In 1894, Nicholas II told his cousin Sandro, "I am not ready to be Tsar."(1) Born on May 6, 1868, Nicholas was the polar opposite of his domineering father, Alexander III. He was interested in hunting and the ballet, and he was physically weaker than his father. He stood at 5'6" and despite athletic training had a wiry physique. In the shadow of his luminous father, Nicholas battled insecurity on a regular basis. "Nicholas grew up in the isolation of his family. This held him back from maturing. He never gained a sense of confidence and self-reliance."(2)

As a young man, Nicholas indulged in the frivolities of royal life, including jaunts to the ballet, concerts, and dances. He shared a memorable fling with Mathilde Kchessinka, a young dancer with the Imperial Ballet, but Nicholas was well aware that he had to marry someone of royal blood. Nicholas had fallen in love in 1884 with a young German princess, Alix of Hesse. They were married on November 26, 1894. Their marriage did meet with resistance, however.

Alix of Hesse was a faithful Lutheran prior to her marriage to Nicholas. She was confirmed in the Lutheran church at the age of sixteen, and made the church a central part of her life. Nicholas' family, especially the Dowager Empress Marie, put pressure on Alix to willingly convert to Russian Orthodoxy out of respect for the country's devotion to the church. The young couple's engagement could only proceed if Alix converted. Alix, insisting that conversion would mean a direct offense to God, sought comfort from Nicholas. In his diary, Nicholas wrote: "I tried to explain that there was no other way for her than to give her consent, that she simply could not withhold it. She cried the whole time and only whispered now and then, 'No, I cannot.' Still I went on repeating and insisting...though this went on for two hours, it came to nothing."(3)

Nicholas' intense devotion and hope were only part of why Alix joined the Russian Orthodox Church. Queen Victoria, Alix's grandmother, had a long talk with Alix, telling her that the two religions were not really different. The queen was not the only source of royal persuasion. Alix was also persuaded by Wilhelm II to abandon her faith, though the Kaiser had an ulterior motive. He thought he could win Nicholas' favor and restore the "Three Emperors' Alliance" that Alexander III had broken in 1891. The last and probably most influential persuasion Alix received was from her sister, Ella, who accepted Russian Orthodoxy voluntarily after marrying Grande Duke Serge, Nicholas' cousin. Ella said that changing her faith was not a massive or unusual experience. Shortly before Alexander's death, Alix wired to Nicholas that she wanted a conversion ceremony to take place immediately. After the Tsar died, the new Tsar, Nicholas II, issued his first royal decree. It announced the new faith and name of his wife. Princess Alix of Hesse was now Grand Duchess Alexandra Federovna.

Unlike Nicholas, who was popular among the royal court, Alexandra was shy and aloof. She had to endure lavish parties, such as the one best remembered by Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra's lady-in-waiting and closest confidante. Vyrubova writes:

The winter of 1903 was very brilliant, the season culminating in a famous ball in costumes of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich, who reigned in the seventeenth century. The ball was given first in the Hermitage, the great art gallery adjoining the Winter Palace, but so immense was its success that it had to be twice repeated, once in the Salle de Court of the palace and again in the large ballroom of the Schermetiev Palace. My sister and I were two of the twenty young girls selected to dance with twenty youthful cavaliers in the ancient Russian dance, which required almost as much rehearsal as ballet. The rehearsals were quite important society events, all the mothers attending, and the Empress often looking on as interested as any of us.(4)

Despite the presence of close companions like Vyrubova, Alexandra felt she did not fit in with the public image that accompanied her title. "Everything about her, the tight mouth, her occasional glance down the line to see how many more were coming, plainly indicated that the young Empress' only real desire was to get away as soon as possible." (5) Alexandra's private manner met with opposition from Nicholas' relatives. The other ladies in the court mistook her shyness for coldness, and the members of the Imperial Court believed she was sealing them off from the Tsar. However, they also noted Alexandra's outstanding intellect. Secretary of State Taneyev once said of the Tsarina: "The Empress' extraordinary shyness is surprising, but she has a man"s intelligence." (6) Not unlike Nicholas, Alexandra took solace in the religion and familial togetherness of her private sphere.

The Tsarevich, Alexei, was born on July 30, 1904. On that day Nicholas' cousin, Grand Duke Konastantin Konstantinovich wrote in his diary: "God has sent their Majesties a son. What a joy! Russia has waited ten years for an Heir, and now it has happened." (7) The arrival of Nicholas' heir caused much celebration, including a 301-gun salute and a luxurious baptism ceremony. The merriment ended, however, when Alexei was diagnosed with hemophilia. On September 8, 1904, Nicholas wrote in his diary: "Alix and I were very worried because little Alexei started bleeding from the navel, and it continued on and off until evening! We had to send Korovin and the surgeon Federov...how painful it is to live in such moments of anxiety!"(8)

The controversial figure Grigory Rasputin would alleviate some of the suffering within Nicholas' private realm, though it was Alexandra who was most in need of comfort. Alexandra was well aware that she carried the gene that resulted in Alexei's hemophilia, and she dealt with the blame both physically and emotionally. Maria Pavlovna, Nicholas' cousin, wrote: "There is no doubt that the parents were quickly advised as to the nature of their son's illness. Nobody ever knew what emotions were aroused in them by this horrible certainty, but from that moment, troubled and apprehensive, the Empress' character underwent a change, and her health, physical as well as moral, altered." (9) Alexandra's public realm was hindered because of Alexei, whose illness became a closely guarded, painful secret. Vyrubova writes:

The Court, of course, did not immediately understand the serious condition of their infant heir. No parents, be their estate high or low, are ready all at once to reveal a misfortune such as this one. It is always human to hope that things are not as desperate as they seem, and that in time some remedy for the illness would be found. The Emperor and Empress guarded their secret from all except relatives and most intimate friends, closing their eyes and their ears to the growing unpopularity of the Empress. She was ill and suffering, but to the Court, she appeared merely cold, haughty, and indifferent. From this false impression, she never fully recovered even after the explanation of her suddenly acquired silence and melancholy became generally known.(10)

Rasputin arrived in St. Petersburg, the home of the Romanovs, in 1903, after building a renowned reputation as a man of God. He was recommended by the Grand Duchess Militsa and Grand Duchess "Stana" (Anastasia Nikolaevna), both former princesses of Montenegro. Nicholas met Rasputin on November 1, 1905. Rasputin charmed the whole court immediately, even though he was rough in appearance. Anna Vyrubova wrote in her memoirs about the alluring ways of Rasputin:

I was nevertheless thrilled with excitement when a servant announced the arrival of Rasputin...I saw an elderly peasant, thin, with a pale face, long hair, and uncared-for-beard, and the most extraordinary eyes, large, brilliant, and apparently capable of seeing into the very mind and soul of the person with whom he held converse.(11)

Whatever powers the starets, or spiritual advisor in the Eastern Orthodox Church, possessed, it had a powerful effect on the Tsarevich. Alexei's suffering spanned a number of years. He suffered from internal hemorrhages, resulting in high fevers and muscle pains. Alexei's condition was difficult for doctors, including Dr. Botkin, the family physician, to deal with. What Rasputin did with prayers, they tried to do with medicine. Alexei's sister, Anastasia, noted the differences between the two practices.

There is no cure for this disease, and nobody knows what to do, not Dr. Botkin, who checks all of us every day for signs of rashes and sore throats and such, not Dr. Derevenko, Alexei's special doctor. The only one who can help Alexei is Father Grigory, the holy man who is Mama's friend. Mama sent a message to Father Grigory to come. Later, Alexei is much better. He always gets better when Father Grigory prays over him. (12)

The influential Rasputin soon found his way into the Romanovs' public sphere as well. By 1915, the Russian government was afraid of what was known as "the legend of Rasputin." The "legend of Rasputin" held that the starets carried heavy influence in the affairs of the state. This term became commonplace in the Duma, and Rasputin was blamed for unpopular discharges of government ministers and acts passed by the government and hated by the public.

During World War I, Alexandra helped run the politics of Russia while Nicholas was at the front. She informed the Tsar of Rasputin's military success. For example, Alexandra was told by Rasputin that the battle against the Austrians in Galicia would go well. The Russians did fare well, but not without a heavy price. The Russian military suffered a substantial loss of 1,200,000 troops. Like the military, the government suffered heavy losses. Rasputin-appointed officials, Prime Minister Sturmer and Minister of the Interior Protopopov, were elected to the Duma. They were inexperienced, but the Empress backed them. On March 12, 1917, the imperial government collapsed.

After Rasputin made a huge impact on both the public and private spheres of the Romanov family, the Romanov relatives took matters into their own hands. Rasputin was murdered on December 17, 1916, by two Romanov relatives. His murderers were Prince Felix Yusupov, who had married a niece of the Tsar, and the Grand Duke Dmitri, son of the Grand Duke Paul and leader of the Extreme Right of the Duma. The two men attempted to kill Rasputin with poison-laced teacakes, but when this failed, Rasputin was killed by a gunshot wound to the heart.

Rasputin left a profound legacy for the Romanov dynasty, including his last letter to Nicholas, warning that the royal family would be executed on July 17, 1918. It was written in December of 1916, nineteen months before the execution occurred.

Tsar of the land of Russia, if you hear the sound of a bell which will tell you that Grigory has been killed, you must know this: if it was your relations who have wrought my death then no one of your family, that is to say, none of your children or relations will remain alive for two years. They will be killed by the Russian people...I shall be killed.(13)

Events like Bloody Sunday, where hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were killed on January 22, 1905, alienated the Russian people from the Tsar. Nicholas was no longer a leader with whom the majority of people wanted to negotiate. They turned to other sources of authority, most notably Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. Politically, Russia was in disarray. "Russia entered the war years with a myriad of unresolved problems, foremost among them a rigid, inflexible authoritarian political structure led by the hapless Nicholas." (14) With a heavy heart, Nicholas II abdicated the throne on March 16, 1917, at 3 PM. "Not the reign of Nicholas II only was at end. The monarchy itself had been overthrown and could never be restored. Certainly there was no power in Russia which could put a Romanov on the throne again. For in the space of five days the order of centuries which rested on the monarchy had dissolved as though by itself." (15) The Romanov dynasty had begun with Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov in February 1613. World War I and the Russian Revolution shook the three hundred years of Romanov rule.

After Nicholas' abdication, Russia formed the Provisional Government, a ruling body created by the Duma deputies. The Provisional Government was willing to let the royal family emigrate. Foreign Minister Miliukov sent a message to British Prime Minister Lloyd George, which asked for asylum on behalf of the Romanovs. The British did not grant asylum to the Romanovs largely because of King George V, who feared that the Imperial family's presence in England would be a threat to his position on the throne. "[King George V] must beg you to represent to the Prime Minister that from all he hears and reads in the press, the residence in this country of the ex-Emperor and Empress would be strongly resented by the people, and would certainly compromise the position of the King and Queen." (16) The Provisional Government made a similar request for their asylum in France, but the government saw Alexandra as a German sympathizer, an especially negative perception during the First World War.

Alexander Kerensky played a crucial role in the fate of the royal family after they were denied asylum by the British and French governments. He moved the family to an unprepared mansion on Liberty Street, with dirty windows, poor plumbing, and peeling wallpaper. The mansion was restored in a week, containing the comforts of a "country palace complete with potted palms and aspidistras, antimacassars, and lace doilies." (17) Nicholas and Alexandra had their own bedroom. The grand duchesses shared one, and Alexei had his own room. After restoration, the worst problems at the home in Tobolsk were overflowing toilets.

Daily life in Tobolsk was comfortable for the Romanovs. Alexandra gave German lessons to Tatiana, her second oldest daughter, and taught Alexei his catechism. She played the piano whenever she wanted to. Nuns at the nearby Ivanosky convent sent food, and farmers sent them vegetables for their gardens. The soldiers who guarded the family often flirted with the young grand duchesses. Christmas for the Romanovs was less elaborate than in previous years. Instead of shopping for lavish gifts, the family members made gifts. The family attended church services down the road, though they risked public scrutiny.

For Alexandra, life in Tobolsk was not unpleasant, at least at the beginning. Although her rooms were cold, with temperatures averaging only fifty degrees for most of that winter, they housed family photographs, familiar rugs, and personal items from Tsarskoe Selo. Surrounded by these objects, with family close by, Alexandra felt strangely at peace. Nicholas, on the other hand, was concerned with the state of Russia, his only notification being newspapers several days old. He was very perturbed when the Provisional Government fell on November 15, 1917. "It now gave him pain to see that his renunciation had been in vain, and that by his departure in the interests of his country he had in reality done her an ill turn. This idea was to haunt him more and more, and finally gave rise to moral anxiety." (18) As Alexandra had at the time of her religious conversion, Nicholas now had to deal with an internal conflict between his public and private selves.

When the Bolsheviks seized power, there were immediate changes in the treatment that the Romanovs received. Before the seizure of power, the Provisional Government had given the family 200,000 rubles a year. The Bolsheviks were not as kind. On March 1, 1918, they made an announcement that the family would henceforth be put on soldiers' rations (600 rubles per person per month). (19) "Luxuries" such as butter and coffee were no longer given to the royal family, and their chief meal consisted of soup, fish or meat.

On April 22, 1918, the Bolsheviks sent Vassili Vassilievich Yakolev to Tobolsk to take the Romanovs to Moscow. They worried that one of the monarchist groups would free the Romanovs. Yakolev and the Romanovs arrived at the Ipatiev House on April 30, 1918. Alexandra immediately had cold feelings toward their new situation. In her last letter to Anna Vyrubova, she writes: "The atmosphere around us is fairly electrified. We feel that a storm is approaching, but we know that God is merciful and will take care of us...Though we know the storm is coming nearer and nearer, our souls are at peace." (20) Nicholas Ipatiev, a merchant and owner of the house, was told by the Ural Regional Soviet that his property was needed for "reasons of state."(21) A week later, the Ural Worker newspaper informed the public that the Ipatiev home was the lodging of the ex-Tsar and his family, and that it was closely guarded. Drawn by the powerful personality that the Tsar had exuded in his old public sphere, crowds of people came to his new private sphere to catch a glimpse of the former ruler.

Inside, the Ipatiev House was less interesting. The Romanovs were only allowed the main floor of the house, with their six servants sharing the accommodations. In the first few weeks of the family's imprisonment, there was no running water or ventilation. The windows were whitewashed and barred. Bathrooms were dirty and had pornographic drawings of the Tsarina and her "Friend," Grigory, harsh references to their alleged affair. The Romanovs were only allowed an hour outside each day to walk in the garden.

The family's meals consisted of food left over from the Bolshevik soldiers' meals. Breakfast consisted of black bread and weak tea. The commissar of the Ipatiev House, Alexander Avadeyev, brought his friends in to watch the Romanovs eat, sometimes grabbing food out of the Tsar's hands and eating it himself. There were a few visitors inside the home who did services for the Romanovs, including Dr. Derevenko, who tended the Tsarevich; a barber; and nuns from the Novotikhvinsky Monastery who brought the family milk, cheese, and eggs. However, Avadeyev and his soldiers often consumed the food from the nuns. For the first time, the Romanovs felt as if they were prisoners. Their private sphere at the Ipatiev House was one of gloom, and the family did their best to endure it. Grand Duchess Olga, the oldest of the imperial children, wrote a poem describing the agony she felt during the family's stay at the Ipatiev House. "Send us, Lord, the patience/ in this year of stormy, gloom-filled days/ to suffer popular oppression/ and the tortures of our hangmen."(22)

Yakov Yurovsky became the new chief commandant of the Ipatiev House. He was a loyal Bolshevik who would carry out Lenin's plans for execution. On July 16, 1918, three hours after the Romanovs had gone to bed, Yurovsky asked Dr. Botkin, one of the family's servants, to wake up the Romanovs. He lied to the physician, saying that the family was in danger due to the uncertain activity that was going on in the city. The family and their servants dressed and moved down to the basement. They had been living in the Ipatiev House for seventy-eight days.

Before Yurovsky shot the last Tsar point-blank in the head, he read a decree: "In view of the fact that your relatives are continuing their attack on Soviet Russia, the Ural Executive Committee has decided to execute you."(23) Single bullets killed Alexandra and Olga. Yurovsky had to shoot two bullets into the Tsarevich's ear before he succumbed. Those who were not killed by bullets, including Grand Duchess Marie and Anastasia, were stabbed to death by bayonets. After the execution, the bodies of the royal family were buried in a forest twelve miles north of Ekaterinburg. Tragically, Ekaterinburg fell eight days later to the monarchist Whites, who had tried on several occasions to rescue the Romanovs.

Throughout his fifty-year life, Nicholas II could not escape the responsibilities of being Tsar. While dealing with the harsh reality of Bloody Sunday in revolutionary Russia, Nicholas had to face the probability of the death of his son. While surviving the Russian Revolution, Nicholas tried to evaluate his life as a private citizen as the Romanovs dealt with imprisonment. Nicholas' private life was always in conflict with his public identity.

End Notes

1.Ferro, Marc. Nicholas II: The Last of the Tsars. Oxford University Press: New York, 1993, p.1.
2. "The Alexander Palace Time Machine"
http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/AlexPalaceNRbio.html
3. Massie, Robert K. Nicholas and Alexandra. Ballantine Books: New York, 2000.
4. Vyrubova, Anna. Memories of the Russian Court, Chapter 1.
(an on-line book by Anna Vyrubova)
http://www.alexanderpalace.org/russiancourt/l.html
5. Massie, p.68.
6. Massie, p.68
7. Maylunas, Andrei and Sergei Mironenko. A Lifelong Passion: Nicholas and Alexandra, Their Own Story. Doubleday: New York, 1997, p.248.
8. Maylunas and Mironenko, p.247.
9. Maylunas and Mironenko, p.248.
10. Vyrubova, Chapter 1.
11. Maylunas, p. 300.
12. Meyer, Carolyn. The Royal Diaries: Anastasia, The Last Grand Duchess, Russia, 1914. Scholastic, Inc.: New York, 2000, p.7.
13."The Home of Rasputin"
http://homepage.eircom.net/~pbarry/ras2/
14. Hogan, Heather. "Reworking Russia's History: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back."
Journal of Interdisciplinary History 30.2 (1999), p.273-281
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_interdisciplinary_history/v030/30.2.hogan.html
15. Charques, Richard Denis. The Twilight of Imperial Russia. Oxford University Press: New York, 1965, p.240.
16. King, Greg. The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feordorovna, Tsarina of Russia. Carol Publishing Group: New York, 1994, p.315.
17. Erickson, Carolly. Alexandra, the Last Tsarina. St. Martin's Press: New York, 2001, p.282.
18. Gilliard, Pierre. Thirteen Years at the Russian Court.
(online book by Pierre Gilliard), Chapter 19
http://www.alexanderpalace.org/gilliard/XIX.html
19. King, p. 327.
20. Vyrubova, Anna. Memories of the Russian Court, New York: Macmillan, 1923, p.334.
21. King, p. 342.
22. Radzinsky, Edvard. The Rasputin File. Nan A. Talese Publications: New York, 2000, p.26.
23. Massie, Robert K. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter. Random House: New York, 1995, p.5.

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This page updated February 27. 2003