Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov
Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia ( Russian Михаил Александрович Романов , scientific transliteration. Mihail Aleksandrovich Romanov , born November 22 . Jul / 4. December 1878 greg. In Tsarskoye Selo , † at night on the 13. June 1918 near Perm ) was the brother of Nicholas II , the last Russian tsar .
Life
youth
Mikhail Alexandrowitsch Romanow was the youngest son of the future Tsar Alexander III. of Russia and his wife Maria Fyodorovna was born in Saint Petersburg . The Prince's birthday coincides with his name day. In the family he was considered the parents' favorite son, with relatives and friends he was simply called Der liebe Mischa .
As a young boy, his sister Olga (1882–1960) was very close to him. She jokingly called it "Floppy" because it always slipped so quickly.
In his early years, Mikhail led a carefree life as a grand duke. Since the youngest son of the tsar played a subordinate role in the line of succession, he was able to devote himself to his function as an important member of Russian society, unencumbered by politics and state affairs. He was said to have a special affinity for cars, sports and horse racing.
Heir to the throne
In 1899 this changed suddenly. His older brother Georgi fell ill with consumption and died unexpectedly at the age of 28. His eldest brother Nikolaus, now tsar, did not yet have a male heir, which made Mikhail tsarevich . His carefree bachelor life was over. This only changed with the birth of Nikolaus' son Alexei , who was diagnosed with hemophilia , which is why a possible succession to the throne was still conceivable.
family
Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
The first woman in whom the Grand Duke showed serious interest was the British-German Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1884-1966), daughter of Duke Alfred of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Maria Alexandrovna Romanowa , whom he met during a vacation in 1902. Both fell in love and wanted to get married. However, they were first cousins (often the case in European royalty). Therefore, according to the regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church, marriage was not permitted. Mikhail's brother Nikolaus refused to consent to the marriage. Mikhail submitted to his fate as heir to the throne and ended his relationship with Beatrice. This hit this hard, and she suffered emotionally from the decision of Mikhail.
Alexandra Dina Kosikovskaya
The next woman who had hopes of marrying Mikhail was the lady-in-waiting of his sister Olga . The bourgeois Alexandra Dina Kossikowskaja did everything possible to become the wife of the Grand Duke - especially since in 1904 Mikhail was no longer the direct heir to the throne. Mikhail wanted to marry her, but Nicholas again refused his brother's chosen wife and threatened him with banishment. Under pressure from this woman and her father, the Grand Duke wanted to marry her in a place in the province. When this failed, they wanted to flee together. Nicholas then arrested Dina in St. Petersburg. Finally, Mikhail submitted to his fate again. Dina was exiled abroad for life.
Nathalie Sergejewna Brassowa
Michail served as Rittmeister in the regiment of the Life Guard , in which Rittmeister Wulfert also served. Michail met his wife, Nathalie , and they both fell in love at first sight. Since Nathalie was married, for the second time, and also had a daughter ( called Tata ) from her first marriage, she was also not considered the appropriate bride of a Russian grand duke. However, Mikhail maintained the relationship despite public opinion about his liaison. Soon there were rumors at court that the Tsar no longer wanted to tolerate. Concerned about the reputation of the dynasty, Nicholas sent his brother to the Oryol governorate . He was supposed to take command of a hussar regiment there and thus gain some distance. Nevertheless, Mikhail continued to maintain the unwanted connection.
In 1910 his son Georgi was born out of wedlock and was therefore considered illegitimate. The birth certificate said father unknown .
The family went abroad, and on October 30, 1912 , the Grand Duke Michail and Nathalie (Natascha) Sergejewna married in the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Sava in Vienna . This marriage could not be annulled by the Russian court or the Russian Orthodox Church.
The rejection of the closed marriage by Mikhail's brother, the Tsar, and his mother Maria Fyodorovna led to the couple being refused a return to Russia. The marriage was only recognized by Nicholas as a morganatic marriage after the outbreak of World War II . Nathalie was given the title of Countess Brassowa. Her son Georgi was recognized as a legitimate descendant of Mikhail in March 1915.
First World War
The catastrophe of World War I made Nicholas II forgive his brother and allowed him to return to Russia. At the beginning of the war, the Grand Duke went to the front as an officer in the Russian army and took command of a cavalry division , the so-called Wild Division .
Michail fought with his unit on the Austrian front , which stretched far into the Carpathian Mountains. In the course of the fighting, the Wild Division became a feared enemy. Mikhail was not satisfied with giving instructions as a division commander behind the lines. The common soldiers often knew him to be at their side even in the front line. This was one of the reasons why he was very popular with his soldiers. The Tsar rewarded his efforts in taking the city of Stanislau in the Carpathian Mountains in February 1915 with the highest military distinction ever awarded. Michail was awarded the Order of St. George .
revolution
On March 15, 1917, Tsar Nicholas II had to abdicate as a result of the February Revolution . In his abdication manifesto he renounced the throne and handed the scepter over to his younger brother Mikhail. At first, Mikhail believed that he should take the reign of Alexei , but not the throne of Russia. While in some places he was already proclaimed Mikhail II, the Grand Duke himself was one of the last to be brought the news of his formal succession to the throne. In the chaos of the abdication, Nicholas had failed to send his brother a telegram to inform him.
Representatives of the Provisional Government met in the Tauride Palace , where it was agreed that Grand Duke Mikhail should be persuaded or urged to abdicate. Furthermore, it was decided to resign in unison if the Grand Duke refused.
On March 16, just one day after Nikolaus' abdication, Mikhail declared in a letter to the Russian people drafted by the liberal politician Vladimir Nabokov that power would initially be transferred to the provisional government and that he would be ready to take over the throne, if so The people were to decide this in secret elections at a later date (with Mikhail I there was already an elected tsar in the history of Russia). So Mikhail hoped to keep the monarchy in Russia.
After his resignation from the throne, he lived for a few months with his wife Natalia Brassova in Gatchina , unmolested and unaffected by politics , but the new provisional government was weak and there was soon fear of a monarchist counter-revolution, so the freedoms of the entire Romanov family were noticeably restricted.
From August 21, 1917, Michail, Natascha and Nicholas Johnson were under arrest by order of Alexander Kerensky . There was chaos in Russia and the Romanovs began to leave the country, England had been chosen as their exile. The British King George V could not or would not allow them entry. In the autumn of 1917 the October Revolution began , in which the Bolsheviks took power.
Mikhail recognized the danger to himself and his family from the new rulers. In a specially prepared document, he had the Bolsheviks confirm that his family was not an enemy of the new Soviet power. A few days later, the Council of People's Commissars had the citizen Mikhail Romanov taken into exile in Perm . His family and some servants, etc. a. his English secretary, Johnson, accompanied him. Housed in a hotel, the exiles were closely guarded. Threatened by prison, he was able to convince Natalija and Georgi to leave Perm immediately.
death
At the beginning of June 1918, the Bolshevik Party Committee in Perm decided on its own initiative to kill Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov so that he could not go over to the troops under Admiral Kolchak . On the night of June 12-13, 1918, armed men led by Gavriil Myasnikov broke into the hotel where the Grand Duke was detained and took him out of Perm in a carriage . Mikhail Romanov, accompanied by his secretary Johnson, was taken to a nearby forest and both were shot. The bodies were robbed and buried in the forest. The Grand Duke's grave was never found.
The execution was later approved by the leadership of the Bolsheviks . The decision to kill the rest of the Tsar's family was made at the highest level in Moscow . There is no longer any doubt that the leaders of the Bolsheviks, especially Lenin and Yakov Sverdlov , had a part in it.
literature
- Gavril Myasnikov : Философия убийства, или Почему и как я убил Михаила Романова. (Philosophy of Murder or Why and How I Killed Mikhail Romanov) (1936)
- Rosemary & Donald Crawford: Michail and Natascha: The last tsar and his great love. Piper, 2001, ISBN 3-492-23343-0 .
- Olga Barkowez, Fyodor Fedorow, Alexander Krylow: "Beloved Nicky": The last Russian tsar and his family. Ebner & Spiegel, 2002, ISBN 3-86124-548-5 .
- Elisabeth Heresch: Nicholas II: cowardice, lies and betrayal. FA Herbig Verlagbuchhandlung, 1992.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Romanov, Mikhail Alexandrovich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mikhail of Russia; Romanov, Mihail Aleksandrovič; Романов, Михаил Александрович (Russian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Grand Duke of Russia |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 4, 1878 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tsarskoye Selo |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 13, 1918 |
| Place of death | at Perm |