Nicholas and Alexandra: The Tragic, Compelling Story of the Last Tsar and his Family

by Robert K. Massie

  21 “I am still in good hopes”: Mansergh, 103. “Nicholas is doing himself a lot of harm”: ibid., 104.

  22 Admiral Alexeiev’s telegram: N to MF, 171–2. N’s Diary, 157.

  23 “Sharp grief for the fleet”: ibid., 159.

  24 The opposing armies and navies: Pares, History, 440.

  25 “News of inexpressible sadness”: N’s Diary, 162.

  26 “My conscience is often very troubled”: N to MF, 173.

  27 Alexandra at the Winter Palace: Vyrubova, 9.

  28 Rozhdestvensky’s pessimism: Kokovtsov, 46.

  29 “Bless its voyage, Lord”: N’s Diary, 179.

  30 Dogger Bank: Novikoff-Priboy, 26–32.

  31 “The English are very angry”: N to MF, 174.

  32 Buying extra battleships: Kokovtsov, 46–9.

  33 Tsushima: Novikoff-Priboy, passim. Mahan, 82–4, 263–82; Florinsky, 1276; Pares, History, 445; Charques, 117.

  34 Nicholas learns of Tsushima: Mosolov, 14–15.

  35 “When a sewer has to be cleaned”: Kokovtsov, 53.

  36 “Representative of the greatest empire on earth”: Witte, 138–9.

  37 “I may say that I succeeded”: ibid., 140.

  38 “Send Witte my order”: ibid., 158.

  39 “Ice water instead of wine”: ibid., 144. “No culinary taste”: ibid., 151. “The most naïve judgments”: ibid., 162. “I cannot say that I liked him”: quoted by Florinsky, 1261 n.

  40 “The Emperor Nicholas was morally compelled”: Witte, 161.

  41 “No diplomat by profession could have done it”: Izvolsky, 24. “I am creating him a count”: N to MF, 175.

  42 The Kaiser’s attitude: Kokovtsov, 391.

  43 “I agree fully”: Willy-Nicky, 74–5.

  44 Björkö: Cowles, 215; Balfour, 258.

  45 “No longer find your emperor alive”: Cowles, 219.

  46 “Your ally notoriously left you”: Willy-Nicky, 130–2.

  CHAPTER 9 1905

  1 Plehve: Pares, History, 408, 425.

  2–3 Kishenev pogrom: Harcave, 35. “To the devoutly Orthodox Russians”: Sacher, 80–1.

  4 “Police socialism”: Harcave, 39.

  5 Father Gapon: Harcave, 66; Mazour, 352–3.

  6–7 The Putilov strike: Harcave, 70–2. Gapon’s vision: ibid., 81, 88.

  8 William Howard Taft: Tuchman, Proud Tower, 409. Theodore Roosevelt: ibid., 424.

  9 “Capitalistic exploiters, crooks”: Mazour, 354–5.

  10 The Blessing of the Waters: Harcave, 77–8.

  11 The day before: ibid., 83–5.

  12 “Troops have been brought”: N’s Diary, 207.

  13 The march: Harcave, 88–9.

  14 Casualty figures for Bloody Sunday: Pares, 79.

  15 “And so we have no Tsar”: Mazour, 355. “Bloodstained creature” and “common murderer”: Virginia Cowles, The Gay Monarch (New York, Harper, 1956), 346.

  16 “Nicholas Romanov … soul murderer”: Mazour, 356. Gapon’s death: Harcave, 95; Mazour, 357; Florinsky, 1172.

  17 “A painful day”: N’s Diary, 207.

  18 Witte’s suggestion: Harcave, 121. The workers at the palace: Kokovtsov, 39–40.

  19 Alexandra’s letter: Buxhoeveden, 108–10.

  20 Grand Duke Serge: Vyrubova, 13; Paléologue, I, 156–60. The Convent of Mary and Martha: Paléologue, I, 161.

  21 “It makes me sick to read the news”: N to MF, 183.

  22 The Potemkin: Harcave, 156. The October general strike: ibid., 179, 183; Charques, 124.

  23 The Soviet: Pares, 85; Harcave, 188; Mazour, 358.

  24 “So the ominous quiet days began”: N to MF, 184–5.

  25 “I have a constitution in my head”: von Laue, 25.

  26 “At the University, I worked day and night”: Witte, 13.

  27 “I acquitted myself with success”: ibid., 19.

  28 “It will not be an exaggeration”: ibid., 52.

  29 “Fools!”: ibid., 76.

  30 “She obtained her divorce”: ibid., 35.

  31 “A kindly, well-bred youth”: ibid., 179.

  32 “Alexandra does not lack physical charms”: ibid., 198

  33 “The only man who can help you now is Witte”: MF to N, 180.

  34 “I shall kill myself”: Witte, 247; Mosolov, 90; Vyrubova 26; Pares, 86.

  35 The text of the October Manifesto: Harcave, 196.

  36 “Three cocks were crowing at the same time”: ibid., 211.

  37 “The proletariat knows”: Florinsky, 1178–9.

  38 Black Hundreds: Harcave, 204.

  39–40 Lenin in Russia: Fischer, 51. “Go ahead and shoot”: ibid., 54.

  41 Nicholas’s letters on Witte: N to MF, 188, 192, 195, 211.

  42 “To the Emperor of all the Russias”: Harcave, 249.

  43 “You see before you the happiest of mortals”: Kokovtsov, 124.

  44 “As long as I live”: N to MF, 120.

  45 200,000 roubles: Kokovtsov, 332.

  46 “A great never-to-be-forgotten day”: N’s Diary, 174.

  47 Alexis’s birth: Vyrubova, 10. Russia celebrates: Buxhoeveden, 103.

  48 His Imperial Highness: Almedingen, 80.

  49 The christening: N’s Diary, quoted by Catherine Radziwill, The Taint of the Romanovs (London, Cassell, 1931), 179–80; Buxhoeveden, 104.

  50 “Alix and I have been very much worried”: N’s Diary, quoted by Radziwill, op. cit., 181.

  51 “There again was some blood”: ibid., 181.

  52 “I have a secret conviction”: Paléologue, I, 98.

  CHAPTER 10 THE TSAR’S VILLAGE

  1 “Tsarskoe Selo was a world apart”: Botkin, 18.

  2 The park at Tsarskoe Selo: ibid., 15–17; Alexander, 158, 163; Meriel Buchanan, 66. The Cossacks: Paléologue, I, 244.

  3 Building of the palaces: Botkin, 16. A masterpiece under glass: ibid., 17.

  4–5 Inside the palace: Almedingen, 187–8. The Imperial Guard: Paléologue, I, 243–5.

  6 Palace police: Vyrubova, 158; Botkin, 62.

  7 “Resplendent in snow-white garters”: Bykov, 34.

  8 Court protocol: Botkin, 32.

  9 “Has anything happened?”: ibid., 58.

  10 “You are called”: ibid., 83.

  11–12 Count Fredericks: Mosolov, 101, 111, 127; Vyrubova, 93. “The very personification of court life”: Paléologue, I, 20–1.

  13 “Fredericks went to announce the Prince”: Botkin, 41. “Oh, I thought you were somebody else”: ibid., 41.

  14 Orlov: Mosolov, 122, 163; ibid., 43–4.

  15 “The enchanted little fairyland”: Botkin, 61.

  16 “They were not soldiers”: Vyrubova, 9. Jim Hercules: Vorres, 26.

  17 Alexandra’s routine: Vyrubova, 56, 84. Shared the same bed: Vorres, 128. The bedroom: Dehn, 66. Chapel and bathroom: ibid., 67.

  18 The mauve boudoir: Vyrubova, 54, 70; Dehn, 70; Buxhoeveden, 51–2.

  19 Talked in English: Vyrubova, 73.

  20 “Sunny”: ibid., 59. The bird call: ibid., 3–4.

  21 Alexandra’s gowns: ibid., 55. Her bath: Dehn, 66. Her hair: Vyrubova, 74. “Only rubies today”: ibid., 74.

  22 “Do you really like this skirt?”: Dehn, 68.

  23 Brissac: Vorres, 93. Lingerie and shoes: Dehn, 68.

  24 “Advancing through the masses of greenery”: ibid., 39.

  25 Dr. Botkin: Botkin, 29–30. English collies: Vyrubova, 16.

  26 Father Vassiliev: Botkin, 80–1.

  27 The Imperial table: Mosolov, 225–9; Almedingen, 120–1. Cubat: Vyrubova, 76.

  28–29 “Prepare Her Majesty’s carriage”: ibid., 159. The coachman: Botkina, 8. Policemen: Vyrubova, 159. Petitions for the Tsar: Spiridovitch, I, 72. Orlov and the young girl: ibid., I, 73.

  30 Tea: Vyrubova, 57–8.

  31 “Although my audience was a private one”: Paléologue, I, 190.

  32 “I’m afraid I’ve wearied you”: ibid., 197.

  33 Evenings: Vyrubova, 58–9.
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br />   34 “Remarkably clear enunciation”: ibid., 61. The Tsar’s books: Mosolov, 31. “He could not endure the sight”: Vyrubova, 56.

  35 English biscuits: Vorres, 128.

  CHAPTER 11 OTMA AND ALEXIS

  1 Footsteps overhead: Vyrubova, 54. The girls’ rooms and nurses: ibid., 77; Vorres, 107.

  2 “Once she even forgot that Marie was in her bath”: Vorres, 107.

  3–4 Descriptions of the four girls: Gilliard, 73–7; Buxhoeveden, 153–60; Dehn, 75–80; Vorres, 108–12; Kobylinsky, 220–1; Gibbs, in Wilton, 254–5.

  5 “You must wait, Mama”: Botkin, 65.

  6 “Merde”: Gilliard, 74.

  7 “You felt that she was the daughter of an Emperor”: Kobylinsky, 220.

  8 OTMA: Gilliard, 73.

  9 “We sisters always borrow from each other”: Buxhoeveden, 159.

  10 “My mother asks you to come”: Botkina, 11.

  11 “May it please Your Imperial Highness”: Buxhoeveden, 158.

  12 “The girls enjoyed every minute of it”: Vorres, 112.

  13 “The Big Pair” and “The Little Pair”: Vyrubova, 77; Gilliard, 75.

  14 Frilly dressing tables, perfumes, etc.: Dehn, 78.

  15 The crippled child: Buxhoeveden, 159.

  16 “Alexis was the center”: Gilliard, 72.

  17 “My dear little Tsarevich”: Mosolov, 20–30.

  18 First signs of hemophilia: Vyrubova, 81.

  19 “Poor little Alexei fell on his forehead: MF to N, 231.

  20 Orthopedic devices: Pares, 132.

  21 Derevenko and Nagorny: Gilliard, 38.

  22 “Lift my arm. Put up my leg”: Vyrubova, 81.

  23 The strawberry episode: Mosolov, 53.

  24 “He thoroughly enjoyed life”: Gilliard, 40.

  25 “Derevenko says it must be so”: ibid., 85.

  26 “Now girls, run away”: Dehn, 82.

  27 “When the Heir to the Russian throne”: Catherine Radziwill, The Taint of the Romanovs (London, Cassell, 1931), 197. “It’s really nice of you”: Buxhoeveden, 151. “To illustrate and write the jingles”: Botkin, 76.

  28 “Can’t I have my own bicycle?” Vyrubova, 81.

  29 “Daredevil Reaction”: Agle, 79.

  30 Bicycle on the parade ground: Told to the author by the late Mr. Oleg Rodomar, who witnessed the scene.

  31 “All grownups have to go”: Botkina, 13.

  32 “Great railways with dolls”: Fülöp-Miller, 82.

  33 Joy: Vyrubova, 84. Vanka: Gilliard, 71.

  34 The sable: Mosolov, 55–9.

  35 Playmates: Vyrubova, 83–4.

  36 “Luckily, his sisters liked playing with him”: Gilliard, 71.

  37 “I like to think and wonder”: Radziwill, op. cit., 199.

  38 “At times his visits would suddenly cease”: Gilliard, 26.

  39 “Rather tall for his age”: ibid., 40. “The kind of child who can hardly bear correction”: ibid., 39.

  40–41 Gilliard’s account: ibid., 38–43.

  CHAPTER 12 A MOTHER’S AGONY

  1–2 Prince Leopold: ibid., 257–8, 398. Bitten on the knee: Balfour, 75.

  3 “Not in our family”: Longford, 235.

  4 “His Royal Highness”: McKusick, 89. “The peculiar ability of the Prince to suffer severe hemorrhage”: ibid., 90.

  5 Victoria’s reaction: Longford, 398. The Order of the Garter: ibid., 367.

  6 “She cannot bring herself to consent”: McKusick, 90.

  7 Balmoral Volunteers: Longford, 398. Slipped away to Paris: ibid., 422. Married: ibid., 447.

  8 Leopold’s death: McKusick, 90. “For dear Leopold himself”: Longford, 461.

  9 Frittie: McKusick, 91.

  10 Drs. Otto and Nasse: ibid., 88.

  11 “It is predictable”: Haldane, Sang Royal, 39.

  12 “Our poor family seems persecuted”: McKusick, 88.

  13 “I saw the Tsarevich”: Vyrubova, 16.

  14 “I could see she was transfused”: Gilliard, 205.

  15 Doctors shake their heads: ibid., 251.

  16 “God is just”: Pares, 133. The private chapel: Kokovtsov, 449; Pares, 132; Fülöp-Miller, 112, 122.

  17 “God has heard me”: Gilliard, 52. Guilt feeling: Kokovtsov, 451; Gilliard, 53.

  18 “I must have a person to myself”: Buxhoeveden, 166.

  19 Urge to help others: Gilliard, 127.

  20 “The Empress had great moral influence”: Buxhoeveden, 169.

  21 “I feel somehow nearer her like this”: ibid., 214.

  22 Anna and Alexandra: Vyrubova, 28; Dehn, 48. “I remember Vyrubova”: Botkina, 8.

  23 Lieutenant Vyrubov: Vyrubova, 30; Pares, 128.

  24 “I thank God”: Vyrubova, 23. “Now you have subscribed”: Pares, 128.

  25 “When Their Majesties came to tea with me”: Vyrubova, 35.

  26 Anna at the palace: Paléologue, I, 229.

  27 “No royal favorite”: Fülöp-Miller, 95; Paléologue, I, 229.

  28 “I will never give Anna an official position”: Dehn, 49.

  29 “A vehicle,” “A gramophone disc”: Pares, 129.

  30 A virgin: Vyrubova, 395; Kerensky, Crucifixion, 170.

  31 The Empress’s health: AF to N, 272, 284, 289, 295, 296, 298, 299, 301, 302, 305, 308, 360; Vyrubova, 10–11; Buxhoeveden, 197.

  32 “Indeed a sick woman”: Vorres, 130.

  33 “A family weakness of the blood vessels”: Kobylinsky, 219.

  34 “I have been ill nearly all the time”: Buxhoeveden, 128. “Don’t think my ill health depresses me”: ibid., 126.

  35 “She keeps to her bed”: N to MF, 248. “Botkin has persuaded her”: ibid., 254. “It is too sad and painful”: MF to N, 237–8.

  36 “Some trouble of the circulation”: Marye, 394.

  CHAPTER 13 THE ROYAL PROGRESS

  1 “This bog”: Kokovtsov, 304.

  2 The Imperial train: Mosolov, 241–5; Vyrubova, 97.

  3 Zakouski: Vyrubova, 97; Bruce Lockhart, 57; Mosolov, 224.

  4 Heat and discomfort: N to MF, 247. Silver toboggans: Mosolov, 55.

  5 The Finnish fjords: Gilliard, 97.

  6 The Standart: Mosolov, 246.

  7 Informality aboard the yacht: Botkin, 10; Almedingen, 120.

  8–9 “During performances of the opera”: Vorres, 92. Sailor-nannies: Vyrubova, 29.

  10 Nicholas ashore: ibid., 18, 28–9. Alexandra aboard: ibid., 18, 29.

  11 “Just like any other grandmother”: ibid., 88. Evening prayer: ibid., 29. Rocked to sleep: ibid., 18.

  12 Shipwrecked: Mosolov, 247; Vyrubova, 33; Buxhoeveden, 114.

  13 “The Emperor rather disheveled”: Vyrubova, 33.

  14 “Ashore and afloat, there were dinner parties and balls”: Heckstall-Smith, 77.

  15 Prince Albert’s whooping cough: Wheeler-Bennett, 42.

  16 “The one and only time I ever saw Tsar Nicholas”: Windsor, 69.

  17 “Dear uncle … most kind”: Buxhoeveden, 122.

  18 “He said he would be happy”: N to MF, 122. “His joke … was in very doubtful taste”: MF to N, 125.

  19 “Emperor William’s visit was a success”: N to MF, 269.

  20 The flowering of the Crimea: Vyrubova, 36.

  21 “To see a cavalcade of Tartars”: ibid., 38.

  22 Livadia Palace: ibid., 41–3; Botkina, 13.

  23 The Empress at Livadia: Vyrubova, 39.

  24 “Little Alexis and I saw it happen”: Vorres, 110.

  25 “Just now, Alexei has come in”: N to MF, 250.

  26 “Madame, this is for umbrellas”: Botkina, 9.

  27 The Tsar at Livadia: Vyrubova, 39.

  28 Nicholas’s march in private’s uniform: Mosolov, 22; Botkina, 9–10.

  29–30 Easter at Livadia: Vyrubova, 47.

  31–32 Fabergé: This account of the master jeweler and his art draws heavily on Bainbridge and Dennis. In addition, I have seen Fabergé collections at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, at Mrs. Merriweather P
ost’s home in Washington, D.C., in the Kremlin in Moscow and in the Hermitage in Leningrad.

  33 The Great Siberian Railway Easter Egg: Tupper, 269–70.

  34 “They should realize the sadness”: Buxhoeveden, 180.

  35 Alexis at the charity bazaars: Vyrubova, 26.

  36 Yalta parties: Vorres, 56; Vyrubova, 44.

  37 The Emir of Bokhara: Vorres, 92; Vyrubova, 39.

  38 Olga’s necklace: Vyrubova, 43.

  39 Olga’s birthday ball: ibid., 44–5.

  CHAPTER 14 “THE LITTLE ONE WILL NOT DIE”

  1 “Darling Madgie”: Buxhoeveden, 129.

  2 Borodino Centenary: Botkin, 89. “A common feeling of deep reverence”: N to MF, 270.

  3 Moscow ceremonies: N to MF, 273; Bruce Lockhart, 74. “Alexis got hold of a glass of champagne”: N to MF, 274.

  4 Bialowieza: Mosolov, 251. “The weather is warm”: N to MF, 274. Alexis fell jumping into a boat: ibid., 275.

  5 The house at Spala: Vyrubova, 91. The Road of Mushrooms: ibid., 92. Flaming torches: ibid., 91.

  6 “Alexis had looked to me ill”: Gilliard, 28.

  7 “An experience in horror”: Vyrubova, 92.

  8 Botkin’s examination: N to MF, 276. “The days between the 6th and the 10th were the worst”: ibid., 276. Screams pierced the walls: Gilliard, 29.

  9 “Mama, help me!”: Buxhoeveden, 132.

  10 “I was hardly able to stay in the room”: N to MF, 276. Nicholas weeping: Vyrubova, 93.

  11 “It will not hurt any more, will it?”: Buxhoeveden, 132. “Build me a little monument”: Vyrubova, 93.

  12 The household routine unchanged: Gilliard, 29, 31.

  13 “I could see the Tsaritsa in the front row”: ibid., 29.

  14 Medical bulletins: ibid., 30. Prayers: ibid., 31.

  15 “All the servants, the Cossacks”: N to MF, 277.

  16 The end had come: Vyrubova, 93.

  17 “The Little One will not die”: ibid., 94.

  18 “The doctors notice no improvement yet”: Paléologue, I, 148.

  19 “We decided to give him Holy Communion”: N to MF, 276–8.

  20 “I do not agree with my colleagues”: Mosolov, 151–2. “The recovery was wholly inexplicable”: Vorres, 143.

  21 “It is impossible to predict”: M. Litten, Hemorrhagic Diseases (New York, W. B. Saunders and Co., 1905).

  22 Poinsard: Brinkhous, 249–53.