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

Childhood and youth

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

Having lost 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 philosophy education at the University of Heidelberg.

In the summer of 1884, Alexandra first visited Russia. She came there for the wedding of her sister, Princess Ella, with Prince Sergei Alexandrovich. In early 1889, she again visited Russia 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 deteriorated sharply, it was necessary to suddenly resolve the issue of the Tsarevich'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 with a request to urgently arrive in 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 bosom of the Orthodox Church and was named Alexandra Feodorovna, in honor of Tsarina 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 Feodorovna tried to be an assistant for her husband in all endeavors. Together, their union became a real example of a primordially Christian family. The couple gave birth to four daughters: Olga (in 1895), Tatiana (in 1897), Maria (in 1899), Anastasia (in 1901). And in 1904 the long-awaited event for the whole family took place - the birth of the heir to the throne, Alexei. He passed on the disease that the ancestors of Queen Victoria suffered - hemophilia. Hemophilia is a chronic disease associated with poor blood clotting.

Upbringing

Empress Alexandra Romanova tried to take care of the whole family, but she paid special attention to her son. Initially, she taught him on her own, later called teachers and supervised the course of training. Being very tactful, the empress left her son's illness secret from outsiders. Because of constant concern for Alexy's life, Alexandra invited G.E. Rasputin to the courtyard, who knew how to stop bleeding with the help of hypnosis. In times of danger, he was the family's only hope.

Religion

As contemporaries testified, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, the wife of Nicholas II, was very religious. In the days when the heir's illness intensified, the church was her only salvation. Thanks to the imperial family, several temples were built, including in the homeland of Alexandra. So, in memory of Maria Alexandrovna - the first Russian empress from the House of Hesse, the temple 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 laid in the city of Hamburg.

Charity

According to her husband's rescript, dated February 26, 1896, the empress took up the patronage of the imperial women's Patriotic community. Extremely hardworking, she devoted a lot of time to needlework. Alexandra Romanova organized charity bazaars and fairs selling homemade souvenirs. Over time, she took over many charities under her patronage.

During the war with the Japanese, the empress was personally involved in preparing ambulance trains and warehouses for medicines to send them to the battlefield. But the greatest works, Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova carried in 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. In the period from 1914 to 1917, the Empress Warehouse Committee worked in the Winter Palace.

Defamation campaign

During the First World War, and in general, in last years reign, the empress fell victim to a baseless and ruthless smear 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 unfaithful to her husband with Rasputin and gave Russia to please Germany. None of the rumors were supported 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, the convoy took him to Tsarskoe Selo. In the same year, on August 1, the whole family departed for exile in Tobolsk. There, being 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 three of his sisters in the care of Alexei. Four days later, they were accommodated in a house that had previously belonged to engineer N. Ipatiev. The Bolsheviks called it a "special house". And the prisoners, they called "tenants". The house was surrounded by a high fence. 30 people were involved in his security. On May 23, the rest of the children of the imperial family were brought here. Former sovereigns began to live like prison prisoners: complete isolation from external environment, meager food, daily hour-long walks, searches, and prejudiced hostility from the guards.

Murder of the royal family

On July 12, 1918, the Bolshevik Ural Soviet, under the pretext of the approach of the Czechoslovak and Siberian armies, adopted a resolution to kill the imperial family. It is believed that the Ural military commissar F. Goloshchekin at the beginning of the same month, having visited the capital, secured the support of V. Lenin for the execution of the royal family. On June 16, Lenin received a telegram from the Ural Soviet, in which it was reported that the execution of the Tsar's family would 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 Uralsovet considered this as an agreement. The execution of the decree was directed 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 awakened at 2 am and ordered to go down to the basement of the house. There, the whole 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 from the hands of the Chekists. They did not see how the children were killed with bayonets after the execution. With the help of gasoline and sulfuric acid, the bodies of those killed were destroyed.

Investigation

The circumstances of the murder and destruction of the body became known after the investigation of Sokolov. Some of the 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 presented to her son Alexei. In 1977, in connection with the influx of ladles, the Soviet government decided to destroy the Ipatiev house. In 1981, the royal family was canonized by the foreign Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1991, in the Sverdlovsk region, the burial was officially opened, which was discovered in 1979 by G. Ryabov and mistaken for the grave of the royal family. In August 1993, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation into the murder of the Romanov family. At the same time, a commission was created for the identification and subsequent reburial of 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 memorial grave, as soon as any grounds for doubt about their origin disappeared. Ultimately, the secular authorities of Russia decided to reburial the remains on July 17, 1998 in the St. Petersburg Peter and Paul Cathedral. The funeral service was personally led by the rector of the cathedral.

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

Conclusion

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

June 6 marks 147 years since the birth of the last russian empress, wife of Nicholas II Alexandra Feodorovna, nee Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. Despite the fact that there were sincere feelings between the spouses, the people disliked her from the moment she appeared in Russia and called her "a hated German woman." And although she made every effort to win sympathy in society, the attitude towards her has not changed. Was it deserved?

She first visited Russia in 1884, when her older sister was married to Nikolai's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The second time she came to St. Petersburg at the beginning of 1889. From the moment of this visit, sympathy arose between 20-year-old Nikolam Romanov and 16-year-old Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt (or Alix, as Nikolai called her). Parents did not approve of his choice - they did not consider the girl a suitable party for the future emperor, but Nicholas firmly stood his ground. In 1892 he wrote in his diary: “ I dream of marrying Alix G. someday. 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 did not believe my feeling, did not believe that mine cherished dream can come true».

Due to the fact that health Alexander III worsened greatly, the family had to come to terms with Nikolai's choice. Alice began to study the Russian language and the foundations of Orthodoxy, because she had to renounce Lutheranism and adopt 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 death of Emperor Alexander III. After that, 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 appoint a wedding for the birthday of the dowager empress, which allowed the royal family to temporarily interrupt the mourning. On November 26, 1894, in the Great Church of the Winter Palace, the wedding ceremony of Nikolai Romanov and Alexandra Feodorovna took place. Later Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: “ The wedding of the young tsar took place less than a week after the funeral of Alexander III. Their honeymoon passed in an atmosphere of memorial services and funeral visits.».

Since the appearance of the German princess in Russia, many have disliked her both in the inner circle of the royal family and among the people. She seemed too cold, arrogant, withdrawn and alienated, and only loved ones knew the real reason for this behavior - natural shyness. Russian statesman and publicist Vladimir Gurko wrote about her: “ The alienation of the Tsarina from St. Petersburg society was greatly facilitated by the external coldness of her conversion and her lack of external affability. This coldness came, 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 persons who introduced herself to her, including the so-called city ladies, who carried jokes around the city about her coldness and inaccessibility". According to a contemporary, she was reproached for the fact that “ she held herself as if she had swallowed an arshin, and did not bow to the deputations».

Few believed in sincere love, mutual respect and devotion to each other. Some representatives of the high society were sure that Alexandra Feodorovna completely subjugated her husband, suppressing his will. Vladimir Gurko wrote: “ If the sovereign, in the absence of the necessary internal power, did not possess the authority necessary for the ruler, then the empress, on the contrary, was all woven from authority, which, moreover, relied on her inherent arrogance».

The reasons for the hostile attitude towards Alexandra Feodorovna among the people were different. At first, public discontent 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 happened, which led to the death of hundreds of people. On the day of the festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II, a terrible crush occurred on the Khodynskoye 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 was defending the interests of Germany even after her marriage, that she was preparing a coup in order to become regent with 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. It can be argued, of course, that she absolutely did nothing to give rise to suspicion of sympathizing with the Germans, but everyone is trying to assert that she sympathizes with them. The only thing that can be blamed on her is that she failed to be popular.". And one of her contemporaries said: “ Rumor attributes all failures, all changes in appointments to the Empress. Her hair stands on end: whatever she is accused of, each stratum of society from its point of view, but a common, friendly impulse - dislike and distrust».

Alexandra Feodorovna felt an unfriendly attitude towards herself among the people and made every effort to change the situation. She was involved in charitable activities, was a trustee of 33 charities, communities of nurses and shelters, organized schools for nurses, clinics for children, schools of folk art. During World War I, she financed several ambulance trains, established and looked after infirmaries, herself received nursing training, did dressings and assisted in operations. And she did it at the call of her heart. However, despite all the efforts, the empress did not deserve sympathy. And the next reason for her dislike for her was her attachment to the odious Grigory Rasputin, who had a huge influence on her.

When the empress had a son with hemophilia, she was carried away by religious and mystical teachings, often turning for help and advice to Rasputin, who helped Tsarevich Alexei fight the disease, before which official medicine was powerless. They said that Alexandra Feodorovna trusted him completely, while Rasputin's reputation was very ambiguous - later he was 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 tarnish her image in society, and in fact he was her spiritual mentor.

In July 1918, members of the imperial family were shot. Who was the last Russian empress in fact - a fiend of hell, an innocent victim or a hostage of circumstances? Her own words, which she said shortly before her death in a letter to her confidant Anna Vyrubova, speak volumes: “ I thank God for everything that was, that I received - and I will live with memories that no one will take away from me ... How old I am, but I feel like the mother of the country, and I suffer as for my child and love my Motherland, despite all the horrors now ... You know that you can't tear love out of my heart, and Russia too ... Despite the black ingratitude to the Emperor, which breaks my heart ... Lord, have mercy and save Russia».

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

Name: Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Victoria Alice Helena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt)

State: the Russian Empire

Field of activity: Politics

Greatest achievement: Wife of Emperor Nicholas II. Took control domestic politics state, made a change in the cabinet.

Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Victoria Alice Helena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was born on June 6, 1872 in a place called Darmstadt (German Empire). In 1894 she became the wife of Nicholas II. Having no support at the court, when her son fell ill with hemophilia, she turned to the sorcerer Grigory Rasputin for help. As soon as Nikolai went to the front, Alexandra replaced all key ministers with those whom Rasputin indicated. At the end of the 1917 revolution, she was imprisoned and killed on the night of July 16-17, 1918. It is believed that her reign precipitated the collapse of the Russian Empire.

early years

Alexandra Feodorovna was born in Germany, in the city of Darmstadt. At birth, she was named Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was born on June 6, 1872 and was the sixth child of Ludwig IV and Duchess Alice, daughter of the Queen of Great Britain. In the family circle she was called Alix. When Alexandra was six years old, her mother died and the girl was given to be raised by her grandmother, Queen Victoria. Alix spent most of her childhood in Britain, surrounded by her cousins \u200b\u200band siblings. Alexandra studied philosophy at the University of Heidelberg.

When Alexandra was 19 years old, she met the heir to the Russian throne. This acquaintance soon began to be romantic in nature, but there were no prospects for marriage. Firstly, Nikolai's father had a great dislike for Germany and the Germans, and secondly, the Alix family expressed frank contempt for the Russian people. In addition, there were rumors that Alix had been ill with hemophilia as a child, and this disease was considered fatal at that time and it was known that it was inherited. But despite this, Nikolai and Alexandra were in love and on November 26, 1894 they were married. Alix was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church and received the name Alexandra Feodorovna.

Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna

Nicholas and Alexandra lived in Tsarskoe Selo, in a private imperial residence. The first time they enjoyed a calm and happy family life... Until this life was destroyed by a serious illness of their son and two wars that ended in failure.

By 1901 the first year of a couple of Nikolai and Alexandra, but they were all girls. The Romanov family was in need of an heir, and Alexandra came to despair trying to give her husband a son. She turned to sorcerers and priests to conceive a boy - but to no avail. Alexandra brought herself to the point that in 1903 she had a false pregnancy. Finally, in 1904, she gave birth to a son to Nikolai, who was named Alexei. But the joy in the family was short-lived. Soon it was learned that the Tsarevich was sick with hemophilia.

Acquaintance with Rasputin

Alexandra's love for mysticism led her to in 1908. Rasputin quickly won Alexandra's trust by believing that he was healing her son through some form of hypnosis. The boy felt better after Rasputin left. For Alexandra, Rasputin became the last hope and savior of her child, but among the people Rasputin was known as a charlatan and lecher, and Alexandra's communication with him cast a shadow of shame on the royal court.

As all events in the royal family revolved around the heir's illness, a serious crisis was brewing in Russia and in the world. The people took Alexandra very coldly as the wife of Nicholas II. They did not like her at court either and refused to accept her. Intrigues were woven inside the royal court, and meanwhile a war was brewing in the world.

World War I and revolution

When it led to a conflict between Russia and Germany, Nicholas II went to the front, where he assumed personal command of the armed forces. Alexandra Feodorovna remained as regent and had to control the work of the government. Infinitely trusting Rasputin, she made him her adviser. Guided by Rasputin's instructions, Alexandra dismissed the experienced ministers, replacing them with new, incompetent people.

The Russian army showed itself very badly during the fighting. This served to spread rumors that Alexandra was a secret agent in Germany, which further exacerbated her already difficult position in society. On December 16, 1916, Rasputin was killed by conspirators from the royal court. Left without a husband and without her main adviser, Alexandra began to lose her emotional stability.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

In the winter of 1917, Alexandra's illiterate rule led to a food shortage in the country and famine. As a result of the food collapse, workers went on strike and people took to the streets of St. Petersburg, riots broke out. Nicholas, feeling his powerlessness before the current events, decides to abdicate the throne.

In February 1917, a revolution began in Russia. The political and economic crisis contributed to the fact that spontaneous riots swept across the country. Weakened by the war and internal problems, the country's leadership was unable to take control of the situation. A serious split was formed and ripened in society.

In the spring of 1917, Vladimir Lenin, campaigning for the overthrow of the monarchy, received widespread support from the Russian people. The Bolsheviks seized power in the country and a civil war began.

The last days and death of Alexandra Feodorovna

In April 1918, Alexandra, along with her husband and children, was transported to Yekaterinburg, captured by the Bolsheviks, and placed under house arrest in the Ipatiev house. The family was in the dark about their further destiny... Alexandra and her family had to go through a real nightmare. Being in the dark about their future fate, they could only guess whether they would survive and whether they could stay together. On the night of July 16-17, Alexandra, along with Nikolai and the children, were taken to the basement, where they were shot by the Bolsheviks. This marked the end of more than three hundred years of the Romanov dynasty's reign.

Alexandra Feodorovna (nee Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt) was born in 1872 in Darmstadt, the capital of the small German Duchy of Hesse. Her mother died at thirty-five.

In 1884, twelve-year-old Alix was brought to Russia: her sister Ella married Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The heir to the Russian throne - sixteen-year-old Nikolai - fell in love with her at first sight. Young people, who, moreover, are in a rather close relationship (according to the princess's father they are second cousins), immediately imbued with mutual sympathy. But only five years later, seventeen-year-old Alix reappeared at the Russian court.

Alisa Gessenskaya as a child. (wikimedia.org)

In 1889, when the heir to the Tsarevich was twenty-one years old, he turned to his parents with a request to bless him to marry Princess Alice. The answer of Emperor Alexander III was short: "You are very young, there is still time for marriage, and, in addition, remember the following: you are the heir to the Russian throne, you are betrothed to Russia, and we still have time to find a wife." A year and a half after this conversation, Nikolai wrote in his diary: “Everything is in the will of God. Trusting in His mercy, I calmly and humbly look to the future. " This marriage was also opposed by Alix's grandmother, Queen Victoria of England. However, when later Victoria met Tsarevich Nicholas, he made a very good impression on her, and the opinion of the English ruler changed. Alice herself had reason to believe that the romance that had begun with the heir to the Russian throne could have favorable consequences for her. Returning to England, the princess begins to study Russian, gets acquainted with Russian literature and even has lengthy conversations with the priest of the Russian embassy church in London.

Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. (wikimedia.org)

In 1893, Alexander III fell seriously ill. Here a dangerous question arose for the succession to the throne - the future sovereign was not married. Nikolai Alexandrovich categorically stated that he would choose a bride for himself only for love, and not for dynastic reasons. With the mediation of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the emperor's consent to the marriage of his son with Princess Alice was obtained.

However, Maria Feodorovna did not hide her discontent poorly, in her opinion, the choice of an heir. The fact that the Princess of Hesse joined the Russian imperial family in the mournful days of suffering of the dying Alexander III, probably even more set Maria Fyodorovna against the new empress.

Nikolai Alexandrovich on the back of the Greek Prince Nicholas. (wikimedia.org)

In April 1894 Nikolai went to Coburg for the wedding of Alix's brother Ernie. And soon the newspapers reported about the engagement of the Tsarevich and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. On the day of the engagement Nikolai Aleksandrovich wrote in his diary: “A wonderful, unforgettable day in my life - the day of my engagement with dear Alix. I walk all day as if outside myself, not fully realizing what is happening to me. " November 14, 1894 - the day of the long-awaited wedding. On the wedding night, Alix wrote in Nikolai's diary: “When this life is over, we will meet again in another world and stay together forever ...” After the wedding, the Tsarevich will write in his diary: “Unimaginably happy with Alix. It is a pity that the classes take up so much time that I would like to spend exclusively with her. "

The wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna. (wikimedia.org)

Usually, the wives of the Russian heirs to the throne were on the sidelines for a long time. Thus, they managed to thoroughly study the mores of the society they would have to manage, managed to orient themselves in their likes and dislikes, and most importantly, managed to acquire the necessary friends and assistants. Alexandra Fyodorovna was not lucky in this sense. She ascended the throne, as they say, having got off the ship to the ball: not understanding a life that was alien to her, not knowing how to understand the complex intrigues of the imperial court. Painfully withdrawn, Alexandra Feodorovna seemed to be the opposite example of the affable empress dowager - she, on the contrary, gave the impression of an arrogant, cold German woman, with disdain for her subjects.

The embarrassment that invariably gripped the queen when communicating with strangers prevented the establishment of simple, relaxed relationships with representatives of the high society, which were vital for her. Alexandra Feodorovna did not know how to win the hearts of her subjects at all, even those who were ready to bow before the members of the imperial family did not receive a reason for this. So, for example, in women's institutes, Alexandra Feodorovna could not squeeze out a single friendly word. This was all the more striking, since the former Empress Maria Feodorovna knew how to evoke a relaxed attitude towards herself in schoolchildren, turning into enthusiastic love for the bearers of royal power.

The Romanovs on the yacht "Standart". (wikimedia.org)

The tsarina's interference in the affairs of state government manifested itself far from immediately after her wedding. Alexandra Fyodorovna was quite satisfied with the traditional role of the keeper of the hearth, the role of a woman next to a man engaged in a difficult, serious business. Nicholas II, a domestic man by nature, for whom power seemed more a burden than a way of self-realization, rejoiced at any opportunity to forget about his state concerns in a family setting and gladly indulged in those small domestic interests to which he had a natural inclination. Anxiety and confusion gripped the reigning couple even when the empress, with some fatal sequence, began to give birth to girls. Nothing could be done against this obsession, but Alexandra Feodorovna, who had assimilated her queen's destiny, perceived the absence of an heir as a kind of punishment from heaven. On this basis, she, an extremely impressionable and nervous person, developed pathological mysticism. Now, any step of Nikolai Alexandrovich himself was checked against one or another heavenly sign, and state policy imperceptibly intertwined with childbirth.

The Romanovs after the birth of the heir. (wikimedia.org)

The influence of the queen on her husband intensified, and the more significant it became, the further the time for the appearance of the heir was postponed. The French charlatan Philip was invited to the court, who managed to convince Alexandra Fedorovna that he was able to provide her, by means of suggestion, male offspring, and she imagined herself pregnant and felt all the physical symptoms of this condition. Only after several months of the so-called false pregnancy, very rarely observed, the empress agreed to be examined by a doctor, who established the truth. But the most important misfortune was that the charlatan got the opportunity to influence state affairs through the queen. One of the closest assistants of Nicholas II wrote in his diary in 1902: “Philip inspires the sovereign that he does not need other advisors, except for representatives of the higher spiritual, heavenly forces, with whom he, Philip, puts him in intercourse. Hence the intolerance of any contradiction and complete absolutism, sometimes expressed in absurdity. "

Romanovs and Queen Victoria of England. (wikimedia.org)

Philip was still able to be expelled from the country, for the Police Department, through its agent in Paris, sought out indisputable evidence of the fraud of a French citizen. And soon the long-awaited miracle followed - the heir Alexei was born. However, the birth of a son did not bring peace to the royal family.

The child suffered from a terrible hereditary disease - hemophilia, although his disease was kept a state secret. The children of the royal family of the Romanovs - Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and the heir to Tsarevich Alexei - were extraordinary in their ordinariness. Despite the fact that they were born in one of the highest positions in the world and had access to all earthly goods, they grew up like ordinary children. Even Alexei, who every fall threatened with a painful illness and even death, was changed from bed to normal in order to gain the courage and other qualities necessary for the heir to the throne.

Alexandra Fyodorovna with her daughters at needlework. (wikimedia.org)

According to contemporaries, the empress was deeply religious. The church was her main consolation, especially at a time when the heir's illness was aggravated. The Empress held full services in court churches, where she introduced a monastic (longer) liturgical charter. The Queen's room in the palace was a connection between the Empress's bedroom and the nun's cell. The huge wall adjacent to the bed was covered with icons and crosses.

Reading telegrams with wishes of recovery to the Tsarevich. (wikimedia.org)

During the First World War, rumors spread that Alexandra Feodorovna defended the interests of Germany. On the personal order of the sovereign, a secret investigation was carried out on "slanderous rumors about the empress's relations with the Germans and even about her betrayal of the Motherland." It was established that rumors about the desire for a separate peace with the Germans, the transfer of Russian military plans by the empress to the Germans were spread by the German general staff... After the abdication of the sovereign, the Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry under the Provisional Government tried and failed to establish the guilt of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna in any crimes.

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Alexandra Fyodorovna - (1872 1918) Empress (1894 1917), wife of Nicholas II (from 1894), nee Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice, daughter led. Duke of Hesse Ludwig IV of Darmstadt and Alice of England. From 1878 the English was educated. Queen Victoria; graduated ... ...

Alexandra Fyodorovna - (1798 1860) Empress (1825 60), wife of Nicholas I (from 1818), nee. Frederica Louise Charlotte of Prussia, daughter of the Prussian king Frederick William III and Queen Louise. Mother imp. Alra II and Great. book Constantine, Nicholas, Micah. Nikolaevich and led. book ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

- (25.V.1872 16.VII. 1918) Russian Empress, wife of Nicholas II (from November 14, 1894). Daughter led. Duke of Hesse of Darmstadt Ludwig IV. Before marriage, she was named Alice Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice. Domineering and hysterical, had big influence on… … Soviet Historical Encyclopedia

Alexandra Fyodorovna - ALEXANDRA FYODOROVNA (real name Alice Victoria Elena Louise Beatrice Hesse Darmstadt) (1872-1918), born. Empress, wife of Nicholas II (since 1894). Played means. role in the state. affairs. Was under the strong influence of G.E.Rasputin. During the period 1 ... ... Biographical Dictionary

Russian Empress, wife of Nicholas II (from November 14, 1894). Daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse Louis IV of Darmstadt. Before marriage, she was named Alice Victoria Helena Louise Beatrice. Domineering and hysterical, ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

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Books

The fate of the Empress, Alexander Bokhanov. This book is about an amazing woman whose life was like both a fairy tale and an adventure novel. Empress Maria Feodorovna ... Daughter-in-law of Emperor Alexander II, wife of the Emperor ...
The fate of the empress, Bokhanov A.N .. This book is about an amazing woman, whose life was like both a fairy tale and an adventure novel. Empress Maria Feodorovna ... Daughter-in-law of Emperor Alexander II, wife of the Emperor ...