Nicholas and Alexandra:
Their Love, Their Lives, Their City

Five years later Princess Alix returned to St. Petersburg. Nicholas put his charm to work and this time Alix was more comfortable accepting his affection. Together they went skating on frozen ponds and tobogganing. Something began to develop between the two of them, but the long distance between Europe and Russia held them back. Furthermore, in addition to the physical distance, there was also a cultural gap standing between the couple. Although Nicholas was thinking about marriage, there weren't many people in favor of the match. Princess Alix of Hesse was judged by the people of St. Petersburg from the days of her first visits. After her visit in 1889, the court described her as "devoid of charm, wooden, cold eyes, holds herself as if she'd swallowed a yardstick" (Radzinsky 23). In reality Alix was serious and shy which was something that St. Petersburgers were not necessarily used to. These judgements would later come back to haunt her (Massie 31).

Alix's First Ball

So it was that any plans for commitment between the two were temporarily halted as they continued to live their separate lives. Prince Albert Victor of Whales and Prince Eddy of Britain both proposed marriage to Alix around 1889, but she did not love either of them and refused both men. Knowing that Alix was a minor German princess and desiring a more favorable match for their son, Alexander III and Maria proposed a union between their son and Princess Helene of France, hoping for an alliance between Russia and France. Nicholas didn't have any desire to marry Princess Helene, which was just as well because she refused to convert to Orthodoxy (which would have been necessary in order for her to join the Romanov dynasty), as did another potential bride, Princess Margaret of Prussia after that (Massie 27-28, 32).

There was, however, one woman other than Alix with whom Nicholas was seriously involved. She was one of the greatest ballerinas of pre-revolutionary Russia, Mathilde Kschessinka. While she held strong feelings for the Tsarevich, he was never in love with her and continued to long for his Alix (Massie 20). An entry in Nicholas' diary from 1894 reads: "My dream is to someday marry Alix H. Have loved her for a long time, but even more deeply and strongly since 1889, when she spent 6 weeks of the winter in St.Petersburg. Have fought my feeling for a long time, trying to deceive myself with the impossibility of my cherished dream coming true The only obstacle or gap between her and me is that matter of religion" (qtd. in Radzinsky 24-25 ). One of the most important parts of Alix's early life was her Lutheran faith. Marrying into the Romanov family would mean converting to Russian Orthodoxy, which Alix absolutely did not want to do. In addition, Nicholas' parents refused to give their permission for him to propose. Besides being opposed to the fact that she was a minor German Princess, they were also afraid that her English upbringing would revive the liberal party. Nicholas opted to wait patiently. It paid off when, in 1894, the Tsar come down with influenza and kidney problems. Worried that his son would have to rule without a wife, he finally allowed Nicholas to propose. That spring, Alix's older brother Ernest was getting married in Coburg and Nicholas went representing Russia and with the intention of proposing to her. Alix met him at the train station there and he proposed the very next day. Alix was in a dilemma as she loved Nicholas but didn't want to give up her religion. It was Alix's sister Ella who convinced her that religion was not so important and the next day Alix accepted the proposal. Although the next few months were spent largely apart, Alix and Nicholas kept in touch and visited as much as they could. Alix began her religious instruction with Alexander III's personal confessor. (Massie 33 - 36)

As for the Tsar himself, his condition began to worsen and at his doctor's recommendation, he was moved to the Crimea with Maria and Nicholas. He appeared to improve but then his health deteriorated rapidly and Nicholas sent for Alix, who came quickly and they were formally betrothed. For the next ten days, life revolved around the ill Tsar and Alix got her first sense of what her new life was going to be like. Immediately she felt like an outsider amid this grief-sticken family. Not really knowing any of the family yet and having limited knowledge of Russian forced Alix to cling to Nicholas, who was her only contact and confidant. One thing that upset her, however, was that she felt that her fiancée was not being given the respect that he deserved as heir to the throne (Massie 41).

Picture from "http://www.nicholasandalexandra.com"

On November 1, Tsar Alexander III died suddenly, leaving an unsure Nicholas to reign over Russia (Mazour 123).The morning after Alexander's death, Princess Alix converted to Orthodoxy and took the name of Grand Duchess Alexandra Fedorovna. (Massie 44) The wedding was moved forward at Nicholas' request and one week after the funeral of Alexander, Nicholas and Alexandra were married in the chapel of the Winter Palace. (Lincoln 26) Because everyone was still in mourning, there was no honeymoon or reception after the wedding. As they drove away from the palace, a great ovation was heard from the crowd on the streets of St. Petersburg. In this couple, the people saw hope and thought that perhaps they could be the liberal rulers that they so desired.

After the wedding, the couple returned immediately to the Anichkov Palace, where they lived for the first winter with the Dowager Empress Marie. This living arrangement was difficult for Alexandra, as she wanted to be the focus of Nicholas' attention. Although she understood the delicate state the Dowager Empress was in, it was difficult to stand in the shadow of Marie, who offered Nicholas political advice as well as motherly affection. (Massie 49) It was not only tension between the women that distressed Alexandra, however. Even after her marriage to Nicholas, Alexandra was regarded harshly by St. Petersburg. They criticized many of her little flaws, from being a bad dancer to being too shy and arrogant. Culture also proved to be a barrier as Alexandra was brought up by Victorian standards and was considered a prude and boring by society. Furthermore, when she first arrived in Russia, Alexandra spoke little Russian and unknowingly made offensive cultural mistakes. She was not able to endure the criticism of St. Petersburg and with her complacent husband, she began to systematically isolate herself from the city. Even Nicholas' relatives complained that she sealed them off from Nicholas and even the palace. In the spring of 1895 Nicholas and Alexandra moved to Peterhof for the summer and later to the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo where Alexandra discovered she was pregnant. (Massie 50, 74)

The birth of Nicholas and Alexandra's first daughter Olga in 1895 marked the beginning of the large family that Alexandra so desired. Although elated by Olga's birth, the couple both needed and wanted a male heir. However, every two years from 1895 - 1901 they instead produced four daughters: Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia. (livadia.com). It wasn't until August 12, 1904 that the sound of 300 guns rang out from the Peter Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, marking the birth of Nicholas II's male heir, Alexei. After all the waiting, he represented hope for the future of the Romanovs. Unfortunately this dream was shattered when Alexei was six weeks old and he began bleeding and bruising and his blood wouldn't clot. Alexei had hemophilia. This disease interfered a great deal in his life and was a secret kept well within the family. It was a great source of distress for Alexandra, especially because of the guilt she felt for having passed him the gene. She lived in constant fear for her son's life (Massie 113, 137).

Relating indirectly to Alexei's illness came a person who had great influence over the Tsar and Tsarina. Twice when Alexei was suffering a great deal as a result of his hemophilia and appeared to be on his deathbed, a man named Gregory Rasputin intervened to "save" him. Rasputin was an illiterate Siberian peasant supposed to have strange religious powers. Though it was never clear if it was indeed his prayers that saved Alexei and later the Empress's good friend Anna, Alexandra believed fully in his powers and adopted him as her friend, confidant and advisor. (Mazour 134, Massie 334)

As a ruler, Nicholas was facing mounting domestic problems. Nicholas' biggest problem happened in August 1914, when Germany declared war on Russia. Struggling to be a great autocratic leader like his predecessors, Nicholas wanted to take control of the army at the onset of the war. His ministers advised against it, however, and so it was not until September of 1915 that he assumed supreme command of the Russian army fighting on the Eastern front. This perhaps was one of Nicholas' biggest mistakes. Assuming command meant assuming blame Alexei

for military failures and during this time there were many of
these, leading to a great loss of support for the Tsar. Some of this support was regained as a result of Nicholas bringing Alexei with him to the army headquarters. As tsarevich, it was important for Alexei to understand what ruling entailed and it also helped with the soldiers' morale. If Nicholas was still the symbol of the cause of holy Russia, then Alexei was symbolic of the future. (Atchison, Massie 297)

One of the greatest, most constant influences on Nicholas at this crucial time was his wife. Alexandra grew up believing that politics was not an occupation limited to men and, wanting to help her husband and his country, she acted as Nicholas' advisor, even with issues outside her interests. (Lincoln 603, Mazour 382) When Nicholas left to take command of the army, Alexandra took over the civil administration, despite her lack of experience. Nicholas often asked his wife for advice and she, believing her friend Rasputin to be infinitely wise and trustworthy, told Nicholas what Rasputin thought and encouraged him to follow his advice. Knowing how much faith Alexandra had in this man for taking care of their son, Nicholas often heeded the advice to appease her.

As support for the Tsar fell, an anti-German feeling also began to surface. German businesses and homes were destroyed and even the Empress was the target of this prejudice. The Russians thought she might be maintaining ties with her important German relatives and her case was not helped by her close relationship with Rasputin. People in St. Petersburg suspected a sexual relationship between the two and lost even more respect for her in this regard. Alexandra vehemently denied all accusations of disloyalty against her stating, "Twenty years I have spent in Russia. It is the country of my husband and my son All my heart is bound to this country" (Massie 331). (Mazour 390)

Revolution continued to grow within the government. On the 13th of July 1917, the Russian Army High Command recommended that Tsar Nicholas II abdicate the throne. This was one of the first decisions he made completely on his own. Alexandra was still in Petersburg, and he in Pskov. Rasputin had since been assassinated and Nicholas did what he thought would bring peace and was what the people wanted. He renounced two days later.

Following Nicholas' abdication, the Imperial family endured imprisonment at various locations within the next few years. Although their lives were turned upside down, everyone made the most out of what they had and hoped for the best. At times the family was separated, but for the most part they came together during this time of tragedy. Nicholas and Alexandra, still in love after nearly twenty-five years, looked to each other when nearly everyone else had deserted them. Although there was still some support for the tsar, there were many who took the imprisonment as an excuse to mock the family's situation. They withheld their dignity, however, right until the end. On July 17, 1918, Nicholas II, Alexandra, their children, and several close servants were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks at Ekaterinburg (Lincoln 748).