoying carefree time with them.
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The First World War sealed the fate of Nicholas and his family. Without the War, Russia may have been able to have evolved into a democratic government. It would have been difficult, but not impossible. The War made such a transition virtually impossible. Horendous losses were suffered in World War I, which Russia entered on the Allied side on August 1, 1914. Russian participation forced the Germans to divide their
forces, probably saving France on the western front. Russia's loss of territory, massive casualties and confusion at home were the main reasons for the Second Russian Revolution in February 1917.
Nicholas II abdicated on March 2, 1917, in favor of his brother Michael. No fool, Michael renounced his claim the next day. After the abdication, the royal family first remained in Czarskoe Selo then, by decision of the interim government, were transported to Siberia. The Bolshevik government in April 1918 decided to move the Imperial family to Ekaterinburg in the Urals. Here Lenin ordered them to be shot on July 17, 1918. The bodies were hidden and have only recently been found and identified. They were given a Christian burial in 199?.
Battiscombe, Georgina. Queen Alexandra (Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1969).
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