Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Alice of Hesse) - the last Russian empress, according to the memoirs of her contemporaries, also had mystical talents, these abilities were called by her relatives “ shamanic disease" She had frightening prophetic dreams, which she told only to her loved ones. One of the dreams on the eve of the revolution is as if the ship is leaving, she wants to get on board and extends her hand, asking for help... but the passengers do not see her... and the ship leaves, leaving the queen alone on the shore.

Since childhood, the Empress was attracted to mystical phenomena. As usual, the interest of the rulers is transferred to the subjects. In Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, the fashion for spiritualistic seances, fortune-tellers and magic clubs began. The Empress knew about the gloomy predictions that predicted the collapse of the empire and the death of her husband.

Which lady is your favorite? (several options are possible)

She understood the inevitability of the law of balance, that success and happiness will sooner or later be replaced by adversity. And the one who survives suffering finds happiness. “In the life of every home, sooner or later, bitter experience comes - the experience of suffering. There may be years of cloudless happiness, but there will probably also be sorrows. The stream, which has flown for so long, like a cheerful stream running in bright sunlight through meadows among flowers, deepens, darkens, plunges into a gloomy gorge or falls over a waterfall.- Alexandra wrote in her diary.

The sorcerer Rasputin played a fatal role in the fate of the empress. One might say, the Russian Count Cagliostro, who had the talent of a hypnotist. Rasputin took advantage of the serious illness of Tsarevich Alexei and manipulated his mother-empress. “As long as I’m alive, nothing will happen to you. If I don’t exist, you won’t either.”- said Rasputin.

The sorcerer suspected that the royal relatives would want to get rid of him, and threatened the Romanov house with a curse. “I feel that I will not live to see the first of January... If your relatives are involved in this, then none of the members royal family, that is, none of the children or relatives will live more than two years. The Russian people will kill them.". The magician was not mistaken, the revenge of the killers overtook him. Dying, Rasputin kept his word... he cursed the entire family of his royal benefactors; Rasputin's killers were relatives of the emperor.

Tsarevich Alexey

Rasputin was killed by Prince Felix Yusupov (who was married to the niece of Nicholas II and Grand Duke Dmitry (cousin of Nicholas II). The young people decided to stop the hypnotic influence of the sorcerer on their crowned relatives.
Prince Felix Yusupov once experienced Rasputin's hypnosis. “I gradually sank into a sleepy state, as if under the influence of a powerful sleeping pill. All I could see were Rasputin's sparkling eyes."- the prince recalled.

Foreign novelists write that the vile Rasputin conjured not only the revolution in Russia, but also the First world war. He opened some hellish gates and released all kinds of evil spirits into our world.

The sad ending of the Romanov family was predicted long before Rasputin. On the eve of his death, Emperor Paul I wrote a message to his descendants, which he placed in a box and ordered to be opened exactly one hundred years after his death. The letter contained the prediction of the monk Abel about the fate of the royal family.

Kings walked on rooftops before it became mainstream :)

On March 12, 1901, the emperor and his wife opened a message from the past, which read “He will replace the royal crown with a crown of thorns, he will be betrayed by his people, as the Son of God once was, and in the year 18 he will meet a painful death.”

According to the memoirs of the royal confidant S.A. Nilus: “On January 6, 1903, at the Winter Palace, during a gun salute from the Peter and Paul Fortress, one of the guns turned out to be loaded with grapeshot, and part of it hit the gazebo where the clergy and the sovereign himself were located. The calmness with which the sovereign reacted to the incident was so amazing that it attracted the attention of the retinue around him. He, as they say, didn’t even raise an eyebrow... “Until I’m 18, I’m not afraid of anything,” the king remarked.”

On the eve of the wedding, 1894

There was another casket with a letter from the 17th century, from the time of Peter I’s father, Alexei the Quiet. The king received this gift in honor of his coronation. The text of the message spoke of a gloomy prophecy that the emperor who would ascend the throne at the end of the 19th century would be the last. He is destined to atone for all the sins of the family.

The wedding took place on November 14, 1894. Alexandra is 22 years old, Nikolay is 26 years old.
Nicholas's father, Emperor Alexander III, did not live to see his son's wedding. The wedding took place a week after his funeral; they decided not to postpone the wedding on the occasion of mourning. Foreign guests were preparing to move from grief for the dead to joy for the living. The modest wedding ceremony left a “painful impression” on many guests.
Nikolai wrote to his brother George about his experiences: “The wedding day was a terrible torment for her and me. The thought that our dear, selflessly beloved Dad was not between us and that you were far from your family and completely alone did not leave me during the wedding; I had to strain all my strength, so as not to burst into tears here in church in front of everyone. Now everything has calmed down a little - life has begun completely new for me..."

“I cannot thank God enough for the treasure that he sent me in the form of a wife. I am immeasurably happy with my darling Alix and I feel that we will live just as happily until the end of our lives.”- wrote Nikolai.
Alexandra was also happy with her marriage: “I never imagined that I could be so absolutely happy in the whole world, so feel the unity of two mortals.”

Years later, they retained their old feelings:
“I can’t believe that today is our twentieth wedding anniversary! The Lord blessed us with rare family happiness; just to be able to prove worthy of His great mercy during the rest of my life.”- wrote Nikolai.
"I'm crying like big child. I see in front of me your sad eyes, full of affection. I send you my warmest wishes for tomorrow. For the first time in 21 years we are not spending this day together, but how vividly I remember everything! My dear boy, what happiness and what love you have given me over all these years."- from Alexandra's letter.

Monarchs rarely find family happiness. Often the law of balance of the universe plays a cruel joke. They found simple human happiness, but lost their throne and life.

The empress avoided court life. She was the opposite of her secular mother-in-law, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, who could easily start a conversation with both the king and the servant. Gossips They called Empress Alexandra a “Hessian fly.” Empress Alexandra's thoughtfulness was often mistaken for arrogance.

Prince Felix Yusupov quite accurately, although harshly, described the empress’s character traits:
“Princess Alice of Hesse came to Russia in mourning. She became a queen without having time to either get comfortable or make friends with the people over whom she was going to reign. But, immediately finding herself in the center of everyone’s attention, she, naturally shy and nervous, became completely embarrassed and stiff And therefore she was known as cold and callous. And then also arrogant and contemptuous. But she had faith in her special mission and a passionate desire to help her husband, shocked by the death of his father and the severity new role. She began to interfere in the affairs of the state. Then they decided that she was, in addition, power-hungry, and the sovereign was weak. The young queen realized that neither the court nor the people liked her, and completely withdrew into herself."

Princess Alice with her grandmother, Queen Victoria

Alice with her father Ludwig of Hesse

Alexandra Fedorovna and her daughters were not glamorous white-handed girls. During the First World War, they worked in the hospital as nurses and even became assistants during operations. They were taught medicine by the first female surgeon in Russia, Vera Gedroits. This one is separate interesting topic, about which I will also write.

In her diary, the Empress did not write about her experiences during the years of the revolution. Her notes continue to describe the family structure. She even writes about expulsions and relocations calmly, as if we're talking about about the planned royal trip.

It seems to me that Alexandra Fedorovna looks like Princess Diana. More precisely, Princess Diana is similar to Alexandra Feodorovna, chronologically speaking.

Brief entries were made in Alexandra's diary about revolutionary events.
“Terrible things are happening in St. Petersburg. Revolution". February 27 Monday

It’s an interesting coincidence that on the eve of the February revolution, Alexandra Feodorovna served a memorial service at the grave of Rasputin, who cursed them, which she wrote about in her diary: “ Lily and Anya met at the station, funeral service, grave.” The next day, the sorcerer's grave was desecrated by rioters, and his remains were burned.

IN February revolution the empress was in Tsarskoe Selo, from where she sent a telegram to her husband “The revolution yesterday took on terrifying proportions... Concessions are necessary. ... Many troops went over to the side of the revolution. Alix."

From March to August 1917, the royal family lived under house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. Then the Romanovs were transported to Tobolsk to the house of the local governor. The Romanovs lived here for eight months.

On the eve of the revolution

In revolutionary exile, 1918

The royal family was informationally isolated from political events. According to contemporary Zhilard:
“One of our greatest deprivations during our Tobolsk imprisonment was almost complete absence news Letters reached us only very sloppily and with great delay, as for newspapers, we had to be content with a miserable local sheet printed on wrapping paper; it told us only news that was several days late and, most often, distorted and truncated. Meanwhile, the Emperor watched with alarm the events unfolding in Russia. He understood that the country was heading towards destruction...

Nicholas II in a portrait by Serov

...That was the first time I heard from the Emperor an expression of regret about his abdication. He made this decision in the hope that those who wanted him removed would be able to bring the war to a happy end and save Russia. He was afraid that his resistance would serve as a reason for civil war in the presence of the enemy, and did not want the blood of at least one Russian to be shed for him. But wasn’t his departure followed very soon by the appearance of Lenin and his associates, paid mercenaries of Germany, whose criminal propaganda led the army to collapse and corrupted the country? He now suffered at the sight of the fact that his self-denial had turned out to be useless and that, guided only by the good of his homeland, he had actually done her a disservice by leaving. This thought began to haunt him more and more and subsequently became the cause of great moral torment for him...”

“2nd revolution. The provisional government has been removed. Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Trotsky. Settled in Smolny. The Winter Palace was badly damaged." October 28, Saturday. Tobolsk– Alexandra wrote briefly in her diary.

In April, Commissioner Yakovlev received an order to deliver royal family to Moscow. On the way near Omsk, the train was stopped, Yakovlev received another order - to proceed to Yekaterinburg.

“On April 28, 1918, when transporting tsarist prisoners from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg imprisonment, the route was changed, the train turned to Omsk. The path was blocked, and the train carrying Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna and daughter Maria Nikolaevna stopped at the Lyubinskaya station. Commissioner Yakovlev, who accompanied the crowned family, left for Omsk to negotiate permission to travel. Regardless of Yakovlev’s motives, which historians argue about, the fate of the Emperor would not have been so tragic if the crowned family had moved into the city of Omsk, which within six months became the capital of Siberia.”- from the inscription on memorial plaque Lyubinskaya station.

Empress with daughters

Alexandra Fedorovna again calmly describes their last route in her diary as a planned trip. Only the phrase “the heart has greatly expanded” speaks of strong emotions.

The Romanov spouses and daughter Maria traveled on one train, the rest of the royal children on another.

15(28). April. Sunday. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. Vai week. Palm Sunday. 4 1/2 hours. We left Tyumen. We hardly slept. Beautiful sunny weather. Nikolai and I are in the same compartment, the door to Maria and Nyuta’s compartment, in the nearest one is Valya Dolgorukov and E.S. Botkin. Then 2 of our people, then 4 of our shooters. On the other hand - these 2 commissioners and their assistants, and the toilet team.

Vagai. The rest were brought soup and hot food, but we ate tea and the provisions that we had taken with us from Tobolsk. Nazyvaevskaya station - Maria and Nyuta (Demidova) left the carriage once or twice to stretch their legs a little.
I wrote to children. In the evening, a second telegram arrived, sent after leaving Tyumen. "We're going to good conditions. How is the little one's health? The Lord is with you.

16(29). April. Monday. Holy Week. 91/4 hours. Passage 52.
Beautiful weather. We didn’t reach Omsk and turned back.

11 o'clock. The same station again, Nazyvaevskaya. The rest were brought food, I drank coffee. 12 1\6 hours. Masyanskaya station. The rest got out of the carriage for a walk. Soon after that, they went out for a walk again, as the axle of one of the carriages caught fire and had to be uncoupled. Sednev* prepared us a good dinner again today.

I wrote our 5th letter to the children. Nikolai read me the Gospel for today. (The Omsk Council of Deputies did not allow us to pass through Omsk, because they were afraid that someone would want to take us to Japan). The heart has expanded greatly."

*Leonid Sednev is the family's cook, the only one of the Romanovs' close associates who managed to avoid execution.

Alexandra Fedorovna - drawing by V.A. Serova

In Yekaterinburg, the Romanovs were brought to their last refuge - the house of the merchant Ipatiev.

The final entry in the Empress's diary.

"Ekaterinburg. 3 (16). July. Tuesday.
Irina 23rd<ень>R<ождения>+11°.
Cloudy morning, later - nice sunny weather. Baby* has a slight cold. Everyone went out for a walk in the morning for ½ hour. Olga and I prepared our medicines. T<атьяна>the Spirit read to me<овное>reading. They went out for a walk, T<атьяна>stayed with me, and we read: Book<игу>etc<орока>Amos, etc.<орока>Avdija. Weaving lace. Every morning a commandant comes to our rooms<ант>Finally, a week later, he brought eggs for Baby.
8 hours<асов>. Dinner.
Quite unexpectedly, Lika Sednev was sent to visit his uncle, and he ran away - I would like to know if this is true and whether we will ever see this boy!
Played bezique with N<иколаем>.
10 ½ [hours]. She went to bed. +15 degrees.”

*Baby—that’s what the empress called her son Alexei.

House of merchant Ipatiev

On the night of July 17, the royal family was shot in the basement of Ipatiev’s house. Together with the Romanovs, four loyal confidants were executed, who remained with the royal family until the end, sharing with them the hardships of exile (I will write about these brave people separately). Among those killed was Dr. Evgeniy Botkin, son of the famous physician Sergei Botkin.

Memoirs of G.P. Nikulin, a participant in the execution.
“... comrade Ermakov, who behaved rather indecently, subsequently assuming the leading role for himself, that he did it all, so to speak, single-handedly, without any help... In fact, there were 8 of us executors: Yurovsky, Nikulin, Mikhail Medvedev, Medvedev Pavel is four, Ermakov Peter is five, but I’m not sure that Kabanov Ivan is six. And I don’t remember the names of two more.

When we went down to the basement, we also didn’t even think of putting chairs there at first to sit down, because this one was... didn’t walk, you know, Alexey, we had to sit him down. Well, then they brought it up instantly. When they went down to the basement, they began to look at each other in bewilderment, they immediately brought in chairs, sat down, which means Alexandra Fedorovna, the heir, was imprisoned, and Comrade Yurovsky uttered the following phrase: “Your friends are advancing on Yekaterinburg , and therefore you are condemned to death." They didn’t even realize what was going on, because Nikolai just said immediately: “Ah!”, and at that time our salvo was already one, two, three. Well, there’s someone else there, which means, so to speak, well, or something, they weren’t quite completely killed yet. Well, then I had to shoot someone else..."

According to one version, the younger children, Anastasia and Alexei, managed to escape.

Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova was born on June 7, 1872 in Darmstatt. The future Empress of the Russian Empire was the daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse - Ludwig of Darmstadt and English princess Alice.

The parents named their daughter Alix Elena Louise Beatrice. She was the sixth child in the family. It is worth noting that her grandmother was Queen Victoria of England.

Alix's mother loved England, and her children received a real English upbringing. The daughter ate oatmeal for breakfast, ate potatoes and meat for lunch, and ate puddings and baked apples for dessert. Alix slept on a soldier's cot and took a cold bath in the morning.

Since childhood, Alix was characterized by shyness, which she had to fight in her life. adult life. Her mother died early, saw Alix and the death of her little brother, who died due to an accident. These events left a deep mark on her heart.

After the death of her mother, Alix took up her studies, and very diligently. Her teacher was Margaret Jackson, an Englishwoman who had a great influence on the formation of the personality of the future empress. By the age of 15, the girl knew literature, history, art, geography and mathematics very well.

She played the piano well. The princess knew foreign languages- English and French, read serious literature.

Alix first met her future husband, Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, at the wedding of her older sister, who was marrying Nikolai’s uncle, Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov. When visiting her sister, she more than once met with the heir to the Russian throne.

In 1889, Nicholas II wanted to marry Alix, but did not receive the blessing of his parents. Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna Romanov believed that Alix was not best wife for the future emperor. For a long time, Nikolai and Alix corresponded and exchanged gifts.

In the spring of 1894, the parents nevertheless gave their consent to the marriage of Nicholas II to Alix. It was not an easy decision. In order to become the wife of Nikolai Alexandrovich, Alix had to convert to Christianity. It was very difficult for Alix to renounce Lutheranism, but she still accepted Orthodoxy. The influence of Nicholas II and his older sister Ella, who converted to Orthodoxy when she became the wife of Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, had an impact.

Alix arrived in the Russian Empire shortly before the death of her husband's father - Alexandra III. The baptism was performed by John of Kronstadt. During the baptismal ceremony, Alix received Russian name. Now she was called Alexandra Fedorovna. She received the middle name Fedorovna later, before the wedding. German princesses received Orthodox faith in front of the image Holy Mother of God Feodorovskaya - patroness of the royal dynasty.

Alexandra Feodorovna diligently prepared for marriage. The future Empress diligently studied the Russian language. Russian speech came very easily to her. She quickly learned to write and read, and a little later she was able to speak Russian fluently. In addition to the usual Russian language, Alexandra Fedorovna also learned the Church Slavonic language. This allowed her to read liturgical books and the works of Russian saints.

On November 27, 1894, their wedding took place. The wedding ceremony was performed by John of Kronstadt. The royal couple, who were in mourning for the death of Alexander III, did not organize receptions or celebrations. The newlyweds also did not go on their honeymoon.

Contemporaries describe Alexandra Fedorovna as a very graceful woman. She was fragile, beautifully built, with beautiful neck and shoulders. She wore her hair long, it was golden and thick. The empress's complexion is pink, like small child. The eyes are large, dark gray, always lively. Later, sorrows and anxieties betrayed a hidden sadness into the eyes of the empress.

On May 27, 1896, the coronation of the royal family took place in the Assumption Cathedral. Anointing for the kingdom church sacrament- this is the sovereign’s oath to rule the country, accepting responsibility for the state and people before God. Absolute power brings absolute responsibility. During the crowning ceremony, a tragedy occurred on the Khodynka field...

Alexandra Feodorovna and Nicholas II were depressed. But the planned celebrations could not be cancelled. Russia's ally, France, has invested heavily in the festivities, and would be very offended if the festivities were cancelled. The royal couple spent a lot of time in Moscow hospitals, empathizing with the victims.

From the first days of her anointing, the Empress wanted to slightly change the life of high Russian society. Her first project for this occasion is the organization of a circle of needlewomen, consisting of court ladies. Each of its participants had to sew three dresses a year and send them to the poor. The circle did not last long.

In 1895, Alexandra Fedorovna became a mother. The Empress gave birth to a daughter, Olga. In total she had 5 children. Four daughters and one son - the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei. Russian society treated the empress coldly. Soon this coldness grew into open confrontation and hatred. Therefore, she plunged headlong into family affairs and charitable causes.

Alexandra Fedorovna felt happy only in the circle of her loved ones. She raised the children herself. She believed that communicating with young ladies of high society would spoil her children, so she rarely took them to receptions. She did not spoil the children, although she loved them dearly. I ordered dresses for them myself. The clothes of the royal children also included ceremonial uniforms with skirts, which corresponded to the uniform of the regiments led by the Grand Duchesses.

Alexandra Feodorovna was a great devotee of charity. She was an impeccable mother and wife, and knew firsthand what love and pain were. She provided all possible assistance to mothers in need. During the famine that broke out in 1898, she donated 50 thousand rubles from her personal funds for the hungry.

On the initiative of the Empress, in Russian Empire were created workhouses, schools for nurses, orthopedic clinics for sick children. With the outbreak of the First World War, she spent all her funds on helping widows of soldiers, wounded and orphans. Alexandra Feodorovna also cared about the school of folk art, which she founded in St. Petersburg.

She taught the children to keep diaries and write letters. Thus, she instilled literacy in them. It was a sort of educational trick. Children learned to express their thoughts competently and coherently and share their impressions. The royal couple exemplified true Christian life.

The relationship between the Emperor and the Empress was based on sincere love, which they gave not only to each other, but also to their children. The Romanov couple waited a long time for an heir; for a long time, they prayed to God for a son. And, on August 12, 1904, a son was born into the family - Tsarevich Alexei.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova did not get involved in state affairs, although her influence on the sovereign was enormous. The main concern in her life was still children, whose upbringing took all her time.

During the First World War, when the Emperor became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and was at Headquarters, the Empress began to think about state affairs, as it should be in such cases. Alexandra Fedorovna, together with her daughters, worked in hospitals. Often at night she came to the cemetery where the soldiers were buried. She walked around the graves and fervently prayed for the souls of the deceased Russian soldiers.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova was brutally murdered along with her husband and children on July 17, 1918 in the basement of the Ipatiev House. The main thing in the life of the empress was love for God and neighbor, caring for her family and those in need. Prayer was a consolation for Alexandra Fedorovna, the inspiration for all the merciful deeds of the empress.

Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Nicholas II and the last Russian empress, is one of the most mysterious figures of this era. Historians are still arguing about various aspects of her biography: about her connection with Rasputin, about her influence on her husband, about her “contribution” to the revolution, about her personality in general. Today we will try to unravel the most famous mysteries associated with Alexandra Feodorovna.

Costs of education

When Alix arrived in Russia, she was terribly embarrassed by the new society, in which she had no acquaintances, and by the fact that she knew nothing about this distant country and was forced to quickly study the language and religion of the Russians. Her shyness and the costs of her English upbringing seemed to everyone like arrogance and arrogance. Because of her shyness, she was never able to establish relationships with either her mother-in-law or the ladies of the court. The only friends in her life were the Montenegrin princesses Milica and Stana - the wives of the grand dukes, and also her maid of honor Anna Vyrubova.

A question of power

Alix's domineering character was legendary. There is still a widespread belief that she kept the All-Russian Emperor “under the thumb.” However, this is not entirely true. It is an indisputable fact that she inherited her strong and commanding character from her grandmother, Queen Victoria. However, she was unable to take advantage of Nikolai’s gentle character, because she simply did not want it and loved her husband, trying to support him in everything. Their correspondence often contains advice from the empress to her husband, but, as is known, the tsar did not implement all of them. It is this support that is often perceived as Alexandra’s “power” over Nikolai.

However, it is true that she participated in the discussion of laws and decision-making. This began during the days of the First Russian Revolution, when Nicholas needed advice and support. Did the emperor and his wife discuss decrees and orders? Of course, this is undeniable. And during the First World War, the tsar actually gave control of the country into the hands of his wife. Why? Because he loved Alexandra and trusted her endlessly. And who else, if not the most trusted person in life, should be given the administrative affairs that the emperor could not tolerate and from which he fled to Headquarters? The two of them tried to make key decisions in the life of the country because it was difficult for autocrat Nicholas to do this due to a lack of character, and Alexandra wanted to lighten the emperor’s heavy burden as much as possible.

Connections with “seers”

Alexandra Feodorovna is also accused of her contacts with “God’s people” and seers, primarily with Grigory Rasputin. It is interesting that before the Siberian elder, the empress already had a whole collection of different healers and fortunetellers. For example, she welcomed the holy fool Mitka and a certain Daria Osipovna, and the most famous “healer” before Grigory Rasputin is Dr. Philip from France. Moreover, all this lasted from the beginning of the century until 1917. Why did these incidents happen?

Firstly, because it was a feature of her character. Alexandra Fedorovna was a believer and accepted Orthodoxy very deeply, but her faith had exalted features, which were expressed in her love for mysticism, which, by the way, was popular at that time. Secondly, this keen interest in her was fueled by her friends Milica and Stana. After all, it was they who brought “miracle workers” to the court, including Gregory. But perhaps the most main reason Such interest was her obsession with two problems: the first was the birth of an heir, which still could not take place. That is why she believed the charlatan Philip, who promised the empress to “conjure” the imminent birth of an heir. Because of his fortune telling and predictions, she suffered a false pregnancy, which greatly affected the attitude of the court towards Alexandra. And the second is the tragic illness of Alexei’s heir: hemophilia. She couldn't help but feel guilty that her beloved son had contracted this disease. And the empress, like any loving mother, tried by all means to alleviate the fate of her child. True, for this she did not use the help of doctors, who could not do anything about Alexei’s condition, but the services of Rasputin, who managed to treat the heir.

All this subsequently influenced the fact that she began to immensely trust the “elder” Gregory and taught her children and husband to do so. She could not help but believe the one who treated not only her son, but also herself for the headaches that tormented her. And Rasputin, who was a smart Russian peasant, could not help but take advantage of this. And they, in turn, were already used by cunning officials, ministers and generals, who asked to appoint them higher or closer to the court.

Why didn't they love her?

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was disliked by many, including Nikolai's mother Maria Feodorovna. Everyone had their own reasons for this, but by the end of the emperor’s reign, all the hatred of the court and society had only one reason: it was leading Niki and the empire to destruction. Rumors were spread about her connections with Rasputin, which never happened, about her espionage for Germany, which was also a lie, about her influence on the Tsar, which was not what it was “inflated.” But all these rumors and gossip greatly affected the prestige of the authorities. And the empress and emperor themselves contributed to this by isolating themselves from society and the Romanov family.

This is what her relatives and associates said and wrote about Alexandra Fedorovna:

• “All of Russia knows that the late Rasputin and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna are one and the same. The first one was killed, now the other one must disappear too” (Grand Prince Nikolai Mikhailovich).
• “The alienation of the queen from St. Petersburg society was significantly facilitated by the external coldness of her treatment and her lack of outward friendliness. This coldness arose, apparently, mainly from the extraordinary shyness inherent in Alexandra Fedorovna and the embarrassment she experienced when communicating with strangers. This embarrassment prevented her from establishing simple, relaxed relationships with people who introduced themselves to her, including the so-called city ladies, and they spread jokes around the city about her coldness and unapproachability.” (Senator V.I. Gurko).
• “...Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna (sister of Empress Alexandra), also almost never visiting Tsarskoye, came to talk with her sister. After that we waited for her at home. We sat on pins and needles, wondering how it would end. She came to us trembling and in tears. “My sister kicked me out like a dog! - she exclaimed. “Poor Niki, poor Russia!” (Prince F.F. Yusupov).
• “Opinions may differ about the role played by the Empress during her reign, but I must say that in her the Heir found a wife who fully accepted the Russian faith, principles and foundations of royal power, a woman of great spiritual qualities and duty” (ballerina M.F. Kshesinskaya ).

June 6 marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian empress, wife of Nicholas II Alexandra Feodorovna, née Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. Despite the fact that there were sincere feelings between the spouses, people disliked her from the moment she appeared in Russia and called her a “hated German.” And although she made every effort to win sympathy in society, the attitude towards her never changed. Was it deserved?

She first visited Russia in 1884, when she elder sister married to Nicholas's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. She came to St. Petersburg for the second time at the beginning of 1889. From the moment of this visit, sympathy arose between 20-year-old Nikolai Romanov and 16-year-old Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt (or Alix, as Nikolai called her). His parents did not approve of his choice - they did not consider the girl a suitable match for the future emperor, but Nicholas firmly stood his ground. In 1892 he wrote in his diary: “ I dream of someday marrying Alix G. I have loved her for a long time, but especially deeply and strongly since 1889, when she spent 6 weeks in St. Petersburg. All this time I didn’t believe my feeling, I didn’t believe that my cherished dream could come true».

Due to the fact that Alexander III's health had deteriorated greatly, the family had to come to terms with Nicholas's choice. Alice began to study the Russian language and the basics of Orthodoxy, because she had to renounce Lutheranism and accept a new religion. In the fall of 1894, Alice arrived in Crimea, where she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Alexandra Feodorovna and spent several weeks with the royal family until the day of the death of Emperor Alexander III. After this, mourning was declared, and the wedding ceremony should have been postponed for a year, but Nikolai was not ready to wait that long.

It was decided to schedule the wedding on the Dowager Empress's birthday, which allowed the royal family to temporarily interrupt mourning. On November 26, 1894, the wedding of Nikolai Romanov and Alexandra Fedorovna took place in the Great Church of the Winter Palace. Later Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: “ The young tsar's wedding took place less than a week after the funeral of Alexander III. Their Honeymoon proceeded in an atmosphere of funeral services and mourning visits».

From the moment the German princess appeared in Russia, many disliked her both in the inner circle of the royal family and among the people. She seemed too cold, arrogant, withdrawn and aloof, and only those close to her knew the real reason for this behavior - natural shyness. Russian statesman and publicist Vladimir Gurko wrote about her: “ The alienation of the queen from St. Petersburg society was significantly facilitated by the external coldness of her treatment and her lack of outward friendliness. This coldness arose, apparently, mainly from the extraordinary shyness inherent in Alexandra Fedorovna and the embarrassment she experienced when communicating with strangers. Embarrassment prevented her from establishing simple, relaxed relationships with people who introduced themselves to her, including the so-called city ladies, and they spread jokes around the city about her coldness and unapproachability" According to a contemporary, she was reproached for “ she held on as if she had swallowed an arshin, and did not bow to the deputations».

IN sincere love Few believed in the mutual respect and devotion of spouses to each other. Some representatives of high society were confident that Alexandra Feodorovna had completely subjugated her husband, suppressing his will. Vladimir Gurko wrote: “ If the sovereign, due to his lack of the necessary internal power, did not possess the authority required for a ruler, then the empress, on the contrary, was entirely woven from authority, which was also based on her inherent arrogance».

The reasons for the hostile attitude towards Alexandra Fedorovna among the people were different. At first, discontent in society was caused by the fact that the wedding with Nikolai took place almost immediately after the death of his father. And during the coronation of the royal family in May 1896, a terrible tragedy occurred, leading to the death of hundreds of people. On the day of public festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II, a terrible stampede occurred on Khodynka Field, during which more than 1,300 people were trampled, but the imperial couple did not cancel the planned celebrations.

There were rumors among the people that the German princess defended the interests of Germany even after her marriage, that she was preparing a coup to become regent for her young son, and that the “German party” rallied around her. On this occasion, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich wrote: “ It's amazing how unpopular poor Alix is. One can, of course, argue that she did absolutely nothing to give reason to suspect her of sympathizing with the Germans, but everyone is trying to claim that she sympathizes with them. The only thing she can be blamed for is that she failed to be popular" And one of her contemporaries said: “ Rumor attributes all failures, all changes in appointments to the empress. Hair stands on end: no matter what they accuse her of, each layer of society from its own point of view, but the common, friendly impulse is dislike and distrust».

Alexandra Feodorovna felt the unkind attitude of the people towards her and made every effort to change the situation. She was engaged in charitable activities, was a trustee of 33 charitable societies, communities of sisters of mercy and shelters, organized schools for nurses, clinics for children, and schools of folk art. During the First World War, she financed several ambulance trains, established and patronized infirmaries, trained herself in nursing, made dressings and assisted in operations. And she did it at the call of her heart. However, despite all her efforts, the empress did not earn sympathy. A another reason What made her disliked was her attachment to the odious Grigory Rasputin, who had a huge influence on her.

When the empress had a son with hemophilia, she became interested in religious and mystical teachings, often turning to Rasputin for help and advice, who helped Tsarevich Alexei fight a disease against which official medicine was powerless. They said that Alexandra Fedorovna trusted him completely, while Rasputin’s reputation was very ambiguous - he was later called a symbol of the moral degradation of power under the last Russian emperor. Many believed that Rasputin subjugated the very religious and exalted empress to his will, and she, in turn, influenced Nicholas II. According to another version, ill-wishers deliberately spread rumors among the people about Alexandra Feodorovna’s close relationship with Rasputin in order to denigrate her image in society, and in fact he was her spiritual mentor.

In July 1918 members imperial family were shot. Who was the last Russian empress really - a fiend from hell, an innocent victim or a hostage of circumstances? Her own words, which she said shortly before her death in a letter to her close associate Anna Vyrubova, speak volumes: “ I thank God for everything that happened, that I received - and I will live with the memories that no one will take away from me... How old I have become, but I feel like the mother of the country, and I suffer as if for my child and I love my Motherland, despite all the horrors now ...You know that it is impossible to tear love out of my heart, and Russia too... Despite the black ingratitude to the Emperor, which tears my heart... Lord, have mercy and save Russia».

Such a tender attitude of spouses towards each other in ruling families was very rare: .

Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova - the last Russian empress, wife of Nicholas II. Today we will get acquainted with the life and work of this undoubtedly important historical person.

Childhood and youth

The future empress was born on May 25, 1872, in the German city of Darmstadt. Her father was Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and her mother was Grand Duchess Alice, second daughter of Queen Victoria of England. The girl was baptized Lutheran and received the name Alice Victoria Elena Brigitte Louise Beatrice, in honor of her mother and aunts. The family began to call the girl simply Alice. The mother was raising the child. But when Alice was only six years old, her mother died. She cared for patients with diphtheria and became infected herself. At that time, the woman was only 35 years old.

After losing her mother, Alice began to live with her grandmother Queen Victoria. In the English court, the girl received a good upbringing and education. She was fluent in several languages. In her youth, the princess received a philosophical education at the University of Heidelberg.

In the summer of 1884, Alexandra visited Russia for the first time. She came there for the wedding of her sister, Princess Ella, with Prince Sergei Alexandrovich. At the beginning of 1889, she visited Russia again with her brother and father. Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was the heir to the throne, fell in love with the young princess. However, the imperial family did not attach any importance to this, in the hope that he would connect his life with royal family France.

Wedding

In 1894, when the condition of Emperor Alexander III sharply deteriorated, it was necessary to suddenly resolve the issue of the prince’s marriage and succession to the throne. On April 8, 1894, Princess Alice was engaged to Tsarevich Nicholas. On October 5 of the same year, she received a telegram asking her to urgently come to Russia. Five days later, Princess Alice was in Livadia. Here she stayed with the royal family until October 20, the day when Alexander III died. The next day, the princess was accepted into the fold Orthodox Church and named Alexandra Fedorovna, in honor of Queen Alexandra.

On the birthday of Empress Maria, November 14, when it was possible to retreat from strict mourning, Alexandra Romanova married Nicholas II. The wedding took place in the Church of the Winter Palace. And on May 14, 1896, the royal couple was crowned in the Assumption Cathedral.

Children

Tsarina Romanova Alexandra Fedorovna tried to be an assistant for her husband in all his endeavors. By joint forces their union became a true example of a truly Christian family. The couple gave birth to four daughters: Olga (in 1895), Tatyana (in 1897), Maria (in 1899), Anastasia (in 1901). And in 1904, a long-awaited event for the whole family took place - the birth of the heir to the throne, Alexei. He was given the disease that Queen Victoria's ancestors suffered from - hemophilia. Hemophilia is a chronic disease associated with poor blood clotting.

Upbringing

Empress Alexandra Romanova tried to take care of the whole family, but Special attention she gave to her son. Initially, she taught him on her own, later she called teachers and supervised the progress of his training. Being very tactful, the empress kept her son’s illness a secret from outsiders. Due to constant concern for Alexy’s life, Alexandra invited G.E. Rasputin, who knew how to stop bleeding using hypnosis, to the courtyard. In dangerous moments, he was the family's only hope.

Religion

As contemporaries testified, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, the wife of Nicholas 2, was very religious. In the days when the heir’s illness worsened, the church was her only salvation. Thanks to the imperial family, several temples were built, including in Alexandra’s homeland. So, in memory of Maria Alexandrovna - the first Russian Empress From the Hessian house, the Church of Mary Magdalene was erected in the city of Darmstadt. And in memory of the coronation of the Emperor and Empress, in 1896, a temple in the name of All Saints was founded in the city of Hamburg.

Charity

According to the rescript of her husband, dated February 26, 1896, the Empress took up the patronage of the imperial women's Patriotic Community. Being unusually hardworking, she devoted a lot of time to needlework. Alexandra Romanova organized charity bazaars and fairs where homemade souvenirs were sold. Over time, she took many charities under her patronage.

During the war with the Japanese, the Empress was personally involved in the preparation of ambulance trains and warehouses of medicines to be sent to the battlefields. But Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova carried out the greatest labors during the First World War. From the very beginning of the confrontations, in the Tsarskoye Selo community, together with her eldest daughters, the empress took courses in caring for the wounded. Later, they more than once saved the military from painful death. Between 1914 and 1917, in Winter Palace The Empress's Warehouse Committee worked.

Smear campaign

During the First World War, and in general, in last years reign, the Empress became the victim of a baseless and ruthless slander campaign. Its instigators were revolutionaries and their accomplices in Russia and Germany. They tried to spread rumors as widely as possible that the empress was cheating on her husband with Rasputin and was giving Russia over to please Germany. None of the rumors were confirmed by facts.

Abdication

On March 2, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne personally for himself and for his heir, Tsarevich Alexei. Six days later, in Tsarskoe Selo, Alexandra Romanova was arrested along with her children. On the same day, the emperor was arrested in Mogilev. The next day, a convoy took him to Tsarskoye Selo. That same year, on August 1, the whole family left for exile in Tobolsk. There, imprisoned in the governor's house, she lived for the next eight months.

On April 26 of the following year, Alexandra, Nikolai and their daughter Maria were sent to Yekaterinburg, leaving Alexei's three sisters in the care. Four days later, they were settled in a house that previously belonged to engineer N. Ipatiev. The Bolsheviks called it “a special purpose house.” And they called the prisoners “tenants.” The house was surrounded by a high fence. It was guarded by 30 people. On May 23, the remaining children of the imperial family were brought here. Former sovereigns began to live like prisoners: complete isolation from external environment, meager food, daily hour-long walks, searches, and prejudiced hostility on the part of the guards.

Murder of the royal family

On July 12, 1918, the Bolshevik Uralsovet, under the pretext of the approach of the Czechoslovak and Siberian armies, adopted a resolution on the murder of the imperial family. There is an opinion that the Ural military commissar F. Goloshchekin at the beginning of the same month, having visited the capital, enlisted the support of V. Lenin for the execution of the royal family. On June 16, Lenin received a telegram from the Uralsovet, which reported that the execution of the Tsar’s family could no longer be delayed. The telegram also asked Lenin to immediately communicate his opinion on this matter. Vladimir Ilyich did not answer, and it is obvious that the Urals Council considered this as agreement. The execution of the decree was led by Y. Yurovsky, who on July 4 was appointed commandant of the house in which the Romanovs were imprisoned.

On the night of July 16-17, 1918, the murder of the royal family followed. The prisoners were woken up at 2 a.m. and ordered to go down to the basement of the house. There the entire family was shot by armed security officers. According to the testimony of the executioners, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, together with her daughters, managed to cross herself before her death. The Tsar and Tsarina were the first to fall at the hands of the Chekists. They did not see how the children were finished off with bayonets after the execution. The bodies of those killed were destroyed using gasoline and sulfuric acid.

Investigation

The circumstances of the murder and destruction of the body became known after Sokolov’s investigation. Individual remains of the imperial family, which Sokolov also found, were transferred to the Temple of Job the Long-Suffering, built in Brussels in 1936. In 1950, it was consecrated in memory of Nicholas II, his relatives and all the new martyrs of Russia. The temple also contains the found rings of the imperial family, icons and the Bible, which Alexandra Feodorovna gave to her son Alexei. In 1977, due to the influx of ladles, the Soviet authorities decided to destroy Ipatiev's house. In 1981, the royal family was canonized by the foreign Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1991, in the Sverdlovsk region, a burial was officially opened, which was discovered by G. Ryabov in 1979 and mistook for the grave of the royal family. In August 1993, General Prosecutor's Office Russia has opened an investigation into the murder of the Romanov family. At the same time, a commission was created to identify and subsequently rebury the found remains.

In February 1998, at a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate, it was decided to bury the found remains in a symbolic grave-monument as soon as any grounds for doubt regarding their origin disappeared. Ultimately, the secular authorities of Russia decided to rebury the remains on July 17, 1998 in the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Cathedral. The funeral service was led personally by the rector of the cathedral.

At the Council of Bishops in 2000, Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova, whose biography became the subject of our conversation, and the rest royal passion-bearers, were canonized in the Cathedral Russian new martyrs. And on the site of the house in which the royal family was executed, a Monument Temple was built.

Conclusion

Today we learned how our rich, but short life Romanova Alexandra Fedorovna lived. Historical meaning it is difficult to overestimate this woman, like her entire family, because they were the last representatives of tsarist power on the territory of Russia. Despite the fact that the heroine of our story was always a busy woman, she found time to describe her life and worldview in her memoirs. The memoirs of Alexandra Fedorovna Romanova were published almost a century after her death. They were included in a series of books called “The Romanovs. The Fall of a Dynasty."