Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix) (1872-1918)

[lexi4]

Good points all Ysbel.
I do think had Nicholas II been more like his grandfather and willing to make some reforms it might have helped prevent/postpone the revolution. I think Bloody Sunday was one such missed opportunity. The Russian peasantry still thought of the Tsar as their "little father" and when they petitioned him, he bungled it badly. He waivered terribly on the issue of a constitutional government or Duma. Perhaps you are correct and nothing could have been done to turn the tide. But Nicholas sure didn't help the situation. When Nicholas, hoping to prevent revolution, issued the Imperial Manifest and Decree Kerensy wrote to his parents: The main aim of this Manifesto is to calm and silence the revolutionary movement that has just begun so that all the forces of the government can be consolidated for one purpose in the future: to prevent any of its promises from being delivered." (Figes, A People's Tragedy.)
The Manifest offered the people a way to direct grievances to Nicholas. And he received hundreds of petitions which Nicholas was unable to fulfill. I think Nicholas's problem was that he was unable to let go of belief that he was annoited by God to rule Russia. He believed deeply that he knew what was best for the Russian people and that they would stand by him. His calculations were terribly wrong and it cost him the his life and the lives of his family.

 

[GlitteringTiaras]

Speaking of books, articles, essays, and documents, the book Major Problems in the History of Imperial Russia edited by James Cracraft was a book that I was forced to read when I was an undergrad. I remember specifically two documents that were very interesting in regards to Nicholas II:

The October Manifesto of Nicholas II, 1905
Nicolas de Basily Recounts the Abdication of Nicholas II, 1917

If anyone has a chance to get their hands on this book and/or documents they are a fascinating read for all Russophiles.

 

[lexi4]

For anyone interested...
Here is a link to the October Manifesto
Manifesto of October 17

While the reforms promised in the manifest sound good, in reality it had very little effect because Nicholas used his veto power over the Duma. It was [SIZE=-1] Count Sergei Witte who convinced Nicholas to issue the Manifesto. Witte also tried to convince Nicholas to stay our of WWI. His advice, of course, and no impact on Nicholas.
[/SIZE]

 

[Ithil]

Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Empress of Russia

It said somewhere that Alexandra was the favorite grandchild of Queen Victoria. I'm just wondering if this seems probable that she indeed was.

 

[COUNTESS]

She was very close to her grandmother, after her mother died. Victoria acted as her mother, so their was an intimacy that she did not share with some of her other grandchildren. Did he have an absolute favorite, who knows. Maybe, at certain times she favored some over others, but by and large she loved all her grandchildren, even Willy.

 

[Ithil]

I know that she was very close to her grandmother because her mother had died, when she was young, so her grandmother became a type of surrogate mother to her.

 

[Avicenna]

I know that she was very close to her grandmother because her mother had died, when she was young, so her grandmother became a type of surrogate mother to her.

6 years old in fact

 

[Picmajik]

I thought the same thing!

what do they want then? Did anybody read 'Icon' by Frederick Forsyte. It is about russia in the middle 90-ties and in the end of the book the monarchy is restored under...Prince and Princess Michael of Kent!!!! Can you imagine HER being Tsarina?? When I read it I could not stop laughing out loud for several minutes.

I read on another thread where someone had suggested Prince Michael of Kent as the new Czar and the first thing that I though of was that's all the world needs as Czarina. Some people have posted that she is already convinced of her own self-importance. disclaimer-Of course, I am relying on second-hand reports as I do not know Princess Michael.

 

[Al_bina]

Veering off the subject matter ...

Apart from personality traits, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent have got a potential to become a glamourous royal couple. By the way, I am sure that Lady Gabriella will make a prefect princess...

 

[tan_berry]

In the movie The Lost Prince there is a scene that portrays Nicholas II as being unable to take any decission, even something so trivial like taking a photo of himself and George V, without the consent of his wife, who even did not answer back to his question, and then he interprets her silence like it was not an appropiate time for taking the photo: "yes, maybe it is that....." It seems she absolutely dominated him. She was the real tsar, then. And had she desired absolute power for her son, he would not been able to decide any reform even considering it necessary. I think that is why those deaths are so horrible, so many weak persons, such a good man as a person.

 

[Avicenna]

Quote "Russia from within" by Alexander Ular, published in 1905, William Heinemann, London

page 39 The chapter is on "The dynasty and the court"

"The influence of the empress

The serious consequences of such errors are sometimes so obvious that they cannot escape even the intermittent attention of the Sovereign. The bad effects of carelessness of this sort have engendered in the Tsar an indecision and a fear of voluntary action which have become engrafted on to his habitually vacillating character. Unfortunatly, Nicholas has no "Danish Partner" to furnish him with the needful degree of moral stability. ... etc"

Excellent book - from what I can judge. A scholar might come to another conclusion. The main value being that it reflect the mood of the time back then.

 

[Russophile]

I would be most grateful if anyone can recommend the best book or lengthy article which covers the life of the Russian royal family at their summer palace. Also if anyone knows of photographs of Tsar Nicholas II and his family holidaying there. Many thanks.

Its' hard to recommend just one book because they did move/travel from one palace to another, especially during the summer months.
Peter Kurth's: Tsar has a lot of lovely pictures in it from their travels.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

It was very sad when, Tsar Alexander III died. Nicholas was forced to rule. In his diary he wrote that he never wanted to rule and didn't even know what to do. That's why it's not a good to force someone to rule because they have 'royal blood'. Nicholas didn't have enough experience and he was too lenient. During the world war, and revlotion many people criticized that Nicholas wasn't ruling hard enough. I really think Alix did care for the wounded she took care of wounded Russian soilders in the World war so did, Olga and Tatiana. Rasputin had a big influence for Alexandra, because she had complete faith in him. He 'healed' Alexei. That's another reason why the Russian people didn't like Alix, because of Rasputin.

 

[Russophile]

I read in Massey Nicky thought GD George, his brother was better suited.
They always could have abdicated to the Vlad's. . .

 

[Royal Fan]

im sure they wouldve loved the Tsar doing that

 

[Michael HR]

I would have left the country if he had. Kyril as Tsar, nah!

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

Either way, it depends on how Grand Duke George can handle such a big task.

 

[COUNTESS]

Alix was shy, neurotic and autocratic. Not a great combination. She was not unkind. Nicky was less than a leader should be and swayed with the wind. His wife had great control over him. They both failed to see the handwriting on the wall after 1905. There could have been changes.

 

[Furienna]

I once heard about an incident from when they were newlyweds, and they were having a ball. Several people were killed in a crowd, because too many people were at the same place at the same time. (I assume people had come there to have a look at the tsar and tsarina and their guests.) Nicholaus and Alexandra thought about having the ball end early in respect for these dead people, but some advisor told them to continue with their ball instead, as if nothing had happened. But in retrospect, many scholars now believe, that if they had ended the ball early instead of continuing with it, they wouldn't have gotten a bad reputation among the commoners, which eventually lead to their tragical fate.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

Yes, Alix actually trusted Rasputin so much. He was using her, to get to Nicholas since he was the autocratic ruler. It made it seem Alix was telling Nicholas how to run the govenment that eventually colasped. Many blamed Alix, for the cause of the revolution. I don't think she was to blame, it has a lot to do with the tsar lacks the power to control the govenment. Since Rasputin, stopped the bleeding of Alexei everytime; she had to trust him.Nicholas and Alix's children trusted Rasputin, of course because Alix wanted them to respect him. But, I honestly think OTMA had their personal strong opinions of Rasputin.There is alot of mystery for Rasputin. I myself, think of Rasputin as a fraud, he wasn't a real faith healer, he did sinful acts such as sex, and alcohal. Alix and Nicky considered him a 'man of god'. Many said, that he would use leeches to stop Alexei's pain. Somehow Rasputin, did something to stop Alexei's pain.

 

[Russophile]

Well sex and alcohol aren't sinful acts per say. . . .*ahem*
I don't believe Rasputin was "using" Alix to get to Nicky. For what purpose? He didn't care about possessions or money. I remember reading, I think it was in "Holy Devil" (Rene Fulop Muller, I believe, I could be wrong, feel free to correct me) I can't remember, but there were crowds of people standing at his flat in St. Petersburg hoping for this favor or that handout. He (Rasputin) would give them whatever he had and if he couldn't, he sent them to somebody he thought could help with a little note "Do this for X. -Grigory".
Also in that book there was speculation as to what sort of "powers" Rasputin had. Yussopov claimed he had hypnotic powers and used them to stop the bleeding of Alexis. My personal opinion is that he used a combination of some form of hypnosis and just relaxation techniques to staunch the blood. Lord knows what a basket case Alix was whenever one of these fits came on, I'm sure he helped calm her down, which in turn calmed the czarevitch down to help with the bleeding.

 

[Furienna]

Well sex and alcohol aren't sinful acts per say. . . .*ahem*

Except that he was supposed to be a holy man.

 

[Russophile]

Except that he was supposed to be a holy man.

Some so called holy men engaged in orgies, which, unfortunately, was a religious sect in Russia in Rasputin's time. There has been much speculation if Rasputin was a follower of this religion given is base proclivities.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

Having sex with many different women would defiantly be a sin. Drinking is also a sin. His behavoir was defiantly not that of an ordinary monk. He was very mysterious.

I think Rasputin, was trying to get some control over the tsars government, since he had the full trust of Alexandra. Rasputin, generally was ready to offer advice, occasionally offered advice on Russian military strategy (during the revolution and world war). Sometimes he would give advice to Nicholas on how to run the government. Rasputin could have used leeches to remove most of Alexei's constant bleeding. He could have also gave him herbs and hypnotized him. Some believe that his prayers would heal him or that god gave him supernatural powers. These are five possible ways Rasputin may have successfully healed Alexei. I believe that Rasputin used herbs or leeches to stop Alexei's bleeding.

 

[Russophile]

I don't agree that he used herbs and leeches. Somebody would have a record of it somewhere. You can't hide a leech and herbs smell.
Drinking may be considered a sin in some places but it has medicinal purposes in small doses. Unfortunately, this Jack Mormon tends to horde those small doses into LARGE ones. . .

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

Well, this is just my opinion it didn't have to be right or wrong. I just stated what I believed Rasputin used to healed Alexei with.

 

[Russophile]

Well, this is just my opinion it didn't have to be right or wrong. I just stated what I believed Rasputin used to healed Alexei with.

And it's good to throw those ideas out there to be discussed.
I don't think we'll ever get a clear picture of Rasputin and the powers he possessed.

 

[AnastasiaEvidence]

And it's good to throw those ideas out there to be discussed.
I don't think we'll ever get a clear picture of Rasputin and the powers he possessed.

I agree. All of us have so many questions about Rasputin. I think he's very mysterious.

 

[Russophile]

I agree. All of us have so many questions about Rasputin. I think he's very mysterious.

Think he WANTED to be mysterious?

 

[COUNTESS]

You betcha. He may have been hypnotic, but passed that he just needed a willing dupe. Alexandra was calmed by him and, thus, calmed her son and the bleeding abated. It was a perfect setup. You have to have pity on Alexandra. This was her son. She would follow anyone who gave her this peace of mind.