Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Encyclopedia
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (Mikhail Aleksandrovich Romanov; ) (13 June 1918) was the youngest son of Emperor Alexander III of Russia
.
At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather (Alexander II of Russia
) was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas
and George
. After the assassination of his grandfather in 1881, he became third-in-line, and in 1894 after the death of his father, second-in-line. George died in 1899, leaving Michael as heir-presumptive to the throne. The birth of Nicholas's son Alexei
in 1904 temporarily moved Michael back to second-in-line, but Alexei inherited the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia
and was not expected to live. When Nicholas abdicated on , Michael was named as his successor instead of Alexis. Michael, however, deferred acceptance of the throne until ratification by an elected assembly. He was never confirmed as Emperor, and following the Russian Revolution of 1917
, he was imprisoned and murdered.
Given that he never reigned, his brother Nicholas II is regarded as the last actual, or de facto
Tsar of Russia, and Michael is relegated to a largely forgotten footnote of history. Nevertheless he is sometimes referred to by historians as Michael II and the last Tsar of Russia.
on Nevsky Prospekt
in Saint Petersburg
, as the youngest son and penultimate child of Tsarevitch Alexander of Russia
and his wife, Marie Feodorovna (known before her marriage as Princess Dagmar of Denmark). His maternal grandparents were King Christian IX of Denmark
and Louise of Hesse-Kassel
. His paternal grandmother Empress Maria Alexandrovna (known before her marriage as Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine) died before his second birthday. His paternal grandfather, Emperor Alexander II of Russia
, was assassinated on 1 March 1881, and as a result Michael's parents became Emperor and Empress of All the Russias before his third birthday. After the assassination, the new Tsar Alexander III moved his family, including Michael, to the greater safety of Gatchina Palace
, which was 29 miles southwest of Saint Petersburg and surrounded by a moat.
Michael was raised in the company of his younger sister, Olga
, who nicknamed him "Floppy" because he "flopped" into chairs; his elder siblings and parents called him "Misha". Conditions in the nursery were modest, even spartan. The children slept on hard camp beds, rose at dawn, washed in cold water, and ate a simple porridge for breakfast. Michael, like his siblings, was taught by private tutors and was cared for by an English nanny, Mrs Elizabeth Franklin.
Michael and Olga frequently went on hikes in the forests around Gatchina with their father, who took the opportunity to teach both of them woodsmanship. Physical activities such as equestrianism
were also taught at an early age, as was religious observance. Though Christmas and Easter were times of celebration and extravagance, Lent was strictly observed—meat, dairy products and any form of entertainment were avoided. Family holidays were taken in the summer at Peterhof Palace
and with Michael's grandparents in Denmark.
Michael was 15 when his father fell fatally ill; the annual trip to Denmark was cancelled. On 1 November 1894, Alexander III died at the untimely age of 49. Michael's eldest brother, Nicholas
, became Tsar, and Michael's childhood was effectively over.
to Nicholas as the middle brother, George
, was killed in a motorcycle accident. George's death and the subsequent change in the line of succession highlighted that Nicholas did not yet have a son. As the succession was limited to males, his three daughters were ineligible. When Nicholas's wife, Alexandra, became pregnant in 1900 she hoped that the child would be male. She manoeuvred to get herself declared Regent for her unborn child in the event of Nicholas's death, but the government disagreed and determined Michael would succeed regardless of the unborn child's sex. She was delivered of a fourth daughter the following year.
Michael was perceived as unremarkable, quiet and good-natured. He performed the usual public duties expected of an heir to the throne. In 1901, he represented Russia at the funeral of Queen Victoria
, and was given the Order of the Bath
. The following year he was made a Knight of the Garter in King Edward VII's
coronation
honours. In June 1902, Michael transferred to the Blue Cuirassier
Regiment, and moved to Gatchina
, where the regiment was based. Since coming of age, Michael had assumed financial independence and his assets included the largest sugar refinery in the country, capital amounting to millions of roubles, a collection of motor vehicles, and country estates at Otrovo in Russian Poland
and Brasovo near Orel
.
Michael was heir presumptive until 12 August 1904, when the birth of Tsarevich Alexei
to Nicholas and Alexandra provided an heir apparent
. Michael again became second-in-line to the throne, but was named as co-Regent for the boy, along with Alexandra, in the event of Nicholas's death.
Michael's attention turned to Alexandra Kossikovskaya (September 1875, Orel region – 1923, Berlin), known affectionately as "Dina", who was his sister Olga's lady-in-waiting
. Dina's father, Vladimir Kossikovsky, was a lawyer, and Dina was a commoner
. Michael rejected the notion, proposed by his friends, that he keep her as a mistress, and in July 1906 he wrote to Nicholas asking permission to marry her. Nicholas and Dowager Empress Marie were appalled. Both Nicholas and Marie felt that royalty should marry royalty, and according to Russian house law
any royal that married outside of royalty was removed from the line of succession. Nicholas threatened to revoke Michael's army commission and exile him from Russia if he married without his permission. Marie had Dina dismissed as Olga's lady-in-waiting, and took Michael to Denmark until mid-September.
Shortly after his return to Russia, three British newspapers announced on 24 September 1906 that Michael was to marry Princess Patricia of Connaught
, but neither he nor Patricia knew anything about it. Buckingham Palace
issued a denial. Nevertheless, two years later, in October 1908, Michael visited London, and he and Patricia were "paired" at social engagements. It seems likely that Michael's mother was plotting to get him married to a more suitable bride, and the originator of the false report, Reuters
correspondent Guy Beringer, read too much into the plans. Michael and Dina were planning to elope, but their plans were stymied as Dina was under surveillance by the Okhrana, Nicholas's secret police, and she was prevented from travelling. Under family pressure, and unable to see Dina, by August 1907, Michael appeared to be losing interest. Dina went to live abroad. She never married and believed herself to be Michael's rightful fiancée, but their romance was over.
In early December 1907, Michael was introduced to the wife of a fellow officer, Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert, and from 1908 they began a deep friendship. Natalia was a commoner
, who had a daughter from her first marriage. By August 1909, they were lovers, and by November 1909, Natalia was living apart from her second husband in an apartment in Moscow paid for by Michael. In an attempt to prevent scandal, Nicholas transferred Michael to the Chernigov Hussar
s at Orel, 250 miles from Moscow, but Michael travelled from there several times a month to see Natalia. Their only child, George, named after Michael's dead brother, was born in July 1910, before her divorce from her second husband was finalised. To ensure that the child could be recognised as his rather than as Wulfert's, Michael had the date of the divorce back-dated. Nicholas issued a decree giving the boy the surname "Brasov", taken from Michael's estate at Brasovo, which was a tacit acknowledgement that Michael was the father.
In May 1911, Nicholas permitted Natalia to move from Moscow to Brasovo and granted her the surname "Brasova". In May 1912, Michael went to Copenhagen for the funeral of his uncle King Frederick VIII of Denmark
, where he fell ill with a stomach ulcer that was to trouble him for years afterwards. After a holiday in France, where they were trailed by the Okhrana, Michael was transferred back to Saint Petersburg to command the Chevalier Gardes. He took Natalia to the capital with him, and set her up in an apartment, but she was shunned by society, and within a few months he had moved her to a villa in Gatchina.
, Michael announced that he and Natalia would drive to Cannes
, and instructed his staff to follow by train. The Okhrana were under instructions to follow by train rather than car, and so Michael and Natalia would be unaccompanied on their journey south. Michael's journey was a deliberate ruse. On the way to Cannes, the couple diverted to Vienna
, where they were married on 16 October 1912 by Father Misitsch at the Serbian Orthodox Church
of Saint Sava
. A few days later, after travelling through Venice
and Milan
, they arrived at Cannes, where George and Natalia's daughter from her first marriage joined them. Two weeks after the marriage Michael wrote to his mother and brother to inform them. They were both horrified by Michael's action. His mother said it was "unspeakably awful in every way", and his brother was shocked that his brother had "broken his word ... that he would not marry her".
Nicholas was particularly upset because his heir, Alexei, was gravely ill with haemophilia
, which Michael cited as one of his reasons for marrying Natalia. Michael feared that he would become heir presumptive again on Alexei's death, and would never be able to marry Natalia. By marrying her now, he would be removed from the line of succession early, and preclude the prospect of losing Natalia. In a series of decrees over December 1912 and January 1913, Nicholas relieved Michael of his command, banished him from Russia, froze all his assets in Russia, seized control of his estates, and removed him from the Regency. Society in Russia was shocked at the severity of Nicholas's reprisal, but there was little sympathy for Natalia. She was not entitled to be known as Grand Duchess; she instead used the style "Madame or Countess Brasova".
For six months, they stayed in hotels in France and Switzerland, without any decrease in their standard of living. They were visited by Michael's sister Grand Duchess Xenia
and cousin Grand Duke Andrew
. In July 1913, they saw Michael's mother in London who told Natalia "a few home truths" according to Xenia's diary. After another trip to continental Europe, Michael took a one-year lease on Knebworth House
, a staffed and furnished stately home 20 miles north of London. Michael's finances were stretched as he had to rely on remittances sent from Russia at Nicholas's command, and Nicholas still controlled all his estates and assets.
, Michael telegraphed the Tsar requesting permission to return to Russia to serve in the army, providing his wife and son could come too. Nicholas agreed, and Michael travelled back to Saint Petersburg, via Newcastle
, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Michael had already leased Paddockhurst in Sussex, an estate larger than Knebworth, and had planned to move there on the expiry of the Knebworth lease. He moved his furniture and furnishings there. The war was not expected to last long, and they assumed they would be moving back to England at the end of the war. In the meantime, Michael offered its use to the British military. At Saint Petersburg, now named Petrograd, they moved into a villa at 24 Nikolaevskaya street, Gatchina, that Michael had bought for Natalia. Natalia was not permitted to live at any of the imperial palaces.
He was promoted from his previous rank of colonel to major-general, and given command of a newly formed division: the Caucasian Native Cavalry
, which became known as the "Savage Division". The appointment was perceived as a demotion because the division was mostly formed from new Muslim recruits rather than the elite troops that Michael had commanded previously. The six regiments in the division were each composed of a different ethnic group: Chechen
s, Daghestanis, Kabardin, Tatars
, Circassians and Ingush
, commanded by Russian officers. The men were all volunteers as conscription did not apply to the Caucasus
, and although it was difficult to maintain discipline, they were an effective fighting force. For his actions commanding his troops in the Carpathian mountains
in January 1915, Michael earned the military's highest honour, the Cross of St. George
. He, unlike his brother, the Tsar, was a popular military leader.
By January 1915, the horrific nature of the war was apparent. Michael felt "greatly embittered towards people in general and most of all towards those who are at the top, who hold power and allow all that horror to happen. If the question of war were decided by the people at large, I would not be so passionately averse to that great calamity." Michael confessed in a letter to his wife that he felt "ashamed to face the people, i.e. the soldiers and officers, particularly when visiting field hospitals, where so much suffering is to be seen, for they might think that one is also responsible, for one is placed so high and yet has failed to prevent all that from happening and protect one's country from this disaster."
At the start of the war, Michael wrote to Nicholas asking him to legitimise his son so, he argued, that the boy would be provided for in the event of Michael's death at the front. Eventually, Nicholas agreed to make George legitimate and granted him the style of "Count Brasov" by decree on 26 March 1915.
died that month, Michael was the only member of the imperial family absent from the funeral in Petrograd. Natalia chided him for his absence, and Michael retorted that it was simply wrong for his relatives to abandon their units to attend Constantine's funeral at such a time. The American war correspondent, Stanley Washburn
, reported that Michael wore "a simple uniform with nothing to indicate his rank but shoulder straps of the same material as his uniform". Michael was "unaffected and democratic" and "living so simply in a dirty village". Natalia was appalled that Michael eschewed fancy uniforms and decorations for life at the front, but he was convinced "that at such a difficult time I must serve Russia and serve here at the front".
In July 1915, Michael caught diphtheria
but recovered. The war was going badly for Russia, and the following month Nicholas appointed himself Supreme Commander of the Russian forces. The move was not welcomed. Nicholas's bad decisions included instructing Michael to authorise a payment to a friend of Rasputin's, an army engineer called Bratolyubov, who claimed to have invented a devastating flame-thrower. The claim was bogus, and Bratolyubov was arrested for fraud, but Rasputin intervened and he was released. Michael appeared gullible and naive; a friend of Natalia's said he "trusted everybody ... Had his wife not watched over him constantly, he would have been deceived at every step."
In October 1915, Michael regained control of his estates and assets from Nicholas, and in February 1916 was given command of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, which included the Savage Division, a Cossack
division, and a Don Cossack division. However, the slights against him by the Tsar's retinue continued; when he was promoted to lieutenant-general in July 1916, unlike all other Grand Dukes who attained that rank he was not appointed as an aide-de-camp
to the Tsar with the rank of adjutant-general. Michael admitted that he "always despised Petrograd high society ... no people are more devious than they are; with a few exceptions, they are all scum." Michael made no public political statements, but it was assumed that he was a liberal, like his wife, and British consul Bruce Lockhart
thought he "would have made an excellent constitutional monarch".
Throughout the summer of 1916, Michael's corps was involved in the Brusilov Offensive
. The Guards Army suffered heavy losses under the incompetent leadership of Michael's uncle, Grand Duke Paul
, who was removed from command. In contrast, Michael was awarded a second gallantry medal, the Order of St. Vladimir
with Swords, for his part in actions against the enemy, and was belatedly made an adjutant-general. The poor progress of the war and their almost constant separation depressed both Michael and Natalia. Michael was still suffering from stomach ulcers, and in October 1916 he was ordered to take leave in the Crimea
.
Before leaving for his sister Xenia's estate at Ai-Todor, 12 miles from Yalta
, he wrote a candid letter to his brother warning him that the political situation was tense:
, George, Nicholas
and Dimitri and Grand Duchess Elizabeth, warned against the growing public unrest and the perception that Nicholas
was governed by his German-born wife Alexandra and the self-styled holy man Rasputin. Nicholas and Alexandra refused to listen. In December 1916, Dimitri and four of his friends killed Rasputin. Michael learned of the murder at Brasovo, where he was spending Christmas with his family. On 28 December, according to the French ambassador, there was a failed attempt to assassinate Alexandra; the lone assailant was caught and hanged the next day. The Duma
President Mikhail Rodzyanko
, Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna and British ambassador Buchanan
joined calls for Alexandra to be removed from influence, but Nicholas still refused to take their advice. Plots and gossip against Nicholas and Alexandra continued to build.
In January 1917, Michael returned to the front to hand-over command of his corps; from 29 January he was Inspector-General of Cavalry stationed at Gatchina
. General Aleksei Brusilov
, Michael's commander on the south-eastern front
, begged him to tell the Tsar of "the need for immediate and drastic reforms", but Michael warned him, "I have no influence ... My brother has time and time again had warnings and entreaties of this kind from every quarter." Brusilov recorded in his memoirs, "[Michael] was an absolutely honourable and upright man, taking no sides and lending himself to no intrigues ... he shunned every kind of gossip, whether connected with the services or with family matters. As a soldier he was an excellent leader and an unassuming and conscientious worker."
Through February, Grand Duke Alexander, Duma President Rodzyanko, and Michael pressured Nicholas and Alexandra to yield to popular demands. Public unrest grew, and on 27 February in Petrograd soldiers joined demonstrators, elements of the military mutinied, and prisoners were freed. Nicholas, who was at army headquarters in Mogilev
, prorogued the Duma, but the deputies refused to leave and instead set up their own rival government. After consulting Rodzyanko at the Mariinsky Palace
in Petrograd, Michael telexed Nicholas advising him to dismiss his ministers and set up a new government led by the leader of the majority party in the Duma. His advice was supported by General Mikhail Alekseyev, Nicholas's chief of staff
. Nicholas rejected the suggestion and issued futile orders for troops to move on Petrograd.
and from where he had telegraphed the Tsar, but revolutionary patrols and sporadic fire prevented his progress. Revolutionaries patrolled the streets, rounding up people connected with the old regime. Michael managed to reach the Winter Palace
, where he ordered the guards there to withdraw to the Admiralty
, because it afforded greater safety and a better tactical position and because it was a less politically charged location. Michael himself took refuge in the apartment of an acquaintance, Princess Putyatina
, on Millionnaya street. In the neighbouring apartments, the Tsar's Chamberlain
Nikolai Stolypin and the Procurator of the Holy Synod
were detained by revolutionaries, and in the house next door General Baron Staekelberg was killed when his house was stormed by a mob.
On 1 March, Rodzyanko sent guards to Putyatina's apartment to ensure Michael's safety, and Michael signed a document drawn up by Rodzyanko and Grand Duke Paul
proposing the creation of a constitutional monarchy
. The newly formed Petrograd Soviet
rejected the document, which became irrelevant. Calls for the Tsar's abdication had superseded it.
, and Nicholas feared that if Alexei was Emperor, he would be separated from his parents. In a second abdication document, signed at 11.40 p.m. but marked as having been issued at 3.00 p.m., the time of the earlier one, Nicholas II declared:
By early morning, Michael was proclaimed as "Emperor Michael II" to Russian troops and in cities throughout Russia, but his accession was not universally welcomed. While some units were cheering and swearing allegiance to the new Emperor, others were indifferent. The newly formed Provisional Government
had not agreed to Michael's succession. When Michael awoke that morning, he discovered not only that his brother had abdicated in his favour, as Nicholas had not informed him previously, but also that a delegation from the Duma would visit him at Putyatina's apartment in a few hours time. The meeting with Duma President Rodzyanko, the new Prime Minister Prince Lvov, and other ministers, including Pavel Milyukov
and Alexander Kerensky
, lasted all morning. Putyatina laid on a lunch, and in the afternoon two lawyers (Baron Nolde and Vladimir Nabokov
) were called to the apartment to draft a manifesto for Michael to sign. The legal position was complicated as the legitimacy of the government, whether Nicholas had the right to remove his son from the succession, and whether Michael actually was Emperor were all open to question. After further discussion, and several drafts, a declaration of conditional acceptance was settled on as an appropriate form of words. In it, Michael deferred to the will of the people and acknowledged the Provisional Government as the de facto executive, but neither abdicated nor refused to accept the throne. He wrote:
Commentators ranging from Kerensky to French ambassador Maurice Paléologue
considered Michael's action as noble and patriotic, but Nicholas was appalled that Michael had "kowtowed to the Constituent Assembly" and called the manifesto "rubbish".
The hopes of the monarchists that Michael might be able to assume the throne, following the election of the Constituent Assembly
, were overtaken by events. His renunciation of the throne, though conditional, marked the end of the Tsarist regime in Russia. The Provisional Government was virtually powerless; real power was held by the Soviet.
Michael returned to Gatchina, and was not permitted to return to his unit or travel beyond the Petrograd area. On 5 April 1917, he was discharged from military service. By July, Prince Lvov had resigned as Prime Minister to be replaced by Alexander Kerensky
, who ordered ex-Emperor Nicholas removed from Petrograd to Tobolsk
in the Urals because it was "some remote place, some quiet corner, where they would attract less attention". On the eve of Nicholas's departure, Kerensky gave permission for Michael to visit him. Kerensky remained present during the meeting, and the brothers exchanged awkward pleasantries "fidgeting all the while, and sometimes one would take hold of the other's hand or the buttons of his uniform". It was the last time they would ever see each other.
On 21 August 1917, guards surrounded the villa on Nikolaevskaya street where Michael was living with Natalia. On the orders of Kerensky, they were both under house arrest, along with Nicholas Johnson, who had been Michael's secretary since December 1912. A week later, they were moved to an apartment in Petrograd. Michael's stomach problems worsened, and with the intervention of British ambassador Buchanan
and foreign minister Mikhail Tereshchenko
, they were moved back to Gatchina in the first week of September. Tereschenko told Buchanan that the Dowager Empress would be allowed to leave the country, for England if she wished, and that Michael would follow in due course. The British, however, were not prepared to accept any Russian Grand Duke for fear it would provoke a bad public reaction in Britain, where there was little sympathy for the Romanovs.
On 1 September 1917, Kerensky declared Russia a republic. Michael wrote in his diary: "We woke up this morning to hear Russia declared a Republic. What does it matter which form the government will be as long as there is order and justice?" Two weeks later, Michael's house arrest was lifted. Kerensky had armed the Bolshevik
s after a power struggle with the commander-in-chief
, and in October there was a second revolution
as the Bolsheviks seized power from Kerensky. With a permit to travel issued by Peter Polotsov, a former colleague of Michael's from the Savage Division
who was now a commander in Petrograd, Michael planned to move his family to the greater safety of Finland. They packed valuables and prepared to move, but their preparations were seen by Bolshevik sympathisers and they were placed once more under house arrest. The last of Michael's cars were seized by the Bolsheviks.
The house arrest was lifted again in November, and the Constituent Assembly
was elected and met in January 1918. Despite being the minority party, the Bolshevik
s dissolved it. On 3 March 1918 (N.S.), the Bolshevik government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
, which effectively ceded vast areas of the former Russian Empire
to the Central Powers
of Germany
, Austria-Hungary
and the Ottoman Empire
. On 7 March 1918, Michael and his secretary Nicholas Johnson were re-arrested on the orders of Moisei Uritsky
, the Head of the Petrograd secret police
, and imprisoned at the Bolshevik headquarters in the Smolny Institute.
, a thousand miles to the east, on the order of the Council of the People's Commissars
, which included both Vladimir Lenin
and Joseph Stalin
. The journey, by freight train in a coach without windows or heat, took eight days at an average speed of 5 miles per hour. At first, Michael was billeted in a hotel, but two days after his arrival he was jailed by the local Soviet. Natalia lobbied the Commissars in Petrograd for his release, and on 9 April 1918 he was set at liberty within Perm. He moved into the best room in the best hotel in Perm, along with Johnson and two manservants, valet Vasily Chelyshev and former chauffeur Borunov. Natalia feared for George's safety, and in March 1918, she arranged for Michael's son to be smuggled out of Russia by his nanny with the help of Danish diplomats and the Putyatins.
In May, Natalia was granted a travel permit to join Michael. Accompanied by family friends, Prince Putyatin and Margaret Abakanovich, she arrived at Perm before the Orthodox Easter, and they spent about a week together. Meanwhile, as part of the truce between the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers, prisoners-of-war from Austria–Hungary were being shipped out of Russia. Czech troops
were strung out along the Trans-Siberian Railway
, on their way to Vladivostok
, where they were due to take ship. The Czechs, however, were not going home to fight for the Austrian empire, but to fight for a separate homeland independent from Austria. The Germans demanded that the Bolsheviks disarm the Czechs, who fought back, seized the railway, joined forces with Russians fighting against the Bolsheviks
, and advanced westwards toward Perm. With the approach of the Czechs, Michael and Natalia feared that she would become trapped there, possibly in a dangerous situation, and so on 18 May she left unhappily. By early June, Michael was again ill with stomach trouble.
, Gavril Myasnikov
, with the connivance of other local Bolsheviks, hatched a plan to murder Michael. Myasnikov assembled a team of four men, who all, like him, were former prisoners of the Tsarist regime: Vasily Ivanchenko, Ivan Kolpashchikov, Andrei Markov, and Nikolai Zhuzhgov. Using a forged order, the four men gained entry to Michael's hotel at 11.45 p.m. At first, Michael refused to accompany the men until he spoke with the local chairman of the secret police, Pavel Malkov, and then because he was ill. His protestations were futile, and he got dressed. Johnson insisted on accompanying him, and the four men plus their two prisoners climbed into two horse-drawn three-seater traps. They drove out of the town into the forest near Motovilikha. When Michael queried their destination, he was told they were going to a remote railway crossing to catch a train. By now it was the early hours of 13 June. They all alighted from the carriages in the middle of the wood, and both Michael and Johnson were fired at once each, but as the assassins were using home-made bullets, their guns jammed. Michael, whether wounded or not is unknown, moved towards the wounded Johnson with arms outstretched, when he was shot at point-blank range in the head. Both Zhuzhgov and Markov claimed to have fired the fatal shot. Johnson was shot dead by Ivanchenko. The bodies were stripped and buried. Anything of value was stolen, and the clothes were taken back to Perm. After they were shown to Myasnikov as proof of the murders, the clothes were burned. The Ural Regional Soviet, headed by Alexander Beloborodov, approved the execution, either retrospectively or beforehand, as did Lenin. Michael was the first of the Romanovs to be executed by the Bolsheviks, but he would not be the last
. Neither Michael's nor Johnson's remains were ever found.
The Perm authorities distributed a concocted cover story that Michael was abducted by unidentified men and had disappeared. Chelyshev and Borunov were arrested. Shortly before his own arrest, Colonel Peter Znamerovsky, a former Imperial army officer also exiled to Perm, managed to send Natalia a brief telegram saying that Michael had disappeared. Znamerovsky, Chelyshev and Borunov were all killed by the Perm Bolsheviks. Soviet disinformation
about Michael's disappearance led to unfounded rumours that he had escaped and was leading a successful counter-revolution. In the ultimately forlorn hope that Michael would ally with Germany, the Germans arranged for Natalia and her daughter to escape to Kiev in German-controlled Ukraine. On the collapse of the Germans in November 1918, Natalia fled to the coast, and she and her daughter were evacuated by the British Royal Navy
.
On 8 June 2009, four days short of the 91st anniversary of their murders, both Michael and Johnson were officially rehabilitated. Russian State Prosecutors stated, "The analysis of the archive material shows that these individuals were subject to repression through arrest, exile and scrutiny ... without being charged of committing concrete class and social-related crimes."
Michael's son George, Count Brasov, died in a car crash shortly before his 21st birthday in 1931. Natalia died penniless in a Parisian charity hospital in 1952. His stepdaughter Natalia Mamontova married three times, and wrote a book about her life entitled Stepdaughter to Imperial Russia, published in 1940.
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
.
At the time of his birth, his paternal grandfather (Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
) was still the reigning Emperor of All the Russias. Michael was fourth-in-line to the throne following his father and elder brothers Nicholas
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
and George
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia, , was the third son of Alexander III and Empress Marie of Russia. He was named George after his mother's younger brother, King George I of Greece...
. After the assassination of his grandfather in 1881, he became third-in-line, and in 1894 after the death of his father, second-in-line. George died in 1899, leaving Michael as heir-presumptive to the throne. The birth of Nicholas's son Alexei
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
in 1904 temporarily moved Michael back to second-in-line, but Alexei inherited the blood-clotting disorder haemophilia
Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A is the most common form of the disorder, present in about 1 in 5,000–10,000 male births...
and was not expected to live. When Nicholas abdicated on , Michael was named as his successor instead of Alexis. Michael, however, deferred acceptance of the throne until ratification by an elected assembly. He was never confirmed as Emperor, and following the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, he was imprisoned and murdered.
Given that he never reigned, his brother Nicholas II is regarded as the last actual, or de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
Tsar of Russia, and Michael is relegated to a largely forgotten footnote of history. Nevertheless he is sometimes referred to by historians as Michael II and the last Tsar of Russia.
Early life
Michael was born at Anichkov PalaceAnichkov Palace
Anichkov Palace is a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka.-History:The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira, takes its name from the nearby Anichkov Bridge across the Fontanka...
on Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Avenue |Prospekt]]) is the main street in the city of St. Petersburg, Russia. Planned by Peter the Great as beginning of the road to Novgorod and Moscow, the avenue runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and, after making a turn at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, as the youngest son and penultimate child of Tsarevitch Alexander of Russia
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
and his wife, Marie Feodorovna (known before her marriage as Princess Dagmar of Denmark). His maternal grandparents were King Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
and Louise of Hesse-Kassel
Louise of Hesse-Kassel
Louise of Hesse was a German Princess and the queen consort to King Christian IX of Denmark.-Early Life and Ancestry:...
. His paternal grandmother Empress Maria Alexandrovna (known before her marriage as Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine) died before his second birthday. His paternal grandfather, Emperor Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, was assassinated on 1 March 1881, and as a result Michael's parents became Emperor and Empress of All the Russias before his third birthday. After the assassination, the new Tsar Alexander III moved his family, including Michael, to the greater safety of Gatchina Palace
Gatchina Palace
The Great Gatchina Palace was built in 1766–1781 in Gatchina town by Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov who was a favourite of Ekaterina II. The Gatchina Palace is located on the hill above Lake Serebryannoe. It combines themes of a medieval castle and a country residence....
, which was 29 miles southwest of Saint Petersburg and surrounded by a moat.
Michael was raised in the company of his younger sister, Olga
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was the youngest child of Emperor Alexander III of Russia. Her older brother was Tsar Nicholas II....
, who nicknamed him "Floppy" because he "flopped" into chairs; his elder siblings and parents called him "Misha". Conditions in the nursery were modest, even spartan. The children slept on hard camp beds, rose at dawn, washed in cold water, and ate a simple porridge for breakfast. Michael, like his siblings, was taught by private tutors and was cared for by an English nanny, Mrs Elizabeth Franklin.
Michael and Olga frequently went on hikes in the forests around Gatchina with their father, who took the opportunity to teach both of them woodsmanship. Physical activities such as equestrianism
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
were also taught at an early age, as was religious observance. Though Christmas and Easter were times of celebration and extravagance, Lent was strictly observed—meat, dairy products and any form of entertainment were avoided. Family holidays were taken in the summer at Peterhof Palace
Peterhof Palace
The Peterhof Palace in Russian, so German is transliterated as "Петергoф" Petergof into Russian) for "Peter's Court") is actually a series of palaces and gardens located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the...
and with Michael's grandparents in Denmark.
Michael was 15 when his father fell fatally ill; the annual trip to Denmark was cancelled. On 1 November 1894, Alexander III died at the untimely age of 49. Michael's eldest brother, Nicholas
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
, became Tsar, and Michael's childhood was effectively over.
Military career and public duties
Michael's mother, Dowager Empress Marie, moved back to Anichkov Palace with Michael and Olga. Like most members of his family, Michael was enrolled in the military. He completed training at a gunnery school and joined the Horse Guards Artillery. In November 1898, he attained legal adulthood, and just eight months later became heir presumptiveHeir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to Nicholas as the middle brother, George
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke George Alexandrovich of Russia, , was the third son of Alexander III and Empress Marie of Russia. He was named George after his mother's younger brother, King George I of Greece...
, was killed in a motorcycle accident. George's death and the subsequent change in the line of succession highlighted that Nicholas did not yet have a son. As the succession was limited to males, his three daughters were ineligible. When Nicholas's wife, Alexandra, became pregnant in 1900 she hoped that the child would be male. She manoeuvred to get herself declared Regent for her unborn child in the event of Nicholas's death, but the government disagreed and determined Michael would succeed regardless of the unborn child's sex. She was delivered of a fourth daughter the following year.
Michael was perceived as unremarkable, quiet and good-natured. He performed the usual public duties expected of an heir to the throne. In 1901, he represented Russia at the funeral of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, and was given the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
. The following year he was made a Knight of the Garter in King Edward VII's
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
coronation
Coronation of the British monarch
The coronation of the British monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
honours. In June 1902, Michael transferred to the Blue Cuirassier
Cuirassier
Cuirassiers were mounted cavalry soldiers equipped with armour and firearms, first appearing in late 15th-century Europe. They were the successors of the medieval armoured knights...
Regiment, and moved to Gatchina
Gatchina
Gatchina is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located south of St. Petersburg by the road leading to Pskov...
, where the regiment was based. Since coming of age, Michael had assumed financial independence and his assets included the largest sugar refinery in the country, capital amounting to millions of roubles, a collection of motor vehicles, and country estates at Otrovo in Russian Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
and Brasovo near Orel
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
.
Michael was heir presumptive until 12 August 1904, when the birth of Tsarevich Alexei
Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich of the House of Romanov, was the Tsesarevich and heir apparent to the throne of the Russian Empire. In English, his title is usually given as Tsarevich, a title that has a separate meaning in Russia. Alexei was the youngest child and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress...
to Nicholas and Alexandra provided an heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
. Michael again became second-in-line to the throne, but was named as co-Regent for the boy, along with Alexandra, in the event of Nicholas's death.
Romances
In 1902, Michael met Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. They fell in love, and began to correspond in her native English. Michael spoke both French and English fluently. At first it seemed they would marry, however, the Orthodox Church refused to allow the marriage of first cousins, and Michael's father and Beatrice's mother were siblings. Nicholas refused to permit the marriage, and to Michael's and Beatrice's mutual dismay their romance ended.Michael's attention turned to Alexandra Kossikovskaya (September 1875, Orel region – 1923, Berlin), known affectionately as "Dina", who was his sister Olga's lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
. Dina's father, Vladimir Kossikovsky, was a lawyer, and Dina was a commoner
Commoner
In British law, a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as Prince Harry of Wales or Anne, Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family, including someone who holds only a courtesy title,...
. Michael rejected the notion, proposed by his friends, that he keep her as a mistress, and in July 1906 he wrote to Nicholas asking permission to marry her. Nicholas and Dowager Empress Marie were appalled. Both Nicholas and Marie felt that royalty should marry royalty, and according to Russian house law
Pauline Laws
The Pauline Laws are the house laws of the House of Romanov of the Russian Empire. The name comes from the fact that they were initially established by Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797....
any royal that married outside of royalty was removed from the line of succession. Nicholas threatened to revoke Michael's army commission and exile him from Russia if he married without his permission. Marie had Dina dismissed as Olga's lady-in-waiting, and took Michael to Denmark until mid-September.
Shortly after his return to Russia, three British newspapers announced on 24 September 1906 that Michael was to marry Princess Patricia of Connaught
Princess Patricia of Connaught
Princess Patricia of Connaught was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria...
, but neither he nor Patricia knew anything about it. Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
issued a denial. Nevertheless, two years later, in October 1908, Michael visited London, and he and Patricia were "paired" at social engagements. It seems likely that Michael's mother was plotting to get him married to a more suitable bride, and the originator of the false report, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
correspondent Guy Beringer, read too much into the plans. Michael and Dina were planning to elope, but their plans were stymied as Dina was under surveillance by the Okhrana, Nicholas's secret police, and she was prevented from travelling. Under family pressure, and unable to see Dina, by August 1907, Michael appeared to be losing interest. Dina went to live abroad. She never married and believed herself to be Michael's rightful fiancée, but their romance was over.
In early December 1907, Michael was introduced to the wife of a fellow officer, Natalia Sergeyevna Wulfert, and from 1908 they began a deep friendship. Natalia was a commoner
Commoner
In British law, a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Therefore, any member of the Royal Family who is not a peer, such as Prince Harry of Wales or Anne, Princess Royal, is a commoner, as is any member of a peer's family, including someone who holds only a courtesy title,...
, who had a daughter from her first marriage. By August 1909, they were lovers, and by November 1909, Natalia was living apart from her second husband in an apartment in Moscow paid for by Michael. In an attempt to prevent scandal, Nicholas transferred Michael to the Chernigov Hussar
Hussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s at Orel, 250 miles from Moscow, but Michael travelled from there several times a month to see Natalia. Their only child, George, named after Michael's dead brother, was born in July 1910, before her divorce from her second husband was finalised. To ensure that the child could be recognised as his rather than as Wulfert's, Michael had the date of the divorce back-dated. Nicholas issued a decree giving the boy the surname "Brasov", taken from Michael's estate at Brasovo, which was a tacit acknowledgement that Michael was the father.
In May 1911, Nicholas permitted Natalia to move from Moscow to Brasovo and granted her the surname "Brasova". In May 1912, Michael went to Copenhagen for the funeral of his uncle King Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick VIII was King of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.-Early life:Frederick was born on 3 June 1843 in the Yellow Palace in Copenhagen as Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior male line of the House of Oldenburg descended from Christian III of Denmark and who had...
, where he fell ill with a stomach ulcer that was to trouble him for years afterwards. After a holiday in France, where they were trailed by the Okhrana, Michael was transferred back to Saint Petersburg to command the Chevalier Gardes. He took Natalia to the capital with him, and set her up in an apartment, but she was shunned by society, and within a few months he had moved her to a villa in Gatchina.
Marriage
In September 1912, Michael and Natalia spent a holiday abroad, and as usual they were trailed by the Okhrana. In BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Michael announced that he and Natalia would drive to Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, and instructed his staff to follow by train. The Okhrana were under instructions to follow by train rather than car, and so Michael and Natalia would be unaccompanied on their journey south. Michael's journey was a deliberate ruse. On the way to Cannes, the couple diverted to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where they were married on 16 October 1912 by Father Misitsch at the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
of Saint Sava
Saint Sava
Saint Sava was a Serbian Prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalous Serbian Church, the founder of Serbian law and literature, and a diplomat. Sava was born Rastko Nemanjić , the youngest son of Serbian Grand Župan Stefan Nemanja , and ruled the appanage of Hum briefly in...
. A few days later, after travelling through Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, they arrived at Cannes, where George and Natalia's daughter from her first marriage joined them. Two weeks after the marriage Michael wrote to his mother and brother to inform them. They were both horrified by Michael's action. His mother said it was "unspeakably awful in every way", and his brother was shocked that his brother had "broken his word ... that he would not marry her".
Nicholas was particularly upset because his heir, Alexei, was gravely ill with haemophilia
Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A is the most common form of the disorder, present in about 1 in 5,000–10,000 male births...
, which Michael cited as one of his reasons for marrying Natalia. Michael feared that he would become heir presumptive again on Alexei's death, and would never be able to marry Natalia. By marrying her now, he would be removed from the line of succession early, and preclude the prospect of losing Natalia. In a series of decrees over December 1912 and January 1913, Nicholas relieved Michael of his command, banished him from Russia, froze all his assets in Russia, seized control of his estates, and removed him from the Regency. Society in Russia was shocked at the severity of Nicholas's reprisal, but there was little sympathy for Natalia. She was not entitled to be known as Grand Duchess; she instead used the style "Madame or Countess Brasova".
For six months, they stayed in hotels in France and Switzerland, without any decrease in their standard of living. They were visited by Michael's sister Grand Duchess Xenia
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia
Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna of Russia was a daughter of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and the elder of Tsar Nicholas II two sisters. She married her cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikailovich of Russia, with whom she had seven children....
and cousin Grand Duke Andrew
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia was a Russian grand duke, the youngest son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.-Biography:...
. In July 1913, they saw Michael's mother in London who told Natalia "a few home truths" according to Xenia's diary. After another trip to continental Europe, Michael took a one-year lease on Knebworth House
Knebworth House
Knebworth House is a country house in the civil parish of Knebworth in Hertfordshire, England.-History and description:The home of the Lytton family since 1490, when Thomas Bourchier sold the reversion of the manor to Sir Robert Lytton, Knebworth House was originally a genuine red-brick Late Gothic...
, a staffed and furnished stately home 20 miles north of London. Michael's finances were stretched as he had to rely on remittances sent from Russia at Nicholas's command, and Nicholas still controlled all his estates and assets.
War
Upon the outbreak of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Michael telegraphed the Tsar requesting permission to return to Russia to serve in the army, providing his wife and son could come too. Nicholas agreed, and Michael travelled back to Saint Petersburg, via Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Michael had already leased Paddockhurst in Sussex, an estate larger than Knebworth, and had planned to move there on the expiry of the Knebworth lease. He moved his furniture and furnishings there. The war was not expected to last long, and they assumed they would be moving back to England at the end of the war. In the meantime, Michael offered its use to the British military. At Saint Petersburg, now named Petrograd, they moved into a villa at 24 Nikolaevskaya street, Gatchina, that Michael had bought for Natalia. Natalia was not permitted to live at any of the imperial palaces.
He was promoted from his previous rank of colonel to major-general, and given command of a newly formed division: the Caucasian Native Cavalry
Savage Division
The Caucasian Native Mounted Division , or Savage Division was a cavalry division of the Imperial Russian Army, formed in 1914. It was composed of volunteers from Chechnia, Ingushetia, Daghestan, Karachay, Circassia, Kabarda and Azerbaijan...
, which became known as the "Savage Division". The appointment was perceived as a demotion because the division was mostly formed from new Muslim recruits rather than the elite troops that Michael had commanded previously. The six regiments in the division were each composed of a different ethnic group: Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
s, Daghestanis, Kabardin, Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
, Circassians and Ingush
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
, commanded by Russian officers. The men were all volunteers as conscription did not apply to the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, and although it was difficult to maintain discipline, they were an effective fighting force. For his actions commanding his troops in the Carpathian mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
in January 1915, Michael earned the military's highest honour, the Cross of St. George
Cross of St. George
thumb|Original Cross of St. George.Ist and 2nd class were in gold.The Cross of St. George ', or simply the George's Cross, was, until 1913, officially known as the Sign of Distinction of the Military Order of St. George....
. He, unlike his brother, the Tsar, was a popular military leader.
By January 1915, the horrific nature of the war was apparent. Michael felt "greatly embittered towards people in general and most of all towards those who are at the top, who hold power and allow all that horror to happen. If the question of war were decided by the people at large, I would not be so passionately averse to that great calamity." Michael confessed in a letter to his wife that he felt "ashamed to face the people, i.e. the soldiers and officers, particularly when visiting field hospitals, where so much suffering is to be seen, for they might think that one is also responsible, for one is placed so high and yet has failed to prevent all that from happening and protect one's country from this disaster."
At the start of the war, Michael wrote to Nicholas asking him to legitimise his son so, he argued, that the boy would be provided for in the event of Michael's death at the front. Eventually, Nicholas agreed to make George legitimate and granted him the style of "Count Brasov" by decree on 26 March 1915.
Retreat
By June 1915, the Russians were in retreat. When Grand Duke ConstantineGrand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia
Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia was a grandson of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, and a poet and playwright of some renown...
died that month, Michael was the only member of the imperial family absent from the funeral in Petrograd. Natalia chided him for his absence, and Michael retorted that it was simply wrong for his relatives to abandon their units to attend Constantine's funeral at such a time. The American war correspondent, Stanley Washburn
Washburn family
The Washburn family is a family of politicians from the United States. Below is a list of members:*Israel Washington , member of the Massachusetts Legislature 1780. Father of Israel Washburn II...
, reported that Michael wore "a simple uniform with nothing to indicate his rank but shoulder straps of the same material as his uniform". Michael was "unaffected and democratic" and "living so simply in a dirty village". Natalia was appalled that Michael eschewed fancy uniforms and decorations for life at the front, but he was convinced "that at such a difficult time I must serve Russia and serve here at the front".
In July 1915, Michael caught diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
but recovered. The war was going badly for Russia, and the following month Nicholas appointed himself Supreme Commander of the Russian forces. The move was not welcomed. Nicholas's bad decisions included instructing Michael to authorise a payment to a friend of Rasputin's, an army engineer called Bratolyubov, who claimed to have invented a devastating flame-thrower. The claim was bogus, and Bratolyubov was arrested for fraud, but Rasputin intervened and he was released. Michael appeared gullible and naive; a friend of Natalia's said he "trusted everybody ... Had his wife not watched over him constantly, he would have been deceived at every step."
In October 1915, Michael regained control of his estates and assets from Nicholas, and in February 1916 was given command of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, which included the Savage Division, a Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
division, and a Don Cossack division. However, the slights against him by the Tsar's retinue continued; when he was promoted to lieutenant-general in July 1916, unlike all other Grand Dukes who attained that rank he was not appointed as an aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Tsar with the rank of adjutant-general. Michael admitted that he "always despised Petrograd high society ... no people are more devious than they are; with a few exceptions, they are all scum." Michael made no public political statements, but it was assumed that he was a liberal, like his wife, and British consul Bruce Lockhart
R. H. Bruce Lockhart
Sir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart KCMG , was a journalist, author, secret agent, British diplomat in Moscow and Prague, and footballer...
thought he "would have made an excellent constitutional monarch".
Throughout the summer of 1916, Michael's corps was involved in the Brusilov Offensive
Brusilov Offensive
The Brusilov Offensive , also known as the June Advance, was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during World War I, and among the most lethal battles in world history. Prof. Graydon A. Tunstall of the University of South Florida called the Brusilov Offensive of 1916 the worst crisis of...
. The Guards Army suffered heavy losses under the incompetent leadership of Michael's uncle, Grand Duke Paul
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was the eighth child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. His birth was commemorated by the naming of the city of Pavlodar in Kazakhstan...
, who was removed from command. In contrast, Michael was awarded a second gallantry medal, the Order of St. Vladimir
Order of St. Vladimir
The Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
with Swords, for his part in actions against the enemy, and was belatedly made an adjutant-general. The poor progress of the war and their almost constant separation depressed both Michael and Natalia. Michael was still suffering from stomach ulcers, and in October 1916 he was ordered to take leave in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
.
Before leaving for his sister Xenia's estate at Ai-Todor, 12 miles from Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, he wrote a candid letter to his brother warning him that the political situation was tense:
Increasing public unrest
Michael, and other members of the imperial family including Grand Dukes AlexanderGrand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Alexander Mihailovich of Russia, Александр Михайлович Aleksandr Mihailovits was a dynast of the Russian Empire, a naval officer, an author, explorer, the brother-in-law of Emperor Nicholas II, and an advisor of the said Emperor.-Biography: Alexander was born the son of Grand Duke...
, George, Nicholas
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia , 26 April 1859 – 28 January 1919 was the eldest son of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III....
and Dimitri and Grand Duchess Elizabeth, warned against the growing public unrest and the perception that Nicholas
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
was governed by his German-born wife Alexandra and the self-styled holy man Rasputin. Nicholas and Alexandra refused to listen. In December 1916, Dimitri and four of his friends killed Rasputin. Michael learned of the murder at Brasovo, where he was spending Christmas with his family. On 28 December, according to the French ambassador, there was a failed attempt to assassinate Alexandra; the lone assailant was caught and hanged the next day. The Duma
State Duma of the Russian Empire
The State Duma of the Russian Empire was a legislative assembly in the late Russian Empire, which met in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg. It was convened four times between 1906 and the collapse of the Empire in 1917.-History:...
President Mikhail Rodzyanko
Mikhail Rodzyanko
Mikhail Vladimirovich Rodzianko was a Russian politician.He came from an old Ukrainian noble family of Rodzianko. He was educated at the Corps des Pages, served in Her Majesty's Regiment of the Cavalry of the Guard, and was later appointed Kammerherr of the Imperial Court...
, Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna and British ambassador Buchanan
George Buchanan (diplomat)
Sir George William Buchanan GCB GCMG GCVO PC was a British diplomat. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he was the son of British Ambassador Sir Andrew Buchanan, Bt.....
joined calls for Alexandra to be removed from influence, but Nicholas still refused to take their advice. Plots and gossip against Nicholas and Alexandra continued to build.
In January 1917, Michael returned to the front to hand-over command of his corps; from 29 January he was Inspector-General of Cavalry stationed at Gatchina
Gatchina
Gatchina is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located south of St. Petersburg by the road leading to Pskov...
. General Aleksei Brusilov
Aleksei Brusilov
Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov was a Russian general most noted for the development of new offensive tactics used in the 1916 offensive which would come to bear his name. The innovative and relatively successful tactics used were later copied by the Germans...
, Michael's commander on the south-eastern front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
, begged him to tell the Tsar of "the need for immediate and drastic reforms", but Michael warned him, "I have no influence ... My brother has time and time again had warnings and entreaties of this kind from every quarter." Brusilov recorded in his memoirs, "[Michael] was an absolutely honourable and upright man, taking no sides and lending himself to no intrigues ... he shunned every kind of gossip, whether connected with the services or with family matters. As a soldier he was an excellent leader and an unassuming and conscientious worker."
Through February, Grand Duke Alexander, Duma President Rodzyanko, and Michael pressured Nicholas and Alexandra to yield to popular demands. Public unrest grew, and on 27 February in Petrograd soldiers joined demonstrators, elements of the military mutinied, and prisoners were freed. Nicholas, who was at army headquarters in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, prorogued the Duma, but the deputies refused to leave and instead set up their own rival government. After consulting Rodzyanko at the Mariinsky Palace
Mariinsky Palace
Mariinsky Palace, also known as Marie Palace , was the last Neoclassical imperial palace to be constructed in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built between 1839 and 1844 to a design by the court architect Andrei Stackensneider....
in Petrograd, Michael telexed Nicholas advising him to dismiss his ministers and set up a new government led by the leader of the majority party in the Duma. His advice was supported by General Mikhail Alekseyev, Nicholas's chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
. Nicholas rejected the suggestion and issued futile orders for troops to move on Petrograd.
Revolution
On the night of 27–28 February 1917, Michael attempted to return to Gatchina from Petrograd, where he had been in conference with RodzyankoMikhail Rodzyanko
Mikhail Vladimirovich Rodzianko was a Russian politician.He came from an old Ukrainian noble family of Rodzianko. He was educated at the Corps des Pages, served in Her Majesty's Regiment of the Cavalry of the Guard, and was later appointed Kammerherr of the Imperial Court...
and from where he had telegraphed the Tsar, but revolutionary patrols and sporadic fire prevented his progress. Revolutionaries patrolled the streets, rounding up people connected with the old regime. Michael managed to reach the Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
, where he ordered the guards there to withdraw to the Admiralty
Russian Admiralty
Admiralty Board was a supreme body for the administration of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Russian Empire, established by Peter the Great on December 12, 1718, and headquartered in the Admiralty building, Saint Petersburg....
, because it afforded greater safety and a better tactical position and because it was a less politically charged location. Michael himself took refuge in the apartment of an acquaintance, Princess Putyatina
Putyatin (family)
Putyatin , also romanized Poutiatine, Putjatin, Putiatin, is a Rurikid family with princely and noble lines. They branched from the dukes of the autonomous principality of Drutsk, sometime in mid-15th century.-Notable figures of the princely family:...
, on Millionnaya street. In the neighbouring apartments, the Tsar's Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
Nikolai Stolypin and the Procurator of the Holy Synod
Procurator (Russia)
Procurator , was an office initially created by Peter the Great, the first Emperor of the Russian Empire, in an effort to bring the Russian Orthodox Church more directly under his control.The Russian word prokuror also has the meaning of prosecutor....
were detained by revolutionaries, and in the house next door General Baron Staekelberg was killed when his house was stormed by a mob.
On 1 March, Rodzyanko sent guards to Putyatina's apartment to ensure Michael's safety, and Michael signed a document drawn up by Rodzyanko and Grand Duke Paul
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia was the eighth child of Tsar Alexander II of Russia by his first wife Empress Maria Alexandrovna. His birth was commemorated by the naming of the city of Pavlodar in Kazakhstan...
proposing the creation of a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
. The newly formed Petrograd Soviet
Petrograd Soviet
The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies , usually called the Petrograd Soviet , was the soviet in Petrograd , Russia, established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as the representative body of the city's workers.The Petrograd Soviet became important during the Russian...
rejected the document, which became irrelevant. Calls for the Tsar's abdication had superseded it.
Abdication of Nicholas II
On the afternoon of , Emperor Nicholas II, under pressure from generals and Duma representatives, abdicated in favour of his son, Alexei, with Michael as Regent. However, later that evening, he reconsidered his decision. Alexei was gravely ill with haemophiliaHaemophilia in European royalty
Haemophilia figured prominently in the history of European royalty in the 19th and 20th centuries. Britain's Queen Victoria, through two of her five daughters , passed the mutation to various royal houses across the continent, including the royal families of Spain, Germany and Russia. Victoria's...
, and Nicholas feared that if Alexei was Emperor, he would be separated from his parents. In a second abdication document, signed at 11.40 p.m. but marked as having been issued at 3.00 p.m., the time of the earlier one, Nicholas II declared:
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
had not agreed to Michael's succession. When Michael awoke that morning, he discovered not only that his brother had abdicated in his favour, as Nicholas had not informed him previously, but also that a delegation from the Duma would visit him at Putyatina's apartment in a few hours time. The meeting with Duma President Rodzyanko, the new Prime Minister Prince Lvov, and other ministers, including Pavel Milyukov
Pavel Milyukov
Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov , a Russian politician, was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the Constitutional Democratic party...
and Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
, lasted all morning. Putyatina laid on a lunch, and in the afternoon two lawyers (Baron Nolde and Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov
Vladimir Dmitrievich Nabokov was a Russian criminologist, journalist, and progressive statesman during the last years of the Russian Empire. He was the father of Russian-American author Vladimir Nabokov.- Life :Nabokov was born in Tsarskoe Selo, into a wealthy and aristocratic family...
) were called to the apartment to draft a manifesto for Michael to sign. The legal position was complicated as the legitimacy of the government, whether Nicholas had the right to remove his son from the succession, and whether Michael actually was Emperor were all open to question. After further discussion, and several drafts, a declaration of conditional acceptance was settled on as an appropriate form of words. In it, Michael deferred to the will of the people and acknowledged the Provisional Government as the de facto executive, but neither abdicated nor refused to accept the throne. He wrote:
Commentators ranging from Kerensky to French ambassador Maurice Paléologue
Maurice Paléologue
Maurice Paléologue was a French diplomat, historian, and essayist.-Biography:Paléologue was born in Paris as the son of Alexandru Paleologu, a Wallachian Romanian revolutionary who had fled to France after attempting to assassinate Prince Gheorghe Bibescu during the 1848 Wallachian revolution;...
considered Michael's action as noble and patriotic, but Nicholas was appalled that Michael had "kowtowed to the Constituent Assembly" and called the manifesto "rubbish".
The hopes of the monarchists that Michael might be able to assume the throne, following the election of the Constituent Assembly
Russian Constituent Assembly
The All Russian Constituent Assembly was a constitutional body convened in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. It is generally reckoned as the first democratically elected legislative body of any kind in Russian history. It met for 13 hours, from 4 p.m...
, were overtaken by events. His renunciation of the throne, though conditional, marked the end of the Tsarist regime in Russia. The Provisional Government was virtually powerless; real power was held by the Soviet.
Arrest
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
, who ordered ex-Emperor Nicholas removed from Petrograd to Tobolsk
Tobolsk
Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: -History:...
in the Urals because it was "some remote place, some quiet corner, where they would attract less attention". On the eve of Nicholas's departure, Kerensky gave permission for Michael to visit him. Kerensky remained present during the meeting, and the brothers exchanged awkward pleasantries "fidgeting all the while, and sometimes one would take hold of the other's hand or the buttons of his uniform". It was the last time they would ever see each other.
On 21 August 1917, guards surrounded the villa on Nikolaevskaya street where Michael was living with Natalia. On the orders of Kerensky, they were both under house arrest, along with Nicholas Johnson, who had been Michael's secretary since December 1912. A week later, they were moved to an apartment in Petrograd. Michael's stomach problems worsened, and with the intervention of British ambassador Buchanan
George Buchanan (diplomat)
Sir George William Buchanan GCB GCMG GCVO PC was a British diplomat. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he was the son of British Ambassador Sir Andrew Buchanan, Bt.....
and foreign minister Mikhail Tereshchenko
Mikhail Tereshchenko
Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko was the foreign minister of Russia from 5 May 1917 to 25 October 1917...
, they were moved back to Gatchina in the first week of September. Tereschenko told Buchanan that the Dowager Empress would be allowed to leave the country, for England if she wished, and that Michael would follow in due course. The British, however, were not prepared to accept any Russian Grand Duke for fear it would provoke a bad public reaction in Britain, where there was little sympathy for the Romanovs.
On 1 September 1917, Kerensky declared Russia a republic. Michael wrote in his diary: "We woke up this morning to hear Russia declared a Republic. What does it matter which form the government will be as long as there is order and justice?" Two weeks later, Michael's house arrest was lifted. Kerensky had armed the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s after a power struggle with the commander-in-chief
Kornilov Affair
The Kornilov Affair, or the Kornilov Putsch as it is sometimes referred to, was an attempted coup d'état by the then Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Lavr Kornilov, in August 1917 against the Russian Provisional Government headed by Alexander Kerensky.-Background:Following the...
, and in October there was a second revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
as the Bolsheviks seized power from Kerensky. With a permit to travel issued by Peter Polotsov, a former colleague of Michael's from the Savage Division
Savage Division
The Caucasian Native Mounted Division , or Savage Division was a cavalry division of the Imperial Russian Army, formed in 1914. It was composed of volunteers from Chechnia, Ingushetia, Daghestan, Karachay, Circassia, Kabarda and Azerbaijan...
who was now a commander in Petrograd, Michael planned to move his family to the greater safety of Finland. They packed valuables and prepared to move, but their preparations were seen by Bolshevik sympathisers and they were placed once more under house arrest. The last of Michael's cars were seized by the Bolsheviks.
The house arrest was lifted again in November, and the Constituent Assembly
Russian Constituent Assembly
The All Russian Constituent Assembly was a constitutional body convened in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. It is generally reckoned as the first democratically elected legislative body of any kind in Russian history. It met for 13 hours, from 4 p.m...
was elected and met in January 1918. Despite being the minority party, the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
s dissolved it. On 3 March 1918 (N.S.), the Bolshevik government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
, which effectively ceded vast areas of the former Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
to the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
of Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. On 7 March 1918, Michael and his secretary Nicholas Johnson were re-arrested on the orders of Moisei Uritsky
Moisei Uritsky
Moisei Solomonovich Uritsky was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader in Russia.He was born in the city of Cherkasy, Kiev Governorate, to a Jewish family. His father, a merchant, died when Moisei was little and his mother raised her son by herself.Moisei studied law at the University of Kiev...
, the Head of the Petrograd secret police
Cheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
, and imprisoned at the Bolshevik headquarters in the Smolny Institute.
Imprisonment
On 11 March 1918, Uritsky sent Michael and Johnson to PermPerm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
, a thousand miles to the east, on the order of the Council of the People's Commissars
Council of the People's Commissars
The Council of People's Commissars , was a government institution formed shortly after the October Revolution in 1917. Created in the Russian Republic the council laid foundations in restructuring the country to form the Soviet Union...
, which included both Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. The journey, by freight train in a coach without windows or heat, took eight days at an average speed of 5 miles per hour. At first, Michael was billeted in a hotel, but two days after his arrival he was jailed by the local Soviet. Natalia lobbied the Commissars in Petrograd for his release, and on 9 April 1918 he was set at liberty within Perm. He moved into the best room in the best hotel in Perm, along with Johnson and two manservants, valet Vasily Chelyshev and former chauffeur Borunov. Natalia feared for George's safety, and in March 1918, she arranged for Michael's son to be smuggled out of Russia by his nanny with the help of Danish diplomats and the Putyatins.
In May, Natalia was granted a travel permit to join Michael. Accompanied by family friends, Prince Putyatin and Margaret Abakanovich, she arrived at Perm before the Orthodox Easter, and they spent about a week together. Meanwhile, as part of the truce between the Bolsheviks and the Central Powers, prisoners-of-war from Austria–Hungary were being shipped out of Russia. Czech troops
Czechoslovak Legions
The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...
were strung out along the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
, on their way to Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, where they were due to take ship. The Czechs, however, were not going home to fight for the Austrian empire, but to fight for a separate homeland independent from Austria. The Germans demanded that the Bolsheviks disarm the Czechs, who fought back, seized the railway, joined forces with Russians fighting against the Bolsheviks
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, and advanced westwards toward Perm. With the approach of the Czechs, Michael and Natalia feared that she would become trapped there, possibly in a dangerous situation, and so on 18 May she left unhappily. By early June, Michael was again ill with stomach trouble.
Murder
On 12 June 1918, the leader of the local secret policeCheka
Cheka was the first of a succession of Soviet state security organizations. It was created by a decree issued on December 20, 1917, by Vladimir Lenin and subsequently led by aristocrat-turned-communist Felix Dzerzhinsky...
, Gavril Myasnikov
Gavril Myasnikov
Gavril Ilyich Myasnikov , also transliterated as Gavriil Il'ich Miasnikov, was a Russian metalworker from the Urals, who participated in the Revolution of 1905 and became a Bolshevik underground activist in 1906. Tsarist police arrested him and he spent over seven years at hard labor in Siberia...
, with the connivance of other local Bolsheviks, hatched a plan to murder Michael. Myasnikov assembled a team of four men, who all, like him, were former prisoners of the Tsarist regime: Vasily Ivanchenko, Ivan Kolpashchikov, Andrei Markov, and Nikolai Zhuzhgov. Using a forged order, the four men gained entry to Michael's hotel at 11.45 p.m. At first, Michael refused to accompany the men until he spoke with the local chairman of the secret police, Pavel Malkov, and then because he was ill. His protestations were futile, and he got dressed. Johnson insisted on accompanying him, and the four men plus their two prisoners climbed into two horse-drawn three-seater traps. They drove out of the town into the forest near Motovilikha. When Michael queried their destination, he was told they were going to a remote railway crossing to catch a train. By now it was the early hours of 13 June. They all alighted from the carriages in the middle of the wood, and both Michael and Johnson were fired at once each, but as the assassins were using home-made bullets, their guns jammed. Michael, whether wounded or not is unknown, moved towards the wounded Johnson with arms outstretched, when he was shot at point-blank range in the head. Both Zhuzhgov and Markov claimed to have fired the fatal shot. Johnson was shot dead by Ivanchenko. The bodies were stripped and buried. Anything of value was stolen, and the clothes were taken back to Perm. After they were shown to Myasnikov as proof of the murders, the clothes were burned. The Ural Regional Soviet, headed by Alexander Beloborodov, approved the execution, either retrospectively or beforehand, as did Lenin. Michael was the first of the Romanovs to be executed by the Bolsheviks, but he would not be the last
Shooting of the Romanov family
The shooting of the Romanov family, of the Russian Imperial House of Romanov, and those who chose to accompany them into exile, Dr. Eugene Botkin, Anna Demidova, Alexei Trupp, and Ivan Kharitonov, took place in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918 on the orders of Vladimir Lenin, Yakov Sverdlov, and the...
. Neither Michael's nor Johnson's remains were ever found.
The Perm authorities distributed a concocted cover story that Michael was abducted by unidentified men and had disappeared. Chelyshev and Borunov were arrested. Shortly before his own arrest, Colonel Peter Znamerovsky, a former Imperial army officer also exiled to Perm, managed to send Natalia a brief telegram saying that Michael had disappeared. Znamerovsky, Chelyshev and Borunov were all killed by the Perm Bolsheviks. Soviet disinformation
Propaganda in the Soviet Union
Communist propaganda in the Soviet Union was extensively based on the Marxism-Leninism ideology to promote the Communist Party line. In societies with pervasive censorship, the propaganda was omnipresent and very efficient...
about Michael's disappearance led to unfounded rumours that he had escaped and was leading a successful counter-revolution. In the ultimately forlorn hope that Michael would ally with Germany, the Germans arranged for Natalia and her daughter to escape to Kiev in German-controlled Ukraine. On the collapse of the Germans in November 1918, Natalia fled to the coast, and she and her daughter were evacuated by the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
On 8 June 2009, four days short of the 91st anniversary of their murders, both Michael and Johnson were officially rehabilitated. Russian State Prosecutors stated, "The analysis of the archive material shows that these individuals were subject to repression through arrest, exile and scrutiny ... without being charged of committing concrete class and social-related crimes."
Michael's son George, Count Brasov, died in a car crash shortly before his 21st birthday in 1931. Natalia died penniless in a Parisian charity hospital in 1952. His stepdaughter Natalia Mamontova married three times, and wrote a book about her life entitled Stepdaughter to Imperial Russia, published in 1940.
Russian
- Life-Guards Horse Artillery Brigade - Lieutenant, 1898
- Life-Guards Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna’s Cuirassier Regiment - Captain and squadron commander, 1902
- 17th Hussar Chernigovskii HIH Grand Princess Elizavet Feodorovna Hussars - Colonel, commanding, 1910
- Life-Guards Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorvna’s Chevalier Guards Regiment – Colonel, commanding, 1912
- Caucasian Native Mounted Division – Major General, commanding, 1914
- Second Cavalry Corps, Seventh Army – Lieutenant General, 1916
- Inspector General of Cavalry, 1917
Foreign
- Ulanen-Regiment Kaiser Alexander III von Rußland (Westpreußisches) Nr.1, Prussian/Imperial German Army – Colonel and Regimental Chief, 1901
Russian
- Knight, Order of St. Andrew the First CalledOrder of St. AndrewThe Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
- Knight, Order of St. Alexander NevskyOrder of St. Alexander NevskyThe Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.-History:The introduction of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was planned by Emperor Peter I of Russia...
(by statute of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called) - Knight, Order of the White Eagle (by statute of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called)
- Knight, First Class, Order of St. AnneOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
(by statute of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called) - Knight, First Class, Order of St. Stanislaus (by statute of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called)
- Alexander III Commemorative Medal, 1896
- Nicholas II Coronation Medal, 1896
- Knight, Fourth Class, Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
(civil) - Commemorative Medal for the Centenary of the 1812 War, 1912
- Commemorative Medal for the Tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty, 1913
- Order of St. GeorgeOrder of St. GeorgeThe Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
, Fourth Class (for actions in the Carpathian Mountains, while in command of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division), January 1915 - St. George SwordGold Sword for BraveryThe Gold Sword for Bravery was a Russian Empire award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the St George Sword and considered as one of the grades of the Order...
- 27 June 1915 - Knight, Fourth Class, Order of St. VladimirOrder of St. VladimirThe Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
, with swords (for actions during the Brusilov Offensive, while in command of the 2nd Cavalry Corps in the Guards Army), 1916
Foreign
- Knight Grand Cross, Royal Hungarian Order of Saint StephenOrder of Saint Stephen of HungaryThe Royal Hungarian Order of Saint StephenThe Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary, the royal Hungarian order, founded in 1764 by the empress Maria Theresa of Austria, consisted of the grand master , 20 knights grand cross, 30 knights commanders and 50 knights...
(investment no. 1421), 1897 - Knight, III Class, Order of the DannebrogOrder of the DannebrogThe Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
, Denmark, before May 1901 - Knight, IV Class, Order of the RedeemerOrder of the RedeemerThe Order of the Redeemer , also known as the Order of the Savior, is an order of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state.- History :...
, Greece, before May 1901 - Knight, Order of the Golden FleeceOrder of the Golden FleeceThe Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
, Spain, 1901 - Knight, Grand Cross, Most Honourable Order of the BathOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, Great Britain, 1901 - Knight, Most Noble Order of the GarterOrder of the GarterThe Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, Great Britain, 1902 - Knight, Order of the Black EagleOrder of the Black EagleThe Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg . In his Dutch exile after WWI, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family...
, Prussia, before 1903 - Knight, Order of the ElephantOrder of the ElephantThe Order of the Elephant is the highest order of Denmark. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in 1849, is now almost exclusively bestowed on royalty and heads of state.- History :A Danish religious...
, Denmark - Knight, Grand Cross, Order of St. Olaf, Norway
- Knight Grand Commander (with collar), Royal House Order of HohenzollernHouse Order of HohenzollernThe House Order of Hohenzollern was an order of chivalry of the House of Hohenzollern. It was both a military and a civil award...
, Prussia - Knight, Grand Cross, with Crown, House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick LouisHouse and Merit Order of Peter Frederick LouisThe House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Frederick Louis was a civil and military order of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, a member state of the German Empire. The order was founded by Grand Duke Friedrich August of Oldenburg on November 27, 1838...
(a.k.a. “Order of Merit”), Oldenburg - Knight, The Supreme Order of the Most Holy AnnunciationOrder of the Most Holy AnnunciationThe Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation is an order of chivalry, or knighthood, originating in mediæval Italy. It eventually was the pinnacle of the honours system in the Kingdom of Italy, which ceased to be a national order when the kingdom became a republic in 1946...
, Italy - Knight, Grand Cross, Military Order of ChristOrder of Christ (Portugal)The Military Order of Christ previously the Royal Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ was the heritage of the Knights Templar in Portugal, after the suppression of the Templars in 1312...
, Portugal - Knight, Grand Cross, Royal Military Order of AvizOrder of AvizThe Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1910 Royal Military Order of Aviz , previously to 1789 Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz , previously Knights of St. Benedict of Aviz or Friars of Santa Maria of Évora, is a Portuguese Order of Chivalry...
(a.k.a. “Order of St. Benedict of Aviz”), Portugal - Knight, Grand Cordon, Supreme Order of the ChrysanthemumOrder of the Chrysanthemumis Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the collar of the Order was added on January 4, 1888. Although technically the order has only one class, it can either be awarded with collar , or with grand cordon...
, Japan - Knight, Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of ChakriOrder of the Royal House of ChakriThe Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri was established in 1882 by King Rama V of The Kingdom of Siam to commemorate the Bangkok Centennial...
, Kingdom of Siam (Thailand) - Commander of the Order of the SeraphimOrder of the SeraphimThe Royal Order of the Seraphim is a Swedish Royal order of chivalry created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Polar Star...
(Sweden, 1908)