Nicholas II and his wife Alexander Fedorovna got married for love, their family life was extremely happy. Paradoxically, it was their feelings that led to the collapse of the Romanov empire.
16-year-old Mikołaj called Niki and 12-year-old Aleksandra, née Princess Alix Heska, met in St. Petersburg in 1884. The teenager came to the Russian capital for the wedding of her sister Elizabeth with uncle Nicholas, then heir to the throne. The young man immediately noticed a beautiful blonde-haired princess with thick hair and a melancholy look which returned his interest. Alix and Niki began to spend a lot of time together, and in the tsarist residence in Peterhof they wrote "We love each other" on the window.
Nicholas II was in love with his wife.
After a few weeks in Russia, the princess returned to her native Hesse. It seemed that this youthful love would soon fade away, especially since Niki and Alix only met again after 5 years. But it turned out that their feeling grew during the separation. In April 1894, Alix agreed to become the wife of Niki, who wrote in his diary:
A wonderful, unforgettable day - I finally got engaged to my beloved Alix (...) A huge burden from my shoulders.
Nicholas ascended the throne in November of that year after the death of his father Alexander III. The German princess changed her name to Alexander Fedorovna . Their wedding took place on November 14, 1894.
Unpopular Alix
The mother of Nicholas II - Empress Dowager Maria Fidorovna - was against her son's marriage to Alix Heska. The reason for the reluctance was fears that the shy and morbid princess would not be able to fulfill her duties as a monarch. Besides, the beautiful Aleksandra Fyodorovna lacked a personal charm and the ability to win people over.
Unfortunately, these fears have come true. Already during the first court party, the young empress petrified with fear and stared at the floor most of the time. She wasn't smiling and her eyes showed nervousness. When she greeted the guests, she often looked at how many more people were waiting in line. It was felt that the empress was looking forward to being able to leave the ballroom and hide in the privacy of her home. Even while dancing, her face looked weary.
Alexander Romanowa
This behavior was repeated at subsequent parties. The St. Petersburg society began to perceive her tsarina as arrogant and too proud to make contact with members of the capital's society. Alexandra Feodorovna sensed this attitude of the St. Petersburg aristocracy but did nothing to heal their relationship. She felt like a hunted animal and retired to her residence - the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. Only there did she feel safe there.
The personality of Alexandra Feodorovna was so strong that the Tsarina subdued her husband. Under the influence of his wife, Nicholas II withdrew from public life and minimized contacts with the rest of his family . The isolation of the imperial couple made them less popular among the aristocracy and other subjects.
Hemophilia and Rasputin
Another reason for the reluctance of the Russians to Alexandra Fedorovna was the fact that in the first 7 years of marriage, the empress gave birth to four daughters. Even members of the Romanov family did not hide their disappointment at the lack of a male heir.
Mikołaj and Aleksandra's dreams came true in the summer of 1904, when the spouses had Alexa's son. Soon joy turned to despair when it turned out that the child had hemophilia, a hereditary blood clotting failure. Aleksandra turned out to be a carrier of this disease, as did her mother and grandmother, the queen. After an unfortunate cough, light blow, or fall, Alexius often resulted in painful internal bleeding.
The son of the tsarist couple suffered from hemophilia
Then Alexandra sat by the bedside of her son, writhing with pain, 24/7, brushing strands of hair from his sweaty forehead and listening to his moans. That's all she could do as there was no cure for the disease.
In search of help for Alexei, Alix turned to Grigory Rasputin. This ordinary Siberian peasant could inexplicably staunch the heir to the throne's bleeding. As Olga, the emperor's youngest sister, recalled, Rasputin's prayer by the boy's bedside was enough for a sharp improvement. When Alexius got otitis, the old man spoke to him on the phone and the disease receded.
The heir to the throne's haemophilia was the best kept secret. Therefore, Rasputin's presence at the imperial court was disturbing. This was because he was known for his drunken antics and debauchery. In 1911, Prime Minister Piotr Stolypin warned Nicholas that, because of Grigory, the popularity and authority of the tsarist couple in the eyes of the public were diminishing, to which the monarch replied:
It is possible that the Lord is telling the truth. But I am compelled to ask that the Lord never bring up the subject of Rasputin in the future. There is nothing I can do about it.
Grigori Rasputin made an extraordinary career at the tsarist court
Why did the emperor ignore this warning? Because he was aware of his wife's dependence on this Siberian musician and he could not deprive Aleksandra of any hope of curing his son.
Alexander Fedorovna finally became attached to Rasputin in the fall of 1912, during the imperial family's stay in their Polish residence - in Spała. A Siberian peasant saved 8-year-old Alexius, who was dying of a hemophilia attack. When the greatest medical authorities proved helpless, Grigory, who was in Siberia, sent a telegram to the Tsarina:
God heard your prayers and saw your tears. Do not be afraid. Your son will live.
And a miracle happened - the boy began to recover just a moment after receiving this message.
Road to destruction
During the period of peace, the influence of the Empress on Nicholas II was moderately harmful. During World War I, her involvement in political affairs led to hatred towards Alexandra Feodorovna and - as a consequence - to the fall of the Romanov dynasty.
In August 1915, the Russian army suffered severe defeats and retreated deep into the empire. During the year of hostilities, more than 1.5 million people lost their lives. Aleksandra persuaded her husband to appoint himself commander-in-chief of the Russian army. This meant that the tsar would be absent from the capital, which could destabilize the situation in the country. But Mikołaj was not afraid of problems, because he handed over the power in the country to his beloved Alix:
Will my wife come to the rescue of her husband in his absence? What a pity you didn't perform these duties earlier.
The tsarist family
Russia learned with horror that her fate was in the hands of the neurotic Tsarina, who made all personnel decisions conditional on whether the ministerial candidates were sympathetic to Rasputin. Even the most faithful and competent officials lost their jobs because of their dislike of Grigory. In the years 1915-1917, there were four prime ministers in the country, five ministers of internal affairs, and three ministers of foreign affairs.
The public did not understand the presence of a dirty Siberian peasant, accused of collaborating with the Germans, alongside the imperial family. The hatred that the Russians began to harbor towards Alix took them out into the streets in February 1917 and sparked the February Revolution which saw Nicholas II abdicate his throne.
Bibliography:
- Gelardi J., The extraordinary women of the Romanovs. From greatness to revolution. Warsaw, 2012;
- Gelardi J. Born to Rule. London, 2005,
- Massie R.K. Mikołaj i Aleksandra. Warsaw, 1998.