Maria Feodorovna who was Nicholas 2. Princess Dagmar and Empress Maria Feodorovna. Reign of Nicholas II
The book is dedicated to the life and work of Empress Maria Feodorovna Romanova, née Danish Princess Dagmar (1847–1928), the wife of Emperor Alexander III, mother of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, whose name was forgotten in our country for more than 80 years. Meanwhile, she was an extraordinary person. Contemporaries noted her intelligence and determination, diplomatic abilities and political intuition, and all these qualities of a strong personality were harmoniously combined with the charming manners, fragility and charm of a charming woman. She was an impeccable wife and mother, a loyal friend and adviser to both her husband and son, and did a lot to improve education and develop culture in Russia. Her enormous public and charitable activities aroused respect in secular circles, among the creative intelligentsia, and among the common people. A distinctive feature of her personality was a passionate desire to serve the good of Russia, which she loved with all her soul immediately and forever.
Yu. V. Kudrina
Maria Feodorovna
“THE LOVE OF THE PEOPLE IS THE TRUE GLORY OF THE GOVERNMENT...”
The entry of the Danish princess Dagmar into the Russian Imperial House began with drama - her fiancé (1865), the eldest son of Alexander II, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, died suddenly. She had the privilege of witnessing the collapse of this House and the death of its head - her son Nicholas II and his entire family. Her youngest son Mikhail was also killed by the Bolsheviks. Her two other sons died earlier: Alexander (1870) and George (1899). Her father-in-law, Alexander II, died before her eyes in the Winter Palace as a result of an assassination attempt by terrorists (1881); one of her husband’s brothers, Sergei Alexandrovich, also became a victim of terrorists (1905). In 1913, Maria Feodorovna’s brother, Prince William, the Greek King George I, was also killed.
Russia and the Russian public received the Danish princess with great sympathy. “Her (Dagmar. -
the people had long waited, hoped and known, because she was preceded by a poetic legend, connected with the memory of the deceased Tsarevich, and the day of her entry was like a poem, sung and sung by all the people,” wrote member of the State Council, Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev.
Years passed. From a young princess of a small European state, Dagmar turned into the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, who enjoyed great respect and love from her subjects.
Poets F. I. Tyutchev, A. N. Maikov, K. K. Romanov dedicated their poems to her, composer P. I. Tchaikovsky - twelve of his best romances. In 1898, composer M. A. Balakirev created a hymn in honor of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. Her portraits were painted by the best Russian artists: I. N. Kramskoy, V. E. and K. E. Makovsky, A. P. Sokolov, N. E. Sverchkov, I. S. Galkin, V. A. Bodrov, N. S. Samokish and others. A peak in the Pamirs (now Engels Peak) and the city of Novomariinsk (now Anadyr in Chukotka) were named in her honor.
The marriage of Maria Feodorovna and Alexander III was extremely successful and happy. Maria Fedorovna gave birth to six children: Nicholas (1868), Alexander (1869, died in infancy), Georgy (1871, died in 1899), Ksenia (1875), Mikhail (1878), Olga (1882). She accompanied her husband not only at balls and receptions, trips to the theater and concerts, trips to holy places, hunting, but also at military parades. Memories of contemporaries have been preserved, telling about the first test of a submarine in Russia by engineer Dzhevitsky on Silver Lake in Gatchina, which was attended by the august couple.
Part one
EMPRESS MARIA FYODOROVNA AND EMPEROR ALEXANDER ALEKSANDROVICH
Chapter first
DANISH PRINCESS DAGMAR AND TSESAREVICH NIKOLAI ALEXANDROVICH
Dagmar (full name Maria Sofia Frederica Dagmar) was the fourth child in the family. Her father Christian IX (1818–1906), born Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sønderburg-Glücksburg, succeeded the childless King Frederick VII (1808–1863) and Crown Prince Ferdinand, also without heirs, to the throne in 1853. His accession to the throne was preceded by complex and lengthy negotiations in the context of a powerful national liberal movement unfolding in Denmark for the inclusion of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom. Christian IX was a supporter of preserving state integrity and advocated for the duchy and kingdom to have equal independent status under a single authority. Under pressure from the national liberals, Christian IX had to abandon his idea and sign a constitution common to Schleswig and the Kingdom of Denmark. The Danish-Prussian War that soon broke out led to the fact that Christian IX lost his status as the ruling Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, since these duchies came under the rule of Prussia and were then annexed to it.
Maria Feodorovna's mother, the Danish Queen Louise (1817–1898), née Princess of Hesse-Kassel, niece of King Christian VIII, was a highly gifted person. She loved music and painting, she played the piano beautifully and drew well. Remaining in the shadows, Queen Louise, who was interested in politics, had a certain influence on her husband and maintained connections with influential politicians and public figures both in Denmark and abroad. She also had a great influence on her children, especially in their choice of future spouses. In European monarchical circles, the Danish royal couple was called the “European father-in-law and mother-in-law.” The family had six children. Eldest son Frederick VIII (1843–1912) was married to Princess Louise of Sweden; middle son Wilhelm (1845–1913) was married to Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna (1851–1926), cousin of Alexander III, and occupied the Greek throne under the name of George I; youngest son Waldemar (1859–1939) married the French princess Marie of Orléans (1865–1909).
The eldest daughter Alexandra (1833–1925) - her father called her "Beautiful" - married the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of Great Britain (1841–1910), in 1863; Thür's youngest daughter (1853–1933) - "Kind" - was married to Ernst Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1845–1923). King Christian IX called his middle daughter Dagmar “Clever.”
In the mid-19th century, Copenhagen was a typical medieval city, surrounded by a defensive rampart, with crooked narrow streets and alleys. At the end of the century, during the reign of Christian IX, a lot changed: the defensive fortifications were demolished, the city was quickly built up with new beautiful houses, wide boulevards and squares appeared.
Chapter two
DANISH PRINCESS DAGMAR AND GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER ALEXANDROVICH
After the death of Nikolai Alexandrovich, Dagmar returned to Denmark, but very soon the Danish royal couple received a letter from the Russian Emperor and Empress in which they invited Dagmar to Russia.
Alexander's desire to marry his brother's fiancée, the Danish princess Dagmar, arose soon after Nixa passed away. “Since I’ve been in Peterhof, I’ve been thinking more about Dagmar, I pray to God every day that he will arrange this business, which will be happiness for the rest of my life. I feel the need more and more to have a wife, to love her and to be loved by her. I would like to arrange this matter sooner, and I do not lose heart and trust in God. There is still no news from Denmark after the return of Freddy (Prince Frederick of Denmark. -
Mama wrote to the Queen about her desire, if possible, to come here with Dagmar, but I am afraid that the Queen will not agree.”
Soon, however, a response came from Denmark. On May 30, 1865, the Tsarevich wrote in his diary: “At ¼ 11 I went to Mom. Dad read a letter from the Queen of Denmark, who writes that she now would not like to send Dagmar to us, because she now needs peace and she must swim in the sea, that in the winter she will continue to study the Russian language and, perhaps, the Law of God. Dad explains that the Queen does not want to send Dagmar now, because the Queen is afraid that they will think that she certainly wants to give her daughter away as soon as possible, so as not to appear as if she is afraid of losing the opportunity. It seems that Dagmar herself wants to marry me. As for me, I only think about this and pray to God that he will arrange this matter and bless it.”
Alexander Alexandrovich was little like his older brother. Nikolai was smiling, tall, slender, educated; Alexander is huge, a little clumsy, very naive, but he amazed everyone with his heroic strength and incredible charm. Count S. D. Sheremetev, a historian, chronicler of his era, who served with Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich in 1868–1880, and since 1881 as an aide-de-camp with Emperor Alexander III, noted in his memoirs: “He (Alexander III. -
Chapter Three TSESAREVICH AND TSESAREVNA
After the wedding, the newlyweds settled in the Anichkov Palace, which quickly began to change its appearance. Life has returned to its normal course. The time of the Tsarevich and Tsesarevna was filled with regular classes. “On Mondays and Saturdays,” K. Pobedonostsev wrote to A. Aksakov, “I visit the crown princess - she is very kind and simple by nature. I read and speak Russian with her.”
From the diaries of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich: “At ½ 10 Pobedonostsev came to me and finally began his studies again. I was already starting to get bored with idleness, although until now, really, I had little free time, such a stupid and senseless life was these weeks. Almost all the time passed between the stupidest balls, parades and divorces... For my wife and I, classes begin at 10 and until ½ 1. At 1 o'clock we had breakfast, then someone always arrives. At 2 o'clock I am not at home. We go for a ride or play, but we have to find the time when Mom comes home. We have lunch at about ½ 5, sometimes there are guests, they stay at home until 8..."
Protopresbyter Ivan (John) Leontievich Yanyshev continued Dagmar’s acquaintance with the norms of Orthodoxy, which had begun in Denmark. She already wrote well in Russian, copied and learned prayers by heart. The archives preserved textbooks on history, literature and the Russian language, in which excerpts from poems and poems by the favorite poets and writers of the Tsarevich and Tsesarevna were written in the hand of young Dagmar: Pushkin and Lermontov, Zhukovsky, Koltsov, Fet, Maykov; Gogol, Leskov, Turgenev, Nikitin and others.
Empress Maria Alexandrovna helped Dagmar master the basics of Orthodox rituals, taught her Russian prayers and prayed together in front of icons in a small house church. It was not easy for Dagmar in a new, still little familiar environment. Count S. D. Sheremetev wrote that Empress Maria Alexandrovna treated Dagmar with restraint, as if emphasizing the betrayal of her favorite, she cooled the impulses of her courtesy. “Stay in your place. You are not an empress yet,” she often said.
Chapter Four
DEATH OF EMPRESS MARIA ALEXANDROVNA AND EMPEROR ALEXANDER II
1879–1880 - the years of the “hunt for the Tsar.” The first attempt was made on April 4, 1866: when the emperor, accompanied by his nephew, Duke N.M. of Leuchtenberg and niece, Princess M.M. of Baden, was leaving the Summer Garden, Dmitry Karakozov shot at him. The emperor was saved from death by the peasant Osip Komissarov, who was in the crowd, who saw Karakozov aiming at the sovereign, and hit the attacker on the arm just at the very moment when he pulled the trigger.
All of Russia was horrified by this shot. F.I. Dostoevsky ran to the poet A.N. Maikov with a mad cry: “They shot at the Tsar!” - “Killed!” - Maikov shouted in some kind of inhuman wild voice. “No... rescued... safely... but they shot, shot, shot!” Maikov responded to this act with the poem “April 4, 1866”:
In all theaters, the public demanded the performance of the anthem “God Save the Tsar.” At the Alexandria Theater the anthem was performed nine times, at the Mikhailovsky and Mariinsky Theaters - up to six times. On April 6 in St. Petersburg, Alexander II was forced to schedule a parade in his presence. On May 1, 1866, Herzen in “The Bell” spoke about what happened this way: “We are amazed at the thought of the responsibility that this fanatic took upon himself... Only among wild and decrepit peoples does history break through with murders.”
Chapter Five
EMPEROR ALEXANDER III AND EMPRESS MARIA FYODOROVNA
The discussion in the Council of Ministers of the Loris-Melikov draft constitution, appointed by Alexander II, was postponed due to the tragic events to March 8.
Two days before the meeting, on March 6, Pobedonostsev sent the Tsar a letter that decided the fate of both the Minister of Internal Affairs and his supporters. It said:
During the meeting, various directly opposing points of view were expressed. From the speech of Count Stroganov: “This measure is harmful because with its adoption, power will pass from the hands of the autocratic monarch, who is certainly necessary for Russia, into the hands of various scoundrels who think not about the common good, but only about their own personal benefit... This path leads directly to a constitution, which I do not want either for you or for Russia.”
Part two
EMPEROR NICHOLAS II AND HIS AUGUSTIC MOTHER
Chapter first
MARRIAGE OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS II AND GERMAN PRINCESS ALICE OF HESS
On November 14 (26), 1894, on the birthday of Empress Maria Feodorovna, 25 days after the death of Emperor Alexander III, the wedding ceremony of Nicholas II and the German princess Alice, who was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, took place in the Church of the Holy Image of the Holy Image of the Winter Palace.
According to tradition, in the Malachite Hall of the Winter Palace, in front of the golden toilette of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, where the royal and grand ducal brides were combed before the wedding, Alice was dressed in a silver brocade dress with a neckline and a large train. Empress Maria Feodorovna personally placed a crown decorated with diamonds on her head. The princess also wore a diamond tiara and a veil made of antique lace, and around her neck was a necklace of large diamonds. A crimson robe trimmed with ermine fur is draped over the shoulders over the dress.
When all preparations were completed, the solemn procession moved through the halls of the palace to the church. The marshal of the court, Prince Trubetskoy, walked ahead. In his hand sparkled a golden staff, topped with a diamond crown. Lord Carrington, sent by Queen Victoria of England to St. Petersburg, in a letter to the queen on November 14, 1894, described the entire wedding ceremony in great detail: “The palace was already crowded - there were so many people in most of the halls that it was difficult to get through. All the ladies are in Russian dresses, some have amazing diamonds...
It was said that 8,000 or even 10,000 people were present. It is quite possible, since the halls are huge, and there is no end to them...<…>ladies and gentlemen were led into separate rooms and stood there until the end of the ceremony. The path or passage along which the reigning persons were led was very narrow and 2 chamberlains assigned to each room probably had great difficulty holding back the onslaught of those invited: generals, admirals, army and navy officers, all the ladies presented to the court, dignitaries of the first four classes, mayors of St. Petersburg and other big cities and many large businessmen...
At 12.30 the doors opened and the King of Denmark opened the imperial procession, leading the Empress Mary. She was dressed in white and looked pale and sad, but very calm and collected and showed no signs of agitation. Throughout this terrible time, the Empress’s courage was truly amazing, and one can hope that she will have enough strength not to break under the weight of grief when everything takes its normal course.” Behind them walked the august bride with the young emperor, who was dressed in a life hussar uniform.
Chapter two
CORONATION OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS II
The coronation of Nicholas II took place on May 14 (26), 1896 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. Many foreign guests were present, among whom were the Emir of Bukhara, Queen Olga Konstantinovna of Greece, twelve crown princes, including Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Prince Nicholas of Montenegro, Prince Henry of Prussia - brother of William II, English Duke Arthur of Connaught, Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , son of the King of Siam, brother of the Shah of Persia, Japanese prince, papal nuncio and many others. There were also Chinese and Japanese delegations.
On the days of the coronation there was beautiful May weather. It was warm and quiet. “The sun shone joyfully, as if at one with the Muscovites, wishing to meet the Emperor, who had entered his capital,” Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote in his diary.
There were a lot of people, the stands were completely filled with spectators, the air was filled with the roar of bells. Holiday decorations all over the city. The walls of the houses are draped with carpets and bright fabrics. On the balconies - among the green garlands - are myriads of electric light bulbs that were supposed to light up with the onset of darkness.
From the diary of Nicholas II: “At 2.30 the procession started exactly. I was driving Norma. Mom was sitting in the first golden carriage. Alix - in the second - is also alone. There is nothing to say about the meeting; it was as welcoming and solemn as anything can be in Moscow!”
The first shot of the fireworks announced that the Tsar had left the Petrovsky Palace. There was general rejoicing all around. Many in the crowd prayed, many baptized the sovereign after him. The procession reached the Spassky Gate. Behind the gendarmes - His Majesty's own convoy, then the Life Cossacks, followed by the royal hunt, the court musical choir and golden carriages. In the first carriage is the Empress Mother. In the second carriage is the young queen. She was dressed in a coronation dress made of silver brocade, the work of the craftswomen of the Ivanovo Monastery, and on her shoulders was a golden mantle trimmed with ermine cords. The weight of the coronation robe was high - 23 kilograms. But the queen behaved courageously and calmly. Nicholas II in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.
Chapter Three
DEATH OF GRAND DUKE GEORGE ALEXANDROVICH
In 1898, four years after the death of Alexander III, Maria Feodorovna buried her mother, Queen Louise. Numerous relatives representing the royal houses of Europe, as well as members of the Russian imperial family, gathered in Copenhagen for the solemn funeral. Later, in 1918, on the day of her mother’s death, Maria Fedorovna wrote in her diary: “Thank God that she did not have the opportunity to live in this terrible time, when everything around was burning and blazing with a bright flame, brother goes against brother! What she had so often warned about happened. We, however, hoped that this cup would pass us by, but, unfortunately, all this fell to our lot!”
But a new problem was on the horizon. My son George's illness - pulmonary tuberculosis - progressed.
In the fall of 1895, while in Denmark, the Empress received a telegram about the next bleeding from the Grand Duke and immediately sent a letter to her daughter Ksenia, who with her husband, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, was then in Abastuman: “I just received a telegram from Chelaev (life physician of the Grand Duke. -
who reports that George was bleeding again! What a horror, I’m simply shocked with despair and fear! Although I understand that this means nothing, it causes trouble for poor Jorge, and I feel terribly sorry for him. Why did all this happen? Because he climbed mountains too much? You didn’t tell me in your telegram that he rode on horseback to St. George’s Square, where you were drinking tea. Maybe he moves too much? As you can see, I still can’t calm down. Fortunately, you are next to him now, and that consoles me somewhat. It’s terrible that I’m so far away now, if only Jorge would behave more carefully - that’s what’s most important. Kiss him for me and tell him that none of this matters, try to cheer him up and distract him as much as possible from the dark thoughts that may come to him alone. All this really depresses me. Poor Jorge, how I wish I could be next to him now!”
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: “In the fall of 1894, Ksenia and I visited Jorge in Abastumane. He has changed a lot over the past year: he has lost weight, turned pale and darkened. The disease was clearly progressing. It was inconvenient for us to be cheerful around him, talk about our happiness and make plans for the future. We left him with a heavy heart..."
Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, who visited George Alexandrovich in 1896, reported in a letter to Nicholas II that his condition had changed for the worse:
Chapter Four
EMPRESS MOTHER
After the accession of Nicholas II to the throne, the Russian imperial house continued to live for some time in accordance with established traditions. In the figurative expression of the famous diplomat A.P. Izvolsky, “The Russian Empire continued to be governed literally by the shadow of the deceased emperor.” The great princes, for their part, tried to put pressure on the young emperor and influence him in resolving various issues of government.
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov wrote: “They chatter that the uncles of the Sovereign are trying to have influence on the Tsar, they do not leave without advice, but I think that these rumors speak of envy and that these are empty gossip. But I know for sure that Vladimir really bothers the Dowager Empress with various reminders and proposals, for example, he strongly insisted, although unsuccessfully, that the bride be taken down the aisle in a gilded carriage, so that various diamonds be given to her as the future empress. Minnie is very burdened by all this."
After the death of her husband and the accession of her son to the throne, a new period of life began for Maria Feodorovna. An intelligent, powerful woman with deep political intuition, she learned a lot from Alexander III. Hence her constant desire to guide her son in his affairs, to protect him from the harmful influence of others, and to surround him with the right people. The Empress Mother understood that Nicholas, who ascended the throne at the age of 27 (10 years earlier than his father), certainly needed support, and first of all, her help.
In the first years of his reign, his mother tried to help him. “The young sovereign treats his mother extremely tenderly. The day begins with the fact that he comes to her in the dressing room and, showing her all the letters he has received, consults about everything that awaits him that day,” Secretary of State A. A. Polovtsov wrote in his diary. Chairman of the Archaeological Commission, manager of the orphanage institutions of the Department of Empress Maria A. A. Bobrinsky recalled: “They say that more than once he (Nicholas II. -
Thus, on December 7, 1896, turning to his grandfather Christian IX with a request to “let go” of the Russian ambassador to Denmark, Count Muravyov, to St. Petersburg in connection with his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicholas II said: “But I spoke with Mom, and she sees no obstacles to this.” The influence of “women's politics” in St. Petersburg (meaning the influence of Maria Feodorovna) was written in February 1898 by the French ambassador in Copenhagen Paul Cambon in connection with the nomination by the Athenian government in 1897 of Prince George (son of the Greek King George, brother of Maria) to the post of Governor General of Crete Fedorovna). In the first years of his reign, Nicholas II was influenced not only by his mother, but also by the grand dukes and the royal mentor K.P. Pobedonostsev. After the death of Alexander III, notes and reports from governors continued to be regularly received in the name of Maria Fedorovna on the state of affairs in the provinces and on student unrest in higher educational institutions of Russia in 1899–1901. All of them are stored in Russian archives.
Chapter Five
PRESENTATION OF TROUBLE
Soon after the accession of Nicholas II to the throne, Maria Fedorovna, in her letters to relatives in Denmark, increasingly began to add the word “stakkels” (translated from Danish as “poor”, “poor fellow”) to Nika’s name. What the mother meant in this definition was clear only to her, but it seems as if she already understood well that the burden of governing the state was too heavy for her son. He, the Emperor of Russia, the owner of a sixth of the Earth, often ended his letters to his mother with the words: “You pray for your poor Niki, Christ is with you.”
Later, Maria Feodorovna constantly complained that he was surrounded by people who were not loyal to either him or the state. In the diary of A. A. Polovtsov, an expert in palace intrigue, we read the following: “Whose voice is heard around the Sovereign? Exclusively ministerial; and yet it is very clear that the Emperor wants to hear the voice, to check what the ministers are buzzing in a constant concert of self-praise. He turns to the nonentities who are rubbing against him, thinking to hear an independent voice. All this is very sad and, let’s say, dangerous.”
“My poor son, how little luck he has in people... My poor son has so few people whom he trusts, and you always told him what you think,” she repeatedly told Finance Minister V.N. Kokovtsov. “All the rest (except P. Svyatopolk-Mirsky. -
they don’t tell the Tsar the truth…” she declared to E. Svyatopolk-Mirskaya. During the reception of A. Obolensky, as Polovtsov testifies, the Empress reproached him for the fact that “he could present affairs to the Emperor in their present form, while D. Sipyagin, due to the extreme limitations of his mind, is not able to do this... Obolensky in vain proved to her that, due to his position as a “comrade,” he did not have access to the sovereign...” The Empress concluded by saying: “Go, go to my son, tell him the truth” (“Allez, allez chez mon fils el dites lui toute la vérité”).
Many contemporaries highly appreciated the abilities of the young emperor. S. Yu. Witte wrote: “I must say that when the heir became chairman of the committee, after just a few meetings it was noticeable that he had mastered the position of chairman, which, however, is not at all surprising, since Emperor Nicholas II is undoubtedly a man , very quick mind and quick abilities; In general, he grasps everything quickly and understands everything quickly.” Such qualities of the king as kindness and responsiveness were noted by many of his contemporaries. Conveying his opinion about Tsar L.N. Tolstoy, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, historian, uncle of the Tsar, wrote: “Tolstoy began to talk about the current sovereign Nicholas II. I really feel sorry for him, I would really like to help him, he is apparently a kind, sympathetic and well-intentioned person, but the people around him are where the trouble lies!”
When, at the end of 1902, Nicholas suddenly fell ill with typhoid fever and the question arose about the possible transfer of power to Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, a conversation between the Dowager Empress and S. Yu. Witte took place. In his memoirs, the latter cites its content: “Do you want to say that the Sovereign does not have the character of an emperor? “That’s true,” Maria Fedorovna answers, “but if something happens, Misha must replace him, and he has even less will and character.” During the illness of Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna denied Maria Feodorovna the opportunity to care for the sick, declaring that she could handle everything herself. Maria Feodorovna never came to see them.
Part three
RUSSIA IS AT A BREAK. WAR AND REVOLUTION THROUGH THE EYES OF EMPRESS DOWER MARIA FYodorovna
Chapter first
“OH, THIS CURSED AND VILE WAR. SO MUCH LOSSES AND MISTRESSES EVERYWHERE!”
The First World War found Maria Fedorovna in England. On July 17, 1914, the Dowager Empress wrote to her eldest daughter Xenia: “It seems that everyone has gone crazy; I can’t believe that all this could happen so soon. I'm completely depressed. Everything that happened is so terrible and so scary that there are no words. My God, what else awaits us and how will it all end?
From England, Maria Fedorovna moved to Denmark. According to the memoirs of Prince Yusupov, who found himself in Copenhagen with her and his wife Irina in those days, many trains were placed at the disposal of Russians who did not have the opportunity to return to their homeland. When trying to return to Russia through Germany, Maria Fedorovna was subjected to gross bullying in Berlin.
On July 20 (August 2) she made the following entry in her diary: “In France, we were greeted everywhere with exclamations of “Long live Russia!” Mobilization was in full swing. Nothing was noticeable in Germany until we arrived on the outskirts of Berlin, where the faces of passers-by breathed hatred. When we entered Berlin, a disgusting place, Sverbeev (Russian Ambassador to Germany) appeared.
and announced the declaration of war. I couldn't go any further to the border. Sverbeev was like crazy; it was clear that he had lost his head and was no longer an ambassador. He told me that little Irina was with the Yusupov family and that they were all arrested. Have you ever heard of anything like this... Then the Germans appeared, and one official said that I should go back through England, Holland or Sweden, or maybe I would prefer Denmark. I protested and asked what happened, to which I received the answer: “Russia declared war.” I replied that it was a lie."
Maria Fedorovna was forced to return to Copenhagen. When she was already returning to Russia through Sweden and Finland, the Finns, who were especially disposed towards the Dowager Empress, greeted her with ovations at the stations. Thousands of people sang national anthems in her honor. The Empress sincerely loved Finland and, according to Secretary of State A. A. Polovtsov, she always “passionately defended it from the onslaught of the Russian bureaucracy.”
Chapter two
“SUCH A TERRIBLE DISASTER COULD NOT BE FORESeen...”
On February 26, 1917, meetings of the State Duma were interrupted. The tsar’s decree stated: “The sessions of the State Duma will be interrupted on February 26 of this year and a deadline for their resumption will be set no later than April 1917, depending on emergency circumstances.”
On February 27 (March 12) the so-called Private Meeting of Duma members took place. Of the nineteen deputies who spoke, only six were in favor of the Duma taking power. As a result of pressure from the Cadets, the Duma did not dare to resume its meetings, but a Provisional Committee of the State Duma was created.
On February 28 (March 13), in connection with the unrest and the expanding strike movement in Petrograd, Nicholas II ordered the military command to “immediately restore order.” On February 28, 1917, the troops began to openly rebel. As sources confirm, agitators who were members of the conspirators’ organizations openly worked among the soldiers and officer corps. The seizure of government buildings began. Since February 27, virtually double power was established in the capital - the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, headed by M. A. Rodzianko, and the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, headed by N. S. Chkheidze and A. F. Kerensky.
In 1910, in his speech delivered in the State Duma, P. A. Stolypin said: “If there were a madman who could now realize the political freedoms of Russia with one stroke of the pen, then tomorrow the Council of Workers’ Deputies would meet in St. Petersburg, which within six months of its existence it would have plunged Russia into fiery hell.” The words of P. A. Stolypin turned out to be prophetic.
Chapter Three
CRIMEA IMPRISONMENT
At the end of March 1917, Maria Feodorovna with her daughter Olga, her husband Colonel N.A. Kulikovsky, and the husband of her second daughter Ksenia, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, moved to Crimea. Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna with her three eldest sons arrived there from Petrograd along with the Yusupov family a little later. The Dowager Empress stayed in Crimea for two and a half years, until April 1919 - first in Ai-Todor, then in Dulber and Kharaks. This stay became practically house arrest for her, full of constant deprivation and humiliation.
Together with Maria Fedorovna in Crimea there were some members of the former imperial family and people close to them. Her daughters lived on the Ai-Todor estate: the eldest Ksenia Alexandrovna with her husband and their six children - Andrei, Nikita, Rostislav, Fedor, Dmitry, Vasily; the youngest daughter Olga Alexandrovna with her second husband, retired colonel N.A. Kulikovsky and little son Tikhon (born in Ai-Todor on August 13, 1917), as well as Countess Mengden, maid of honor Evreinova, General Vogel and others.
Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich and his wife Anastasia Nikolaevna, Prince S. G. Romanovsky, Count S. V. Tyshkevich and his wife, Prince V. N. Orlov, Doctor Malama and General Boldyrev lived on the Chair estate. Grand Duke Pyotr Nikolaevich and his wife Militsa Nikolaevna, their children Roman and Marina, General A.I. Stal with their daughters Elena and Maria settled in the Dulber estate, and Ksenia’s daughter Irina and her husband F.F. Yusupov settled in Koreiz.
At first, the Dowager Empress was allowed to take walks throughout Ai-Todor, but when two warships carrying 250 sailors and commanders of the Black Sea Division arrived in Yalta at the end of April, the situation changed dramatically. In April 1917, a search was carried out on the estates where members of the royal family lived. A letter has been preserved, written shortly after this event by the Dowager Empress to Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna. In it, Maria Feodorovna described in detail the humiliation to which she was then subjected:
Chapter Four
“ONLY TO STOP THIS TERRIBLE CIVIL WAR...” THE RUTHLESS YEAR OF 1918
The summer of 1918 turned out to be very hot in Crimea. In the sun it was 34 degrees, in the shade - 22. For Maria Fedorovna, her stay here became more and more painful and depressing with each passing month. The mother’s heart sensed impending disaster, and thoughts about her sons Nicholas and Mikhail and other members of the imperial family who disappeared in Siberia haunted her. Since the end of 1917, nothing has been known about the fate of Mikhail’s son, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, although, however, in her letter to Nicholas in Siberia dated November 21, Maria Feodorovna reported that Misha wrote to her about the last meeting of the two brothers “in the presence of witnesses” (Kerensky and others -
before Nikolai's family left for Siberia.
On June 16 (29), 1918, Madame Goujon visited the Empress in Dulber and reported that “Misha is in Omsk.” This news gave rise to a faint hope and even calmed the empress for a while. Hope went out as quickly as it had flared up: “It’s terrible, but I don’t have any news from him (Mikhail. -
not from Nika."
In fact, on June 16 (29), Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich was no longer alive. He was the first from the royal family to die from the Bolshevik regime, which was not accidental.
A forty-year-old brilliant officer, lieutenant general, commander of the Caucasian Native Wild Division, Knight of St. George, Mikhail Alexandrovich enjoyed love and well-deserved authority in the army. “The Grand Duke’s sincere attention, his charming simplicity and delicacy forever attracted the hearts of those who had to meet him,” wrote Colonel B.V. Nikitin, who led the Russian counterintelligence in March-July 1917, “we were happy with our closeness to him and devoted immeasurably."
Maria Feodorovna Romanova is the penultimate Russian empress, wife of Emperor Alexander III, mother of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II.
Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmara, or simply Dagmar, daughter of Christian, Prince of Glucksburg, later Christian IX, King of Denmark, Princess of Denmark, in Orthodoxy Maria Feodorovna (Feodorovna) (November 14 (26), 1847 Copenhagen, Denmark - October 13, 1928 castle Vidøre near Klampenborg, Denmark).
She lived in the world for 81 years, 52 of them in Russia. She was crown princess for 16 years, empress for 11 years, lived for 28 years in a happy marriage, during which time six children were born into the family: Nicholas, Alexander, George, Ksenia, Mikhail, Olga.
Empress Maria Feodorovna in a Russian dress with a diadem and a necklace of 51 diamonds. 1883 Autograph on the photograph “Maria”
Her sister is Alexandra of Denmark, the wife of the British King Edward VII, whose son George V bore a portrait resemblance to Nicholas II.
In family matters and in matters of raising children, the final word remained with the mother, Maria Fedorovna. The atmosphere in the family was unusually calm and friendly. There was a measured order in everything, the personification of which was the former Danish princess. Maria Fedorovna enjoyed not only love, but also great respect from her husband. His wife’s natural intelligence and political intuition helped Alexander III better navigate his relationships with the people around him. Maria Fedorovna accompanied her husband everywhere: at balls and receptions, on trips to holy places, at military parades, and even hunting. When, due to circumstances, they had to part, the spouses missed each other and wrote detailed letters.
Maria Feodorovna was one of the most remarkable figures in the royal family. The charm of her amazing personality had a magical effect on everyone who surrounded her. According to Felix Yusupov, “despite her small stature, there was so much greatness in her manners that where she entered, no one was visible except her.” Worldly, friendly, amiable, extremely sociable, Maria Feodorovna knew everything and everyone, she was constantly seen, she personified to the fullest extent that charm that cannot be taught. She was loved by everyone, from representatives of high society to the lower ranks of the Cavalry Regiment, of which she was the chief.
The clock-based life of the court did not in any way interfere with the empress’s charitable work, for which she always found time. The enormous social activities of Maria Feodorovna as the head of the organization of the Department of Institutions of Empress Maria and the Russian Red Cross Society, of which she stood, left a noticeable mark on the history of our Fatherland. On April 24, 1878, by decree of Emperor Alexander III, she was awarded the Red Cross insignia of the first degree for caring for wounded and sick soldiers during the Russian-Turkish War. Maria Feodorovna was also a trustee of many monasteries. From her personal funds, financial assistance was also provided to charitable organizations in Denmark.
Initially, she was the bride of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, the eldest son of Alexander II, who died in 1865. After his death, an attachment arose between Dagmara and Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, who together looked after the dying crown prince.
Alexander Alexandrovich wrote in his diary: “I feel that I can and even really love dear Minnie [that was Dagmara’s name in the Romanov family], especially since she is so dear to us. God willing, everything will work out as I wish. I really don’t know what dear Minnie will say to all this; I don’t know her feelings for me, and it really torments me. I'm sure we can be so happy together. I earnestly pray to God to bless me and ensure my happiness.”
On June 17, 1866, the engagement took place in Copenhagen; three months later, the bride arrived in Kronstadt. On October 13, she converted to Orthodoxy (through anointing), receiving a new name and title - Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna.
She was opposed to the marriage of her eldest son Nikolai Alexandrovich with the German princess and, despite the fact that she had to fulfill her son’s demand and agree to this union, Maria Feodorovna was never on friendly terms with her daughter-in-law. The Dowager Empress never hid her hatred of the reigning empress. The disagreements between both grew over the years also because the daughter-in-law had a strong will and did not allow interference either in her family affairs or in the affairs of government.
Maria Feodorovna patronized art and, in particular, painting. At one time she herself tried brushes, in which her mentor was Academician N.D. Losev. In addition, she was a trustee of the Women's Patriotic Society, the Water Rescue Society, and headed the Departments of Empress Maria's institutions (educational institutions, educational homes, shelters for disadvantaged and defenseless children, almshouses), Russian Red Cross Society (ROSC).
The Empress Dowager also supported the Danish Red Cross (DRC) and its activities in Russia. Thanks to her initiative, duties for issuing foreign passports, railway taxes for first-class passengers, and during the First World War - a “staff tax” of 10 kopecks from each telegram went to the ROKK budget, which significantly influenced the increase in the budget of the Russian Red Cross. During the war, many Danish officers, doctors and others worked as volunteers in Russia. Special Department "B" under the DCC resolved a whole range of issues, in particular, inspected prisoner of war camps throughout the Russian Empire, provided mediation in the delivery of correspondence, and the distribution of food and medicine.
Maria Fedorovna provided all possible assistance to the DCC, actively dealing with both the fate of prisoners of war, natives of Schleswig, who were on the territory of Russia, and Russian prisoners of war in Denmark. In the summer of 1916, she drew her son’s attention to the fact that Denmark had already proposed a year ago to transport Russian prisoners of war from Germany so that they would be fed and to save their lives... “This action,” the empress wrote, “will not cost anything. The Danes prepared it at their own expense." Russian diplomats constantly reported on the hospitable and friendly attitude of the Danes towards prisoners of war from Russia.
Maria Feodorovna rarely interfered in big politics, but at decisive moments she never hid her opinion from her son. So, in 1915, when Nicholas II decided to become the head of the army, she spent about two hours persuading him in the garden of the Yelagin Palace in St. Petersburg to abandon his decision. According to Anna Vyrubova, the tsar told her that the conversation with her mother was even more difficult than with the ministers (some of them, as you know, were also against Nicholas II becoming supreme commander), and that they parted without understanding each other.
Maria Fedorovna also categorically objected to concluding a separate peace with Germany. On December 3, 1916, she wrote to the Tsar at Headquarters: “We are all under the impression of German proposals (for peace). It’s always the same thing, he (Wilhelm) strives to take the position of a peacemaker and place all responsibility on us if they ( proposals for peace) will not be accepted. I very much hope that no one will fall for this trick, and that we and our allies will remain firm and united and reject this proposed hand."
The Empress-mother repeatedly begged her son to send Rasputin away, pointing out his moral baseness, and to forbid the queen from interfering in state affairs. The emperor did not hide his mother’s advice from his wife, and relations between the royals became increasingly strained. In court circles close to Alexandra Feodorovna, the Dowager Empress was often called “Wrathful.” Indeed, much of what happened at the imperial court aroused her anger and indignation. The Empress Mother, according to the memoirs of E. A. Svyatopolk-Mirskaya, repeatedly complained that “it’s really terrible for her to see that her son is ruining everything, to understand this and not be able to do anything.”
Contemporaries noted that Maria Fedorovna took the whole story with Rasputin very close to her heart. During her conversation with the Chairman of the Council of Ministers V.N. Kokovtsov, which took place in 1912 after the issue of taking punitive measures against the press (in connection with responses in the press to rumors about Rasputin) began to be widely discussed in the Duma, Maria Feodorovna cried bitterly, promised to talk with the sovereign and ended the conversation with these words : “My unfortunate daughter-in-law does not understand that she is destroying the dynasty and herself. She sincerely believes in the holiness of some rogue, and we are all powerless to avert misfortune.” After the murder of Rasputin in December 1916, Maria Feodorovna asked her son not to initiate investigations against the killers of this evil genius. In a reply telegram, Nicholas II assured his mother that no investigation would be carried out, and the murder case would be committed to “the will of God.”
One October day in 1916, the tsar and his son arrived in Kyiv. This was Nikolai's last visit to his mother's house and Maria Fedorovna's last meeting with her beloved grandson. Timofey Yashchik, a Cossack lifer who was with Maria Feodorovna during the last years of her life in Russia and Denmark, recalled that when saying goodbye to her son and grandson, the empress looked depressed, but tried to hide it and was sociable and even cheerful. The conversation that took place that evening between her and the king was, according to T.K. Yashchik, “extremely serious.”
The development of events in St. Petersburg in January-February 1917 caused open concern for all members of the imperial family. February 14, 1917 Prince. Felix Yusupov wrote the book. To Nikolai Mikhailovich: “They don’t want to understand that if they don’t do what is needed from above, then it will be done from below, how much innocent blood will be shed...”. He suggested, “if it’s not too late,” to take decisive measures. Taking advantage of the emperor’s departure to Headquarters, with the help of the Empress-Mother Maria Feodorovna and “with people who can help and support her,” go to Petrograd and, together with generals M.V. Alekseev and V.I. Gurko, arrest the Minister of Internal Affairs A. D. Protopopov, Chairman of the State Council I. G. Shcheglovity and send Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Anna Vyrubova to Livadia. Only such measures, according to F.F. Yusupov, they could still save the situation.
Maria Feodorovna, two weeks before the abdication of Nicholas II, wrote to him (original spelling): “So much has happened since then that we have not seen each other, but my thoughts do not leave you and I understand that these last months have been very difficult for you. This torments me terribly " .
I learned about the abdication of the emperor in Kyiv; together with her youngest daughter Olga and the husband of her eldest daughter Ksenia, Grand Duke Sandro, she moved to Crimea; transported to Great Britain on a British ship in 1919, from where she soon moved to her native Denmark; settled in Villa Hvidøre, where she had previously lived in the summer with her sister Alexandra.
According to the leader. book For Olga Alexandrovna, this news “struck us like a bolt from the blue. We were all paralyzed. My mother was beside herself, and I spent the whole night with her. The next day she went to Mogilev, and I returned back to my work in the hospital ".
At Headquarters, where Maria Fedorovna arrived with her leader. book Alexander Mikhailovich, she met her son for the last time. In Maria Fedorovna’s miraculously preserved19 memorial book, begun on January 1 and completed on April 24, 1917, she made brief notes about her stay in Mogilev and about her last meetings and conversations with her son:
March 4/17, 1917. “At 12 o’clock we arrived at Headquarters in a terrible cold and hurricane. Dear Nicky met me at the station... A sad date! He opened his bleeding heart to me, they both cried... Poor Nicky told about all the tragic events happened in two days. First, a telegram came from Rodzianko, which said that he must take everything with the Duma into his own hands in order to maintain order and stop the revolution; then, in order to save the country, he proposed to form a new government and... renounce throne in favor of his son (unbelievable!). But Niki, naturally, could not part with his son and handed the throne to Misha! All the generals telegraphed to him and advised the same thing, and he... signed the manifesto. Niki was incredibly calm and majestic in this terribly humiliating position."
March 6/19. “Shame before the allies. We not only have no influence on the course of the war, but we have also lost everything...”
March 8/21. "...one of the saddest days in my life, when I parted with my beloved Niki!... Niki came after 12 to say goodbye to the headquarters and the others. We had breakfast on the train... The commander of the regiment of St. George's Cavaliers was also there. Incomparable man, made a wonderful impression on me. Niki said goodbye to him and the St. George cavaliers. We sat until 5 o'clock until he left. A terrible farewell! God help him! I was mortally tired of everything. Nilov did not receive permission to go with Niki. Everything is very sad ! Most of the retinue remains in Mogilev..."
In March 1917, Maria Feodorovna with her daughter Ksenia and Olga and their husbands - led. book Alexander Mikhailovich and Colonel N.A. Kulikovsky - moved to Crimea. Here the Dowager Empress stayed until April 1919 - first in Ai-Todor, and then in Dulber and Caracas. “We are actually arrested,” her daughter Ksenia wrote in the June days of 1917 to Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, “and we are in the hands of the Committee (meaning the Yalta Council of Workers’ Deputies - Yu. K.), to whom the government is so kind to us gave. For what and why, no one knows... In recent days, we have been completely forbidden to leave Ai-Todor only because some ambassadors from the counter-revolution are visiting, and what does that have to do with us?... If we It's hard and often all this is unbearable, then what is it like for poor Mom! You're simply ashamed in front of her, and what's terrible is that there's nothing you can do to help her! You see and recognize her suffering and are powerless to console her, to do anything. This terrible punishment... Can you imagine that these freaks still hold Mom's letters and only returned a small part of her things to her. And if you only saw how unbearably painful and bitter what is happening at the fronts. This is such a shame that You’ll never wash it away, no matter what happens!”
Despite the fact that Maria Fedorovna rejected any thought of leaving Russia, she hoped to meet with her loved ones: “My thoughts are sad,” she wrote to her brother, “I feel constant despondency and indescribable suffering, but I often see your dear ones in front of me.” faces and I hope that I will hear your voices. Who would have thought three years ago, when we parted in Frihaven (a port in Copenhagen.), that the war would last so long, and that the country would behave so shamefully. I could never imagine imagine that we will be thrown out and that we will have to live as refugees in our own country! Further, Maria Fedorovna wrote indignantly that one of the Stockholm newspapers reported that fate had thrown her to the side of the revolution. “I was extremely outraged after reading this message... I hope that none of you believed it, only a crazy person could write something like that about me.”
The relatives and people close to her who were with Maria Feodorovna were surprised at the courage with which she held herself in those difficult days. G. D. Shervashidze in a letter to Vel. book Nikolai Mikhailovich noted: “Her Majesty delights us with the dignity with which she carries herself. Not a single complaint about the shy, never-before-seen position in which she finds herself, a calm and friendly expression, in a word, as she has always been...
Since the fall of 1917, the Danish royal house and the government have been making attempts to save the life of Maria Feodorovna and her immediate circle. An encrypted telegram dated September 10, 1917 to the Danish embassy in Petrograd stated that the Danish government had given its consent to the Dowager Empress’s visit to Denmark. The telegram also indicated the need to clarify its possible date and prepare this action in conditions of strict secrecy, “so as not to compromise high-ranking officials of the state.”
Having heard about the death of the royal family, the Dowager Empress for a long time continued to believe that her son Nicholas II and his family were saved. As he writes in his memoirs. book Alexander Mikhailovich, who was next to Maria Feodorovna in those years, “the Dowager Empress never believed the Soviet official report, which described the burning of the bodies of the Tsar and his family. She died in the hope of still receiving news of the miraculous salvation of Nika and his family.”
In the first years after returning to Denmark, Maria Feodorovna lived in Copenhagen in the royal castle of Amalinborg. Her apartments were located in the part of the building in which her father, Christian IX, had previously lived, and opposite, across the square was the residence of King Christian X. Maria Feodorovna’s grandson, Tikhon Nikolaevich Kulikovsky-Romanov, the son of Olga Alexandrovna, wrote in his memoirs about his grandmother, that he always had deep respect for Amama, as she was called in the family. She seemed to be “in charge of everyone.” “The house, the garden, the car, the driver Axel, the two Cossack cameras with daggers and revolvers who were on duty in the hallway, and even the Danish guards who stood guard at their red booths - in general, everything, everything, everything was grandma’s and existed for her. Everyone else, including myself, was “nothing.” That’s how it seemed to me, and that’s how it was to a certain extent.”
Maria Feodorovna was very popular among the Danes, and, despite the fact that she had poor financial support, she continued to help everyone who turned to her for help. However, the Danish king Christian X treated his aunt rather coolly. Many stories have been preserved telling about their constant clashes. One of them was due to the electricity bill. One evening, the king’s servant came to Maria Feodorovna and on his behalf asked to turn off some of the lamps, since the latest electricity bill was too high. In response, Maria Feodorovna called the valet and ordered to light all the lamps in her half.
Maria Feodorovna experienced serious financial difficulties. Immediately after her arrival in Denmark, on the initiative of the Great Northern Telegraph Society, which Maria Fedorovna supported in Russia for many years, 200 thousand crowns were collected to provide her with material support. In 1923, the Society allocated an annual allowance of 15 thousand crowns to the Empress (at that time a quite substantial amount). Maria Feodorovna was also supported by the English royal house. At the direction of George V, the Dowager Empress received an annual pension of 10 thousand pounds sterling. From 1920, Maria Feodorovna moved to Videre Castle, north of Copenhagen, which was purchased by her and her sister Alexandra, Queen Dowager of England, in 1907. Here they lived together until Alexandra's death in 1925.
Until the end of her life, she never believed in the death of her sons Nikolai and Mikhail Alexandrovich, daughter-in-law and grandchildren; rejected any attempts by the Russian emigration to involve her in political activity.
Empress Maria Feodorovna after returning from Russia. 1920s
The rite of her burial was performed on October 19, 1928 in the Church of Alexander Nevsky by Metropolitan Evlogii (Georgievsky), who arrived without an invitation, who was then under the ban of the Synod of Bishops (ROCOR) and considered himself under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate (Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), which caused a scandal among emigration and the need for the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops, Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky), to give explanations through the press about why he did not come to Copenhagen, as well as the bishops appointed by him: “<…>I really did not have the opportunity to leave due to my illness and some difficulties associated with such a hasty departure to another country.<…>Now we have received a report that Archbishop Seraphim and Bishop Tikhon, having learned about the hasty departure of Metropolitan Eulogius, who was banned by the Council of Bishops from serving in the priesthood, with the also banned Archpriest Prozorov, found it difficult to leave and thereby prevented the question that would certainly arise, who would perform the burial of the deceased Empress<…>».
Makovsky V. E.. Empress Maria Feodorovna
Princess Dagmar.
Photo from 1864
Maria Feodorovna was the only crowned person who managed to survive after the October Revolution, and remains also the only Russian empress whose ashes rest outside of Russia. In 2001, the head of the imperial house of the Romanovs, Prince Nicholas, turned to the authorities of Russia and Denmark with a request: to rebury the remains of the Russian empress and mother of the last Russian emperor Nicholas II, Maria Feodorovna, from the Cathedral of the Danish city of Roskilde to the Romanov family tomb in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II responded positively to the idea. The Danish royal house also did not object to the wishes of the family and the Russian authorities. However, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark had the last word on this matter. The Queen of Denmark wrote a letter to the President of Russia, in which she agreed to send the remains of a native of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, to St. Petersburg.
At first, the reburial of the empress’s ashes was planned for September this year. However, as the head of the State Protocol Department of Smolny and the representative of the Romanov House in the Northern capital, Ivan Artsishevsky, told an NG correspondent, it takes a lot of time to prepare the ceremony, so it was decided to schedule the reburial for September 26, 2006. This day will also mark the 140th anniversary of the arrival from Copenhagen to St. Petersburg of Princess Dagmar, who became Maria Feodorovna in Russia, to marry Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. In the near future, a commission will be created to organize the reburial of the empress’s ashes. The chief master of ceremonies will most likely be Georgy Vilinbakhov (Russia's chief herald master), and Ivan Artsishevsky will be appointed project manager for organizing the ceremony.
┘Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich were the crown couple for 15 years. In 1881, Alexander II was assassinated, and in 1883, Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna were crowned in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. Alexander III was a loving husband, a good father, and had no mistresses or connections on the side. The emperor was distinguished by his enormous height. One of the features of the reign of Alexander III was the absence of wars. For his foreign policy he was nicknamed the “peacemaker.” The emperor did not allow himself to be drawn into any of the military conflicts, firmly following the idea of peace. During his reign, Russia's international authority increased. Alexander’s response to the valet is widely known when he informed the emperor, who was sitting with a fishing rod, about the visit of the English ambassador. “When the Russian Tsar fishes, England can wait,” said Alexander III.
In 1888, an imperial train crashed near Kharkov. At this moment, the family of Alexander III was in the dining car. During the crash, the roof of the carriage collapsed. But Alexander, with incredible effort, held her on his shoulders and held her until his wife and children got out. However, soon after this feat, the emperor began to complain of lower back pain. In 1894, during a hunt in Belovezhye, nephritis occurred - acute inflammation of the kidneys. The disease progressed, the situation became hopeless, and the emperor died.
“Despite her small stature,” Felix Yusupov wrote about Maria Feodorovna, “there was so much greatness in her manners that where she entered, no one was visible except her... In her intelligence and political sense, she played a noticeable role in the affairs of the empire " Maria Fedorovna was actively involved in social and charitable activities. On her initiative, the Mariinsky Women's Schools for poorly educated and low-income girls arose. The Empress was the trustee of the Women's Patriotic Society, the Water Rescue Society, the Society for the Protection of Animals, etc. The department of institutions of Empress Maria, headed by Maria Feodorovna, exercised supervision and trusteeship over educational institutions, educational homes, shelters for disadvantaged and defenseless children, almshouses, etc. .d.
In 1914, Maria Feodorovna said with sadness to one of those close to her: “┘I see that we are taking sure steps towards some kind of catastrophe and that the Emperor... does not see that something is growing under his feet that he has not yet suspects, but I myself rather feel it by instinct...” In March 1917, she last saw her son after his abdication. After meeting her son, she writes: “We both cried, he opened his bleeding heart to me...” Maria Feodorovna, along with her daughters Ksenia and Olga and their husbands, moved to Crimea. Staying here turned out to be practically house arrest for her. The Danish royal house and the government constantly made attempts to save the life of Maria Feodorovna and her immediate circle. In April 1919, her nephew, the English King George V, sent the cruiser Marlborough to the Crimea. She was 72 years old, she lived in Russia for more than half a century, was empress for 11 years and widowed for 34 years, survived the death of her beloved husband, her four sons and five grandchildren. The Empress was hardly convinced of the need to leave. Entering the deck, she turned around to look at the land that had become her home. The shore became smaller and smaller, and she closed her eyes. From London, Maria Feodorovna went to Copenhagen, where she settled with the king’s nephew Christian H. Maria Feodorovna never fully believed the Soviet official report, which described the burning of the bodies of the royal family. She forbade her loved ones from serving memorial services for her son and his family, firmly believing that Niki would one day enter her house. Maria Fedorovna died in 1928. Before her death, the Empress expressed her wish that her remains be buried in the tomb of the Russian Tsars next to the remains of her husband, when circumstances permitted.
It is expected that Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II will take part in the reburial of Maria Feodorovna’s ashes. The ceremony will be accompanied only by a solemn requiem service, since the funeral service for Maria Feodorovna has already been performed.
On October 13, 1928, Maria Fedorovna Romanova died alone at the age of 81, in her Danish Copenhagen, where she was forced to flee from revolution-ridden Russia. Having outlived her husband, almost all of her children and grandchildren, she still did not believe in the death of her eldest son Nikolai Romanov and his family, and until the last she hoped for their miraculous salvation.
Danish beauty
The Russian fate of the Danish princess Dagmar, the future Empress Maria Feodorovna, was predetermined. It was not for nothing that her parents, the Danish king and queen, were called the father-in-law and mother-in-law of all of Europe. Their children dispersed to many reigning houses of the Old World. In 1865, the Danish kingdom was about to enter into another profitable dynastic marriage. The youngest daughter of the Danish kings, Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmara, or simply Dagmar, became engaged to the heir to the Russian throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov. Young Dagmar and Nikolai were of little interest in the importance of their union for Europe - they sincerely fell in love with each other. It was getting close to the wedding.
Unexpectedly, on the eve of the wedding, young Nikolai Romanov falls ill with meningitis. Everyone understands that he is doomed. 17-year-old Dagmar spends the last days of his death throes in Nice next to him, holding his hand. After the death of Nicholas, the place of his deceased brother on the Russian throne was to be taken by the next oldest son of Alexander II, Alexander Alexandrovich. It turned out that he would take his brother’s place not only on the throne, but also next to Dagmar.
Happy marriage
Empress Maria Feodorovna in a Russian dress with a diadem and a necklace of 51 diamonds. 1883 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
They first met in those terrible days of Nikolai's illness. Together they looked after the heir. There is a legend that the dying Nikolai Romanov asked his younger brother not to leave his bride and he himself blessed their union. Alexander leaves Nice, where Nicholas died, already passionately in love and writes letters to the Danish princess, hoping for reciprocity. A year later, after the end of mourning, Dagmar accepts the proposal of Tsarevich Alexander.
In 1866 she goes to Russia. In Copenhagen, on the pier, her closest friend, Hans Christian Anderson, sees her off, worrying about her future life in distant Russia.
In Peterhof, where the future empress arrives accompanied by ships of the Danish and Russian Navy, she is greeted with jubilation by several tens of thousands of people. People's love and rejoicing will accompany Dagmar all the years of her life in Russia, starting from her first steps on Russian soil. Sincerity, mercy, charm, love for her new homeland - all these qualities will make her one of the most revered Russian empresses.
Although their family union, especially at the beginning of their reign, caused a lot of confusion. The St. Petersburg high society believed that Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov, rustic in appearance and behavior, did not quite suit the sophisticated beauty.
Princess Dagmar, orthodox baptized Maria Feodorovna, was not just pretty - her photographs were sold out, just as portraits of movie stars would be sold out in the future. Emperor Alexander III was not distinguished by his beauty. The famous monument on which he sits on a horse (once the monument stood on Znamenskaya Square, since 1918 - Vosstaniya Square, and today is located in the courtyard of the Marble Palace) has collected many caustic jokes, the sharpest of them is this quatrain:
There is a chest of drawers on the square,
There's a hippopotamus on the dresser,
There's a freak on the hippopotamus,
There's a cap on the back
Guess whose daddy?
N. Sverchkov Portrait of Emperor Alexander III Alexandrovich in the uniform of the Life Guards Hussar Regiment. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
But the “peasant” appearance of a rude military man hid a gentle, loving and caring husband and father. They both disliked formal ceremonies. If possible, we tried to be alone. Although, Maria Feodorovna, in addition to her family, had another passion - dancing. She danced magnificently at balls, while her husband occupied himself with table conversation. In their forced separation, they wrote tender letters to each other. Their happy marriage produced six children. Maria Feodorovna herself was involved in raising children. They named their first-born in honor of the deceased Nicholas. He became the last Russian Tsar, Emperor Nicholas II.
Russian Empress
She will remain in the status of crown princess (wife of the heir to the throne) for 15 years, and empress for 13.
Maria Feodorovna herself was involved in raising children. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
The life of the country all these years will surprisingly resemble the same traditional, leisurely order that was introduced into the families of the reigning spouses. “The calm before the storm” - this is how the era of the reign of Alexander III will be called. But for Maria and Alexander it was a happy time. Maria Fedorovna is actively involved in social work. She heads the Russian Red Cross Society, takes patronage over the Cavalry and Cuirassier regiments, opens orphanages and shelters for the poor. Together with Emperor Alexander III, he participates in the creation of the funds of the Russian Museum. Using money from the royal treasury, the couple ordered paintings from the Itinerant artists - Kramskoy, Vereshchagin, Repin, Polenov.
After the death of her husband in 1894, and until the end of her life, she bears the title of Empress Dowager. The time of war and revolution is experienced first in Kyiv, then in Crimea. Here she is surprised by the news of the abdication of her son, Emperor Nicholas II. The first rumors come to Crimea about the death of his son and his family in Yekaterinburg. Her own future in those years was discussed by politicians and diplomats in Petrograd, Moscow, Copenhagen, London and Berlin. But she cared little about herself. Only the persuasion of her relatives forced Maria Fedorovna to agree to leave Russia, accepting the offer of the English King George V. She left the empire in 1919, as it seemed to her, for a while until the revolutionary storm subsided, but in the end it turned out that for a long 9 years.
Return to Russia
After leaving Russia, she lives in England, then, with the help of her sister, Queen Alexandra of Great Britain, buys a small house near Copenhagen, where she dies on October 13, 1928, without receiving news about the fate of her eldest son. Her last wish was to rest next to her husband. The will of the empress was carried out. In 2006, the ashes of the Danish Princess Dagmar of the Russian Empress Maria Feodorovna, as 140 years ago, were solemnly transported to Russia on board a warship of the Danish Navy. The beloved princess from Denmark was escorted by a military band and a company of honor guard. The coffin with the body of the mother of the last Russian Tsar was transported through the whole of Copenhagen. In St. Petersburg, in accordance with her last will, the empress was solemnly buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the tomb of the Russian emperors, next to her husband, Alexander III.
The mother of the last Russian emperor did not believe in the death of Nicholas II until recently. To a telegram of condolences received from her nephew, the Danish King Christian X, the ruler replied that all this was nothing more than rumors. She outlived her son by 10 years and kept waiting for Niki to arrive. On October 13, 1928, Maria Feodorovna passed away. Who was this woman, how did she get to Russia and how was she able to escape from it after 50 years.
Andersen's tales
Princess Minnie - that was the name of the future Empress Maria Feodorovna in her childhood - was born in 1847 in Copenhagen in the family of the future king Christian IX. In total, the family had six children - three sons and three daughters. Father loved to characterize each princess in one word. So, he called his daughters “the most beautiful”, “the smartest” and “the kindest” (Alexandra, Maria and Tira).
Dagmar and her sisters and brothers received their education at home. The main subject that all children had to know was foreign languages, primarily French and English. In addition, boys were taught military affairs, and girls were taught how to run a household. For example, the future Russian empress knew how to sew at the age of 13.
She spent her childhood and youth in the “yellow castle”, where the famous writer Hans Christian Andersen was a member. The fact that we have his fairy tales is partly due to Minnie.
Marry in Russia
Initially, Maria was supposed to marry another son of Alexander II - Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich.
At the insistence of his own father, the 20-year-old young man came to Denmark to meet his potential bride in the summer of 1864. The 17-year-old girl made such a strong impression on the young man that he almost immediately wrote to his mother.
If you knew how happy I am: I fell in love with Dagmar. Don’t be afraid that it’s so soon, I remember your advice and can’t decide soon. But how can I not be happy when my heart tells me that I love her, I love her dearly. She is so pretty, simple, smart, cheerful and shy at the same time,” Nikolai wrote.
The heir to the Russian throne went to Darmstadt, where his parents were by that time. They decided to transport the bride to Russia in the near future, and to celebrate the wedding as soon as she turns 18 years old.
After this, he again went to Denmark. Historians point out that young people went horseback riding, boating and socialized a lot. The Danish court exhaled, and the Russian one too: there was a need to unite countries in this way, and it’s nice when children marry for love. The young people announced their engagement. By the way, residents of St. Petersburg learned that the heir was going to get married by 101 salvos of fireworks.
As it turned out, it was too early to rejoice. From the bride's house, the young man set off on a trip to Nice in the fall of 1864. Here the heir to the Russian throne began to have back pain, but he did not attach any importance to them, attributing everything to fatigue.
God willing, I will rest and strengthen myself in the winter in Italy (where I was going to go), then a wedding, and then a new life - family, service and work, he said.
However, the prince's plans were not destined to come true. In the spring of 1865, the Danish court received an alarming message from Nice. The prince became worse. By the time the bride arrived, the young man’s condition was so bad that the doctors said it was time to say goodbye.
On April 24, 1865, the Tsarevich died. His body was sent to St. Petersburg on the frigate "Alexander Nevsky". The most common reason why an heir dies is considered to be an incorrect diagnosis. He had cerebrospinal tuberculous meningitis, and was treated either for a common cold or for rheumatism.
"Sasha"
Soon after this, the princess began a correspondence with Alexander II. The Emperor insists on her coming to Russia and marrying her other son, the future sovereign Alexander III.
I am very pleased to hear that you repeat your desire to keep me by your side. But my loss is so recent that now I’m simply afraid to show my lack of devotion to her. On the other hand, I would like to hear from Sasha himself whether he really wants to be with me,” she writes in response.
As it turned out, Alexander had long been in love with Maria.
“I wanted to propose to Dagmar, but I didn’t dare, although we were together,” he later wrote in his diary.
In the spring of 1866, he proposed marriage to the princess, and the engagement took place in June. Already in October she moves to Russia. On October 13 she was baptized under the name of Maria Feodorovna, and on October 28 the wedding took place. On the occasion of the celebration, all defaulting debtors had their debts written off, and a number of prisoners were given an amnesty.
Despite the fact that noisy St. Petersburg was radically different from the quiet and calm Copenhagen, Maria quickly understood how to act. She actively learned dances that were popular at court, studied all the turns of the Russian language that many foreigners would not understand. Historians point out that she knew how to charm people and quickly won over most of the courtiers. And at receptions she devoted a few minutes to almost every guest.
Nicholas II and other children
The birth of the heir to the throne was not only joy for Maria Feodorovna, but also a completely logical way to strengthen her position on the throne. About a year of agonizing waiting - and in 1867, doctors announced that she was expecting a child.
The boy was born on May 6, 1868. They named him Nikolai. According to one version, the name was given in honor of his great-grandfather, Nicholas I. The more common one says that the child was named in honor of his deceased uncle. Rumors immediately spread among the people that an unhappy fate awaited the boy: it was believed that calling him the same name as a suddenly deceased relative was a bad omen.
Subsequently, five more children were born into the family. The second son, named Alexander after his grandfather, did not live even two years. The third son, Georges (George), born in 1871, fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 19. By that time, the world did not know how to fully cope with this terrible disease. Doctors advised sending the boy away from bustling St. Petersburg, to special climatic conditions. The royal couple ordered a castle to be built for him in the mountains near the village of Abastumani (now Georgia), where he lived until his death in 1899.
In 1875, the royal couple had their first daughter, Ksenia. The princess migrated with her mother in 1919, and after the death of Maria Feodorovna she left for Great Britain. Ksenia lived to be 85 years old. The youngest daughter of the royal couple, Olga, also migrated from Russia. But unlike her older sister, after her mother’s death she chose to stay in Denmark. She was forced to flee to Canada only in 1948, fearing persecution by the Soviet Union, where she was considered an enemy of the people.
Naughty Empress
Maria Feodorovna was able to maintain good relations with her father-in-law (Alexander II) and not quarrel with her husband when a huge scandal broke out between the emperor and his son. The fact is that several years before his death, the Tsar-Liberator finally stopped hiding his relationship with his mistress Ekaterina Dolgorukova. The son repeatedly argued with his father about this, but this did not change anything.
After the death of his wife in 1880, Alexander II got married. The couple had four children. True, this marriage lasted only a year: in 1881, the Tsar-Liberator was killed.
Alexander III inherits the throne, Maria becomes empress. As historians point out, she was the wife of the sovereign in the same “canonical” concept: she was engaged in charity work and devoted a lot of time to her family. Her husband did not allow her to participate in any political affairs, and she did not aspire to do so.
About once a year they went to the empress’s homeland - Denmark. As General Nikolai Epanchin wrote, the emperor liked the modest (relative to St. Petersburg) life of the Danes, and especially the royal family. Alexander III walked a lot, went to shops, and examined the surrounding area.
In October 1888, a terrible accident occurred: a royal train coming from the south crashed at Borki station, 50 kilometers from Kharkov. No one from the imperial family was harmed. The roof of the carriage where Alexander III, his wife and children were located, collapsed, and the emperor was forced to hold it on his shoulders for several hours until help arrived.
After this, he began to complain of lower back pain. As it turned out, during the crash the emperor fell and was hit hard, but was able to quickly get up. However, according to doctors, this was enough for kidney disease to begin to develop.
The Emperor felt increasingly unwell. His complexion became sallow, his appetite disappeared, and his heart began to ache. After the hunt in 1894, his condition worsened even more. As it turned out, the king had nephritis - an acute kidney disease. It was decided to transport him to Livadia (Crimea). The emperor lost a lot of weight in a month, became haggard and practically could not speak. He hardly slept due to terrible pain. On October 20, 1894, he died while sitting in a chair. Maria Fedorovna, who had been nearby all this time, fainted.
Nicholas II became Russian Emperor. As it turned out a few years later, the last.
Niki the Tsar and the scandal with his daughter-in-law
Contemporaries wrote about Maria Feodorovna as a loving mother, always ready to support her children in almost any endeavor. However, the relationship with the daughter-in-law - the wife of Tsar Nicholas II - somehow did not work out right away. You can read more about how the relationship between Alix and Nika developed.
Contemporaries of the empress point out that the mother of Nicholas II disliked her daughter-in-law because she thought for too long about whether to agree to marry Nika. The fact is that this was almost the only royal marriage in the entire Russian history that was not based on mutually beneficial relations between the two countries. Nikolai really married for love. But Alix was afraid of converting to another faith, which was mandatory.
A very trusting relationship developed between Nicholas II and his mother, so the son told what was bothering him. But the reaction was unexpected.
“In the end, this is the most idiotic story one could imagine,” the ruler wrote to her son George about what she thought about the relationship between Alix and Nika.
Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt was baptized the day after the death of Alexander III under the name of Alexandra Feodorovna. The lovers wanted to get married on the day when Nicholas II ascended the throne. The fact is that this date was the next day after the death of his father. As a result, relatives and courtiers dissuaded the young people from “getting married when there is a coffin nearby”, postponing the wedding for three weeks.
The strained relationship between the dowager mother-empress and her daughter-in-law was noticed at court in the first days of Alexandra Feodorovna in Russia. Soon after the funeral of Alexander III, another reception took place in the palace. According to tradition, Maria Fedorovna approached many people and talked for 2-3 minutes. She exchanged a few phrases with her daughter-in-law.
In addition, in the palace the Empress demanded that the daily routine that was under Alexander III be left. But the new emperor did not dare to argue with his mother, which infuriated his wife.
The empress simply hated Grigory Rasputin, of whose “healing gift” Alice was confident. She was sure that the “hypnotist” would destroy Nikolai. Historians are still arguing whether Maria Fedorovna was aware of the preparations for the murder of Rasputin, because one of those who dealt with him is her relative.
Execution of the royal family
Maria Fedorovna spent the last months before the February Revolution in Kyiv, supervised the renovation of the hospital and was involved in charity work. It was whispered at court that she deliberately “escaped” from St. Petersburg, since in the dispute for Nicholas’s attention and influence on him she began to finally lose to her daughter-in-law after the murder of Rasputin.
Here, on March 2, 1917, she was surprised by the news of her son’s abdication of the throne. She rushes to Mogilev, where the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is located. Here the woman sees her eldest son for the last time.
Ksenia and Olga Romanov later recalled that their mother blamed Alix for everything.
Maria Feodorovna, together with her daughters Ksenia and Olga and their husbands, then moved to Crimea. Until the spring of 1918, she indicates in her diary that she sent letters to her son and daughter-in-law and even received replies. However, by March there were no more such records.
Staying in Crimea was actually an arrest for her. Denmark, Britain and Germany discussed with St. Petersburg the possibility of saving that part of the Romanov family that remained alive.
Then, in the spring, the situation in Crimea sharply worsened. The Yalta council demanded the immediate execution of all the Romanovs, and the Sevastopol council was waiting for an order from Petrograd, since the hostages could be taken there for public execution. On behalf of the Sevastopol Council, the Romanovs were moved to a safer palace so that they would not become victims of the “Yalta people.”
The fate of everyone who was in Crimea hung in the balance. By the beginning of summer, Yalta was occupied by the Germans, who began the occupation of Crimea. For Maria Fedorovna this turned out to be a salvation. Meanwhile, she begins to receive conflicting information from relatives abroad. Some claim that Nicholas was killed with his entire family, others talk about their salvation, others report that only the former emperor was killed.
Terrible rumors are spreading about the fate of our beloved Nicky. I can’t and don’t want to believe them, but I just can’t imagine how I can bear such tension,” Maria Feodorovna wrote in her diary at the end of July 1918 (Nicholas II and members of the royal family were shot on the night of July 18-19).
Since the Dowager Empress was sure that her son was alive, she did not flee to Denmark in September 1918, when a ship was sent for her, on which there was a nurse, “especially to examine the Empress.” She also did not believe Princess Lydia Vasilchikova, who managed to escape from Petrograd.
When Russian Imperial Army officer Pavel Bulygin arrived in Crimea at the end of September 1918 and reported that Nicholas was indeed no longer alive, Maria Fedorovna hesitated. Bulygin became the head of the security of the surviving members of the royal family. In January 1919, Maria Fedorovna came to terms with the idea that her beloved Niki could have been killed.
Evacuation
The Danish king Christian X appeals to England several times on the issue of evacuating royal prisoners from Crimea. On April 7, 1919, the family was visited by the commander of the British naval forces in Sevastopol, Admiral Kalsorp. He conveys information that the English King George V, Maria Feodorovna’s nephew, is putting the Marlborough ship at her disposal for departure, but she must leave immediately.
The Empress asked the British to evacuate everyone whose lives were in danger due to the new government. Already on April 11, British ships entered the Yalta port to pick up refugees.
Through Constantinople and Malta, Maria Feodorovna arrived in England, where she stayed all summer. In August, she boards the ship Fionia and, together with her daughters, leaves for Denmark, Copenhagen.
Maria Feodorovna was financially supported by the English royal house. At the direction of George V, the Dowager Empress received an annual pension of ten thousand pounds sterling.
And his own nephew, the king of Denmark, did not treat his relatives very hospitably. For example, one day a servant from Christian X came to the Romanovs and asked them to turn off some of the lamps in order to save money. In addition, the nephew repeatedly offered Maria Feodorovna to sell or pawn the jewelry brought from Russia. But she kept them in a box under her bed until her death.
She still forbade serving a memorial service for Nicholas. When I saw the ships passing by, I was sure that Niki was on each of them. Well, at worst Alix.
Maria Fedorovna died on October 13, 1928 in Vidør near Copenhagen. Hundreds of Russian emigrants from Paris, London, Stockholm, and Brussels saw her off on her last journey.
Most newspapers wrote about the funeral, shedding tears of emotion, that this was the funeral of old Russia, wrote the plenipotentiary representative of the Country of Soviets in Denmark, Milail Kobetsky.
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