"There is nothing here except copies of photographs. Still, the revolution, the fact that for 80 years one story was hushed up and another stuck out, played a role. Emperor Nicholas II was a modest person in everyday life. No special palaces or apartments were built for him" - explains the director of the Museum of the History of Mogilev Sergey Klimov.
Return of Colonel Romanov
From the governor's palace, where on the second floor in two small rooms "lodging" with his son Nicholas II, after the bombardment of Mogilev by Soviet aircraft in 1943, only ruins remained. They were later demolished so as not to remind them of the king.
In August 1915, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief moved from the city of Baranovichi to Mogilev. Russian army. And in March 1917, an end was put here in the long-term reign of the Romanov dynasty.
“On March 2, 1917, Nicholas II left Mogilev, went to St. Petersburg, but he was not allowed to go there. At the Dno station, he abdicated and returned to Mogilev,” says Sergey Klimov.
But Nicholas II returned not as an emperor, but as a colonel Romanov. The building of the former provincial court has been preserved, where Nicholas II said goodbye to the officers in the premises of the general on duty. Many of them are said to have cried and even fainted. Then, on the Governor's Square, the former monarch said goodbye to his soldiers. And along the street, which is now called Pervomaiskaya, I went to the station. Its building has hardly been rebuilt since then.
The Tsar works for Belarus
Mogilev adored the Tsar. And the love was mutual, says Elena Karpenko, director of the Mogilevobltourist enterprise:
"I read many letters from Mogilev to the Empress. There, Nicholas II spoke very well about Mogilev."
Together with colleagues, Elena Karpenko developed a new tourist route - "Mogilev - the last residence of Emperor Nicholas II." According to her, this four-hour bus and walking tour attracted more than 400 foreign tourists during the year: Russians, Europeans, Americans, because Nicholas II is a figure known all over the world.
Most of all, the guests are impressed by the St. Nicholas Monastery, the left side of one of the temples of which is consecrated in the name of the Royal Martyrs. Nicholas II himself often came here for a prayer service.
At the beginning of the century, when the emperor and the murdered members of his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, an unusual discovery happened in Mogilev.
“On Pionerskaya Street, in the building, they found a hiding place, from where they extracted a portrait of Nicholas II by an unknown artist. And today it is already an icon revered by the people of Mogilev. Russians often come here to bow to St. Nicholas,” explains the guide Lyudmila Supitaleva.
Monarch for an hour
And the nun Evfrosinya supplements this story with a story about a gift from the elder Simeon, who remembered how the emperor and his family came to the temple to honor the day of his saint - the feast of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker:
"And when the tsar found out that this Simeon's father died at the front during the First World War, the Sovereign gave him this five-ruble gold coin. Simeon kept it all his life and bequeathed to his children that after death they bring the coin to St. Nicholas Church ".
Where ordinary tourists cannot yet visit is the royal box in the Mogilev Drama Theater, from where Nicholas II watched not performances, but military chronicles. Deputy mayor of the city Fyodor Mikheenko is proud of the excellent acoustics of the theater hall, noting that the worst thing to hear in the royal box is:
"It's draped, the curtains hang. And it's not very comfortable to sit in the royal box."
Despite the inconvenience, any guest of honor would probably want to feel like a monarch for at least an hour.
Who was the last Russian emperor? From a legal point of view, there is no exact answer to this seemingly elementary question.
Nicholas II in the uniform of the Life Guards of the 4th Infantry Battalion of the Imperial family. Photo from 1909
Late in the evening 2nd of March(15th New Style) 1917 in Pskov, in the carriage of the imperial train Nicholas II signed the act of abdication. Everything happened very quickly. The evening before, receiving news from Petrograd, which was in revolt, the autocrat could hardly agree to the creation of a government of people's trust to replace the ministers he had appointed. The next morning it became clear that only a radical measure could now save the country from revolutionary chaos - his renunciation of power. The Chairman of the State Duma, Mikhail Rodzianko, and the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Mikhail Alekseev, and the commanders of the fronts were convinced of this ... From the Headquarters, the emperor was sent a draft manifesto, over which he pondered the rest of the day.
Nicholas II signed at about 11:40 p.m., but the time in the Act of Abdication was indicated as daytime, before the arrival of the delegates of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma from the capital, in order to avoid suspicions that the decision was made under their pressure. And then already former emperor wrote in his diary: “I handed over ... a signed and revised manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. Around treason and cowardice, and deceit!
Act on the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne
On the right is the varnished signature of the emperor, made in pencil, as on many of his orders. On the left, in ink, the countersign of the act by the Minister in accordance with the requirements of the legislation: "Minister of the Imperial Court, Adjutant General Count Frederiks"
|
Rebellious soldiers in February 1917
Forgery or coercion?
There are several popular theories that the Act of Abdication is actually a fake, either in whole or in part. However, the decision that the emperor made and carried out is recorded not only in his diary. There were many witnesses to how Nicholas II considered the abdication, negotiated it, drew up and signed a document - the courtiers and officials who were with the sovereign, the commander of the Northern Front, General Ruzsky, emissaries from the capital Alexander Guchkov and Vasily Shulgin. All of them subsequently spoke about this in memoirs and interviews. Supporters and opponents of the renunciation testified: the monarch came to such a decision of his own free will. The version that the text was changed by the conspirators is also refuted by many sources - correspondence, diary entries, memoirs. The former emperor knew perfectly well what he signed and what was published, and did not dispute the content of the act after its publication, as did the witnesses to the preparation of the document.
So, The act of renunciation expressed the true will of the emperor. Another thing is that this will was contrary to the law.
Salon of the imperial train, in which Nicholas II announced his abdication
Cunning or negligence?
Operating in Russian Empire of those years, the rules of succession to the throne were established by Paul I. This monarch was afraid all his life that his mother, Catherine II, would appoint her grandson as the successor, and immediately, as best he could, liquidated the right of the emperor, established by Peter I, to arbitrarily determine the heir to the throne. The corresponding decree was promulgated on April 5, 1797, the day of Paul's coronation. Since then, the emperor was obliged to obey the law, according to which the eldest son was considered the successor, if he was (or other close relatives in a clearly established order). Representatives of the imperial house, having reached the age of majority, took an oath: “I undertake and swear to observe all the decrees on the succession of the throne and the order of the family institution, depicted in the Basic Laws of the Empire, in all their strength and inviolability.” In 1832, the provisions of the document, with some additions, were included in Volume I of the Code of State Laws. They were also preserved in the Code of Fundamental State Laws of 1906, according to which the empire lived on the eve of revolutions.
According to the law, the throne after the abdication of Nicholas II passed to his 12-year-old son Alexei. However, on the day of the signing, the monarch consulted the doctor Sergei Fedorov about hemophilia, a severe hereditary disease that the Tsarevich suffered from. Fedorov confirmed that there was no hope of curing the attacks, and expressed the opinion that after the abdication, Nikolai would certainly be separated from his son. And then the emperor announced that, bypassing the crown prince, he was handing over the crown to his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. However, by law, the monarch had no right to do so. Michael, next in line to the throne, could have ascended the throne only if Alexei had died or abdicated himself at the age of 16, leaving no sons behind.
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov
Paternal feelings of Nikolai are understandable, but what is the point of certifying a document whose incompetence is obvious? The leader of the Kadet Party, Pavel Milyukov, suspected a trick: “The refusal in favor of the brother is invalid, and this is the trick that was conceived and carried out in the absence of the Empress, but she fully approves ... Under the condition of the transfer of power, it was easier for Mikhail to subsequently interpret the entire act of renunciation as invalid ".
Salvation or usurpation?
Having signed the Act of Abdication, Nicholas sent a telegram to his brother as "His Imperial Majesty Michael the Second". However, by law, the prince could not be considered the next monarch. The very possibility of the abdication of Nicholas II is already undeniable from a legal point of view, since in the Code of Fundamental State Laws the renunciation of the throne is prescribed only for “a person entitled to it”, and not for the reigning emperor (Article 37). However, Professor Nikolai Korkunov, like many prominent lawyers of that time, interpreted this provision as follows: “Can someone who has already ascended the throne renounce it? Since the reigning sovereign undoubtedly has the right to the throne, and the law gives everyone who has the right to the throne the right to abdicate, we must answer this in the affirmative. If, nevertheless, the abdication of Nicholas II is recognized, Alexei was technically considered the next emperor, regardless of the wishes of his father.
From a legal point of view, Alexei was considered the next emperor after Nicholas II, regardless of the wishes of his father.
Grand Duke Michael found himself in a difficult position. He was actually framed. The brother entrusted Mikhail with the mission of preserving the monarchy in Russia, but if the Grand Duke had taken the throne, from a legal point of view, he would have turned out to be a usurper. On March 3 (O.S.) in Petrograd, in the presence of ministers of the Provisional Government, as well as lawyers Nabokov and Baron Boris Nolde, Mikhail Aleksandrovich signed the Act of Renunciation of the Throne. He just saw no other way.
Act on the refusal of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich of the throne
|
The assumption of Nicholas II that he had the right to make Mikhail emperor was wrong, admitted Nabokov, who helped the prince draw up the Act of Refusal, “but according to the conditions of the moment, it seemed necessary ... to use this act in order to, in the eyes of that part of the population for which he could have a serious moral significance - to solemnly reinforce the fullness of the power of the Provisional Government and its successive connection with the State Duma. At the suggestion of the Duma lawyers, the Grand Duke did not become a usurper on the throne, but at the same time he usurped the right to dispose of the supreme power, ceding the reins of government that did not belong to him to the Provisional Government and the future Constituent Assembly. So the transfer of power twice ended up outside the legislation of the Russian Empire, and on this shaky basis the new government asserted its legitimacy.
Mass burial ceremony of the victims of the February Revolution on the Field of Mars on March 23 (NS) 1917
On the highest level a precedent has been set for the authorities when, in an unstable environment, laws are neglected as a formality. This trend was brought to its logical end by the Bolsheviks, who dispersed the popularly elected Constituent Assembly in January 1918. In the same year, Nicholas and Mikhail Alexandrovich, great-great-grandchildren of the creator of the unshakable rules of succession to the throne in Russia - Paul I, as well as Tsarevich Alexei, were executed. By the way, the descendants of Emperor Paul in the line of his daughter Anna still reign in the Netherlands today. Not so long ago, in 2013, Queen Beatrix abdicated due to age, and her son, Willem-Alexander, became her successor.
The news about the abdication of the Russian emperor on the cover of the British tabloid Daily Mirror
Victim of the revolution
Liberal from the royal family
After the October Revolution, 17 members of the Romanov dynasty were executed. Among the victims is the Emperor's cousin, the second Chairman of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich. The prince had merits in two fields of science: as a historian, author of works on the era of Alexander I, and an entomologist who discovered six species of butterflies.
The freethinker prince, who had a reputation at court as a "dangerous radical", was nicknamed Philippe Egalite, after the French revolutionary prince of the 18th century. However, as was the case with the rebellious prince of the blood, the revolution dealt with the prince. In January 1919, Romanov was shot, although scientists from the Academy of Sciences and the writer Maxim Gorky petitioned for his pardon. “The revolution does not need historians,” Lenin reportedly said in response to these requests.
Photo: Diomedia, Alamy (x2) / Legion-media, Rosarkhiv (archives.ru) (x2), Fine Art Images, Mary Evans / Legion-media
Headquarters in Mogilev moved from Baranovichi on August 8, 1915 and settled in the house of the provincial government. For the resettlement of headquarters staff, representatives of neighboring states, all city hotels were requisitioned, and it was required to place a large number of people. There were more than a thousand staff members alone. To this must be added more than one and a half thousand soldiers and security officers.
Emperor's arrival
Nicholas II arrived in Mogilev on August 23, 1915. He was accompanied by a huge retinue, headed by the Minister of the Court, Count Fredericks. According to eyewitnesses of the solemn meeting at the station: “The Emperor was dressed in a simple khaki shirt, without weapons, as always, in old, heavily worn high boots. He walked around all the invitees, giving everyone a hand ... ".
Nicholas II in Mogilev newsreel
Under Nikolai Nikolaevich, Stavka was a strict military camp. After the arrival of the emperor, everything changed. Following the tsar, an operetta arrived in our city, the theater was filled to capacity every day. There is no evidence of what performances the autocrat watched in the building of the Mogilev theater. It is only known that a film installation was installed in the theater and Nicholas II watched military newsreels in it.
Very quickly, the provincial city turned into a royal residence with the appropriate surroundings. Military problems faded into the background for many. Mogilev girls admired and flirted with the officers of the Headquarters, representatives of embassies, institutions evacuated to the city from the occupied areas.
The officers of the headquarters of the commander-in-chief lived in our city together with their wives and children. One of the officers of the Headquarters was Vasily Selim-Girey, the last descendant of the once formidable dynasty of the Crimean khans of the Gireys.
Those khans who are well known not only from the course of history, but also from the "Fountain of Bakhchisaray" by A. Pushkin.
Many residents of Mogilev were deeply impressed by the religiosity of the last Russian emperor, who never missed a single Orthodox service. In the church he was widely baptized, kneeling, touching the floor with his hands, after each service he came up to receive the blessing of the priest. In order to make it easier for Nicholas II to get to the church, in April 1916 an asphalt path was laid there from the governor's house, where the autocrat lived. They made it at the personal expense of the king.
For the state, in particular, by order of the Minister of Railways, a small steam yacht was delivered to Mogilev, on which the emperor took walks along in the summer. The king liked car trips out of town very much. Most often he went to the pine forest surrounding the village of Soltanovka, where in 1812 the famous battle of the Russian troops with the French took place, and along the Orsha highway. Met with peasants. The emperor often asked them about life. It is characteristic that none of them turned to him with any requests. As they say, they understood the level and “keep time”.
In Mogilev, Nicholas II led a measured life, the routine of which did not change literally for years. Leaving the house at half past ten, the tsar worked at Headquarters until noon. At noon there was breakfast, after which - a walk by car. At five o'clock in the afternoon, the emperor drank tea and then sorted through the mail until half past seven in the evening. This was followed by lunch, which lasted an hour. After that - work in the office. After dinner at half past ten, the king went to rest.
However, there were exceptions to the rules. The emperor periodically went to the front. Once, being in Tiraspol and standing in front of the regiments, he ordered those who had been participating in the military campaign from the very beginning to raise their hands. Only a few hands flew up over the numerous formations. For the first time, Nicholas II felt the full horror of the war...
In August 1916, British Ambassador Sir D. Bukinen arrived in Mogilev to present the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, one of Britain's highest awards, to the autocrat. He was not the only foreigner who arrived at that time in the provincial center. Foreign military representatives lived in our city. According to the memoirs of contemporaries of those years, the British, General Bartels, a gloomy and frowning overweight old man, was always dissatisfied with something. The Serb was delighted with the Russians. The French sat quietly in the hotel. Only sometimes their representative - General Janin - appeared at the station. The Italians flaunted. A sufficient number of Mogilev beauties felt the signs of attention of the Italian General Count Romey. The Japanese Obata was outwardly indifferent to everything. He did not worry about the failures of the Russian army and did not rejoice at the victories - he watched. Tellingly, all foreigners liked the Mogilev climate: even winters and clear, cloudless skies in summer. In their opinion, a wonderful resort could be opened here. At the same time, they were all surprised, without exception, by the poverty of the peasants...
The royal family was also delighted with the surroundings of Mogilev. The Empress even looked after herself the Dashkovka estate and wanted to buy it. But the owner of the estate - the old and rich landowner Zhukovsky - opposed the monarch's desire and refused to cede his property.
royal family
In Mogilev, the heir, Tsarevich Alexei, constantly lived with his father. But the wife of the Emperor Alexandra Feodorovna and her daughters visited our city on short visits. The inhabitants of Mogilev did not like the emperor's wife from the very first visit. She gave the impression of a "wicked and arrogant woman". Stopped and lived Alexandra Fedorovna most often in a special car, at the station. The famous poet Sergei Yesenin visited the retinue of the Empress in Mogilev. It was in this city that he had a desire to desert from the army.
The townspeople were literally fascinated by the royal daughters. Girls freely, without protection, walked around the city, went into shops where they made various purchases. Their favorite place in Mogilev was Bernshtein's haberdashery store (located in the house where the Perekrestok store is now). The only thing that upset the people of Mogilev was that the princesses could not often be seen on the streets of the city. Together with their mother, they lived in Petrograd and visited their father only from time to time.
Tsarevich Alexei had the closest contact with the life of the city and its inhabitants. According to his memoirs, he was “... a sweet child, inquisitive, cheerful. I sat in the car next to my father, read signs, smiled at passers-by. For the heir, they often arranged games with the Mogilev children. Either not far from the governor's house, or somewhere in the forest near the city. Moreover, the children of both rich burghers and the poor played with the prince. Mogilev ladies on the shaft, where the royal residence was located, often arranged various lotteries. Once Aleksey came here, bought a ticket and, of course, won. Joyful, he grabbed his prize - a small beehive with honeycombs and honey - ran to show his father.
"You can't escape fate"
Being engaged in public affairs, Nicholas II was often very frank. One of his statements is of interest: “If someone told me that the day would come when I would sign a declaration of war on Bulgaria, I would consider such a person a madman. And yet, that day has come. But I sign this reluctantly, because I am convinced that the Bulgarian people will be deceived by their king and that most of them remain attached to Russia. The consciousness of tribal unity will soon awaken in him and he will understand his error, but it will be too late!”
Perhaps, Nicholas II was characterized by fatalism. One got the impression that in life he was guided by the principle “you can’t escape fate.” This can be confirmed by the chronology last days reign, by the will of fate held in Mogilev.
On February 5, 1917, the tsar learned for the first time (?!) that the food situation in Russia had deteriorated sharply. Of course, the last year or two, the provision of Mogilev differed significantly from other cities in the country.
After a half-hour report by Rodzianko on the situation in the country and a warning about the pre-revolutionary situation, Nicholas II said: "Well, God willing ..."
On February 22, the emperor learned that unrest had begun in Petrograd - the people demanded bread. However, there was no reaction from the king to this.
On February 25, despite disturbing reports from the capital, he remained absolutely calm. He wrote in his diary: “I got up late. The report lasted 1.5 hours. At 2:30 I drove into the monastery, venerated the icon Mother of God. I took a walk along the highway to Orsha, at 6 o’clock I went to the vigil.”
The next day, almost an ultimatum telegram from the empress arrives: “If we yield even one iota, tomorrow there will be neither the sovereign, nor Russia, nothing! We must be firm and show that we are masters of the situation.”
February 27, 1917 is remembered in Mogilev as a wonderful day. The sun shone brightly, streams flowed, a cheerful crowd filled the streets of the city, rejoicing at the imminent onset of spring. Although the coup had been expected for a long time, however, when the message came from revolutionary Petrograd, no one believed in what was happening.
Occurred in northern capital events forced Nicholas II on February 28 to urgently leave for St. Petersburg. On the way, he read The Notes of the Tsar.
Abdication
March 2, the last Russian emperor abdicated. And no longer an autocrat, but simply Colonel Nikolai Romanov came to Mogilev to say goodbye to the headquarters of the Headquarters, to meet with his mother Maria Fedorovna, who in those days, passing from Kiev, stopped in our city.
On March 4, at the Mogilev railway station, Nikolai was met by a guard of honor. But on the main street (Dneprovsky Prospekt) red flags were already hung, and the Marseillaise was heard. A group of protesters approached the building where the Headquarters was located, scolded the king, tore off the tricolor flags and the imperial coat of arms. Nobody chased them down.
On March 6, a telegram from the Provisional Government arrived in Mogilev with permission for the royal family to travel abroad. However, the very next day a different decision was made: to arrest the former autocrat and deliver him to Tsarskoe Selo. When the emissaries of the Provisional Government Bublikov, Kalinin, Gribulin arrived with an arrest order, Nikolai reacted to the not very decent visit with complete indifference. He said that he was "ready to go anywhere and obey anything."
March 8, 1917, saying goodbye to the officers in Mogilev, the former emperor said: “The benefit of the motherland and the need to prevent the horrors of civil strife and civil war, as well as the opportunity to send all my forces to continue the war at the front, forced me to abdicate in favor of my brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. However, given the circumstances that have arisen, the Grand Duke, in turn, abdicated. I urge you, gentlemen, to submit to the Provisional Government and make every effort to continue the war with Germany and Austria-Hungary to a victorious end. The combat officers present in the hall were crying, some even lost consciousness. Unable to stand it, Nikolai Romanov left the hall with tears in his eyes (there is evidence that the farewell took place in the premises of the General Headquarters on duty on the 2nd floor of the present regional museum of local lore).
At the headquarters building (the house of the governor and the provincial government - completely destroyed in the late 1940s, now in their place is part of the memorial complex "Fighters for Soviet Power") there was a crowd of citizens with uncovered heads. Having said goodbye to people already completely, former king went to the railway station with his family by car. They were silently escorted by a crowded crowd ...
February 22, 1917 Emperor Nicholas II left for Mogilev from Tsarskoye Selo. The reasons for this last departure of the Sovereign to Headquarters still remain unclear. The plan for the spring campaign was approved, the situation at the front was calm. On January 24, the Sovereign approved the plan for the spring campaign of 1917, which provided for: 1. Delivering the main blow from the areas of the 11th and 17th armies in the Lvov direction. 2. At the same time developing an offensive on the Romanian front, with the aim of defeating the enemy in front of the armies and occupying Dobruja. 3. Conducting auxiliary strikes on the Western and Northern fronts. It was written in His Imperial Majesty's own hand: "I approve" on January 24, 1917. The stake was supposed to repeat the success of the Lutsk breakthrough.
The sudden decision of the Sovereign to leave for Headquarters turned out to be a complete surprise even for his closest entourage. Adjutant wing Colonel A. A. Mordvinov testified that “ the internal political situation in those days was especially turbulent and difficult, in view of which the Sovereign spent all the Christmas holidays, all of January and most of February, in Tsarskoye Selo and hesitated to leave for Headquarters».
Nicholas II was leaving urgently, because of some important matter. A. A. Vyrubova recalled that on the eve of her departure “ The emperor came very upset.[…]We drank tea in the new room at the round table. The next morning, when I came to the Empress, I found her in tears. She informed me that the Emperor was leaving. They said goodbye to him, as usual, in the green drawing room of the Empress. The Empress was terribly upset. To my remarks about the difficult situation and the impending riots, the Sovereign answered me that he was saying goodbye for a short time, that he would return in a few days».
This is also confirmed by another friend of the Empress Yu. A. Den: “ The sovereign intended to stay with his family, but one morning, after an audience with General Gurko, he suddenly announced: - Tomorrow I'm leaving for Headquarters. Her Majesty asked in surprise, "Can't You stay with us?" - No, - the Sovereign answered. - I have to go».
Emperor Nicholas II with military leaders at the Tsar's Headquarters in Mogilev. Right - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov. Reproduction Photo by ITAR-TASS
Baroness S.K. Buxhowden recalled: “ I was near the Empress at the moment when the Emperor came to her with a telegram in his hand. He asked me to stay and told the Empress: “General Alekseev insists on my arrival. I can’t imagine what could happen there that would require my obligatory presence. should be right here"».
However, apparently, Nicholas II knew what Alekseev was going to talk to him about. On the evening of February 21, Nicholas II explained to the palace commandant V. N. Voeikov that “ the other day, General Alekseev returned from the Crimea, wishing to see him and talk over some issues". Emigrant historian G. M. Katkov pointed out that “ from available sources it is not clear why Alekseev insisted on the personal presence of the Supreme Commander. In the light of subsequent events, the departure of the emperor to Mogilev, undertaken at the insistence of Alekseev, seems to be a fact that had the greatest disaster.».
We are led to interesting conclusions by a number of circumstances preceding the Sovereign's departure. On January 4, General V.I. Gurko visited M.V. Rodzianko in Petrograd and stated that “ if the Duma is dissolved, the troops will stop fighting».
On January 30, the Security Department reported to the Police Department that M.V. Alekseev's health had improved so much that he was expected to arrive at Headquarters on February 8-10. But Alekseev returned there only on February 17, and on February 5, without waiting for Alekseev to return, General Gurko left Mogilev for Petrograd.
Thus, in the period from February 5 to February 17, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief remained virtually without a leader. From the point of view of military interests, this was, of course, a negative fact. But, as General A. A. Brusilov wrote: “ At Headquarters, where Alekseev had already returned, it was obviously not up to the front. Great events were being prepared that overturned the whole way of Russian life and destroyed the army that was at the front.". It should be said here that Gurko coordinated all his actions with Alekseev.
On February 13, M. V. Rodzianko informed V. I. Gurko that he had reliable information: “ A coup is prepared and the mob will carry it out". Rodzianko asked the general to point this out to the Tsar and get him to make concessions to the opposition. On February 13, Gurko was received in Tsarskoe Selo by Nicholas II, who left the following diary entry on this meeting: “ February 13. Beginning of Lent. From 10 o'clock. [s] accepted:[…]Gurko. The last one delayed me so much that I was completely late for the service.". What could Gurko say that made the deeply religious Nicholas II miss the divine service on the first day of Great Lent? Gurko urged Nicholas II to introduce a responsible ministry, arguing that without this he would suffer " our international position, the attitude of our allies towards us».
For Nicholas II, Gurko's statement was a wake-up call. The sovereign could not but understand that Gurko expressed not just his personal opinion, but the opinion of a certain and very influential military group. This was confirmed by operational reports from the police and gendarmerie, which, of course, were known to Nicholas II. So, on January 14, 1917, the head of the Minsk GZhU informed the Director of the Police Department that “ there is a version that the troops led by their beloved Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich will carry out a coup d'état».
The direct result of Gurko's meetings with Guchkov and allied representatives was the actual sabotage by the general of the Emperor's orders. So, Nicholas II ordered the Guards crew to be transferred to Petrograd from the front, but this order was “not understood” by General Gurko, and the crew remained at the front. Nicholas II again ordered the transfer of the Guards crew to Petrograd, and Gurko for the second time, under the pretext of quarantine, detained him near Tsarskoye Selo. Only after the third order of the Sovereign did the Guards crew arrive at Tsarskoye Selo. The same thing happened with the lancers of His Majesty.
The actions of General V.I. Gurko were neither impromptu nor the result of his sole will. Thus, the Duke of S. G. Leuchtenberg assured A. I. Guchkov that the Emperor’s order to transfer four reliable regiments of the guards cavalry from the front to Petrograd would not be carried out. The Duke explained this by the fact that front-line officers protested against this transfer, saying that they could not order their soldiers to shoot at the people.
Alekseev finally returned to Headquarters on February 17, and no later than February 19, Nicholas II, apparently, had a telephone conversation with him, or received a telegram from him, after which he urgently left for Headquarters. On February 21, on the eve of the departure of Nicholas II, Gurko hurriedly went to Mogilev. On the eve of his departure, the general met at a dinner with his brother with AI Guchkov and other members of the Progressive Bloc. The idea of a coup was imbued with " all gathered, everything said».
Thus, it is impossible not to notice the synchronicity of the actions of Generals M.V. Alekseev and V.I. Gurko. This synchronicity could only be the result of a preliminary conspiracy, the purpose of which was to lure Emperor Nicholas II out of the capital to Headquarters by any means. It is difficult to disagree with A. A. Vyrubova, who argued that the conspirators “ began to rush the Sovereign to go to the front, then to commit the greatest atrocity».
In his conversation with the Royal Couple on February 10, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich " strongly insisted on the speedy return of Nika to Headquarters". On February 22, another Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, during the farewell to the August brother, expressed his deep satisfaction with his departure to Mogilev. Mikhail Alexandrovich convinced Nicholas II that " great dissatisfaction is growing in the army over the fact that the Sovereign lives in Tsarskoye and has been absent from Headquarters for so long". Vyrubova believed that it was the latter circumstance that was the main reason why the Sovereign decided to go to Mogilev: “ The dissatisfaction of the army seemed to the Sovereign a serious reason to rush to Headquarters. Thus, apparently, in his telephone conversation with the Sovereign, M. V. Alekseev informed him that a military conspiracy was brewing in the Headquarters and that his presence there was needed. If this is so, then Alekseev deliberately revealed the true facts to the Tsar in order to lure him out of Petrograd by any means. Knowing how the Sovereign relates to the cause of victory, the conspirators had to be sure that he would not be able to ignore such information, and they were not mistaken. The French historian M. Ferro believes that “ the tsar had a premonition that something was being planned, at least in the army, after brother Michael informed him of dissatisfaction at the Headquarters about his long absence».
But there was another reason why Nicholas II decided to urgently go to Headquarters. It was most directly related to the first cause. Not trusting the generals, who almost openly sabotaged his orders, the Sovereign sought from the Headquarters to personally send loyal troops to Petrograd. V. M. Khrustalev writes: “ NicholasIIwas going to, upon arrival at Headquarters, carry out the planned transfer of troops in the vicinity of the capital».
Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich before the troops. Newsreel TASS
Late in the evening of February 21, the Sovereign summoned A.D. Protopopov. Entering the royal office, the minister found Nicholas II extremely worried: “ Despite the sovereign's amazing self-control, I saw that he was worried. I was terribly alarmed the first time I saw the King in such confusion. "Do you know what Gurko did?" he said. "Instead of four Guards regiments, he sent us three sailor crews." Blood rushed to my face, and I instinctively held back my instant anger. “This already crosses all boundaries, Sovereign, worse than disobedience. Gurko is obliged to consult with you before changing your orders. Everyone knows that factory workers are recruited as sailors, these are the most revolutionary units in our armed forces". "That's it! But the last word will stay with me. I never expected this. And you still consider my departure to the front premature. I will send you cavalry"».
Meanwhile, General P. G. Kurlov informed A. D. Protopopov that to count " for the firm support of the garrison" the government cannot , because “there are many propagandized workers in the units, discipline is observed extremely poorly”.
The opposition considered the organization of riots in Petrograd to be an important stage in the implementation of the coup. Their implementation could not be realized without the help of the military leadership of the capital and the military district. In this regard, the actions of the commander-in-chief of the armies of the Northern Front, General of Infantry N. V. Ruzsky, appear to be direct assistance to the organizers of the coup. By order of Ruzsky, a large number of spare parts were concentrated in Petrograd, which, according to the definition of General Kurlov, were " rather armed revolutionary masses". All measures taken by the Ministry of the Interior to maintain order were opposed by Ruzsky.
Not trusting General N. V. Ruzsky, the Tsar separated Petrograd from his subordination into a Special Military District, headed by Lieutenant General S. S. Khabalov, on the advice of the Minister of War, General M. A. Belyaev. The new commander practically the soldier did not know and did not correspond to the position. The emperor knew about this, but during the war it was difficult with military commanders».
K.ist.n. V. M. Khrustalev writes that for the post of commander of the Petrograd Military District “ it was supposed to nominate General K. N. Hagondokov (a participant in the suppression of the uprising in Manchuria), but Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, hearing that he had imprudently commented on Rasputin, stated that "his face is very cunning." The appointment never took place." In fact, Major General K. N. Hagondokov cannot be brought into the ranks of devoted monarchists. Researcher V. G. Popov writes about Hagondokov that he was “ the first of the major Far Eastern leaders in the revolutionary days of March 1917, who came out with ardent support for the Provisional Government of Russia, spoke out for the speedy transformation of the former Empire into a democratic Republic.
Obviously, Nicholas II did not appoint Hagondokov to a responsible position, not because he had a "cunning face", but because he reasonably doubted his loyalty.
Simultaneously with the appointment of General S. S. Khabalov, Nicholas II ordered General M. A. Belyaev to remove Kronstadt from the jurisdiction of the land department and transfer it to the naval department. A plan was developed in case of organized riots in the capital. According to this plan, Petrograd was divided into several sectors, controlled by special military commanders. General N. V. Ruzsky unsuccessfully tried to counteract these measures. However, the actions of General S. S. Khabalov were rather strange. On February 24, the general removed police posts and transferred the police to full subordination to the army command. Khabalov handed over all the protection of the city to unreliable army units, which were already sufficiently publicized and did not want to go to the front.
All the above facts indicate that by February 1917 the conspiracy against Emperor Nicholas II had entered its final phase. The most important moment in the plans of the conspirators was the departure of the Sovereign to the active army. This would seem to contradict common sense. Indeed, by giving the Emperor the opportunity to leave for the army, the conspirators themselves, as it were, gave him a formidable mechanism for suppressing this very conspiracy and any rebellion. But the fact of the matter is that by February 1917 the top of the army was already against the Tsar, and, above all, this concerns General M. V. Alekseev.
February 22, the same day that Nicholas II left for Headquarters, in the house of the commander of the 1st rifle division Major General P. A. von Kotzebue, in the presence of many guests of the officers openly said that “ His Majesty will no longer return from Headquarters».
D.S. Botkin, the brother of the royal family physician killed in Yekaterinburg, wrote in 1925: “ We must not forget that all the train servants, down to the last mechanic on the tsar's train, were involved in the revolution..
On February 21, the Sovereign inspected a refectory that had just been built in the Russian style in the Feodorovsky town. He was shown ancient icons and iconostases from the church of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich near Moscow, wall paintings of the refectory and several vaulted chambers. The king repeated several times: Just a waking dream - I don’t know where I am, in Tsarskoe Selo or in Moscow, in the Kremlin". Then he went to the rest of the rooms. In the living room, he sat down in an easy chair, looked at the picture for a long time, which depicted an old steam locomotive and several wagons that appeared around the corner. “I would just sit in this cozy chair, forgetting about all the affairs, yes, unfortunately, they remind of themselves all the time».
An old steam locomotive and several wagons! They have already shown themselves because of the twist of history. A day later, they will take the emperor to Mogilev, so that in two weeks they will bring him back already a prisoner, doomed to way of the cross and martyrdom. On February 22, on the platform of the Tsarskoselsky railway station, to the sound of the bells of the Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral, Emperor Nicholas II said goodbye to the Empress and went to Headquarters.
On February 22, 1917, Emperor Nicholas II left for Headquarters in the city of Mogilev. The final acts of the great tragedy began.
The Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was located here, Nicholas II and members of the royal family lived here. Buildings in which the last Russian emperor visited and worked have been preserved in modern Mogilev.
The Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief moved to Mogilev in August 1915 from the city of Baranovichi. By the time it appeared in Mogilev, the Headquarters consisted of 16 departments, three offices, and two committees.
About a thousand generals, officers and officials worked here. To protect the Headquarters, two battalions of St. George Knights, an automobile company, and a detachment of barrage balloons were stationed in the city.
Nicholas II arrived in Mogilev two weeks later, and another five hundred guards Kuban and Terek Cossacks appeared in the city, as well as His Majesty's consolidated guards infantry regiment. The garrison was replenished by 2 thousand people and amounted to a total of up to 4 thousand military men.
On December 17, 1916, the emperor suddenly left Headquarters. That day there was an important meeting - the plan of the military campaign for 1917 was discussed.
But the assembled officers did not wait for the Supreme Commander. Later they were informed that the tsar had received news of the murder of Rasputin and urgently left for Tsarskoye Selo.
On the way to Pskov
In the diary entries of Nicholas II of February 25 and 27, there is no noticeable anxiety: he got up early, had breakfast, accepted the obligatory report of General Alekseev, and later took a car ride along the road north, towards the city of Orsha.
Far, however, the emperor did not leave - he turned to St. Nicholas Monastery to venerate the icon.
On the 27th, and according to some reports, on February 28, early in the morning, Nicholas II left by train for St. Petersburg. On the way to Pskov, the abdication of the throne took place, and on March 3, Nicholas II returned to Mogilev no longer an emperor - Colonel Romanov.
In Mogilev, he said goodbye to his mother - Maria Fedorovna went abroad from here.
A building has been preserved where Nicholas II said goodbye to the officers in the room of the general on duty - they say that many officers cried. C started from the second floor, got into the car and along the street, which is now called Pervomaiskaya, drove to the station.
Unique buildings
The building of the railway station in Mogilev has hardly been rebuilt since those times. On Gubernatorskaya, now Sovetskaya Square, there are unique buildings that knew the last Russian tsar.In the former provincial court, where the premises of the general on duty were located, now the House of Marriages. And in the place where there was a military Headquarters and the governor's house - there Nicholas II lived with his son - memorial Complex heroes of the Great Patriotic War, erected in the era of Brezhnev's stagnation.
“The ruins of the Headquarters and the governor’s house were preserved after the German occupation,” says Mogilev historian Igor Pushkin, “but they were not going to be restored. Not only these buildings were demolished from the famous Soviet times purpose: so that they would not be reminded of the king.
According to historians, the tsar liked Mogilev. And the tsar - to Mogilev.
On the City Wall, the Heir played freely with the local children. The daughters of Nicholas II also walked around the city unguarded and loved to shop at Bershtein's store, which sold haberdashery goods.
The queen, however, did not like Mogilev and lived in her own car on a dead end track near the railway station building. Sergei Yesenin lodged in this car for some time - it was from Mogilev that he left for his village, leaving the front.
Tales from different times
“The emperor, walking around the neighborhood, liked to talk with the peasants,” says Igor Pushkin. “The peasants“ kept tact ”- they didn’t ask the king for anything. And in the village of Dashkovka, Alexandra Fedorovna liked the estate of the nobleman Zhukovsky. The royal family wanted to buy the estate, but the local the nobility became stubborn, and the deal did not take place."The emperor regularly went to pray at St. Nicholas Monastery. And the city officials, having gone to great lengths, built a special sidewalk for Nicholas II. The king demanded a bill, and paid for the work from his own funds, and not from the treasury.
"This, of course, impressed the townspeople," says Igor Pushkin. But in Soviet times they were impressed with a different story - how the tsar shot a raven on the Buinichsky field.
Demolished "under the capital"
“Before the reconstruction of the city theater, the audience in the hall argued, whispering: in which of the boxes the emperor was sitting,” says Mogilev publicist Gennady Sudnik. then in the mid-1990s, historians told us that in this auditorium, Nicholas II watched not performances, but military chronicles. A movie camera was installed here especially for the tsar."There were practically no Bolsheviks in Mogilev at the beginning of 1917 - the first local Soviet of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies was headed by the Menshevik Vetrov.
And it was here in the Metropol Hotel, and then in the town of Bykhov near Mogilev, that the White Guard took shape organizationally.
"The old buildings in our city were also unlucky for the reason that at the end of the 30s they planned to make Mogilev the capital of the Byelorussian SSR. They demolished it "under the capital", built houses for Soviet chiefs. And the Government House in Minsk was copied from Mogilev - ours only a little smaller, built a little earlier," says Alexander Silkov, a history teacher and coordinator of local democratic organizations.
Looking for roots
Local museum workers explain the poverty of the expositions by the lack of original documents from the period of February 1917. And they admit that there is not much demand for the "royal theme": in last years specialists and ordinary visitors are interested in more ancient history - Belarusians are looking in depth for their roots and the beginnings of sovereign statehood.
Another popular topic is the defense of Mogilev in 1941. Konstantin Simonov wrote about these fierce battles and bequeathed to scatter his ashes over the Buinichi field...
The city authorities, meanwhile, are looking for funds to create an excursion route associated with the name of the last Russian tsar.
And in the church in Podnikolie there is a unique icon - not a canonical image of the New Martyr Nikolai Romanov (the emperor and the murdered members of his family were canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church at the beginning of this century), but a royal portrait from the beginning of the last century.
"This interesting story- says Igor Pushkin. - They made repairs in the building along Pionerskaya Street, began to break down the walls in the basements - suddenly a walled niche was discovered. They thought it was a treasure! It turned out - a portrait of Tsar Nicholas II. The portrait was brought to the church and has been revered as an icon ever since."
Loading...