The story, which is associated with the name of the younger brother of Nicholas II, resembles a real thriller, which includes elements of real absurdity. A number of historians believe that Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov is truly the last autocrat of Russia. Although in the era of the USSR they generally preferred not to remember him. In the West, he was canonized as a saint… The fate of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov will be presented in the article.
Spartan education
Mikhail Romanov was born at the very beginning of the winter of 1878. He is the youngest son of Alexander III. According to the succession of the Russian throne, he was considered the third. The first were the future autocrat Nicholas II and George.
Young Mikhail grew up as an energetic and smart boy. Since childhood, he was passionate about horse riding, hunting, sports and theater. After a while to thesepassions were added driving a car and a genuine interest in aviation.
According to the recollections, Mikhail was very well brought up, modest and even shy. In addition, he was characterized by a certain democracy. That is, he sometimes preferred the company of his mentors, and not at all relatives.
Also, he did not attach any importance to money. At the same time, he was considered the richest among the great princes.
By and large, he grew up in a strict, almost Spartan environment. The father is the Russian emperor, and Maria Fedorovna, the wife of Alexander III, raised him "without weaknesses and sentiments." He had to observe a strict daily regimen, which was established by his parents. He slept on an ordinary field bunk. When he woke up, he took cold baths and ate plain oatmeal for breakfast.
Every day, without fail, he studied different disciplines. Also, the prince had to attend church services and make visits to relatives. Naturally, he also took part in official events.
Since there was only one way for all royal persons to serve the Fatherland, Mikhail was assigned to the elite and prestigious Preobrazhensky Regiment at birth. Years later, he was enrolled in the Cuirassier unit, and then he led one of the squadrons of the Blue Cuirassier regiment.
Heir
Shortly before these events, one of Mikhail's older brothers Georgiy suddenly died while riding a bicycle. The cause of his death was a strokeconsumption. By the way, ahead of the course of events, let's say: in memory of him, the younger brother will later name his newborn son after him …
After the death of George, Mikhail suddenly became the heir to the throne, since the family of Emperor Nicholas II had no son at that time.
Mikhail received a large part of his late brother's inheritance. Including his property now was the huge estate of Brasovo, near Bryansk.
An important circumstance: Georgy bore the title of "Tsesarevich", but Mikhail did not receive such a title. Actually, this fact became the reason for gossip against the Russian tsar. Basically, the initiator of these conversations was Maria Feodorovna, wife of Alexander III, already Dowager Empress, and her entourage.
True, in fact, this whole unpleasant situation was quite easy to explain. The fact is, the wife of the Russian autocrat hoped that she would still have a son. And when in 1904 it did happen, Mikhail ceased to be the heir. But now he bore the title of "ruler of the State." It was understood that the Grand Duke could be such if the emperor did not become. And, accordingly, Michael could use this title until the emperor's son reaches the age of majority.
Love triangle
It is worth noting that Mikhail had a rather strained and difficult relationship with the autocrat. And they became more aggravated when the Grand Duke decided to enter into a morganatic marriage with Natalia Wulfert. For the sake of love, he, in fact,renounced the Russian throne.
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov met his future wife at one of the festive events. By this time, Natalia was the wife of the lieutenant of the Gatchina regiment Vladimir Wulfert. By the way, the Grand Duke patronized this unit. By the way, before that, Natalia had another marriage.
Be that as it may, a stormy romance began between the prince and the officer's wife. These relations developed literally before the eyes of colleagues. On the one hand, they caused genuine admiration. On the other hand, envy. The fact that the prince and Natalya's husband had known each other for a long time also contributed to the rapprochement of the lovers. Together they were seriously fond of photography.
After some time, rumors about the novel reached the emperor. He was unhappy with these gossip around his younger brother. As a result, Mikhail had to surrender command of the military unit, after which he went to Orel. He became commander of the Chernigov Hussars. It happened in 1909.
By this time, Mikhail's beloved was still a married lady. She got married in the church. At the same time, she was expecting a child from the Grand Duke. But only Lieutenant Wulfert, Natalya's husband, had the right to a future offspring.
Only one month before the birth of the first child, the situation began to change dramatically. With the permission of the emperor, all divorce documentation was submitted to the Holy Synod for consideration. As a result, in the summer of 1910, Natalya and Vladimir ceased to be spouses. And a few weeks later, the first-born of Michael appeared - the son of George.
The Consequences of Marriage
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov, whose biography is full of interesting events, has long tried to persuade his older brother to allow him to marry his beloved. But the Russian autocrat was inexorable and said that he would never give his consent. By and large, there were very good reasons for that. The fact is that Natalya was a simple noblewoman, while she did not have a title. In addition, she has already been married twice. But most importantly, these divorces have always been ecclesiastical.
However, Michael was determined. In 1912, the lovers managed to get married. They married secretly in one of the little Austrian churches.
The Emperor was indignant and tried his best to prevent their marriage. To do this, he set in motion the mechanism of internal and diplomatic services. They say that this whole difficult situation was due to the fact that Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of the Tsar, sincerely feared a conspiracy on the part of the Grand Duke. She was afraid that Mikhail would try to overthrow Nicholas from the throne.
Be that as it may, in this conflict the Grand Duke was the winner. But the consequences of these disagreements were deplorable for him. First, he ceased to be a ruler, that is, a regent. Secondly, he was removed from all posts and positions. Since 1901, he is no longer a member of the State Council. Thirdly, all the estates of the Grand Duke were under sequestration. And, fourthly, he was forbidden to return to his homeland. As a result, the prince's family decided to live in Europe.
Return
The news of the outbreak of the First World War caught Mikhail in the UK. He immediately decided to write a letter to his older brother, where he asked to be allowed to return to his homeland. Despite the difficult relationship, the emperor gave the Grand Duke the opportunity to come to Russia. And after a while, Mikhail led the Wild Division known to many. This unit at that time fought on the Galician fronts. In battles, the prince was awarded the St. George Cross of the fourth degree.
At this time, wife Natalya was able to organize a hospital, which was based in her husband's mansion. The mansion of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich was also called the Alekseevsky Palace. It began to be designed in 1883. Prince Mikhail wished that it resembled French chateaus.
In addition, a "sanitary train" was formed with the money of the Grand Duke.
Reconciliation
In 1915, the Russian autocrat decided to make a final reconciliation with Mikhail. So, Nicholas gave Natalia the title of count. She became Countess Brasova. Of course, her son George also received this surname. In addition, he was recognized by the emperor. George officially became his nephew. Although he did not have the right to the throne. But through his father Mikhail, he still remained one of the closest people to the Russian throne.
In fifteen years this handsome and interesting young man will die from the wounds he receives in a car accident.
Returning to the events of the FirstWorld, we will inform you that during this period Mikhail began to keep his diary. He made these recordings until his untimely death. The diaries of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov were published relatively recently.
Fronde
At the end of 1916, some of the grand ducal persons decided to stand in opposition to the legitimate king. Their demarches went down in national history as the "Grand Duke's Fronde".
They demanded to remove not only the elder G. Rasputin from government, but also the empress. They also intended to introduce the so-called. “responsible ministry.”
Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, brother of the last tsar, was already aware of the differences between the Romanovs. And when Rasputin was killed, he did not sign a collective letter from some of his relatives who protested against the decision related to the fate of Dmitry Pavlovich. The Grand Duke participated in a conspiracy against the elder.
In a word, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov never intrigued in relation to his older brother. Moreover, in these times he was already very close to the autocrat. True, many politicians and military leaders tried to take advantage of these relations. In addition, many contemporaries pointed to the role of Michael's wife. Her salon became a kind of center that not only preached liberalism, but also nominated the Grand Duke to the throne.
Manifesto of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich
Mikhail was in Gatchina when the February Revolution broke out. Nicholas renounced the throne, and his younger brother became his successor. For many contemporaries, his candidacy for the throne seemed the only and best option for the development of the country.
A number of military units have already begun to swear allegiance to Michael II. But the prince himself at the moment did not want to risk it. In the army, his renunciation made a depressing impression.
Politician P. Milyukov tried to persuade him not to give up power. He even invited all the monarchists to leave the northern capital and group in Moscow.
However, the next day, after lengthy negotiations, the prince published "Michael's Manifesto". The document reported that the prince was still ready to take the throne. But before that, a Constituent Assembly must be convened, where a popular vote on the subject of succession to the throne will take place.
Dual power period
Meanwhile, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov arrived in revolutionary Petrograd. He continued to take no part in political life, but the new authorities remembered his existence.
The Grand Duke tried to get permission to emigrate. He wanted to move to the UK. However, the Kerensky government, the Bolsheviks, and British officials strongly opposed this desire.
And when the Kornilov rebellion was suppressed, Mikhail was placed under house arrest. He got rid of such imprisonment at the end of September 1917. By this time, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed him to go to the Crimea. But after all these eventshe decided to stay in Russia and went to Gatchina.
Massacre
Meanwhile, in October 1917, there was a coup, and the Bolsheviks took power. After a while, they dispersed the Constituent Assembly, and there was no question of a popular vote.
At this time, Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov continued to be in Gatchina. In March 1918, the new proletarian government sent him to Perm.
In the beginning, Mikhail's "freedom of movement" was not limited in any way within the city. But after a while, the Chekists established supervision over him. And in June of the same year, at night, the Bolsheviks kidnapped him from the hotel, took him to the forest and shot him…
For a long time the fact of the massacre was kept secret. And in July, a custom-made article appeared in a Permian periodical that the Grand Duke lives in Omsk. According to newspapermen, he leads the rebels in Siberia…
Imposters
By that time, there was still no official confirmation of the death of the Grand Duke. Information about the execution of Nicholas II was published in all publications. But the fate of Michael was unknown. Accordingly, this understatement gave rise to rumors about the fate of the failed autocrat. Impostors appeared who pretended to be him. In any case, the famous writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn mentioned such a "Mikhail". Others were sure that the prince actually survived and was hiding under the name of Bishop Seraphim Pozdeev. Still others claimed that he was saved and saw him in Kyiv.
HowBe that as it may, in 2009 Mikhail Romanov was officially rehabilitated. And the question of whether to consider him the last Russian Emperor Michael II is still debatable.
