1. Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna were not the initiators of the “romance” between Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich and M. Kshesinskaya.
2. Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna were not opposed to their son’s wedding to the Princess Hessian Alice. On the contrary, when they learned about the engagement, they were happy for their son.
3. Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich’s youthful infatuation with the ballerina M. Kshesinskaya did not bear the character of “love passion” on his part and did not turn into a sexual relationship.
4. From his early youth, the Tsarevich dreamed of marrying Princess Alice, and never intended to give any serious character to his relationship with Kshesinskaya. The assertions of the script authors that Nikolai Alexandrovich “loved” Kshesinskaya so much that he did not want to marry Princess Alice, and was even ready to exchange his crown for a marriage with a ballerina, are pure fiction, a lie.
5. The crash of the Imperial train occurred in the fall of 1888, two years before Alexander III and Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich met M. Kshesinskaya. Therefore, there was no way they could talk about her. Kshesinskaya herself was 16 years old in 1888.
6. M. Kshesinskaya has never been to the Highest receptions.
7. Princess Alice of Hesse arrived in Crimea on October 10, 1894, that is, ten days before the death of Emperor Alexander III. Therefore, it is completely unclear why, according to the script, she is dressed in a mourning dress and expresses condolences to the Heir. In addition, the Heir met Alix in Alushta, where she was delivered by horse-drawn carriage, and not by train, as stated in the script.
8. M. Kshesinskaya was not present at the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, and he could not have seen her there.
9. The procedure for the coronation and wedding of Russian emperors was written out in detail and had a centuries-old tradition. The provisions of the script where Alexandra Feodorovna argues with Maria Feodorovna whether she should wear the Monomakh cap or the large imperial crown are outright fabrications and lies. And also the fact that Maria Fedorovna herself tried on the crown for her daughter-in-law.
10. In the coronation rehearsal according to established order It was not the Emperor and Empress personally who took part, but courtiers.
11. The eldest son of Emperor Alexander II, Heir Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, died in 1865 in Nice, not from tuberculosis, as “Maria Feodorovna” claims, but from meningitis.
12. The first filming in Russia, carried out by the French company Pathé, was dedicated not to the arrival of Princess Alice in Simferopol “by train,” as stated in the script, but to the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II.
13. Emperor Nicholas II did not faint at the coronation, his crown did not roll on the floor.
14. Emperor Nicholas II never, especially alone, went behind the scenes of theaters.
15. There has never been a person named “Ivan Karlovich” on the list of directors of the Imperial Theater.
16. Among the doctors who treated the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna there was never “Doctor Fishel”.
17. The ballerina costume is not worn on a naked body, so the episode with the torn bodice strap could not have taken place in reality.
18. No one, except the close family circle, could say “you” to the Tsar or the Heir, especially since K.P. Pobedonostsev could not do this.
19. Never a single Russian officer in his right mind could rush at the Heir to the Throne with the aim of beating or killing him, because of the “ballerina’s kiss.”
20. Emperor Nicholas II never tried to abdicate the throne, much less made any attempts to “escape” from Russia with Kshesinskaya.
21. Coronation gifts were distributed to the people not by throwing them from some towers, but in buffets specially designated for this. The crush began several hours before the distribution of gifts, at night.
22. Emperor Nicholas II never came to the Khodynskoye field and did not examine the “mountain of corpses,” which never existed. Since in total number those killed during the stampede (1,300 people) include those who died in hospitals. By the time the Emperor and Empress arrived at Khodynka Field, the corpses of the dead had already been taken away. So there was nothing to “observe”.
23. Slander: Alexander III organizes fornication dates for his son, forcing his brother Grand Duke Vladimir to photograph ballerinas for this.
24. Slander: Alexander III calls on his son Tsarevich Nicholas to live a prodigal life “while I’m alive.”
25. Slander: Before his death, Alexander III blesses M. Kshesinskaya for prodigal cohabitation with his son Tsarevich Nicholas.
26. Slander: Alexander III claims that all Russian emperors over the last hundred years lived with ballerinas.
27. Slander: Alexander III calls ballerinas “thoroughbred Russian mares.”
28. Slander: Nicholas II draws mustaches and beards on ballerinas’ photographs.
29. Slander: Nicholas II does not hide his relationship with Kshesinskaya and enters into sexual contact with her in the Great Peterhof Palace, thereby falling into fornication.
30. Slander: Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna participate in spiritualistic occult sessions of “Doctor Fishel”, which is according to the teachings Orthodox Church a grave sin.
Controversy continues around Alexei Uchitel's film about the famous ballerina and her relationship with the future Emperor Nicholas II. Woman’s Day looks into what is true and what is fiction in the film.
To the cinema
Nicholas II's father, Emperor Alexander III, was against his son's marriage to Princess Alice of Hesse.
In life
Indeed, at first the Russian emperor and his wife were not delighted with this marriage. Alice may have been the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, but at that time she was a poor princess from a provincial German duchy. Her mother suffered from a nervous disorder, but, worst of all, she was a carrier of hemophilia, which is transmitted through the female line to sons, but the carriers themselves do not get sick. (As a result, Nikolai’s son, Tsarevich Alexei, suffered from hemophilia). Alexander counted on the marriage of the heir to Helen Louise Henrietta, daughter of Louis Philippe, Count of Paris. But then politics, as well as the serious illness of the emperor (and he wanted to marry his son before his death) accelerated the marriage of Nicholas and Alice, who became Alexandra Fedorovna in baptism.
Photo by Getty Images
Photo frame from the film
To the cinema
Alexander III himself introduced his son to Matilda Kshesinskaya.
In life
This happened in 1890 immediately after the graduation performance at the Imperial Theater School, which, according to tradition, was attended by the monarch and his family. Alexander III unexpectedly singled out Matilda Kshesinskaya among all the dancers and declared to the 17-year-old graduate: “Be the decoration and glory of our ballet!” After the performance, without taking off their theatrical costumes, all the students gathered in the large rehearsal hall to present themselves to the royalty.
The action was carefully rehearsed, the candidates for the best graduates were pre-selected from among the first students, among whom Kshesinskaya could not be included simply because she was listed as attending. And then the first surprise happened - in violation of all the rules, the sovereign asked: “Where is Kshesinskaya?” I had to call her. After the presentation of the graduates, a gala dinner followed, and Malechka also did not have a permanent place at the common table. And the sovereign again ordered in his own way - he seated Kshesinskaya between himself and the heir, playfully threatening both: “Just be careful, don’t flirt too much!” At the same time, Nikolai and Kshesinskaya began to communicate closely only two years later. But Alexander could not show his son on the train, who some time later had an accident, a photograph of the young ballerina. After all, the crash of the train, in which the emperor was injured, because of which he later fell ill and died early, happened two years before Nicholas met Kshesinskaya.
Photo by Getty Images
Photo frame from the film
To the cinema
Nicholas II cannot forget his beloved, planning to give up the throne for Kshesinskaya and run away with her.
In life
Many critics of the film argue that the relationship between Nikolai and Matilda was only platonic. It is unlikely. But after his parents’ decision to marry him to Alice Gessenskaya, he decides to end his affair with Kshesinskaya - for sure. And Niki had no intention of running anywhere. This is how the ballerina herself recalls this in her memoirs: “On April 7, 1894, the engagement of the heir to the throne to Alice, Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt was announced. I knew for a long time that sooner or later this would happen, but still my grief was boundless...
After returning from Coburg and the engagement, the heir to the throne asked me for a farewell meeting. We agreed to meet on Volkonsky Highway, at a barn with hay standing on the side of the road.
I came from the city in my carriage, and he came on horseback, straight from the training ground. And, as always happens in such cases, when you need to say a lot to each other, a lump came to our throats, and we said something completely different from what we wanted. There is a lot left unsaid. And what can you talk about at parting, if you know that nothing can be changed...
When Niki left for the training ground, I stood by the barn for a long time and looked after him until he disappeared from sight. And he kept looking around and looking back... I didn’t cry, but my heart was breaking with grief, and as he moved away, my soul became heavier.
I returned to the city, to my empty and orphaned house. It seemed to me that life was over and there would be nothing ahead but pain and bitterness.”
According to rumors, Kshesinskaya received 100 thousand rubles and a house as final payment for her relationship with her august lover. In the future, they most likely never met again. But Nikolai periodically helped his ex-girlfriend in absentia in her theatrical affairs. Nothing is known about even one personal meeting Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Kshesinskaya.
Photo frame from the film
To the cinema
Nikolai had a competitor - Lieutenant Vorontsov (played by Danila Kozlovsky). He is in love with Matilda Kshesinskaya so much that he is trying to stop his main rival. For example, he wants to beat him with a crown. The future Emperor Nicholas II shows mercy to the unlucky criminal - he replaces the death penalty with compulsory treatment.
In life
There is no known fan of Kshesinskaya named Vorontsov. The ballerina preferred members of the imperial family: after breaking up with Niki, she was the mistress of Grand Dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich Romanov. And it’s unlikely that a Russian officer would be able to raise his hand against the Tsarevich because of a ballerina - this does not fit into the code of noble honor. So in this case it is purely artistic fiction.
Photo frame from the film
To the cinema
Kshesinskaya is present at the coronation of Nicholas I in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, during which the emperor faints and the crown falls from his head.
In life
The ballerina was not present at the coronation of the emperor and, of course, could not run up any stairs in the cathedral. In her memoirs, she writes that she wanted to look at the electric illumination of the Grand Kremlin Palace during the holiday celebrations, but “I had to abandon my idea because of the crowds of people crowding the streets. And yet I managed to see the most beautiful patterns on the facade of the Kremlin Palace.” There is also no documentary evidence that Nicholas became ill during the coronation ceremony. According to rumors, the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called only fell from the emperor’s chest.
On October 26, a film about the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya and Tsarevich Nicholas will be released. How close are the fates and images of the characters in the film to historical truth?
Matilda Kshesinskaya
Prima ballerina
Matilda
Kshesinskaya
(1903)
Movie In the film by Alexei Uchitel, Matilda, played by Polish actress Michalina Olshanska, is a brilliant beauty. It is no coincidence that such passions rage around the beautiful Polish woman. Keira Knightley was supposed to play Matilda, but she became pregnant and a replacement had to be found. Mikhalina is not a dancer, she is an actress, violinist and singer, but with a height of 1.65 m, the girl has ballet height. Kshesinskaya was not 18 when in March 1890 she met the Tsarevich. Mikhalina is 25, and this is appropriate: the film is not about romance, but about passion. Matilda, or Malya, as her relatives called her, is strong-willed and willful in Olshanskaya. Kshesinskaya was really distinguished a strong character. For more than ten years she reigned on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The great Tamara Karsavina and Anna Pavlova had the status of the first ballerinas, but there was only one prima - Kshesinskaya.
Story Matilda was not a beauty. Large nose, wide eyebrows... In reviews of ballets with the participation of the “prima ballerina assoluta” (as Matilda was called), a lot is said about her “physical charm”, but compliments to her appearance are restrained. The graceful Kshesinskaya (the ballerina is 1.53 m tall) was praised for having “a lot of life, fire and gaiety.” Perhaps these words contain the secret of Matilda’s magical charm, who said about herself: “By nature I was a coquette.” She loved and knew how to live, enjoy luxury and surround herself with the first men of the state, who had the power to give everything she wanted.
Lars Eidinger as Nikolai
Tsarevich Nikolai
Young
Tsarevich
Nikolay
(1890)
Movie The role of the crown prince went to 41-year-old German actor and director Lars Eidinger. In contrast to Nicholas’s established reputation as a weak king, Eidinger plays an almost Shakespearean hero, a man of strong passions, capable of rebellion for the sake of love. He is suffering, swift and harsh. Outwardly, the on-screen hero also bears little resemblance to the historical character in his youth. Eidinger is tall (height 1.9 m), large, mature. A thick beard also adds age. Before us is not a weak, indecisive crown prince, but a personality. If Nikolai had been such a hero as Eidinger played him, who knows how the fate of the dynasty and the country would have turned out. By the way, the role of Nikolai was first promised to Danila Kozlovsky, but when the decision changed, the actor was offered to play Count Vorontsov, a character who did not exist in reality.
Story Reddish, thin, short, short crew cut and calm gray-green eyes - this is how Matilda saw the Tsarevich. At the time of his meeting with Kshesinskaya, the 22-year-old future emperor wore a small, dandy mustache; a beard appeared later. “Everyone was always fascinated by him, and his exceptional eyes and smile won hearts. One of his character traits was to be able to control himself, writes Kshesinskaya about Nikolai in her memoirs “Memoirs”. - It was clear to me that the heir did not have something that was needed to reign... Something to force others to submit to his will. He didn’t know how to insist on his own and very often gave in.”
Still from the film
Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt
Movie On-screen Alice cannot be called anything other than a red-haired beast. German actress Louise Wolfram, similar to Tilda Swinton, created a grotesque image. Pathetic, lanky, awkward, she tries to seduce Nikolai by dancing and gets tangled in her skirts, causing laughter. Alice is the opposite of the brilliant Matilda. The bride of the Tsarevich intrigues against the ballerina, arranges seances, performs magic on blood and wears green dresses with creepy roses. The Empress and mother of Nicholas Maria Feodorovna reproaches her future daughter-in-law for her lack of taste.
Story As soon as the princess became the heir's bride in April 1894, he confessed to her his passion for Kshesinskaya and broke off relations with the ballerina. In response, I received a short letter from Alix: “What happened, happened and will never return... I love you even more after you told me this story.” According to the authors of the film, Alice had to achieve a wedding with the Tsarevich, but in reality everything was different. The princess refused the heir several times, not wanting to betray the Lutheran faith, but then succumbed to persuasion. As contemporaries noted, Alice was distinguished by impeccable taste and beauty. “Thick hair lay like a heavy crown on his head, decorating it, but his large dark blue eyes looked cold under long eyelashes...”
Keys to the Heart
“Listen to how it will be: it is you, not me, who will be jealous, tormented, looking for a meeting and will not be able to love anyone as much as I do...” Matilda says to the heir in the film. In fact, Matilda was more interested in the relationship than Nikolai, she loved and suffered in separation more than he did. In June 1893, when the issue of the heir’s engagement to Princess Alice was once again unresolved, Kshesinskaya rented a dacha near Krasnoe Selo, where the Tsarevich’s regiment was stationed. But over the summer he came to Matilda only twice. In Nikolai's diaries there are entries that his heart and head at that time were occupied only with the princess. “After the engagement, he asked for a last date, and we agreed to meet on Volkonsky Highway. I came from the city in my carriage, and he came from the camp on horseback. A single meeting took place in private... What I experienced on the Emperor’s wedding day can only be understood by those who are capable of truly loving with all their souls,” admitted Matilda.
“I like Malya, I love Alix,” the Tsarevich wrote in his diary, and this phrase contains the whole truth about love triangle- Nicholas, Alix and Matilda. And here are the lines from the queen’s diary, which she wrote down in the first wedding night: “We belong to each other forever... The key to my heart, in which you are imprisoned, has been lost, and now you will never escape from there.”
Prepared by Elena ALESHKINA
IN Russian Empire not a single person was found who would stand up for the emperor, and in Russian Federation there are more than enough such well-wishers
In the Russian Empire there was not a single person who would stand up for Nicholas II, and in the Russian Federation there are more than enough such well-wishers
Russia is not childish. In psychiatry this would be called schizophrenia. In politics they call it an attempt at reconciliation and agreement with one’s past, present and future. The trouble is that all temporary states are changeable. Because of this, today we have to reconcile and agree with what was stigmatized only yesterday. The most recent example is the passion around Alexei Uchitel's film "Matilda" about the carnal love of the ballerina KSHESINSKAYA and NICHOLAS II. Today this king is considered by us to be both Bloody and Saint. As anyone likes. But a tendency is visible that tomorrow we will be forced to consider him exclusively a saint. Therefore, while we can, we remind you of the human nature of the sovereign, and at the same time of his bloody life path to heaven.
A certain movement “Royal Cross” called on the people to unite against the historical film “Matilda” directed by Alexey Uchitel and sign an appeal addressed to the Prosecutor General with a request to ban the release of the film on the screen. In fact, no one has seen the film yet. His commercial caused public excitement.
The reason is this: “bed scenes are included in the picture with incredible audacity Nicholas II With Matilda Kshesinskaya“, and this “is not only criminal in relation to the believing citizens of the country, but also in relation to the state, since it is aimed at undermining national security.”
A deputy unexpectedly found himself at the head of the anti-Kseshin movement Natalia Poklonskaya. According to her, Nicholas II is in fact “a kind and merciful sovereign who has radically improved the well-being of his people.”
It’s stupid to check a film that hasn’t been released,” the Minister of Culture commented on Natalya Poklonskaya’s parliamentary request to the prosecutor’s office. Vladimir Medinsky.
The blind readiness of the heroine of the “Crimean Spring” to lay down her life for the Tsar caused shock among many of her fans.
I just can’t understand why what is considered the first love all over the world suddenly turns into a “vicious relationship” for Poklonskaya, offending the religious feelings of the Orthodox? - asks a journalist who is not at all liberal Oleg Lurie.
The move to Moscow from the deep provinces, the crazy parliamentary prosperity that fell on his head, coupled with a sea of free time, may have unsettled the former prosecutor. In addition, we must make allowances for the fact that she studied history at school using Ukrainian textbooks. And there it is written...
Family toy
It is believed that the cheerful Polish woman Matilda Kshesinskaya was given to his phlegmatic son Niki by his father. On March 23, 1890, after the graduation performance of the Imperial Theater School, which was attended by himself Alexander III with the heir to the throne, a gala dinner was given. The Emperor ordered that Kshesinskaya be seated next to the future Emperor Nicholas II. The family decided that it was time for Niki to become a real man, and ballet was something like an official harem and relations with ballerinas were not considered shameful among the aristocracy.
In the jargon adopted by the Russian Guard, trips to ballerinas for the sexual satisfaction of their violent passions were called “potato trips.” The heir was no exception under the name of hussar Volkova I went to Matilda for potatoes for several years. Until he married Alice of Hesse.
Wanting to keep the secret of his intimate adventures, Nicholas did not allow Matilda to fall into the hands of lustful merchants and noble perverts. He left her in the “family”, transferring her to the care and comfort of his grandson NicholasI- to the Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich. The new “owner” was single and also became interested in a gorgeous woman. Sergei Mikhailovich made Kshesinskaya the prima of the Mariinsky Theater and one of the richest women in Russia. Her palace in Strelna was not inferior in luxury to the tsar’s, which greatly crippled Russia’s military budget. The same one to which the great princes, and in particular Sergei Mikhailovich, had access.
Official matters did not allow him to pay enough attention to Matilda, and he asked to “keep an eye” on the beauty of the Grand Duke Andrey Vladimirovich, grandson Alexandra II. Both lovers knew about each other, but peacefully took turns cohabiting with the “witch”, never quarreling, and each considered Vladimir, Matilda’s son, his own. He really first bore the middle name Sergeevich, and then Andreevich.
After the revolution, already in immigration to France, Kshesinskaya married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich and received the title of His Serene Highness Princess Romanovskaya.
Alien place
One day Nicholas II told the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sazonov: “I try not to think seriously about anything, otherwise I would have been in a coffin a long time ago.” It is this phrase that most accurately characterizes the style of Nicholas' rule. His place was not on the throne, but under Kshesinskaya’s skirt and at the family table. The patriarchal custom of inheriting power not by merit, but by seniority, became a trap for tsarism. The rapidly changing world could no longer be held together by rotten bonds: “Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality.”
It is customary to say about Nicholas that he personally carried out reforms, often in defiance of the Duma. However, in fact, the king rather “did not interfere.” He didn't even have a personal secretariat. Nicholas II personally never wrote detailed resolutions; he limited himself to notes in the margins, most often simply putting a “read sign.” In principle, he was not involved in government affairs. Didn't take them to heart. For example, his adjutant said that, having received the news about Tsushima, the king, who was playing tennis at that time, sighed heavily and immediately took up his racket again. In the same way, he perceived all the bad news about the unrest in the country and the news of defeats in the war.
As a result of such a reign, by the beginning of World War I, Russia’s external debt was 6.5 billion rubles, and there was only 1.6 billion of gold in the treasury.
But Nicholas II spent 12 thousand rubles a year on sweet photographs with his family. For example, the average household expenditure in the Russian Empire was about 85 rubles per year per capita. The emperor's wardrobe in the Alexander Palace alone numbered several hundred items military uniform. When receiving foreign ambassadors, the king put on the uniform of the state from which the envoy came. Often Nicholas II had to change clothes six times a day.
The figure of the king, primarily through his own fault, turned out to be purely decorative. It was precisely this circumstance that caused general discontent.
All the economic growth 1913 fell on the private bourgeois and capitalist sector. While the mechanisms of power have practically stopped working.
They couldn’t, since all the control levers were in the hands of one person who was unable to move them. Tsarism, therefore, simply outlived its usefulness.
Nicholas II became the Bloody not when, during his coronation on May 18, 1896, 2,689 loyal subjects were killed and maimed in a stampede. He became Bloody because, of all the methods of governing the state, he decided to use only the simplest - repression.
The worse the situation became, the more often they resorted to them. The 1905 revolution was preceded by a famine of 1901 - 1903, as a result of which more than three million adults died. Tsarist statistics did not count children. To suppress peasant uprisings and workers' uprisings, 200 thousand regular troops were sent, not counting tens of thousands of gendarmes and Cossacks.
And then on January 9, 1905, Bloody Sunday occurred in St. Petersburg - the dispersal of the procession of St. Petersburg workers to the Winter Palace, which was intended to present the Tsar with a collective petition about workers’ needs. The working people, “like the entire Russian people,” have “no human rights. Thanks to your officials, we became slaves,” the workers wrote in the petition.
The troops met them with cannon and rifle fire. Everywhere the reprisal was carried out according to the same plan: they fired in volleys, with or without warning, and then cavalry flew out from behind the infantry barriers and trampled, chopped, and whipped the fleeing.
Government message: of those who went to the king, 96 were killed, 330 people were wounded. But on January 13, journalists submitted to the Empire's Minister of Internal Affairs a list of 4,600 killed and fatally maimed. Later newspapers wrote that more than 40 thousand corpses with bayonet and saber wounds, trampled by horses, torn by shells and other similar wounds passed through the hospitals of the city and its environs.
Thus, the people's faith in the good Tsar-Father was trampled upon. The wave of general discontent could no longer be stopped. During 1905 - 1906, peasants burned down two thousand landowners' estates out of 30 thousand existing in the European part of the empire. Jewish pogroms claimed the lives of at least 10 thousand more people.
In October 1905, the All-Russian political strike spread throughout Russia. The Sevastopol uprising ended with the execution of the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet - the cruiser "Ochakov" and other rebel ships. Funeral prayers for tens of thousands of innocent victims had no time to subside when crop failure hit Russia. The church, landowners, and tsarist officials refused to share the grain, and as a result, the massive famine of 1911 claimed the lives of 300 thousand people. Strikes and executions began again. The fact remains: in 1914, doctors examined conscripts into the army and were horrified - 40 percent of the recruits had traces of Cossack whips or ramrods on their backs.
Triumph of the will
Beginning in the autumn of 1916, not only the left radicals and the liberal State Duma, but even the closest relatives - the 15 Grand Dukes - stood in opposition to Nicholas II. Their common demand was the removal of the “holy elder” from governing the country. Grishki Rasputin and German queens and the introduction of a responsible ministry. That is, a government appointed by the Duma and responsible to the Duma. In practice, this meant the transformation of the state system from autocratic to constitutional monarchy.
The Russian officers made a decisive contribution to the overthrow of Nicholas II. His attitude towards the Tsar-Father can be judged by the derogatory name of the popular snack - “Nikolashka”. Her recipe was attributed to the king. Sugar ground into dust was mixed with ground coffee; a slice of lemon was sprinkled with this mixture, which was used to snack on a glass of cognac.
Confidant of the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Adjutant General Mikhail Alekseev - general Alexander Krymov in January 1917 he spoke to the Duma members, pushing them to a coup, as if giving guarantees from the army. He ended his speech with the words: “The mood in the army is such that everyone will joyfully welcome the news of the coup. A coup is inevitable, and they feel it at the front. If you decide to take this extreme measure, we will support you. Obviously, there are no other means. There is no time to waste."
The Imperial Headquarters was, in essence, a second government. There, according to the professor Yuri Lomonosov, who was a member of the engineering council of the Ministry of Railways during the war, dissatisfaction was brewing: “At the headquarters and at Headquarters they scolded the queen mercilessly, they talked not only about her imprisonment, but also about the deposition of Nicholas. They even talked about it at the general's tables. But always, with all this kind of talk, the most likely outcome seemed to be a purely palace revolution, like the murder of Paul.”
In March 1917, it was the military commanders of the fronts who forced the Tsar to sign his abdication. The last order of Nicholas II was the appointment of a general Lavra Kornilova Commander of the Petrograd Military District.
A few days after this, by decision of the Provisional Government, Kornilov left for Tsarskoe Selo to carry out the decree on the arrest of the former Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the entire royal family.
By the way, today the same people who go to rallies hugging the icon of Nicholas II and singing “God Save the Tsar” have erected a monument to his jailer, General Kornilov, in Krasnodar. And they regularly hold commemorations near him, to which they bring an icon of Nicholas II.
After his abdication, Nicholas II turned out to be so unattractive to anyone the right person that its existence was simply forgotten for some time. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government Pavel Milyukov tried to send the royal family to England for the care of cousin king - George V, but the king chose to abandon such a plan.
Not knowing what to do, the Provisional Government sent Nicholas II and his family deep into the country. The exile became his triumph of will. Not a sovereign, but a man, from the moment of his abdication until the day of his death he showed much more character than during his entire reign. How did you speak about him? Edward Radzinsky, there are monarchs who do not know how to rule, but who know how to die with dignity.
Opinions of historians: The script of “Matilda” is a fiction of the worst taste
Moscow, September 25. The script of the film "Matilda", submitted several months ago for review to two famous Russian historians - the president of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov, professor, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences S.P. Karpov and the scientific director of the State Archive of the Russian Federation, head of the Department of History of Russia of the 19th – early 20th centuries, Faculty of History of Moscow State University, Professor S.V. Mironenko was subjected to severe criticism from them.
“The script for the film Matilda has nothing to do with historical events, about which it is narrated, except that only the names of the characters correspond to reality, and the heir-Tsarevich had an affair with Matilda Kshesinskaya. The rest is a complete fabrication of the worst taste,” says the summary of the conclusion of S.P. Karpov and S.V. Mironenko.
“The very first scene evokes a smile and great bewilderment. Matilda Kshesinskaya did not run up to the choir of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin during the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II, did not shout: “Nicky, Niky!”, and the emperor himself did not faint. All this is an invention of the scriptwriters, recalling the lines from the famous novel by Ilf and Petrov: “The Countess runs across the pond with a changed face.” Only in Ilf and Petrov it is grotesque and irony, and in the script there is the harsh “truth” of the heroes’ lives, as it appears to the author,” the Moscow State University professors continue.
According to historians, the film's script is filled with inventions of the worst taste, which have nothing to do with real events, much less to the feelings of the heroes.
“What a scene it is when Nicholas’s father, Emperor Alexander III, chooses a mistress for his son from among the ballerinas of the Mariinsky Theater. Do I need to explain that such vulgarity could only be born in the head of a person who had no idea about the real relationships in the royal family, and even in the court environment,” note S.P. Karpov and S.V. Mironenko.
Historians recalled that although Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna were not sinless people, in their lives and relationships there was no place for vulgarity, which is in the film script.
“There were different situations in their lives, and their activities are assessed differently by historians. There was only one thing missing - vulgarity and dirt. Namely, the author of the script passes off vulgarity and dirt of the lowest level as historical truth,” the MSU professors emphasize in their conclusion.
Commentary by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk in connection with the aggravation of public debate on the film “Matilda”
Moscow, September 14. The situation surrounding the film "Matilda", unfortunately, is reminiscent of the one that unfolded some time ago around the scandalous French weekly "Charlie Hebdo". Then they tried to put us all in a dilemma: are you with “Charlie” or are you with the terrorists who shot the editorial staff? Now they are trying to put us before a choice: either you support Matilda, or you are with those who call for burning cinemas.
But what about those who are not with some and not with others? For example, I unconditionally and categorically oppose any calls for violence, any threats against anyone, be it the director, actors, distributors, etc. I also oppose the ban on showing the film, and the revival of Soviet-style censorship. But at the same time, I just can’t and don’t want to take the side of those who defend this film.
Unlike most participants in the debate, I watched this film. Nowadays they say: if you haven’t seen it, keep quiet and wait until the film is released. And those who speak out against the film based on the trailer are accused of criticizing without having seen it. I expressed my opinion about the film not on the basis of the trailer, but on the basis of watching it full version. My opinion offended the director who invited me to the preview, but I could not bend my conscience. And I couldn’t keep silent either.
The discussion around the film involves the most different people and groups of people. But today there are thousands of letters expressing outrage. Many people do not understand why it was necessary, in the year of the centenary of the revolution, to once again publicly spit on a man who was shot along with his family and minor children. The anniversary of the revolution is an occasion for prayer and remembrance of the innocent victims, and not for continuing to spit on their memory.
Not to mention the fact that for the Church, Emperor Nicholas II is a passion-bearer, canonized. And the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, presented in the film as a hysterical witch, is also canonized. On Tsar's days, at least one hundred thousand people gather in Yekaterinburg, who for five hours at night go in procession from the place of his execution to the place of his supposed burial.
I express the hope that in the year of the centenary of the tragic events that resulted in millions of victims for our people, there will be directors, writers and artists who will be able to pay tribute to the memory of the murdered Sovereign.
V.R. Legoyda: Orthodox believers cannot endanger people's lives and health
Moscow, September 11. Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations of the Church with Society and the Media V.R. Legoida said that acts of violence associated with the film "Matilda" cannot come from religious people.
"Not only Orthodox Christian, but it would not even occur to any believer to express his disagreement with anything in a way that is dangerous to the life and health of innocent people,” said a representative of the Church.
“Whether it’s a cinema or cars in Moscow, all this speaks of spiritual or mental ill-health,” he added.
“The position of the Orthodox community, people who pray in connection with the release of the film “Matilda” or send appeals to those on whom the decision on distribution depends, and acts of demonstrative violence are phenomena from different moral galaxies,” emphasized V.R. Legoida.
“We have condemned, condemn and will condemn the actions of pseudo-religious radicals, no matter what religion they hide behind, because such actions are equally alien to the worldview of any believer,” concluded the chairman of the Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media.
A.V. Shchipkov: When expanding the boundaries of creative freedom, it is important not to step on what is sacred for others
Moscow, September 8. Speaking on the television show “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” on the Rossiya 1 TV channel, first deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, doctor political sciences A.V. Shchipkov noted that the absence of boundaries for freedom of creativity inevitably leads to trampling on the feelings of other people.
“We constantly discuss the boundaries of freedom. But it would be more correct to discuss another problem - the problem of the lack of borders. When we begin to discuss the absence of boundaries, our vision expands, we begin to say that the boundaries of what is permitted in art are endless, that it is impossible to draw boundaries,” said A.V. Shchipkov.
“If the boundaries in creativity and in art are endless, then they inevitably step on things that are sacred to other people,” he added.
The First Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations of the Church with Society and the Media recalled that although the film “Matilda” does not pose a direct physical threat, its release on screens will cause a painful reaction from those who revere Tsar Nicholas II.
“Here, of course, we are talking about a film that, in principle, cannot kill or injure anyone. But in fact it can, because we are talking about a person to whom a huge number of citizens of our country have a special relationship. When a creator, an artist begins to expand his boundaries of what is permitted, he steps on what is sacred for others,” concluded A.V. Shchipkov.
