by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

Born in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on April 22, 1847, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich was the third of the six sons and the fourth of the eight children of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna). The most recognized claimant as the Head of the Imperial Family of Russia is through Vladimir’s line.

Vladimir had seven siblings:

• Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna (1842 – 1849), died of meningitis at the age of six
• Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich (1843 – 1865), engaged to Dagmar of Denmark (the future wife of his brother Alexander III), died of meningitis at the age of 21
• Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia (1845 – 1894), married Dagmar of Denmark (Maria Feodorovna), had issue
• Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850 – 1908), had illegitimate issue via an affair with Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya
• Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (1853 – 1920) married, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had issue
• Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1857 – 1905), married, Elisabeth of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine (Elizabeth Feodorovna), no issue
• Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (1860 – 1919), married (1) Alexandra of Greece and Denmark  (Alexandra Georgievna), had issue (2) Olga Karnovich, had issue

Alexander II and his children (left to right) Maria, Alexander II, Sergei, Alexander III, Nicholas; (left to right, standing in back) Vladimir, Alexei (Paul is not in the photo); Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of his birth, Vladimir’s grandfather Nicholas I was the Emperor of All Russia. In 1855, when he was eight-years-old, Vladimir’s grandfather died and his father became Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Along with his brothers, Vladimir was well educated by Count Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganov who played a significant role in the development of Russian education during the nineteenth century. Vladimir showed an interest in the arts and literature but like all Romanov men, he was destined for a career in the military and he enlisted in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Vladimir rose in rank until, in 1880, he was made General of the Infantry.

As the third son, Vladimir was considered distant from the throne but in 1865, the death of his eldest brother Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich at the age of 21 changed that. Vladimir was then the second in the line of succession after his elder brother Alexander, the future Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, married and had sons.

Engagement Photo: Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Vladimir: Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1871, while traveling with his family through Germany, twenty-year-old Vladimir met his seventeen-year-old second cousin Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the daughter of Friedrich Franz II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his first wife Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz. Vladimir and Marie quickly fell in love and Marie broke off her engagement with Georg Albrecht, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. However, Marie, who was Lutheran, refused to convert to Russian Orthodoxy. This caused a three-year delay in the marriage until Vladimir’s father Alexander II allowed Marie to remain Lutheran and ruled that Vladimir could still retain his succession rights. The engagement was announced in April 1874. The wedding was held at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia on August 28, 1874, After marriage, the bride was known as Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.

Marriage of Vladimir and Maria Pavlovna; Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir and Maria had five children:

• Grand Duke Alexander Vladimirovich (1875 – 1877), died in early childhood
• Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (1876 – 1938), married his first cousin Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had three children
• Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich (1877 – 1943), married (1919) his mistress Zinaida Rashevskaya, no children
• Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich (1879 – 1956), married (1921) his mistress, the famous ballerina Matilde Kschessinskaya (known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya after her marriage), her son Prince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky could be the son of Andrei or his cousin Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich
• Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna (1882 – 1957), married Prince Nicholas of Greece, had three daughters including Princess Marina of Greece who married Prince George, Duke of Kent, son of King George V of the United Kingdom

Grand Duke Vladimir’s family in 1899, from left to right: Grand Duke Andrei, Grand Duke Vladimir, Grand Duchess Elena, Grand Duke Kirill, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, and Grand Duke Boris; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Vladimir and Maria moved into the new 360-room Vladimir Palace on the Palace Embankment facing the Neva River just down the road from the Winter Palace. The yellow facade of the palace is in the Florentine Renaissance style and the interior is a mixture of Moorish, Gothic and Rococo styles. It was the last imperial palace built in St. Petersburg. Across the Neva River was a view of the Peter and Paul Fortress and within the Fortress, the Peter and Paul Cathedral with its gilded spire with a flying angel at the very top. Vladimir and Maria enjoyed entertaining and Vladimir Palace became the heart of St. Petersburg’s social life. Today the building is the home of the Russian Academy of Science.

Vladimir Palace; Photo Credit – Von A.Savin (Wikimedia Commons · WikiPhotoSpace) – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21506331

On March 13, 1881, Vladimir’s father Alexander II fell victim to assassination when a bomb was thrown into his carriage. He asked to be returned to the Winter Palace to die. For 45 minutes, those in the room watched as Alexander II’s life ebbed away. Vladimir’s older brother succeeded Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia. Because he had retained his composure, Vladimir was the one to announce his father’s death to the public. The heir to the throne was Alexander III’s eldest son 13-year-old Nicholas (the future Nicholas II). Vladimir was appointed regent in the event of the death of Alexander III before Nicholas had reached the age of majority.

Always interested in the arts, Vladimir was a talented painter and had a valuable collection of ancient paintings and icons. He also had a great interest in ballet and financed ballet impresario Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev’s ballet troupe’s tour of Russia. Vladimir was appointed the president of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts and was a trustee of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum. He presided over the commission for the construction of the beautiful Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood, built on the site where his father Alexander II was fatally wounded by a bomb.

Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

In 1894, Vladimir’s brother Alexander III became ill with nephritis, a kidney disorder. Alexander’s condition rapidly deteriorated and he died on November 1, 1894, at the age of 49. His 26-year-old son Nicholas became the last Emperor of All Russia, and married Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (Alexandra Feodorova) just eight days after Alexander III was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

From 1884 – 1905, Vladimir served as commander-in-chief of the Preobrazhensky Guards and the St. Petersburg Military District. In January 1905, workers’ strikes broke out in St. Petersburg. On January 22, 1905, a peaceful procession of thousands of workers carrying religious icons and singing “God Save the Tsar” was led by a priest, Father Georgy Apollonovich Gapon. The workers marched towards the Winter Palace hoping to present their request for reforms directly to Emperor Nicholas II. However, Nicholas was at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, outside St. Petersburg.

The Preobrazhensky Guards were ordered to use military force to prevent the workers from reaching the Winter Palace. Official records showed 96 dead and 333 injured while anti-government sources claimed more than 4,000 dead. More moderate estimates are that 1,000 were killed or wounded, both from being shot and being trampled during the panic. It is unclear if Vladimir was the one who gave the order to use military force but nevertheless, his reputation was tarnished.

Bloody Sunday in 1905 by Wojciech Kossak; Credit – Wikipedia

The massacre, known as Bloody Sunday, was followed by a series of strikes in other cities, peasant uprisings, and mutinies in the armed forces, all of which seriously threatened the imperial regime and became known as the Revolution of 1905. A month after Bloody Sunday, Vladimir’s brother Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Governor-General of Moscow, was killed by a terrorist bomb while driving in his carriage, just like his father Alexander II.

Later in 1905, Vladimir’s eldest son Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich married his first cousin, Princess Victoria Melita of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in Germany. Victoria Melita was the daughter of Prince Alfred of the United Kingdom, Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (second son of Queen Victoria) and Vladimir’s sister Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. Because Kirill married his first cousin, which was prohibited by the Russian Orthodox Church, and because he had not received the consent of Nicholas II to marry, he was stripped of his imperial titles, military appointments, and funding. The couple was banished from Russia and settled in France. Vladimir went into a rage after a brief interview with his nephew Nicholas II and resigned from all his posts in the army.

Grand Duke Vladimir; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

On February 17, 1909, 61-year-old Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich died suddenly at Vladimir Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia after suffering a major cerebral hemorrhage. Three days later, his body was transported from Vladimir Palace across the Neva River to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress. His funeral and burial, held on February 21, 1909, was attended by Nicholas II, Vladimir’s widow Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, other members of the Imperial Family, government ministers, and Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich was buried in the Grand Ducal Mausoleum, adjacent to the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Grand Ducal Mausoleum; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

In 1909, following several deaths within the Imperial Family including Vladimir’s, Kirill was third in line to the Russian throne after Nicholas II’s hemophiliac son Alexei and Nicholas’ younger brother Michael. Nicholas II relented and allowed Kirill to return to Russia, restoring his Imperial titles, his military positions, and his funding. Following the abdication of Nicholas II in 1917, Kirill and his family left Russia. They settled first in Finland, before moving to Munich, Germany, and then Zurich, Switzerland. Eventually, they settled permanently in Saint-Briac, France.

Bolstered by a group of supporters and the laws of the former Imperial Family, under which Kirill was the rightful heir to the throne, Kirill declared himself Emperor of All Russia on August 31, 1924. This claim was later taken by his son Vladimir Kirillovich, and then by Vladimir Kirillovich’s only child Maria Vladimirovna, who declared herself Head of the Imperial House in 1992.  Maria Vladimirovna is the most widely acknowledged claimant to the headship of the Imperial Family of Russia.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duke_Vladimir_Alexandrovich_of_Russia [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].
• Fr.wikipedia.org. (2018). Vladimir Alexandrovitch de Russie. [online] Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Alexandrovitch_de_Russie [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Владимир Александрович. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/alexander-ii-emperor-of-all-the-russias/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/grand-duke-kirill-vladimirovich-of-russia/ [Accessed 24 Feb. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

Although he was born to succeed his father as Emperor of All Russia, it was not to be. Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich was born on September 20, 1843, at Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo near St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the eldest of the six sons and the second of the eight children of Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Maria Alexandrovna). Nicknamed Nixa, he was named after his grandfather Nicholas I who was Emperor of All Russia at the time of his birth. According to the memoirs of his aunt Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, Nicholas I was so moved that his grandson, now second in the line of succession, was given his name that he ordered his three youngest sons to kneel before the newborn Nicholas’ cradle and swear an oath of allegiance to him.

Nicholas had seven siblings:

• Grand Duchess Alexandra Alexandrovna (1842 – 1849), died of meningitis at the age of six
• Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia (1845 – 1894), married Dagmar of Denmark (Maria Feodorovna), had issue
• Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich (1847 – 1909), married Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Maria Pavlovna), had issue
• Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich (1850 – 1908), had illegitimate issue via an affair with Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya
• Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (1853 – 1920) married, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, had issue
• Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (1857 – 1905), married, Elisabeth of Hesse of Hesse and by Rhine (Elizabeth Feodorovna), no issue
• Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich (1860 – 1919), married (1) Alexandra of Greece and Denmark (Alexandra Georgievna), had issue (2) Olga Valerianovna Karnovich, had issue

Alexander II and his children (left to right) Maria, Alexander II, Sergei, Alexander III, Nicholas; (left to right, standing in back) Vladimir, Alexei (Paul is not in the photo); Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas’ tutors thought him to be intelligent and humane and saw him as the ideal person to be Emperor of All Russia. He was closest to his next brother Alexander, the future Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, who was two years younger. In 1855, when he was twelve-years-old, Nicholas’ grandfather died. His father became Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia and Nicholas became Tsesarevich, the title of the heir apparent to the Russian throne.

In 1860, Count Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganov became Nicholas’ tutor. Stroganov played a significant role in the development of Russian education during the nineteenth century. In the early 1860s, Nicholas, accompanied by Stroganov, made exploratory trips around Russia to prepare him for his future role as Emperor of All Russia. Starting in 1863, Boris Nikolayevich Chicherin, professor of law, instructed Nicholas in governmental matters. Chicherin’s assessment of Nicholas was that he showed the promise to become the most educated and liberal monarch, not only in Russian history but all over the world.

Unfortunately, Nicholas’ travels and the harsh Russian climate were hard on him physically. He increasingly complained of back pain. The doctors could not agree on the cause of the pain. Some said the pain was caused by an injury to Nicholas’ spine when he fell off his horse and others suspected some kind of rheumatic Illness.

Princess Dagmar of Denmark had been on the list of possible brides for Nicholas since she was twelve-years-old when Nicholas had been given a photo of her. Her Highness Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, known as Princess Dagmar and called Minnie in her family, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1847. Dagmar was the daughter of Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Princess Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Prince Christian became heir to the childless King Frederik VII of Denmark in 1852. In 1853, he was given the title Prince of Denmark and his children then became Princes and Princesses of Denmark. Christian succeeded to the Danish throne in 1863 and reigned as King Christian IX. Dagmar’s sister was Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Her eldest brother would succeed their father as King Frederik VIII of Denmark. In 1852, another brother had been elected King of Greece and reigned as King George I.

Nicholas and Dagmar, Summer 1864; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1864, Nicholas was to visit the Danish Royal Family at Fredensborg Palace in Denmark during a European tour. Nicholas had fallen in love with her after seeing her photo and had been collecting photos of her since he had received that first photo in 1860. During an afternoon walk on September 28, 1864, Nicholas proposed to Dagmar. The newly betrothed couple spent a couple of idyllic weeks together before Nicholas had to leave for Germany and Italy.

One cloud over Dagmar’s happiness was her concern for Nicholas’ health. She was aware of the fall from his horse and of the pain he was experiencing in his spine. When the couple had been riding together in Denmark, Nicholas was forced to slow down because of the pain in his back. On November 22, 1864, Nicholas arrived in Florence, Italy where he was bedridden for six weeks.

On January 1, 1865, Nicholas traveled to Nice, France where his mother was spending the winter. Empress Maria Alexandrovna thought the climate of the French Rivera was beneficial to her health and so she hoped it would benefit her son’s health. Nicholas and Dagmar corresponded but as his condition worsened his letters to Dagmar arrived less frequently. On April 7, 1865, Dagmar wrote that she could not understand why she had not heard from him since March 20. She joked that perhaps he had fallen in love with a beautiful Italian girl and had forgotten about her.

On April 17, 1865, the Danish Royal Family received a telegram saying that Nicholas’ condition had deteriorated. He had suddenly become nervous, feverish, and complained of blurred vision. Nicholas then suffered a cerebral hemorrhage leaving one side of his body temporarily paralyzed. After six doctors consulted with each other, they determined that Nicholas had cerebrospinal meningitis and that his condition was serious. It was the same disease that had claimed the life of his elder sister Alexandra Alexandrovna when she was just six years old.

Another telegram arrived a few hours later with the news that Nicholas had been given the Last Rites. Dagmar and her mother prepared to leave for Nice and at the same time, Alexander II and his sons Vladimir and Alexis left Russia. Nicholas’ next brother Alexander was already on his way to Nice. All the regular passenger trains were stopped to allow the royal trains to pass.

Within a few days, Dagmar was sitting by the bed of her dying fiancé. A doctor arrived from Vienna on April 23, 1865, and confirmed the diagnosis of cerebrospinal meningitis. There is an uncorroborated story that shortly before he died, Nicholas clasped together the hands of Dagmar and his brother Alexander, begging them to marry. The couple did marry in 1866 and had six children including Nicholas II, the last Emperor of All Russia, who was named in honor of his deceased uncle.

Death of Nicholas Alexandrovich; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 24, 1865, Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia died at the age of 21 at the Villa Belmont in Nice, France. After an Orthodox Mass in the room where Nicholas had died, his coffin was carried by torchlight for a funeral service at the Church of St. Nicholas and St. Alexandra which had been built in Nice to honor the deceased Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, Nicholas’ grandparents. On April 28, 1865, Nicholas’ coffin was placed on board the Russian frigate Alexander Nevsky and transported to St. Petersburg, Russia where he was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral near his sister Alexandra Alexandrovna, and later his parents.

The green and pink tombs are those of Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna. The two white tombs on the left side are those of their children Alexandra Alexandrovna and Nicholas Alexandrovich; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Nicholas’ parents bought the grounds and villa in which their son had died. They tore down the villa and built a memorial chapel in the exact location where Nicholas’ deathbed had been.

Nicholas’ memorial chapel in Nice, France; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Alexandrowitsch_Romanow_(1843%E2%80%931865) [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Alexandrovich,_Tsesarevich_of_Russia
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Nicholas Alexandrovich, Tsesarevich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Alexandrovich,_Tsesarevich_of_Russia [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].
• Hall, Coryne. (2006). Little Mother of Russia – A Biography of Empress Marie Feodorovna. Teaneck, N.J.: Holmes & Meier.

• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Dagmar of Denmark, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dagmar-of-denmark-empress-maria-feodorovna/ [Accessed 22 Feb. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich in 1913; Credit – Wikipedia

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

Tsesarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, the long-awaited son and heir to the Russian throne, was finally born on August 12, 1904, at Peterhof Palace near St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the only son and the youngest of the five children of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna). Alexei was christened in the Peterhof Palace church on September 3, 1904. He had an impressive set of godparents:

• Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia, his paternal grandmother
• Wilhelm II, German Emperor, his mother’s maternal first cousin
• King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, his mother’s maternal uncle
• King Christian IX of Denmark, his paternal great-grandfather
• Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse and by Rhine, his maternal uncle
• Victoria Melita, former Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine, his mother’s maternal first cousin
• Great Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia, his paternal great uncle
• Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia, wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia
• Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich of Russia, son of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia

Alexei in 1904; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Alexei had four older sisters:

• Grand Duchess Olga (1895-1918)
• Grand Duchess Tatiana (1897-1918)
• Grand Duchess Maria (1899-1918)
• Grand Duchess Anastasia (1901-1918)

See Unofficial Royalty: Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, Grand Duchesses of Russia

Alexei with his sister Anastasia in 1909 – If he did not feel well because of his hemophilia, Anastasia was the one who was able to distract him from his pain and cheer him up; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexei’s mother Empress Alexandra, born Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, was the daughter of Grand Duke Ludwig IV of Hesse and by Rhine and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Before Alexei’s birth, Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold, two of her grandsons, and two of her great-grandsons had been born with hemophilia, a genetic disease that prevents the blood from clotting properly. One of the grandsons was Empress Alexandra’s brother Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine (Frittie) who died of a brain hemorrhage at age 2 ½ after falling out a low window to the ground below. Therefore, there was a risk that Empress Alexandra was a hemophilia carrier. Even before Alexei was two months old, when he suffered severe bleeding from his navel, it was evident that he too had been born with hemophilia. After Alexei’s birth, three more great-grandsons of Queen Victoria would also be diagnosed with the disease.

• Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants

Alexei and his mother; Credit – Wikipedia

In 2009, DNA analysis done on the remains of Empress Alexandra, Alexei, and his sister Anastasia, the only sister who was a carrier, revealed that Alexei suffered from the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas Disease. Throughout his short life, Alexei suffered greatly. Every bruise that caused the rupture of even the tiniest blood vessel resulted in internal, continuous bleeding. Slowly the blood seeped into the surrounding muscles and other tissues and a painful hematoma the size of a large apple formed. Alexei also constantly suffered from hemorrhages in the joints. The blood accumulates in the closed space of the elbow, knee, and ankle joints. This causes pressure on the nerve, resulting in severe pain. Eventually, this resulted in some destruction of bones, tendons, and other tissues.

Alexei was intelligent but his education was often interrupted by the effects of his hemophilia. However, he made progress in his studies, particularly with languages. Alexei was always accompanied by one of two sailors, Andrei Derevenko or Klementy Nagorny, whose job was to minimize the risk of injury. Alexei was a naturally active child but was prohibited from riding a bicycle or playing too roughly.

Alexei with sailor Andrei Derevenko aboard the Imperial yacht Standart in 1908; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexei’s illness was guarded as a state secret in his early years until Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Empress Alexandra’s first cousin, discovered it on a visit to Russia. A large bruise on Alexei’s forehead did not disappear during Wilhelm’s visit. Wilhelm was very well acquainted with hemophilia, as two sons of his brother Heinrich also suffered from it. Heinrich had married Empress Alexandra’s sister Irene and it was through their mother that Heinrich’s sons got hemophilia.

Nicholas, Alexandra, and their five children lived mostly at Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, a short distance from St. Petersburg, where they occupied only a part of the several dozen rooms. The children spoke English with their mother, Russian with their father, German with their mother’s relatives, and also learned French.

Alexei and sailor Klementy Nagorny  at the Finnish skerries, Tuuholmi Island, circa 1911; Credit – Wikipedia

In the middle of June, the family went on trips on the Imperial yacht Standart, usually sailing through the Finnish skerries, small rocky islands too small for human habitation. During the summer, the family would spend some time at Livadia Palace in the Crimea on the Black Sea. There the family bathed in the warm sea, built sandcastles, and sometimes went into the city to ride or walk through the streets and visit shops. They could never have such freedom in St. Petersburg where their appearance would create a big commotion.

Empress Alexandra with Rasputin, her children, and governess Maria Vishnyakova; Credit – Wikipedia

After working with many physicians to help Alexei, Empress Alexandra turned to mystics and faith healers. This led to her close, and disastrous, relationship with Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. Several times he appeared to have brought Alexei back from the brink of death, further cementing Alexandra’s reliance. There were many rumors about Rasputin’s relationship with Alexandra and her children. Rasputin’s friendship with the children was evident in some of the messages he sent to them. While Rasputin’s visits to the children were, by all accounts, completely innocent in nature, the family was scandalized. To many historians and experts, the Imperial Family’s relationship with Rasputin would contribute greatly to the fall of the Russian monarchy.

• Unofficial Royalty: Murder of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin

The reign of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia would see the first Russian Constitution in 1906 which established a parliament of sorts but his reign also saw a steady decline in his popularity and support. Nicholas’ decision to fully mobilize the Russian troops in 1914 led to Russia’s entrance into World War I. By 1917, his authority had diminished, and on March 15, 1917, he was forced from the throne. He formally abdicated for himself and Alexei, making his younger brother Michael the new Emperor. Michael refused to accept until the Russian people decided whether to continue the monarchy or establish a republic. Of course, this never happened.

Nicholas and Alexei cut wood in captivity at Tobolsk during the winter of 1917; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas returned to the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo where he and his family were held in protective custody. A few months later, in August, the family was moved to the city of Tobolsk, where they lived in the Governor’s Mansion under heavy guard. Their final move, in April 1918, was to Yekaterinburg where they were housed in the Ipatiev House, known as the “house of special purpose.” It was here, in the early hours of July 17, 1918, that Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexei, the family doctor Dr. Yevgeny Botkin, the maid Anna Demidova, the cook Ivan Kharitonov, and the footman Alexei Trupp were killed by the Bolsheviks who had come to power during the Russian Revolution. Their bodies were initially thrown down a mine, but fearing discovery, they were mutilated and hastily buried beneath some tracks.

• Unofficial Royalty: July 17, 1918 – Execution by Firing Squad of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and His Family

In 1934, Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House, produced an account of the execution and disposal of the bodies. His account later matched the remains of nine bodies found north of Yekaterinburg in 1991. In 1994, when the bodies of the Romanovs were exhumed, two were missing – one daughter, either Maria or Anastasia, and Alexei. The remains of the nine bodies recovered were confirmed as those of the three servants, Dr. Botkin, Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their daughters. The remains of Olga and Tatiana were identified based on the expected skeletal structure of young women of their age. The remains of the third daughter were either Maria or Anastasia.

Icon of the Romanov Family; Credit – By Aliksandar – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45616224

The family and their servants were canonized as new martyrs in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1981, and as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. Formal burial of Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Dr. Botkin, and the three servants took place on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths, in St. Catherine Chapel at the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Saint Petersburg, the traditional burial place of the Romanovs.

On August 24, 2007, a Russian team of archaeologists announced that they had found the remains of Alexei and his missing sister. In 2009, DNA and skeletal analysis identified the remains found in 2007 as Alexei and his sister Maria. The remains of Alexei and Maria have not yet been buried. The Russian Orthodox Church has questioned whether the remains are authentic and blocked the burial.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Alexei Nikolajewitsch Romanow. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Nikolajewitsch_Romanow [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Nikolaevich,_Tsarevich_of_Russia [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Алексей Николаевич. [online] Available at:https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87  [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). 100 Years Ago: Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia Abdicates. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/100-years-ago-tsar-nicholas-ii-of-russia-abdicates/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of All Russia. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/princess-alix-of-hesse-and-by-rhine-empress-alexandra-feodorovna-of-russia/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Execution by firing squad of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia and His Family. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/july-17-daily-featured-royal-date/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Nicholas II of Russia, Emperor of All Russia. [online] Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/tsar-nicholas-ii-of-russia/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Unofficial Royalty. (2018). Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, Grand Duchesses of Russia. [online] Available at https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/daughters-of-emperor-nicholas-ii-olga-tatiana-maria-and-anastasia/ [Accessed 15 Feb. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia in 1916; Credit – Wikipedia

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

They were known collectively as OTMA – the group nickname they made up for themselves from the first letter of each sister’s name in the order of their births. Five and a half years apart from the oldest to the youngest, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia were the four eldest of the five children of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia and Alix of Hesse and by Rhine (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna). Their younger brother Alexei was the heir to the Russian throne. The five children were great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Their mother was the daughter of Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. It was through the descent from Queen Victoria that hemophilia came into the Russian Imperial Family. Alexei inherited hemophilia through his mother and we know from the DNA analysis of the family’s remains, that Anastasia was also a carrier.

The four sisters shared the same patronymic – Nikolaevna – their second name derived from the father’s first name Nicholas, meaning daughter of Nicholas. They shared the same title – Velikaia Knazhna (in Russian: Великая Княжна) meaning Grand Princess, commonly translated into English as Grand Duchess. It was the title of daughters and male-line granddaughters of Emperors of Russia and wives of Grand Dukes of Russia.

The four sisters had a close relationship – they grew up together, shared experiences together, and died together – so this article will be a collective biography, after some information about each sister.

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia

Olga in 1914; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Olga was a big baby, 10 pounds/4.5 kg, and caused her mother some trouble during delivery. She was born on November 15, 1895, at Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, located just south of St. Petersburg, Russia, where Alexander Palace and the larger Catherine Palace, the two summer palaces, are located. Olga was christened eleven days after her birth, on her parents’ first wedding anniversary, at the church in the Catherine Palace, with her paternal grandmother Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark) and her paternal great-uncle Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich as her godparents.

In September 1896, Olga traveled with her parents to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to visit her great-grandmother Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Seated: Empress Alexandra Feodorova, Olga on her lap, Queen Victoria; Standing: Emperor Nicholas II, The Prince of Wales (future King Edward VII); Photo Credit – by Robert Milne, bromide print on card mount, September 1896 © National Portrait Gallery, London

Olga was the closest with her sister Tatiana, born in 1897. The two sisters were dressed alike, shared a room, and were known as “The Big Pair.” Olga was kind and sympathetic. She felt deeply about people’s misfortunes and always tried to help. Olga liked to read more than her sisters and also wrote poetry. Pierre Gilliard, the French tutor of Olga and her sisters, noted that Olga learned her lessons better and faster than her sisters but she could become lazy when things were too easy. Her mother’s friend Anna Vyrubova recalled that Olga had a hot temper and struggled to keep it under control.

Because Olga reached her teens before World War I, there was talk about a marriage for her. The most serious talk was about a marriage between Olga and Prince Carol of Romania (the future King Carol II), the son of King Ferdinand I of Romania and Queen Marie, born a British princess and a first cousin of Olga’s mother. During a visit in 1914 to Romania, Olga did not like Carol, while Carol’s mother Queen Marie was unimpressed with Olga. Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VIII) and Crown Prince Alexander of Serbia (the future King Alexander I of Yugoslavia) were also mentioned as potential husbands. Olga wanted to marry a Russian and remain in her own country. When World War I started, any marriage talk was postponed.

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia

Tatiana in 1914; Credit – Wikipedia

Tatiana was born June 10, 1897, at Peterhof Palace near St. Petersburg. Like her older sister Olga, she was named after a character in Alexander Pushkin’s classic Russian novel Eugene Onegin.  Tatiana was christened on June 20, 1897, at the Peterhof Palace church. Her godparents were her paternal grandmother Empress Maria Feodorovna (born Princess Dagmar of Denmark), her great-great-uncle and a son of Nicholas I, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, and her paternal aunt Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna

Footman Alexei Trupp (who was killed with the family) and Tatiana, 1902; Credit – Wikipedia

Tatiana, like her sister Olga, was a good student but worked harder and was more dedicated. She had a great talent for sewing, embroidery, and crocheting. Tatiana was practical, had a natural talent for leadership, and so she was nicknamed “The Governess” by her sisters. She was closer to her mother than any of her sisters and was considered by many to be Empress Alexandra’s favorite daughter. Therefore, Tatiana was the one sent as the sisters’ representative when they wanted something from their parents.

Empress Alexandra with her daughters, circa 1908; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In 1914, Tatiana, while nursing in a hospital, met an injured army officer, Dmitri Yakovlevich Malama, who was later appointed an equerry to the court at Tsarskoye Selo. A romance developed between the two and Malama presented Tatiana with a French bulldog named Ortipo. When the dog died, Malama gave Tatiana another dog which was taken into captivity and was killed along with the family. Apparently, Tatiana’s mother approved of Malama. She wrote in a letter to her husband Nicholas II about Malama: “I must admit that he would be an excellent son-in-law – why are foreign princes different from him?” World War I stopped any further development of the relationship. After the Bolsheviks came to power, Malama joined the White Army and was killed in 1919 in Ukraine while commanding a unit of the White Army in the civil war against the Bolsheviks.

Tatiana Nikolaevna wearing a Red Cross nursing uniform and Dmitri Yakovlevich Malama; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In January 1914, the Serbian Prime Minister delivered a letter from King Peter I of Serbia to Nicholas II, in which King Peter expressed his desire for his son Alexander to marry Tatiana. This is the same Alexander (see above) who was also mentioned as a possible husband for Olga. Nicholas II invited Peter I and his son Alexander to Russia where Tatiana and Alexander met. However, the marriage negotiations ended with the outbreak of World War I. Tatiana and Alexander wrote letters to each other until her death. When Alexander learned about the murder of Tatiana, he was extremely distraught.

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia

Maria in 1914; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Maria was born at Peterhof Palace near St. Petersburg on June 26, 1899. The pregnancy had been difficult for Empress Alexandra and she spent the last months in a wheelchair. During the birth, there were fears for the lives of both the mother and the baby. Maria was christened at the church in Peterhof Palace on July 10, 1899, with a large group of godparents: her paternal grandmother Empress Maria Feodorovna, her paternal uncle Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, her paternal second cousin once removed Prince George of Greece (son of King George I of Greece and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna of Russia), her maternal aunt Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (born Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine, wife of Nicholas II’ uncle Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich), her great-great-aunt by marriage Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (born Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, wife of Grand Duke Konstantine Nikolaevich), and her maternal great-uncle Prince Heinrich of Hesse and by Rhine.

Maria and Anastasia aboard the Imperial yacht Standart, circa 1911; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria was closest to her younger sister Anastasia and the two sisters were called “The Little Pair.” The two younger sisters shared a room, often wore variations of the same dress, and spent much of their time together. Anastasia was enthusiastic and energetic and often dominated Maria who felt she had to apologize for Anastasia’s antics. Her sisters often took advantage of her kindheartedness. As more or less, the middle child, Maria sometimes felt insecure and left out by her older sisters and feared she was not loved as much as the other children.

Maria in the schoolroom in 1909; Credit – Wikipedia

Taking after her paternal grandfather Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia, Maria was strong and broad-boned and had problems with being overweight which worried her mother. The sisters’ English teacher Charles Sydney Gibbes remarked that Maria was surprisingly strong, and sometimes, for the sake of joking, she easily lifted him from the floor. Maria was not interested in schoolwork but had a talent for drawing and sketching.

Maria enjoyed flirting with the young soldiers she encountered at the palace and on family holidays. She particularly loved children and said she would love nothing more than to marry a Russian soldier and have twenty children. When an engagement between Olga and Crown Prince Carol of Romania did not materialize, Carol asked for Maria’s hand but her parents refused because they considered Maria too young.

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg, a maternal uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh) was a son of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna’s eldest sister Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. In his childhood, Lord Mountbatten was close to his aunt Alexandra’s children, his first cousins. At a very young age, he began a “lifelong love affair” with Maria and kept a framed photo of her by his bed until he, like his Romanov first cousins, was also violently murdered. He wrote about Maria: “I was mad about her, and determined to marry her. You could not imagine anyone more beautiful than she was!”

Lord Mountbatten kept this photo of Maria from 1914 (on the left) by his bed, until his own violent death in 1979 when he was murdered by the Irish Republican Army in a bomb explosion.

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia

Anastasia in 1918; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Anastasia was born on June 18, 1901, at Peterhof Palace near St. Petersburg. She was named in honor of Princess Anastasia of Montenegro, a close friend of Anastasia’s mother, who married twice, both times to two grandsons of Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia. There was, once again, disappointment that Empress Alexandra had not given birth to a boy. In 1797, Paul I, Emperor of All Russia proclaimed a new succession law that stated that the eldest son of the emperor shall inherit the throne followed by other dynasts according to primogeniture in the male line. The throne could only pass to a female and through the female-line upon the extinction of all legitimately-born male dynasts.

Photograph taken on the occasion of Anastasia’s christening; Empress Alexandra is dressed in mourning due to the death of her grandmother Queen Victoria earlier in the year; Credit – Wikipedia

The energetic and fearless Anastasia liked to play tricks, had a great acting talent, and enjoyed mimicking other people. “She undoubtedly held the record for punishable deeds in her family, for in naughtiness she was a true genius”, said Gleb Botkin, son of the court physician Yevgeny Botkin, who died with the family at Yekaterinburg.

Maria and Anastasia making faces for the camera, circa 1915; Credit – Wikipedia

Anastasia received an education from tutors and studied French, English, German, history, geography, religion, science, grammar, mathematics, drawing, dancing, and music. While she was intelligent, Anastasia did not like the strict structure of her education. Her English teacher Charles Sydney Gibbes recalled that Anastasia once tried to bribe him to raise her grade with a bouquet of flowers. After he refused, she attempted to do the same thing with her Russian teacher.

Anastasia with her brother Alexei in 1909; Credit – Wikipedia

Anastasia had a close relationship with her younger brother Alexei. If he did not feel well because of his hemophilia, Anastasia was the one who was able to distract him from his pain and cheer him up.

Family Life

Russian Imperial family (circa 1913-1914); Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas, Alexandra, and their five children lived mostly at Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, a short distance from St. Petersburg, where they occupied only a part of the several dozen rooms. Sometimes they moved to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, even though it was very large and very cold, and Tatiana and Anastasia were often sick there. The children spoke English with their mother, Russian with their father, German with their mother’s relatives, and also learned French.

Nicholas II with his daughters Tatiana, Maria, Olga, and Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia aboard the Imperial yacht Standart in 1914; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

In the middle of June, the family went on trips on the Imperial yacht Standart, usually sailing through the Finnish skerries, small rocky islands, too small for human habitation. During the summer, the family would spend some time at Livadia Palace in the Crimea on the Black Sea. There the family bathed in the warm sea, built sandcastles, and sometimes went into the city to ride or walk through the streets and visit shops. They could never have such freedom in St. Petersburg where their appearance would create a big commotion.

Anastasia, Olga, Alexei, lady-in-waiting Margarita Sergeevna Khitrovo and Maria on the beach of the Black Sea in 1916; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Family life was intentionally not as luxurious as we would imagine. Nicholas and Alexandra were afraid that wealth would spoil their children’s character. The four sisters got up at eight in the morning and took a cold bath. The two elder sisters shared a room as did the two younger sisters. The sisters slept on folding army cots, labeled by the owner’s name, under thick blue blankets decorated with the owner’s monogram. The tradition of sleeping on folding army cots was started by Catherine the Great for her grandsons. The army cots could easily be moved closer to the heat in winter, closer to open windows in the summer, next to the Christmas tree, or in the brother’s room. The walls of their rooms were decorated with icons and photographs.

Last Years

Maria, Olga, Anastasia, and Tatiana in captivity at Tsarskoe Selo in the spring of 1917; Credit – Wikipedia

Having had four daughters, Empress Alexandra felt great pressure to provide an heir. Finally, in 1904, she gave birth to a son, Alexei. However, it would soon become apparent that she was a carrier of hemophilia, and her young son was a sufferer. This would cause great pain to Alexandra, and great measures were taken to protect him from harm and to hide the illness from the Russian people. When it eventually became public knowledge, it led to more dislike for Alexandra, with many Russian people blaming her for the heir’s illness. See Unofficial Royalty: Hemophilia in Queen Victoria’s Descendants.

After working with many physicians to help Alexei, Empress Alexandra turned to mystics and faith healers. This led to her close, and disastrous, relationship with Grigori Rasputin. Several times he appeared to have brought Alexei back from the brink of death, further cementing Alexandra’s reliance. There were many rumors about Rasputin’s relationship with Alexandra and her children. Rasputin’s friendship with the children was evident in some of the messages he sent to them. While Rasputin’s visits to the children were, by all accounts, completely innocent, the family was scandalized. To many historians and experts, the Imperial Family’s relationship with Rasputin would contribute greatly to the fall of the Russian monarchy. For more information see Unofficial Royalty: Murder of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin.

Empress Alexandra with Rasputin, her children, and governess Maria Vishnyakova; Credit – Wikipedia

The reign of Nicholas II, Emperor of All Russia would see the first Russian Constitution in 1906 which established a parliament of sorts, however, his reign also saw a steady decline in his popularity and support. Nicholas’ decision to fully mobilize the Russian troops in 1914 led to Russia’s entry into World War I. By 1917, his authority had diminished, and on March 15, 1917, he was forced from the throne. Nicholas formally abdicated for himself and his son, making his younger brother Michael the new Emperor. However, Michael refused to accept until the Russian people could decide on continuing the monarchy or establishing a republic. This never happened.

Nicholas and his children sit in front of a fence and a greenhouse during their captivity in Tobolsk: (l-r) Tatiana, Olga, son of a servant, Alexei, Nicholas, and Anastasia; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas returned to the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo where he and his family were held in protective custody. A few months later, in August, the family was moved to the city of Tobolsk, where they lived in the Governor’s Mansion under heavy guard. Their final move, in April 1918, was to Yekaterinburg where they were housed in the Ipatiev House, known as the “house of special purpose.” It was here, in the early hours of July 17, 1918, that Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, Alexei, the family doctor Dr. Yevgeny Botkin, the maid Anna Demidova, the cook Ivan Kharitonov, and the footman Alexei Trupp were killed by the Bolsheviks who had come to power during the Russian Revolution. Their bodies were initially thrown down a mine, but fearing discovery, they were mutilated and hastily buried beneath some tracks. For more information, see

• Unofficial Royalty: July 17, 1918 – Execution by Firing Squad of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and His Family

Discovery of Remains and Burial

In 1934, Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Ipatiev House, produced an account of the execution and disposal of the bodies. His account later matched the remains of nine bodies found north of Yekaterinburg in 1991. In 1994, when the bodies of the Romanovs were exhumed, two were missing – one daughter, either Maria or Anastasia, and Alexei. The remains of the nine bodies recovered were confirmed as those of the three servants, Dr. Botkin, Nicholas, Alexandra, and three of their daughters. The remains of Olga and Tatiana were identified based on the expected skeletal structure of young women of their age. The remains of the third daughter were either Maria or Anastasia.

Icon of the Romanov Family; Credit – By Aliksandar – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45616224

The family and their servants were canonized as new martyrs in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia in 1981, and as passion bearers in the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000. Formal burial of Nicholas, Alexandra, Olga, Tatiana, Anastasia, Dr. Botkin, and the three servants took place on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths, in the St. Catherine Chapel at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia, many Romanov family members, and family members of Dr. Botkin and the servants attended the ceremony. Prince Michael of Kent represented his first cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Three of his grandparents were first cousins of Nicholas II.

St. Catherine’s Chapel at the Peter and Paul Cathedral; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Until 2009, it was not entirely clear whether the remains of Maria or Anastasia were missing. On August 24, 2007, a Russian team of archaeologists announced that they had found the remains of Alexei and his missing sister in July 2007. In 2009, DNA and skeletal analysis identified the remains found in 2007 as Alexei and his sister Maria. In addition, it determined that the royal hemophilia was the rare, severe form of hemophilia, known as Hemophilia B or Christmas disease. The results showed that Alexei had Hemophilia B and that his mother Empress Alexandra and his sister Grand Duchess Anastasia were carriers of the disease. The remains of Alexei and Maria have not yet been buried. The Russian Orthodox Church has questioned whether the remains are authentic and blocked the burial.

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Works Cited

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• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Marija Nikolajewna Romanowa (1899–1918). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marija_Nikolajewna_Romanowa_(1899%E2%80%931918) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Olga Nikolajewna Romanowa (1895–1918). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olga_Nikolajewna_Romanowa_(1895%E2%80%931918) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Tatjana Nikolajewna Romanowa. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatjana_Nikolajewna_Romanowa [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna_of_Russia [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1899–1918). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Maria_Nikolaevna_of_Russia_(1899%E2%80%931918) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Olga_Nikolaevna_of_Russia [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Tatiana_Nikolaevna_of_Russia [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Анастасия Николаевна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Мария Николаевна (великая княжна). [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_(%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%8F%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B0) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Ольга Николаевна (великая княжна). [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B0_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_(%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%8F%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B0) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Татьяна Николаевна (великая княжна). [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A2%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0_(%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BD%D1%8F%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B0) [Accessed 4 Feb. 2018].
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by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

Born on July 6, 1796, at Gatchina Palace in Gatchina, Russia, Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia (Nikolay Pavlovich) was the third of the four sons and the ninth of the ten children of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (Empress Maria Feodorovna). Because he had two, much older brothers, Nicholas was not expected to become Emperor.

Nicholas had seven older siblings and one younger sibling. Only one of his siblings did not survive childhood.

• Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia (1777 – 1825), married Luise of Baden (Elizabeth Alexeievna), had two daughters who both died in childhood
• Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich (1779 – 1831), married (1) Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Anna Feodorovna), no children, marriage annulled (2) Joanna Grudzińska, no children, a morganatic marriage that cost Constantine the crown
• Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna (1783 – 1801), married Archduke Joseph of Austria, Count Palatine of Hungary, had one daughter who died at birth, Alexandra died of childbirth complications a week later
• Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (1784 – 1803), married Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, had two children
• Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1786 – 1859), married Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, had four children including Augusta who married Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia
• Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna (1788 – 1819), married (1) Georg of Oldenburg, had two sons (2) King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, had two daughters including Sophie who married King Willem III of the Netherlands
• Grand Duchess Olga Pavlovna (1792 – 1795), died in early childhood
• Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna (1795 – 1865), married King Willem II of the Netherlands, had five children including King Willem III of the Netherlands
• Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich (1798 – 1849), married Charlotte of Württemberg (Elena Pavlovna), had five children

Nicholas (leaning against his mother) with his parents and siblings in 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Four months after his birth, Nicholas’ grandmother Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia died and his father succeeded her as Emperor. His grandmother had taken away Nicholas’ two older brothers Alexander and Constantine to raise them in her apartments. Now Nicholas’ parents would be able to oversee his upbringing. For the first seven years of his life, Nicholas was under the care of his governess, the Russian noble Countess Charlotte Karlovna Lieven. Countess Lieven had previously been entrusted with the education of Nicholas’ sisters but with the death of his grandmother, the countess would also be responsible for Nicholas and his younger brother Michael. When Nicholas was four years old, Matvey Ivanovich Lamsdorf, an army general, was appointed as his tutor. General Lamsdorf stayed with Nicholas for seventeen years.

Nicholas’ father Emperor Paul planned to adopt policies that annoyed the the nonility. A conspiracy was formed to depose Paul. On the night of March 23, 1801, the conspirators charged into Paul’s bedroom, forced him to abdicate, and then strangled and trampled him to death. Paul was succeeded by his 23-year-old son Alexander I who did not punish the conspirators. Nicholas was only four-year-old and yet he vividly recalled that day for the rest of his life.

Nicholas as a boy, circa 1808; Credit – Wikipedia

Since Nicholas’ widowed mother Maria Feodorovna had been entrusted by her husband with the upbringing and care of their two younger sons Nicholas and Michael, Alexander I abstained from any influence on the upbringing of his younger brothers. Maria Feodorovna’s greatest concern regarding Nicholas was his enthusiasm for the military, an influence from his father Paul. Nicholas only excelled in his military studies, particularly military engineering and fortification. Later in life, Nicholas was horrified by his ignorance and attempted to rectify the gaps in his education.

In the autumn of 1814, Nicholas and his younger brother Michael visited Berlin, then in the Kingdom of Prussia. There he met Princess Charlotte of Prussia, the eldest daughter of King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia and Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. It was love at first sight. In November 1815, arrangements were made for nineteen-year-old Nicholas to marry seventeen-year-old Charlotte to strengthen the alliance between Russia and Prussia. Nicholas’ brother Alexander I had no surviving children but Nicholas was not expected to inherit the Russian throne as his elder brother Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich was the heir. Charlotte was glad that she would not be the empress and would be able to live away from palace intrigues.

Princess Charlotte of Prussia with her groom, Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich of Russia, 1817; Credit – Wikipedia

Charlotte arrived in Russia in June 1817. She converted to Russian Orthodoxy on July 6, 1817, and took the name Alexandra Feodorovna. The next day, she was officially engaged to Nicholas and was created a Grand Duchess of Russia. The wedding was held on Alexandra Feodorovna’s 19th birthday, July 13, 1817, at the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Alexandra and Nicholas had seven children who would revive the Romanov dynasty:

• Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia (1818 – 1881), married (1) Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (Maria Alexandrovna), had six children including Alexander III and Maria Alexandrovna who married Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, son of Queen Victoria; (2) Princess Catherine Dolgorukov, morganatic marriage, had four children
• Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna (1819 – 1876), married (1) Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg, had seven children; (2) Count Grigori Stroganov, morganatic marriage, had two children
• Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1822 – 1892), married 1846, Karl, King of Württemberg, no children
• Grand Duchess Alexandra Nikolaevna (1825 – 1844), married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Hesse-Kassel, had one son who died shortly after birth along with Alexandra
• Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaevich (1827 – 1892), married Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg (Alexandra Iosifovna), had six children including Olga Constantinivna who married King George I of Greece
• Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (1831 – 1891), married Alexandra of Oldenburg (Alexandra Petrovna), had two children
• Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich (1832 – 1909), married Cecilie of Baden (Olga Feodorovna); had seven children including Alexander Mikhailovich who married Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander III, Emperor of All Russia; three of Michael’s sons were killed by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution

Alexandra Feodorovna, 1817; Credit – Wikipedia

Because Nicholas’ eldest brother Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia had no surviving children, the second brother Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich was the heir to the throne. Constantine had married Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in 1796. Juliane was very unhappy in the marriage, and separated from Constantine in 1799. She went back to her homeland permanently in 1801. In 1814, Constantine tried to reconcile with Juliana but was firmly rebuffed. In 1815, Constantine started a relationship with Polish noble Joanna Grudzińska, Princess of Łowicz. Finally, in 1820, after 19 years of separation, Constantine and Juliana’s marriage was officially annulled by Alexander I. Two months later, Grand Duke Constantine morganatically married Joanna Grudzińska. However, for Alexander I  to approve the marriage, Constantine was required to forfeit his rights to the Russian throne in favor of his younger brother Nicholas. The decision was kept secret and known only to a very few people in St. Petersburg.

When Alexander I told Alexandra and Nicholas that they were to be Emperor and Empress, they were taken aback. Nicholas wrote, describing his feelings, “My wife and I remained in a position which I can liken only to the sensation that would strike a man if he were going calmly along a comfortable road sown with flowers and with marvelous scenery on all sides when, suddenly, an abyss yawns wide beneath his feet, and an irresistible force draws him into it, without allowing him to step back or turn aside.”

On December 1, 1825, 47-year-old Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia died from typhus, not in St. Petersburg, but in Taganrog, Russia. Because of his wife’s health issues, Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna had been living in a warmer climate, in the city of Taganrog, Russia by the Sea of Azov, 1155 miles/1,858 km from St. Petersburg. The secrecy of the decision to replace Constantine with Nicholas as heir to the throne backfired. Only three men, apart from Alexander himself, were aware of his decision, and none of them was present in the Winter Palace when the news of Alexander’s death reached Saint Petersburg on December 9, 1825.

Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Military governor Mikhail Miloradovich persuaded the hesitant Nicholas to pledge allegiance to Constantine, who then lived in Warsaw as the Viceroy of Poland. The State Council agreed with Miloradovich and all the troops stationed in Saint Petersburg recognized Constantine as their Emperor. Constantine repeated his rejection of the throne and blessed Nicholas as the Emperor. However, Constantine refused to come to Saint Petersburg, leaving the dangerous task of resolving the crisis to Nicholas.

Evidence of a revolt (called the Decembrist Revolt) that would involve Russian army officers leading soldiers in revolt against Nicholas becoming Emperor, forced Nicholas to act. On December 26, 1825, Nicholas proclaimed himself Emperor of All Russia. By noon, the government and most of the troops of Saint Petersburg pledged allegiance to Nicholas. However, the Decembrists incited three thousand soldiers in support of Constantine and took a stand on Senate Square in St. Petersburg.  The battle in Senate Square cost over 1,200 lives, crushed the revolt, and resulted in 29-year-old Nicholas becoming the undisputed Emperor of All Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna becoming Empress. Alexandra and Nicholas were crowned at the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin on September 3, 1826.

Nicholas at Senate Square during the Decembrist Revolt; Credit – Wikipedia

Nicholas ruled the Russian Empire in an authoritative and reactionary manner for 29 years. Among the events of Nicholas I’s reign were:

• The establishment of an authoritarian regime
• The abolition of serfdom was rejected
• A variety of repressive provisions against Jews were issued
• Censorship statute forbidding the printing of anything with a political background
• The Russification of various nationalities accompanied by attempts to convert Protestants and Catholics to Russian Orthodoxy occurred
• Development of industry which led to an increase in the growth of cities
• Russo-Persian War
• Russo-Turkish War
• Uprising in Poland
• Opening of the first railway in Russia from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo
• Peasant reforms
• Financial reform
• Russian troops suppressed the Hungarian uprising
• Completion of the construction of the St. Petersburg-Moscow Railway
• Opening of the State Hermitage Museum
• Crimean War

Although Nicholas had mistresses and illegitimate children, his love for Alexandra continued. When part of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1837 caught on fire, Nicholas ordered that a small box with letters Alexandra had written him during their engagement be saved. Alexandra’s health had always been frail and she suffered several minor heart attacks. Nicholas had a villa built for Alexandra in the Crimea where the climate was warmer but because of the Crimean War, Alexandra only stayed there once. In 1854, Alexandra was very ill and close to death but she survived.

The next year, Nicholas caught a chill, refused medical treatment, and developed pneumonia. Knowing he was dying, Nicholas retained his composure and said goodbye to his children and grandchildren. He blessed them and reminded them that they should remain friendly with each other. In the early afternoon of March 2, 1855, Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia died at age 58 at the Winter Palace.  He was buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. His eldest son succeeded him as Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia. Alexandra Feodorovna survived her husband by five years and was buried next to him.

Tomb of Nicholas I; Photo Credit – www.findagrave.com

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Tsardom of Russia/Russian Empire Index
• Romanov Births, Marriages and Deaths
• Romanov Burial Sites
• Romanovs Killed During the Russian Revolution
• Romanovs Who Survived the Russian Revolution

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Nikolaus I. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaus_I._(Russland) [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Nicholas I of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_I_of_Russia [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
• Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Николай I. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B9_I [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Credit – Wikipedia

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

The eldest of the ten children of Paul I, Emperor of All Russia and his second wife Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (Empress Maria Feodorovna), Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia (Alexander Pavlovich) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 23, 1777. He was named Alexander by his grandmother Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia in honor of Alexander Nevsky, a famous 13th-century ruling prince from the Rurik dynasty who is a saint in the Russian Orthodox religion. Three months after his birth, Empress Catherine took the infant Alexander to live in her own apartments so she could raise him, apparently forgetting the pain she felt when Elizabeth I, Empress of All Russia took away her own son Paul so she could raise him. In 1779, when Paul and Maria Feodorovna had a second son, Empress Catherine named him Constantine after the Roman emperor of the fourth century,  Constantine the Great.  Constantine joined his brother Alexander in their grandmother’s apartments.

Alexander and Constantine; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander had nine younger siblings:

• Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich (1779 – 1831), married (1) Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (Anna Feodorovna), no children, marriage annulled (2) Joanna Grudzińska, no children, a morganatic marriage that cost Constantine the crown
• Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna (1783 – 1801), married Archduke Joseph of Austria, Count Palatine of Hungary, had one daughter who died at birth, Alexandra died of childbirth complications a week later
• Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (1784 – 1803), married Friedrich Ludwig, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, had two children
• Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (1786 – 1859), married Karl Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, had four children including Augusta who married Wilhelm I, German Emperor, King of Prussia
• Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna (1788 – 1819), married (1) Georg of Oldenburg, had two sons (2) King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, had two daughters including Sophie who married King Willem III of the Netherlands
• Grand Duchess Olga Pavlovna (1792 – 1795), died in early childhood
• Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna (1795 – 1865), married King Willem II of the Netherlands, had five children including King Willem III of the Netherlands
• Nicholas I, Emperor of All Russia (1796 – 1855), married Charlotte of Prussia (Alexandra Feodorovna), had ten children including Alexander II, Emperor of All Russia
• Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich (1798 – 1849), married Charlotte of Württemberg (Elena Pavlovna), had five children

Alexander (on the left) with his parents and his sibling in 1800; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander began his education at the age of six under the tutelage of General Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov. Within a few years, Frédéric-César de La Harpe from Switzerland became Alexander’s tutor with Saltykov becoming his military tutor. La Harpe exposed Alexander to the principles of the humanity of the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau while Saltykov taught him the traditions of the Russian aristocracy. From his father Paul, who had weekly visits with his son, Alexander developed a passion for all things military. By the time he was fourteen, Alexander was quite tall and developing a fascination with women. His grandmother Catherine the Great decided it was time to find him a bride.

Louise of Baden; Credit – Wikipedia

Looking over a list of eligible princesses, Catherine the Great was favorably impressed by Louise of Baden, who was 12 years old at the time and a daughter of Karl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Amelia Frederica of Hesse-Darmstadt.  Louise, along with her younger sister Frederica (who eventually married King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden), went to St. Petersburg, Russia in the fall of 1792. Empress Catherine was enchanted with the young princess and Louise was attracted to the tall, handsome Alexander. Louise stayed in Russia so that she could learn the Russian language and convert to Russian Orthodoxy. She exchanged her birth name for Elizabeth Alexeievna and became a Grand Duchess of Russia. The couple was formally betrothed in May 1793 and the wedding occurred on September 28, 1793. The bride was fourteen and the groom was fifteen.  Catherine the Great had the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo built for Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna on the occasion of their marriage.

Alexander and Louise; Credit – Wikipedia

Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna had two daughters who both died in early childhood.

• Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna (1799 – 1800)
• Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alexandrovna (1806 – 1808)

Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia never considered inviting her son Paul to share her power in governing Russia. Once Alexander was born, it appeared that Catherine had found a more suitable heir. It is possible that Catherine intended to bypass Paul and name her grandson Alexander as her successor but she never got the chance. On November 4, 1796, Catherine suffered a stroke. Despite all attempts to revive her, she fell into a coma from which she never recovered. Catherine II (the Great), Empress of All Russia died on November 6, 1796, and Paul was now Emperor of All Russia.

During the reign of Emperor Paul, Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna’s marriage started to falter. Alexander started a long-term affair with Maria Antonovna Naryshkina in 1799 and Elizabeth Alexeievna sought affection with her husband’s friend Prince Adam Czartoryski, a Polish noble. In 1799, Elizabeth Alexeievna gave birth to a daughter Maria Alexandrovna, who had dark eyes and dark hair like Prince Adam Czartoryski, unlike the blond hair and blue eyes of both Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna. Sadly, the child died when she was 13 months old.

Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, Alexander’s long-term mistress; Credit – Wikipedia

As Emperor, Alexander’s father Paul agreed with the practices of autocracy and tried to prevent liberal ideas in the Russian Empire. He did not tolerate freedom of thought or resistance against autocracy. Because he overly taxed the nobility and limited their rights, the Russian nobles, by increasing numbers, were against him. Paul’s reign was becoming increasingly despotic. Eventually, the nobility reached their breaking point. As early as the end of 1797, rumors began swirling of a coup d’état being prepared by the nobility. It is probable that Alexander knew of the coup d’état plans.

Afraid of intrigues and assassination plots, Paul disliked the Winter Palace where he never felt safe so he had the fortified Mikhailovsky Castle built in Saint Petersburg. In February 1801, Paul and his family moved into Mikhailovsky Castle. On the night of March 23, 1801, only forty days after moving into the castle, a group of conspirators charged into Paul’s bedroom, forced him to abdicate, and then strangled and trampled him to death. Alexander, who probably knew about the coup but not the murder plot, succeeded as Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia at the age of 23.

When Alexander was informed about the murder of his father, he sobbed. One of the conspirators told Alexander, “Time to grow up! Go and rule!” Alexander went out on the palace balcony to show himself to the troops and said: “My father died of apoplexy. I will be like my grandmother.” None of the conspirators of the coup d’état that resulted in the murder of Emperor Paul were punished. On the first day of his reign, Alexander freed 12,000 prisoners who had been sentenced by his father to prison or exile without a trial. Within a month, Alexander began restoring freedoms that his father revoked. Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna were crowned on September 15, 1801, at the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Illumination at Soboronaya Square in the Moscow Kremlin on the occasion of the coronation of Alexander I by Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseyev, 1802; Credit – Wikipedia

After Alexander became Emperor, his marriage was one in name only. Both Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna fulfilled their duties as Emperor and Empress. However, Alexander continued his long-term affair with Maria Antonovna Naryshkina and Elizabeth Alexeievna continued her affair with  Prince Adam Czartoryski.  This affair lasted until Elizabeth Alexeievna began a new affair with Captain Alexis Okhotnikov.  In 1806, Elizabeth Alexeievna gave birth to another daughter, Elizabeth Alexandrovna, who died of an infection when she was 17 months old.  Rumors circulated that Elizabeth Alexandrovna was really the daughter of Alexis Okhotnikov.  In 1807, Alexis Okhotnikov was killed and suspicions arose that either Emperor Alexander I or his brother Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich had ordered him killed. Although the death of Elizabeth Alexandrovna brought Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna temporarily closer, they had no more children.  Besides, Maria Maryshkina, Alexander had several mistresses and, according to some estimates, could have had up to eleven illegitimate children.

Accomplishments of the reign of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia include:

• Formation of an advisory privy council
• Replacing Peter the Great’s old government departments with eight ministries: foreign affairs, military ground forces, naval forces, internal affairs, finance, justice, commerce, education
• Establishment of the State Council of the Russian Empire, the highest legislative body of the Russian Empire in 1810-1906. Members were appointed and dismissed by the emperor.
• Financial reform
• Reorganization of educational institutions and free education at the lower levels
• Establishment of military settlements – the system of organizing troops combining military service with the employment of productive labor, primarily, agricultural

Equestrian painting of Emperor Alexander I by Franz Krüger (1812); Credit – Wikipedia

The most important military event during Alexander’s reign was the Napoleonic Wars, a series of major conflicts (1803 – 1815) pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against various coalitions of European powers. At first, it seemed that Alexander and Russia might come to terms with Napoleon and France but when Alexander’s former tutor Frédéric-César de La Harpe came back from a trip to France and presented Alexander with his Reflections on the True Nature of the Consul for Life about Napoleon’s tyranny, Alexander changed his mind. Russia fought with the coalition against Napoleon and France.

In 1812, Napoleon’s army invaded Russia, called the Patriotic War of 1812 in Russia. Napoleon hoped to force Alexander to stop trading with British merchants in an effort to pressure the United Kingdom to sue for peace. The French forces eventually were repelled by the brutal Russian winter and retreated to the borders of Russia, pursued by the Russian army. The Patriotic War of 1812 ended with the almost complete destruction of the French army and it was the motivation for composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, written in 1882 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Russia’s defense against Napoleon’s invading army in 1812. Napoleon’s eventual downfall left Alexander as one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. Alexander was one of the leaders at the Congress of Vienna (September 1814 – June 1815), which established a new European order.

In 1819, Alexander was named as a godfather to the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and granddaughter of King George III of the United Kingdom. The little princess’ paternal uncle Prince Frederick, Duke of York, stood proxy for Emperor Alexander at the christening. The princess was given the names Alexandrina, in honor of Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia, and Victoria, in honor of her mother. She was called Drina as a child but history knows her as Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Toward the end of his life, Alexander became very involved in religious mysticism, ended his long-term affair, and somewhat reconciled with his wife. By 1825, Elizabeth Alexeievna’s health was suffering due to lung problems and the doctors recommended getting away from the harsh climate of St. Petersburg. Alexander and Elizabeth Alexeievna relocated to the city of Taganrog, Russia by the Sea of Azov where they stayed in a modest house. In November 1825, Alexander returned to Taganrog after visiting Crimea. He had a cold, which developed into typhus. On December 1, 1825, 47-year-old Alexander I, Emperor of All Russia died in Elizabeth Alexeievna’s arms in their home in Taganrog.

Death of Alexander I; Credit – Wikipedia

Elizabeth Alexeievna survived him by five months. While traveling back to St. Petersburg for her husband’s funeral, she felt so sick that had to stop at Belev in Tula Province, Russia. On the morning of May 16, 1826, Elizabeth Alexeievna’s maid went to check on her and found her dead in bed of heart failure at the age of 47. Elizabeth Alexeievna and her husband were buried at the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Tombs of Alexander I and Elizabeth Alexeievna; Photo Credit: Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Tsardom of Russia/Russian Empire Index
• Romanov Births, Marriages and Deaths
• Romanov Burial Sites
• Romanovs Killed During the Russian Revolution
• Romanovs Who Survived the Russian Revolution

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2018). Alexander I. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I._(Russland) [Accessed 28 Jan. 2018].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Alexander I of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_I_of_Russia [Accessed 28 Jan. 2018].
• Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
• Massie, R. (2016). Catherine the Great. London: Head of Zeus.
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2018). Александр I. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_I [Accessed 28 Jan. 2018].