Empress Maria Alexandrovna mechanical chair. Beautiful life: chambers of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Living charm breathes in it

Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh ,

Duchess Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

The future Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha received her name in honor of her mother, Princess Maria Alexandrovna. The girl who was born on October 5, 1852 was a great joy in the family, she was very much expected, since after the Grand Duchess Alexandra, who died at the age of seven, only sons were born to the princess. And finally, a daughter. Joy was boundless

Alexandra Alexandrovna, V.I. Gau

Little Mary had a beneficial effect on the life of the whole family. Not only the parents, but also the brothers were very fond of the charming baby. The father, who ascended the throne two years after the birth of Mary, literally idolized his only daughter.

Maria with Anna Tyutcheva.

In the memoirs of the maid of honor Anna Feodorovna Tyutcheva, who spent almost thirteen years at court, one can read the following lines: “ Almost every evening I come to feed this cherub with soup - this is the only good minute all day, the only time when I forget the worries that overwhelm me, ”Alexander II once admitted. And a ruddy child in ribbons and lace on a high chair smiled joyfully at his father-emperor.».

Years have passed. The time has come to think about the marriage of the Grand Duchess. To whom to entrust the fate of their pet, the family decided not immediately. Only one thing was clear - the Romanov family tradition should be continued, that is, the daughter should be used for the benefit of the dynastic and political ambitions of the Imperial House.

Mary was married at the age of twenty to the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Alfred Ernest of Great Britain, the second son of Queen Victoria.

He served in the British Navy. He was thirty years old, and for five years already this "sea wolf", well known for his love affairs, had been seeking the favor of the daughter of the Russian emperor.

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Alfred of Edinburgh

His mother did not interfere with this and gave permission for the marriage. Thus, the duke decided to make a formal proposal to the tsar's daughter, not without the consent of the queen mother, who was known for her dislike of Russia. As it turned out, the Grand Duchess Maria herself was sympathetic to the gallant naval officer Alfred of Edinburgh. It only remained to observe dynastic etiquette: the prince had to ask Emperor Alexander II for the hand of his daughter.

Maria with her fiancé Alfred, father and brother Alexei.

It was for this purpose that the Duke Alfred of Edinburgh arrived in Darmstadt in June 1873, where the imperial couple and their daughter were at that time. Consent to the marriage was obtained, and the engagement was officially announced. The wedding was scheduled for next year.

Darmstad

However, Queen Victoria did not hide her displeasure that her son, as she believed, was getting married, accepting rather humiliating conditions dictated by the Russian Imperial House. She was not even given the opportunity to meet her future daughter-in-law, although Victoria turned to her “Russian relatives” with such a request. She expressed the wish that Alexander II brought his daughter to Osborne, where the queen was at that time.

This was reported to the emperor, who, having heard about such a "daring will", asked to tell Victoria that he was "very busy" and, unfortunately, could not take advantage of the opportunity to stay in Osborne. Alexander II decided that a sovereign monarch could not go "on a bow" to another monarch, and besides, without an official invitation. The mother of the bride, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, invited Victoria to meet on neutral territory, for example, in Cologne. By this, she aroused the indignation of the British queen, who was accustomed to special reverence.

The wedding took place on January 23, 1874 in St. Petersburg, in the Winter Palace. On the occasion of the marriage of the Russian Grand Duchess and the English Prince, high-ranking persons from different countries. The groom's mother, Queen Victoria, did not want to come.

Arrival of the Duke of Edinburgh in St. Petersburg, 1874

The British Embassy illuminated for the wedding. 1874

Wedding of the Duke of Edinburgh, illumination on Nevsky Prospekt, 1874

The arrival of the boats "Maria" and "Alfred" in St. Petersburg, a wedding gift to the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh from the British, 1874

Wedding procession in boats, 1874

Thus, the Romanovs were combined by marriage with the English royal House. For the first time in history, a British monarch became a close relative of the Russian emperor. This kindred union immediately began to attribute great political importance. It was believed that the marriage of the daughter of the Russian Tsar to the British prince would help Russia and England overcome the mutual hostility that had persisted since the Crimean War.

The father-emperor gave his beloved daughter as a dowry a huge amount for those times - 100 thousand pounds. In addition, Mary was allocated an annual allowance of 20 thousand pounds. According to the court protocol, after her marriage, she turned from a Grand Duchess into a Grand Duchess. According to the tradition of the Imperial House, Maria was listed as the chief, that is, the honorary commander, of one of the military units - the 14th Yamburg Lancers. In this capacity, the only daughter of Emperor Alexander II, now the Duchess of Edinburgh, together with her husband, the son of the British Queen Victoria, left St. Petersburg in the spring of 1874.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh on the streets of Petersburg, 1874

Leaving Russia, the Grand Duchess was very preoccupied, leaving her mother in sorrow. After the death of her eldest son Nikolai eight years ago, the Empress was never able to recover.

Leaving her homeland, Mary left her beloved mother alone with her suffering. Realizing that separation from her only daughter was a great grief for the mother empress, Maria sadly felt how lonely she was.

The newlyweds settled in London. However, the local society did not show cordiality to the Grand Duchess who arrived from Russia. She was considered too arrogant. Moreover, disagreements arose with the queen regarding the title of her Russian daughter-in-law. Emperor Alexander II insisted that his daughter be addressed only as "Your Imperial Highness" - this title belonged to her by birth. The Queen expressed her categorical disagreement, saying that the Duchess of Edinburgh should be addressed as "Your Royal Highness".

It seemed we are talking only about formalities. But these disagreements did not ease the position of Mary in a foreign country for her. Here there were other priorities, other customs reigned, a different language was spoken ...

However, in spite of everything, the family life of the Russian daughter-in-law of the English queen began according to the usual marital laws. In the same 1874, Maria became a mother: she gave birth to a son named after his father - Alfred.

Maria and Alfred with their first child

The Duke of Edinburgh did not hide his pride in his Russian wife - she gave him an heir. Over the next four years, three girls were born in the family of the son of Queen Victoria: Maria, Victoria and Alexandra. However, the main attention of parents has always been paid to the upbringing and education of their son. Maria Alexandrovna believed that only men needed education, and women needed only good manners and the ability to behave in a high society. Therefore, her daughters received, as they used to say, a typically British upbringing. Their childhood was spent in the parks of English castles, and their youth at high-society balls. In family photos, you can see cute girls in modest dresses and elegant hats, sedately seated at traditional tea next to their grandmother, the Empress of the British Empire.

In June 1880, Maria Alexandrovna learned of the death of her long-suffering mother. No one was with her at the time of her death. The daughter was very worried that she could not be present during the last days of her mother's life. And when she found out that her father, without waiting for the end of the period of mourning, married Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgoruky (by that time she was the mother of his three children), she sent a sharp telegram to Alexander II from London: “ I pray to God that me and mine younger brothers who were closest to mom would one day be able to forgive you…»

Only nine months had passed after the death of his mother, and a tragedy occurred again: in St. Petersburg, a terrorist bomb thrown at the feet of the emperor literally tore him to pieces.

The loss of her beloved parents was a terrible shock for the Grand Duchess, who was forced to live outside her homeland, away from loved ones.

In 1884, the Duchess of Edinburgh gave birth to another daughter, Beatrice. This was the last child in the duke's family. The beauty of Maria Alexandrovna was fading, her husband, the gallant admiral of the British fleet, was often absent, marital relations began to go wrong ...

Maria Alexandrovna with children

More than once Maria Alexandrovna visited Russia. In the summer, when the entire Romanov family was outside of St. Petersburg, in Peterhof, Pavlovsk or Strelna, relatives from Europe usually also came. " One of the most frequent guests, - Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna writes in her memoirs, - was the Duchess of Edinburgh, the only sister of Alexander III. She came often, she constantly had disagreements with her mother-in-law. According to her father, Queen Victoria was a nasty, sticky old woman, and she considered him(brother of Mary, Emperor Alexander III) rude. I loved Aunt Maria; I don't think she was happy. But in Peterhof she rested from all worries».

Gradually, the life of the Russian Grand Duchess, the Duchess of Edinburgh, on the British island became every year more and more unbearable. Therefore, when in 1893 the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha passed to her husband and the family left England, she was infinitely happy.

The residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was the city of Coburg. Located in the picturesque forests in the north of Bavaria, it was first mentioned in the 11th century, but received city rights in 1231. Through dynastic marriages, the dukes were associated with many ruling houses Europe, including Great Britain, Belgium, Russia, Portugal, Bulgaria. Queen Victoria of England was the daughter of the Princess of Coburg and herself married Albert of Coburg.

Queen Victoria and her family. Coburg. April 1894

So, the husband of Maria Alexandrovna turned from a British prince into a sovereign sovereign of the German Empire. To study the conditions of life in Germany, he took a university course in Bonn. However, the coming of the English duke to power was commented on in the German press in aggressive nationalist tones. It was believed that, being the son of an English queen, he would not be able to fulfill the duties of a German sovereign prince. Difficulties really arose immediately: the new duke knew the German language poorly, communication was difficult.

And how did the daughter of the Russian Tsar live? What has changed for her since she left England for good?

Undoubtedly, a lot has changed, and for the better. Germany was closer to the heart of the daughter of a born German princess. From now on, Maria Alexandrovna became known as the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, while retaining the title of Duchess of Edinburgh.

The family settled in the Coburg castle.

It seemed that relations between the spouses improved again. But very little time passed, and Prince Alfred, forced to leave his service in the British Navy and leave his beloved London, began to complain about the boring life in Kobupre. He no longer had the opportunity to engage in his favorite hobby: Alfred was a famous philatelist.

Maria Alexandrovna saw her main task all these years in the successful marriage of matured daughters. The Russian daughter-in-law of the English queen, although she had lived in England for two decades, was not too disposed towards this country. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, she was against the marriage of her eldest daughter with one of the many cousins, grandchildren of her mother-in-law, the queen. Therefore, contrary to the wishes of the English grandmother, in 1893 she married her daughter Maria, famous for her rare beauty, to the Crown Prince of Romania, Prince Ferdinand of Hohenzollern. (A year later, Maria gave her mother her first granddaughter.)

Princess Mary-Missy 1875-1938

Three other daughters left the British Isle with their parents. Already in April 1894, the wedding of the eighteen-year-old Princess Victoria with the Sovereign Duke Ernest Ludwig of Hesse took place in Coburg, which was attended by relatives not only from Germany, but also from England and Russia. Even my grandmother, Queen Victoria, arrived in Coburg. It is noteworthy that it was at these wedding celebrations that the engagement of the future Tsar Nicholas II, Maria Alexandrovna's nephew, with the Hessian princess Alike, the duke's sister, was announced.

Princess Victoria-Melita - Dhaka

Exactly two years later, Maria Alexandrovna married her third daughter, Alexandra, to Prince Ernst VII of Hohenlohe-Langenburg.

Princess Alexandra 1878-1942

And in 1896, the youngest, Beatrice, also left her parental home. She married Alphonse, Prince of Orleans, Infante of Spain, and moved to Madrid.

Beatrice's youngest daughter

All the daughters of the Russian Grand Duchess made good parties. Only the only son of the ducal couple, Crown Prince Alfred, remained on the rung of the family ladder. And then the unpredictable happened.

On the day of the celebration of the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of the parents, the grandson of Emperor Alexander II attempted suicide. As it became known later, having entered into extramarital relations, he contracted a venereal disease. Upon learning of this, in order to avoid shame, he shot himself in the head. It was not possible to save him, the Crown Prince of Saxe-Coburg died two weeks later. He was twenty five years old.

Alfred "Affie", heir to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The death of a son was a terrible tragedy for the parents, their grief was boundless. Having survived such a strong nervous shock, the spouse of Maria Alexandrovna began to complain of malaise. Less than a year and a half after the death of his son, he died of throat cancer. This happened in July 1900. So for the Grand Duchess came years of widowhood, twenty years long.

Alfred, Herzog von Edinburgh und Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha

After the death of her husband, the Dowager Duchess continued to live in Coburg and only a few years later moved to Switzerland. Strict etiquette continued to be observed at the Coburg court. The employees were always smart, dressed in court liveries and sacredly observed the established routines and traditions. Maria Alexandrovna most spent time at Villa Edinburgh. The three-story building, which also housed the home church with icons and decorations of the camp church of Alexander II, became her home. (Later, the Grand Duchess gave this villa to her daughter Victoria.) In the living room hung a large picture depicting all the daughters of the Grand Duchess as young princesses, and a portrait of Mary herself, painted shortly after her marriage.

The last years of her life, the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha lived in Zurich. Her daughter Victoria and her family also moved to Switzerland from Finland. But they didn't have long to be together again. On October 24, 1920, the Russian Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, daughter of Emperor Alexander II, died. She was buried in Coburg, in the family vault of the Dukes of Coburg.

Chapter Four

DEATH OF EMPRESS MARIA ALEXANDROVNA AND EMPEROR ALEXANDER II

Assassination attempts on the king

1879-1880 - the years of the "hunt for the king." The first attempt was made on April 4, 1866: when the emperor, accompanied by his nephew, Duke N. M. of Leuchtenberg and his niece, Princess M. M. of Baden, was leaving the Summer Garden, Dmitry Karakozov shot at him. The peasant Osip Komissarov, who was in the crowd, saved the emperor from death, who saw how Karakozov was aiming at the sovereign, and hit the assassin on the arm just at the very moment when he pulled the trigger.

All of Russia was horrified by this shot. F. I. Dostoevsky ran to the poet A. N. Maikov with a crazy cry: “They shot at the tsar!” - "Killed!" Mike shouted in some inhuman wild voice. “No… rescued… safely… but they fired, fired, fired!” Maikov responded to this act with the poem "April 4, 1866":

Everything that we have in our chest is Russian, -

Offended!.. Mouths are silent, numb

From horror! By the hand of an unknown villain

The holy blood of the king was hardly shed.

The king - the guardian of the strictest law!

And where? Between us, among our family...

King - the builder of the Earth,

Liberator of millions!

In all theaters, the audience demanded the performance of the hymn "God Save the Tsar." The anthem was performed nine times at the Alexandrinsky Theatre, up to six times at the Mikhailovsky and Mariinsky Theatres. On April 6, in St. Petersburg, Alexander II was forced to schedule a parade in his presence. On May 1, 1866, Herzen in "The Bell" commented on what had happened: "We are amazed at the thought of the responsibility that this fanatic took upon himself ... Only among savage and decrepit peoples history breaks through with murders."

Karakozov, a former student of Kazan and Moscow universities, the son of a nobleman in the Saratov province, was expelled from the university for participating in the riots. He was in an underground circle, which set as its goal the implementation of a coup d'état. As it turned out, Karakozov suffered from a mental disorder. When on August 31 he was sentenced to death, he repented in his appeal to the tsar and asked for forgiveness: “My crime is so terrible that I, Sovereign, do not even dare to think about even the slightest mitigation of the punishment I deserved. But I swear in my last moments that if it were not for this terrible morbid condition in which I have been since my severe nervous illness, I would not have committed this terrible crime. Sovereign, I ask your forgiveness, like a Christian to a Christian, as a person to a person.

On May 25, 1867, during a visit to the World Exhibition in Paris, another attempt was made on the life of Alexander II. This time the attempt was made by the fanatic Pole Anton Berezovsky, who shot twice at the tsar, who was riding in a carriage with Emperor Napoleon III, Grand Dukes Alexander and Vladimir. As A. Berezovsky stated, he took revenge on the Russian emperor for the suppression of the Polish liberation uprising of 1863. The terrorist was sentenced to life imprisonment, but the Paris Commune, which had come to power by that time, released him on behalf of the French socialists and even awarded him with an “honorary revolver”.

On April 2, 1879, the third assassination attempt took place, committed by Alexander Solovyov. At 9 o'clock in the morning, when the emperor was returning to the Winter Palace after a walk, the killer - a thirty-year-old law student - fired five bullets at him from a revolver, but, fortunately, unsuccessfully, and only the emperor's overcoat was shot through in several places. “God saved the Pope? in an amazing way, and he returned home unharmed ... - Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich wrote in his diary. - Dad? ascended, there was such a “cheers” that it was just scary ... Dad? went out onto the balcony, and the whole mass of the people greeted him with a unanimous cheer! The whole square was filled with people all day long. In the evening there was an illumination… Thank the Lord for the miraculous salvation of dear Papa? from all our hearts. Glory to you Lord, glory to you."

All terrorists were immoral and anti-religious people. “I was baptized in the Orthodox faith,” Alexander Solovyov told investigators after his arrest, but in reality I do not recognize any faith. While still at the gymnasium, I renounced belief in saints "... "Under the influence of reflections on the many books I read, purely scientific content, and, by the way, Buckle and Draper, I even renounced beliefs in God as a supernatural being."

Soon, in the same 1879, a railway track was blown up near Moscow at the place where the royal train was supposed to pass.

On February 5, 1880, another terrorist act took place, the victim of which could be not only the king, but the entire royal family. The organizers expected that when the royal family sat down at the table during dinner, an explosion would occur. A powerful explosive device was planted in the lower floor of the Winter Palace.

On February 5 (17), 1880, the Tsarevich, constantly keeping a diary, wrote: “In? 6 went to the Warsaw road to meet Alexander and Ludwig together with the brothers D[yadya]. From the station, everyone went to the Winter Palace for dinner, and we had just managed to reach the beginning of the large corridor Papa?, and he went out to meet D. Alexander, when there was a terrible rumble and everything went underfoot and in an instant the hall went out. We all ran to the yellow dining room, from where the noise was heard, and found all the windows smashed, the walls cracked in several places, the chandeliers were almost all extinguished, and everything was covered with a thick layer of dust and lime. There was complete darkness in the large courtyard, and terrible cries and confusion were heard from there. Immediately, Vladimir and I ran to the main guard, which was not easy, since everything went out and everywhere the air was so thick that it was difficult to breathe. Running to the main guard, we found a terrible scene: the entire large guard room, where people were placed, was blown up, and everything fell through more than a sazhen of depth, and in this pile of bricks, lime, slabs and huge blocks of vaults and walls, more than 50 soldiers lay side by side. , mostly wounded, covered with a layer of dust and blood. The picture is tearing, and in my life I will not forget this horror!

The unfortunate Finns were on guard, and when they managed to bring everyone to notice, 10 people were killed and 47 wounded ... It is impossible to describe and you will not find words to express the whole horror of this evening and this heinous and unheard of crime. The explosion was arranged in the rooms under the guardroom in the basement, where the carpenters lived. What happened in the Winter Palace is impossible to imagine...

IN? 12 returned home with Minnie and could not sleep for a long time, all the nerves were so loaded and such a terrible feeling took possession of all of us. Lord, we thank You for Your new mercy and miracle, but give us the means and instruct us how to act! What should we do!"

Three days later, the soldiers of the Finnish Regiment, who died guarding the Winter Palace, were buried. Emperor Alexander II, approaching a long row of coffins, bared his head and said quietly: “It seems that we are still at war, near Plevna ...”

“The year is coming to an end, a terrible year that has cut into the heart of every Russian with indelible features,” wrote M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in the 12th issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski in 1879. Three daring attempts on the person of the emperor and sixteen executions - this was a new statistic for Russia.

In the summer of 1879, Minister of War D. A. Milyutin, returning from the Crimea with the imperial family, wrote: “I found a strange mood in St. Petersburg: even in the highest government spheres they talk about the need for radical reforms, even the word “constitution” is pronounced; no one believes in the stability of the existing order of things.”

Death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

On May 22 (June 3), 1880, after much suffering at the age of 56, Empress Maria Alexandrovna died. Her illness - tuberculosis - progressed rapidly, and it is quite possible that one of the reasons for this was the experience associated with her husband's passion for Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova. Twenty-six years of a happy marriage and a cheating husband at the end of his life. “No one was with her at the very moment of her death,” wrote Count D. A. Milyutin, “her inseparable camera-Frau Makushkina, entering the bedroom at nine in the morning, found an already lifeless corpse. It can be assumed that the patient ended her life calmly, without agony, as if falling asleep.

According to the maid of honor A. Tolstoy, after the death of the Empress, a letter to her husband written long ago was found in her papers. In it, Maria Alexandrovna touchingly thanked her husband for the life happily lived next to him. Scattered sheets of paper were also found in her table, in which the last will of the Empress was expressed:

“1) I wish to be buried in a simple white dress, please do not put a royal crown on my head. I also wish, if possible, not to perform an autopsy.

2) I ask my dear children to remember me forty days after my death and, if possible, attend mass, pray for me, especially at the time of the consecration of the Holy Gifts. This is my greatest wish."

Empress Maria Alexandrovna was a deeply religious Orthodox person, for many years she was actively engaged in charitable activities, helping sick and disadvantaged people. Thanks to her work, women's education has moved in Russia. She was one of the founders of the Society for the Guardianship of Sick Soldiers, which was the prototype of the Russian Red Cross Society. Maria Alexandrovna was loved by many, the best poets dedicated beautiful poems to her. So, F.I. Tyutchev wrote:

Whoever you are, but when you meet her,

pure or sinful soul,

you suddenly feel alive

that there is a better world, a spiritual world.

“The shrine of the house collapsed with her,” said after her death, her maid of honor A. A. Tolstaya, the tutor of the royal children Sergei, Pavel and Mary. Relatives were deeply worried about the death of Maria Alexandrovna. The sons loved and revered their mother. After the death of his mother, Alexander Alexandrovich wrote to Maria Feodorovna: "If it came to the canonization of my mother, I would be happy, because I know that she was a saint." Maria Alexandrovna had a great influence on the formation of her sons, did a lot for their religious education, spiritual and cultural development. “If there is anything good, good and honest in me, then I owe it, of course, dear dear Mom?”

On May 27, a solemn funeral of the Empress took place. As Count S. D. Sheremetev noted in his memoirs, “Tsar Alexander II was before us for the last time in his new crown, in the crown of martyrdom sent down to him as atonement. Empress Maria Alexandrovna, with her life, seemed to serve as a shield for him.

Four years later, on the day of his mother’s death, Emperor Alexander III would write to Maria Feodorovna: “For 4 years now, what has not become dear dear Mom?. How time flies, but still I will never forget that terrible morning when we received this terrible news on Yelagin and so unexpectedly. It all started with her death. Time of Troubles, this living nightmare that we went through and which forever ruined all the good, dear memories of family life; all illusions were gone, everything went around, it was impossible to figure it out in this whirlpool, and they did not understand each other! All the dirt, all the rubbish crawled out and swallowed up all the good, all the holy! Oh, why did you have to see all this, hear and take part in all this chaos yourself. The guardian angel flew away, and everything went around, the farther, the worse, and, finally, culminated in this terrible, nightmarish, incomprehensible March 1! (On March 1, 1881, Emperor Alexander II was killed. - Yu. K.)

In 1885, Emperor Alexander III and his brothers, Grand Dukes Sergei Alexandrovich and Pavel Alexandrovich, in memory of their mother in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, laid the foundation for the Church of Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles, the heavenly patroness of the Russian Empress. In September 1888, its solemn consecration took place. The temple was made in the new Russian style, typical for the reign of Alexander III. Moscow domes and kokoshniks that adorned it made it the most expressive monument of Russian Palestine. The architect of the temple was D. I. Grimm. Iconostasis made of white marble with dark bronze, icons by the artist V.V. Vereshchagin. Each of the four walls was decorated with huge frescoes, reflecting the main episodes from the life of St. Mary Magdalene. On the south side - "The Healing of Magdalene by the Savior", on the west - "Magdalene at the Cross of the Lord", on the north - "The Appearance of the Resurrected Christ to Magdalene", on the east above the altar - "The Sermon of Magdalene before the Emperor Tiberius". The author of the frescoes was then a young artist Sergei Ivanov, later a well-known author of Russian historical painting.

After the death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Tsarevich Alexander and Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna left Tsarskoye Selo and settled in the Elagin Palace.

New marriage of Emperor Alexander II

After the burial of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, Emperor Alexander II, in love with the young princess E. Dolgorukova, announced his intention to enter into an official marriage with her. Alexander II explained his decision by the fact that he had children from E. Dolgorukova, and added that no one could guarantee that he "won't be killed even today."

Indeed, assassination attempts on the tsar had become almost regular by that time, and only a miracle saved him from certain death each time. On July 6, 1880 (40 days after the death of Empress Maria Alexandrovna), in a small room on the lower floor near the altar of the marching church of the Grand Tsarskoye Selo Palace, the marriage ceremony of Emperor Alexander II and Countess Dolgorukova took place. The ceremony was attended by Count A. V. Adlerberg, head of the Main Imperial Apartment A. M. Ryleev and Adjutant General Count E. T. Baranov. After the wedding ceremony, the emperor asked all those present to keep everything that had happened a secret. To Adlerberg’s question about the reaction of the heir, Alexander II replied that upon the return of the crown prince from Gapsala, he himself would inform him, but he hoped that the heir would take it properly, because “the sovereign is the only judge of his actions.” Alexander II and Princess E. M. Dolgorukova became now legal husband and wife. The wife of the sovereign received the title of Princess Yuryevskaya.

In a decree signed on July 6, 1880, to the Governing Senate, Alexander II recognized his paternity and created a legal position for his children from Ekaterina Mikhailovna.

In the first days of August, Emperor Alexander II informed his son Alexander Alexandrovich about his marriage. August 13/25. Did we dine at Papa's? with the brothers, - the crown prince wrote in his diary. - After dinner, Dad? told Minnie and me to go to his office and then, when we sat down, he announced to us about his wedding, and that he could not postpone it any longer, both in his years and in the present sad circumstances, and therefore on July 6 he married Princess Dolgoruky. Meanwhile, Papa? he told us that he had not told any of the brothers about this and was the first to explain this to us, since he did not want to hide anything from us, and then he added that this wedding was known only to Count Loris-Melikov and those who were present at it ...

Dad? at the same time he asked us if we wished to see his wife and that we should speak frankly. Then Papa? called Princess Dolgorukova into the office and, introducing her to us, was so excited that he could hardly speak. After that, he called his children: an 8-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl, Olga, and we kissed and got to know each other. The boy is sweet and nice and talkative, and the girl is very sweet, but much more serious than her brother. Staying with Papa? more? hours, we said goodbye and returned home. Only at home we recovered a little after everything we had heard and seen, and although I was almost sure that this was how it should have ended, the news was still unexpected and somehow strange!

The tsar's daughter Maria Alexandrovna, Duchess of Edinburgh, condemned him in her letter to her father. “I pray to God,” she wrote, “that I and my younger brothers, who were closest to Mom?, would be able to forgive you one day.”

Other members royal family were extremely outraged that Alexander Nikolaevich married Princess E. Dolgorukova, not observing a year of mourning for his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Moreover, at that time throughout Russia they continued to serve according to Orthodox custom traditional memorial services for the repose of her soul.

A letter from Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, to the Hessian prince, testifies to the hostile attitude towards the new wife of the emperor: “This woman, who has occupied such an enviable position for fourteen years, was introduced to us as a member of the family. With her three children, and it's so sad that I just can't find the words to express my grief. She comes to all family dinners, official or private, and is also present at church services in the court church with the whole court. We have to receive her and also pay her visits… And as her influence grows every day, it is simply impossible to predict where this will all lead. And since the princess is very ill-bred, and she has neither tact nor intelligence, you can easily imagine how every feeling, every memory sacred to us, simply tramples underfoot, spares nothing.

In the summer of 1880, at the request of Alexander II, the Tsarevich's family spent the summer in the Crimea together with the new family of Alexander II, Princess Yuryevskaya and her three children. For the Tsarevich and Tsesarevna, this was a real test. The circumstances of the emperor's private life complicated the attitude of the hereditary couple towards him.

From a letter from Princess Maria Feodorovna to her mother: “I cried continuously, even at night. The Grand Duke scolded me, but I could not help myself ... I managed to achieve freedom at least in the evenings. As soon as the evening tea was over and the sovereign sat down at the gambling table, I immediately went to my room, where I could breathe freely. One way or another, I endured daily humiliation as long as they concerned me personally, but as soon as it came to my children, I realized that it was beyond my strength. They were stolen from me, as if by the way, trying to bring them closer to terrible little bastard offspring. And then I got up like a real lioness protecting her cubs. Difficult scenes played out between me and the sovereign, caused by my refusal to give him children. Apart from those hours when they, as usual, came to the grandfather to say hello. One Sunday before mass, in the presence of the whole company, he severely rebuked me, but still the victory was on my side. Joint walks with the new family ceased, and the princess remarked extremely irritably that she did not understand why I treated her children as if they were plagued.

In the autumn of 1880, Alexander Alexandrovich wrote to his brother Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in Italy with deep heartache: “It’s better not to remember our life in the Crimea, it was so sad and hard! So many dear unforgettable memories for all of us in this sweet and dear, according to the memories of dear Mama ?, Livadia! How much was new, shocking! Thank God for you that you do not spend the winter in Petersburg; it would be hard for you here and not good! You can imagine how hard it is for me to write all this, and I definitely cannot give more details before our meeting, but now I am done with this sad situation and will never return to this subject in my letters. I will add only one thing: one cannot go against a fait accompli and nothing will help. There is only one thing left for us: to submit and fulfill the desires and will of the Pope ?, and God will help us all to cope with new difficult and sad circumstances, and the Lord will not leave us, as before!

In November 1880, on the eve of the departure of Emperor Alexander II and his new family from the Crimea, the police discovered a ready-made charge in the Lozovaya station area, laid under the railroad track. The terrorists were preparing a new attempt on the king and his family.

In a November letter to his son, the tsar wrote:

“In the event of my death, I entrust my wife and children to you. Your friendly disposition towards them, which manifested itself from the very first day of our acquaintance and was a genuine joy for us, makes me believe that you will not leave them and will be their patron and good adviser.

During the life of my wife, our children should remain only under her care. But if Almighty God calls her to him before the age of children, I wish that General Ryleev or another person of his choice and with your consent be appointed from the guardians.

My wife did not inherit anything from her family. Thus, all the property that now belongs to her - movable and immovable, was acquired by her personally, and her relatives have no rights to this property. Out of caution, she bequeathed her entire fortune to me, and it was agreed between us that if it fell to my lot to survive her misfortune, her entire fortune would be equally divided among our children and transferred to them by me after they came of age or when our daughters married.

Until our marriage is announced, the capital deposited by me in the State Bank belongs to my wife by virtue of a document issued to her by me. This is my last will, and I am sure that you will carry it out carefully. God bless you!

Do not forget me and pray for Pa, who loves you so dearly!”

Assassination of Alexander II

The morning of March 1 did not portend anything terrible. Alexander II was in a good mood in the morning. After dinner, he received Count Loris-Melikov, who reported to him on the state reform project, according to which it was supposed to create a special commission from elected zemstvo representatives to consider bills. The emperor verbally approved the project of Count Loris-Melikov. D. A. Milyutin wrote in his diaries: “The Emperor said that day: “I gave my consent to this performance, although I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution.”

Alexander II left the palace for the Mikhailovsky Manege, then drove to the Mikhailovsky Palace, where he visited the Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna, and after that the carriage headed for the Winter Palace.

An ambush awaited the emperor on the embankment of the Catherine Canal. From the explosion of the first bomb thrown at the emperor, several Cossacks of the convoy and passers-by were injured. Although the imperial carriage was blown to pieces, the emperor himself miraculously remained unharmed and, leaving the carriage and not caring for his own safety, began to help the wounded. Taking advantage of the situation, I. I. Grinevitsky, an accomplice in the assassination attempt, immediately threw a second bomb at the feet of the emperor. This explosion turned out to be fatal for him: his legs were crushed, one foot was torn off. But the sovereign was conscious and ordered to go to the Winter Palace.

“What a grief and misfortune that our emperor has left us in such a terrible way. It broke my heart to see him in this terrible state. The face, head and upper body were unharmed, but the legs were completely crushed and torn to shreds up to the knees, so that at first I could not understand what I actually saw - a bloody mass and half a boot on the right leg and half a foot on the left. Never in my life have I seen anything like it. No, it was terrible!

... The sight of the unfortunate widow's grief tore her heart. In a moment, all the dislike we felt for her disappeared, and only the greatest participation in her boundless grief remained.

My peace and tranquility has come to an end, because from now on I will never again be able to be calm for Sasha ... Our Lord, hear my prayer, protect and save Sasha! Bless his ways, help him to fulfill with wisdom and success all his good intentions regarding the country, prosperity, happiness and blessing of the people!

The future Nicholas II left a description of this tragic day:

“My grandfather lay on the narrow camp bed he always slept on. He was covered with a military overcoat, which served him as a dressing gown. His face was deathly pale.

It was covered with small wounds. His eyes were closed.

My father led me to the bed. “Daddy?” he said, raising his voice, “your ray of sunshine is here.” I saw the flutter of eyelashes, my grandfather's blue eyes opened, he tried to smile. He moved his finger, but he could neither raise his hands nor say what he wanted to say, but he certainly recognized me. Propriest Bazhanov came up and gave him communion for the last time. We all knelt down and the Emperor passed away quietly. So the Lord God was pleased.

For three days the body of the murdered emperor remained in the office of the Winter Palace, where he died. Panikhidas were served continuously for three days, and on the fourth day the deceased was transferred to the large palace church.

“Countless lights of tall candles. Clergy in mourning attire. Choirs of courtiers and metropolitan singers, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled. - Gray heads of kneeling military men. Tearful faces of the Grand Duchesses. The worried whisper of the courtiers. And the general attention paid to two monarchs: one lying in a coffin with a meek, wounded face, and the other, standing at the coffin, strong, powerful, overcoming his sadness and fearing nothing.

Alexander Alexandrovich, Maria Fedorovna, Princess Yuryevskaya and her children during these mourning days stood together for a long time in mournful silence at the coffin. On one of these days, Princess Yuryevskaya, going up to the coffin, cut off her long beautiful hair and put it under the arms of the deceased.

On March 18, before the transfer of the coffin to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the last memorial service took place. K. Pobedonostsev, who was present at it, wrote: “Today I attended a memorial service at the hearse. When the service ended and everyone left the church, I saw the widow of the deceased come out of the next room. She could hardly stand on her feet and walked, leaning on her sister's arm. Ryleyev accompanied her. The unfortunate woman fell in front of the coffin. The face of the deceased is covered with gas, which is forbidden to be lifted, but the widow tore off the veil with a jerky movement and covered the forehead and the whole face of the deceased with long kisses. I felt sorry for the poor woman."

On the eighth day, the body was solemnly transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the tomb of the Romanov family. To enable the people to say goodbye to the ashes of the sovereign, the longest path to the Peter and Paul Cathedral was chosen. The funeral procession stretched throughout St. Petersburg, along all its main streets.

In his will, Alexander II admonished his son: “May God help him to justify my hopes and complete what I failed to do to improve the welfare of our dear Fatherland. I conjure him not to be carried away by fashionable theories, worrying about his constant development, based on love for God and on the law. He must not forget that the might of Russia is based on the unity of the State, and therefore everything that can lead to upheavals of the whole unity and to the separate development of various nationalities is detrimental to her and should not be allowed. I thank him, for the last time, from the depths of his tenderly loving heart, for his friendship, for the zeal with which he performed his official duties and helped me in state affairs.

As a result of the terrorist act, twenty people were injured, three of whom died on the spot, among them - Alexander Malenchevykh, a Cossack of the Terek Life Guards squadron of His Majesty's own convoy, a peasant Nikolai Zakharov, a 14-year-old boy from a butcher's shop, who was wounded in the head; eleven people were wounded, of which six were seriously wounded, including chief police chief A. I. Dvorzhitsky, who was found to have 57 wounds. Many of the wounded died later in hospitals. I. I. Grinevitsky, who threw the bomb and was a member of Narodnaya Volya, was also mortally wounded and died on the same day.

Russia was in real shock. The terrorist act of March 1, 1881 was directed not only against the emperor - the supreme ruler of Russia, but also against Russia itself and the peoples inhabiting its vast expanse.

Anna Grigoryevna, the wife of F. M. Dostoevsky, who was no longer alive at that time, made the following entry in her memoirs: “The news of the villainy of March 1 would undoubtedly have greatly shocked Fyodor Mikhailovich, who idolized the tsar - the liberator of the peasants.” On the very day of the regicide, the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, K. P. Pobedonostsev, sent Alexander Alexandrovich a message in which he wrote: “God ordered us to live through this terrible day. It is as if God's punishment fell on unfortunate Russia. I would like to hide my face, go underground, so as not to see, not to feel, not to experience. God have mercy on us.

But for you, this day is even more terrible, and thinking about you at these moments, that the bloody threshold through which God was pleased to lead you into your new destiny, my whole soul trembles for you with the fear of the unknown coming to you and to Russia, the fear of the great the untold burden that is upon you. Loving you as a person, I would like to save you as a person from hardships into a free life, but there is no human strength for that, for God was so pleased. It was His holy will that you be born into the world for this purpose, and that your beloved brother, departing to Him, would show you his place on earth.

... You get Russia confused, shattered, confused, longing to be led with a firm hand, what she wants and what she does not want and will not allow in any way ... "

In the extensive literature devoted to Alexander II, there are sharply opposite assessments of his reign and the historical role of the reforms he carried out.

P. A. Kropotkin, who at one time was a chamber-page of Alexander II and who closely communicated with the tsar, recalled: “Many did not understand how it could happen that the tsar, who had done so much for Russia, fell at the hands of the revolutionaries. But I had to see the first reactionary manifestations of Alexander II and follow how they intensified later; it also happened that I could look into the depths of his complex soul, see in him a born autocrat, whose cruelty was only partly mitigated by education, and understand this man who had the courage of a soldier, but lacked courage, a statesman, a man of strong passions, but weak will, - and for me this tragedy developed with the fatal sequence of a Shakespearean drama.

The poet Nekrasov will briefly express his attitude to the reforms with these words: “The great chain broke, broke and hit, with one end on the master, on the other at the peasant.”

Historian S. M. Solovyov writes in his sketches “About state of the art Russia”: “It was easy to screw up under Nicholas I, it was easy to take the opposite direction and hastily and convulsively unscrew under Alexander II, but it was extremely difficult to slow down the crew during this hasty convulsive descent. It would have been easy with government wisdom, but it didn't exist. The transformations are carried out successfully by Peter the Great, but it’s a disaster if Louis XVI and Alexandra II are taken for them ... "

Professor V. O. Klyuchevsky will assess the reforms of Alexander II in this way: “With one hand, he (Emperor Alexander II. - Yu. K.) gave reforms, aroused the most courageous expectations in society, and the other put forward and supported the servants who destroyed them ... "Alexander II, according to the historian, did not become an" autocratic provocateur "," all his great reforms, inexcusably belated, were generously conceived , hastily developed and dishonestly executed, except perhaps for the reform of the judiciary and the military ... ".

Indeed, in the last years of his life, Alexander II was often dependent in his decisions. Such contemporaries as D. A. Milyutin and M. Loris-Melikov understood the good of Russia in different ways. A negative connotation was also given by the fact that more and more his morganatic wife E. M. Yuryevskaya became his main adviser on a whole range of issues. The personal aspect in the adoption of the constitution, the change and legalization of a new marriage to give his wife the status of "Empress Catherine" were part of the emperor's plans.

The Minister of the Court A. V. Adlerberg will speak on this subject as follows: “The martyrdom of the Sovereign, perhaps, prevented new reckless acts and saved the brilliant reign from an inglorious and humiliating finale.”

Many, many years later, recalling the terrible day of March 1, 1881, Empress Maria Feodorovna, being in the position of a refugee in the Crimea, would write in her diary: “I got up early, remembered the terrible day twenty-eight years ago, the day of accession to the throne. How terrible it was! Everything seemed hazy and gloomy. And yet, by the will of the Lord, the sun shone again. He blessed my beloved Sasha and the whole country and gave us 13 years of peace and happiness!”

The economic consequences of the "great reforms" were disappointing. The most severe political crisis, Russia's public debt has tripled and amounted to six billion rubles. 500 million were spent on carrying out the Peasant Reform, one and a half billion were spent on the Crimean and Russian-Turkish wars, a billion was spent on the construction of 20 thousand miles of railways.

The consequence of the so-called "liberal" reforms was a sharp increase in crime - 2.7 times more in comparison with the reign of Emperor Nicholas I.

S. Yu. Witte later writes in his memoirs: “Alexander III ascended the throne, not only bloodied with the martyrdom of his father, but also during a time of unrest, when the practice of murder again took on serious proportions ... After a thirteen-year reign, he left Russia strong, calm, self-confident and with very comfortable finances. He inspired general respect for himself, for he was a peace-loving and highly honest king.

A. Elkin THE MYSTERY OF "EMPRESS MARY" A documentary story ELKIN Anatoly Sergeevich (1929-1975). Russian Soviet literary critic and writer, candidate of philological sciences, member of the Writers' Union. In 1952 he graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Leningrad State University, and then postgraduate studies there.

CHAPTER 12 1928-1931 Death of Empress Maria Feodorovna - Our stolen goods sold in Berlin - Death of Grand Duke Nicholas - Loss of New York money - Calvi - Drawing monsters - Matushkin's move to Boulogne - Bibi's niece - Letter from Prince Kozlovsky - Double-headed eagle -

2. The case of the composition in the Holy Synod of a form for a litany with the name of the first bride of Peter II, Maria Alexandrovna Menshikova. 1727, May 27 No. 1 Clearly powerful lord, Lord His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Danilovich, State Generalissimo and military cavalier, special

CHAPTER 10 About the trips of Emperor Alexander III in the south-west. railways. DISASTER IN BORKHI When Emperor Alexander III ascended the throne, some time later he arrived in Kyiv with his wife and two sons: Nikolai; the current Emperor, and George - the second son,

Departure of Emperor Alexander It was decided that "the Drissa camp should be cleared immediately". As a result, on July 2 (14), the army of Barclay de Tolly crossed to the right bank of the Dvina and moved southeast, towards Polotsk. Around this time, Emperor Alexander

Family of Emperor Alexander II Spouse. The first wife of Alexander II and the legitimate empress was Maria Alexandrovna, nee Princess of Hesse Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Augusta-Sophia-Maria (07/27/1824-05/22/1880). This marriage was not quite usual for the Romanov family,

Personality and upbringing of Emperor Alexander III Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich was born on February 26, 1845 and was the second male child in the royal family. According to the tradition of the Romanov dynasty, he was preparing to follow the military path, receiving upbringing and education, which

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MAIN DATES IN THE LIFE OF EMPRESS MARIA FYODOROVNA 1843, September 8 - the eldest son, Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, was born to Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna. 1845, February 26 - the second son, Grand Duke Alexander, was born to the imperial couple

CHAPTER 25 Opening of the Museum of Emperor Alexander III The main reason for my stay in St. Petersburg during the first months of 1898 was the organization of the gift of Princess Tenisheva in the newly established Museum of Emperor Alexander III. Unfortunately, the collection donation turned out to be

Death of Emperor Alexander II At 3 o'clock in the afternoon on March 1, 1881, when I was driving along Mikhailovskaya in a sleigh, I heard a voice calling me. It was my sister, just coming out of the gates of the Mikhailovsky Palace. She said to me quite calmly: “We were told that

Chapter 16 THE DEATH OF NATALIA ALEKSANDROVNA ... My boat was supposed to break on the pitfalls, and crashed. True, I survived, but without everything ... A. I. Herzen. The past and thoughts Hopes for recovery gradually faded away, but the desperate struggle for life, and now not only one -

"I envy dear Livadia..."

“... And I, Theodosius, took from him, Count Leo, for the estate I sold 150 thousand rubles in banknotes, which I received in full.” It is unlikely that we will ever know what circumstances forced the commander of the Balaklava Greek battalion, famous in the history of the Russian army, F.D. Revelioti to part with the Livadia estate, conveniently located near the town of Yalta, a large land plot named after an ancient settlement in this area (translated from Greek as “meadow”, “lawn”). According to the deed made on January 9, 1834, in the possession of Count L.S. Pototsky, the entire estate with an area of ​​​​209 acres of 1900 square meters was completely transferred. sazhens (about 229 hectares) with orchards, vineyards, forests, and arable lands located in it.

By this time, Count Lev Severinovich (1789-1860) had already become one of the most influential dignitaries at the Imperial Court. He came from that branch of the old Polish aristocratic Potocki family, whose representatives had long sympathized with Russia. His father, a well-known figure in the Ministry of Education and Spiritual Affairs under Alexander I, Count S.O. Pototsky, was one of the founders of Kharkov University, his mother, former Princess A.A. Sangushko, nee Sapieha, also belonged to the highest circles of the Polish nobility.

In the reign of Alexander I, L.S. Pototsky entered the service of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and successfully carried out various diplomatic missions of the Russian government.

A short stay in Naples at the very beginning of his diplomatic career as part of the Russian mission left L.S. Potocki unforgettable experience: he became a passionate admirer and collector of ancient art. Subsequently, when in 1841 the count was appointed "extraordinary envoy and minister plenipotentiary at the Neapolitan Court", this passion was happily reflected on the Livadia estate. Travelers visiting the southern coast of Crimea at that time noted that Livadia Pototsky looked like a small antique museum: the park was decorated with authentic, perfectly preserved marble sculptures and a sarcophagus of the early Christian period, all covered with bas-reliefs, and in a house built by architect F. Elson, in one of the rooms kept a collection of antiquities from Pompeii.

The park spread over 40 acres and three greenhouses were the subject of special care and pride of the owner of the estate. The description of the park by the Frenchman Blanchard is curious: “I saw here plants from the depths of the East, from America, New Holland, Japan, as well as plants known to us in Europe, but here they are much larger - magnolias, for example, 2.5 fathoms in height (more 5 meters. - N.K., M.Z.)". At the same time, the author mentions the Lebanese and Himalayan cedars, strawberries, scarlet, clematis, and, of course, evergreen cypresses and laurels, found at every turn. All of them grew among representatives of the local flora - mighty oaks and ash trees. But perhaps even more valuable is the following observation by Blanchard: “What every traveler can appreciate and admire is the healthy sense and taste with which trees are selected and placed here to create green curtains, lawns, flower arrangements of various tones and shades. . For all this, it took years, during which the owners, with impeccable taste and sufficient wealth, could fulfill their dream as connoisseurs of beauty in nature.

Park layout and decoration, selection ornamental plants, made by gardeners E. Delinger and I. Tasher, turned out to be so successful that later, if any changes were made to them, it was only in connection with the expansion of construction in Livadia or the desire of its new owners to increase the number of rare flowering species and coniferous trees.

By the end of the 50s of the 19th century, Livadia Pototsky was a beautifully equipped estate with a large and small two-story residential buildings. The first had 30 rooms, mostly private quarters and salons, furnished with the delicate taste characteristic of the owners of the estate; in the wing of the house there was also a Catholic chapel (chapel), and galleries for recreation were arranged along its walls. The winter garden was adorned with an "Alhambra-style" fountain in white Carrara marble. All water pipes in Livadia were made of cast iron, and only in the Big House - lead.

Among the outbuildings, a winery with a wine cellar stood out, in which high-quality wines were stored own production. Due to the acquisition of land adjacent to Livadia, Pototsky annually increased the area of ​​​​vineyards and orchards, which brought him a good income.

In 1856 L.S. Pototsky, already holding the highest civil ranks of a real Privy Councilor and Oberhofmeister, resigned from the diplomatic service and became a member of the State Council.

He died in St. Petersburg on March 10, 1860, having bequeathed Livadia to his wife, Countess Elizaveta Nikolaevna, née Golovina. The latter, however, immediately renounced her inheritance rights in favor of her daughters, Leonia Lanckoronskaya and Anna Mnishek. And already at the end of April, Yu.I. Stenbock began negotiations with the late count's chargé d'affaires for the purchase of Livadia for the royal family.

The heirs agreed to part forever with their beloved estate only considering the high personality of the buyer. According to Countess A. Mniszek, “the fact that Livadia is now being sold is caused solely by the fact that it is to please the Emperor.”

Since August 1860, the estate was taken over by the Administration of the Allotments, although the bill of sale officially entered into force on March 10 of the following year.

Shortly before the first arrival of Alexander II with his family in Livadia, the Department of Udelov received a decree from the tsar: “Bought<...>real estate in the Crimea Livadia with all buildings and accessories<...>presenting as a gift to my most beloved wife, Empress Maria Alexandrovna, I order the Department of Destinies to enroll this estate in the property of Her Imperial Majesty.

So, Maria Alexandrovna became the first of the Romanovs to own Livadia, one of the largest estates on the southern coast of Crimea. By this time, the 37-year-old empress showed all the signs of the most merciless disease of the 19th century - consumption: the unusual climate of St. Petersburg and frequent childbirth undermined the already poor health of Maria Alexandrovna. Doctors hoped that the healing climate of the Southshore would be more beneficial for her than staying at the famous resorts of Europe.

The daughter of the Grand Duke of Hesse, Louis II, Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Augustina-Sophia-Maria, in April 1841, married the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich, the eldest son of Nicholas I. The marriage was for love, and for some time the marital happiness of the spouses was not overshadowed by anything .

The personality of the new owner of the beautiful estate is one of the most attractive in the history of the Romanov dynasty. A rare case when the memories of all the people who surrounded or met her agree in one opinion - Empress Maria was an outstanding person both in her mind and in her high moral qualities. Even the well-known critic of the autocracy, the anarchist Prince P.A. Kropotkin paid tribute to the education, kindness, sincerity and beneficial role that Maria Alexandrovna played in the fate of many prominent people in Russia.

Her portraits of the 1850s and 1860s attract with their spirituality. One of the best, the work of the artist F. Winterhalter, successfully conveyed that “the highest grace of her whole being, which is much better than beauty,” noticed by contemporaries.

The appearance of Maria Alexandrovna was in perfect harmony with her spiritual qualities. “It was created much more for the inner life, spiritual and mental, than for vigorous activity and for external manifestations. She turns her ambition not to the search for power or political influence, but to the development of her inner being, ”wrote the maid of honor A.F. Tyutcheva, who made amazingly deep psychological portraits of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna.

The opinion of the noble court lady completely coincides with the observations of the famous Crimean public figure, historian and writer V.Kh. Kondaraki: “Her Majesty constantly sets an example of modesty and simplicity. In the outfits of this holy mother in the full sense of the word, nothing sharply distinctive was ever noticed, no expensive trinkets, which at that time visitors from the highest circle were so fond of vanity<...>. It was clear to everyone that Her Majesty looked at her high position with the most humble eyes and probably never attached to it the importance that others would feel. Alien to love of glory and insignificant fuss, she looked at a person as a being of the same nature and feelings, and, it seemed, never dreamed of arrogating to herself any advantages over the Divine in relation to even those who, through hard work and bitter fate, paved their way through life.

During the life of the Empress, few people knew about her direct participation in the liberation of the peasants, and such important events in the life of Russia as the reform of women's education or the creation of the Red Cross Society, which took place on the personal initiative and largely at the personal expense of Maria Alexandrovna, were arranged as some kind of charitable activity. .

The aesthetic views of Maria Alexandrovna were fully manifested when creating a beautiful palace and park ensemble in Livadia, an estate that occupied a special place in her tragic life.

The first Highest visit here took place at the end of August 1861. Already in early spring, the Department of Destinies began to prepare the estate for the reception of the August family. Specific architect V.S. Esaulov was instructed to go to Livadia and, together with the Pototsky gardener L. Geisler and the Yalta city architect K.I. Ashliman to carry out work to bring all the buildings and the park "in proper shape."

The royal couple was delighted with their new acquisition. This charming corner of the South Coast completely fascinated Maria Alexandrovna. Subsequently, in letters to relatives, the Empress called her estate nothing more than "my dear Livadia."

The family devoted their stay in Crimea to getting to know Yalta and its environs: they were interested in the life and traditions of the peoples living in Crimea, went to a Tatar village for a wedding, visited the ancient Greek church in Autka, met with representatives of different classes. Outwardly simple life was daily filled with new, unusual impressions.

Then it became obvious that the former estate of Count Potocki would have to be thoroughly reconstructed in order to adapt it to the living conditions during the Highest visits. At the request of the empress, the work related to the construction of new and restructuring of old buildings was entrusted to the architect of the Supreme Court and Tsarskoye Selo palaces I.A. Monighetti, who "knows the taste of Their Majesties".

The architect enthusiastically accepted the new appointment: it was as if fate sent down Livadia to him in order to try his hand in conditions that so vividly resembled the flavor of the southern countries.

Monighetti was given a lot of freedom of action; the only restriction set by the architect by the owner of the estate was that the construction costs should not exceed the amount of about 260 thousand rubles, and everything should be as simple as possible: after all, Livadia was intended for the treatment of the empress and family vacations, and not for official receptions.

Maria Alexandrovna took the most active part in the plans for the renewal of the estate. First of all, it was planned to expand the Big House, necessarily separating the church from it into an independent building, to build a Small House for the Grand Dukes, houses for the retinue, a gardener, and a new kitchen.

Before leaving for the Crimea, Monighetti presented to the empress for approval the plans he had drawn up for the facades of the main proposed buildings in Livadia.

The architectural style proposed by the architect for the ensemble of palace buildings was fully approved by Maria Alexandrovna: with its simplicity and refined sophistication, it met all her requirements.

Subsequently, in reports on construction works akh Ippolit Antonovich constantly emphasized that most of the buildings were made by him in the "Tatar taste" or "in the taste of the Tatar hut." The project of the palace Exaltation of the Cross Church was based on the synthesis of the architecture of religious buildings of Transcaucasia and Byzantium.

The free, picturesque layout of the buildings made it possible for the architect to solve each of them in a unique way, with the inclusion of any other, different from the neighboring, motives, while maintaining a single style created by him.

Four years of his life, completely devoted to the construction of the estate of Her Majesty Livadia, were marked by the enormous effort of all the forces of the outstanding artist. Remoteness from Russia, from the main suppliers, difficulties with delivery building materials and the selection of labor in the then still sparsely populated Crimea - made themselves felt already at the beginning of construction.

The summer of 1862 was spent on the energetic organization of construction work: the procurement and delivery of stone, brick, tiles, wood, and the hiring of workers. Finally, on September 8, the laying of the foundations of the church and the house for the Grand Dukes (Small Palace) was solemnly celebrated, and from October the reconstruction of the Pototsky house into the Grand Palace, the old greenhouse and the house of the estate manager and the construction of houses for the retinue, military camp office, kitchen, stables began. , gardener's house, bathhouse and hospital.

Monighetti used a three-month business trip abroad to place orders for the Livadia estate. In Italy, in Carrara, he ordered marble decorations for churches and palaces, in Paris - furniture, finishing and upholstery materials for interior decoration of the Grand and Small palaces and the house for the retinue.

Period 1862-63 was the most difficult for the architect and his faithful assistant P.I. Ostanishchev-Kudryavtsev: they had to monitor the construction and reconstruction of more than 20 buildings. Numerous cargoes began to arrive in Yalta from abroad, Odessa and other cities of Russia with building materials, furniture, utensils for churches and palaces. To top it off, the winter turned out to be extremely unfavorable for construction, cold and snowy, the roads were icy, and Livadia was cut off from the most important sources of building materials.

Due to a delay in the delivery of marble decorations from Italy, the deadlines for interior work in the Exaltation of the Cross Church, which had already been built by the summer of 1863, had to be postponed, and the famous artist Alexander Yegorovich Beideman, who had come to paint 36 icons in it, returned to St. Petersburg for some time. Here is an interesting passage from Beideman's report of this particular period - as evidence of a person who was impressed by what he saw in Livadia: “The church from the outside is completely finished and represents a happy solution to the problem in the Byzantine style: an unusually elegant small church, but inside it would be necessary to work another 4½ weeks, if no more. One cannot pass in silence and not be amazed at what Mr. Monighetti produced here during the ten months of his stay! The palace is completely ready outside and inside in order to receive the Empress.<...>With Mr. Monighetti, every detail is processed to a delightful degree of perfection, it’s a pity that the church is still in such a position that we have to wait ... "

The Austrian artist R. von Alt, who arrived at the invitation of the imperial family, also left us his perception of Livadia in 1863. Twenty charming watercolors, written by him during his stay in the royal estate, depict all the main buildings of Monighetti and several corners of the park. The artist managed to convey not only the color scheme of the buildings of Livadia, but also their finest architectural details. Residential and most commercial buildings built from local stone had smooth, even walls - either simple polygonal masonry that retained the natural color of Gasprin stone, or plastered in light brown tones. The main decoration of all buildings were carved wooden elements: roof eaves (“stalactites”), cornices and brackets supporting them, columns of balconies, lattices, pinnacles.

Against their background, the palace temple, built of Inkerman stone, with Byzantine ornamentation on this stone and carved inserts from Gaspri, sparkled with dazzling whiteness.

The highest arrival in 1863 justified the confidence of I.A. Monighetti that his work will be appreciated by the owners of the estate. “Her Imperial Majesty,” he wrote, “apparently was amazed at the success and performance of the work and thanked me in the most flattering terms. Sovereign Emperor<...>after examining the work, he deigned to thank me with the words: "Everything that has been done so far has been done excellently, I hope that the ending will be the same."

Monighetti hoped to finish the work by the autumn of 1864, but orders from the royal family followed one after another, and construction was completed only in 1866.

The commonality of the creative ideals of the architect and the “specific garden master” Klimenty Gekkel, who arrived in the Crimea from the estate of Maria Alexandrovna “Ilyinskoye” near Moscow, led to the creation of a beautiful palace and park ensemble in Livadia, connected by a single artistic concept.

K. Haeckel came to Livadia during the most difficult period of construction. In him, Monighetti found support and friendly participation, which he then so badly needed. Even in business correspondence, the architect did not hide his joy from the fact that the arrangement of the park was entrusted to such a talented, hardworking and exceptionally honest person: “What a blessing that Haeckel is here! And we understand each other ... ".

Among the many merits of the outstanding gardener, first of all, it should be noted a significant expansion of the rose garden, the arrangement of pergolas entwined with climbing varieties of roses, and, most importantly, large plantings of all kinds of coniferous trees: on the advice of doctor S.P. Botkin, he mainly planted the latter in those parts of the park where the sick empress liked to visit.

Of the more than 70 buildings for various purposes erected on the territory of the estate under the direction of Monighetti, very few have survived to date. For various reasons, most of them are either lost forever or have been rebuilt, distorting the original idea. Fortunately, the Palace Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is now in relatively good condition. Although its exterior, and especially interiors, have suffered significantly over many decades of state policy to combat religion, it still invariably arouses general admiration for the elegance of forms and the beauty of the ornament.

Monighetti attached great importance to the creation of small architectural forms. They found successful solutions for gazebos, pergolas with climbing plants, retaining walls, graceful fountains. Until now, the "Turkish gazebo" over the tunnel in the park has been preserved, which has become a kind of symbol of Livadia, the fountains "Mary", "Moorish" and several marble bowls.

The architect started designing fountains after he managed to solve the most difficult problem of water supply in the Livadia estate. The history of the appearance on its territory of several large water reservoirs and the reconstruction of the water supply network is very instructive, not only technically, but also morally.

From the report of the manager of the estate Ya.M. Lazarevsky, compiled in 1862 for the Department of Udelov, followed that the rather low-power sources of water that previously used the Pototsky estate completely dry up in the event of a particularly hot summer, and then a water shortage would make it impossible for the Highest visits. Lazarevsky saw the solution to the issue in the diversion of water from the Biyuk-Su spring, which belonged to the Gasprin Tatars. In this he was supported by the Minister of the Court V.F. Adlerberg, and the Taurida Governor-General G.V. Zhukovsky. However, Alexander II immediately rejected this idea. A specialist hydrologist K.O. was sent to Livadia. Yanushevsky with the task to find new sources of water supply on the estate, regardless of the cost of prospecting.

Yanushevsky not only did an excellent job with this task, but also developed a whole system of storage tanks connected to the water supply network.

The versatility of I.A. Monighetti also appeared in the decoration of the interiors of palaces and churches. He personally made drawings and sketches of the furniture and decoration of the Grand Palace in the style of Louis XVI and in the oriental style for the Small Palace, drawings of dishes ordered specifically for Livadia. There were more than 900 sketches of church utensils and robes, masterfully made by the artist!

So the building was nearing completion. In July 1865, to inspect the barracks built by Monighetti, stables and other structures intended for military units guarding the estate, the famous hero of the defense of Sevastopol, Adjutant General E.I. Totleben. After examining everything, the general sent a telegram to the empress in St. Petersburg that he found Livadia in excellent condition and admired her. Maria Alexandrovna, whose departure to the Crimea that year was constantly postponed, immediately answered: “I envy dear Livadia.”

And in 1866, after the acceptance of all the buildings of the commissions, headed by the architect of the Supreme Court A.I. Rezanov, the awarding of orders and valuable gifts to persons who especially distinguished themselves at work in the imperial estate took place. I.A. Monighetti was presented to the Order of St. Anna of the 2nd degree, that is, with the sign of "exalted dignity" - a diamond decoration in the form of an imperial crown; Academician A.E. Beideman, who completed the main icon-painting work in the palace church, was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav, 2nd degree, which followed in general order seniority of Russian orders immediately after the Order of St. Anna, and awarded for useful deeds in favor of the Fatherland, including in the field of art and crafts. It is interesting that the Minister of the Court personally sought to award Semyon Bordakov, a peasant from the village of Glamozdino, Kursk province, with a silver medal to be worn in the buttonhole on the Stanislav ribbon for the excellent performance of carpentry.

Finally, in August 1867, a big visit to the fully equipped estate took place. With the exception of the heir to the throne, c. book. Alexander Alexandrovich, the entire royal family arrived in the Crimea.

It was decided in advance that on the day of the namesake of Alexander Nikolayevich, August 30, a folk festival would be organized in the renovated estate.

An eyewitness to all the events that took place on that royal visit, memorable for the Crimeans, V.Kh. Kondaraki, left vividly written memoirs "The Life of Emperor Alexander II on the Southern Coast of Crimea". “The Sovereign Emperor,” reports the historian, “took daily walks in the morning to Oreanda, Koreiz, Gaspra, Alupka, Gurzuf, to the forestry and to the Uchan-Su waterfall — in a carriage or on horseback, swam in the sea, walked. In moments of rest, I listened to the beautiful poems of the poet Vyazemsky, who at that time was still at the Court and, despite his 75 years, seemed cheerful and impressionable ... ".

Kondaraki also recalled a very piquant episode connected with the visit to Alexander II of Turkish Foreign Minister Fuad Pasha. The latter arrived in Yalta on the splendid new ship Sultane, which delighted the inhabitants of the city. The minister and his retinue were accommodated in a hotel owned by the leader of the Yalta nobility S.N. Galakhov, after which Fuad Pasha demanded that the owner show his beautiful wife. Two hours later, he was introduced to a charmer, specially invited in advance from St. Petersburg.

But, of course, the most curious of the many receptions of 1867 was the meeting of the royal family with a large group of American tourists traveling on the Quaker City steamer through the countries of the Old World. A detailed description of this event was left by two active participants - from the American side, the later famous writer Mark Twain, who was then a correspondent for two major newspapers, and from the Russian side - V.Kh. Kondaraki.

The civil war in the United States had just ended, and the American government and the public praised Russia's position in maintaining the unity and strength of this country. Lord Palmerston acknowledged in the British Parliament that his government did not intervene partly out of fear that the US might then "make a military alliance with Russia."

Therefore, one can imagine the excitement of the passengers and crew of the Quaker City, who learned from the American consul in Odessa that the Russian emperor wished to meet them at his southern coast estate: they felt themselves to be participants in an unusual mission, introducing the people of America to the mighty monarch of a friendly power. It was urgently decided to write a welcome address and in Livadia hand it over personally to the emperor.

The guests, and they were invited 55 people, found the most cordial welcome in the royal estate. It was also unexpected for the Americans that the Emperor of Russia and members of his family, with apparent pleasure, themselves showed them the palaces and parks of Livadia and Oreanda. Kondaraki also testifies that the Sovereign “deigned to go out to meet them and congratulate them on their arrival. This is not enough! The monarch personally led them along the nearest alleys, paying attention to the most interesting plants and objects. Such attention of the monarch fascinated the Americans, who, of course, did not dare to expect from the king such a sincere disposition towards private individuals.

The inspection of the estate ended with a breakfast given to the guests in Oreanda by the brother of the king. book. Mikhail Nikolaevich.

And, of course, it is impossible not to recall at least briefly about the cheerful folk holiday in Livadia on August 30, which has already been mentioned above. After the traditional prayer service and greetings to the emperor, accompanied by steamship horns, cannon shots and the colorful flags of warships, the residents of Yalta and the surrounding area were informed that everything was ready in Livadia for a big holiday, to which everyone was invited without exception. This news instantly spread throughout the county, and the inns were filled with people demanding horses and carriages.

The celebration took place in a large clearing on the slope of Mount Mogabi. To her side was a hill, on which all the Tatars from the surrounding villages gathered. The mass of the people enthusiastically welcomed the appearance of Their Majesties with the sounds of the regimental band with their sons Vladimir, Sergei, Pavel Alexandrovich and their daughter, the young Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, as well as the emperor's brothers - Grand Dukes Nikolai and Mikhail Nikolaevich with their families.

Riders competed in swift races - Tatars, Cossacks, cavalrymen of the Crimean Tatar squadron. The general fun was caused by climbing on smoothly polished poles and running in bags tied around the legs. The winners were generously awarded, but other participants were also given memorable gifts. At the end of the games and attractions, all those present were invited to a treat.

This cheerful and joyful holiday was remembered for a long time by the inhabitants of Yalta. However, the subsequent Highest visits to the Crimea were already overshadowed by a constant threat to the lives of members of the royal family at the hands of terrorists: the estate became more carefully guarded, and the admission of visitors during the stay of Alexander II was limited by order of the Minister of the Court.

Here, on the southern coast, the emperor's rhythm of life, different from that in St. Petersburg, developed, which hardly changed during subsequent visits. Here is how the Moskovskie Vedomosti correspondent described him: “In Livadia, court etiquette has been eliminated as far as possible. In the morning, the king, as usual, gets up early, walks around the park on foot, then goes about his business; sometimes he sits on a horse and goes down to the sea, to the bath. Usually he walks in a white tunic, the imperial retinue too. They have lunch, as in the village, at 2 o'clock, dinner at 9 o'clock. After lunch, carriages are served and trips are made to nearby scenic areas. The sovereign, as usual, sits with the Empress in a phaeton woven from straw. Sometimes they travel with a retinue of carriages, and more often together, like ordinary tourists. Local residents do not disturb them with exclamations and do not run to their path, reverently realizing that even kings need rest. The royal family spends the evening mostly in a close circle of close associates. A peaceful day ends early, and the next day repeats the previous one. On Sundays, some famous people are invited to listen to mass in the court church. Livadia is becoming more beautiful and flowery every day, not only the South Coast, but the entire South, the entire Black Sea looks at her with love and hope.

And at this time, a drama was rapidly playing out inside the royal family, at first hidden from everyone except the closest circle. The romantic infatuation of the already middle-aged emperor with the young princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky soon grew into a passionate love for her. The birth of illegitimate children, the appearance of a second family by Alexander Nikolayevich was a cruel blow for the empress and the children who adored her. Since that time, lung disease began to progress irreversibly.

And in Livadia, who at first enchanted Maria Alexandrovna only with the beauty, exoticism of the surrounding nature, she now found relief from both physical suffering and severe mental anguish from the consciousness of her humiliation. Away from the capital, she led a simple, secluded life, taking care of children, reading, charity, taking walks to the sea. Usually the empress came to the Crimea with her younger sons Sergei and Paul, her daughter Maria and a small retinue in spring or August, and tried to stay in Livadia until the last warm days. Reminders of the need to return to St. Petersburg caused her irritation and obvious displeasure. In this regard, the episode described by V.Kh. Kondaraki.

In 1870, the Empress' stay on the South Bank dragged on to such an extent that the Minister of the Court was forced several times to telegraph those accompanying her with a demand to expedite her return to the Winter Palace. Since none of the retinue dared to turn to Maria Alexandrovna with a question about the time of departure from the Crimea, a telegram followed from Alexander himself. But a dry answer was given to her: "I will inform you in advance about the time of my departure."

Strict court etiquette forced even such trusted representatives of the royal family as Freilina A.A. Tolstoy to remain silent and not discuss, except with loved ones and for closed doors, the position of the Empress and her legitimate children. She could only observe with bitterness what a corrupting effect on the morality of high society this long-term love affair of the monarch had and how much mental anguish and humiliation his family and, above all, Empress Maria Alexandrovna had to endure.

In her book Notes of a Lady-in-Waiting, which describes the dramatic events that took place in the life of the royal family from the late 1960s until the accession to the throne of Alexander III, Tolstaya speaks of some alarming trends in the life of the country associated with the decline in the Sovereign's prestige: in the eyes of many, he ceased, as before, to serve as an object of adoration and enthusiastic reverence. He lived the last fourteen years of his life outside the Divine and moral laws, on the point of a needle, so to speak, and this chilled even the most ardent hearts. There was also no hope ahead.” The last was, perhaps, the saddest, because Alexander Nikolayevich began to become more and more isolated "in the amenities of private life." In the late 70s, he was no longer that full of energy and ideas of the Emperor-Reformer, which he was in the 60s.

The position of the teacher only daughter the royal couple put Countess Tolstoy in a number of persons especially close to the empress. Like another outstanding personality of the Russian Court of that time, the maid of honor A.F. Tyutcheva, Tolstaya was sincerely attached to Maria Alexandrovna, appreciating in her, above all, moral purity and nobility of soul, and therefore she deeply sympathized with the carefully concealed grief of the unfortunate empress.

Her assessment of the main characters of the drama that has unfolded is strikingly different from the romantic description of the monarch's love affair in the well-known book by the French diplomat M. Palaiologos. The image he created of the young and tender Ekaterina Dolgoruky, disinterestedly and devotedly loving her powerful patron, largely loses its attractiveness in the light of observations sketched with ruthlessness by an intelligent and insightful court lady.

For some time now, Dolgorukaya began to accompany Alexander Nikolaevich to the Crimea. Not far from the Livadiyskaya Slobodka, the Department of Udelov bought for her a small estate called Biyuk-Saray and built a two-story mansion, in which Ekaterina Mikhailovna settled upon arrival. But, as A.A. Fat, incognito, was not part of the plans of the princess, and she often openly appeared in Yalta, which, of course, soon became known to the empress.

Taking advantage of the advice of doctors - more to be in the air, rich in aroma coniferous trees, Maria Alexandrovna ordered to build on the northern outskirts of the estate, in a mountain pine forest, the cottage "Ereklik". According to the project of the St. Petersburg architect A.I. Rezanov in 1872-73. a modest but very comfortable house was erected, in the distance from which there was a dairy farm, poultry houses and a pheasant house built by I.A. Monighetti. The road from Livadia to the dacha passed by a beautiful meadow park, laid out by K. Haeckel in the 1860s specifically for grazing thoroughbred Swiss cows.

So, starting from 1873, when Maria Alexandrovna came to Livadia, she tried to spend most of her time now in Ereklik, where it was possible to retire and not feel so acutely the ambiguity of her position.

In the spring of 1879, the last short visit of the terminally ill, suffocating to the point of fainting empress took place in her beloved estate. Already without any hope of recovery, she soon left from here to Kissingen, and then to Cannes. Alexander Nikolaevich, having seen her off, returned to Livadia and remained there until the very winter, openly meeting with Ekaterina Dolgoruky.

On June 3, 1880, Empress Maria Alexandrovna died quietly in the Winter Palace. And already on July 18, a very modestly furnished secret wedding of Alexander II with Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgoruky took place in Tsarskoye Selo. By the time of the marriage, they already had three children - Georgy, Olga and Ekaterina. The morganatic wife of the tsar, by his decree, from now on became known as the Most Serene Princess Yuryevskaya, and her children are protected by all rights to ensure their future, except for the right of succession to the throne.

A month and a half later, at the end of August, Alexander, together with his young wife, went on his last trip to Livadia. Here is how M. Paleolog writes about this: “For the first time, Ekaterina Mikhailovna rode in the royal train. The Sovereign's retinue, adjutants, masters of ceremonies and other court officials were amazed at the honor given by the tsar to Princess Yuryevskaya and did not understand its reasons. The amazement intensified even more when Princess Yuryevskaya stopped not in Biyuk-Saray, as before, but in the palace. She had already been there once before, but then her stay was hidden.

From Livadia, Alexander Nikolayevich sent a letter to his sister, Olga Nikolaevna, Queen of Württemberg, in which he explained to her, and through her - and to all relatives, the motives for concluding a morganatic marriage. The letter is significant: it contains both a premonition of an approaching tragic death, and the complete blindness of a loving person who sees only purity and nobility in the object of his passion, and a clear misunderstanding of what a grave offense for the offended dignity of his mother bears in his soul the heir to the throne. It is so important for the history of the Romanov dynasty that it seems interesting to quote it in full.

My conscience and sense of honor insistently oblige me to enter into a second marriage. Of course, even in my sleep I would not have dared to do this earlier than after a year of mourning, if the time in which we live was not an era of crisis, when I am subjected to more and more attempts - this time puts an end to all my hesitation. For me, it is first of all about securing, and as soon as possible, the fate of the person who has been living only for me for 14 years, as well as the fate of the three children I have from her. Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, despite her youth, chose to give up all the joys and pleasures of the world, usually so attractive to young people of her age, and devote her entire existence to surrounding me with her love, her worries. So she decided to my happiness and respect, to my gratitude.

Initiating no one in it, except for the only sister, never interfering in any matter, despite the numerous petitions with which she was addressed, despite the spread of nasty things around her name, insults, she lived only for me and was only engaged in raising our children, who until now have brought only joy to us.

Our marriage took place on July 6/18 in my field church, located in one of the halls of the Grand Tsarskoye Selo Palace, and blessed by the court priest Nikolsky, the same one who accompanied me during the war of 1877, in the presence of my adjutant general Count Baranov, Count Adlerberg , Ryleeva, Mademoiselle Barbie Shebeko, a devoted friend of the princess.

The formal act stating the fact of our marriage was drawn up by Father Nikolsky and signed by our three witnesses. On the same day I signed a Decree to the Senate announcing my morganatic marriage to Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, whom I on this occasion gave the name of Princess Yuryevskaya with the title of Serene Highness; the same title was given to our children: son George, 8 years old, our daughters Olga and Ekaterina, 7 and 2 years old, with all the rights of legitimate children from a morganatic marriage of members of the Imperial Family with persons not related to the ruling (royal) family, based on the articles of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire and special laws governing the Imperial Family - Institutions on the Imperial Family.

The same rights apply to children who may follow them in the future. These two acts have been temporarily deposited in the archives of the Ministry of the Imperial Court.

My intention was to keep the new marriage a secret until May next year. But then I changed my mind and introduced my wife and my children to the assembled Count Loris-Melikov, my son Sasha, who had returned from Gapsal, as well as Minnie and others. I decided to let them know the truth from my lips, so that no one could later take advantage of the opportunity to harm us, despite all my trust in the high society and its feelings.

And I can honestly say that the audience fully justified my hopes, they deeply touched me with the way they accepted my confession, and with the friendship that they revealed in relation to my wife and our children.

This happened 4 days before my departure to the Crimea, where my wife and children were supposed to accompany me on the same day, but by an ordinary courier train in order to stay in my own house near Yalta. But two days before, she had received an anonymous letter threatening to kill her and her children during the trip. This resolved the issue so that they could ride on my train and give a roof to Livadia. Thus, it became impossible to hide the truth from the Court and from everyone who saw us together.

Counts Adlerberg and Loris-Melikov were of the opinion that marriage should not be denied to those who asked them questions, but it should not be officially announced; that is why I decided to accommodate everyone in Livadia, where my wife had already had the opportunity to get acquainted with the retinue earlier and where we led a very secluded lifestyle, having dinner from time to time only with the closest ones, with whom I played several games in the evenings.

I can only hope for the blessing of the Lord, that it will not leave us in the future, that the family members who have always shown me so much love will follow Sasha and Minnie all together and will not deny their friendship to my wife and children, knowing how dear they are to me and how committed I am to unity in the family, which our dear Parents so bequeathed to us ...

I can assure the family that my wife understands perfectly her position as a morganatic wife and will never say claims that run counter to my will of the Head of the Family and the Autocrat. I only wish that all the other members of the family remembered this and did not force them to remind it.

Even before this letter was sent to Germany, the will of the “Head of the Family and the Autocrat” manifested itself rather harshly towards the Tsarevich. Alexander Nikolaevich insisted that the heir and c. book. Maria Feodorovna and her children arrived on vacation in Livadia at the same time that he was there with Princess Yuryevskaya.

The tsar's stubborn desire to bring his new family closer to his eldest son, in whose person he saw in the event of death the faithful protector of the princess and her children, turned into severe mental suffering for Alexander Alexandrovich and Maria Feodorovna.

In the Grand Livadia Palace, built for the late Empress and so beloved by her, Ekaterina Mikhailovna Yuryevskaya already disposed of with the full rights of her wife. And if the crown prince kept his composure, then for the impressionable Maria Feodorovna, life next to “this lady” was, in her words, like an ongoing nightmare. In addition, the situation was aggravated by the constant tactlessness of the Most Serene Princess and the behavior of her son George, as well as the need to answer the perplexed questions of the twelve-year-old Nika, to which parents who raised the future Nicholas II honest and truthful often had to simply lie.

This situation will partly repeat itself in Livadia in four years, but then the heir to the throne, who is no longer forced to unquestioningly obey the will of his father, will come to Crimea, but the Emperor ...

And for Alexander Nikolayevich and Ekaterina Mikhailovna, the autumn days of 1880 flew by calmly and happily, they only gathered on the return journey on December 1.

“On the way to Sevastopol, Alexander ordered the carriage to be stopped at the Baydar Gates. From there, a wonderful view of the Black Sea, the bluish peaks of Yayla opened. The sky was clear, and the last day here was fabulously charming. Fascinated by the view that opened before him, the emperor ordered the table to be set in the air.<...>. Served by a single servant. The dinner passed cheerfully and lively, and happiness shone on all faces.

Thus ended the last visit of Alexander II to the Crimea...

According to the will of Maria Alexandrovna, after her death, Livadia was to go "into lifelong disposal and possession" of Alexander Nikolayevich, and in the event of his death, to the heir to the crown prince.

With the entry of Emperor Alexander III into inheritance rights, a new page began in the history of the Livadia estate.

Notes

At the request of L.S. The Potocki sarcophagus was made into the bowl of a fountain, the water of which came from a jug in the hands of a marble statue of a reclining nymph. This fountain, as well as the statue of the ancient hero, disappeared from the park after the war, when the Livadia Palace became the summer residence of I.V. Stalin.

The Livadia fountain has been preserved. With minor additions - a new top and base, it was later moved by the architect Monighetti to a site near the Exaltation of the Cross Church. In total, at the time described, the Potocki estate was decorated with about a dozen fountains, most of which were made by Italian marble carvers in Carrara.

The building of the wine cellar, built in 1849, has survived to this day without any changes. Now it belongs to the Livadia winery, which is part of the Massandra association.

By 1860, vineyard plantations in Livadia occupied 20 acres of 120 square meters. soot and in good years they gave up to 4 thousand buckets of wine. The traveler Blanchard had a very high opinion of the quality of the latter, noting that in reality "the wines of the Crimea are worth much more than their reputation."

L. Lanckoronskaya is even more outspoken. “We are far from the idea of ​​selling Livadia,” she wrote to Chargé d’Affaires Dr. E. Peters, “but we understand that gratitude for the favors with which the Emperor honored the last days of my father obliges us to yield to the desire of His Majesty.”

By 1862, its area had already exceeded 300 acres.

In this regard, the letter of the young bride of the Russian Tsarevich, written to her father in September 1840, is interesting. She has just entered the land of her new homeland, heading to St. Petersburg, where she will accept Orthodoxy and will prepare for the wedding:

“My dear, my good father. These are my first lines from that country which should now become my second fatherland. (That it will be as dear to me as the first - of this I doubt, and even can hardly wish for it, since it seems to me that we should always give preference to the country in which we were born).

However, I feel extremely attached to Russia. The Cossacks met us at the border; we were expecting Sasha (i.e., Prince Alexander Nikolaevich. - N.K., M.Z.) about half an hour; without him, the Empress (Empress Alexandra Fedorovna, wife of Nicholas I. - N.K., M.Z.) did not want me to cross the Russian border; I took advantage of this time to take a last look at my dear Germany and once again resume in my memory those joyful and happy days that I experienced in it ... My second glance fell on the Russian land, and I thought that now it was just beginning the most difficult part of my life, and asked God for His holy help...”.

The final phrase of this letter sounds prophetic: one had to have great inner strength in order to survive in the future, having already become the queen of a vast country, the intrigues of the Court, a serious illness and mental anguish inflicted on her by the open betrayal of her beloved husband ...

An engraving from this portrait is on display at the Massandra Palace Museum.

Ippolit Antonovich Monighetti, an outstanding architect of Russia in the middle of the 19th century, the author of many projects of original buildings in St. Petersburg, Moscow and suburban imperial residences, a talented decorator. While still a very young graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, I. Monighetti, first on his own initiative, and then on a scholarship specially allocated by the Academy, visited many Mediterranean countries, where he enthusiastically studied the richest architectural heritage of their peoples. For albums with beautifully executed sketches of buildings and ornamental decorations that he made during these travels, the artist was awarded the title of academician upon his return to Russia.

However, it soon became clear that to complete the reconstruction project in full, this amount would need to be approximately doubled.

Indeed, none of them looked like any Western examples of stylized "oriental" buildings. The first experience of Monighetti's appeal to the architecture of the East was not repeated in them - the pavilion "Turkish bath" built in 1852 in the Tsarskoye Selo park. In Livadia, he showed himself as a talented interpreter of the motives of the architecture of the peoples of the Crimea, Transcaucasia, and the Middle East. Its buildings harmoniously combined elements of original Crimean Tatar houses and ornamentalism of the Middle East.

The Empress wished to name the future temple in honor of one of the most revered Twelve Orthodox holidays. According to legend, at the beginning of the 4th century, the mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine, Elena, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where she found a genuine cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, and re-erected it on Mount Calvary - where the crucifixion took place. Later, on September 13, 335, the first temple in honor of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord was erected at the place of acquisition, and since that distant time this event has been celebrated annually.

Then Monighetti wrote bitterly to Count Yu.I. Stenbock: “How much at that time I had to endure the smallest, most disturbing, unknown troubles with contractors, workers, can (understand) only one to whom fate judged so many different buildings at one time<...>, work stopped sometimes due to lack of the most simple materials such as nails, roofing iron, etc. Describing the numerous troubles that he had to endure during the construction in Livadia, Monighetti, however, did not lose his presence of mind and firmly believed in his success: “Only one thing supports me and encourages me to new activities, that my labors and merits will be appreciated!”.

Part of the idea of ​​the architecture of old Livadia can be given by the gardener’s house (now a hotel) preserved on its territory and some buildings in Yalta, built in imitation of the style developed by Monighetti, for example, the Lishchinskaya house on Ekaterininskaya Street.

Tekkel Klimenty Ivanovich (1810-1885). In the 1820s lived in Dresden. In 1832 he arrived in Russia, already having the title of royal court gardener at the Saxon Court. First he worked in St. Petersburg, where he created several gardens and parks, and from 1840 he became a garden master at the Ropshinsky estate. The main duty of K. Haeckel was the year-round supply of the Imperial Court the best varieties fruits, as well as monitoring the greenhouses and the park in Ropsha and Duderhof. From 1858 he was the chief gardener of the Krasnoselsky Administration, at the specific agricultural school and the department of appanages, and in 1864 he was appointed head of the Moscow specific office.

In 1868, Haeckel, his wife and eldest sons, accepted Russian citizenship and, for special merits, were elevated to hereditary honorary citizenship.

The resting place of the famous master was forgotten for many decades, and only in 1995 a group of landscape architecture specialists led by A.L. Reimana discovered the family necropolis of the Haeckels in the village. Small Gorki near Ropsha (Leningrad region).

The first in the sad list of losses of Livadia can rightfully be put the palace of the heir, or the so-called Small Palace, which burned down at the end of 1941, just before the entry of German troops into Yalta. Unlike the Grand Imperial Palace, where the architect was forced to mainly deal with the overhaul of the old house of Count Potocki, the Small Palace from the foundation to the pinnacles on the roof is entirely his creation. It was a real masterpiece of I.A. Monighetti. Travelers who visited Livadia and the authors of Crimean guidebooks left us delightful descriptions of this lovely building, invariably emphasizing its oriental flavor.

How not to recall in this regard the instructions of the tutor of the young Tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich, the wonderful Russian poet V.A. Zhukovsky, who inspired the future tsar with the idea that "the habit of obeying the law is the main thing in life, both for one's own happiness and for the benefit of others."

Written by A.E. Beideman in the Exaltation of the Cross Church, the well-known marine painter A.P. highly appreciated the images. Bogolyubov, who accompanied Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich on trips to Livadia, and after his death in 1865, the heir to the throne c. book. Alexander Alexandrovich and V. book. Maria Fedorovna.

Among the participants in the construction, awarded with valuable gifts, were foreign nationals: the contractors E. Bouchard and E. Ducrot, who directly carried out most of the work on the construction of buildings, the ornamental artist R. Isella, the marble worker A. Rampini, and others.

Lines from the message addressed to future generations of US citizens: “...America owes a lot to Russia, it is indebted to Russia in many respects, and especially for unfailing friendship in times of its great trials. With hope, we pray to God that this friendship will continue in the future. We do not doubt for a moment that gratitude to Russia and its Sovereign lives and will live in the hearts of Americans. Only an insane person would imagine that America would ever violate this friendship with a willfully unjust word or deed."

Thus, with good reason, we can assume that, by the will of fate, US citizens became the first "organized tourists" who visited Livadia, and the first guide on his estate was the All-Russian autocrat Alexander II. With greedy interest, Mark Twain peered at the Russian emperor, his entourage. Appearance, demeanor, friendliness and sincerity of the owners struck him. About Alexander II, he wrote: "He looks much more majestic than the Emperor Napoleon and a hundred times the majestic Turkish Sultan."

The attempts on the life of Alexander II had just begun, and no one had yet imagined that Narodnaya Volya had already begun organizing a real bloody hunt for the Tsar Liberator. Therefore, the holiday in Livadia, when the entrance to the territory of the estate was open to anyone wishing to attend it, seems to be the last episode of the rapidly collapsing old Russian idyll - a good tsar among his beloved people.

And the cab drivers, taking advantage of the excitement that gripped Yalta residents and residents of nearby villages, began to ask them for money that was unthinkable at that time - 25 rubles for a carriage, and 6 rubles for a riding horse.

Alexandra Andreevna's cousin, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, spoke of her with admiration: “The charm of Alexandria, joy, consolation. And I did not see a single woman reaching her knee.

The book of M. Paleolog "The Roman of the Emperor" has gone through several editions in Russia in recent years. However, despite the liveliness of the presentation and the author's desire for objectivity, one cannot help but pay attention to his recognition that the basis for writing it was fragmentary information collected by him when he was the French ambassador in Petrograd, several letters that fell into his hands, and the stories of a friend of the princess Dolgoruky Varvara Shebeko. Against this background, the description of the events that the author of the “Ladies of the Lady of Honor” directly observed, including those that took place in the Crimea, as well as personal meetings and the content of conversations with almost all members of the royal family, high-ranking courtiers, and with Ekaterina Mikhailovna herself, compares favorably with reliability. .

Ereklik - "valley of plums" (Turk.), Consonant with the Scottish "air ringing". It was there that the brilliant artist F. Vasiliev, commissioned by V. book. Vladimir Alexandrovich painted one of his last paintings “View of Yalta from Erekpik”.

The house of Empress Maria Alexandrovna has not been preserved, and now only the remains of buildings with original jewelry on the walls and cornices, made according to the sketches of Monighetti.

Maria Alexandrovna herself loved to assign nicknames to these beauties, jokingly using the pantheon of ancient Greek and Roman gods for them: Vesta, Amphitrite, Juno, Mars, etc.

The Livadia herd invariably aroused the admiration of everyone who received permission to inspect the empress's estate. A noble St. Petersburg lady, who made a long journey along the southern coast of Crimea in the early 1880s, described her impressions of the sight of these unusual animals in the following way: the exceptions were flesh-colored, and one of them even struck a pale pink. The officer accompanying me told me that a few years ago it was completely pink and that those who visited the farm could not stop admiring it; now every year the coat turns pale. Despite the young rivals surrounding her, she looked around at us so meaningfully and majestically that looking at her beautiful eyes, I recalled the myth of Jupiter and Io.

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (1822-1892), second daughter of Nicholas I and Alexandra Feodorovna. She received an excellent education. Since 1846, the wife of the Württemberg Crown Prince Friedrich-Karl-Alexander, later King Charles I (1823-1891).

This letter and Olga Nikolaevna's response to it were first published by A.A. Tolstaya in the book mentioned above. We present a rough draft of this message, which is stored in the funds of the State Archives of the Russian Federation. Despite the seemingly identical letter sent to Germany, the draft is not only somewhat larger, but also contains a number of significant details that have been changed or absent altogether in the version edited by the tsar. Moreover, some of them were apparently so important to him that he even underlined individual words or entire phrases. The latter is of particular importance for understanding the state of mind in which Alexander Nikolayevich was in Livadia. (Translation of the text of the letter from the French language by T.A. Leshchenko).

In a letter sent from Livadia to Stuttgart, this part of the phrase is excluded, thus Alexander deliberately misleads his relatives. The testimonies of contemporaries directly speak of the strong and, for the most part, negative influence that Yuryevskaya had on Alexander II. Is it possible, for example, not to trust S.Yu. Witte, who at the beginning of his career held the highest positions in the Ministry of Railways, and therefore knew in detail all the ins and outs of concessions for the construction of railways in Russia? Based on concrete examples, he directly points to the very unseemly role of Ekaterina Mikhailovna: “Through Princess Dolgoruky, and later through Princess Yuryevskaya, many different cases were arranged, not only appointments, but directly money matters of a rather untidy nature.”

Loris-Melikov Mikhail Tarielovich (1825-1888), count, adjutant general. Since 1880, the head of the Supreme Administrative Commission for the Protection of State Order and Public Peace with emergency powers. After its abolition - from August 1880 to May 1881 - Minister of the Interior, member of the State Council.

V. book. Maria Fedorovna, wife of the heir to the Russian throne c. book. Alexander Alexandrovich. Daughter of the Danish King Christian IX Princess Dagmar. Since 1881 - Empress of All Russia.

Alexander II is referring to Dolgoruky's house in Biyuk-Saray.

In a letter sent to Germany, the last paragraph is completely deleted: the emperor clearly wanted to remain honest with himself. As A. Tolstaya testifies, referring to high-ranking officials of the Court who had access to secret archives, Alexander Nikolaevich had the intention of crowning his new wife with a crown in the near future. “This terrible event,” the maid of honor writes, “was prepared, of course, secretly, but too many people were involved in this dark affair so that it would not be made public.<...>. The future empress ordered a mantle in Paris for her coronation, and many close associates of the Sovereign saw the cipher for the maids of honor of Catherine III, invented by him ... ".

(The cipher is a special distinction for ladies-in-waiting. It was a gold brooch adorned with diamonds with the monogram of the empress or the grand duchesses under whom they were, and was worn under the crown on a bow of St. Andrew's blue ribbon on the left side of the chest).

There are not many names in history that, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, would evoke only positive feelings. Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Emperor Alexander II, is a happy exception. Even the strict father-in-law Nicholas I, who at first was resolutely against this marriage, at the end of his life began his letters to his beloved daughter-in-law with the phrase "Blessed is Your Name, Mary."

Fairytale start

In March 1839, the young heir to the Russian throne, the son of Emperor Nicholas I, Alexander traveled around Europe. The purpose of the trip, as often happens in fairy tales, was to find a suitable bride. Before leaving, his father even compiled a list of suitable girls for him from ruling families which the young prince should pay attention to. But the case, completely in accordance with fairy tales, did not stick. All the candidates from my father's list seemed to Alexander too mannered, cutesy and insincere. But then luck smiled at him. Eyewitness memories of this event are preserved in the retelling of the Prince's sister Olga Nikolaevna:

“... the retinue did not stop teasing him with unsuccessful brides. One of the retinue ... remarked: "There is another young princess in Darmstadt." "No, thank you," Sasha replied, "that's enough for me, they are all boring and tasteless." And yet he went there... the old duke received him with his sons and daughters-in-law. In the depths of the cortege, completely indifferent, followed a girl with long, childlike curls. Her father took her by the hand to introduce her to Sasha. She was just eating cherries at the moment when Sasha addressed her, she had to first spit the bone into her hand to answer him. So little did she count on being noticed... The very first word spoken to him made him wary; she was not a soulless doll, like the others, she did not covet and did not want to be liked. Instead of the two hours that were scheduled, he spent two days at her father's house.

This girl was Princess Mary of Hesse. The reason why she was not on the list of suitable brides was because of the extremely ugly story. Until now, all biographers are convinced that, in fact, Mary and her brother Alexander were illegitimate children of Baron August Senarklein de Grancy. Grand Duke Ludwig of Hesse, in order to avoid scandal, officially recognized these children, but never took part in their upbringing. They lived with their mother in a small palace in Heiligenberg. Childhood and youth spent in a secluded castle, away from the court, shaped the character of the future Russian Empress. She did not like the noisy court life, always preferring to her a narrow circle of communication with loved ones.

First difficulties

Of course, difficulties began almost immediately. However, they only inflamed the prince in love. He wrote to his mother:

“Dear Mama, what do I care about the secrets of Princess Mary! I love her, and I'd rather give up the throne than her. I will marry only her, this is my decision!”

The young princess must have been charming indeed. Alexander's parents, who strongly rejected this marriage, agreed to it as soon as they met their future daughter-in-law. For this, Empress Maria Feodorovna even specially came to Germany - a case unique for the Romanov dynasty.

“Marie won the hearts of all those Russians who could get to know her. Sasha (Alexander II) became more and more attached to her every day, feeling that his choice fell on God-given. Their mutual trust grew as they got to know each other. The Pope (Nicholas I) always began his letters to her with the words: “Blessed is Your Name, Mary.” (...) The Pope watched with joy the manifestation of the strength of this young character and admired Marie's ability to control herself. This, in his opinion, balanced the lack of energy in Sasha, which he constantly worried about.(Dream of youth. Memories of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna)

Family life

Undoubtedly, the future emperor was not mistaken in choosing his wife, she became a magnificent wife and ruler, who left a wonderful memory of herself. The family life of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna lasted almost 40 years. However, this marriage became a real test of faith, love and patience for the Russian Empress.

She gave birth to eight children, of which six sons - the best for the royal dynasty cannot be imagined. She endured the death of two older children - the daughter of Alexandra and the son of Nicholas, who was supposed to inherit the throne. She had to endure attempts on her husband's life and his constant betrayal. In the end, Alexander stopped hiding his connections, and the constant favorite, Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova, settled in the Winter Palace. She lived with four illegitimate children on the floor above the chambers of the crowned empress. Maria Alexandrovna did not take any action on this matter and did not reproach her husband with a single word.

Before her death, in a farewell letter, she thanked Alexander for all thirty-nine years of marriage. By the way, just a few months after the death of his wife, the emperor entered into a morganatic marriage with Ekaterina Dolgorukova. Legitimate children until the end of their lives could not forgive him for this. Less than a year later, Alexander II was killed by the "Narodnaya Volya".

Grand Empress

As it always happens in history, family squabbles and problems are forgotten over time, and only what is really important remains in people's memory. Maria Alexandrovna became Empress at the age of 30. She did not often interfere in state affairs, although it is believed that her opinion also played a role in the issue of the emancipation of the peasants. But she fully took on the burden of worries in matters of art, education and charity.

It was during her reign that the Red Cross was established in Russia, and for many years the Empress was the highest patron of this organization. Under her leadership, it has become a public and state structure that brings together the funds of philanthropists from all over Russia. In total, the Empress patronized 5 hospitals, 12 almshouses, 36 orphanages, 2 institutes, 38 gymnasiums, 156 lower schools and 5 private charities. The empress herself spent huge sums on good deeds. It is known that during the war she refused new outfits in order to use extra funds in favor of widows, orphans, the wounded and sick.

She patronized the great Russian teacher Konstantin Ushinsky, and it was through the efforts of Maria Alexandrovna that open all-class women's educational institutions (gymnasiums) were established in Russia - for the first time in the history of our country, girls were able to massively receive systemic education. The help of the Empress was used by the poets Vyazemsky, Tyutchev and Zhukovsky. One of the leading musical theaters of our country and the world, the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, also bears the name of the great Russian Empress.

Interestingly, the embroidery pattern on the curtain of the Mariinsky Theater was created "based on" the patterns on the train of Maria Feodorovna's coronation dress (the coronation took place a year before the opening of the new building). This outfit is a real work of art, covered with silver embroidery, is currently stored in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.

In 1837 Alexander went on a trip to Europe. He traveled to Switzerland, Austria and Italy. From Naples through Switzerland, he went to his relatives in Stuttgart and Karlsruhe. Wanting to return to his homeland as soon as possible, he wanted to speed up his trip to London - the last stage of his trip abroad. To do this, Alexander decided to shorten his route, deleting from it the small capitals of such German allied states as Darmstadt, Mecklenburg and Braunschweig. On March 13, 1839, the heir stopped for the night in a small Darmstadt surrounded by gardens and parks, where a stop was not provided along his route . Especially for the Tsarevich, the Traube Hotel was rented, since Alexander categorically refused to spend the night in the castle of the Duke of Hesse (he was very tired of visiting numerous German princes and dreamed of getting to Holland faster). However, in the evening he went to the opera, and here in the theater hall he was met by the entire ducal family.

That evening, the Vestal Virgin was playing at the opera house. In the depths of the theatrical box, the Grand Duke saw a young princess, almost a child, and was so touched by her "modest charm" that, returning home, he immediately announced to Zhukovsky that his choice had been made, that he had found the wife he needed, and what was next. he won't go anywhere. Historians argue that the romantic plot of the Vestal Virgin could have influenced such a quick decision of the Grand Duke.
Maria Alexandrovna (July 27 (August 8), 1824, Darmstadt - May 22 (June 8), 1880, St. Petersburg) - the recognized daughter of the Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse; wife of the Russian Emperor Alexander II and mother of the future Emperor Alexander III. Born Princess Maximilian Wilhelmina Augusta Sophia Maria of Hesse (1824-1841), after marriage she received the title of Grand Duchess (1841-1855), after her husband's accession to the Russian throne she became Empress (March 2, 1855 - June 8, 1880).
Princess Wilhelmina's mother Louise of Baden left the world when she was 13 years old and she, together with her sovereign brother Prince Alexander (1823-1880), was brought up by a governess for several years, living in the country castle of Jugenheim near Darmstadt. The august mother of the princess at the time of her birth had not lived with her sovereign husband for a long time. Everyone had their own love, and according to conversations, the princess was born from the Baron de Grancy, a Swiss of French origin, who was the Grand Duke's equestrian. Wilhelmina's husband, Grand Duke Ludwig II of Hesse, in order to avoid a scandal and thanks to the intervention of Wilhelmina's brother and sisters (Grand Duke of Baden, Empress of Russia Elisabeth Alekseevna, Queens of Bavaria, Sweden and Duchess of Brunswick), officially recognized Mary and her brother Alexander as their children (two others illegitimate children died in infancy). Despite the recognition, they continued to live separately in Heiligenberg, while Ludwig II lived in Darmstadt.
The Duke's daughter Maria, who was then only 15 years old, greatly impressed Alexander with her beauty and grace. After the performance, he accepted an invitation to dinner, talked a lot, laughed and, instead of rushing to leave, agreed to have breakfast with the crown prince. During these hours, Maria completely fascinated the Tsarevich and, going to bed, he said to the adjutants Kaverin and Orlov accompanying him: "That's who I dreamed of all my life. I will marry only her." He immediately wrote to his father and mother, asking them for permission to propose to the young princess of Hesse.
In a letter to his father, Emperor Nicholas I, the heir-tsarevich Alexander Nikolayevich wrote on March 25 (April 7), 1839: “Here, in Darmstadt, I met the daughter of the Grand Duke, Princess Mary. I liked her terribly, from the very first moment when I I saw her ... And, if you allow, dear dad, after my visit to England, I will return to Darmstadt again"
However, the parents of the Tsarevich and the Grand Duke, Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, did not immediately give consent to the marriage. For some time they objected to the marriage because of the secret of the birth of the princess.
E. P. Tolmachev in the book "Alexander the Second and His Time" quotes a secret letter from Nicholas I to the trustee of the heir - Count A. N. Orlov: "Doubts about the legitimacy of her origin are more valid than you think. It is known that because of this, her hardly tolerated at court and in the family, but she is officially recognized as the daughter of her crowned father and bears his surname, therefore, no one can say anything against her in this sense.
However, Alexander Nikolayevich himself was well aware of the secret of her origin, since the same Orlov wrote to the emperor: “Do not think, Sovereign, that I hid information from the Grand Duke regarding the origin of Princess Mary. He learned about them on the very day of his arrival in Darmstadt, however reacted exactly as you... He thinks that, of course, it would have been better otherwise, but she bears the name of her father, therefore, from the point of view of the law, no one can reproach her."
The heir to the throne had the strongest feelings for the princess. In May 1839, he wrote to his mother: "Dear Mama, what do I care about the secrets of Princess Mary! I love her, and I would rather give up the throne than her. I will marry only her, that's my decision!"
Alexander spent the month of May in London, where he was cordially received by the English aristocracy, visited Parliament, the races, Oxford, the Tower, the docks on the Thames, the Bank of England and Westminster Abbey. But his most vivid memories were associated with the 19-year-old Queen Victoria.
On June 23, he returned to St. Petersburg and here again became interested in Olga Kalinovskaya: he was very amorous, and his parents had to reckon with this. The emperor hurried to marry Kalinovskaya to the husband of her late sister, the wealthy Polish magnate Count Iriney Oginsky.
Only then, on March 4, 1840, Alexander went to Darmstadt to fetch his bride. He returned to Russia with her and his parents, who met them in Poland in early September.
On December 5, Maria was baptized according to the Orthodox rite and became Grand Duchess Maria Alekseevna.
The wedding took place on April 16, 1841.

Everyone who wrote about Alexander's wife paid tribute to her beauty and wonderful spiritual qualities. Tyutcheva, who met her 12 years later, recalled: “Despite her tall stature and slenderness, she was so thin and fragile that at first glance she did not give the impression of a beauty; but she was unusually elegant with that very special grace that can be found on old German paintings, in the Madonnas of Albrecht Dürer, combining a certain severity and dryness of forms with a kind of grace in movements and poses, thanks to which an elusive charm is felt in their whole being and, as it were, a glimpse of the soul through the shell of the body. than in the princess, this spiritual and chaste grace of ideal abstraction. Her features were not correct. Her wonderful hair, her delicate complexion, her large blue, slightly bulging eyes, looked meek and penetrating ... It was first of all the soul extremely sincere and deeply religious... The princess's mind was like her soul: subtle, graceful, penetrating, very ironic..
At first, not many people knew that the future Empress Maria Alexandrovna, born by the will of God on the day of the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, was terminally ill with heart and lungs, carrying her heavy Cross all her life. But even so, she did a lot of charitable deeds, continuing the glorious traditions of the Empresses of All Russia.
In Russia, Maria Alexandrovna soon became known for her wide charity - the Mariinsky hospitals, gymnasiums and shelters were very common and deserved high praise from her contemporaries. In total, she patronized 5 hospitals, 12 almshouses, 36 shelters, 2 institutes, 38 gymnasiums, 156 lower schools, 5 private charitable societies, and with Elena Pavlovna (the widow of Alexander II's uncle - Mikhail Pavlovich) the Red Cross was established - all of them demanded vigilant attention from the Grand Duchess .
Maria Alexandrovna spent both state money and part of her funds on them, because 50 thousand silver rubles a year were allocated to her for personal expenses.
She turned out to be a deeply religious person and, according to contemporaries, she could easily be imagined in monastic clothes silent, exhausted by fasting and prayer. However, for the future empress, such religiosity could hardly be considered a virtue. After all, she had to perform numerous secular duties, and excessive religiosity came into conflict with them.
In April 1865, Alexander and Maria suffered a severe blow. In Nice, their eldest son Nikolai died of spinal meningitis - a young man who had just turned 21, who had successfully completed his education, found himself a bride, intended to start state activity as assistant and future successor to his father. The second son of the emperor, Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, was declared the new heir to the throne.
The death of Grand Duke Nicholas most severely affected the Empress. She loved him especially, was engaged in his education, invariably invited to evenings in her living room. There was a deep relationship between mother and son. intercom. After her son died in her arms, the empress withdrew into her grief, her health deteriorated even more.
The married life of Alexander and his wife had not gone well for a long time. Perhaps the death of her son dealt her the last fatal blow. During the first twenty years of marriage, Maria Alexandrovna gave birth to eight children. Meanwhile, her health from the very beginning was not distinguished by strength. Numerous births further shattered him.
Also, let's not forget that not one of the Empresses was subjected to such terrifying terror in Russia. Survive six attempts on the August spouse, live in anxiety for the Sovereign and crowned children for a long 14 years, from the moment of the first shot of D.V. Karakozov on April 4 (17) until the explosion in the dining room of the Winter Palace in February 1880, which claimed 11 lives - such is to survive only a few are destined. According to the lady-in-waiting Countess A.A. Tolstoy, “the poor health of the Empress finally shook after the assassination attempt on April 2, 1879, (Arranged by the Narodnik A.K. Solovyov - approx. A.R.). She didn't get better after that. I, as now, see her that day - with feverishly shining eyes, broken, desperate. "There's nothing more to live for," she told me, "I feel like it's killing me."
After forty, the Empress began to suffer from acute heart attacks. Doctors strongly advised Maria Alexandrovna to refrain from marital relations,
And like his father, Alexander at the age of forty turned out to be a straw widower. One after another, he changed several mistresses. Among them are Princess Alexandra Dolgoruky, Zamyatina, Labunskaya, Makarova, Makova and Wanda Carozzi. All these were impeccable beauties (Alexander from his youth was known as a connoisseur and lover of women), but they could not fill the void that somehow imperceptibly arose around the emperor.

In the spring of 1865, Alexander began a new, most stormy romance in his life, which was destined to be his last. Walking in the Summer Garden, he noticed a young girl, graceful, fashionably dressed, with a blush all over her cheek, with large radiant eyes. It was eighteen-year-old Princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova. The emperor had known her for a long time, since 1857, when she was still a little girl. Now, captivated by her fresh beauty, he began to woo her, becoming more and more infatuated. He managed to gradually awaken counter feelings, but the relationship of lovers remained platonic for a long time, they had to go through many trials before their attraction turned into an all-consuming passion. The empress knew everything, for she was too smart and impressionable to deceive herself, but she could not do anything ... Or did she not want to? She suffered for all fourteen years of this infamous relationship - silently, patiently, without raising an eyebrow, without giving a look. It had its own pride and its own aching pain. Not everyone understands and accepts this. Especially grown-up sons, who literally idolized their mother. Later, the princess with children from Alexander moved to live in the Winter Palace. This scandalous story not only tormented the sick empress, but also caused indignant rumors of the courtiers. The sons were also worried, fearing that the side brothers and sisters would someday declare their rights. Count Shuvalov considered it his duty to report to Alexander about the general dissatisfaction that had arisen because of the sovereign's connection with Dolgorukova. The emperor coldly listened to Shuvalov and made him understand that he would not allow anyone to interfere in his personal life. From that time on, the position of the all-powerful favorite was shaken, and in 1874 Alexander suddenly sent Shuvalov as an ambassador to London. In the same year, he granted his illegitimate children the title of the Most Serene Princes of Yuryevsky.
“Two people lived in Alexander II,” wrote Prince P.A. Kropotkin, “and now the struggle between them, intensifying every year, has taken on a tragic character ... Without a doubt, he retained affection for the mother of his children, although at that time he was already close with Princess Yuryevskaya-Dolgoruka." The Tsar repeatedly told M.T. Loris-Melikov, the Minister of the Interior: "Don't mention the Empress to me: it hurts me so much"
In the last years of her life, Maria Alexandrovna led a completely secluded lifestyle. Many of those who had been close to her heart from her youth left the Empress. ).

In 1880, the Empress, accompanied by a life doctor, Dr. Botkin, was undergoing treatment in Nice, but at the end of spring she was going home.
I dare to urge Your Imperial Majesty not to return for the winter to St. Petersburg and, in general, to central Russia. As a last resort - Crimea. For your exhausted lungs and heart, weakened by stress, the climate of St. Petersburg is fatal, I can assure you! Your villa in Florence has long been ready and waiting for you. And the new Palace in the vicinity of Livadia is all at the service of your Imperial ...:
- Tell me, Sergey Petrovich, - the Empress suddenly interrupted the life-guard - physician Botkin, - to keep me here, away from Russia, did the Sovereign ask you? He doesn't want me to come back? - Thin, emaciated fingers nervously drummed on the windowsill of the high Italian window of the villa, overlooking the sea coast. The sea behind the glass floated in the morning haze and was still sleepy - serene. It seemed that it was swaying right at the very feet:
- No one would dare to keep Your Imperial Majesty here in Nice against Your Most August will. But the Sovereign, only tirelessly worrying about the priceless health of Your Majesty, would urgently ask you:
- Drop all these curtsies, Sergei Petrovich! From my invaluable health there were tiny drops, and from the August Will - only humility before God's permission! - the emaciated profile of the Empress was still incorrectly beautiful with some unusual, painful subtlety, it was not there before, but even on him, the profile, it seemed, had already fallen the imperious shadow of death.
- I dare to argue with Your Majesty about the last statement!
- So - sir, rapid pulse, wet palms ... You should lie down, Your Imperial Majesty, I'll call the nurse now. We must follow the rules!
- I'll lie down in the next world, Sergey Petrovich, it won't be long to wait. Tell me to get ready, tomorrow morning I have to be in Cannes, from there to - St. Petersburg, that's enough, I stayed too long by the sea. I want to die at home, in my bed.
- I dare respectfully insist that Your August Majesty stay here without fail! Botkin answered Tsaritsa with the mild firmness of a doctor.
- The entire course of procedures has not yet been completed, and I do not want to resort to oxygen pillows, as on my last visit to the capital! Your Majesty, I beg you! I received a letter from Their Highnesses, Tsesarevich Alexander and Tsesarevna Maria Feodorovna, they also find that it is extremely undesirable for you to be in the capital and sour in the stuffy Winter. Autumn this year in St. Petersburg, as always, is not sugary! - the life doctor smiled a little, the Empress immediately picked up this weak smile:
- I know, dear doctor, I know, but that's not the reason! You are simply afraid of how my presence in the Palace will affect my health, over my poor head, a well-known person, Sacred for the Sovereign Emperor! The Empress smiled slightly. Fear not, I will no longer drop combs and break cups at the sound of children's footsteps. (A hint of Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky and her children from Emperor Alexander. There were three of them. They all lived in the Winter Palace and occupied apartments directly above the head of the Empress! This was dictated, as historians write, by security considerations for the Princess and children. At that time, attempts became more frequent attempt on the Sovereign. But is it only this? .. - note by the author).
- I, as always, will find a natural explanation for such a natural noise, so as not to embarrass the young maids! - The Empress tried to smile, but her face was distorted by a painful grimace. She lowered her head, trying to suppress a fit of coughing, pressing her handkerchief to her lips. He was instantly soaked in blood.
- Your Imperial Majesty, I beg you, do not! - excited Botkin sharply squeezed Maria Alexandrovna's hand in his palms.
I understand I shouldn't! I understand everything, I just want you to know: I never blamed him for anything and never blame him! He gave me so much happiness during all these years and so often proved to me his immense respect that this would be more than enough for ten ordinary women!
It's not his fault that he is Caesar, and I am Caesar's wife! You will object now that he insulted the Empress in me, and you will be right, dear doctor, you are certainly right, but let God judge him! I have no right to it. Heaven has long known and known my resentment and bitterness. Alexander too.
And my real misfortune is that life acquires full meaning for me and multi-colored colors only next to him, no matter whether his heart belongs to me or another, younger and more beautiful ... He is not to blame, which means more to me than anything else It's just that I'm so weird.
And I'm happy that I can leave before him. Fear for his life greatly tormented me! Those six assassination attempts!
Mad Russia! She always needs something amazing foundations and foundations, disastrous shocks ... And, perhaps, the heartfelt personal weaknesses of the Autocrat only play into her hands, who knows? "He is just like us, a weak mortal, and even an adulterer! Poison him, atu, atu!" they shout, forgetting.
Perhaps, with my prayer, There, at the Throne of the Heavenly Father, I will beg for him a quiet death, in exchange for the martyr's crown of the sufferer, driven into a corner by a raging mob with foam at the mouth, eternally dissatisfied. Maria Alexandrovna sighed wearily and bowed her head on her hands folded in prayer. Her strength had completely left her.
-Your Imperial Majesty, you are tired, take a rest, why tear your soul with gloomy thoughts! the life doctor muttered helplessly, trying to hide the confusion and excitement that gripped him.
- Sergey Petrovich, order to get ready! the Empress whispered wearily.
- As long as I have the strength, I want to return and die beside him and the children, on my native land, under my native clouds. You know, nowhere is there such a high sky as in Russia, and such warm and soft clouds! - the shadow of a dreamy smile touched the Empress's bloodless lips.
- Didn't you notice? Tell His Majesty that I will be buried in a simple white dress, without a crown on my head and other Royal regalia. There, under warm and soft clouds, we are all equal before the King of Heaven, in Eternity there are no differences in rank. You say, dear doctor?
Instead of answering, the life doctor only respectfully pressed a small, feverish hand with blue streaks of veins and a feverishly beating pulse to his lips. He, this pulse, was like a small bird, greedily rushing up under the warm and high, native clouds ... So greedily that there was no point in keeping it on Earth anymore!
Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Empress of All Russia, Maria Alexandrovna, died quietly in St. Petersburg, in the Winter Palace, in her own apartments, on the night of June 2 to 3, 1880. Death came to her in a dream. She had neither a tsar nor children at that time. "She was dying in the Winter Palace," Botkin wrote, "in complete oblivion. A well-known Russian doctor told his friends that he, an outsider, was outraged by the neglect of the empress during her illness. The ladies of the court, except for two state ladies who were deeply devoted to the empress, left her. And the whole court world, knowing that the emperor himself required it, fawned over Dolgoruky.
“This quiet lonely death,” the maid of honor Tolstaya writes, “became a harmonious and sublime final chord of a life so alien to noise and earthly glory.”
According to the will, like all the empresses of the Romanov dynasty, she was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg six days later, on May 28 (June 10), 1880. After her death, a letter was found in the box addressed to her husband, in which she thanked him for all the years spent together and for the “vita nuova” (new life) given to her so long ago, on April 28, 1841.