The Mystery of the Last Empress: Why did Russia dislike the wife of Nicholas II

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

June 6 marks the 147th anniversary of the birth of the last Russian empress, wife of Nicholas II Alexandra Feodorovna, nee Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. Despite the fact that there were sincere feelings between the spouses, the people disliked her from the moment she appeared in Russia and called her "a hated German woman." And although she made every effort to win sympathy in society, the attitude towards her has not changed. Was it deserved?

She first visited Russia in 1884, when her older sister was married to Nikolai's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The second time she came to St. Petersburg in early 1889. From the moment of this visit, sympathy arose between 20-year-old Nikolam Romanov and 16-year-old Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt (or Alix, as Nikolai called her). Parents did not approve of his choice - they did not consider the girl a suitable party for the future emperor, but Nicholas firmly stood his ground. In 1892 he wrote in his diary: "".

Due to the fact that the health of Alexander III deteriorated greatly, the family had to come to terms with the choice of Nicholas. Alice began to study the Russian language and the foundations of Orthodoxy, because she had to renounce Lutheranism and adopt a new religion. In the fall of 1894, Alice arrived in Crimea, where she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Alexandra Feodorovna and spent several weeks with the royal family until the death of Emperor Alexander III. After that, mourning was declared, and the wedding ceremony should have been postponed for a year, but Nikolai was not ready to wait that long.

It was decided to appoint a wedding for the birthday of the dowager empress, which allowed the royal family to temporarily interrupt the mourning. On November 26, 1894, the wedding ceremony of Nikolai Romanov and Alexandra Feodorovna took place in the Great Church of the Winter Palace. Later, the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: "".

Since the appearance of the German princess in Russia, many have disliked her both in the inner circle of the royal family and among the people. She seemed too cold, arrogant, withdrawn and alienated, and only loved ones knew the real reason for this behavior - natural shyness. Russian statesman and publicist Vladimir Gurko wrote about her: "". According to a contemporary, she was reproached for "".

Few believed in sincere love, mutual respect and devotion to each other. Some representatives of the high society were sure that Alexandra Feodorovna completely subjugated her husband, suppressing his will. Vladimir Gurko wrote: "".

The reasons for the hostile attitude towards Alexandra Feodorovna among the people were different. At first, public discontent was caused by the fact that the wedding with Nicholas took place almost immediately after the death of his father. And during the coronation of the royal family in May 1896, a terrible tragedy happened, which led to the death of hundreds of people. On the day of the festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II, a terrible crush occurred on the Khodynskoye field, during which more than 1,300 people were trampled, but the imperial couple did not cancel the planned celebrations.

There were rumors among the people that the German princess was defending the interests of Germany even after her marriage, that she was preparing a coup in order to become regent with her young son, and that the “German party” rallied around her. On this occasion, the Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich wrote: "". And one of her contemporaries said: "".

Alexandra Feodorovna felt an unfriendly attitude towards herself among the people and made every effort to change the situation. She was involved in charitable activities, was a trustee of 33 charities, communities of nurses and shelters, organized schools for nurses, clinics for children, schools of folk art. During the First World War, she financed several ambulance trains, established and looked after hospitals, herself received nursing training, did dressings and assisted in operations. And she did it at the call of her heart. However, despite all efforts, the empress did not deserve sympathy. And the next reason for her dislike for her was her attachment to the odious Grigory Rasputin, who had a huge influence on her.

When the empress had a son with hemophilia, she was carried away by religious and mystical teachings, often turning for help and advice to Rasputin, who helped Tsarevich Alexei fight the disease, before which official medicine was powerless. They said that Alexandra Feodorovna trusted him completely, while Rasputin's reputation was very ambiguous - later he was called a symbol of the moral degradation of power under the last Russian emperor. Many believed that Rasputin subdued the very religious and exalted empress to his will, and she, in turn, influenced Nicholas II. According to another version, the ill-wishers deliberately spread rumors among the people about the close relationship of Alexandra Fedorovna with Rasputin in order to blacken her image in society, and in fact he was her spiritual mentor.

In July 1918, members of the imperial family were shot. Who was the last Russian empress really - a fiend of hell, an innocent victim or a hostage of circumstances? Her own words, which she said shortly before her death in a letter to her confidant Anna Vyrubova, speak volumes: “”.

Such a tender attitude of spouses to each other in ruling families was very rare: Letters from Alexandra Feodorovna to Nicholas II.