Nicholas and Alexandra

Notes

Four primary sources are cited in abbreviated form throughout these Notes. Nicholas II’s Journal Intime is cited as “N’s Diary.” The Letters of the Tsar to the Tsaritsa 1914–1917 is cited as “N to AF,” and Letters of the Tsaritsa to the Tsar 1914–1916 is cited as “AF to N.” The Secret Letters of the Last Tsar: The Confidential Correspondence Between Nicholas II and His Mother, Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna is cited as “N to MF” for letters from Nicholas to his mother, and as “MF to N” for letters from the Empress to her son.

CHAPTER I 1894: IMPERIAL RUSSIA

1 “This curious conglomeration”: Paléologue, I, 93.

2 “Cleaving the city down the center”: Kennan, 3.

3 River breezes and salt air: Paléologue, I, 348.

4 “Fashionable décolletage”: Dehn, 44. “Nobody thought of leaving”: ibid., 44.

5 Receptions and balls: Meriel Buchanan, 13; Vorres, 99.

6 Imperial balls: Mosolov, 192–202; Vorres, 100–1; Alexander, 55–6, 161–2.

7 “That is what I’m going to do to your … army corps”: Alexander, 67.

8 Alexander III: Mosolov, 4. “A sovereign whom she does not look upon”: Bainbridge, 13.

9 “On the point of striking you”: Kaun, 130.

10 The bassoon: Pares, 30

11 Dagmar engaged to Alexander’s brother: Vorres, 21.

12 Empress Marie: Alexander, 73; Mosolov, 65; Vorres, 53, 57.

13 “They danced the mazurka for half an hour”: MF to N, 44.

14 “He is feted, he is stuffed”: MF to N, 45. The Imperial train derailed: Alexander, 168; Vorres, 29.

CHAPTER 2 THE TSAREVICH NICHOLAS

1 An older brother, Alexander: Alexander, 165; Vorres, 21.

2 Nicholas admired George’s humor: Vorres, 34. George’s tuberculosis: Alexander, 120.

3 Gatchina, 900 rooms: Vorres, 24. Alexander III up at seven: ibid., 26. Simple army cots: ibid., 23.

4 “Nicky was so hungry”: ibid., 36. Pelting each other with bread: Mosolov, 5.

5 Dancing tutor: Vorres, 35.

6 “The High Priest of Social Stagnation”: Mazour, 36. “The dominant and most baleful influence”: Charques, 51. Coldly ascetic: Vorres, 38.

7 “Abode of the ‘Bad Man’ “: Alexander, 188.

8 “Among the falsest of political principles”: Pobedonostsev, 32.

9 “Parliament is an institution”: ibid., 34–5. “Providence has preserved our Russia”: ibid., 49.

10 Pobedonostsev’s philosophy: Pares, History, 426–7. The Jewish problem: Harcave, 21. “We must not forget”: Florinsky, 1119.

11 Pobedonostsev excommunicated Tolstoy: Introduction to Pobedonostsev, ix.

12 Anna Karenina: Paléologue, I, 314.

13 “It is too early to thank God”: Pares, History, 403. “To the palace, to die there”: ibid., 403.

14 The death scene: Alexander, 59–61.

15 “Their red lances shining brightly”: ibid., 61.

16 “With faith in the power and right of autocracy”: Pares, History, 407.

17 A slender youth, five feet seven inches: Alexander, 173. “His usual tender, shy, slightly sad smile”: ibid., 77.

18 Languages: Alexander, 165.

19 N’s Diary: Pares, 15. The cryptic, emotionless style of Nicholas’s diary often is cited as evidence of a shallow character. “It is the diary of a nobody,” writes Charques, “of a man of transparently immature and of patently insignificant interests … triviality piled on triviality.”

Nevertheless, this kind of diary is not universally condemned. In certain circumstances, these terse, monotonous Edwardian diaries have been found admirable and praiseworthy: “On May 3, 1880 … [he] began to keep a diary,” begins one account of a royal diarist, “and from then onward he continued it without intermission until three days before his death. For fifty-six years, in his clear handwriting, he recorded daily the moment at which he got up, the times of his meals, and the hour when he went to bed. He acquired the nautical habit of registering the direction of the wind, the condition of the barometer and the state of the weather throughout the day. He would take careful notes of the places which he visited, the people whom he met, or the number of birds and other animals which he shot. Seldom did he indulge in any comment upon personal or public affairs; his diary is little more than a detailed catalogue of his engagements. He was not one of those to whom the physical act of writing comes easily and with pleasure; his pen would travel slowly across the page. Yet only when he was seriously ill would he allow his mother, his sisters or, later, his wife, to make the entries for him. His diaries swelled to twenty-four bound and locked volumes, each opening with a small golden key. They became for him part of the discipline of life.”

This description, with only minor alterations, could have been written of Nicholas II. In fact, it was written by Harold Nicolson in his biography of Nicholas’s cousin, King George V, pp. 15–16.

20 “Today I finished … my education: Radziwill, 37.

21 “As always after a ball”: N’s Diary, 13. “I got up at 10:30”: ibid., 16. “I was not overwhelmed with sadness”: ibid., 21.

22 “Ran like fools”: ibid., 14. His life in St. Petersburg: ibid., 12–31. 18–19 “All day I found myself in a state of gaiety”: ibid., 25. A direct telephone line: ibid., 43. Reviewing Cossacks: ibid., 23.

23 Bungalow at Krasnoe Selo: Alexander, 166.

24 “I am happier than I can say”: N to MF, 35.

25 “Never forget that everyone’s eyes”: MF to N, 33. “I will always try”: N to MF, 36.

26 “We got stewed,” etc.: Kaun, 133.

27 “Where is Kschessinska?”: Kschessinska, 28. “Be the glory and adornment of our ballet”: ibid., 28. “In both our hearts, an attraction”: ibid., 29. “Supper with the pupils”: ibid., 29.

28 “Ah, you must have been flirting”: ibid., 33. “I thought that, without being in love with me”: ibid., 33. “Gossiped at her window”: ibid., 34.

29 “Villages and clusters of palm trees”: N’s Diary, 33. “Nothing worth talking about”: ibid., 33. “This time it was much better”: ibid., 34.

30 “Red uniforms everywhere”: ibid., 36. “I’d like to think”: MF to N, 42.

31 The assassination attempt: N’s Diary, 37–8; MF to N, 51; Alexander, 167; Kschessinska, 35. “I received the Swedish minister”: N’s Diary, 45.

32 Vladivostock: Tupper, 83, 85.

33 Kschessinska again: Kschessinska, 37–42.

34 “Though he did not openly mention it”: ibid., 42. “We led a quiet, retiring life”: ibid., 44.

35 “I have been nominated a member”: N’s Diary, 46. Exercise with the Hussars: ibid., 14. “What, but you know the Tsarevich?”: Quoted in an introductory passage in N’s Diary, 45.

36 “Uncle Bertie, of course”: N to MF, 59. “May is delightful”: ibid., 59. Nicholas mistaken for George: Buxhoeveden, 37; Hanbury-Williams, 89.

37 “She was very friendly”: N to MF, 60. Kschessinska’s career: Kschessinska, 47.

38 The end of the affair: ibid., 50–1. “The terrible, boundless suffering”: ibid., 52.

39 “I was not alone in my grief and trouble”: ibid., 53. Grand Duke Andrei: ibid., 78. A son: ibid., 89. Married in Cannes: ibid., 209.

CHAPTER 3 PRINCESS ALIX

1 “My dream is some day to marry Alix H.”: Pares, 33.

2 “Mama made a few allusions”: Radziwill, 38.

3 Princess Helene and Princess Margaret: N to MF, 61.

4 “Oh, Lord, how I want to go to Ilinskoe”: Pares, 33.

5 Nicholas insists on Alix: Buxhoeveden, 33.

6 Alexander Ill’s health: Mosolov, 44.

7 “They murder my name here”: Buxhoeveden, 4. “A sweet, merry little person”: ibid., 4. “Sunny in pink”: ibid., 4.

8 Prussia and Hesse-Darmstadt: ibid., 3; Botkin, 24.

9 Darmstadt: Buxhoeveden, 1; Almedingen, 7.

10 English mementoes: Buxhoeveden, 2. Mrs. Orchard: ibid., 5. Pony cart: ibid., 6. Goldfish: Almedingen, 14. Crinoline: Buxhoeveden, 6. Christmas: ibid., 7. Visits to England: ibid., 7, 9. Diphtheria: ibid., 9–10.

11 Alix withdraws: ibid., 12. Queen Victoria’s interest: ibid., 12.

12 A student: ibid., 13–15. Ella’s marriage: ibid., 18–19. Nicholas presents a brooch: Vyrubova, 19.

13 Alix’s visit to Russia, 1889: Buxhoeveden, 23–4. Ilinskoe: ibid., 26–7.

14 Alix’s feeling about Nicholas: ibid., 21, 34. Prince Eddy: Pope-Hennessy, 183; Longford, 512.

15 Banjo: Buxhoeveden, 22. Italy: ibid., 31.

16 Nicholas’s arrival in Coburg: N’s Diary, 48. “What a day”: ibid., 49. “I tried to explain”: N to MF, 63.

17 Two sittings at dinner: N’s Diary, 50. Queen Victoria’s Dragoons: ibid., 49. The Kaiser helps: N to MF, 64. “The depths of Alix’s soul”: N’s Diary, 51.

18 “A marvelous, unforgettable day”: ibid., 52. “We were left alone”: N to MF, 64, “ ‘I’m going to marry Nicky’ “: Almedingen, 23.

19 Military drill: N’s Diary, 52. “My superb Alix came to me”: ibid., 52. “Everything in my heart was bright”: ibid., 52. “We answered all day”: ibid., 53.

20 “Your dear Alix”: MF to N, 65, 66.

21 “She has changed so much”: N’s Diary, 54.

22 “We were together a long time”: ibid., 59. “It is so strange”: ibid., 57. “What a sorrow”: ibid., 54. “What sadness”: ibid., 60. “A ring on my finger”: ibid., 57. Gatchina: ibid., 62–3.

23 “Into the arms of my betrothed”: N to MF, 71. Walton-on-Thames: ibid., 71.

24 Engagement gifts: Buxhoeveden, 38. Fabergé’s sautoir of pearls: Bainbridge, 56. “Alix, do not get too proud”: Buxhoeveden, 38; Dehn, 59.

25 “Galloping like a fool”: N’s Diary, 63. “I can’t complain”: N to MF, 71.

26 “I simply had to get up”: N to MF, 73.

27 “I dreamed that I was loved”: N’s Diary, 76–7. “What is past is past”: ibid., 78.

28 “Granny loves me so”: N to MF, 74. Aldershot: N’s Diary, 71.

29 “A son was born to Georgie and May”: N’s Diary, quoted by Catherine Radziwill, The Intimate Life of the Last Tsarina (New York, L. MacVeagh, Dial Press, 1928), 26.

30 “Instead of plunging the infant”: N’s Diary, 75. “What a nice, healthy child”: N to MF, 73. “Georgie came for lunch”: N’s Diary, 76.

31 “Love is caught”: ibid., 81. “Sleep gently”: ibid., 83.

32 German fleet: ibid., 83. “I am yours”: ibid., 86. “For the past is past”: ibid., 85.

CHAPTER 4 MARRIAGE

1 Nephritis: Witte, 46; Mosolov, 44; Vorres, 63.

2 “My duty to remain here”: N’s Diary, 90.

3 “There is some ice cream in the next room”: Vorres, 64.

4 “My God, what a joy to meet her”: N’s Diary, 101. Welcome in the Crimea: ibid., 101. The Tsar in dress uniform: Vyrubova, 20.

5 “Sweet child, pray to God”: N’s Diary, 103. “Be firm and make the doctors come to you”: ibid., 104.

6 “The Lord has called to him … Papa”: ibid., 107.

7 “I saw tears in his blue eyes”: Alexander, 168–9.

8 The embalmers: N’s Diary, 111. At that time the Orthodox Church did not normally permit embalming of the dead. Exceptions were made, however, in the cases of sovereigns who were to lie in state for many days.

9 “Even in our great grief”: ibid., no. “Alix read beautifully”: ibid., no. “The truly believing Grand Duchess Alexandra Fedorovna”: Buxhoeveden, 41.

10 “Mama, many others and I”: N’s Diary, 110. The uncles’ view: Buxhoeveden, 41. “My dear Papa was transferred”: N’s Diary, 112.

11 Across the Ukraine: ibid., 114. Moscow: ibid., 114; Almedingen, 37. St. Petersburg: N’s Diary, 115; Almedingen, 37–8. “Behind a coffin”: Gilliard, 48.

12 “I have received so many delegations”: N’s Diary, 120. “I almost broke into sobs”: ibid., 122.

13 “Every day, after lunch … another service”: Pope-Hennessy, 301–2. “One’s feelings”: Buxhoeveden, 44. “Such was my entry into Russia”: Fülöp-Miller, 80.

14 The wedding: N’s Diary, 125; Buxhoeveden, 43; Vyrubova, 21.

15 “Nicky is a very lucky man”: Pope-Hennessy, 300. “When they drove from the Winter Palace”: Nicolson, 57. “Alix had a headache”: N’s Diary, 125.

16 “At last, united”: Buxhoeveden, 50. “Never did I believe”: N’s Diary, 125; Buxhoeveden, 50.

17 Six rooms: Vorres, 71; Buxhoeveden, 45–6.

18 “I am indescribably happy with Alix”: N’s Diary, 125. Reading at night: ibid., 131. Sleigh rides: Buxhoeveden, 47.

19 “It is hard to think”: N’s Diary, 126.

20 The mother-in-law: Vorres, 72, 93; Buxhoeveden, 49; Vyrubova, 87.

21 The jewels: Almedingen, 43.

22 “I cannot yet realize that I am married”: Buxhoeveden, 44. “I feel myself completely alone”: Vyrubova, 21–2.

23 “How contented and happy I am”: Buxhoeveden, 51.

24 “It has become very big and kicks about”: N to MF, 96. “Sad to leave Peterhof”: ibid., 93–4.

25 “It is understood, isn’t it”: MF to N, 100.

26 Birth of Olga: N’s Diary, 132; Buxhoeveden, 56.

27 “You can imagine our intense happiness”: Buxhoeveden, 56.

CHAPTER 5 THE CORONATION

1 River ice beginning to crack: N to MF, 101.

2 “I believe we should regard”: ibid., 107.

3 Petrovsky Palace: Vorres, 74.

4 Whitewash, evergreens, flags: Bovey, 10, 32. Cossacks, peasant women, Caucasians, Turks: ibid., 14–15, 22.

5 Nicholas enters Moscow: Bovey, 13; Kschessinska, 58. “It was agonizing”: Kschessinska, 58.

6 The procession: Bovey, 15–17; Kschessinska, 58.

7 The Red Staircase: Bovey, 21.

8 The hairdresser: Naryishkin-Kurakin, 148.

9 Down the Red Staircase: Bovey, 23–4.

10 Diamond Throne and Ivory Throne: Duncan, 165, 160.

11 Coronation ceremony: Buxhoeveden, 64–5. Chain of St. Andrew: Izvolsky, 262.

12 Nicholas’s tide: Almanach de Gotha, 79–80.

13 Nicholas preferred Monomakh’s Cap: Buxhoeveden, 64. The Imperial Crown of Russia: Alexander, 157.

14 Homage from the family: Vorres, 76.

15 Leaving the cathedral: Bovey, 25.

16 Susanin’s descendants: Buxhoeveden, 66. Scroll and menu: Bovey, 26. Nicholas and Alexandra dined alone: Vorres, 76.

17 Crown over his eyes: Bovey, 27.

18 Coronation ball: ibid., 28, 30, 40.

19 Illuminations: ibid., 33: Vorres, 77; Kschessinska, 59; Buxhoeveden, 66.

20 Khodynka Meadow: Alexander, 171–2; Bovey, 35, 36. Buxhoeveden, 67–9.

21 French tapestries and roses: Vorres, 79. “Far from being insensible”: Izvolsky, 259.

22 Balmoral in the rain: N to MF, 109–10.

23 “She is marvelously kind”: ibid., 110.

24 Poincaré, “Those of us who reached manhood”: quoted by Mansergh, 35.

25 Artificial chestnuts: Buxhoeveden, 74. Police every twenty yards: N to MF, 112.

26 The visit to France: N to MF, 112–17; Buxhoeveden, 74–6.

27 “German helmets … dark and boring”: N to MF, 117.

CHAPTER 6 THE NEW TSAR

1 “The various affairs you left me”: N to MF, 82. “Just before the ministers go on leave”: ibid., 83.

2 “I must talk to you, darling Mama”: ibid., 88–9.

3 The uncles: Alexander, 137–40. “Fast women and slow ships”: ibid., 139. Anna Karenina: Paléologue, I, 152.

4 “Bellowing of his towering uncles”: Alexander, 173.

5 Imperial estates and income: ibid., 156–63; Vorres, 94–6.

6 Nicholas preferred to be Russian: Mosolov, 19–21. Peter the Great: ibid., 16. Tsar Alexis his favorite: Izvolsky, 269. The 1903 Court Ball: Alexander, 210–11; Buxhoeveden, 98–9; Izvolsky, 264.

7 Kept his own calendar: Vyrubova, 55.

8 Nicholas ignores his aide-de-camp at Livadia: Mosolov, 14.

9 Nicholas and his ministers: Pares, 52, 59; Mosolov, 8–10.

10 A man of narrow conviction: Harcave, 50.

11 “The young Emperor … seeds of the best”: Witte, 96.

12 The Tver Zemstvo: Pares, 57; Florinsky, 1147.

13 “I am delighted”: Kaun, 134.

14 Nicholas’s unawareness of Franco-Russian alliance: Florinsky, 1141.

15 The Disarmament Conference of 1898: Florinsky, 1260–1. Witte’s view: Witte, 96–7. Bliokh’s book: Billington, 758.

16 “Nonsense and rubbish”: Tuchman, Proud Tower, 239. “Dissolving his regiments”: ibid., 241. Establishment of the Hague Court: Florinsky, 1261.

17 “The Silver Age”: Billington, 446; Florinsky, 1241–51; Mazour, 236–94. Sholom Aleichem: The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, 516–18.

18 Narodny Dom: Paléologue, II, 206–7.

19 “Eating raw ham”: MF to N, 128.

20 “A new happy event”: N to MF, 130. “We have finished War and Peace,” ibid., 132.

21 Death of Grand Duke George: Buxhoeveden, 84.

22 “Nicky was really an angel”: ibid., 87.

23 “Alix looked after me”: N to MF, 140.

24 “I long to see her dear old face”: Buxhoeveden, 90.

25 “I cannot really believe she is gone”: ibid., 90. Alexandra destroyed Victoria’s letters: ibid., 91.

26 Alexandra terrified at a ball: ibid., 58

27 Silent and cold: ibid., 58–9.

28 “The heads of the young ladies”: Vyrubova, 4; Botkin, 26.

29 The décolleté dress: Botkin, 26.

30 Ladies refuse to knit: Vyrubova, 5. The family antagonized: Buxhoeveden, 60.

31 Alexandra and Marie compared: Alexander, 169. No way to make friends: Buxhoeveden, 59.

32 To the real Russians, she was Matushka: Pares, 55.

CHAPTER 7 TWO REVOLUTIONARIES

1 Simbirsk: Kerensky, Crucifixion, 3; Fischer, 5; Payne, 47; Wolfe, I, 38.

2 “From the summit”: Kerensky, Crucifixion, 3.

3 Ilya Ulyanov: Wolfe, I, 45; Fischer, 6–8; Payne, 62. “Sadly buttoned on his official’s uniform”: Fischer, 8.

4 Chess: Fischer, 8. “Excellent in everything”: ibid., 7; Payne, 53. Ilya’s death: Fischer, 9; Payne, 62; Wolfe, I, 52.

5 Bomb inside a medical dictionary: Wolfe, I, 69; Payne, 68.

6 “I tried to kill the Tsar”: Payne, 70. “Have courage. Have courage”: Fischer, 11.

7 “The execution of such a brother”: Kerensky, Crucifixion, 6.

8 “Undoubtedly a very gifted person”: Fischer, 12. “Go and do what Mama asks”: ibid., 12.

9 Vladimir’s graduation: Wolfe, I, 60. Blue uniform: Kerensky, Crucifixion, 60.

10 “Very gifted, always neat”: ibid., 10.

11 Vladimir expelled from Kazan University: Fischer, 18. The farm: Payne, 83. “My relations with the moujiks”: Wolfe, I, 95.

12 Reading law: Payne, 82; Wolfe, I, 96. Failure as a lawyer: Payne, 89; Wolfe, I, 96. Reading Marx: Wolfe, I, 108–9; Fischer, 20.

13 To St. Petersburg: Wolfe, I, 111; Payne, 93. “Vladimir Ilyich laughed”: Fischer, 22. Vladimir abroad: Payne, 105–7.

14 False-bottomed trunk: Payne, 108. “Of course, if you start right away talking against the Tsar”: Fischer, 31.

15 Political exiles: Payne 111–13. To Shushenskoe: Fischer, 31–2; Payne, 111; Wolfe, I, 159–62.

16 Life in Shushenskoe: Fischer, 32–3; Payne, 127–8. “A tragicomic condition”: Fischer, 33.

17 “It was like living in an enchanted kingdom”: Payne, 128.

18 “The hereditary noble, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov”: Fischer, 34.

19 “Lenin”: Wolfe, I, 183.

20 “Nicholas the Bloody”: Fischer, 37.

21 London: Payne, 155–67; Fischer, 22, 38.

22 Lenin’s growing dominance: Fischer, 42–3; Payne, 170.

23 The Brussels conference: Fischer, 39. “Rats and fleas”: Wolfe, I, 286.

24 Crossed the channel: ibid., 296.

25 The split, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks: Payne, 174; Fischer, 40–1; Wolfe, I, 301–2.

26 “Of this dough, Robespierres are made”: Wolfe, I, 302.

27 “Lenin … Asiatic ‘elemental force’ “: Kerensky, Crucifixion, 13.

28 Fedor Kerensky: ibid., 58–9,

29 “From my earliest glimpses”: ibid., 59. “I see myself in early childhood”: ibid., 58.

30 “A church bell-ringer”: ibid., 61. “My youthful adoration of the Tsar”: ibid., 65. “I doubt whether higher education”: ibid., 84.

31 Narodniks and Marxists: ibid., 112. “This highly respectable pastime”: ibid., 116.

32 “It was Easter”: ibid., 162.

CHAPTER 8 THE KAISER’S ADVICE

1 The Kaiser’s encouragement of Russia’s advance in the Far East: Izvolsky, 24, 48; Pares, 67.

2 William’s appearance: Balfour, 139. His mustache: ibid., 138. His left arm: ibid., 74; Cowles, 9. His powerful grip: Balfour, 139. 86 In love with Princess Elizabeth: Cowles, 47–8.

3 “The Kaiser is like a balloon”: Balfour, 126.

4 “Nonsense!” “Lies!”: ibid., 159. A friendly smack on the backside: Mosolov, 203. “Talking all the more rapidly”: Balfour, 145. “If the Kaiser laughs”: ibid., 138.

5 “The All Highest”: Cowles, 77. African skulls: Balfour, 159.

6 “You ask how Willy was”: ibid., 111. “Picklehaube German soldier”: Cowles, 124.

7 “We are obliged to let him”: N to MF, 120. “Thank God the German visit is over”: ibid., 121.

8 Alexandra’s dislike of William: Mosolov, 203.

9 “Without the lumbering and indiscreet apparatus”: Pares, 166. “The task set us by the Lord of Lords”: ibid., 166.

10 “The people will fall on their knees”: ibid., 167. “More speeches and more parades”: Botkin, 103.

11 “It is not the friendship of France and Russia”: Mansergh, 63–4.

12 “You must know, my men”: ibid., 55. “Clearly, it is the great task of the future”: ibid., 52; Pares, 167; Balfour, 189.

13 “The Admiral of the Atlantic”: Mosolov, 203.

14 “Russia has nothing to do in the West”: Pares, History, 423.

15 “We must try to tie Russia down in East Asia”: Balfour, 189. “Glad news”: N to MF, 130.

16 “It is evident to every unbiased mind”: Pares, 168.

17 “A small victorious war”: Witte, 250. New Year’s Day, 1904: Harcave, 37.

18 “I am still in good hopes”: Mansergh, 103. “Nicholas is doing himself a lot of harm”: ibid., 104.

19 Admiral Alexeiev’s telegram: N to MF, 171–2. N’s Diary, 157.

20 “Sharp grief for the fleet”: ibid., 159.

21 The opposing armies and navies: Pares, History, 440.

22 “News of inexpressible sadness”: N’s Diary, 162.

23 “My conscience is often very troubled”: N to MF, 173.

24 Alexandra at the Winter Palace: Vyrubova, 9.

25 Rozhdestvensky’s pessimism: Kokovtsov, 46.

26 “Bless its voyage, Lord”: N’s Diary, 179.

27 Dogger Bank: Novikoff-Priboy, 26–32.

28 “The English are very angry”: N to MF, 174.

29 Buying extra battleships: Kokovtsov, 46–9.

30 Tsushima: Novikoff-Priboy, passim. Mahan, 82–4, 263–82; Florinsky, 1276; Pares, History, 445; Charques, 117.

31 Nicholas learns of Tsushima: Mosolov, 14–15.

32 “When a sewer has to be cleaned”: Kokovtsov, 53.

33 “Representative of the greatest empire on earth”: Witte, 138–9.

34 “I may say that I succeeded”: ibid., 140.

35 “Send Witte my order”: ibid., 158.

36 “Ice water instead of wine”: ibid., 144. “No culinary taste”: ibid., 151. “The most naïve judgments”: ibid., 162. “I cannot say that I liked him”: quoted by Florinsky, 1261 n.

37 “The Emperor Nicholas was morally compelled”: Witte, 161.

38 “No diplomat by profession could have done it”: Izvolsky, 24. “I am creating him a count”: N to MF, 175.

39 The Kaiser’s attitude: Kokovtsov, 391.

40 “I agree fully”: Willy-Nicky, 74–5.

41 Björkö: Cowles, 215; Balfour, 258.

42 “No longer find your emperor alive”: Cowles, 219.

43 “Your ally notoriously left you”: Willy-Nicky, 130–2.

CHAPTER 9 1905

1 Plehve: Pares, History, 408, 425.

2 Kishenev pogrom: Harcave, 35. “To the devoutly Orthodox Russians”: Sacher, 80–1.

3 “Police socialism”: Harcave, 39.

4 Father Gapon: Harcave, 66; Mazour, 352–3.

5 The Putilov strike: Harcave, 70–2. Gapon’s vision: ibid., 81, 88.

6 William Howard Taft: Tuchman, Proud Tower, 409. Theodore Roosevelt: ibid., 424.

7 “Capitalistic exploiters, crooks”: Mazour, 354–5.

8 The Blessing of the Waters: Harcave, 77–8.

9 The day before: ibid., 83–5.

10 “Troops have been brought”: N’s Diary, 207.

11 The march: Harcave, 88–9.

12 Casualty figures for Bloody Sunday: Pares, 79.

13 “And so we have no Tsar”: Mazour, 355. “Bloodstained creature” and “common murderer”: Virginia Cowles, The Gay Monarch (New York, Harper, 1956), 346.

14 “Nicholas Romanov … soul murderer”: Mazour, 356. Gapon’s death: Harcave, 95; Mazour, 357; Florinsky, 1172.

15 “A painful day”: N’s Diary, 207.

16 Witte’s suggestion: Harcave, 121. The workers at the palace: Kokovtsov, 39–40.

17 Alexandra’s letter: Buxhoeveden, 108–10.

18 Grand Duke Serge: Vyrubova, 13; Paléologue, I, 156–60. The Convent of Mary and Martha: Paléologue, I, 161.

19 “It makes me sick to read the news”: N to MF, 183.

20 The Potemkin: Harcave, 156. The October general strike: ibid., 179, 183; Charques, 124.

21 The Soviet: Pares, 85; Harcave, 188; Mazour, 358.

22 “So the ominous quiet days began”: N to MF, 184–5.

23 “I have a constitution in my head”: von Laue, 25.

24 “At the University, I worked day and night”: Witte, 13.

25 “I acquitted myself with success”: ibid., 19.

26 “It will not be an exaggeration”: ibid., 52.

27 “Fools!”: ibid., 76.

28 “She obtained her divorce”: ibid., 35.

29 “A kindly, well-bred youth”: ibid., 179.

30 “Alexandra does not lack physical charms”: ibid., 198

31 “The only man who can help you now is Witte”: MF to N, 180.

32 “I shall kill myself”: Witte, 247; Mosolov, 90; Vyrubova 26; Pares, 86.

33 The text of the October Manifesto: Harcave, 196.

34 “Three cocks were crowing at the same time”: ibid., 211.

35 “The proletariat knows”: Florinsky, 1178–9.

36 Black Hundreds: Harcave, 204.

37 Lenin in Russia: Fischer, 51. “Go ahead and shoot”: ibid., 54.

38 Nicholas’s letters on Witte: N to MF, 188, 192, 195, 211.

39 “To the Emperor of all the Russias”: Harcave, 249.

40 “You see before you the happiest of mortals”: Kokovtsov, 124.

41 “As long as I live”: N to MF, 120.

42 200,000 roubles: Kokovtsov, 332.

43 “A great never-to-be-forgotten day”: N’s Diary, 174.

44 Alexis’s birth: Vyrubova, 10. Russia celebrates: Buxhoeveden, 103.

45 His Imperial Highness: Almedingen, 80.

46 The christening: N’s Diary, quoted by Catherine Radziwill, The Taint of the Romanovs (London, Cassell, 1931), 179–80; Buxhoeveden, 104.

47 “Alix and I have been very much worried”: N’s Diary, quoted by Radziwill, op. cit., 181.

48 “There again was some blood”: ibid., 181.

49 “I have a secret conviction”: Paléologue, I, 98.

CHAPTER 10 THE TSAR’S VILLAGE

1 “Tsarskoe Selo was a world apart”: Botkin, 18.

2 The park at Tsarskoe Selo: ibid., 15–17; Alexander, 158, 163; Meriel Buchanan, 66. The Cossacks: Paléologue, I, 244.

3 Building of the palaces: Botkin, 16. A masterpiece under glass: ibid., 17.

4 Inside the palace: Almedingen, 187–8. The Imperial Guard: Paléologue, I, 243–5.

5 Palace police: Vyrubova, 158; Botkin, 62.

6 “Resplendent in snow-white garters”: Bykov, 34.

7 Court protocol: Botkin, 32.

8 “Has anything happened?”: ibid., 58.

9 “You are called”: ibid., 83.

10 Count Fredericks: Mosolov, 101, 111, 127; Vyrubova, 93. “The very personification of court life”: Paléologue, I, 20–1.

11 “Fredericks went to announce the Prince”: Botkin, 41. “Oh, I thought you were somebody else”: ibid., 41.

12 Orlov: Mosolov, 122, 163; ibid., 43–4.

13 “The enchanted little fairyland”: Botkin, 61.

14 “They were not soldiers”: Vyrubova, 9. Jim Hercules: Vorres, 26.

15 Alexandra’s routine: Vyrubova, 56, 84. Shared the same bed: Vorres, 128. The bedroom: Dehn, 66. Chapel and bathroom: ibid., 67.

16 The mauve boudoir: Vyrubova, 54, 70; Dehn, 70; Buxhoeveden, 51–2.

17 Talked in English: Vyrubova, 73.

18 “Sunny”: ibid., 59. The bird call: ibid., 3–4.

19 Alexandra’s gowns: ibid., 55. Her bath: Dehn, 66. Her hair: Vyrubova, 74. “Only rubies today”: ibid., 74.

20 “Do you really like this skirt?”: Dehn, 68.

21 Brissac: Vorres, 93. Lingerie and shoes: Dehn, 68.

22 “Advancing through the masses of greenery”: ibid., 39.

23 Dr. Botkin: Botkin, 20–30. English collies: Vyrubova, 16.

24 Father Vassiliev: Botkin, 80–1.

25 The Imperial table: Mosolov, 225–9; Almedingen, 120–1. Cubat: Vyrubova, 76.

26 “Prepare Her Majesty’s carriage”: ibid., 159. The coachman: Botkina, 8. Policemen: Vyrubova, 159. Petitions for the Tsar: Spiridovitch, I, 72. Orlov and the young girl: ibid., I, 73.

27 Tea: Vyrubova, 57–8.

28 “Although my audience was a private one”: Paléologue, I, 190.

29 “I’m afraid I’ve wearied you”: ibid., 197.

30 Evenings: Vyrubova, 58–9.

31 “Remarkably clear enunciation”: ibid., 61. The Tsar’s books: Mosolov, 31. “He could not endure the sight”: Vyrubova, 56.

32 English biscuits: Vorres, 128.

CHAPTER 11 OTMA AND ALEXIS

1 Footsteps overhead: Vyrubova, 54. The girls’ rooms and nurses: ibid., 77; Vorres, 107.

2 “Once she even forgot that Marie was in her bath”: Vorres, 107.

3 Descriptions of the four girls: Gilliard, 73–7; Buxhoeveden, 153–60; Dehn, 75–80; Vorres, 108–12; Kobylinsky, 220–1; Gibbs, in Wilton, 254–5.

4 “You must wait, Mama”: Botkin, 65.

5 “Merde”: Gilliard, 74.

6 “You felt that she was the daughter of an Emperor”: Kobylinsky, 220.

7 OTMA: Gilliard, 73.

8 “We sisters always borrow from each other”: Buxhoeveden, 159.

9 “My mother asks you to come”: Botkina, 11.

10 “May it please Your Imperial Highness”: Buxhoeveden, 158.

11 “The girls enjoyed every minute of it”: Vorres, 112.

12 “The Big Pair” and “The Little Pair”: Vyrubova, 77; Gilliard, 75.

13 Frilly dressing tables, perfumes, etc.: Dehn, 78.

14 The crippled child: Buxhoeveden, 159.

15 “Alexis was the center”: Gilliard, 72.

16 “My dear little Tsarevich”: Mosolov, 29–30.

17 First signs of hemophilia: Vyrubova, 81.

18 “Poor little Alexei fell on his forehead: MF to N, 231.

19 Orthopedic devices: Pares, 132.

20 Derevenko and Nagorny: Gilliard, 38.

21 “Lift my arm. Put up my leg”: Vyrubova, 81.

22 The strawberry episode: Mosolov, 53.

23 “He thoroughly enjoyed life”: Gilliard, 40.

24 “Derevenko says it must be so”: ibid., 85.

25 “Now girls, run away”: Dehn, 82.

26 “When the Heir to the Russian throne”: Catherine Radziwill, The Taint of the Romanovs (London, Cassell, 1931), 197. “It’s really nice of you”: Buxhoeveden, 151. “To illustrate and write the jingles”: Botkin, 76.

27 “Can’t I have my own bicycle?” Vyrubova, 81.

28 “Daredevil Reaction”: Agle, 79.

29 Bicycle on the parade ground: Told to the author by the late Mr. Oleg Rodomar, who witnessed the scene.

30 “All grownups have to go”: Botkina, 13.

31 “Great railways with dolls”: Fülöp-Miller, 82.

32 Joy: Vyrubova, 84. Vanka: Gilliard, 71.

33 The sable: Mosolov, 55–9.

34 Playmates: Vyrubova, 83–4.

35 “Luckily, his sisters liked playing with him”: Gilliard, 71.

36 “I like to think and wonder”: Radziwill, op. cit., 199.

37 “At times his visits would suddenly cease”: Gilliard, 26.

38 “Rather tall for his age”: ibid., 40. “The kind of child who can hardly bear correction”: ibid., 39.

39 Gilliard’s account: ibid., 38–43.

CHAPTER 12 A MOTHER’S AGONY

1 Prince Leopold: ibid., 257–8, 398. Bitten on the knee: Balfour, 75.

2 “Not in our family”: Longford, 235.

3 “His Royal Highness”: McKusick, 89. “The peculiar ability of the Prince to suffer severe hemorrhage”: ibid., 90.

4 Victoria’s reaction: Longford, 398. The Order of the Garter: ibid., 367.

5 “She cannot bring herself to consent”: McKusick, 90.

6 Balmoral Volunteers: Longford, 398. Slipped away to Paris: ibid., 422. Married: ibid., 447.

7 Leopold’s death: McKusick, 90. “For dear Leopold himself”: Longford, 461.

8 Frittie: McKusick, 91.

9 Drs. Otto and Nasse: ibid., 88.

10 “It is predictable”: Haldane, Sang Royal, 39.

11 “Our poor family seems persecuted”: McKusick, 88.