Thus she complained of her husband’s laws.
He: “7 April, 1916.… I have made a note on the petition of the wounded Jew from America: ‘to be granted universal domicile in Russia.’”
She: “April 8th 1916. Christ has risen! My own sweet Nicky love, On this our engagement day, all my tenderest thoughts are with you.… That dear brooch will be worn today.”
In July 1916 she traveled to see him at Headquarters, where Alexei was staying with him. For the first time she traveled with the entire family—for a few days.
They “relished their vacation,” and again the train carried them back to their beloved Tsarskoe Selo. Once again father and son remained at Headquarters.
He: “13 July.… It is I who ought to thank you, dear, for your coming here with the girls, and for bringing me life and sun in spite of the rainy weather.… Of course I did not succeed in telling you half of what I had intended, because, when I meet you, having been parted for long, I become stupidly shy, and only sit and gaze at you, which is by itself a great joy to me.”
At that time Alix fell into a trap. The case of the spies was dragging on. Along with Sukhomlinov they had already implicated Manusevich-Manuilov, the former agent of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the stockbroker Rubinstein, both of whom were close to Rasputin. But this was not the full extent of the situation. Through Rubinstein, Alix had transferred money to her impoverished relatives in Germany unbeknownst to Nicky. How her enemies could twist things! Now she needed a loyal minister of internal affairs who could free them all and finally put an end to this affair, which was so awful for her Friend as well as for her.
“Sept. 7th 1916. My own Sweetheart,… Gregory begs you earnestly to name Protopopov [minister of internal affairs]. You know him & had such a good impression of him—happens to be of the Duma (is not left) & so will know how to be with them.… He likes our Friend since at least 4 years & that says much for a man.”
So a new ruinous name appeared: Protopopov.
She: “Sept. 9th 1916.… Went … to town … to see poor Countess Hendrikov [Gendrikova], who is quite dying—utterly unconscious, but I remembered she had asked me to come when she wld. die.… Nastinka [the countess’s daughter] very brave only cried when I went away.”
A charming lady-in-waiting, Nastenka Gendrikova was devoted to the empress. Only a few months later, when they were deciding who was to accompany the family into exile, Nastenka would be among the first to answer the call.
He: “9 September, 1916. Headquarters.… It seems to me that this Protopopov is a good man.… Rodzianko has for a long time suggested him for the post of Minister of Trade.… I must consider the question, as it has taken me completely by surprise. Our Friend’s opinions of people are sometimes very strange, as you know yourself—therefore one must be careful, especially with appointments to high offices.… This must be thought out very carefully.… All these changes make my head go round. In my opinion, they are too frequent. In any case, they are not good for the internal situation of the country, as each new man brings with him alterations in the administration. I am very sorry that my letter has turned out to be so dull.”
This ministerial leapfrog continued throughout 1916—until the empire’s collapse. Goremykin, Sturmer, Trepov, and Golitsyn succeeded one another at the head of the government.
He was looking for a figure who could reconcile him and the Duma. He did not want to admit that finding such a figure was impossible. What he actually needed was not a new figure but a new principle: a ministry responsible to the Duma. That was what the Duma demanded, but he could not accede. It seemed like a return to the terrible year 1905. Alix was fervently opposed, as was their Friend (who ably echoed his mistress’s opinion, as always).
The figure of Alexander Protopopov seemed felicitous to Nicholas. Only recently Protopopov had emerged at the head of the Duma delegation and had enjoyed great success abroad, and Mikhail Rodzianko, Duma chairman, approved of him. It seemed a name had been found that would reconcile him and the Duma. But once the Duma found out that the tsaritsa and Rasputin approved of him, Protopopov’s fate was decided. He became detested by all.
Nicholas’s fury knew no bounds: he even banged his fist on the table: “Until I appointed him he was fine for them; now he is not because I appointed him.”
She: “Sept. 22nd 1916.… I scarcely slept at all this night—saw every hour, ½ hour … on the watch (don’t know why, as had spent a lovely, soothing evening).… We spoke [with Protopopov] for 1½ hour … very clever, coaxing, beautiful manners, speaks also very good French & English.… I spoke very frankly to him, how yr. orders are constantly not fulfilled, put aside, how difficult to believe people.… I am no longer the slightest bit shy or afraid of the ministers and speak like a waterfall in Russia!!! And they kindly don’t laugh at my faults. They see I am energetic & tell all to you I hear & see & that I am yr. wall in the rear … eyes & ears….
“Sept. 26th.… There—you will say—a big sheet, means she is going to chatter a lot again!—Well, Protopopov dined with A[nya]—she knows him already a year or two.… Protopopov has asked to see—wont you tell him to let Sukhomlinov out.… Protopopov quite agrees with the way our Fr[iend] looks upon this question. He will tell of Justice, write this down to remember when you see him and also speak to him about Rubinstein to have him quietly sent to Siberia.… Prot[opopov] thinks it was Guchkov, who must have egged on the military to catch the man, hoping to find evidences against our Friend. Certainly he had ugly money affairs—but not he alone.”
In October 1916, Protopopov was called before a meeting of influential Duma members. A stenographic record was made of the meeting:
“ ‘We do not want to talk with you, a man who received his appointment through Rasputin and freed the traitor Sukhomlinov.’
“ ‘I am the personal candidate of the sovereign, whom I now have come to know better and to love,’ Protopopov responded, exaltedly. ‘All of you have titles, good positions, connections, but I began my career as a modest student giving lessons for fifty kopeks, I have nothing besides the personal support of the sovereign.’”
But this time all of society had united in their hatred for the new minister. The Duma and Russia had been shaken by the speeches of the great Duma orators. Pavel Milyukov, for instance, the leader of the Cadets (Constitutional Democrats), spoke from the Duma rostrum:
“From one end of the country to the other, dark rumors have been spreading about betrayal and treason. These rumors have reached high and spared no one. The name of the empress comes up more and more often along with the names of the adventurists that surround her. What is this—stupidity or treason?”
Milyukov wanted to prove that all this was the government’s stupidity, but the country kept repeating: “Treason!”
“The rumors of treason played a fateful role in the army’s attitude toward the dynasty,” wrote General A. Denikin, the tsarist general who took command of the White forces in the south of Russia after General Kornilov’s death.
“More than once I had a horrible thought about the empress plotting with Wilhelm,” Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich would say after the revolution in an interview for a Petrograd newspaper.
She: “Sept. 28th 1916.… What a joy to meet soon—in 5 days!!! Seems incredible. Eating in the fresh air is very healthful for Baby & shall bring 2 camp chairs and folding table for him—then I can sit outside too. We plan to leave Sunday at 3 to be in Mogilev for tea—at 5 on Monday. Alright? After your walk, then I can lie down a while longer,”
She: “Oct. 12th 1916.… Its with a very heavy heart I leave you again—I hate these goodbies.… You are so lonely amongst this crowd—so little warmth around. How I wish you cld. have come for 2 days only, just to have got our Friend’s blessing, it would have given you new strength—I know you are brave & patient—but human—& a touch of His on your chest would have soothed much pain & given you new wisdom & energy from Above—these are no idle words—but my firm convi
ction.… I too well know & believe in the peace our Friend can give & you are tired, morally, you cannot deceive old wify!”
“MY POOR FRIEND”
She was right. He was exhausted.
She: “Nov. 1st 1916. My own beloved treasure.… So Olga will marry on Saturday—& where will that be?”
This was yet another scandal in the family: after her divorce from Peter of Oldenburg, the tsar’s sister Olga married Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky, a cavalry captain in the Cuirassier Regiment, whose colonel-in-chief was the empress dowager.
Converging on Kiev for the wedding, the large Romanov family closed ranks—the situation in the country was disastrous. The family saw one way out: Nicholas must yield to the Duma’s demands and give it the right to appoint ministers. Such an action would free the government from the pernicious influence of Alix and Rasputin and good Nicky from responsibility at this critical moment. And of course, it would mean the immediate removal of the Holy Devil. A family council decided to send Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, the historian Nicholas Romanov, to see Nicky.
He: “2 November.… My precious. Nicolai M. has come for one day; we had a long talk together last night, of which I will tell you in my next letter.—I am too busy to-day. God preserve you, my dearly beloved Sunny, and children.… Eternally your old Nicky.”
He was being cunning. He simply did not know how to tell her about this conversation. So he decided to send her the letter the family’s emissary had given him:
“You have told me many times that you can trust no one, that you are being deceived. If this is so, the same phenomenon must also hold true for your spouse, who loves you ardently but has been led astray thanks to the malicious and utter deception of the people who surround her. You trust Alexandra Feodorovna, which is understandable, but what comes out of her mouth is the result of clever juggling and not the actual truth. If you are not competent to remove this influence from her, then at least guard against those constant interferences and whisperings through your beloved spouse.… I have long hesitated to reveal the whole truth, but after your mother and sisters convinced me to do this, I made my decision. You are on the eve of an era of new upheavals—even more, I would say an era of assassination attempts. Believe me: if I urge you thus to free yourself from the chains that have been forged … then it is only out of my hope and desire to save you, your throne, and our dear homeland from the most difficult and irreparable consequences.”
In conclusion, Nicholas Mikhailovich suggested that the tsar grant “the much desired ministry responsible to the Duma and do so before outside pressure is brought to bear,” that is, not in the way the memorable act of October 17, 1905, had come about.
They were threatening him with a new revolution. And reminding him of the last.
She: “Nov. 4th.… I read Nikolai’s & am utterly disgusted. Had you stopped him in the midle of his talk & told him that, if he only once more touched that subject or me, you will send him to Siberia—as it becomes next to high treason. He has always hated & spoken badly of me since 22 years.… But during war & at such a time to crawl behind yr. Mama & Sisters & not stick up bravely … for his Emperor’s wife—is loathesome & treachery.… You, my Love, far too good & kind & soft—such a man needs to be held in awe of you—He & Nikolasha are my greatest enemies in the family, not counting the Montenegrin women—& Sergei.… Wife is your staunch One & stands as a rock behind you.”
Postscript:
“… I dreamt I was being operated on: th’ my arm was cut off I felt utterly no pain. After a letter came from Nikolai.”
Now she began her struggle against the entire Romanov family. She remained intact.
He: “5 November.… I am so sorry that I have upset you and made you angry by sending the two letters of N., but as I am in a constant hurry I had not read them, because he had spoken exhaustively of the matter for a long time. But he never once mentioned you, discussing only the stories about spies, factories, workmen, disorders, Ministers, and the general internal situation. Had he said anything about you, you do not really doubt that your dear hubby would have taken your part!”
She: “Nov. 12th 1916.… I am but a woman fighting for her Master & Child, her two dearest ones on earth—& God will help me being your guardian angel, only dont pull the sticks away upon wh. I have found it possible to rest [i.e., Rasputin and Protopopov].… What joy to rest to-morrow in your arms to kiss & bless you.… True unto death.”
Postscript:
“Darling, remember that it does not lie in the man Protopopov or x.y.z., but its the question of monarchy & yr. prestige.… Dont think they will stop at him, but they will make all others leave who are devoted to you one by one—then ourselves. Remember, last year yr. leaving to the Army—when also you were alone with us two [her and Rasputin] against everybody, who promised revolution if you went. You stood up against all & God blessed your decision.”
She: “Dec. 4th 1916.… Show to all, that you are the Master & your will shall be obeyed—the time of great indulgence & gentleness is over—now comes your reign of will & power, & obedience they must be taught.… Why do people hate me? Because they know I have a strong will & when am convinced of a thing being right (when besides blessed by Gregory), do not change my mind & that they can’t bear.… Remember Mr. Philipps [the charlatan mystic Monsieur Philippe from France] words when he gave me the image with the bell. As you were so kind, trusting & gentle, I was to be yr. bell, those that came with wrong intentions wld. not be able to approach me & I wld. warn you. Should Motherdear write, remember the Michels [the Mikhailovich brothers] are behind her.—Don’t heed & take to heart—thank God she is not here, but kind people find means of writing & doing harm.”
The bell rang and rang.… And then the family played its trump: her sister Ella went to Tsarskoe Selo and attempted to explain to her beloved Alix as kindly as possible the horror of the situation, by which she meant Rasputin. But Alix immediately shut her out and cut the conversation short.
Alix saw her sister off at the train, but they parted in silence. Ella would never reappear at Tsarskoe Selo. They would not see each other again.
He: “10 December, 1916.… Things do not look too bright in Roumania.… In the Dobrudja our troops had to retire to the very Danube.… By the 15th of Dec. the concentration of our forces will, I hope, [be] more or less accomplished and perhaps toward Christmas we shall begin our offensive. As you see, the position there is not a happy one.”
What was the extent of his participation in the war? An ignorant, weak-willed executor of the wishes of his hysterical wife and Rasputin—that was the answer given by the coming revolution.
But here is another widely known opinion. Winston Churchill wrote about it in World Crisis: “Surely to no nation has Fate been more malignant than to Russia. Her ship went down in sight of port.… Every sacrifice had been made; the toil was achieved.… The long retreats were ended; the munition famine was broken; arms were pouring in; stronger, larger, better equipped armies guarded the immense front.… Alexeiff directed the Army and Kolchak the Fleet. Moreover, no difficult action was now required: to remain in presence: to lean with heavy weight upon the far stretched Teutonic line: to hold without exceptional activity the weakened hostile forces on her front: in a word to endure—that was all that stood between Russia and the fruits of general victory….
“The brunt of supreme decisions centred upon him. At the summit where all problems are reduced to Yea and Nay, where events transcend the faculties of men and where all is inscrutable, he had to give the answers. His was the function of the compass needle. War or no war? Advance or retreat? Right or left? Democratise or hold firm? Quit or persevere? These were the battlefields of Nicholas II. Why should he reap no honor for them?… In spite of errors vast and terrible, the regime he personified, over which he presided, to which his personal character gave the final spark, had at this moment won the war for Russia.”
He: “I am so glad that you were pleased with Novgorod.�
�� You saw more there than I did in 1904.”
In Novgorod Alix had been to see the famous prophetess, the holy woman Maria Mikhailovna, who lived in the Desyatinna Convent. He hoped her trip would divert her indomitable energy into a new channel, so he could pause for breath.
Subsequently Alix would repeat the legend: Maria Mikhailovna was lying in the darkness when Alix appeared. Then the holy woman suddenly rose up on her bed, climbed down to the floor, and bowed to the ground before the empress. And she said: “You, beautiful lady, shall know suffering.” But what was the point of legends if Alix herself described the meeting?
She: “She lay in bed in a small dark room, so they brought a candle for us to see each other. She is 107, weares irons … generally always works, goes about, sews for the convicts & soldiers, without spectacles—never washes. And of course, no smell, or feeling of dirt, scraggy grey hair standing out, a sweet fine, oval face with lovely young, shining eyes & sweet smile. She blessed us & kissed us.… To me she said: And you the beautiful one—dont fear the heavy cross’ (several times)—has grey hair and a sweet, delicate, oval face—‘for your coming to visit us, two churches will be built in Russia.’ … Said not to worry about the children, will marry, & could not hear the rest.”
Or maybe poor Alix didn’t understand what marriage she was talking about. Old-style Russian was hard for the Hessian princess. Her friend Anya preferred “not to hear” it either. The holy woman was speaking of Alix’s daughters’ being wed to death.
He: “3 December, 1916.… Endless thanks for your long interesting letter with the many details of your trip to Novgorod.… Well now, about Trepov [in 1916 Alexander Feodorovich Trepov was appointed prime minister]. He was quiet and submissive and did not touch upon the name of Protopopov.… He unfolded his plan concerning the Duma—to prorogue it on the 17th of December and reassemble it on the 19th of January so as to show them and the whole country that, in spite of all they have said, the Government wish to work together.… I went to pray before the ikon of the Mother of God before this conversation, and felt comforted after it.”
The Last Tsar Page 19