Tsarevich Semyonov from a psychiatric clinic: Tsarevich who escaped the reprisals of the Bolsheviks or a genius pretender

Hypotheses about the incredible salvation of the son of Nicholas II Alexei are not new and numerous. After the execution of the Romanov couple, dozens of applicants acted as the surviving crown prince. Several men, who declared themselves the surviving royal heirs, even suffered from the same rare diseases as Tsarevich Alexei - hemophilia and cryptorchidism. But apart from the unrecognized impostors is Philip Grigorievich Semyonov, whose personality still excites individual researchers.

Another survivor Alexei Romanov with depressive psychosis

Approximately in the winter of 1947 or 1948, a new patient from prisoners in a state of acute psychosis was admitted to the psychiatric clinic of Petrozavodsk. He threw hysterics, waved his arms, tried to run, and repeatedly shouted the name of a certain Beloborodov. A few days later, the psychosis subsided, and Semenov regained a clear consciousness and good-natured disposition. He told the hospital staff that he was the heir to the Romanov crown, telling the story of his miraculous rescue. Allegedly, during the execution of him, a little boy, father Nicholas II turned his back to the murderers, and the bullet hit the child in the buttock. The Tsarevich fell and fainted with great loss of blood. It was found by the monks, who left the child.

After complete restoration, Alexei was brought to the St. Petersburg house of a local architect under the new name of Count Irina. But having found out that they were going to use him as a counter-revolutionary symbol, the Tsarevich set off on the run. And he went straight to the Red Guard, where after the school of red commanders he fought with Denikin. After graduating from Plekhanovka, he received a degree in economics, married and became Philip Semyonov according to the documents of his wife's deceased relative.

The curse in the face of the chairman of the regional council and the report of the monks

Trouble came along with the personality of the chairman of the Ural Regional Council, Alexander Beloborodov, who, according to Semyonov, was privy to the secret of his salvation from the monks. Semenov repeatedly paid for Beloborodov's silence, but that was not enough. Semenov even had to change his place of residence, but the insidious pursuer found him. After another blackmail, Philip Grigorievich, not having the requested amount, was forced to pay off the government officials at the place of work. But his machinations were exposed by the competent authorities, and the violator himself ended up in jail.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for an economic crime. In 1941 he was placed in the Medvezhyegorsk concentration camp. There, during some conflict with his fists, Semyonov suffered a mental breakdown, after which he was sent for treatment to the Petrozavodsk mental hospital. The patient with a noble appearance and excellent manners became close friends with two female doctors, confidentially revealing his secret to them.

The attending physician's story and Semenov's testing by professor

One of the researchers of the personality of Philip Semyonov is Edward Radzinsky, who set out the facts known to him in a book about the last tsar.In particular, he published a letter from psychiatrist Delilah Kaufman from the clinic where the self-proclaimed Tsarevich was treated. She wrote that Semyonov's ailments completely coincided with the known physical abnormalities of the son of Nicholas II. And outwardly, the patient reminded the medical staff of the faces from the Nikolaev portraits.

At that time, the Leningrad psychiatrist professor Gendelevich, who was interested in the personality of Semyonov, arrived in Petrozavodsk. For several hours a reputable practitioner tested Semenov, asking him a lot of questions. The professor was a person familiar with the interiors of the Winter Palace and even the suburban royal residences, the names and titles of all the Romanovs, he was familiar with the protocols of court ceremonies. Semenov gave answers to all questions in such a specific plane, demonstrating knowledge of the tsarist business. At the same time, he behaved, as always, with dignity and calmness.

Then Gendelevich examined the patient, surprised at the similarity of his physical abnormalities with the cryptorchidism of the crown prince. The doctors faced a dilemma: to confirm the diagnosis of "paranoia" by sending the patient to the previous place of detention, or to request an additional examination at the hospital. But in this case, it was necessary to motivate such a decision in the prosecutor's supervisory authorities, followed by scrupulous procedures. As a result, the patient was declared paranoid and sent back to the camp, which caused his full approval.

Semenov free and arguments against

In 1951, Semyonov was released. Relatives said that there were no mental abnormalities in Philip Grigorievich. He lived without attracting attention, without trying to make loud statements. Not finding his first family, he married a second time and settled in Leningrad. His second wife, Ekaterina Mikhailovna, he often liked to take to the Winter Palace. Here he wandered the halls for a long time, telling where that stood before and showing his favorite corners. Sometimes he cried.

This strong, large man was distinguished by melancholy, as pointed out by experts on the personality of the whiny Tsarevich Alexei. Semyonov died in 1979, gaining fame after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 2007, the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty published a note about the Tsarevich, where Philip Semyonov was mentioned. In addition to widely known information, including from Radzinsky's book, the author published some more facts. In his first marriage, Semenov had three sons. In the 90s, at the suggestion of the Daily Express, the eldest of them, Yuri, provided biomaterial for genetic research. It was carried out in one of the British laboratories. The DNA of the possible tsar's grandson Yuri Filippovich Semyonov and Prince Philip, a close relative of the Romanovs through the English Queen Victoria, was compared. According to the results of the analysis, it was reported that two out of three tests were the same, the third was neutral.

Another famous impostor almost shook the autocratic system in the Russian Empire.