Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (Александра Фёдоровна)

by Irshaan Uddin, student 2017

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Alexandra Feodorovna (1872-1918) was the last Tsarina of Russia and was a controversial figure whose been described as tragic, manipulative, compassionate, and misunderstood. She was one of the most famous royal carriers, descended from Queen Victoria, of the hemophilia disease, a disease that acutely diminishes blood coagulation that. Her immense influence over Nicholas II (1868-1918), her husband, which she used to promote autocratic authority over the country and her publicized faith in the Russian mystic, Grigorii Rasputin (869-1916), diminished her popularity and tarnished the reputation of the late Romanov dynasty.

Empress Aleksandra and her Daughters

Empress Aleksandra and Her Daughters, formal photo in 1913; photo credit.

Alix was born on June 6th, 1872 at the New Palace in Darmstadt, Germany. She was the sixth child of seven of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and his first wife, Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She was named Alix after her mother. Her earlier years were spent primarily with her elder brother and Princess May, and this spawned a deep, emotional bond with them that they would maintain for the rest of their lives. Before Louis IV’s ascension to the position of Grand Duke, Alix and her family were far from rich as Louis and Alice donated a large portion of their income to charity, and the costs of constructing a new home for their children was a financial drain, but regardless, they did live comfortably. In regards to their charity, Louis and Alice taught their children the importance of charity and frequently brought them to hospitals and charitable intuitions where the children would aid those struggling. These lessons in philanthropy would stick with Alix for the rest of her life.

In November 1878, diphtheria plagued the New Palace and the entire family, except Princess Ella, was afflicted with it. Princess Alix was in terrible condition and often cried out for her mother to help her while she was struggling against it. Alice devoted all her time to helping her children and husband recover, but despite her efforts, Princess May died on November 16th. Unfortunately, Alice was unable to resist the illness and on December 8th succumbed to the illness. She dies on December 14th. Louis made a tremendous effort to fill the void in their lives caused by Alice’s death. The Grand Duke meticulously followed the instructions Alice had left behind to continue managing the children’s education and lives. After Alice’s death, Queen Victoria developed a keen interest in her grandchildren’s development and had their instructors and caretakers write detailed reports regarding them to her. She also strongly encouraged the Grand Duke to visit frequently with the children. Alice’s death had a profound impact on Alix’s emotional development, and it sent her spiraling downwards into misery and isolation, but as time passed, she “got over it”.

At the age of 15, Alix was well-versed in history, literature, geography, and various other general subjects. She was regarded as brilliant and extremely motivated by her teachers. They remarked that she would relinquish pleasurable activities to complete her schoolwork.

In the spring of 1984, Princess Alix traveled with her family to St. Petersburg to attend Princess Ella’s wedding. It was here that Alix met the tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, her future husband. Alix encountered Nicholas again around Christmas when the Grand Duke, accompanied by Prince Ernest Louis and Princess Alix, went to Russia. Nicholas visited the Serge Palace when Prince Ernest Louis and Alix were there as he enjoyed Ernest Louis’ company, and he was greatly attracted to Alix who was very much in love with Nicholas.

In the beginning of 1892 the Grand Duke had slight heart trouble, which he dismissed as nothing, but it led to a sudden seizure which incapacitated him for 9 days. He struggled for those 9 days, but he ultimately died on March 13th, 1892. The Grand Duke’s passing was tragic, and it devastated Princess Alix, causing her to tear up at the slightest reminder of him.  Her brother ascended to Grand Duke to take his place.

On April 20th, 1894, Princess Alix and the Tsarevich Nicholas were engaged. At the beginning of October, he summoned Alix to the Crimea.  The whole imperial family was gathered in the Livadia palace. Emperor Alexander III’s life was coming to an end. Despite how close he was to death, he got up to give his blessings to Alix. Princess Alix attended her first Russian church service inside the gorgeous Livadia chapel. Prior to this, Alix had informed Nicholas of her intention of joining the Russian Orthodox Church.

On November 1st, Emperor Alexander III passed away, and Nicholas became emperor. The following morning, Nicholas II, the Dowager Empress, and Alix went to communion in the Livadia chapel. That morning she had been received into the Orthodox Church by Father Yanishev and took the name Alexandra. Soon Alexandra and Nicholas were wed in the Grand Church of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on November 26th. Alexandra became Empress of Russia on her wedding day; however, because of how soon their wedding took place after the death of Alexander III, Alexandra saw it as a continuation of the funeral and the Russian people interpreted it as a bad omen. Despite becoming empress on her wedding day, Alexandra’s coronation did not take place until May 14th, 1896.

Her coronation was a bountiful celebration for the whole country, and amenities were offered to reflect on the prosperity. On the day of the Coronation, the state entrance to the Kremlin had large crowds, representing all of Russia’s socioeconomic classes. People from all over the Empire had come to Moscow to attend. The number of people that attended was incredible, but the authorities had not anticipated this. The local authorities were unable to maintain order, and there was a panic which resulted in thousands being killed and injured. Many interpreted this tragedy as the beginning of a miserable reign despite Nicholas’ and Alexandra’s efforts to mitigate the damage. This tragic event was used to highlight the inhumanity of the autocracy and the shameful shallowness of Alexandra and Nicholas, which were unfair accusations.

The death of Queen Victoria devastated Alexandra. Queen Victoria was a kind and loving grandmother whose endearing traits were reflected in Alexandra. Alexandra often sought her grandmother’s advice especially after she became Empress.

More controversy surrounded Alexandra as all the children she gave birth to were female, which fueled the Russian people’s perception of her being incapable of producing a successor to the throne. But then on August 12th, 1904, she gave birth to Alexei Nikolaevich. Russia rejoiced, and many celebrations were had in his honor. His birth alleviated some of the animosity directed towards her.  Unfortunately, these good tidings would not last long, as they discovered that Alexei had hemophilia, a medical condition in which the ability of the blood to coagulate is inhibited. His health slowly deteriorated, and Alexandra’s health began to mirror his as her heart began to trouble her. Nicholas and Alexandra withheld this information from the public to prevent further tarnishing of their reign and continued with their ordinary lives. They had called in renowned doctors to aid Alexei, but the doctors were unable to provide any degree of relief.

Bulletins were issued as they desperately tried to find someone who could help their child, and in her desperation, Alexandra turned to Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin, a Siberian mystic, whose prayers seemed to alleviate Alexei’s condition. Alexei recovered, and the Empress and Emperor were ecstatic.  Rasputin had entered their lives and remained a constant element in it for many years during which he acquired considerable influence over the imperial family and undermined Romanov rule. His position was solidified by Alexandra’s dependence on him to keep Alexei alive, and any unfavorable remarks made towards him were disregarded, primarily by Alexandra who attributed the malicious comments to his association with the imperial family. Alexandra made her control over Nicholas’ very obvious during this fiasco as Nicholas had many objections to Rasputin’s presence but they were silenced because of Alexandra.

In 1912, Alexandra told her mother-in-law and Nicholas’ sisters, in confidence, about Alexei’s hemophilia, but the information soon reached a small circle of courtiers and relatives and Alexandra was blamed for Alexei's frail health. His condition was referred to as "the English disease," which fueled the Russian people’s distaste for her as it further augmented her foreignness, a trait that the Russian people despised. Her popularity amongst the imperial family, the aristocracy, and the Russian people plummeted. She had jeopardized the Russian Empire to save Alexei from hemophilia.

Alexandra’s dangerously firm belief in the principles of autocratic rule proved to be extremely detrimental to Russia during the first world war. Alexandra promoted her husband’s ability to rule the country and discredited and dismissed many capable advisors and military leaders in favor of Nicholas. The most notable example of her dismissal of competent Russian officials was her deriding Grand Duke Nikolai's’s ability to lead Russia’s armed forces, and Nicholas II soon replaced him as commander of the Russian armed forces which backfired horribly for Russia. Her actions fueled the dissatisfaction of the Russian people, and she was accused of collaborating with the Germans, along with Rasputin, because of her German heritage.

In 1917, the Russian Revolutions took place. The Duma, which consisted of members of the Imperial Parliament, took control of the country and established the Russian Provisional Government. The Russian Provisional Government imprisoned Alexandra, along with her children, inside the Alexander Palace. Alexandra was interviewed about her involvement in the affairs of Russia and Rasputin’s involvement in state affairs, and she told the interviewer that she gave advice to support Nicholas and regarded Rasputin as a holy man of God whose advice was well intentioned because she believed it benefited Russia and the imperial family. The family was moved to Tobolsk, a small town located in Siberia, in August of 1917. They remained there until soon after the Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917. In 1918, they were moved to Yekaterinburg, a Bolshevik controlled city. On the 16th of July, 1918, the Romanov family was executed by a firing squad in the basement of the Ipatiev House, the house they resided in for their final days.

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