On the night of July 16-17, 1918 in the city of Yekaterinburg in the basement of the house of mining engineer Nikolai Ipatiev Russian Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, their children - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, heir Tsarevich Alexei, as well as physician Evgeny Botkin, valet Alexei Trupp, room girl Anna Demidova and cook Ivan Kharitonov.

The last Russian emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II) ascended the throne in 1894 after the death of the emperor's father Alexandra III and ruled until 1917, until the situation in the country became more complicated. On March 12 (February 27, old style), 1917, an armed uprising began in Petrograd, and on March 15 (March 2, old style), 1917, at the insistence of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, Nicholas II signed an abdication of the throne for himself and his son Alexei in favor of younger brother Mikhail Alexandrovich.

After his abdication, from March to August 1917, Nicholas and his family were under arrest in the Alexander Palace of Tsarskoye Selo. A special commission of the Provisional Government studied materials for the possible trial of Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna on charges of treason. Having not found evidence and documents that clearly convicted them of this, the Provisional Government was inclined to deport them abroad (to Great Britain).

In August 1917, the arrested were transported to Tobolsk. The main idea of ​​the Bolshevik leadership was an open trial of the former emperor. In April 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to transfer the Romanovs to Moscow. For the trial former king Vladimir Lenin spoke out, it was supposed to make Leon Trotsky the main accuser of Nicholas II. However, information appeared about the existence of “White Guard conspiracies” to kidnap the Tsar, the concentration of “conspiratorial officers” in Tyumen and Tobolsk for this purpose, and on April 6, 1918, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee decided to transfer the royal family to the Urals. The royal family was transported to Yekaterinburg and placed in the Ipatiev house.

The uprising of the White Czechs and the advance of the White Guard troops on Yekaterinburg accelerated the decision to execute the former Tsar.

The commandant of the Special Purpose House, Yakov Yurovsky, was entrusted with organizing the execution of all members of the royal family, Doctor Botkin and the servants who were in the house.

© Photo: Museum of the History of Yekaterinburg

The execution scene is known from investigative reports, from the words of participants and eyewitnesses and stories direct executors. Yurovsky spoke about the execution of the royal family in three documents: “Note” (1920); "Memoirs" (1922) and "Speech at a meeting of old Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg" (1934). All the details of this crime, conveyed by the main participant in different time and under completely different circumstances, they agree on how she was shot royal family and her servants.

Based on documentary sources, it is possible to establish the time when the murder of Nicholas II, members of his family and their servants began. The car that delivered the last order to exterminate the family arrived at half past two on the night of July 16-17, 1918. After which the commandant ordered the life physician Botkin to wake up royal family. It took the family about 40 minutes to get ready, then she and the servants were transferred to the semi-basement of this house, with a window overlooking Voznesensky Lane. Nicholas II carried Tsarevich Alexei in his arms because he could not walk due to illness. At Alexandra Feodorovna’s request, two chairs were brought into the room. She sat on one, and Tsarevich Alexei sat on the other. The rest were located along the wall. Yurovsky led the firing squad into the room and read the verdict.

This is how Yurovsky himself describes the execution scene: “I invited everyone to stand up. Everyone stood up, occupying the entire wall and one of the side walls. The room was very small. Nikolai stood with his back to me. I announced that the Executive Committee of the Councils of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies Ural decided to shoot them. Nikolai turned and asked. I repeated the order and commanded: “I shot first and killed Nikolai on the spot. The shooting lasted a very long time and, despite my hopes that the wooden wall would not ricochet, the bullets bounced off it. For a long time I was unable to stop this shooting, which had become careless, but when I finally managed to stop it, I saw that many were still alive, for example, Doctor Botkin was lying with his elbow on him. right hand, as if in a resting pose, finished off him with a revolver shot. Alexey, Tatyana, Anastasia and Olga were also alive. Demidova was also alive. Comrade Ermakov wanted to finish the matter with a bayonet. But, however, this did not work. The reason became clear later (the daughters were wearing diamond armor like bras). I was forced to shoot each one in turn."

After death was confirmed, all the corpses began to be transferred to the truck. At the beginning of the fourth hour, at dawn, the corpses of the dead were taken out of Ipatiev’s house.

The remains of Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna, Olga, Tatiana and Anastasia Romanov, as well as people from their entourage, shot in the House of Special Purpose (Ipatiev House), were discovered in July 1991 near Yekaterinburg.

On July 17, 1998, the burial of the remains of members of the royal family took place in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of St. Petersburg.

In October 2008, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decided to rehabilitate Russian Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office also decided to rehabilitate members of the imperial family - the Grand Dukes and Princes of the Blood, executed by the Bolsheviks after the revolution. Servants and associates of the royal family who were executed by the Bolsheviks or subjected to repression were rehabilitated.

In January 2009, the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation stopped investigating the case into the circumstances of the death and burial of the last Russian emperor, members of his family and people from his entourage, shot in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918, "due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing criminal charges responsibility and death of persons who committed premeditated murder" (subparagraphs 3 and 4 of part 1 of article 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR).

On January 15, 2009, the investigator issued a resolution to terminate the criminal case, but on August 26, 2010, the judge of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow decided, in accordance with Article 90 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, to recognize this decision as unfounded and ordered the violations to be eliminated. On November 25, 2010, the investigation decision to terminate this case was canceled by the Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee.

On January 14, 2011, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation reported that the resolution was brought in accordance with the court decision and the criminal case regarding the death of representatives of the Russian Imperial House and people from their entourage in 1918-1919 was discontinued. The identification of the remains of members of the family of the former Russian Emperor Nicholas II (Romanov) and persons from his retinue has been confirmed.

On October 27, 2011, a resolution was issued to terminate the investigation into the case of the execution of the royal family. The 800-page resolution outlines the main conclusions of the investigation and indicates the authenticity of the discovered remains of the royal family.

However, the question of authentication still remains open. The Russian Orthodox Church, in order to recognize the found remains as the relics of royal martyrs, the Russian Imperial House supports the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on this issue. The director of the chancellery of the Russian Imperial House emphasized that genetic testing is not enough.

The Church canonized Nicholas II and his family and on July 17 celebrates the day of remembrance of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Nicholas II is the last Russian emperor who went down in history as the weakest tsar. According to historians, governing the country was a “heavy burden” for the monarch, but this did not prevent him from making a feasible contribution to the industrial and economic development of Russia, despite the fact that the revolutionary movement was actively growing in the country during the reign of Nicholas II, and the foreign policy situation was becoming more complicated. . IN modern history The Russian emperor is mentioned with the epithets “Nicholas the Bloody” and “Nicholas the Martyr”, since assessments of the tsar’s activities and character are ambiguous and contradictory.

Nicholas II was born on May 18, 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo Russian Empire V imperial family. For his parents, and, he became the eldest son and the only heir to the throne, which from the very early years taught the future work of his life. The future tsar was raised from birth by the Englishman Karl Heath, who taught young Nikolai Alexandrovich to speak fluent English.

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

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

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

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

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

Ascension to the throne

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

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

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

During the same period, the “Stolypin” massacres were carried out in Russia. agrarian reforms, factory legislation was introduced, several laws were passed on compulsory insurance workers and universal primary education, as well as the abolition of taxes on landowners of Polish origin and the abolition of penalties such as exile to Siberia.

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

Reign and abdication

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

As a result of failure Russo-Japanese War A revolutionary situation began to rapidly develop in the country, and Russia had to cede to Japan the southern part of Sakhalin and the rights to the Liaodong Peninsula. It was after this that the Russian emperor lost authority in the intelligent and ruling circles of the country, who accused the tsar of defeat and connections with, who was an unofficial “adviser” to the monarch, but was considered in society a charlatan and a fraudster who had complete influence over Nicholas II.

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

The war aggravated the country's internal problems; all military failures in the environment of Nicholas II were blamed on him. Then “treason began to nest in the government of the country,” but despite this, the emperor, together with England and France, developed a plan for a general offensive of Russia, which was supposed to triumphantly end the military confrontation for the country by the summer of 1917.

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

Execution of Nicholas II and his family

After the tsar signed the abdication manifesto, the Russian Provisional Government issued an order to arrest the royal family and his entourage. Then many betrayed the emperor and fled, so divide tragic fate Only a few close people from his entourage agreed with the monarch, who, together with the tsar, were exiled to Tobolsk, from where, allegedly, the family of Nicholas II was supposed to be transported to the USA.

After October revolution and the Bolsheviks, led by the royal family, came to power, they were transported to Yekaterinburg and imprisoned in a “house of special purpose.” Then the Bolsheviks began to hatch a plan trial over the monarch, but the Civil War did not allow their plan to be realized.

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

Personal life and royal family

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

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

The marriage of Alexandra Fedorovna and Nicholas II produced 4 daughters (Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia) and the only heir, Alexei, who had a serious hereditary disease - hemophilia, associated with the process of blood clotting. The illness of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich forced the royal family to meet the then widely known Grigory Rasputin, who helped the royal heir fight attacks of illness, which allowed him to gain enormous influence over Alexandra Feodorovna and Emperor Nicholas II.

Historians report that family was the most important meaning of life for the last Russian emperor. He always spent most of his time in the family circle, did not like secular pleasures, and especially valued his peace, habits, health and well-being of his relatives. At the same time, the emperor was no stranger to worldly hobbies - he enjoyed hunting, participated in horse riding competitions, enthusiastically skated and played hockey.

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. 21 March 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 of the Russian Empire would be shot in a cramped basement in Yekaterinburg. The Romanovs were subjected to hardships, getting closer and closer to their grim ending. Let's take a look at rare photos members of the last royal family of Russia, made some time before the execution.

After the February Revolution of 1917, the last royal family of Russia, by decision of the Provisional Government, was sent to the Siberian city of Tobolsk to protect them from the wrath of the people. A few months earlier, Tsar Nicholas II had abdicated the throne, ending more than three hundred years of the Romanov dynasty.

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 the home village of Rasputin, whose eccentric influence on politics may have contributed to their dark ending.

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. The children performed plays for their parents, and the family often went into the city for religious services - this was the only form of freedom they were allowed.

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.

Things went from bad to 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.

The commissioner'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.

In Yekaterinburg, the rest of the children joined their parents - everyone was 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. The Romanovs were allowed to go out Fresh air just five minutes a day.

At the beginning of July 1918, the Soviet authorities began to prepare for the execution of the royal family. The ordinary soldiers on guard were replaced by representatives of the Cheka, and the Romanovs were allowed to go to church services for the last time. 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.

Early in the morning of July 17, the Romanovs were gathered and told about the advance 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 execution, the last Tsar of Russia passed by trucks, in one of which his body would soon lie, not even suspecting what a terrible fate awaited his wife and children.

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.

Nicholas II and his family

The man who was unlucky

The ruler should be not so much wise, fair, merciful, but lucky. Because it is impossible to take into account everything and many major decisions accepted, guessing. And it’s hit or miss, fifty-fifty. Nicholas II on the throne was no worse and no better than his predecessors, but in matters of fateful importance for Russia, when choosing one or another path of its development, he was wrong, he simply did not guess. Not out of malice, not out of stupidity, or out of unprofessionalism, but solely according to the law of “heads and tails”

“This means dooming hundreds of thousands of Russian people to death,” the Emperor hesitated. “I sat opposite him, carefully watching the expression of his pale face, on which I could read the terrible internal struggle that was taking place in him at these moments. Finally, the sovereign, as if pronouncing the words with difficulty, said to me: “You are right. We have no choice but to wait for an attack. Give the Chief of the General Staff my order to mobilize" (Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Dmitrievich Sazonov about the beginning of the First World War)

Could the king have chosen a different solution? Could. Russia was not ready for war. And, in the end, the war began with a local conflict between Austria and Serbia. The first declared war on the second on July 28. There was no need for Russia to intervene dramatically, but on July 29 Russia began partial mobilization in four western districts. On July 30, Germany presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding that all military preparations be stopped. Minister Sazonov convinced Nicholas II to continue. On July 30 at 5 p.m., Russia began general mobilization. At midnight from July 31 to August 1, the German ambassador informed Sazonov that if Russia did not demobilize at 12 noon on August 1, Germany would also announce mobilization. Sazonov asked if this meant war. No, the ambassador replied, but we are very close to her. Russia did not stop the mobilization. Germany began mobilization on August 1.

On August 1, in the evening, the German ambassador again came to Sazonov. He asked whether the Russian government intended to give a favorable response to yesterday's note about the cessation of mobilization. Sazonov answered negatively. Count Pourtales showed signs of increasing agitation. He took a folded paper out of his pocket and repeated his question again. Sazonov again refused. Pourtales asked the same question for the third time. “I cannot give you any other answer,” Sazonov repeated again. “In that case,” said Pourtales, choking with excitement, “I must give you this note.” With these words, he handed the paper to Sazonov. It was a note declaring war. The Russian-German war began (History of diplomacy, volume 2)

Brief biography of Nicholas II

• 1868, May 6 - in Tsarskoe Selo
• 1878, November 22 - Nikolai's brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, was born
• 1881, March 1 - death of Emperor Alexander II
• 1881, March 2 - Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich was declared heir to the throne with the title “Tsarevich”
• 1894, October 20 - death of Emperor Alexander III, accession to the throne of Nicholas II
• 1895, January 17 - Nicholas II delivers a speech in the Nicholas Hall of the Winter Palace. Statement on Policy Continuity
• 1896, May 14 - coronation in Moscow.
• 1896, May 18 - Khodynka disaster. More than 1,300 people died in the stampede on Khodynka Field during the coronation festival.

The coronation festivities continued in the evening at the Kremlin Palace, and then with a ball at a reception with the French ambassador. Many expected that if the ball was not cancelled, then at least it would take place without the sovereign. According to Sergei Alexandrovich, although Nicholas II was advised not to come to the ball, the tsar said that although the Khodynka disaster was the greatest misfortune, it should not overshadow the coronation holiday. According to another version, his entourage persuaded the tsar to attend a ball at the French embassy due to foreign policy considerations(Wikipedia).

• 1898, August - Nicholas II’s proposal to convene a conference and discuss at it the possibilities of “putting a limit to the growth of armaments” and “protecting” world peace
• 1898, March 15 - Russian occupation of the Liaodong Peninsula.
• 1899, February 3 - Nicholas II signed the Manifesto on Finland and published the “Basic provisions on the preparation, consideration and promulgation of laws issued for the empire with the inclusion of the Grand Duchy of Finland.”
• 1899, May 18 - the start of the “peace” conference in The Hague, initiated by Nicholas II. The conference discussed issues of arms limitation and ensuring lasting peace; Representatives from 26 countries took part in its work
• 1900, June 12 - decree canceling exile to Siberia for settlement
• 1900, July - August - participation of Russian troops in the suppression of the “Boxer Rebellion” in China. Russian occupation of all of Manchuria - from the border of the empire to the Liaodong Peninsula
• 1904, January 27 - beginning
• 1905, January 9 - Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg. Start

Diary of Nicholas II

— January 6th. Thursday.
Until 9 o'clock let's go to the city. The day was gray and quiet at 8° below zero. We changed clothes at our place in the Winter Palace. AT 10 O'CLOCK? went into the halls to greet the troops. Until 11 o'clock. we set off for the church. The service lasted an hour and a half. We went out to see Jordan wearing a coat. During the salute, one of the guns of my 1st cavalry battery fired grapeshot from Vasiliev [sky] island. and it doused the area closest to the Jordan and part of the palace. One policeman was wounded. Several bullets were found on the platform; the banner of the Marine Corps was pierced.
After breakfast, ambassadors and envoys were received in the Golden Drawing Room. At 4 o'clock we left for Tsarskoye. I took a walk. I was studying. We had dinner together and went to bed early.
— January 7th. Friday.
The weather was calm, sunny with wonderful frost on the trees. In the morning I had a meeting with D. Alexei and some ministers on the matter of the Argentine and Chilean courts (1). He had breakfast with us. Received nine people.
Let's go together and venerate the icon of the Sign. Mother of God. I read a lot. The two of us spent the evening together.
— January 8th. Saturday.
Clear frosty day. There was a lot of work and reports. Fredericks had breakfast. I walked for a long time. Since yesterday, all plants and factories have been on strike in St. Petersburg. Troops were called from the surrounding area to reinforce the garrison. The workers have been calm so far. Their number is determined at 120,000 hours. At the head of the workers' union is a priest - the socialist Gapon. Mirsky arrived in the evening to report on the measures taken.
— January 9th. Sunday.
Hard day! Serious riots occurred in St. Petersburg as a result of the workers’ desire to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different places in the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and difficult! Mom came to us from the city right in time for mass. We had breakfast with everyone. I was walking with Misha. Mom stayed with us for the night.
— January 10th. Monday.
There were no major incidents in the city today. There were reports. Uncle Alexey was having breakfast. Received a delegation of Ural Cossacks who arrived with caviar. I was walking. We drank tea at Mama's. To unite actions to stop the unrest in St. Petersburg, he decided to appoint General-M. Trepov as governor-general of the capital and province. In the evening I had a meeting on this matter with him, Mirsky and Hesse. Dabich (d.) dined.
— January 11th. Tuesday.
During the day there were no major disturbances in the city. Had the usual reports. After breakfast, Rear Adm. received. Nebogatov, appointed commander of the additional detachment of the squadron Pacific Ocean. I was walking. It was not a cold, gray day. I worked a lot. Everyone spent the evening reading aloud.

• 1905, January 11 - Nicholas II signed a decree establishing the St. Petersburg Governor-General. Petersburg and the province were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Governor General; all civilian institutions were subordinate to him and given the right to independently call up troops. On the same day, former Moscow Chief of Police D. F. Trepov was appointed to the post of Governor General
• 1905, January 19 - Nicholas II received a deputation of workers from St. Petersburg in Tsarskoye Selo. The tsar allocated 50 thousand rubles from his own funds to help family members of those killed and wounded on January 9
• 1905, April 17 - signing of the Manifesto “On the approval of the principles of religious tolerance”
• 1905, August 23 - conclusion of the Portsmouth Peace, which ended the Russo-Japanese War
• 1905, October 17 - signing of the Manifesto on political freedoms, establishment State Duma
• 1914, August 1 - beginning of World War I
• 1915, August 23 - Nicholas II assumed the duties of Supreme Commander-in-Chief
• 1916, November 26 and 30 - The State Council and the Congress of the United Nobility joined the demand of State Duma deputies to eliminate the influence of “dark irresponsible forces” and create a government ready to rely on a majority in both chambers of the State Duma
• 1916, December 17 - assassination of Rasputin
• 1917, end of February - Nicholas II decided on Wednesday to go to Headquarters, located in Mogilev

The palace commandant, General Voeikov, asked why the emperor made such a decision when the front was relatively calm, while there was little calm in the capital and his presence in Petrograd would be very important. The Emperor replied that the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev, was waiting for him at Headquarters and wanted to discuss some issues.... Meanwhile, Chairman of the State Duma Mikhail Vladimirovich Rodzianko asked the Emperor for an audience: “In that terrible hour that the homeland is going through, I believe it is my most loyal duty as Chairman of the State Duma to report to you in full about the threatening To the Russian state danger." The Emperor accepted it, but rejected the advice not to dissolve the Duma and form a “Ministry of Trust” that would enjoy the support of the entire society. Rodzianko urged the emperor in vain: “The hour that decides the fate of you and your homeland has come. Tomorrow may be too late” (L. Mlechin “Krupskaya”)

• 1917, February 22 - the imperial train departed from Tsarskoye Selo to Headquarters
• 1917, February 23 - Started
• 1917, February 28 - the adoption by the Provisional Committee of the State Duma of the final decision on the need for the abdication of the Tsar in favor of the heir to the throne under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich; departure of Nicholas II from Headquarters to Petrograd.
• 1917, March 1 - arrival of the royal train in Pskov.
• 1917, March 2 - signing of the Manifesto abdicating the throne for himself and for Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich.
• 1917, March 3 - refusal of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich to accept the throne

Family of Nicholas II. Briefly

• 1889, January - first acquaintance at a court ball in St. Petersburg with future wife, Princess Alice of Hesse
• 1894, April 8 - engagement of Nikolai Alexandrovich and Alice of Hesse in Coburg (Germany)
• 1894, October 21 - anointing of the bride of Nicholas II and naming her “Blessed Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna”
• 1894, November 14 - wedding of Emperor Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna

In front of me stood a tall, slender lady of about 50 wearing a simple gray sister's suit and a white headscarf. The Empress greeted me kindly and asked me where I was wounded, in what case and on what front. A little worried, I answered all Her questions without taking my eyes off Her face. Almost classically correct, this face in its youth was undoubtedly beautiful, very beautiful, but this beauty, obviously, was cold and impassive. And now, aged with time and with small wrinkles around the eyes and corners of the lips, this face was very interesting, but too stern and too thoughtful. That’s what I thought: what a correct, intelligent, stern and energetic face (memories of the Empress, ensign of the machine gun team of the 10th Kuban Plastun battalion S.P. Pavlov. Being wounded in January 1916, he ended up in Her Majesty’s Own infirmary in Tsarskoe Selo)

• 1895, November 3 - birth of a daughter, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna
• 1897, May 29 - birth of a daughter, Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna
• 1899, June 14 - birth of a daughter, Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna
• 1901, June 5 - birth of a daughter, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna
• 1904, July 30 - birth of a son, heir to the throne, Tsarevich and Grand Duke Alexei Nikolaevich

Diary of Nicholas II: “An unforgettable great day for us, on which the mercy of God so clearly visited us,” Nicholas II wrote in his diary. “Alix gave birth to a son, who was named Alexei during prayer... There are no words to be able to thank God enough for the consolation He has sent in this time of difficult trials!”
German Kaiser Wilhelm II telegraphed Nicholas II: “Dear Nicky, how nice that you offered me to be your boy’s godfather! Good is what is waited for a long time, says the German proverb, so be it with this dear little one! May he grow up to be a brave soldier, a wise and strong statesman, may God's blessing always protect his body and soul. Let him be the same all his life a ray of sunshine for both of you, like now, during trials!”

• 1904, August - on the fortieth day after birth, Alexei was diagnosed with hemophilia. Palace Commandant General Voeikov: “For the royal parents, life has lost its meaning. We were afraid to smile in their presence. We behaved in the palace as if in a house in which someone had died."
• 1905, November 1 - Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna met Grigory Rasputin. Rasputin somehow had a positive effect on the Tsarevich’s well-being, which is why Nicholas II and the Empress favored him

Execution of the royal family. Briefly

• 1917, March 3–8 - stay of Nicholas II at Headquarters (Mogilev)
• 1917, March 6 - decision of the Provisional Government to arrest Nicholas II
• 1917, March 9 - after wandering around Russia, Nicholas II returned to Tsarskoe Selo
• 1917, March 9-July 31 - Nicholas II and his family live under house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo
• 1917, July 16-18 - July Days - powerful spontaneous popular anti-government protests in Petrograd
• 1917, August 1 - Nicholas II and his family went into exile in Tobolsk, where the Provisional Government sent him after the July Days
• 1917, December 19 - formed after. The Soldiers' Committee of Tobolsk forbade Nicholas II to attend church
• 1917, December - The Soldiers' Committee decided to remove the Tsar's shoulder straps, which was perceived by him as humiliation
• 1918, February 13 - Commissar Karelin decided to pay from the treasury only soldiers' rations, heating and lighting, and everything else - at the expense of prisoners, and the use of personal capital was limited to 600 rubles per month
• 1918, February 19 - destroyed at night by pickaxes ice slide, built in the garden for the royal children to ride. The pretext for this was that from the slide it was possible to “look over the fence”
• 1918, March 7 - the ban on visiting church was lifted
• 1918, April 26 - Nicholas II and his family set off from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg

At one in the morning on July 17, 1918, the former Russian Tsar Nicholas II, Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, their five children and four servants, including a doctor, were taken to the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, where they were detained, where they were brutally shot by the Bolsheviks and subsequently burned bodies.

The terrible scene continues to haunt us to this day, and their remains, which lay for most of a century in unmarked graves, the location of which only the Soviet leadership knew, are still surrounded by an aura of mystery. In 1979, enthusiastic historians discovered the remains of some members of the royal family, and in 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, their identity was confirmed using DNA analysis.

The remains of two more royal children, Alexei and Maria, were discovered in 2007 and subjected to similar analysis. However, the Russian Orthodox Church questioned the results of the DNA tests. The remains of Alexei and Maria were not buried, but were transferred to a scientific institution. They were analyzed again in 2015.

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore recounts these events in detail in his book “The Romanovs, 1613-1618,” published this year. El Confidencial already wrote about it. In Town & Country magazine, the author recalls that last fall the official investigation into the murder of the royal family was resumed, and the remains of the king and queen were exhumed. This gave rise to conflicting statements from the government and Church representatives, once again raising questions this question into the public spotlight.

According to Sebag, Nikolai was good-looking, and his apparent weakness hid a powerful man who despised ruling class, a virulent anti-Semite who did not doubt his sacred right to power. She and Alexandra married for love, which was a rare occurrence back then. She brought in family life paranoid thinking, mystical fanaticism (just remember Rasputin) and another danger - hemophilia, which was passed on to her son, the heir to the throne.

Wounds

In 1998, the reburial of the remains of the Romanovs took place in a solemn official ceremony designed to heal the wounds of Russia's past.

President Yeltsin said that political change should never again be carried out by force. Many Orthodox Christians again expressed their opposition and perceived the event as an attempt by the president to impose a liberal agenda in the former USSR.

In 2000, the Orthodox Church canonized the royal family, as a result of which the relics of its members became a shrine, and according to statements of its representatives, it was necessary to carry out reliable identification.

When Yeltsin left office and promoted the unknown Vladimir Putin, a KGB lieutenant colonel who considered the collapse of the USSR “the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century,” the young leader began to concentrate power in his hands, put up barriers to foreign influence, promote the strengthening of the Orthodox faith and carry out aggressive foreign policy. It seemed - Sebag reflects with irony - that he decided to continue the political line of the Romanovs.

Putin is a political realist and he is moving along the path outlined by the leaders strong Russia: from Peter I to Stalin. These were bright personalities who resisted the international threat.

Putin’s position, which questioned the results of scientific research (a faint echo of the Cold War: many of the researchers were Americans), calmed the Church and created a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, nationalist and anti-Semitic hypotheses regarding the remains of the Romanovs. One of them was that Lenin and his followers, many of whom were Jews, transported the bodies to Moscow, ordering their mutilation. Was it really the king and his family? Or did someone manage to escape?

Context

How the kings returned to Russian history

304 years of Romanov rule

Why both Lenin and Nicholas II are “good”

What did Nicholas II give to the Finns?

When it became obvious that the White Guards were about to take Yekaterinburg, Lenin issued an unspoken decree on the execution of the entire royal family, entrusting the execution to Yakov Yurovsky. At first it was planned to secretly bury everyone in the nearby forests. But the murder turned out to be poorly planned and even worse executed. Each member of the firing squad had to kill one of the victims. But when the basement of the house was filled with smoke from shots and the screams of people being shot, many of the Romanovs were still alive. They were wounded and crying in horror.

The fact is that diamonds were sewn into the clothes of the princesses, and the bullets bounced off them, which led to the confusion of the killers. The wounded were finished off with bayonets and shots to the head. One of the executioners later said that the floor was slippery with blood and brains.

Scars

Having completed their work, the drunken executioners robbed the corpses and loaded them onto a truck, which stalled along the way. On top of that, at the last moment it turned out that all the bodies did not fit into the graves dug in advance for them. The clothes of the dead were removed and burned. Then the frightened Yurovsky came up with another plan. He left the bodies in the forest and went to Yekaterinburg to buy acid and gasoline. For three days and nights, he carried containers of sulfuric acid and gasoline into the forest to destroy the bodies, which he decided to bury in different places to confuse those who intended to find them. No one should have known anything about what happened. They doused the bodies with acid and gasoline, burned them, and then buried them.

Sebag wonders how the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution will be celebrated in 2017. What will happen to the royal remains? The country does not want to lose its former glory. The past is always seen in a positive light, but the legitimacy of the autocracy remains controversial. New research initiated by the Russian Orthodox Church and carried out by the Investigative Committee, led to the repeated exhumation of the bodies. Was held comparative analysis DNA with living relatives, in particular with the British Prince Philip, one of whose grandmothers was Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna Romanova. Thus, he is the great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas II.

The fact that the Church still makes decisions on such important issues, attracted attention in the rest of Europe, as well as the lack of openness and a chaotic series of burials, exhumations, and DNA tests of certain members of the royal family. Most political observers believe Putin will make the final decision on what to do with the remains on the 100th anniversary of the revolution. Will he finally be able to reconcile the image of the revolution of 1917 with the barbaric massacre of 1918? Will he have to hold two separate events to satisfy each party? Will the Romanovs be given royal honors or church honors, like saints?

In Russian textbooks, many Russian tsars are still presented as heroes covered in glory. Gorbachev and the last Tsar Romanov renounced, Putin said he would never do this.

The historian claims that in his book he omitted nothing from the materials he examined on the execution of the Romanov family... with the exception of the most disgusting details of the murder. When the bodies were taken to the forest, the two princesses moaned and had to be finished off. Whatever the future of the country, it will be impossible to erase this terrible episode from memory.