Sunday, November 29, 2020

The Evening Star on Alexandra being "a most unhappy woman", dated March 14, 1909

Source:

Published in The Evening Star in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 1909, by Curtis Brown

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1909-03-14/ed-1/seq-49/#date1=1894&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=czarina+Czarina+CZARINA&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=7&state=&date2=1918&proxtext=Czarina&y=14&x=13&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=6


The article:

Empress of All the Russias Is a Most Unhappy Woman

CZARINA PRAYS DAILY FOR DEATH TO RELIEVE HER FROM THE TERRIBLE BURDENS WHICH HAVE MADE HER A PHYSICAL WRECK — HAS TO BE WHEELED ABOUT IN A BATH CHAIR — LIVES IN CONSTANT FEAR OF HER OWN DEATH OR THAT OF HER HUSBAND OR CHILDREN BY THE DAGGER OR BOMB OF AN ASSASSIN — IS A HIGH-SOULED, LIBERAL-MINDED, GENEROUS AND LOVING WOMAN.

Special Correspondence of The Star.

ST. PETERSBURG, March 4, 1909.
Empress Alexandra of Russia, the czar's wife, is the unhappiest woman under the sun. Her life is nothing more than prolonged misery, and she prays fervently for death to relieve her from the crushing burdens of her pitiable existence at the imperial court of Russia. Her fate may well excite the deep sympathy of the civilized world, for although she is a victim of that unholy system of government that still prevails in her husband's dominions, she is an innocent sufferer for the terrible wrongs perpetrated by others.

The Empress Alexandra is a high-souled, liberal-minded, generous and loving woman. She is a woman of the most refined tastes and generous instincts; she loves the common people and their sorrows appeal to her with tremendous force. She is in deep sympathy with the progressive movement in Russia, and she abhors the crimes that have been committed during her husband's reign and are still being perpetrated in Russia day by day. Yet far from being able to terminate them she herself has been struck down and her happiness destroyed by that very system which she would gladly abolish in the interest of others. Both her mental and physical condition are truly pitiable. She is suffering from the most extreme form of nervous depression and exhaustion. She cannot sleep and she cannot eat. The prolonged loss of appetite and systematic lack of nourishment have reduced her to a condition of physical prostration.

***

After the long summer cruise in the Baltic sea undertaken primarily in the hope of restoring her health, the czarina was so weak that she could not walk ashore, but had to be carried in an arm chair. Now she rarely ventures outside the palace, but is generally wheeled about the private grounds in a bath chair. She is only thirty-six years of age, but she is a complete wreck. Much of her time is spent in fits of depression during which she lies motionless in apathetic despair. Sometimes the terrible calm of her profound melancholy is varied by passionate fits of weeping, which horrify and alarm the members of her family and the ladies of her suite. At nights she cannot sleep, but sees awful visions of the thousands of unhappy men and women who during her husband's reign and by virtue of the death warrants signed by his hand have died on the gallows simply because they held political opinions which were considered objectionable by the recognized and accredited representatives of law and order as these terms are understood in Russia. When she falls into fitful slumbers her sleep, such as it is, is disturbed by gruesome dreams and nightmares — dreams of blood and hellish horrors, visions of an inferno created not by the imagination of a great horror, but by the revolting realities of the predominant political system in Russia.

Day and night she broods over the condition of Russia and over the unhappy isolation of the imperial family. Often she starts up from her gloomy reveries in a sudden gust of fear that assassins who have so often chosen the rulers of Russia as the victims of their cruel murders may be close at hand, intent on terminating with one decisive blow that system of oppression which is incorporated in the czar's imperial person. At other times she storms into the nursery to make sure that her beloved children are all alive, having imagined in her mental agony that they had already been felled by the dagger of a terrorist or destroyed by the fragments of a revolutionary bomb. She realizes with an awful clearness of comprehension that death hovers over her husband and her family, so that every morning she cannot know whether she will be able to clasp them in her arms in the evening, and every evening she fears that they may be torn from her side before the sun rises again.

No words can adequately describe the profound depths of the unhappiness of this imperial woman. No tragedy conceived in the imagination of poets is so truly tragic as the fate of the Czarina Alexandra

***

Her life at the Russian court, which has now extended for a period of fourteen years, has been one long series of ruthless disillusionments. Her childhood and girlhood were spent in the happiest possible circumstances. Her mother was Princess Alice, the favorite daughter of the venerable Queen Victoria of England, and the father was the royal crown duke of the little German state of Hesse. Her earlier years were divided between the delightful parental home in the vicinity of Darmstadt, in the genial atmosphere of southern Germany, and in the keen, refreshing air of English liberty at Windsor. She was brought up with perfect simplicity, and as a child she was encouraged to forget the fact that her grandmother was a queen and her father a ruling sovereign. She played games and she rode and enjoyed with hearty good spirits all the pleasures in which a healthy girl can participate. Up to the age of twenty-two her happiness was unclouded. She had lived almost an ideal life full of happiness and contentment, characterized by joyous gayety and the light-heartedness of innocence.

Then she was marked down as the prey of Russian oppression. The Russian government, in its search for a suitable bride for Nicholas, the heir to the throne, decided that Princess Alix of Hesse was the most eligible young lady to be found among all the royal families of Europe. Formal proposals were accordingly made to the court of Hesse, and no end of pressure was brought to bear on the reluctant Princess Alix to accept the future czar as her husband. Nicholas came to visit her family at Darmstadt, and created a most unfavorable impression on his future bride. She found him dull and uninteresting and rather unsympathetic. He did not appeal to her interest in any way, and it seemed to her that life with this quaint little man as her husband offered no charms at all. The pictures that were drawn to her of the magnificence of the court of Russia left her unmoved, for she was a pure, natural girl who wanted to marry for love, and to her the idea of making a political match was abhorrent in every sense. But finally her opposition was overcome. The persuasion of her relatives and her friends broke down her opposition. Reluctantly and against her own will she became the wife of Nicholas, and no sooner were they wedded than the death of Alexander III elevated her husband to the throne of all the Russias.

It was a terrible experience for a high-spirited and independent young girl to leave the surroundings of her youth to plunge into the corrupt and fetid atmosphere of the Russian court. From the very beginning she was disliked by the Russian court party and she disliked them in return. Her unconventional habits and her progressive tendencies made her an object of suspicion to all the grand dukes and duchesses and aristocratic magnates who formed the bulwarks of the reactionary system of government in the country. The old gang at court despised and ridiculed her; she was exposed to petty humiliations and annoyances. Her lack of knowledge of the Russian language, which she has since learned to perfection, at that time made her the subject of unseemly jests and gibes. It is true that she was the czar's wife, but in the strange surroundings of the Russian court she was made to feel like an intruder and almost like an impostor.

All this would have been bearable if she had loved her husband and could have enjoyed a happy family life. But that love which was wanting before marriage never came afterward, for the revelation of Nicholas II's character came as a fearful shock and deep disappointment to this energetic and ambitious woman. She soon found that the czar was nothing more than a weakling, who was driven hither and thither by the different cross currents as though he were a feather in a whirlpool. Moreover, his everyday actions showed a shameless disregard of morality. The czar did not even take the trouble to conceal in any way his flirtations. The czarina resolutely opposed the immoral tendencies of the Russian court. Her own life has been blameless above the least reproach and she excluded from her own circle all those women who could be identified as participants in scandalous affairs. She could not overcome the customs and traditions of centuries, but her influence was felt and it promoted the purity of the imperial court.

***

It was not only the personal immorality of the Russian court and of the highest circles of the Russian aristocracy that the Empress Alexandra opposed and combated. Year after year she struggled in a futile effort to liberate her husband from the yoke of his reactionary advisers and to convince him that the safety of Russia lay in the adoption of those measures of political progress which had so long been introduced in western countries. The executions, the persecutions, the unjust punishments meted out to political offenders harrowed the soul of the czarina and stirred up in her a burning hatred of the system which the czar was upholding. Time after time she intervened to wring from her husband a free pardon of political prisoners condemned to death or at least commutation of the capital sentence to terms of penal servitude. Again and again she raised her voice on behalf of unhappy exiles and caused their release. Year after year she reasoned and argued and pleaded with the czar to abandon his reactionary methods of government, pointing out to him that the perpetuation of cruelty and injustice could only bring ruin on the Romanoff dynasty.

Her reforming tendencies brought her into collision with the entire environment of the Russian court. Her mother-in-law, the Dowager Empress Marie, denounced her as wicked and scheming, and battles royal took place between the czar's mother and the czar's wife. All the grand dukes and grand duchesses were up in revolt against her. It was a case of one woman fighting against the established order of things defended by all the powerful elements in the country. But the czarina never flinched. With clear intelligence she saw disaster approaching, and, undeterred by opposition and undismayed by calumny and ridicule, she steadily pursued her way and sought to reform Russia. Unhappy in her married life and disappointed in regard to the political development of the country which she had adopted as her own, her only consolation was offered her by her children.

***

When the storm of revolution burst over Russia four years ago the warnings which the czarina had uttered were justified. Her prophecies had come true. She alone among the statesmen and magnates of Russia had realized the awful consequence of systematically oppressing a great nation. Her relatives outside of Russia, including some of the most influential members of the English royal family and her own brother, now the reigning Grand Duke of Hesse, urged her to turn her back on the accursed country and to seek safety in a foreign refuge; but the czarina, who alone had seen the danger and who had sought to avert it, could not be persuaded to leave her husband's side. The grand dukes fled to Paris to drown care in dissipations, and the grand duchesses dispersed to the pleasure resorts of Europe, but the czarina remained at home, even although it seemed certain at many times that death at the hands of the exasperated rebels would be the only reward for her courageous determination.

Since the first outbreak of revolution, at the end of 1904, the czarina has been living in bondage. Her prison is gilded, but her incarceration is hardly less terrible than that of the Siberian exiles. There has been no moment in which the danger of assassination was absent. Plots and conspiracies to murder the entire imperial family were discovered and frustrated. Bombs were found in the imperial palace and poison in the food destined for the imperial table. Day after day news came from all parts of the empire of bloodshed and war between the old and the new order. Throughout the period of revolutionary disorder in Russia the czarina continued to work with frantic energy for the introduction of progressive measures and for a conciliatory policy toward the nation.

It is one of the ironies of fate that this noble woman, who spared no effort to save the country, should be the primary victim of Russian tyranny. She is a martyr to the cause of liberty and civilization. Her name will be handed down to future generations of Russia as that of a great and noble woman, who performed her duty unflinchingly and who with courageous determination opposed all the forces of corruption and reaction in the Russian empire.

Alexandra's letter to Nicholas, dated March 2, 1915, and Nicholas's telegram, dated March 3, 1915

Sources:


http://www.alexanderpalace.org/letters/march15.html

The letter:

No. 48
Tsarskoje Selo, 3-rd March 1915
My beloved One,
Such a sunny day! Baby went in the garden, he feels well, tho' has again a little water in the knee. The girls drove & then joined me in the big Palace. We inspected the sanitary train 66, its an endlessly long one, but well arranged — it belongs to the Ts. Selo district.

In the morning we had a hernial rupture operation of a soldier. Yesterday evening we were with Ania — Schwedov & Zabor too. — I got a letter fr. Ella's Countess Olsufiev — she has been placed at the head of 16 Comités de bienfaisance des 22 hospitaux militaires de Moscou. They need money, so she asks whether she might get the big theater for a big representation May 23-rd — (second Easter holiday) she thinks they might gain about 20,000 (I doubt) for those hospitals. They give them things the ministery (military) cannot give them. If you agree, then I shall tell Fredericks & he can send you the official paper. — On the affiches they will print that the theatre has been given by a special grace of yours. — The idea of going to town to a hospital is rather awful, but still I know I must go, so to-morrow afternoon we shall be off. In the morning Karangosov's appendicitis will be cut off. — How glad I am you get yr. walks daily. — God grant you will really be able to see lots & have talks out there with the Generals. — I have told Viltchkovsky to send fat Orlov a printed paper one of the wounded received from his chief — far too hard orders & absolutely unjust & cruel — if an officer does not return at the time mentioned he must be disciplinied punished etc.. I cant write it, the paper will tell you all. One comes to the conclusion that those that are wounded are doubly badly treated — better keep behind or hide away to remain untouched & I find it most unfair — & I dont beleive its everywhere the same, but in some armies. — Forgive me bothering you my Love, but you can help out there, & one does not want bitterness setting in their poor hearts. — Must end. — Blessings & kisses without end.
Ever yr. own
Sunny.

Nicholas's telegram:

Telegram. Stavka. 3 March, 1915.
Warmest thanks for charming letters from you and the children. I was busy all the evening with conversations, reading and writing. Foul, wet, windy weather. Good news from everywhere. I kiss you all fondly.
Nicky.


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams' memories of Alexandra

Source:

The Emperor Nicholas II as I Knew Him, by Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams, 1922

The excerpts:

29th October 1915.
Sat next the Empress at dinner, she having come here for a short visit.

The Empress asked me about my family again this evening, and I told her that to-day was the birthday of my father, who, if he were still alive, would be 116 to-day, as he was born in 1799.

The Empress spoke to me of her indignation at the delay caused to the Empress Mother in her journey to Russia by the German authorities, and of her own determination in those anxious days just before the outbreak of war that the cause of Russia and the Allies was a just one. That she dreaded the horrors of war which must follow there is no doubt, but she stood loyally for Russia throughout.

Her relief when she heard that Great Britain was to be one of the Allies was great. She had always loved our country, and had faith that never wavered of our determination and support.

How far it was her influence that persuaded the Emperor to take personal command of the troops in the field is a vexed question.

I give the account of the Emperor himself to me personally on his decision, and there was no particular call for his telling me the facts as clearly as he did.

--

19th May 1916.
The Empress arrived yesterday and told me how pleased she had been with her visit to the British hospital at Petrograd, and what excellent work Lady Sybil Grey was doing there.

I found the Empress much easier to get on with than I expected, probably for the reason of her great love for my own country, and her custom of talking English constantly to the Emperor, and the many interests she had on matters upon which I was able to give her news or information.

When she told me how terribly shy she felt on coming into the room where we were all assembled — and it was a very large gathering, the chiefs of all the Allied military missions, the French, Belgian, Italian, Japanese, Serbian, and a galaxy of Russian officers, with a sprinkling of Russian officials, both civil and diplomatic — I told her that the Emperor was always there, and then said laughingly to her: 'Your Majesty is so accustomed to visiting hospital cases and seeing operations that the best thing to do is to imagine to yourself that we are only 64 operation cases, and all will go well.'

It is probable that her own shyness, which gives the impression of aloofness, prevents people from talking to her and freezes up conversation.

The moment one began to laugh over things she brightened up and talk became easy and unaffected.

To-day being the Emperor's birthday we all attended a very beautiful service at the garrison church, after which there was a levee, I being the doyen leading in to wish the usual happy returns.

Sir Samuel Hoare arrived on a short visit.

At the birthday dinner I sat next the Empress, who told me a great deal of her hospitals, and of her gardens in the Crimea, from which the wonderful show of flowers which decorated the table came. The Emperor, who sat next the Empress, told me that she sent him flowers every day for his room. They both talk English as their own ordinary means of conversation, and the Empress seemed very well and in good spirits. She asked a great deal about the Duke of Connaught and Canada, and curiously enough on return to my quarters I found a letter from H. R. H. from Canada.

--

16th June 1916.
Another lot of most welcome flowers arrived from the Empress, for which I thanked the Emperor. ...

--

8th July 1916.
Some more beautiful flowers sent me by the Empress.

--

23rd July 1916.
I had an opportunity of thanking the Empress, next to whom I was at dinner, for her kind and continual gifts of flowers to me.

She leaves again to-morrow in her Red Cross car.

The Empress walked in to-night, looking like a beautiful picture, with her daughters. Hers is the only sad face in the family, but it lightens up when she comes by and greets one. To-night, however, she looked as if she had been suffering and was anxious about something.

As I was next to her at dinner, I asked her if she had been working very hard.

She said 'No,' but that she had trouble from her heart and that it alarmed her. Not knowing much of illness of this kind, I merely said that I knew of one case where the person concerned had found that it was merely a muscular trouble and soon passed off.

It seems extraordinary how little it takes to cheer her up, for the conversation turned off on to the subject of pictures and Verestchagin's work, and till the end of dinner she seemed quite happy.

It is a very curious character, a devoted wife and mother, and yet acting under bad influences which react on her, on all that belong to her and her own country.

She is so proud of Russia and so anxious that the Allies should win the war, and yet, without being aware of it, carrying out bad advice in the selection of advisers and others. War to her seems almost more terrible, if such a thing is possible, than to other people. But she spoke of it to me as the 'passing out of darkness into the light of victory.' 'Victory we must have.'

--

25th July 1916.
... The Emperor told me at dinner that the Empress had sent me her best wishes in her daily telegram to him.

--

15th August 1916.
I lunched with the Emperor and Empress, both most kind in urging me to come back as soon as possible. After lunch I walked up and down for a long time with him in the garden, and he gave me various letters and messages from him and the Empress to take to England.

As he said good-bye, he added: 'Tell them in England of our good feeling for them all and of the high appreciation felt here of the splendid work of the British Navy and Army. They must not believe any stories which go about trying to make mischief between the two countries.

'We mean to fight this war out to the end with our good Allies. And the only peace we shall agree to will be one that will do us all honour together when once we have achieved victory.'

The Empress spoke of the education of children, and how anxious she was that her daughters should be simple and unaffected, that in England girls had so many opportunities of healthy out-of-door amusements, and moved about more.

She told me that we must not spoil the little boy, and I assured her that we wouldn't; indeed he was not the sort that is easily spoiled, and his tutor kept him in good discipline.

She feared that the war would sadden their lives, but at the same time saw quite clearly that an experience such as we were going through would impress them without leaving too lasting a sad memory.

'What a responsibility,' she said, 'for those who started this awful war, killing, wounding, suffering, and the dark shadows thrown over young lives, which ought to have nothing but brightness.' She at first could not believe the stories that came from Belgium of the treatment of the civil population by the enemy. 'But now we have proofs, and no punishment can be strong enough for the offenders. Your English soldiers would scorn such ideas of treating even the worst of their enemies in this way.' ...

--

20th October 1916.
The Empress here, and I sat next to her at lunch, when we had a long talk about my visit to England, a country for which she has such great affection and in which she takes so much interest. She also wanted to know all about my family, and especially of the two boys (the elder whom I left, I fear, not far from the end, and the younger one who was so badly wounded). She is indeed most kind, sympathetic and thoughtful for others. She told me that she had not been at all well herself, nerves and heart trouble.

What a difference it would make to Russia if she had good health and nerves.

The Emperor sent for me after lunch and assured me that all was right in Russia, and determination to continue the war to the bitter end as firm as ever. He quite realises the importance, he says, of helping Rumania, and hopes that some forward action from Salonika will help.

He trusts that any rumours as to a premature peace on the part of Russia will be treated for what they are worth, which is nothing. Enemy intrigue is at the bottom of these rumours.

He is as fully determined as are his armies to continue the struggle until Victory is assured. Idle gossip in some centres, such as Petrograd, is not worth heeding, and he hoped that no one in England would be affected by it. German and enemy intrigue was the cause of all the malicious talk.

The Empress had been equally keen in her anxiety for the success of the Allies, and I hope this reassuring report will continue. I told the Emperor that I hoped the Empress would have a long rest, as she seemed overwrought. ...

--

24th October 1916.
The Empress sent me some more flowers, and asked if she could see my children's photographs, which I managed to produce, and the next day when I was with the Emperor at dinner he told me that she was sending me a photo of herself and the little boy.

--

14th November 1916.
... More chrysanthemums and other flowers from the Empress.

--

27th November 1916.
The Empress-Mother's birthday. H. I. M. went to dine with the Empress, and I was able to send a message of thanks for more flowers. ...

--

28th November 1916.
Sat next the Empress at lunch, when she seemed in really good spirits and as kind as ever, asked a great deal about my wounded son, and seemed hopeful about the war. ...

--

1st December 1916.
Their Majesties both congratulated on Queen Alexandra's birthday, and drank her Majesty's health.

--

5th December 1916.
Both Emperor and Empress were present at a cinema performance for the soldiers and were very well received.

In the evening I had a long talk to the Empress, who spoke of the necessity for people keeping cheerful and not losing their heads over the length of the war, which she was convinced would end in the victory of our Allied forces.'

After dinner she beckoned to me to come up and talk to her again. I crossed the room to the piano, where we stood alone. H. I. M. then referred to the wicked slanders that were being spread about in the large towns, but hoped that the recent utterances of Ministers on 'both sides of the water' would convince people of the firm determination of the Allies to see the war through to the bitter end.

She then said: 'You are, I hear, going up to Petrograd on a short visit soon?' 'Yes, your Majesty, I hope to pay a visit and see the Ambassador and hear the news up there.'

'Well, promise me if you go that you will not believe all the wicked stories that are being gossiped about there.'

It gave me the opportunity to say something which I bad in my mind, and which could not have been said had not the opportunity offered itself. It was on my lips when the Emperor came up laughing and said: 'What are you two plotting about in the corner?'

The conversation broke off, as they then bid us good-night and I left.

[N.B.: That was the last occasion upon which I saw the Empress. No doubt if I bad spoken my words would not have had much effect, but I bad been urged to do so by someone much concerned, and had never expected to have the chance.]

--

30th December 1916.
This evening while Charlie Burn, a very old friend whom I was glad to have with me, was sitting in my room (at the Hotel Astoria at Petrograd), I was rung up by Wilton of The Times:

'They have got him at last, General.'

I guessed to whom lie referred.

It was the end of Rasputin.

The year 1917 opened with the death of Rasputin as the talk of Russia.

So much has been written about this notorious scamp that it would only be a tiresome repetition to give a sketch of him here.

He was never allowed to come to the Headquarters of the Armies in the Field.

A brief summary, however, of what I gathered about him, touching as it does, unfortunately, on the life of the Empress, is almost necessary.

As I spent most of my time at Headquarters or in the field, I only paid occasional visits to Petrograd, and naturally did not endeavour to see him, or make inquiries on a question which, being in the mouths of everyone, was sufficiently discussed and talked about to make further probing into it unnecessary.

Since those days I have come to the following conclusions:

His influence over the Empress was undoubted. It arose over the history of the birth of her son a son being granted to her, she thought, owing to the prayers of this wicked and wandering monk.

The delicate health of the young heir was the cause of great anxiety to her, and she placed all her faith on Rasputin to keep the boy in health.

--

JANUARY 1917
It is possible that he had some of the qualities of a 'nerve specialist,' and either through attendance on the invalid, or by his influence over the mother, induced the latter to believe that he was indispensable for her boy's sake.

So gradually he became her adviser on matters of state, and through the Empress his influence affected the Emperor.

How much he was a paid agent of the enemy it is difficult to say, but there is no doubt that he received money from some sources which did good work for Germany at the time, and bad for Russia.

There seems but little doubt that his principal agent at Court was, wilfully or not, the celebrated Madame Vouirobova, who was very rarely away from the Empress.

The known influence he exercised over the Empress, and thus upon the Emperor, made him the court of appeal for all those intriguers and place-seekers who had their own axes to grind, and knew full well that here was a means of assuring their success. No doubt, wherever the money came from, whether from German sources or others, it became well spent by those who, for their nefarious purposes, brought about, by 'slow drops of poison,' as it were, the ruin of Russia.

The public scandal reached its climax in 1916, when he was 'removed' to other spheres, and of the two spheres there can be but little doubt in which he reposes.

And yet it always seems to me, in going back over past history, that the death of Rasputin, however desirable it was on moral and other grounds, was the factor leading to the final debacle of the Romanoffs.

Instead of saving Russia, by another of the ironies of fate which have pursued that great and unfortunate country, it helped to ruin it.

Looking at all the facts coldly and dispassionately, it seems possible that if this 'happy dispatch' had been postponed till a little later — after the war-Russia might have been spared the terrible blow which loyal Russians felt in the desertion by their country of the Allied cause.

But one thing must always be remembered — his dealings with the Empress were those of a bad adviser, an imaginary saint, who she believed, alas! had the interests of her country and of her son at heart.

Some stories of the many published about him were absolutely untrue and unjustified, except to those who wished for a lucrative result from them.

An unscrupulous blackguard, posing as a saint, and, owing to the cures which he apparently effected on the little Tsarevitch, trusted and believed in by the Empress, whose love for her son and naturally nervous temperament made her an easy prey to advice and suggestions from Rasputin affecting political and other appointments, on which she in her turn over-persuaded the Emperor.

The scandals which he had caused led to tales of worse ones, most of the latter being, however, without any foundation.

I never saw him, as he was not permitted to come to the armies, and he was not a person that one was anxious to see.

But anyone who knew the Empress knew full well that she might have been spared many of the wicked accusations which were made concerning her dealings with him.

--

4th January 1917.
In the train last night on my return from Petrograd to Headquarters I travelled with one of the Emperor's A.D.C.'s. He was naturally full of the Rasputin episode, and anxious as to its results. The question is: What will be done with the officers who took part in it? If they suffer in any way there will be trouble. The best thing, as I told my friends, would be to pack them off to their regiments at the front. It is such a peculiar case, reading like a romance of the Middle Ages, that it may lead to any and all sorts of trouble, and it requires a very strong man at Court to place the matter in a clear and impartial light before their Majesties.

The difficulty would be specially with the Empress, being as she is a firm believer in the good faith of Rasputin. And her influence reacts on the Emperor.

I confess that even with the disappearance of the most important factor in the drama I see no light ahead yet, and the situation may develop into anything. ...

The crowned heads of this country are so far from their people, and the Empress through shyness and a nervous nature is but rarely seen, though she has worked splendidly for the sick and wounded, and has a really kind and sympathetic nature, which unfortunately no one experiences except those who are very near her, or who happen to have seen a good deal of her, as I have done.

Shyness gives at once the impression of aloofness, with the result that it 'puts off' anyone getting to know her or being able to tell her things she should know.

At present she stands alone. It is a sad business, and when one looks at those pretty daughters one wonders what will happen to them all. ...

--

11th January 1917.
As the Russian New Year falls in two days wrote to-day to my old friend, Count Fredericks, to ask him to convey my respectful good wishes to the Emperor and Empress.

I said that I hoped that the new year might bring us the peace which I knew they wished to see brought about by our victorious arms, and I added that I hoped their Imperial Majesties would always find good advisers to help them in times of difficulty. ...

--

It is difficult to offer an estimate of character of the one without the other. More difficult, perhaps, to speculate upon what would have happened if they had never met, and he had found another consort.

The Emperor — till too late — was a confirmed autocrat, apart, I believe, from the influence of the Empress, who had identical views as to the government of the country.

In a speech made in January 1895 he had said: 'Let them [the people] know that I, devoting all my efforts to the prosperity of the nation, will preserve the principles of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my late father of imperishable memory.'

It was the teaching of his boyhood, and he felt it his duty to hand these principles on.

It is possible, however, that had he married someone else, possessed of a clear head and the influence which might have been exercised with him by one who, though not a courtier, was so near him as to be available at any time to suggest and advise, circumstances might have worked out quite differently. As it was, even a courtier who had the good sense to speak out with honest endeavour — and how rare such courtiers are to be of service went to the wall. Whether that was the independent action of the Emperor alone, or of some additional pressure from the Empress, I do not know. The fact remains that an already confirmed autocrat became more so under her influence.

That they honestly believed that it was the right system for the government of their country is certain. Thus there existed a couple working hand in hand, as they believed and imagined, for the good of their country, and the dangers of the autocratic system became intensified by the fact that the stronger influence of the two was that of the Empress, whose ill health and neurotic character not only cut her off from the outside world of Russia, but brought her under other influences, which reacted again upon the Emperor and finally brought him, loyal and devoted as he was, to his fall.

Appointments and dismissals of ministers lay entirely in the hands of the Emperor, but the adviser who brought them about was in most cases the Empress.

The combination of an Emperor so devoted to his Empress that her word was law, and of an Empress led unconsciously by the worst possible advisers, brought about their ruin and that - for the time being - of their country.

According to M. Gilliard's account of the last days of the Imperial family, those fine qualities of the Empress which showed themselves in her care and devotion to the sick and wounded during the war became still more evident in the days of distress, misery and ignominy which crowned the end.

Even her critics and her enemies, and she had many, will accord her a meed of praise for the courage and devotion which, even in what must have been the most intense purgatory to her, she showed unselfishly for her husband and children.

And so in death they were not divided.

I was much struck, closely interested as I was in Russian affairs, at the apparent lack of interest, almost amounting to indifference, with which the news of the fate of the Russian Imperial family was received in England. It was probably to be accounted for by two reasons, the number and rapidity of the march of events connected with a great war and its sequences, and the uncertainty as to the truth of the reports, confirmation or contradiction being almost daily reported, till a lack of interest ensued.

The fact remains, however, that one of the greatest tragedies in history was, to all appearances, quickly forgotten, except by those to whom it came very near.

As to the alleged pro-Germanism of the Emperor and Empress, I think I have said enough in the preceding pages to dispel the idea of this accusation.

I may add another note upon the subject.

As is known to those taking an interest in the question, a commission was appointed by the Revolutionary Government with the duty assigned to it of searching through all the letters, both official and private, of the Emperor and Empress.

The Commission apparently did its work with zeal and such enthusiasm as can be found by those who enjoy the prying into the personal and private and family affairs of other people.

No doubt, all agog for some scandalous discovery, or proof of guilt by the discovery of letters to the enemy, or expressions of affection for the Germans, they scanned the pages before them, word for word.

What was the result?

M. V. M. Roudnieff, one of its members, allowed indignation to master his surprise, and published his personal report, proving to the world at large that not a jot or a tittle of evidence was to be found.

The mysterious intrigues of the Empress with the enemy vanished.

The accusations of disloyalty on the part of the Emperor were exploded.

Those who knew them received this news with no surprise. Those who professed to know them, and maligned them, probably preferred to look elsewhere for any other kind or other sort of news they could find.

What followed? The irony of fate threw the country where accusations of disloyalty had dethroned an Emperor and Empress, into the arms of the very enemy with whom they had been supposed to intrigue, and Brest-Litovsk and Bolshevism ruined Russia.


Above: Alexandra.


Above: Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams.


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra.


Above: Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia.


Above: Alexei.


Above: Grigori Rasputin.

Alexandra's telegram to Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams upon the death of his eldest son, dated December 20, 1916

Source:

The Emperor Nicholas II as I Knew Him, by Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams, 1922

The telegram:

Accept my heartfelt sympathy in your great sorrow. God help you to bear this heavy trial and send consolation and strength to your poor wife. ALEXANDRA.


Above: Alexandra.


Above: Major-General Sir John Hanbury-Williams.

Alexandra's letter to her sister Victoria, dated August 25, 1915

Source:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928

The letter:

Times are awfully hard, in every sense of the word, but one lives, hoping in God's infinite mercy.


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Alexandra's letter to her sister Victoria, dated September 1915

Source:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928

The letter:

Nicky will take over the command, General Alexieff will have the chief work to do, as head of Nicky's staff. He will guide the whole thing here as the other place [Mohileff] is still further off and then he will constantly go and see the troops and know what's going on at last. ... It's a heavy cross Nicky takes upon himself, but with God's help it will bring better luck.


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Nicholas. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Alexandra's letter to her sister Victoria, dated August 31, 1915

Source:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928

The letter:

They are advancing at great speed. Our misery, the lack of rifles and heavy artillery, like theirs. They bring more and more to our side. Will England and France never help us? We leave the fortresses, nothing can withstand 16-inch guns — old fortresses after all — and to lose lives uselessly is no good. The further they come the worse for them — the getting out. Must hope for an early, cold winter. We were not prepared for war and they were thoroughly, and then, they are splendid at organizing things, laying lines and so on, but God will help! The misery of the thousands of fugitives, who block up the rear! One does what one can for them, but the quantity is so colossal.


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Alexandra's letter to her sister Victoria, dated May 11, 1915

Source:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928

The letter:

How too outrageous the sinking of the Lusitania. There are things one cannot understand. ... An officer died on the table. A very difficult operation succeeded, then the heart gave way. Hard such moments, but my girlies must know life, and we go through all together.


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Alexandra's letter to her sister Victoria, written in April or May 1915

Source:

The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna by Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, 1928

The letter:

I would to God, that this hideous bloodshed would end — but it is too early. The work is not yet done, and they still underrate us. One day they advance, the next we, and on the other side too.


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Letter to Alexandra from Alexei, dated December 15, 1916

Source:

Letters and writings of Nicholas II and his family on Facebook


The letter:

Stavka December 15, 1916
My dear, darling Mama.
You will never see Joy again — he has been made into wonderful sausages for the guests!!!!!!!

Today was the same as always: I studied, walked and played.

Igor is leaving today!

Zhenya Makarov is in a sanatorium in Finland.

If it is alright with you, he can come to me for the CHRISTMAS PARTY.

The weather is plain: frost - 4°R. I am reading an interesting book about the Crusades in French, and in Russian I am learning "The Song of the Prophetic Oleg".

SOON,
COMING SOON and
SOO-oo-oo-ON!!!
I tenderly press all of you to my heart.
May the Lord protect you
MOTMA
+ + + + +!
Firmly.
Your
Alexei.


Above: Alexandra and Alexei. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Letter to Alexandra from Alexei, dated May 19, 1916

Source:

Letters and writings of Nicholas II and his family on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=193581215719600&id=108838347527221

The letter:

Stavka, May 19, 1916
Dear Mama
After you left, out of despair, Igor rushed to Zhilik and strangled him in his arms and kissed him. Papa has just got a lot of papers. They are expecting me for breakfast, and so I am writing in a hurry (sorry).
Yesterday Papa's motor got stuck in the mud on our outing, and then they pulled it out. I was in the church. Igor kisses you. Vladimir Nikolaevich and V. Dolgoruky do too. Zhilik the Rooster and Derevenko were running on the gigantic steps.
There is nothing more to write.
I kiss you firmly.
God bless you! +
Lovingly yours,
Alexei.
+


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Alexei with his French tutor Pierre Gilliard, whom he nicknamed Zhilik. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Wiring the hidden lights in the Maple Room

Source:

Irina Raskovskaya



Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The Maple Room, then and now

Source:

GMZ Tsarskoe Selo







Photos in better resolution:





"A brilliant example of Russian art nouveau interior design, the Maple Drawing Room of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna, together with the State Study of Emperor Nicholas II across the Corridor and the Children's Rooms on the upper floor of the Alexander Palace, was built in place of Giacomo Quarenghi's largely unused Concert Hall.

The renovation of 1902-4 was completed by the company of the Meltzer brothers who adorned the room with marvellous stuccowork, with rose stems and trunks on the warm pink walls and rose leaves and flowers near and on the ceiling. The latter was surrounded by a big cornice hiding almost two hundred electric lamps.

The room's decorations included: a beautiful mezzanine connected to another in the emperor's study, a fireplace mirror in the Tiffany style with a metal frame bearing a coloured glass mosaic of roses, a display cabinet with Alexandra's collection of Fabergé eggs and Venetian glass vases, and natural flowers and plants as well.

The interior was zoned into several cozy spaces where the empress could do needlework, read and draw. The children often came here to play, do their homework or enjoy five o'clock tea.

Damaged during WWII, the surviving decorative elements were later considered "of no value" and fell victim to the palace's refurbishment as the Alexander Pushkin Museum.

Thanks to the great efforts of our research staff, design architects and restorers, the Maple Drawing Room is  regaining its original appearance with the stucco decoration, carved mezzanine and built-in furniture of gray maple. The stuccowork is re-created from surviving colour Autochromes, old photographs, and rare examples of the same decorative technique used, for example, in the Hendrik van Gilse van der Pals mansion on Angliysky (Enlgish) Prospekt in St Petersburg. The priceless clues as to the original pink hue and stucco design were found inside a previously sealed space between the two mezzanines

The lighting system of the Maple Drawing Room will also be restored when the East Wing of the Alexander Palace opens to the public. The plant decorations are under consideration as well."

Sunday, November 22, 2020

Alexandra's letter to Nicholas, dated March 1, 1915, and Nicholas's reply telegram and letter, dated March 2/3, 1915

Sources:

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.30000011396573&view=1up&seq=103

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/letters/march15.html

The letter:

No. 47
Tsarskoje Selo, March 1-st 1915
My very own Huzy dear,
What an unexpected joy yr. precious letter was, thank you for it from all my loving old heart. Yes, lovy mine, I saw you were happy to be home these 2 days again & I too regret that we cannot be more together now that A. is not in the house. It reminds one of bygone evenings — so peaceful & calm, & no one's moods to bother & make one nervous. —

I went to Church last night at 7, the cosacks sang well & it was soothing & I thought & prayed much for my Nicky dear — I always think you are standing near me there. — Baby madly enjoyed yr. bath, & made us all come & look on at his pranks on the water. All the daughters beg too for the same treat some evening — may they? — Then we went to Ania, I worked, Olga glued her Album, Tatiana worked — M. & A. went home after 10 & we remained till 11. I went into the room where the Strannitza (blind) was with her lantern — we talked together & then she said her prayer. —

The Com. of the O. fortress Schulman knew us when he was at Kronstadt to put order there & then at Sebastopol he commanded the Brest regiment, wh. behaved so well during the stories — I remember his face very well. — After luncheon shall finish — now must dress. Ortipo has been rushing all over my bed like mad & crushed Viltchkovsky's reports I was reading. — The weather is quite mild, zero. —

I had Olga E. to say goodbye, she leaves for a quiet sanatorium near Moscou for 2 months. Then we went to the cemitry, as I had not long been there, & then on to our little hospital & the big palace. Upon our return found your dear telegram for wh. tenderest thanks. — We all kiss & bless you over & over again. Our love to N. P.
Ever, my Treasure, yr. very own
Wify.

Who misses her sweetheart very much. —

Nicholas's replies:

Telegram. Stavka. 2 March, 1915
Warmest thanks for dear letter and news. It is warm, but dull. I am very busy and have to speak a great deal. Find time for the usual long walks after lunch. I shall write. Embrace everyone closely.
Nicky.

--

Stavka. 2 March, 1915
MY TENDERLY BELOVED,
I thank you from my heart for your two sweet letters. Every time that I see the envelope with your firm writing, my heart leaps several times, and I shut myself up and read, or more correctly absorb the letter.

Of course the girls can bathe in my swimming-bath; I am glad that the Little One enjoys it so much; I asked the rogue to write to me about all this!

I am here for the seventh time — only think of it! At the front everything is quite satisfactory. N. is in a good humour and as usual demands rifles and ammunition. The question of supplying our railways and factories with coal has assumed an alarming character, and I have asked Roukhlov to take it all into his hands. Only imagine, if the manufacture of military supplies were to cease! And this because of a lack of coal, or rather owing to an insufficient output of it in our mines in the South! I am convinced that energetic measures will pull us out of these difficulties.

George looks quite well and very sunburnt; he has told me many interesting things, which he will presently pass on to you. Petiusha is here, quite recovered now. I have learnt from him that Roman had typhoid fever, but is getting better. To-day a charming old man, Pau, a French general, came from Galicia-he is delighted with his journey and with having been under Austrian fire. Sazonov arrived as well this morning, so that they all lunched with me. To-morrow Paléologue is due to arrive, who is supposed to bring the official reply of France concerning Constantinople, and also her wishes with regard to the Turkish booty.

3 March.
In the course of the day we had a lengthy conversation — N., Sazonov, Yanoushkevitch and I — which ended to our mutual satisfaction. So many questions have accumulated that it is impossible to solve them in one day. My plans are not yet quite clear. N. would not hear of my going to Lomja to start with. He says that German aeroplanes are flying there above our troops, searching for our reserves; that all the roads are blocked with transport and wagons; and that, for these reasons, he does not advise General Pau to travel in that direction. I shall see what I shall do. I have sent Djounkovsky to find out what is happening there, and, as he is a practical man, he will be able to judge whether this journey is possible.

To-day the news from everywhere is quite good. Little Osovetz is holding out satisfactorily against the bombardment; all that is damaged in the day-time is repaired at night; the spirit of the garrison is magnificent and they are in sufficient strength. I have sent them my thanks. This time the Germans are further away from their objective than they were the first time in September.

Yesterday N. brought me Ivanov's report from Broussilov and Khan-Nakhichevansky about the splendid behaviour of Misha's division in the February fighting, when they were attacked in the Carpathians by two Austrian divisions. The Caucasians not only repelled the enemy, but actually attacked him, and were the first to enter Stanislavov, while Misha was the whole time in the line of fire.

Everybody is asking me to give him the Cross of St. George, which I shall do, N. is sending one of his adjutants this evening with my letter and order to Misha; I am very glad for his sake, as I think that this time he has really earned this military distinction, and it will show him that he is, after all, treated exactly as all the others, and that by doing his duty well he also gets a reward.

The little Admiral is behaving very well and often makes us laugh during our evening games of dominoes by his witty remarks about Tatishchev and Svechin, who bore him with their interminable talks. It is true that the latter likes to tell dull anecdotes, interspersed with French sentences, when we are having lunch or tea, and he is beginning to try the patience of us all. The Admiral has become great friends with Feodorov, and they discuss nothing but points of strategy.

Well, I have talked enough nonsense, and you must forgive me, my darling Wify. God bless you and the children! I kiss you all tenderly.
Always your old devoted hubby
Nicky.


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Tatiana's French bulldog puppy Ortipo. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Nicholas's bath. Photo courtesy of GMZ Tsarskoe Selo.

Nicholas's telegram to Alexandra, dated March 1, 1915

Source:

http://www.alexanderpalace.org/letters/march15.html

The telegram:

Telegram. Stavka. 1 March, 1915.
Thank you sincerely for letter and telegram. I am terribly sorry about poor Strouve. The weather here is very mild; there is practically no snow. The news from everywhere is good. George is here and very busy. I kiss you and the children fondly.
Nicky.


Above: Nicholas and Alexandra.

Alexandra's letter to Nicholas, dated February 28, 1915

Source:

My very own One,
It was sad seeing you go off in the train all alone, & my heart ached. — Well I went straight to Ania for 10 minutes & then we worked in the hospital till 1. After luncheon we received 6 officers who return to the army — those wh. we had sent to the Crimea look splendid, round & brown. — Then little John called Olga to the telephone to tell her, that poor Struve is killed — he is awfully sad, because he was his great friend. He told J. that if he should fall in war, he was to be sure to tell you, that he had never once taken off his aschelbant since you gave them to him — poor, kind, cheery, handsome boy! His body is being brought back. Then I went to the big palace & sat for some time with the worst, I took the lovely postcards of Livadia to show & they were greatly admired — then the Children joined me & we went through all the wards. — I shall go for a little to church, it does one good; that and work, looking after those brave fellows, are one comfort. In the evening we shall go to Ania — she finds I am too little with her, wants me to sit longer, (& alone) but we have not much to speak of — with the wounded one always can. —

My Angel, I must finish because the messenger has to leave. —

I bless & kiss you over & over again, my Nicky dear — a lonely night awaits us.
Ever yr. very own
Wify.

The Children kiss you very much. Hope tiny Admiral "behaves" himself. —


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Nicholas. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.

Letter to Alexandra from Alexei, dated December 7, 1916

Source:

Letters and writings of Nicholas II and his family on Facebook


The letter:

Stavka 7 December 1916
Sweet, dear Mama.
Yesterday I was in a real hurry, so I apologise. It was really interesting at the cinematograph yesterday, because we found out who was the "MYSTERIOUS HAND" — it was Helen's fiancé!!! It is winter here 6°R of frost. I was very happy to talk (to you) on the telephone yesterday. I kiss you firmly. God protect you.
Alexei


Above: Alexandra. Photo courtesy of Ilya Grigoryev at lastromanovs on VK.


Above: Alexei.