On March 15, 1917, Tsar Nicholas II signed the Abdication Decree, ending the long period of absolute monarchy in the Russian Empire.
503 days later, in the early hours of July 17, 1918, the Tsar's family, imprisoned in Yekaterinburg, was taken to the basement and executed.
The Tsar's family
For the last emperor of the Romanov dynasty, later generations have always had a polarized evaluation. People either thought of him as a gentle gentleman or, quite the opposite, as a bloody tyrant.
Judging from the long course of history, the last years of Nicholas II can be said to be an important period of succession: the crumbling tsarist system came to an end, and the February And October Revolution broke out in Russia.
The train on which Nicholas II signed the abdication
However, for more than a hundred years, the family's encounter has always been foggy.
Why did Nicholas II embark on the path of abdication?
What happened to the whole family when they were placed under house arrest?
Who gave the final execution order?
In "The Last Tsar: The Last 503 Days of Nicholas II", based on a large number of rich original materials, combined with the Tsar's diaries, conversation records, official investigation records, and his latest research results, the Famous Russian historian Robert Servis reviewed the magnificent history, outlined the true image of the last Tsar, and tried to clear the fog surrounding the situation of the last Tsar's family.
Embark on the road to abdication
Nikolai, thin, diminutive and pale-skinned, inherited the throne from his father Alexander III in 1894.
Nicholas II was dressed in traditional Russian robes
He lives a simple life and loves fresh air. Regardless of the season, he spends at least two hours a day outdoors, and even on winter nights he keeps his windows open. In the coldest weather of December, it is even more common to stride out of the palace without a coat.
As later generations have said of him as polarized, Nicholas II was a contradiction in itself.
On the one hand, he struggled all his life to maintain a dictatorial regime, advocating despotism, imperial power, and powerful military power; on the other hand, he was mediocre in both military and statecraft.
He was a devout Orthodox Christian, but he hated lengthy church rituals and hated kneeling.
Like his father, Alexander III, he hated the Jews, had strong nationalist sentiments, and supported one of the predecessors of fascism, the Russian People's Union.
His wife, Empress Alexandra, was Grand Duke Alex from Hesse, who grew up in the English palace of her grandmother, Queen Victoria. She supported the Tsar's disregard for public opinion and his authority to crush opponents.
The almost superstitious admiration and love for the infamous "demon monk" Rasputin and the allowing him to interfere in politics are also one of the reasons why the Nikolais and his wife have been criticized by later generations.
Gregory Rasputin
It is said that only he could help the Tsar's son relieve his illness when he was seriously ill
Long before the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the situation in Russia was already very serious.
After the outbreak of the First World War, under the combined forces of various factors such as internal and external troubles, Nikolai gradually lost control of the country.
Soon, the February Revolution was set off in one mass strike and one march after another, the Winter Palace was occupied, and the tsar, who was already in a hurry, could only announce his abdication.
Nikolai with son Alexei
He had wanted to pass the throne to his only son, Alexei, in accordance with the Constitution, but the Crown Prince was not only young, but also suffered from hemophilia. Once the throne was passed to the son, Alexei would have been brought under control in order to prevent the restoration of the monarchy, and the father and son would have to be separated.
So he had to hope that the succession to his younger brother Mikhail would be passed on, but this violated Russian succession law. In the end, Mikhail voluntarily renounced the succession to the throne, and the Romanov dynasty came to an end.
The last 503 days
Immediately afterwards, the Tsar's family was placed under house arrest. From the Tsarist village of Alexander Palace, to the governor's residence in the remote town of Tobolsk, and finally to Yekaterinburg, the Romanov family was imprisoned in three places, farther and farther away from the capital, for 16 months until they were shot.
What happened in those 16 months?
There was the royalists' lack of organized rescue plans, the growing dangers, and the hesitation of british royal cousins.
The fate of the former royals has long been out of their own hands, but with the revolutionary situation in Russia and with the outcome of the game of international politics. Will they be lucky enough to be exiled alive? Or will he die on the guillotine like Louis XVI?
In the anxious, hopeless waiting, most of the time, the family read and labor as a pastime.
Father and son feed chickens at the "Freedom House" in Tobolsk
Nikolai was always worried. Especially after a year of abdication, he was hit hard when he learned that Russia had signed a contract with the German Empire and its allies.
During the period of house arrest, the Tsar's family always maintained the habit of labor, and despite the fear in their hearts, they could only endure.
The Tsar's eldest daughter Olga pulled her brother in a sleigh
The eldest daughter Olga is humble and loves to sing; the second daughter Tatyana, like her mother Alexandra, is very determined; the third daughter Maria is a beauty in the family, she is energetic and optimistic; the fourth daughter Anastasia is short, strong, and affectionately called "naughty ghost" in the family; the younger son Alexei's legs are often painful, but she always tries to be brave.
As a father, Nikolai was loving. On those days of seclusion, he would read books for his family at night to inspire everyone. He revised the script and performed Chekhov's works with his children to release repressed emotions.
The Tsar couple on the balcony of the "Freedom House"
Nikolai read a lot, reading the literature of Chekhov, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Andrlock Holmes, and also read L. A. The military history books of Casso, Kuropatkin, Uspensky... During the long days of the northern Summer in northern Russia, when there was no need to saw wood or chop wood, Nikolai read documents from his early years that he had not had time to finish.
Judging by the bibliography he chose, he was trying to understand the major events that were taking place at that time by reading. His focus is the same as ever: responsibility, destiny, religion, state, military power and domination.
execute
Such days came to an end soon after. The continuing chaos in Russia, coupled with the attack of the Czechoslovak Legion, would most likely have fallen into the hands of the rebels and been exploited to lead to the restoration of the monarchy.
The Tsar's family was subject to increasingly tight control and the situation was deteriorating. One day in May 1918, a worker even came and painted all the window glass. That way, they can no longer see the city streets outside.
The Nikolai family's last residence in Yekaterinburg
On 14 July, Father Joan Strogev sensed their frustration during a ceremony for the Romanov family. As we all know, the Romanov family is very fond of singing, but no one spoke at this ceremony.
In the early hours of July 17, the commander in charge of the custody of the Tsar's family woke them up from their slumber and, citing riots in the city as an excuse, said that they would move the Romanovs to a safer place.
Empress Alexandra took care of her sick son
Nikolai took his youngest son Alexei in his arms, and the family freshened up and dressed up and went to the basement. Subsequently, the commander briefly announced the order to execute the Romanov family.
Nikolai turned, amazed, and wanted to ask a question. The commander repeated the order, then without hesitation shouted, "Shoot! ”
Gunfire rang out, and the Romanov family in custody disappeared into the night.
Are the Tsar's family the sinners of the state? Or a victim of the times? This issue has been controversial for years.
On October 1, 2008, Russia's Supreme Court formally rehabilitated Nicholas II, declaring his family a victim of repression.
Still, rumors and fog about the family lingered.
Who gave the final execution order? Who made the rumor about the little princess Anastasia?
In April 1918, Nikolai moved from Tobolsk to Yekaterinburg, the last journey of his life, and what happened during this long-standing mystery?
What kind of ruler does he really want to be? Have you ever regretted your decision to be in power?
Many mysteries are also why the author wanted to explore the last experience of Nicholas II's family.
In the summer of 2013, under a rare opportunity, Robert Serwis, a British historian and researcher at St Anthony's College at Oxford University, read some rare literature about the last months of Nicholas II's life at the Hoover Institution Archives, and with surprise and curiosity, he began to study the subject.
The author of "Three Thousand Years of Jerusalem" praised!
Written by the famous Russian historian Robert Servis
Recreate the afterglow of the romanov dynasty's apocalypse
Analyze why Nicholas II went to exhaustion
The Last Tsar: The Last 503 Days of Nicholas II
Author: [UK] Robert Servis
Translator: Paid full
Price: 108.00 RMB
Publication date:November 2021
Series Title: Obelisk
ISBN:978-7-5447-8837-3
This book is fascinating and a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about this history. Servis modestly corrected two prejudices, which either regarded Nicholas II as a gentle gentleman or, quite the opposite, as a bloody tyrant. Service wisely showed that he had always had both temperaments.
—Simon Montefiori
Author of Three Thousand Years of Jerusalem