Abdicating the throne, Nicholas II tried to negotiate the fulfillment of certain conditions for himself and his family. At that moment, the Romanovs were not yet going to be sent to Tobolsk, so the abdicated emperor insisted on the absence of tight security and unhindered travel to his family in Tsarskoye Selo. Most of all, Nikolai hoped that the children would be able to stay at home without risking their own safety long time. At that time they were suffering from measles and any travel could worsen their condition. Romanov Sr. also asked for permission to travel to England for himself and his family.
First, the Provisional Government agrees to fulfill all the conditions. But already on March 8, 1917, General Mikhail Alekseev informed the Tsar that he “can consider himself, as it were, under arrest.” After some time, a notification of refusal comes from London, which previously agreed to accept the Romanov family. March 21 former emperor Nicholas II and his entire family were officially taken into custody.
A little more than a year later, on July 17, 1918, the last royal family Russian Empire will be shot in a cramped basement in Yekaterinburg. The Romanovs suffered hardships as they moved closer and closer to their grim end. Let's take a look at rare photos members of the latter royal family Russia, taken some time before the execution.
1. After February Revolution 1917 last royal family Russia, by decision of the Provisional Government, was sent to Siberian city Tobolsk to protect from the wrath of the people. A few months earlier, Tsar Nicholas II had abdicated the throne, ending more than three hundred years of rule by the Romanov dynasty.
2. The Romanovs began their five-day journey to Siberia in August, on the eve of Tsarevich Alexei's 13th birthday. The seven family members were joined by 46 servants and a military escort. The day before reaching their destination, the Romanovs sailed past native village Rasputin, whose eccentric influence on politics may have contributed to their dark ending.
3. The family arrived in Tobolsk on August 19 and began to live in relative comfort on the banks of the Irtysh River. In the Governor's Palace, where they were housed, the Romanovs were well fed and they could communicate a lot with each other, without being distracted by state affairs and official events. Children staged plays for their parents, and the family often went to the city for religious services - this was the only form of freedom they were allowed.
4. When the Bolsheviks came to power at the end of 1917, the regime of the royal family began to tighten slowly but surely. The Romanovs were forbidden to attend church and generally leave the territory of the mansion. Soon coffee, sugar, butter and cream disappeared from their kitchen, and the soldiers assigned to protect them wrote obscene and offensive words on the walls and fences of their home.
5. Things were getting worse and worse. In April 1918, a commissar, a certain Yakovlev, arrived with an order to transport the former tsar from Tobolsk. The Empress was adamant in her desire to accompany her husband, but Comrade Yakovlev had other orders that complicated everything. At this time, Tsarevich Alexei, suffering from hemophilia, began to suffer from paralysis of both legs due to a bruise, and everyone expected that he would be left in Tobolsk, and the family would be divided during the war.
6. The commissar’s demands to move were adamant, so Nikolai, his wife Alexandra and one of their daughters, Maria, soon left Tobolsk. They eventually boarded a train to travel through Yekaterinburg to Moscow, where the Red Army was headquartered. However, Commissar Yakovlev was arrested for trying to save the royal family, and the Romanovs got off the train in Yekaterinburg, in the heart of the territory captured by the Bolsheviks.
7. In Yekaterinburg, the rest of the children joined their parents - they were all locked in Ipatiev’s house. The family was placed on the second floor and completely cut off from outside world, boarding up the windows and posting guards at the doors. Until the end of their days, the Romanovs were allowed to go out on fresh air just five minutes a day.
8. Early July 1918 Soviet authorities began to prepare for the execution of the royal family. Ordinary soldiers on guard were replaced by representatives of the Cheka, and the Romanovs were allowed last time go to worship. The priest who conducted the service later admitted that none of the family said a word during the service. For July 16, the day of the murder, five truckloads of barrels of benzidine and acid were ordered to quickly dispose of the bodies.
9. Early in the morning of July 17, the Romanovs were gathered and told about the offensive of the White Army. The family believed that they were simply being moved to a small, lighted basement for their own protection, because it would soon be unsafe here. Approaching the place of his execution, the last king Russia walked past the trucks, in one of which his body would soon lie, not even suspecting what terrible fate waiting for his wife and children.
10. In the basement, Nikolai was told that he was about to be executed. Not believing his own ears, he asked: “What?” - immediately after which the security officer Yakov Yurovsky shot the Tsar. Another 11 people pulled their triggers, filling the basement with Romanov blood. Alexei survived the first shot, but was finished off by Yurovsky's second shot. The next day, the bodies of members of the last royal family of Russia were burned 19 km from Yekaterinburg, in the village of Koptyaki.
With the advent of new technologies on history big country and a single event or person can be looked at from a different perspective. Specialist restorers do a tremendous amount of work every day to turn historical photographs from black-and-white and faded to color and high-quality.
Today we will look at new restored photographs of the royal family. Many of them are unique because most photographs of the imperial family are still stored in photographic archives in England and the United States, and there are practically no such photographs in the public domain.
Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich
Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr. devoted his entire life to military service. On the eve of the First World War, he was appointed by Nicholas Supreme Commander-in-Chief all land and naval forces.
All his life, awards and ranks rained down on the prince as if from a cornucopia. Nikolai Nikolaevich - received the nickname “Evil” in the army for excessive ambition and thirst for power.
Nicholas II on the station platform, to the right of the emperor - Colonel A.A. Mordvinov, January 30, 1916.
Still Tsarevich Nicholas, still Princess Alix, April 1894
Tsar Nicholas with his four daughters: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia
The Emperor with his son and army officers in 1915.
Alexey and Nikolay – Livadia Palace
Nicholas II with his daughter Tatyana and sister Olga Alexandrovna, as well as an officer on the deck of the yacht “Standart”
Tsar Nicholas and his family
Alexander III family photo, 1889.
From left to right: Prince Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; Tsar Nicholas II; Ernst Ludwig; Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, Coburg, 1897
Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna during a visit to Great Britain with King Edward VII and the future King George V. 1909 Barton Manor
Imperial family in Crimea.
Nikolai and Admiral Sablin talking with Alexandra on board the imperial yacht Standart, 1912
Alexey with his parents at Headquarters
Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexey.
Family. Grand Duke Ernie, Tsarina Alexandra with Tsar Nicholas II, Princess Irene and Henry of Prussia, Princess Elizabeth and Grand Duke Sergei, Princess Victoria and Prince Louis of Battenberg.
Alix and children
One of the latest and most famous family portraits imperial family, 1913
The Imperial Family of Russia on board the Polar Star, 1905. Looks like it was a windy day!
The Grand Duchesses of Russia with their English aunt Victoria.
Tsar Nicholas II with his second daughter in Germany
There are forces that benefit from considering Nicholas II killed in order to lay claim to the Russian throne.
Tsar Nicholas II on the rocky coast of Finland. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
After Tsar Nicholas II and his family were shot by the Bolshevik revolutionaries, the collection personal photos the royal family was smuggled out of Russia.
The photographs were found in the Yale University library. We offer a glimpse into the life of the royal family, which ended so tragically.
After early death his father, Nicholas II admitted to a friend: “I am not yet ready to be a king. I don't know anything about the board."
The young heir suffered from hemophilia, a genetic disorder that prevents blood from clotting.
Anna Vyrubova (right) on the beach with princesses Tatiana and Olga. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
After the royal family was shot, Anna, a close friend of the family, managed to escape from Soviet Russia with 6 albums of family photographs.
Empress Alexandra (left) with Anna Vyrubova and Olga. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
After the revolution, Anna was arrested, but she managed to escape to Finland with albums that contain more than 2,600 photographs privacy Romanovs. Vyrubova died in Helsinki in 1964.
Empress Alexandra is welcomed aboard Standart, the imperial yacht. Her little daughters are in the background. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Two Grand Duchesses on board Standard. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
When the children were small, a sailor looked after each one so that they did not fall overboard.
Nicholas II and his daughters in Crimea. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Pedestrian bridge in Spala, Poland. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
When the Siberian mystic Rasputin helped the prince recover from internal bleeding due to a bruised hip, he became a close friend and confidant royal family.
Empress Alexandra and her daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
They were said to be especially close.
Tsar Nicholas II (left) welcomes King Gustav of Sweden aboard Standart. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
The boy was 13 years old when he and his family were shot.
Tsarevich Alexei, third from left, playing soldier. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Gilliard, the family's French mentor, with his students Olga and Tatiana Romanov. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
After the murder of his family, he helped in the investigation, and then fled Russia. U measures in Switzerland in 1962.
Aboard Standard, the sailors took turns bouncing on the mats. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Tatiana was described as "a poetic girl, always striving for the ideal and dreaming of great friendship."
Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria aboard Standart in 1914. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
The sisters were 22, 21 and 19 years old when they were killed.
Empress Alexandra with her likeness in clay. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Olga Romanova in a wicker chair on board Standart. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Villagers in the photo during the trip of the king and his family. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Anastasia, the youngest of the grand duchesses, was photographed after a round of tennis with the officer and her father, Nicholas II. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Within a few months after the 1917 revolution, Grand Duchess Tatyana helps dig a vegetable garden while being captured by the revolutionaries. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale
Tsar Nicholas II and his son Alexei sawing wood while in captivity. Photo: Manuscript Library, Yale University
Nicholas 2 and the three Grand Duchesses sail on a boat along a canal in Tserskoye Selo, near St. Petersburg.
A few months after the 1917 Revolution, Grand Duchess Tatiana helps plant vegetables in her garden while she is being held captive by the Bolsheviks.
Tsar Nicholas 2 and his son Alexei in captivity (by the Bolsheviks) are sawing wood.
(A little boy with hemophilia, at any moment, will cut himself)
They were killed a few months later.
In the diary of one of the senior Soviet leaders it was written that Vladimir Lenin decided to kill the Romanov family and thereby not leave the anti-Bolshevik forces as a living emblem, especially in such difficult circumstances.
Nicholas II is an ambiguous personality, historians speak very negatively about his rule of Russia, most knowledgeable individuals who analyze history are inclined to believe that the latter All-Russian Emperor had little interest in politics, did not keep up with the times, slowed down the development of the country, was not a visionary ruler, was not able to catch the current in time, did not keep his nose to the wind, and even when everything practically went to hell, discontent was already building up not only among the lower classes, but the top people were also indignant, even then Nicholas II was unable to draw any correct conclusions. He did not believe that his removal from governing the country was real; in fact, he was doomed to become the last autocrat in Rus'. But Nicholas II was an excellent family man. He should be, for example, a Grand Duke, not an emperor, and not delve into politics. Five children are no joke; raising them requires a lot of attention and effort. Nicholas II loved his wife for many years, he was sad in separation from her, and did not lose his physical and mental attraction to her even after many years of marriage.
I collected many photographs of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IV), their children: daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, son Alexei.
This family loved to be photographed, and the shots turned out very beautiful, spiritual, and bright. Look at the attractive faces of the children of the last Russian Emperor. These girls did not know marriage, never kissed their lovers and could not know the joys and sorrows of love. And they died martyrdom. Although they were not guilty of anything. Many people died in those days. But this family was the most famous, the highest-ranking, and her death still haunts anyone, a black page in the history of Russia, the brutal murder of the royal family. The fate in store for these beauties was this: girls were born in turbulent times. Many people dream of being born in a palace, with a golden spoon in their mouth: to be princesses, princes, kings, queens, kings and queens. But how often was the life of blue-blooded people difficult? They were imprisoned, killed, poisoned, strangled, and very often their own people, close to the royals, destroyed and occupied the vacant throne, alluring with its limitless possibilities.
Alexander II was blown up by the Narodnaya Volya, Paul II was killed by the conspirators, Peter III died during mysterious circumstances, Ivan VI was also destroyed, the list of these unfortunates can be continued for a very long time. And those who were not killed did not live long by today’s standards; they would either get sick or undermine their health while running the country. And this is not only in Russia high mortality rate There were royal persons, there are countries where it was even more dangerous for reigning persons to be. But all the same, everyone was always so zealous for the throne, and they pushed their children there at any cost. I wanted, although not for long, to live well, beautifully, go down in history, take advantage of all the benefits, live in luxury, be able to order slaves, decide the destinies of people and rule the country.
But Nicholas II never longed to be an emperor, but understood that being the ruler of the Russian Empire was his duty, his destiny, especially since he was a fatalist in everything.
Today we will not talk about politics, we will just look at photographs.
In this photo you see Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, as the couple dressed for a costume ball.
In this photo, Nicholas II is still very young, his mustache is just emerging.
Nicholas II in childhood.
In this photo, Nicholas II with his long-awaited heir Alexei.
Nicholas II with his mother Maria Fedorovna.
In this photo, Nicholas II with his parents, sisters and brothers.
The future wife of Nicholas II, then Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Despite the fact that the royal family in Russia was an example to follow, many rulers hid terrible secrets from the people. Every king and queen had sins behind them, which admirers of the royal family try not to talk about. About these terrible secrets This post will tell us.
Mikhail Fedorovich (from 1613 to 1645)
The first of the Romanovs was crowned king at the age of 16, and at that time he could barely read. The next year, by his decree, the three-year-old son of Marina Mnishek, allegedly the grandson and heir of Ivan the Terrible, to whom several cities had managed to swear allegiance, was hanged in Moscow. This was after the severe Troubles, and fear of new possible impostors forced the elimination of the competitor publicly.
Alexey Mikhailovich (1645-1676)
The father of the future Emperor Peter the Great was a religious maniac, sometimes he prayed for six hours in a row and dealt with those who missed church services: without asking about the reasons, he ordered them to be thrown into an icy river.
Peter I (1682-1725)
History describes many terrible scenes when Peter showed himself to be violent, inhumanly cruel and inadequate to the point of madness. Here are just some facts. Streltsy executions. 26-year-old Peter personally chopped off heads in front of a huge crowd and forced each of his retinue to take up the ax (unless the foreigners refused, justifying themselves by saying that they were afraid of incurring the hatred of the Russians). Mass executions actually turned into a grandiose show: the crowd was poured free vodka and they roared with delight, expressing devotion and love to the dashing sovereign. In a drunken stupor, the king immediately invited everyone to be an executioner, and many agreed.
Lifetime portrait of 44-year-old Peter, artist Antoine Pen:
“The Morning of the Streltsy Execution”, Vasily Surikov:
Death of Tsarevich Alexei. In acute conflict with his eldest son, Peter forced him to abdicate the throne and began to zealously investigate his misdeeds, for which he specially created Secret Chancery. 28-year-old Alexei was sentenced to death for treason and, after the verdict, was tortured in prison: in the presence of his father, he received 25 lashes. According to some reports, this is why he died. And Peter the next day noisily feasted, with an orchestra and fireworks, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.
“Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof”, Nikolai Ge:
“Maria Hamilton before execution”, Pavel Svedomsky:
Execution of a mistress. The very next year, Peter sent his ex-lover, one of the most beautiful ladies-in-waiting at court, Maria Hamilton (Gamontova), having learned that she twice caused miscarriages and strangled the third baby. Although at that time she was already living with someone else, the king, apparently, suspected that the children could be from him, and was furious at such “murder.” At the execution, he behaved strangely: he picked up Mary’s severed head, kissed it and calmly began to lecture the people on anatomy, showing the organs affected by the ax, after which he kissed the dead lips again, threw the head in the mud and left.
Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)
The niece of Peter I, like himself, was a great hunter of entertainment with the participation of dwarfs and “fools” - court jesters. If many of them were indeed distinguished by their wit, then the inventions of the empress herself, which brought her into wild merriment, were rather obscene. Once, for example, one of her favorites, the Italian violinist Pietro Miro, nicknamed Pedrillo (Petrillo, Parsley), laughed off an attempt to make fun of his ugly wife, saying that his “goat” was pregnant and would soon bear “kids.” Anna Ioannovna immediately came up with the idea of putting him into bed with a real goat, dressed for laughs in a peignoir, and forcing the whole courtyard to bring them gifts. Pedrillo, who pleased his mistress, became richer by several thousand rubles on that day alone. “Jesters at the Court of Empress Anna Ioannovna”, Valery Jacobi (Pedrillo on the left, depicted with a violin; in the center of the picture in a yellow caftan the famous jester Balakirev jumps above everyone else):
The Empress generally adored all kinds of obscenity, especially gossip and stories of a pornographic nature. Knowing this, specially selected girls were sent to the court who were capable of conducting such conversations and inventing more and more new stories with juicy details.
Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1762)
The daughter of Peter I was known as a beauty from childhood and did nothing but have fun and study own appearance, remaining almost uneducated. She never read and even in mature age I didn’t know that Great Britain was an island. Most of all, Elizabeth was interested in masquerades and especially the so-called “metamorphoses”, where all the ladies had to appear in men's attire, and the men in women's. Moreover, the empress was convinced that her court rivals had ugly legs and that in men’s leggings everyone except her was making a mockery of themselves. One of the successful rivals, state lady Natalya Lopukhina, who was considered a beauty, was “mercifully” saved by Elizabeth death penalty, ordering instead to flog him with a whip, tear out his tongue and exile him to Siberia. Officially, Lopukhina was arrested and tortured in the case of a political conspiracy, but unofficially it was the empress’s revenge for the repulsed gentlemen and ridicule in her youth.
Natalya Fedorovna Lopukhina, engraving by Lavrenty Seryakov:
Finally, Elizabeth doomed the legitimate heir to the throne, appointed before her death by Anna Ioannovna, to a terrible existence. Emperor Ivan VI was only one and a half years old when Peter's daughter staged a coup and secretly ordered him to be thrown into prison, forever separating him from his parents and protecting him from human communication. The “famous prisoner,” as he was called after the strictest ban on mentioning his name, was stabbed to death by guards at the age of 23, already under Catherine II.
Catherine II (1762-1796)
33-year-old Catherine overthrew and arrested her own husband and second cousin Peter III, with whom the relationship did not work out from the very beginning. They got married when she was 16 and he was 17 years old. According to one version, he was infantile almost to the point of dementia and avoided marital duty for 9 years, allegedly not knowing what to do in bed with a woman. According to another version (and Catherine admitted this in her biographical notes), he did not love her and made no attempts to get closer. At the same time, he openly took on mistresses and even planned to marry one, but died in unclear circumstances 10 days after deposition.
Coronation portrait of Emperor Peter III, Lukas Conrad Pfanzelt:
Meanwhile, the unhappy marriage made Catherine herself the greatest mistress in the world. Russian throne. She gave birth to her first child, the future Emperor Paul I, only in the 10th year after the wedding, which gave rise to rumors that he was not from Peter, although he looked like him. The empress had two more children from different lovers, and she gave birth to one in complete secret from her husband - in order to distract the emperor and take him away from the palace, her faithful valet started a fire in own home.
Modern painting“The Triumph of Catherine”, Vasily Nesterenko (after right hand from the Empress her famous favorite Prince Grigory Potemkin)
The “depraved empress” took her last favorite at the age of 60: he became the 21-year-old nobleman Platon Zubov, whom she enriched unspeakably and who, five years after her death, participated in the murder of her son Paul I.
Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov, artist Ivan Eggink:
Alexander I (1801-1825)
Catherine's 23-year-old grandson came to power as a result of a conspiracy against his own father: he was convinced that if Paul was not overthrown, he would destroy the empire. At the same time, Alexander did not allow murder, but the perpetrators - officers flushed with champagne - decided otherwise: in the middle of the night they attacked the emperor powerful blow in the temple with a gold snuff box and strangled with a scarf. Alexander, having learned about the death of his father, burst into tears, and then one of the main conspirators said in French: “Stop being childish, go reign!”
Alexander II (1855-1881)
Having ascended the throne, Alexander, who had previously lived in a happy marriage with many children, began to have favorites, with whom, according to rumors, he had illegitimate children. And at the age of 48, he began secretly dating 18-year-old Princess Katya Dolgorukova, who years later became his second wife.
Their extensive erotic correspondence has been preserved - perhaps the most frank on behalf of the head of state: “In anticipation of our meeting, I am trembling all over again. I imagine your pearl in the shell"; “We had each other the way you wanted. But I must confess to you: I will not rest until I see your charms again...”
Nicholas II (1894-1917)
The most terrible secret was and remains the death of the latter’s family Russian Emperor. For many years after the execution in the basement without trial or investigation, the Soviet authorities lied to the whole world that only Nikolai was killed, and his wife, four daughters and son were alive and well and “transported to safe place, where they are not threatened." This gave rise to popular rumors about the allegedly escaped princesses and Tsarevich Alexei and contributed to the emergence of a huge army of impostor adventurers. In 2015, at the insistence of the Church, the investigation into the death of the royal family began “with clean slate" New genetic examination confirmed the authenticity of the remains of Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and three Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia, found near Yekaterinburg in 1991 and buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Faces of Nicholas II and Princess Anastasia reconstructed from the remains:
Then they began to compare them with genetic materials Alexey and Maria, found in 2007. The timing of their burial depends on the Church’s willingness to recognize the remains.
