Why did they kill the royal family? There was no execution of the Royal Family

Sergei Osipov, AiF: Which of the Bolshevik leaders made the decision to execute the royal family?

This question is still the subject of debate among historians. There is a version: Lenin And Sverdlov did not sanction the regicide, the initiative of which supposedly belonged only to members of the executive committee of the Ural Regional Council. Indeed, direct documents signed by Ulyanov are still unknown to us. However Leon Trotsky in exile, he recalled how he asked Yakov Sverdlov a question: “Who decided? - We decided here. Ilyich believed that we should not leave them a living banner, especially in the current difficult conditions.” Without any embarrassment, the role of Lenin was unequivocally pointed out by Nadezhda Krupskaya.

At the beginning of July, he urgently left for Moscow from Yekaterinburg party “master” of the Urals and military commissar of the Ural Military District Shaya Goloshchekin. On the 14th he returned, apparently with final instructions from Lenin, Dzerzhinsky and Sverdlov to exterminate the entire family Nicholas II.

- Why did the Bolsheviks need the death of not only the already abdicated Nicholas, but also women and children?

- Trotsky cynically stated: “In essence, the decision was not only expedient, but also necessary,” and in 1935, in his diary, he clarified: “The royal family was a victim of the principle that constitutes the axis of the monarchy: dynastic heredity.”

The extermination of members of the House of Romanov not only destroyed the legal basis for the restoration of legitimate power in Russia, but also bound the Leninists with mutual responsibility.

Could they have survived?

- What would have happened if the Czechs approaching the city had liberated Nicholas II?

The sovereign, members of his family and their faithful servants would have survived. I doubt that Nicholas II would have been able to disavow the act of renunciation of March 2, 1917 in the part that concerned him personally. However, it is obvious that no one could question the rights of the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich. A living heir, despite his illness, would personify legitimate power in turmoil-ridden Russia. In addition, along with the accession to the rights of Alexei Nikolaevich, the order of succession to the throne, destroyed during the events of March 2-3, 1917, would automatically be restored. It was precisely this option that the Bolsheviks desperately feared.

Why were some of the royal remains buried (and the murdered themselves canonized) in the 90s of the last century, some - quite recently, and is there any confidence that this part is really the last?

Let's start with the fact that the absence of relics (remains) does not serve as a formal basis for refusal of canonization. The canonization of the royal family by the Church would have taken place even if the Bolsheviks had completely destroyed the bodies in the basement of the Ipatiev House. By the way, many in exile believed so. The fact that the remains were found in parts is not surprising. Both the murder itself and the concealment of traces took place in a terrible hurry, the killers were nervous, the preparation and organization turned out to be extremely poor. Therefore, they could not completely destroy the bodies. I have no doubt that the remains of two people found in the summer of 2007 in the town of Porosyonkov Log near Yekaterinburg belong to the children of the emperor. Therefore, the tragedy of the royal family has most likely come to an end. But, unfortunately, both she and the tragedies of millions of others that followed her Russian families left ours modern society practically indifferent.

The royal family spent 78 days in their last home.

Commissar A.D. Avdeev was appointed the first commandant of the “House of Special Purpose”.

Preparations for execution

According to the official Soviet version, the decision to execute was made only by the Urals Council; Moscow was notified of this only after the death of the family.

At the beginning of July 1918, the Ural military commissar Filipp Goloshchekin went to Moscow to resolve the issue of the future fate of the royal family.

At its meeting on July 12, the Urals Council adopted a resolution on the execution, as well as on methods for destroying the corpses, and on July 16, it transmitted a message (if the telegram is genuine) about this via direct wire to Petrograd - G. E. Zinoviev. At the end of the conversation with Yekaterinburg, Zinoviev sent a telegram to Moscow:

There is no archived source for the telegram.

Thus, the telegram was received in Moscow on July 16 at 21:22. The phrase “court agreed upon with Filippov” is an encrypted decision to execute the Romanovs, which was agreed upon by Goloshchekin during his stay in the capital. However, the Urals Council asked once again to confirm this in writing earlier decision made, referring to “military circumstances”, since the fall of Yekaterinburg was expected under the blows of the Czechoslovak Corps and the White Siberian Army.

Execution

On the night of July 16-17, the Romanovs and the servants went to bed, as usual, at 10:30 p.m. At 23:30 two special representatives from the Urals Council appeared at the mansion. They presented the decision of the executive committee to the commander of the security detachment P.Z. Ermakov and the new commandant of the house, Commissioner of the Extraordinary Investigative Commission Yakov Yurovsky, who replaced Avdeev in this position on July 4, and proposed to immediately begin the execution of the sentence.

The awakened family members and staff were told that due to the advance of the white troops, the mansion might be under fire, and therefore, for safety reasons, they needed to move to the basement.

There is a version that in order to carry out the execution, Yurovsky drew up the following document: Revolutionary Committee under the Yekaterinburg Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies REVOLUTIONARY HEADQUARTERS OF THE URAL DISTRICT Extraordinary Commission List of Special Forces Teams to the Ipatiev House / 1st Kamishl.Rifle Regiment / Commandant: Gorvat Laons Fischer Anselm Zdelshtein Izidor Fekete Emil Nad Imre Grinfeld Victor Vergazi Andreas Regional Com. Vaganov Serge Medvedev Pav Nikulin City of Yekaterinburg July 18, 1918 Head of the Cheka Yurovsky However, according to V.P. Kozlov, I.F. Plotnikov, this document, at one time provided to the press by former Austrian prisoner of war I.P. Meyer, first published in Germany in 1956 and, most likely, fabricated, does not reflect the real hit list. According to their version, the execution team consisted of: a member of the Uralsky Collegium Central Committee- M.A. Medvedev (Kudrin), commandant of the house Ya.M. Yurovsky, his deputy G.P. Nikulin, guard commander P.Z. Ermakov and ordinary guard soldiers - Hungarians (according to other sources - Latvians). In the light of I. F. Plotnikov’s research, the list of those executed may look like this: Ya. M. Yurovsky, G. P. Nikulin, M. A. Medvedev (Kudrin), P. Z. Ermakov, S. P. Vaganov, A. G. Kabanov, P. S. Medvedev, V. N. Netrebin, J. M. Tselms and, under very big question, unknown mining student. Plotnikov believes that the latter was used in Ipatiev’s house within only a few days after the execution and only as a jewelry specialist. Thus, according to Plotnikov, the execution of the royal family was carried out by a group consisting of national composition almost entirely from Russians, with the participation of one Jew (Ya. M. Yurovsky) and probably one Latvian (Ya. M. Tselms). According to surviving information, two or three Latvians refused to participate in the execution. , The fate of the Romanovs Besides family former emperor, all members of the House of Romanov were destroyed, for various reasons remaining in Russia after the revolution (with the exception of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, who died in Tashkent from pneumonia, and two children of his son Alexander Iskander - Natalia Androsova (1917-1999) and Kirill Androsov (1915-1992), who lived in Moscow). Memoirs of contemporaries Memoirs of Trotsky My next visit to Moscow came after the fall of Yekaterinburg. In a conversation with Sverdlov, I asked in passing: Yes, where is the king? “It’s over,” he answered, “he was shot.” -Where is the family? - And his family is with him. - All? - I asked, apparently with a tinge of surprise. “That’s it,” answered Sverdlov, “but what?” He was waiting for my reaction. I didn't answer. - Who decided? - I asked. - We decided here. Ilyich believed that we should not leave them a living banner, especially in the current difficult conditions. Memoirs of Sverdlova One day in mid-July 1918, shortly after the end of the V Congress of Soviets, Yakov Mikhailovich returned home in the morning, it was already dawn. He said that he was late at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars, where, among other things, he informed the members of the Council of People's Commissars about the latest news he received from Yekaterinburg. -Have you not heard? - asked Yakov Mikhailovich. - After all, the Urals shot Nikolai Romanov. Of course, I haven't heard anything yet. The message from Yekaterinburg was received only in the afternoon. The situation in Yekaterinburg was alarming: the White Czechs were approaching the city, the local counter-revolution was stirring. The Ural Council of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies, having received information that the escape of Nikolai Romanov, who was being held in Yekaterinburg, was being prepared, issued a resolution to shoot the former tsar and immediately carried out his sentence. Yakov Mikhailovich, having received a message from Yekaterinburg, reported on the decision of the regional council to the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, which approved the resolution of the Ural Regional Council, and then informed the Council of People's Commissars. V.P. Milyutin, who participated in this meeting of the Council of People's Commissars, wrote in his diary: “I returned late from the Council of People's Commissars. There were “current” matters. During the discussion of the health care project, the Semashko report, Sverdlov entered and sat down in his place on the chair behind Ilyich. Semashko finished. Sverdlov came up, leaned towards Ilyich and said something. - Comrades, Sverdlov asks for the floor for a message. “I must say,” Sverdlov began in his usual tone, “a message has been received that in Yekaterinburg, by order of the regional Council, Nikolai was shot... Nikolai wanted to escape. The Czechoslovaks were approaching. The Presidium of the Central Electoral Commission decided to approve... “Let’s now move on to an article-by-article reading of the draft,” Ilyich suggested...” Destruction and burial of the royal remains Investigation Sokolov's investigation Sokolov painstakingly and selflessly conducted the investigation entrusted to him. Kolchak had already been shot, Soviet power returned to the Urals and Siberia, and the investigator continued his work in exile. With the investigation materials, he made a dangerous journey through all of Siberia to the Far East, then to America. While in exile in Paris, Sokolov continued to take testimony from surviving witnesses. He died of a broken heart in 1924 without completing his investigation. Thanks to painstaking work N.A. Sokolov became aware for the first time of the details of the execution and burial of the royal family. Search for royal remains The remains of members of the Romanov family were discovered near Sverdlovsk back in 1979 during excavations led by consultant to the Minister of Internal Affairs Geliy Ryabov. However, then the found remains were buried on the instructions of the authorities. In 1991, excavations were resumed. Numerous experts have confirmed that the remains found then are most likely the remains of the royal family. The remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Princess Maria were not found. In June 2007, realizing the global historical significance of the event and the object, it was decided to conduct new survey work on the Old Koptyakovskaya Road in order to discover the alleged second hiding place of the remains of members of the Romanov imperial family. In July 2007, bone remains young man aged 10-13 years, and girls aged 18-23 years, as well as fragments of ceramic amphorae with Japanese sulfuric acid, iron corners, nails, and bullets were found by Ural archaeologists near Yekaterinburg near the burial site of the family of the last Russian emperor. According to scientists, these are the remains of members of the Romanov imperial family, Tsarevich Alexei and his sister Princess Maria, hidden by the Bolsheviks in 1918. Andrey Grigoriev, deputy general director Scientific and Production Center for the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Monuments of the Sverdlovsk Region: “From the Ural local historian V.V. Shitov, I learned that the archive contains documents that tell about the stay of the royal family in Yekaterinburg and its subsequent murder, and also about an attempt to hide their remains. We were unable to begin search work until the end of 2006. On July 29, 2007, as a result of our searches, we came across the finds.” On August 24, 2007, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office resumed the investigation into the criminal case of the execution of the royal family in connection with the discovery of the remains of Tsarevich Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria Romanov near Yekaterinburg. Traces of chopping were found on the remains of the children of Nicholas II. This was announced by the head of the archeology department of the scientific and production center for the protection and use of historical and cultural monuments of the Sverdlovsk region, Sergei Pogorelov. “Traces that the bodies were cut up were found on a humerus belonging to a man and on a fragment of a skull identified as female. In addition, a completely preserved oval hole was found on the man’s skull, possibly a trace from a bullet,” explained Sergei Pogorelov. 1990s investigation The circumstances of the death of the royal family were investigated as part of a criminal case initiated on August 19, 1993 at the direction of Prosecutor General Russian Federation. Materials of the government Commission to study issues related to the research and reburial of the remains of Russian Emperor Nicholas II and members of his family have been published. Reaction to the shooting Kokovtsov V.N.: “On the day the news was published, I was on the street twice, rode a tram and nowhere did I see the slightest glimmer of pity or compassion. The news was read loudly, with grins, mockery and the most ruthless comments... Some kind of senseless callousness, some kind of boasting of bloodthirstiness. The most disgusting expressions: - it would have been like this a long time ago, - come on, reign again, - the lid is on Nikolashka, - oh brother Romanov, he finished dancing. They were heard all around, from the youngest youth, but the elders turned away and remained indifferently silent.” Rehabilitation of the royal family In the 1990-2000s, the question of legal rehabilitation of the Romanovs was raised before various authorities. In September 2007, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation refused to consider such a decision, since it did not find “charges and corresponding decisions of judicial and non-judicial bodies vested with judicial functions” in connection with the execution of the Romanovs, and the execution was “a premeditated murder, albeit one with political overtones, committed by persons not endowed with appropriate judicial and administrative powers." At the same time, the lawyer of the Romanov family notes that "As is known, the Bolsheviks transferred all power to the soviets, including judiciary, therefore, the decision of the Ural Regional Council is equivalent to a court decision.” On November 8, 2007, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the decision of the prosecutor's office as legal, considering that the execution should be considered exclusively within the framework of a criminal case. The materials provided by the party rehabilitated to the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, and then to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, included the decision of the Ural Regional Council of July 17, 1918, which decided to carry out the execution. This document was presented by the Romanovs' lawyers as an argument confirming the political nature of the murder, which was also noted by representatives of the prosecutor's office, however, according to Russian legislation on rehabilitation, in order to establish the fact of repression, a decision of bodies vested with judicial functions is required, which the Ural Regional Council de jure was not. Since the case was considered by a higher court, representatives of the Romanov dynasty intended to challenge the decision of the Russian court in the European Court. However, on October 1, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized Nikolai and his family as victims political repression and rehabilitated them , , . As the lawyer of Grand Duchess Maria Romanova, German Lukyanov, stated: According to the judge, According to the procedural norms of Russian legislation, the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is final and not subject to review (appeal). On January 15, 2009, the case of the murder of the royal family was closed. , , In June 2009, the General Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation decided to rehabilitate six more members of the Romanov family: Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov, Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanov, Sergei Mikhailovich Romanov, Ioann Konstantinovich Romanov, Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov and Igor Konstantinovich Romanov, since they “were subjected to repression... by class and social characteristics, without being charged with committing a specific crime...” In accordance with Art. 1 and paragraphs. “c”, “e” art. 3 Laws Russian Federation“On the rehabilitation of victims of political repression”, Prosecutor General's Office The Russian Federation decided to rehabilitate Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, Varvara Yakovleva, Ekaterina Petrovna Yanysheva, Fedor Semenovich Remez (Mikhailovich), Ivan Kalin, Krukovsky, Dr. Gelmerson and Nikolai Nikolaevich Johnson (Brian). The issue of this rehabilitation, unlike the first case, was resolved in fact in a few months, at the stage of appealing to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, no legal proceedings were required, since the prosecutor's office during the inspection revealed all the signs of political repression. Canonization and church cult of the royal martyrs Notes Multatuli, P. To the decision of the Supreme Court of Russia on the rehabilitation of the royal family. Yekaterinburg initiative. Academy Russian history (03.10.2008). Retrieved November 9, 2008. The Supreme Court recognized members of the royal family as victims of repression. RIA Novosti(01/10/2008). Retrieved November 9, 2008. Romanov Collection, General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

Who needed the death of the royal family?

Who and why needed to shoot the tsar who had abdicated power and his relatives and servants? (Versions)

First version (New War)

A number of historians say that neither Lenin nor Sverdlov bear responsibility for the murder of the Romanovs. Allegedly, the Ural Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies in the winter, spring and summer of 1918 often adopted independent decisions, which fundamentally contradicted the instructions of the center. They say that the Urals, in whose Council there were many left Socialist Revolutionaries, were determined to continue the war with Germany.

We may recall in direct connection with this that on July 6, 1918, the German ambassador Count Wilhelm von Mirbach was killed in Moscow. This murder is a provocation of the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party, which since October 1917 was part of the government coalition with the Bolsheviks and set itself the goal of violating the shameful Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty with the Germans. And the execution of the Romanovs, whose safety Kaiser Wilhelm demanded, finally buried the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Having learned that the Romanovs were shot, Lenin and Sverdlov officially approved what happened, and none of the organizers or participants in the massacre were punished. A formal request about a possible execution, which was sent by the Urals to the Kremlin (such a telegram dated July 16, 1918 actually exists), supposedly did not even have time to reach Lenin before the planned action took place. Be that as it may, the response telegram did not arrive, they did not wait for it, and the massacre was carried out without the direct sanction of the government. Senior Investigator for Special Investigations important matters Following a long investigation, Vladimir Solovyov confirmed this version in his interview in 2009-2010. Moreover, Soloviev argued that Lenin was generally against the execution of the Romanovs.

So, one option: the execution of the royal family was carried out in the interests of the left Socialist Revolutionaries for the sake of continuing the war with the Germans.

Second version (Tsar, as a victim to secret forces?)

According to the second version, the murder of the Romanovs was ritual, sanctioned by certain “secret societies.” This is confirmed by Kabbalistic signs found on the wall in the room in which the execution took place. Although to this day no one has been able to identify the ink inscriptions on the windowsill as something that has an unambiguously interpreted meaning, some experts are inclined to believe that the following message is encrypted in them: “Here, on the orders of secret forces, the king was sacrificed for the destruction of the state . All nations are informed of this.”

In addition, on the southern wall of the room where the execution took place, a couplet written in German and distorted from a poem by Heinrich Heine about the murdered Babylonian king Belshazzar was found. However, who exactly and when could have made these inscriptions remains unknown today, and the “decipherment” of the supposedly Kabbalistic symbols is refuted by many historians. It is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion about them, although great efforts were made to this end, in particular because the Russian Federation was particularly interested in the version of the ritual nature of the murder. Orthodox Church(ROC). However, the investigative authorities gave a negative response to the request of the Moscow Patriarchate: “Wasn’t the murder of the Romanovs ritual?” Although serious work was probably not carried out to establish the truth. In Tsarist Russia there were many “secret societies”: from occultists to freemasons.

Third version (American trace)

Another interesting idea is that this massacre was carried out on the direct orders of the United States. Not the American government, of course, but the American billionaire Jacob Schiff, with whom, according to some information, Yakov Yurovsky, a member of the board of the Ural Regional Cheka, who headed the security of the royal family in Yekaterinburg, was connected. Yurovsky lived in America for a long time and returned to Russia just before the revolution.

Jacob, or Jacob Schiff, was one of the richest people At that time, the head of the giant banking house Kuhn, Loeb and Company, hated the tsarist government and Nikolai Romanov personally. The American was not allowed to expand his business in Russia and was very sensitive about depriving part of the Jewish population of civil rights.

Schiff used his authority and influence in the American banking and financial sector, tried to block Russia’s access to foreign loans in America, and took part in financing the Japanese government during Russo-Japanese War, and also generously financed supporters of the Bolshevik revolution (the amount is said to be 20-24 billion dollars in modern terms). It was thanks to Jacob Schiff's subsidies that the Bolsheviks were able to carry out the revolution and achieve victory. He who pays calls the tune. Therefore, Jacob Schiff had the opportunity to “order” the murder of the royal family from the Bolsheviks. In addition, the chief executioner Yurovsky, by a strange coincidence, considered America his second homeland.

But the Bolsheviks who came to power after the execution of the Romanovs unexpectedly refused to cooperate with Schiff. Maybe because he arranged the execution of the royal family over their heads?

Fourth version (New Herostratus)

It cannot be ruled out that the execution, carried out on the direct orders of Yakov Yurovsky, was primarily necessary for him personally. The morbidly ambitious Yurovsky would not have been able to find the best way“inherit” in history, rather than personally shoot in the heart of the last Russian Tsar. And it is no coincidence that he subsequently emphasized many times his special role in the execution: “I shot first and killed Nikolai on the spot... I shot at him, he fell down, shooting immediately began... I killed Nikolai on the spot with the Colt, the rest of the cartridges were the same loaded Colt clips, as well as a loaded Mauser, were used to finish off Nikolai’s daughters... Alexey remained sitting as if petrified, and I shot him...” The executioner Yurovsky so clearly and openly enjoyed remembering the execution that it becomes clear: for him the regicide became the most ambitious achievement in life .

Shot along with the Romanovs: Top: life physician E. Botkin, life cook I. Kharitonov: Bottom: room girl A. Demidov, valet Colonel A. Trupp

Fifth version (Point of no return)

Assessing the historical significance of the execution of the Romanovs, he wrote: “The execution of the Romanovs was needed not just to frighten, horrify, and deprive the enemy of hope, but also to shake up one’s own ranks, to show that complete victory or complete destruction lay ahead. This goal has been achieved... Senseless, monstrous cruelty has been committed, and the point of no return has been passed.”

Sixth version

American journalists A. Summers and T. Mangold in the 1970s studied a previously unknown part of the archives of the 1918-1919 investigation, found in the 1930s in America, and published the result of their investigation in 1976. According to them, N. Sokolov’s conclusions about the death of the entire Romanov family were made under pressure, which for some reasons was beneficial to declare all family members dead. They consider the investigations and conclusions of other White Army investigators to be more objective. According to their opinion, it is more likely that only the heir and the heir were shot in Yekaterinburg, and Alexandra Fedorovna and her daughters were transported to Perm. Nothing is known about the further fate of Alexandra Fedorovna and her daughters. A. Summers and T. Mangold are inclined to believe that in reality it was Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Nicholas II and his family

The execution of Nicholas II and members of his family is one of the many crimes of the terrible twentieth century. Russian Emperor Nicholas II shared the fate of other autocrats - Charles I of England, Louis XVI of France. But both were executed by court order, and their relatives were not touched. The Bolsheviks destroyed Nicholas along with his wife and children, even his faithful servants paid with their lives. What caused such bestial cruelty, who initiated it, historians are still guessing

The man who was unlucky

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

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

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

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

Brief biography of Nicholas II

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

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

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

Diary of Nicholas II

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

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

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

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

Family of Nicholas II. Briefly

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

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

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

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

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

Execution of the royal family. Briefly

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

Ekaterinburg. At the site of the execution of the royal family. Holy Quarter June 16th, 2016

You can't help but notice this one right away high temple and a number of other temple buildings. This is the "Holy Quarter". By the will of fate, three streets named after revolutionaries are limited. Let's head towards it.

On the way there is a monument to Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom. Installed in 2012.

The Church on the Blood was built in 2000-2003. on the spot where the last one was shot on the night of July 16 to July 17, 1918 Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family. There are photographs of them at the entrance to the temple.

In 1917, after February Revolution and abdication, the former Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his family, by decision of the Provisional Government, were exiled to Tobolsk.

After the Bolsheviks came to power and began civil war, in April 1918, permission was received from the Presidium (All-Russian Central Executive Committee) of the fourth convocation to transfer the Romanovs to Yekaterinburg in order to take them from there to Moscow for the purpose of their trial.

In Yekaterinburg, a large stone mansion, confiscated from engineer Nikolai Ipatiev, was chosen as the place of imprisonment for Nicholas II and his family. On the night of July 17, 1918, in the basement of this house, Emperor Nicholas II, along with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, children and close associates, were shot, and after that their bodies were taken to the abandoned Ganina Yama mine.

On September 22, 1977, on the recommendation of KGB Chairman Yu.V. Andropov and the instructions of B.N. Yeltsin's house, Ipatiev's, was destroyed. Later, Yeltsin would write in his memoirs: “...sooner or later we will all be ashamed of this barbarity. It will be a shame, but nothing can be corrected...”.

When designing, the plan of the future temple was superimposed on the plan of the demolished Ipatiev house in such a way as to create an analogue of the room where the Royal Family was shot. At the lower level of the temple, a symbolic place for this execution was provided. In fact, the place where the royal family was executed is located outside the temple in the area of ​​​​the roadway on Karl Liebknecht Street.

The temple is a five-domed structure 60 meters high and total area 3000 m². The architecture of the building is designed in the Russian-Byzantine style. The vast majority of churches were built in this style during the reign of Nicholas II.

The cross in the center is part of a monument to the royal family going down to the basement before being shot.

Adjacent to the Church on the Blood is the temple in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with the spiritual and educational center “Patriarchal Compound” and the museum of the royal family.

Behind them you can see the Church of the Ascension of the Lord (1782-1818).

And in front of him is the Kharitonov-Rastorguev estate of the early 19th century (architect Malakhov), which became Soviet years Palace of Pioneers. Nowadays it is the City Palace of Children and Youth Creativity “Talentedness and Technology”.

What else is located in the surrounding area? This is the Gazprom tower, which was built in 1976 as the Tourist Hotel.

The former office of the now defunct Transaero airline.

Between them are buildings from the middle of the last century.

Residential building-monument from 1935. Built for workers railway. Very beautiful! Fizkulturnikov Street, on which the building is located, was gradually built up since the 1960s, and as a result, by 2010 it was completely lost. This residential building is the only building listed on a virtually non-existent street; the house is number 30.

Well, now we go to the Gazprom tower - an interesting street begins from there.