Simeon Alexandrovich Romanov, Grand Duke

This is a very sensitive topic, but it exists and will continue to exist. Homosexuality in the Romanov family is often wisely hushed up by historians, “serious” historians. On the one hand, they are right - it’s not our business to meddle in the personal lives of not only royalty, but also just ordinary people, which is why all these relationships are called intimate. However, the topic of gays is now fashionable all over the world, and therefore the Romanovs are often reproached (or even honored) for this vice of theirs. Let's digress and remember the official interpretation of this whole “action”: the French psychiatrist Auguste Tardieu believed that sexual attraction to people of the same sex is a moral and physical deformity, the cause of which is a special shape of the penis. Therefore, he proposed castrating all representatives of non-standard sexual orientation. The German lawyer Karl Ulrichson argued with him, believing that homosexuals are people who have a female soul enclosed in a male shell. The German psychiatrist Karl Westphal considered homosexuality to be an innate change in sexual feelings... The mid-19th century and the beginning of the 20th century made homosexuality in the eyes of high society a kind of unusual delicacy, a funny and very “cute” curiosity, although forbidden.

But! But the “citizens of the Romanovs” never flaunted these inclinations, as current representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation do. In addition, it is worth saying that these same “citizens of the Romanovs” left the world an excellent memory of themselves, thanks to their deeds and talents, and their sexual hobbies were really not the most important thing in their lives. Not the main one!

Well, at the moment it is reliably known about three gays among the last Romanovs - Grand Dukes Sergei Alexandrovich, Nikolai Mikhailovich and Konstantin Konstantinovich. Each of them is the pride of Russia! And this should be in the first place, and only then lovers of Russian history should simply keep somewhere in their memory that their illness (as they themselves called their intimate relationships with people of the same sex) was still precisely an illness that prevented them from living!

Maria Eltinger Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov 1882

From Nina Berberova's book "People and Lodges. Russian Freemasons of the 20th Century"

^ Vel. book N.M. ROMANOV (1859-1919)

Nikolai Mikhailovich, son. led book Mikhail Nikolaevich, was the brother of Alexander Mikhailovich, who, as already mentioned, was a Martinist and spiritualist. Nick. Mich. He was single until the end of his life, and was in many ways unlike the rest of the king’s family. He was a historian, editor and publisher of the albums “Russian Portraits”, spent most of his life abroad and avoided taking part in government affairs, despite his interest in foreign policy. He knew six European languages (not counting Latin and Greek) and abroad he hung out either with French and English learned historians, or with young men, whom he preferred to young women, treating the latter more than coldly. One of his lovers was Vel. book Dmitry Pavlovich, the son of Pavel Alexandrovich, in other words, the Tsar’s cousin and one of Rasputin’s murderers.

In Masonic circles he was given the nickname “Philippe-Egalité” in memory of the Duke of Orleans (1747-1793), who helped Mirabeau and Danton, aroused the hatred of Louis XVI even before 1789, and died on the guillotine.

"Bimbo" - home nickname of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich 1895

The circumstance that Nick did. Mich. a Mason, was not entirely ordinary. He loved male society and, apparently, loved secret societies, and at the end of the last century he was invited to enter the French society of Bixio, in which he found himself, during the 30 years of its existence, the second Russian. The first and only one before him was everyone’s favorite, I.S. Turgenev (see note to Bixio Turgenev in 1862 in the book A Mazon. “Parisian manuscripts of Ivan Turgenev.” Paris, 1930, p. 107).

But Turgenev had died ten years earlier, and the “Bixio brothers” transferred their feelings for him to the Grand Duke. Soon he was invited to the French Masonic Areopagus - and of course, by the Venerable 33rd degree. Bixio became Nick. Mich. by his family.

Nick. Mich. I felt like a free and happy person among my friends. Bixio himself had been gone for a long time, but the company continued, and at one time Nick was in his mind. Mich. Even the idea of moving to Paris forever arose. Being a member of the French Areopagus, he probably believed that the French brother-masons were somehow closer to him than those of St. Petersburg, and nevertheless, something personal and important kept him in the Russian capital - the younger generation, captivated by his “club conversations "(among whom were people who came to power in 1917), or members of the Romanov family - Konstantinovich, Pavlovich and some others, about whom his enemies who surrounded the throne once whispered? He, with his means and his high position before and after February, could ensure complete inviolability of his private life, and mouths were clamped to a certain extent ... but perhaps not forever.

I.E. Repin Portrait of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich 1891

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov

Prince Konstantin Romanov invariably signed his poems, which went through several editions, with two letters - K.R. Under this pseudonym he is known in literature. There was no secret made of the pseudonym: the poems were preceded by portraits and articles, and For his writings, the author was awarded the title of honorary academician of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (which he himself headed as president for 20 years). The romances of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Grechaninov, Glazunov, and Glier, written based on his poems, are widely known. After the revolutions of 1917 and until the end of the century, his poems were not published and they tried not to mention at all that there was such a poet - not because of their quality, but because of the origin of the author.

In 1888 - Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov turned thirty - he wrote in his diary: " My life and activities were completely determined. For others, I am a military man, a company commander, in the near future I will be a colonel... For myself, I am a poet. This is my true calling".

Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov - K.R.

Over the years, the creativity of K.R. expanded - large poems, dramatic works, translations appeared - from Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare. He decided to translate Shakespeare's Hamlet. Princess Vera in her essay “My Father” wrote about him as an actor, musician, and composer. He played on the stages of home theaters: the Imperial Hermitage, Tsarskoe Selo "Chinese" and in "Izmailovsky Leisure". He played the role of Joseph of Arimathea in the play of his own composition, “The King of the Jews” - about the suffering and atoning death of Christ.

The Grand Duke kept diaries throughout his life, which are also kept in the State Archive of the Russian Federation. This is a kind of encyclopedia of Russian culture of this period. These diaries reveal another side of K.R. Before his death, his diaries K.R. bequeathed to the Academy of Sciences so that they would be made public 90 years after his death. But in 1917, just two years after the death of the Grand Duke, the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, and the secret became clear.

Family of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov

Konstantin Romanov from "Diaries 1903-1905"

November 19, 1903 - St. Petersburg.
[They call me] “the best man in Russia.” But I know what this “best man” really is. How amazed would all those people who love and respect me be if they knew about my depravity! I am deeply dissatisfied with myself.

April 19, 1904
I feel bad again in my soul, again I am haunted by sinful thoughts, memories and desires. I dream of going to the bathhouses on the Moika or having a bathhouse flooded at home, I imagine my familiar bathhouse attendants - Alexei Frolov and especially Sergei Syroezhkin. My desires have always been for simple men (that’s snobbery); outside their circle I did not look for or find participants in sin. When passion speaks, the arguments of conscience, virtue, and prudence fall silent.

June 23, 1904
I again gave up fighting my lust, it wasn’t that I couldn’t, but I didn’t want to fight. In the evening they heated our bathhouse for me; The bath attendant Sergei Syroezhkin was busy and brought his brother, a 20-year-old guy named Kondraty, who works as a bath attendant at the Usachev Baths. And I brought this guy into sin. Perhaps I made him sin for the first time and only when it was too late did I remember the terrible words: woe to him who seduces one of these little ones.

December 28, 1904
Bad thoughts haunted me all day. I wanted to go to the bathhouse in the evening, from the Moika, but for some reason I didn’t go. Now it's almost 11 o'clock. Why didn't I go? I am afraid of sin, I am afraid of discord with my conscience, and yet I want to sin. This struggle is painful.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov 1891

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov

Several materials have already been presented about Sergei Alexandrovich on this blog, and therefore it is worth turning to them to find out and understand what kind of person he was. Was he homosexual? There is no direct evidence of this from the prince himself, but some of his contemporaries casually mention this very passion of the prince. So there is this fact: " 1887 - Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov, son of Alexander II, founded a closed club for homosexuals, which existed until 1891, when the Grand Duke was appointed Governor General of Moscow"(Andrey Danilov “Experience is the son of difficult mistakes”, BEST FOR magazine). Where was this club??? But is it really that important? Its affairs are more important for Russia...

Prince Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov with his wife Elizaveta Fedorovna

From the article by V. Vyatkin “Grand Duke Sergei and fine arts”

In 1898, a monument to Alexander II was erected - a tribute to the memory of Sergei’s father. He attracted the best artists: P.V. Zhukovsky and A.M. Opekushin, who sculpted the statue. When a museum of fine arts was created in Moscow, on Volkhonka, on the initiative of I.V. Tsvetaev, Sergei, being the Moscow governor-general, really participated in action, strongly interested in the idea of a museum. Many people spoke about the importance of the museum, but it arose, according to P. S. Uvarova, only thanks to the Grand Duke - “his enlightened attitude to the matter and his love for Moscow.”

Of course, Tsvetaev is considered the father of the museum. But what would he have done without the help of the Governor General? Moreover, Sergei not only supported all the main initiatives of Tsvetaev, but also initiated many valuable things himself (for example, providing a site for the museum in the city center, and not a place “on the outskirts of the university.” They said that Sergei considered helping the museum as his family duty. ( Others noted that he had a “hypertrophied sense of duty.”)

Under the chairmanship of Sergei, a Museum Construction Committee was created. The first meeting took place in Sergei's office. The committee met regularly. But meetings alone were not enough. Sergei often went to construction sites and entered into various business relationships. In 1904 he asked the Italian government to allow the casting of copies of Renaissance sculptures. The contact was beneficial. When the Ravenna mosaics were brought to Volkhonka, Sergei did not hide his joy. And for the transfer of an ancient catacomb from Mount Mithridates in Kerch to the museum, he helped in the successful negotiations. P.S. Uvarova admired his enormous interest in the museum, the persistence with which he brought the museum to life.

After Sergei’s death, part of his art collection was transferred to the museum. Tsvetaev wrote that “Elizaveta Feodorovna makes the museum the heir to the artistic heritage of the Grand Duke...”, rejoicing that it gets more than the Museum of Alexander III in St. Petersburg. And there was something to gain: many knew about the wealth of the collection. Foreign things prevailed. Tsvetaev admired the bronze Greek figurine, for which the Grand Duke paid 1000 francs, an excellent copy of Benvenuto Cellini’s Perseus, and the lovely Madonnas from the drawing room of the Nicholas Palace. According to Uvarova, Sergei was known as “an expert... in ancient antiquities. His collection of ancient Greek terracotta from Tanagra was especially valuable.”

Interest in art benefited Russia. Sergei purchased masterpieces abroad: and not only for his own collection. In 1883 he brought an Italian fresco from Florence for the Hermitage. We admit that S.V. Rachmaninov was right: “Do not forget that all the artistic treasures of the country, located in the galleries of Moscow and Petrograd, were collected by the people of old Russia.” Through his efforts, a portrait gallery of Moscow commanders-in-chief and governors-general was created. After Sergei’s death, the collection was replenished with his portrait. Taking care of the national treasure, he prevented the sale of masterpieces of art. And it is clear that, quite rightly, he was elected in 1895 as an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts. He also headed the Society of Historical Painters and the Moscow Art Society. But he went down in history as a subtle connoisseur of beauty and a wonderful philanthropist.

The most contradictory opinions are expressed about the husband of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Some historians claim that Sergei Alexandrovich was a merciful, cultured, pious person. And he died as a Christian martyr. Others call him a “satrap,” “a total reactionary,” ruthless, vicious.
What was he really like? Candidate of Historical Sciences, employee of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, priest, tried to figure this out. Vasily SEKACHEV Emperor Nicholas II receives greetings from the Governor General, Grand Duke. Sergei Alexandrovich in front of the royal tent at the Continental Hotel during his arrival in Moscow. 1898 or 1899

photo from the RGAKFD archive

Living Testimonies: Pros and Cons

“His face was soulless... his eyes, under his whitish eyebrows, looked cruel,” wrote the French ambassador M. Paleologue.

“Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich became famous for his vices,” declared the anarchist prince Kropotkin. He was echoed by the left cadet Obninsky: “This dry, unpleasant man... bore on his face sharp signs of the vice that consumed him, which made the family life of his wife, Elizaveta Feodorovna, unbearable.”

In our time, Grand Duke Sergei was depicted in B. Akunin’s novel “Coronation” - under the name of Simeon Alexandrovich. In creating this unpleasant image, the popular fiction writer diligently rewrote commonplaces from the memoirs of the beginning of the last century. However, it seems that he did not read all the memories.

For example, here is what his niece and adopted daughter Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna writes about Sergei Alexandrovich: “Everyone considered him, and not without reason, a cold and strict person, but in relation to me and Dmitry (Maria Pavlovna’s brother. — V.S.) he showed almost feminine tenderness..."

But unexpected statements in favor of Sergei Alexandrovich by his political opponent S.Yu. Witte: “Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, essentially, was a very noble and honest person...”, “I respect his memory...”.

Leo Tolstoy, who learned about the death of the Grand Duke in February 1905, according to witnesses, “suffered directly physically.” He felt deeply humanly sorry for the murdered man.

Who was Sergei Alexandrovich really? What are the reasons for his duality: on the one hand, cold and strict, on the other, femininely tender? What was his relationship with Elizaveta Feodorovna, whom we venerate as a venerable martyr?

Vow after coronation

Width="250" height="366" align="right" border="0" hspace="5" vspace="11">The birth of the Grand Duke was preceded by an unusual event. In September 1856, after his coronation, Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and, independently of each other, secretly promised before the relics of St. Sergius: if they had a boy, they would name him Sergei. The boy was born the next year.

In honor of this event, Moscow Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) delivered a special sermon. The saint said that the birth of the Grand Duke was “a sign for good”*, a sign of God’s blessing for the reign that had just begun. Sergei Alexandrovich was already the seventh child in the family, but he was the first to be born porphyritic - after his father’s accession to the throne. The fate of such a “vowed” royal child promised to be unusual.

The boy's upbringing was first carried out by the maid of honor A.F. Tyutcheva (daughter of the great poet, wife of the Slavophile I.S. Aksakov). “Widely enlightened, possessed of a fiery word, she early taught to love the Russian land, the Orthodox faith and the church... She did not hide from the royal children that they were not free from the thorns of life, from sorrows and grief and must prepare for their courageous meeting,” wrote one of the biographers of the Grand Duke.

When the boy was seven years old, Lieutenant Commander D.S. was appointed his teacher. Arsenyev. In 1910, “Sergiy Alexandrovich was a kind, extremely warm-hearted and sympathetic child, tenderly attached to his parents and especially to his mother, to his sister and younger brother; he played a lot and interestingly and, thanks to his vivid imagination, his games were smart...” recalled D.S. Arsenyev.

Fatal Chain

Subtle facial features, blond hair, gray-green eyes... From a young age, tall and fit, Sergei Alexandrovich seemed like a born officer. The white guards uniform fit him like a glove. The Grand Duke joined the Guard after the death of his mother and the tragic death of his father. Until 1887, he commanded the 1st (tsarist) battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, then, with the rank of major general, the entire regiment.
In 1891, Alexander III appointed his brother governor-general of Moscow. In this post, Sergei Alexandrovich showed himself to be a tough conservative and supporter of autocracy. He received all attempts to revise the inviolability of the monarchy in Russia with sharp hostility.

Rejection of all my father’s actions became especially acute after the difficult, truly martyr’s death of Maria Alexandrovna. The Empress suffered from a severe form of tuberculosis. 45 days after she died, Alexander II married Dolgoruky...

When in 1865, eight-year-old Sergei and his mother came to Moscow for rest and treatment, he surprised everyone by asking, instead of entertainment, to show him a bishop’s service in the Kremlin and stood through the entire service in the Alekseevsky Church of the Chudov Monastery.

“Whoever you are, but having met her,
With a pure or sinful soul,
You suddenly feel more alive
That there is a better world, a spiritual world...” -
so sang the virtues of the empress
F.I. Tyutchev, who had known her since 1864.
“Who approached Her,” K.P., who highly revered her, said about Maria Alexandrovna. Pobedonostsev, “felt the presence of purity, intelligence, kindness, and with Her he himself became purer, brighter, more restrained.”

When she died, Sergei Alexandrovich experienced a severe shock. “This blow was a terrible blow, and God knows how I still can’t come to my senses,” he would write a year later. “With Her death, everything, everything changed. I cannot express in words everything that ached in my soul and heart - everything that was holy, the best - I lost everything in Her - all my love - my only strong love belonged to Her.” At the funeral he was whiter than his officer's uniform. “Poor Sergei,” an eyewitness wrote about him in his diary.

Sergei Aleksandrovich explained his father’s betrayal by his passion for Western (liberal) ideas alien to Russia. Westernistic upbringing seemed to push Alexander both to carry out liberal reforms and to commit adultery. The ill-fated wedding with Dolgoruka (which Sergei learned about only from Admiral Arsenyev and almost six months later) occurred at the same time when the tsar finally matured his intention to introduce a constitution in Russia. All this together - in the eyes of the Grand Duke - led his father to a tragic death! On March 1, 1881, the Tsar was killed.

Sergei Alexandrovich deeply experienced the death of his father. “I don’t know where to start and how to write,” we read in his diary. - Soul and heart - everything, everything is broken and turned upside down. All the terrible impressions destroyed me.” But at the same time, Sergei considered it possible to convey to his brother (Alexander III) Leo Tolstoy’s petition for pardon for the murderers. He was sure: one cannot begin a new reign with an execution.

The combination of political conservatism with a living Christian feeling was a characteristic personality trait of Sergei Alexandrovich. This would subsequently manifest itself during his life in Moscow.

"Harlequin's Misfortunes"

Under the influence of everything he suffered in 1880, Sergei Alexandrovich developed the firm conviction that only adherence to the historical and spiritual tradition, loyalty to Orthodoxy and autocracy can save both an individual and a country from moral and political destruction.
Naturally, because of such views, Sergei Alexandrovich made many enemies for himself in the “advanced” Russian society, gripped by liberal and even revolutionary sentiments. Political opponents in Russia, as I.L., who studied this issue, surprisingly accurately noted. Volgin, “rarely limit themselves to principled polemics” - “it is important for them to humiliate their opponent, to point out his moral insignificance.” And here, rumors about his “abnormality” and “secret depravity” that appeared in St. Petersburg, during the Grand Duke’s service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, came into play. Closed, immersed in spiritual experiences, and having no taste for high-society amusements, the Grand Duke was not accepted by St. Petersburg high society. He was ridiculed.

Sergei Alexandrovich took the humiliating attacks hard, but never showed it to others. “I... deeply sympathize with you,” his cousin Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (K.R.) wrote to him in the early 1880s, “when close people cannot understand you and explain to themselves your desires in a distorted form. Almost no one understands you, and they form a completely false opinion about you... In your existence, des malheurs d'arlequin (literally translated from French - “harlequin misfortunes,” that is, ridiculous accidents) are constantly encountered, of course, in a very, very sad sense "

It should be said that from childhood, Grand Duke Sergei was a very shy person. Many people have noted this. Even when Sergei Alexandrovich was already 21 years old, his cousin K.R. especially noted in his diary that at one of the receptions at their home, “even Sergei was not embarrassed.”

In St. Petersburg, not without the influence of slander directed against him, the Grand Duke found a remedy for shyness - a cold and impenetrable (“Governor General”, as they would later say) face. He will assume an unapproachable appearance in public until the end of his days. This is the secret of his duality: outwardly Sergei Alexandrovich is overly strict and dry, internally he is sensitive and easily vulnerable.

Before God and people

One of his favorite writers was Dostoevsky.

This can be learned from the diaries of Sergei Alexandrovich and his correspondence with his cousin, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, better known as the poet K.R. These documents have not yet been published and are virtually unknown. Only the historian A.N. became acquainted with their various parts. Bokhanov, the author of a number of articles about Sergei Alexandrovich, and literary critic I.L. Volgin, who studied the relationships of various members of the royal family with F.M. Dostoevsky.

“I think the reason we love each other so much is that we have completely different characters and that each of us finds in the other something that we ourselves lack,” K.R. wrote about this friendship. At the same time, he silently recognized a certain spiritual leadership in the older Sergei. He supervised Constantine’s reading, including spiritual reading: he advised him to read Ephraim the Syrian and revealed Dostoevsky to him.

In the spring of 1877, while sailing as a midshipman on the frigate Svetlana, 18-year-old K.R. I read “Demons,” sent by 20-year-old Sergei, and thanked him with all my heart, especially touched by the “Christian places” of the novel.

Somehow K.R. sent his poems to his brother:
Towards a high goal with a strong will
Strive with an ardent soul,
Strive to the shadow of the grave.
And in this vale of life
Among vice, evil and lies
Earn happiness through struggle!

Sergei Alexandrovich’s struggle was predominantly spiritual. He followed the advice he received in his youth from Pobedonostsev: “Keep yourself in truth and in purity of thought. In every movement of your heart and thought, consult in your conscience the beginning of God’s truth. You were told a lot about this as a child; But what was denied in childhood, youth sometimes becomes indifferent to, and what was ashamed of in childhood is no longer ashamed when they leave childhood. But you, sacredly keeping your childhood faith, do not forget to put yourself before God...” And the Grand Duke always tried to have a clear conscience before the Lord. He prayed and tried to humble himself.

In 1883, the Grand Duke wrote to the former home teacher Arsenyev: “As I told you this before, I repeat it now - if people are convinced of something, then I will not dissuade them, and if I have a clear conscience, then I passez-moi ce mot (from French - “sorry for the expression”) - don’t care about all people’s qu’es qu’a-t-on (gossip)... I’m so used to all the stones in my garden that I don’t even notice them anymore.” .

Princess Ella

There is something predetermined in the union of Sergei Alexandrovich with Elizaveta Feodorovna, the princess from Hesse-Darmstadt. It was as if they were destined in advance - narrowed - to each other. Sergei Alexandrovich knew Ella from birth. And... even earlier.

In the summer of 1864, seven-year-old Seryozha visited Darmstadt with his mother, the daughter of the Hessian Duke Ludwig II. The unexpected visit initially caused a commotion in the ducal family, but the cordiality and charm of the Russian relatives quickly made them forget about the excitement. Little Sergei especially amazed everyone. He behaved unusually courteously and gallantly - especially with the heir's pregnant wife, Alice.

Sergei and Ella were unusually suited to each other. They had similar interests. Parting for even one day was a grave punishment for both. They were united by a living Christian feeling, a desire to help their neighbor. Already in Ilyinsky near Moscow (bequeathed to Sergei by his mother), where the newlyweds spent their honeymoon, they set up a maternity shelter together. They tried as best they could to improve peasant life. And they were the recipients of many peasant babies.

Seeing the high spiritual mood of Sergei Alexandrovich, Elizaveta Feodorovna in 1891 decided to convert from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy.
“It would be a sin,” Elizaveta Feodorovna wrote to her father, “to remain as I am now - to belong to the same church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband... My soul belongs completely religions here... I so strongly wish to partake of the Holy Mysteries at Easter with my husband. This may seem sudden to you, but I have been thinking about this for so long, and now finally I cannot put it off. My conscience doesn’t allow me to do this.”

Confession in the Garden of Gethsemane

Three years before this letter, Elizaveta Feodorovna visited the Holy Land with her husband.

Sergei Alexandrovich himself made his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land after the death of his father in 1881. That trip made a deep impression on him. He fell in love with Palestine forever. Having learned about the plight of Russian pilgrims, how much trouble they had to endure from local residents and the Turkish authorities, Grand Duke Sergei set out to help them and in 1882 founded the Orthodox Palestine (from 1889 - Imperial) Society.
Thanks to the assistance of this society, thousands of Russian people of various classes were able to visit the Holy Land without hindrance. In addition, “Palestinian society in Palestine began to build, restore and support Orthodox churches. It opened clinics, outpatient clinics and hospitals. Outpatient clinics in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem received up to 60 thousand patients annually; they were provided with free medicine,” writes modern researcher priest Afanasy Gumerov.

In 1883, with the assistance of the Grand Duke, archaeological excavations began in Jerusalem. They confirmed the historical authenticity of the location of Golgotha. The remains of ancient city walls and gates from the time of the Savior’s earthly life were discovered. The famous Russian archaeologist A.S. Uvarov called Sergei Alexandrovich “the Grand Duke of Archeology.”

In 1888, the grand ducal couple came to Palestine to consecrate the Church of Mary Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane. This temple was erected at the expense of Alexander III and his brothers in memory of their mother Maria Alexandrovna. After the consecration ceremony, Elizaveta Feodorovna admitted that she would like to be buried here.
In 1918, the Lord will fulfill this desire of hers.

Emperor Nicholas II and members of the imperial family carry the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Sarov Desert, 1903. Sergei Alexandrovich - to the left of the sovereign

Merciful couple

But their spiritual unity in this case seems doubly surprising.
The unanimity of the spouses was particularly evident in the implementation of works of mercy during Sergei Alexandrovich’s tenure as Governor-General. Immediately after taking up his new position in 1891, Grand Duke Sergei drew the attention of Moscow Metropolitan Ioannikis to how many children in the capital were left without parental care. In April of the following year, the Elizabethan Society for the Care of Children was opened in the Governor General's house on Tverskaya*. 220 community committees began to operate under 11 city deaneries, and nurseries and orphanages were organized everywhere. Already at the end of April, the first nursery for 15 infants was opened in the parish of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Stoleshniki, taken under the special patronage of Grand Duke Sergei. Both spouses helped all the new nurseries and gardens. For the poorest children, their own scholarships were established.

The high appointment of Sergei Alexandrovich coincided with a tragedy in the family life of his brother Pavel. One day, his twenty-year-old wife Alexandra Georgievna, who was about to give birth, came to Ilyinskoye with her brother to stay. Suddenly she went into labor. With the birth of her son, she died. Sergei Alexandrovich was inconsolable, blaming himself for everything that happened.

He took an active part in nursing Dmitry Pavlovich, who was born seven months old: he wrapped the newborn in cotton wool, put him in a cradle, warmed by bottles of hot water (incubators were a rarity then). I personally bathed the baby in special broth baths, as recommended by doctors. And the child managed to come out!

Subsequently, Sergei Alexandrovich dealt a lot with the fate of Dmitry and his older sister Maria. He always invited them for the summer to Ilyinskoye or to his second estate Usovo and made every effort to make them feel at home there. When Pavel Alexandrovich entered into a morganatic marriage with Madame Pistolkors and was therefore removed from the empire, Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife became the adoptive parents of Dmitry and Maria.

Maria Pavlovna writes that even before, when they came only for the summer, Sergei Alexandrovich always looked forward to their arrival. Maria Pavlovna remembered him standing on the balcony of his house and smiling joyfully as their carriage approached. “In the twilight of the lobby, where it was cool and smelled pleasantly of flowers, my uncle gently embraced us in his arms: “Finally, you are here!” (from the memoirs of Maria Pavlovna).
The last entry in the Grand Duke’s diary on the eve of his murder was an entry about Dmitry and Maria: “... read to the children. They were delighted with yesterday’s opera.”

"Damned" question

Workers' mutual aid societies were created with the indispensable participation of priests and turned to the ideals of the Gospel. These were a kind of Christian trade unions.

In February 1902, student riots occurred in Moscow, and the revolution was approaching. But on February 19, 1902, on the day of the liberation of the peasants, Sergei Alexandrovich, together with Zubatov, organized a 50,000-strong patriotic workers’ demonstration with the laying of wreaths at the monument to the Tsar Liberator in the Kremlin.

Such a policy aroused the anger of both revolutionaries and capitalists. The latter, with the help of the then all-powerful Minister of Finance Witte, managed to achieve the removal of Zubatov from Moscow and the curtailment of workers' organizations (the question is, who in such a situation should be called a “reactionary” and a “retrograde”?).

Moscow University professor M.M., who did not participate in the endeavors of Grand Duke Sergei and was generally skeptical of him. Bogoslovsky, in his memoirs, was forced to admit that Sergei Aleksandrovich was still “full of the best intentions,” and his “unopenness and inhospitability,” perhaps, “came only from shyness.” In addition, the professor noted: “I had to hear that he finally destroyed the last remnants of the former massacre customary in the Moscow troops, strictly pursuing any fist reprisals against soldiers.”

February 19, 1902. Before the wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to Alexander II in the Kremlin

Khodynka

Bogoslovsky also noted that “when the famous disaster happened on the Khodynskoye Field,” the responsibility was shifted to Sergei Alexandrovich - “perhaps unfairly.”

Let us remember that after the tragedy, the victims were visited in hospitals by Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, as well as separately from them Maria Feodorovna. Most of the wounded said that only they themselves were “to blame for everything” and asked for forgiveness for “ruining the holiday.”

According to the memoirs of Tolstoyan V. Krasnov, on the eve of the ill-fated holiday, people excited themselves with rumors that the next day fountains of wine and beer would flow directly from the ground, strange animals and other miracles would appear. By morning, the general mood suddenly changed to “embarrassed,” as Krasnov put it, even “brutal.” People rushed to the gifts to get home quickly, and a deadly stampede occurred.

Last days

While living in Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei and Elizaveta Feodorovna loved to stay at the Neskuchny Palace. According to the tradition established in their family, on the night of December 31 to January 1, 1905, on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy were served here. Everyone received Holy Communion of Christ.

On the evening of January 9, the grand ducal couple was forced to move to the Kremlin, from where Sergei Alexandrovich invariably went to the governor general’s house every day. Knowing that an assassination attempt was being prepared, he stopped taking his adjutant with him, and ordered the police escort to stay at a safe distance from his crew. On February 4, at normal times, the Grand Duke rode out in a carriage from the gates of the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin - and was torn apart by the “infernal machine” abandoned by the terrorist Ivan Kalyaev.

Praying at the torn body of the Grand Duke, Elizaveta Feodorovna felt that Sergei seemed to be expecting something from her. Then, gathering her courage, she went to the prison where Kalyaev was imprisoned, and brought him forgiveness on behalf of Sergei, leaving the prisoner with the Gospel.

The funeral service was held on February 10. Of Sergei Alexandrovich’s relatives, only Elizaveta Feodorovna, K.R., Pavel Alexandrovich and his children were present.

Precious cover

Now the Lord judged that the great prince himself should receive the crown of martyrdom. His death was deeply sacrificial. Elizaveta Feodorovna wrote to Emperor Nicholas II on April 7, 1910: “My dear... Sergei joyfully died for you and for his homeland. Two days before his death, he said how willingly he would shed his blood if he could help it.”

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov - who was he? Tyrant or martyr? Let's turn to the facts and testimonies of contemporaries to find the truth.

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov

Living Testimonies: Pros and Cons

“His face was soulless... his eyes, under his whitish eyebrows, looked cruel,” wrote the French ambassador M. Paleologue. “Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich became famous for his vices,” declared the anarchist prince Kropotkin. He was echoed by the left cadet Obninsky: “This dry, unpleasant man... bore on his face sharp signs of the vice that consumed him, which made the family life of his wife, Elizaveta Feodorovna, unbearable.”

Leo Tolstoy, who learned about the death of the Grand Duke in February 1905, according to witnesses, “suffered directly physically.” He felt deeply humanly sorry for the murdered man.

Vow after coronation

The birth of the Grand Duke was preceded by an unusual event. In September 1856, after his coronation, Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and, independently of each other, secretly promised before the relics of St. Sergius: if they had a boy, they would name him Sergei.

The boy was born the next year.

Fatal Chain

The Grand Duke was firmly convinced that liberalism in politics is closely related to the damage to morality. He saw proof of this in his parents' family. His father, the initiator of great reforms and, according to Sergei Alexandrovich, a Westerner and liberal, was unfaithful to his wife. For 14 years, he cheated on her with another woman - maid of honor Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, who bore him three children. Rejection of all my father’s actions became especially acute after the difficult, truly martyr’s death of Maria Alexandrovna. The Empress suffered from a severe form of tuberculosis. 45 days after she died, Alexander II married Dolgoruky...

It is difficult to convey who Maria Alexandrovna was (before converting to Orthodoxy - Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Augustus) for Sergei Alexandrovich and other younger children - Maria and Paul. From his mother, Sergei inherited a love of music, painting, and poetry. She instilled in him compassion and kindness. Taught me to pray.
When in 1865, eight-year-old Sergei and his mother came to Moscow for rest and treatment, he surprised everyone by asking, instead of entertainment, to show him a bishop’s service in the Kremlin and stood through the entire service in the Alekseevsky Church of the Chudov Monastery.

“Who approached Her,” K.P., who highly revered her, said about Maria Alexandrovna. Pobedonostsev, “felt the presence of purity, intelligence, kindness, and with Her he himself became purer, brighter, more restrained.”

When she died, Sergei Alexandrovich experienced a severe shock. “This blow was a terrible blow, and God knows how I still can’t come to my senses,” he would write a year later. - With Her death, everything, everything changed. I cannot express in words everything that ached in my soul and heart - everything that was holy, the best - I lost everything in Her - all my love - my only strong love belonged to Her.”

At the funeral he was whiter than his officer's uniform. “Poor Sergei,” an eyewitness wrote about him in his diary.
Sergei Aleksandrovich explained his father’s betrayal by his passion for Western (liberal) ideas alien to Russia. Westernistic upbringing seemed to push Alexander both to carry out liberal reforms and to commit adultery. The ill-fated wedding with Dolgoruka (which Sergei learned about only from Admiral Arsenyev and almost six months later) occurred at the same time when the tsar finally matured his intention to introduce a constitution in Russia. All this together - in the eyes of the Grand Duke - led his father to a tragic death! On March 1, 1881, the Tsar was killed.

Sergei Alexandrovich deeply worried about his father. “I don’t know where to start and how to write,” we read in his diary. - Soul and heart - everything, everything is broken and turned upside down. All the terrible impressions destroyed me.” But at the same time, Sergei considered it possible to convey to his brother (Alexander III) Leo Tolstoy’s petition for pardon for the murderers. He was sure: one cannot begin a new reign with an execution. The combination of political conservatism with a living Christian feeling was a characteristic personality trait of Sergei Alexandrovich. This would subsequently manifest itself during his life in Moscow.

"Harlequin's Misfortunes"

Naturally, because of such views, Sergei Alexandrovich made many enemies for himself in the “advanced” Russian society, gripped by liberal and even revolutionary sentiments. Political opponents in Russia, as I.L., who studied this issue, surprisingly accurately noted. Volgin, “rarely limit themselves to principled polemics” - “it is important for them to humiliate their opponent, to point out his moral insignificance.” And here, rumors about his “abnormality” and “secret depravity” that appeared in St. Petersburg, during the Grand Duke’s service in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, came into play. Closed, immersed in spiritual experiences, and having no taste for high-society amusements, the Grand Duke was not accepted by St. Petersburg high society. He was ridiculed. Sergei Alexandrovich took the humiliating attacks hard, but never showed it to others.

“I... deeply sympathize with you,” his cousin Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (K.R.) wrote to him in the early 1880s, “when close people cannot comprehend you and explain to themselves your desires in a distorted form. Almost no one understands you, and they form a completely false opinion about you... In your existence, des malheurs d'arlequin (literally translated from French - “harlequin misfortunes,” that is, absurd accidents) are constantly encountered, of course, in a very, very sad sense "
It should be said that from childhood, Grand Duke Sergei was a very shy person. Many people have noted this. Even when Sergei Alexandrovich was already 21 years old, his cousin K.R. especially noted in his diary that at one of the receptions at their home, “even Sergei was not embarrassed.”
In St. Petersburg, not without the influence of slander directed against him, the Grand Duke found a remedy for shyness - a cold and impenetrable (“Governor General”, as they would later say) face. He will assume an unapproachable appearance in public until the end of his days. This is the secret of his duality: outwardly Sergei Alexandrovich is overly strict and dry, internally he is sensitive and easily vulnerable.

Before God and people

One of his favorite writers was Dostoevsky. This can be learned from the diaries of Sergei Alexandrovich and his correspondence with his cousin, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, better known as the poet K.R. These documents have not yet been published and are virtually unknown. Only the historian A.N. became acquainted with their various parts. Bokhanov, the author of a number of articles about Sergei Alexandrovich, and literary critic I.L. Volgin, who studied the relationships of various members of the royal family with F.M. Dostoevsky.

First of all, from the diaries and correspondence it is clear that Sergei Alexandrovich’s closest friend throughout his life was precisely K.R., this august poet, the “messenger of light” in Russian poetry, as Afanasy Fet called him. “I think the reason we love each other so much is that we have completely different characters and that each of us finds in the other something that we ourselves lack,” K.R. wrote about this friendship. At the same time, he silently recognized a certain spiritual leadership in the older Sergei. He supervised Constantine’s reading, including spiritual reading: he advised him to read Ephraim the Syrian and revealed Dostoevsky to him. In the spring of 1877, while sailing as a midshipman on the frigate Svetlana, 18-year-old K.R. I read “Demons,” sent by 20-year-old Sergei, and thanked him with all my heart, especially touched by the “Christian places” of the novel.

In 1883, the Grand Duke wrote to the former home teacher Arsenyev: “As I told you this before, I repeat it now - if people are convinced of something, then I will not dissuade them, and if I have a clear conscience, then I passez-moi ce mot (from French - “sorry for the expression”) - don’t give a damn about all people’s qu’es qu’a-t-on (gossip) ... I’m so used to all the stones in my garden that I don’t even notice them anymore.”

Princess Ella

The severity of the attacks partially decreased when Sergei Alexandrovich got married in 1884.
Back in September of the fateful 1880, A.F. In a letter, Tyutcheva wished to 23-year-old Sergei that God would send him a girl who would create a home for him, “where love and happiness would reign.” “With your character,” wrote the kind Anna Feodorovna, “you cannot remain lonely and look for pleasure where young people of your age usually find it. To be happy, you need a pure and religiously sanctified life, just as your mother wished for you to be happy.” There is something predetermined in the union of Sergei Alexandrovich with Elizaveta Feodorovna, the princess from Hesse-Darmstadt. It was as if they were destined in advance - narrowed - to each other. Sergei Alexandrovich knew Ella from birth. And... even earlier.

In a few months, Alice's daughter will see the light of day and will be named Elizabeth (diminutive Ella). A year later, Sergei Alexandrovich will see her for the first time. Subsequently, he will be in Darmstadt more than once, and Ella will be imbued with sincere sympathy for him. His nobility and chivalry, sincere and truthful character will seriously charm and captivate her. When in 1883 the shy Sergei decided to propose to her, she would be truly happy. Sergei and Ella were unusually suited to each other. They had similar interests. Parting for even one day was a grave punishment for both. They were united by a living Christian feeling, a desire to help their neighbor. Already in Ilyinsky near Moscow (bequeathed to Sergei by his mother), where the newlyweds spent their honeymoon, they set up a maternity shelter together. They tried as best they could to improve peasant life. And they were the recipients of many peasant babies.

Seeing the high spiritual mood of Sergei Alexandrovich, Elizaveta Feodorovna in 1891 decided to convert from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich with his wife Elizaveta Feodorovna, 1896 “It would be a sin,” Elizaveta Feodorovna wrote to her father, “to remain as I am now - to belong to the same church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband... My soul belongs completely to religion here... I so strongly wish for Easter to partake of the Holy Mysteries with my husband. This may seem sudden to you, but I have been thinking about this for so long, and now finally I cannot put it off. My conscience doesn’t allow me to do this.”

Confession in the Garden of Gethsemane

Three years before this letter, Elizaveta Feodorovna visited the Holy Land with her husband. Sergei Alexandrovich himself made his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land after the death of his father in 1881. That trip made a deep impression on him. He fell in love with Palestine forever. Having learned about the plight of Russian pilgrims, how much trouble they had to endure from local residents and the Turkish authorities, Grand Duke Sergei set out to help them and in 1882 founded the Orthodox Palestine (from 1889 - Imperial) Society. Thanks to the assistance of this society, thousands of Russian people of various classes were able to visit the Holy Land without hindrance. In addition, “Palestinian society in Palestine began to build, restore and support Orthodox churches. It opened clinics, outpatient clinics and hospitals. Outpatient clinics in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem received up to 60 thousand patients annually; were provided with free medicine,” writes modern researcher priest Afanasy Gumerov.

In 1888, the grand ducal couple came to Palestine to consecrate the Church of Mary Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane. This temple was erected at the expense of Alexander III and his brothers in memory of their mother Maria Alexandrovna. After the consecration ceremony, Elizaveta Feodorovna admitted that she would like to be buried here. In 1918, the Lord will fulfill this desire of hers.

Merciful couple

A number of researchers believe that the marriage of Sergei and Ella was exclusively spiritual. By mutual agreement, they preserved their virginity in marriage. One of the possible reasons for this decision is the close degree of relationship: Elizaveta Feodorovna was the cousin-niece of Sergei Alexandrovich.
But their spiritual unity in this case seems doubly surprising. The unanimity of the spouses was particularly evident in the implementation of works of mercy during Sergei Alexandrovich’s tenure as Governor-General. Immediately after taking up his new position in 1891, Grand Duke Sergei drew the attention of Moscow Metropolitan Ioannikis to how many children in the capital were left without parental care. In April of the following year, the Elizabethan Society for the Care of Children was opened in the Governor General's house on Tverskaya*. 220 community committees began to operate under 11 city deaneries, and nurseries and orphanages were organized everywhere. Already at the end of April, the first nursery for 15 infants was opened in the parish of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Stoleshniki, taken under the special patronage of Grand Duke Sergei. Both spouses helped all the new nurseries and gardens. For the poorest children, their own scholarships were established.
The high appointment of Sergei Alexandrovich coincided with a tragedy in the family life of his brother Pavel. One day, his twenty-year-old wife Alexandra Georgievna, who was about to give birth, came to Ilyinskoye with her brother to stay. Suddenly she went into labor. With the birth of her son, she died. Sergei Alexandrovich was inconsolable, blaming himself for everything that happened.
He took an active part in nursing Dmitry Pavlovich, who was born seven months old: he wrapped the newborn in cotton wool, put him in a cradle, warmed by bottles of hot water (incubators were a rarity then). I personally bathed the baby in special broth baths, as recommended by doctors. And the child managed to come out!
Subsequently, Sergei Alexandrovich dealt a lot with the fate of Dmitry and his older sister Maria. He always invited them for the summer to Ilyinskoye or to his second estate Usovo and made every effort to make them feel at home there. When Pavel Alexandrovich entered into a morganatic marriage with Madame Pistolkors and was therefore removed from the empire, Sergei Alexandrovich and his wife became the adoptive parents of Dmitry and Maria.
Maria Pavlovna writes that even before, when they came only for the summer, Sergei Alexandrovich always looked forward to their arrival. Maria Pavlovna remembered him standing on the balcony of his house and smiling joyfully as their carriage approached. “In the twilight of the lobby, where it was cool and smelled pleasantly of flowers, my uncle gently embraced us in his arms: “Finally, you are here!” (from the memoirs of Maria Pavlovna).
The last entry in the Grand Duke's diary on the eve of his murder was an entry about Dmitry and Maria:
“... read to children. They were delighted with yesterday’s opera.”

"Damned" question

Sergei Alexandrovich set out to resolve the “damned” labor issue for Russia at that time. He made every effort to improve the lives of workers, seeing the need, first of all, to organize mutual aid societies. Workers were given the opportunity to legally submit their grievances to employers. And if their demands are not met, send your protest directly to government agencies. Neither more nor less - to the police! It was an amazing time. Police officials under the leadership of S.V. Zubatov, the Grand Duke's closest assistant, considered workers' complaints, and the factory owners reluctantly rushed to satisfy them. A large Moscow factory owner, Yuliy Guzhon, who did not want to fulfill the fair demands of his workers, received a police order to leave Russia within 48 hours and retire to his native France.
Workers' mutual aid societies were created with the indispensable participation of priests and turned to the ideals of the Gospel. These were a kind of Christian trade unions. In February 1902, student riots occurred in Moscow, and the revolution was approaching. But on February 19, 1902, on the day of the liberation of the peasants, Sergei Alexandrovich, together with Zubatov, organized a 50,000-strong patriotic workers’ demonstration with the laying of wreaths at the monument to the Tsar Liberator in the Kremlin.

Khodynka

Bogoslovsky also noted that “when the famous disaster happened on the Khodynskoye Field,” the responsibility was shifted to Sergei Alexandrovich - “maybe unfairly.”
Let us remember that after the tragedy, the victims were visited in hospitals by Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, as well as separately from them Maria Feodorovna. Most of the wounded said that only they themselves were “to blame for everything” and asked for forgiveness for “ruining the holiday.”
According to the memoirs of Tolstoyan V. Krasnov, on the eve of the ill-fated holiday, people excited themselves with rumors that the next day fountains of wine and beer would flow directly from the ground, strange animals and other miracles would appear. By morning, the general mood suddenly changed to “embarrassed,” as Krasnov put it, even “brutal.” People rushed to the gifts to get home quickly, and a deadly stampede occurred.

Last days

On January 1, 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich resigned, but continued to command the Moscow Military District and remained dangerous for revolutionaries. A real hunt was opened for him. Every day Sergei Alexandrovich received threatening notes. Without showing it to anyone, he tore them to shreds. While living in Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei and Elizaveta Feodorovna loved to stay at the Neskuchny Palace. According to the tradition established in their family, on the night of December 31 to January 1, 1905, on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, the All-Night Vigil and Liturgy were served here. Everyone received Holy Communion of Christ. On the evening of January 9, the grand ducal couple was forced to move to the Kremlin, from where Sergei Alexandrovich invariably went to the governor general’s house every day. Knowing that an assassination attempt was being prepared, he stopped taking his adjutant with him, and ordered the police escort to stay at a safe distance from his crew. On February 4, at normal times, the Grand Duke rode out in a carriage from the gates of the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin - and was torn apart by the “infernal machine” abandoned by the terrorist Ivan Kalyaev.

The stretcher, on which Elizaveta Feodorovna, distraught with grief, collected the remains of her husband, was brought to the Alekseevsky Church of the Chudov Monastery. It was here that little Sergei once defended his episcopal service.
Praying at the torn body of the Grand Duke, Elizaveta Feodorovna felt that Sergei seemed to be expecting something from her. Then, gathering her courage, she went to the prison where Kalyaev was imprisoned, and brought him forgiveness on behalf of Sergei, leaving the prisoner with the Gospel.
The funeral service was held on February 10. Of Sergei Alexandrovich’s relatives, only Elizaveta Feodorovna, K.R., Pavel Alexandrovich and his children were present.

Precious cover

Sergei Alexandrovich was involved in church charity a lot. His last gift to the Russian Church was a precious cover for the relics of Tsarevich Demetrius. Once upon a time, shortly after taking office as Moscow governor-general, Sergei Alexandrovich was in Uglich and took part in the celebrations on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the martyrdom of the prince. In the Church on the Blood, he struck the famous alarm bell, which once announced to the people of Uglich about the death of the prince. Now the Lord judged that the great prince himself should receive the crown of martyrdom. His death was deeply sacrificial. Elizaveta Feodorovna wrote to Emperor Nicholas II on April 7, 1910: “My dear... Sergei joyfully died for you and for his homeland. Two days before his death, he said how willingly he would shed his blood if he could help it.”

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich is the son of Tsar-Liberator Alexander II, brother of Tsar-Peacemaker Alexander III, uncle of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas II. One of the most tragic characters on the eve of the Russian catastrophe, a man of complex, dramatic fate, misunderstood and even slandered both during his lifetime and posthumously. An ascetic of the Orthodox Church and the first of the martyrs of the Imperial House in the 20th century. For about 14 years he served as Moscow Governor-General. The Grand Duke was the patron, head or honorary member of many public, charitable, scientific and cultural institutions, supporting numerous initiatives aimed at strengthening and developing morality, spirituality, and enlightenment in Moscow. He was Chairman of the State Historical Museum, head of the Committee for the creation of the Museum of Fine Arts (now the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts), and headed the Imperial Palestine Society.

It seems that justice - both historical and heavenly - should soon be restored. The name of the Grand Duke should stand in our Church next to the name of his holy wife - Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna. With this publication we want to pay tribute to the memory of the Grand Duke and his life’s feat, and serve to bring closer the moment of his glorification.

The history of Russia in recent centuries is incomprehensibly connected with the mysterious apostolic word about holding now: For the mystery of iniquity is already in action, only it will not be completed until the one who now restrains is taken out of the way.(2 Thess. 2:7). These words are about Russia, about the Orthodox Russian people. And about its great Orthodox autocrats, who were the first to take the blow directed against the faith and the Fatherland. They held it. It became more and more difficult to contain lawlessness and prevent it from rampant in the world. Only Russia, with its Orthodox way of life, with its material power and geopolitical position, alone was then able to “hold.”

Vow

The birth of the Grand Duke was preceded by an unusual event. In September 1856, after his coronation, his father Alexander II and his wife Maria Alexandrovna visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and, independently of each other, secretly promised before the relics of St. Sergius: if they had a boy, they would name him Sergei.

The boy was born the next year.

In honor of this event, the Muscovite preached a special sermon. The saint said that the birth of the Grand Duke was “a sign for good,” a sign of God’s blessing for the reign that had just begun. Sergei Alexandrovich was already the seventh child in the family, but he was the first to be born porphyritic - after his father’s accession to the throne. The fate of such a “vowed” royal child promised to be unusual.

When the boy was seven years old, Lieutenant Commander D.S. was appointed his teacher. Arsenyev. “Sergiy Alexandrovich was a kind, extremely warm-hearted and sympathetic child, tenderly attached to his parents and especially to his mother, to his sister and younger brother; he played a lot and interestingly and, thanks to his vivid imagination, his games were smart,” recalled D.S. Arsenyev.

From an early age, Grand Duke Sergei well mastered such concepts as duty, honor, and loyalty.

Grand Duke Sergei was born on April 29, 1857, and from an early age he well mastered such concepts as duty, honor, and loyalty. And from the very beginning, throughout his life he carried a sense of responsibility for the name given to him, the name received by the prince according to the vow of his parents, as a sign of their hope for the intercession of the Radonezh miracle worker on the threshold of a new historical path for Russia.

Along with this road, the life path of Sergei Alexandrovich himself began. And gradually walking along it, always and everywhere - during the years of study and moral growth, on the front of the Russian-Turkish War, where he proved himself to be a real hero and was awarded the St. George Cross, while commanding the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment - he never stopped checking with those value guidelines that constituted his credo. He saw Russian autocracy as one of the tenets of faith of the Russian people, deviation from which was equated to sacrilege. Honest service, obedience to the law, reverence for God and love for the Motherland - these are the components of Russian statehood, understood by the Grand Duke as Divine permission.

The basis of Sergei's worldview is Orthodoxy. He retained the deep, sincere faith instilled in him since childhood throughout his life, setting an example of Christian humility, piety and fidelity to the Russian Church.

Parents

The Grand Duke was convinced that liberalism was closely related to the damage to morality

The Grand Duke was firmly convinced that liberalism in politics is closely related to the damage to morality. He saw proof of this in his parents' family. His father, the initiator of great reforms and, according to Sergei Alexandrovich, a Westerner and liberal, was unfaithful to his wife. For 14 years, he cheated on her with another woman - maid of honor Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, who bore him three children. Rejection of his father’s actions became especially acute after the difficult, truly martyr’s death of Maria Alexandrovna. The Empress suffered from a severe form of tuberculosis. 45 days after her death, Alexander II married Dolgoruky...

When in 1865, eight-year-old Sergei and his mother came to Moscow for rest and treatment, he surprised everyone by asking, instead of entertainment, to show him a bishop's service in the Kremlin and stood through the entire service in the Alekseevsky Church of the Chudov Monastery.

When she died, Sergei Alexandrovich experienced a severe shock.

Sergei Aleksandrovich explained his father’s betrayal by his passion for Western (liberal) ideas alien to Russia. Westernistic upbringing seemed to push Emperor Alexander II both to carry out liberal reforms and to commit adultery. The ill-fated wedding with Dolgoruka (which Sergei learned about only from Admiral Arsenyev and almost six months later) occurred at the same time when the tsar finally matured his intention to introduce a constitution in Russia. All this together - according to the conviction of the Grand Duke - led his father to a tragic death! On March 1, 1881, the Tsar was killed.

Under the influence of everything that happened in 1880, Sergei Alexandrovich developed the firm conviction that only adherence to the historical and spiritual tradition, loyalty to Orthodoxy and autocracy can save both an individual and a country from moral and political destruction.

Naturally, because of such views, Sergei Alexandrovich made many enemies for himself in the “advanced” Russian society, gripped by liberal and even revolutionary sentiments.

Narrowed

There is something predestined in the union of Sergei Alexandrovich with Elizaveta Fedorovna - the princess from Hesse-Darmstadt, the future Russian saint. It was as if they were destined in advance - narrowed- each other. Sergei Alexandrovich knew Ella from birth. And... even earlier.

In a few months, Alice's daughter will see the light of day and will be named Elizabeth (diminutive Ella). A year later, Sergei Alexandrovich will see her for the first time. Subsequently, he will be in Darmstadt more than once, and Ella will be imbued with sincere sympathy for him. His nobility and chivalry, sincere and truthful character will seriously charm and captivate her. When in 1883 the shy Sergei decided to propose to her, she would be truly happy. In her twentieth year, Princess Elizabeth became the bride of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Before this, all applicants for her hand were refused. From her early youth, she gave her heart to the Grand Duke when he came to them and stayed for months with his mother, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Sergei and Ella were unusually suited to each other. They had similar interests. Parting for even one day was a grave punishment for both. They were united by a living Christian feeling, a desire to help their neighbor. That compassion, active participation in the life of their neighbor, which Elizaveta Fedorovna saw in her family, what mother Alice taught them and her sisters - everything found support and development in the new environment, among the Romanovs.

Already in the Ilyinsky estate near Moscow (bequeathed to Sergei by his mother), where the young couple spent their honeymoon, they set up a maternity shelter together. They tried as best they could to improve peasant life. And they were the recipients of many peasant babies.

Seeing the high spiritual mood of Sergei Alexandrovich, Elizaveta Fedorovna in 1891 decided to convert from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy. Could the Grand Duke have known that he would raise a new saint for the Orthodox Church? “It would be a sin,” she wrote to her father, “to remain as I am now - to belong to the same church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe like my husband... My soul belongs entirely to religion here... I so strongly wish to partake of the Holy Mysteries with my husband on Easter. This may seem sudden to you, but I have been thinking about this for so long, and now, finally, I cannot put it off. My conscience doesn’t allow me to do this.”

Confession in the Garden of Gethsemane

Three years before this letter, Elizaveta Fedorovna visited the Holy Land with her husband. Sergei Alexandrovich himself made his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land after the death of his father, in 1881. That trip made a deep impression on him. He fell in love with Palestine forever. Having learned about the plight of Russian pilgrims, about how much trouble they had to endure from local residents and the Turkish authorities, Grand Duke Sergei set out to help them and in 1882 founded the Orthodox Palestine (from 1889 - Imperial) Society. Thanks to the assistance of this society, thousands of Russian people of various classes were able to visit the Holy Land without hindrance. The trip cost 38 rubles. (back and forth) and became available even to peasants. In addition, “Palestinian society in Palestine began to build, restore and support Orthodox churches. It opened clinics, schools, outpatient clinics and hospitals. Outpatient clinics in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem received up to 60 thousand patients annually; they were provided with free medicine,” writes a modern researcher, priest Afanasy Gumerov.

In 1888, the grand ducal couple came to Palestine to consecrate the Church of Mary Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane. This temple was erected at the expense of Alexander III and his brothers in memory of their mother Maria Alexandrovna. After the consecration ceremony, Elizaveta Feodorovna admitted that she would like to be buried here. In 1918, the Lord will fulfill this desire of hers.

Merciful couple

Immediately after taking up his new position in 1891, Grand Duke Sergei drew the attention of Moscow Metropolitan Ioannikis to how many children in the capital were left without parental care. In April of the following year, the Elizabethan Society for the Care of Children was opened in the Governor General's house on Tverskaya. 220 community committees began to operate under 11 city deaneries, and nurseries and orphanages were organized everywhere. Already at the end of April, the first nursery for 15 infants was opened in the parish of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Stoleshniki, taken under the special patronage of Grand Duke Sergei. Both spouses helped all the new nurseries and gardens. Personalized scholarships were established for the poorest children. Upon his assumption of the post of Governor-General, Sergei Alexandrovich donated a huge amount for those times - five thousand rubles - for the benefit of the poor people of the capital.

He also continues to help in the construction of monuments and museums. His philanthropic activities deserve special mention. When a museum of fine arts began to be created in Moscow, on Volkhonka (the current Pushkin Museum), the Grand Duke not only headed the committee for its organization, but also, together with his brother Pavel Alexandrovich, assumed the costs of building the Parthenon Hall. Contemporaries “gave due admiration to this Doric style hall,” wrote the founder of the museum, I. V. Tsvetaev, in 1908, when Sergei Alexandrovich was no longer alive. “It turned out to be a good monument to the late benefactor of the museum.” The founder of the museum is echoed by his daughter, the great poetess Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva. “We, children, always heard the word “museum” surrounded by names: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Nechaev-Maltsev... The first is understandable, because the Grand Duke was a patron of the arts,” we find in her autobiographical prose.

"Damned" question

He made every effort to improve the lives of workers

Workers' mutual aid societies were created with the indispensable participation of priests and turned to the ideals of the Gospel. These were a kind of Christian trade unions.

Moscow University professor M.M., who did not participate in the endeavors of Grand Duke Sergei and, in general, was skeptical of him. Bogoslovsky, in his memoirs, was forced to admit that Sergei Aleksandrovich was still “full of the best intentions,” and his “unopenness and inhospitability,” perhaps, “came only from shyness.” In addition, the professor noted: “I had to hear that he finally destroyed the last remnants of the former massacre customary in the Moscow troops, strictly pursuing any fist reprisals against soldiers.”

Khodynka disaster

The Khodynka disaster put him in a very difficult position. But what really was Sergei Alexandrovich’s guilt? It is important to note that the organization of the folk festival on Khodynka Field was entrusted to the Ministry of the Court, and it was removed from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Governor-General. The same ministry also took responsibility for maintaining order at the site of the celebration. But order was by no means ensured: during the distribution of royal gifts, a terrible stampede occurred, in which over a thousand people alone died.

Let us recall that after the tragedy, the victims were visited in hospitals by Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna, as well as, separately from them, Maria Fedorovna. Most of the wounded said that only they themselves were “to blame for everything” and asked for forgiveness for “ruining the holiday.”

Last days

On January 1, 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich resigned, but continued to command the Moscow Military District and remained dangerous for revolutionaries. A real hunt was opened for him. Every day Sergei Alexandrovich received threatening notes. Without showing it to anyone, he tore them to shreds. While living in Moscow, Grand Duke Sergei and Elizaveta Feodorovna loved to stay at the Neskuchny Palace. According to the tradition established in their family, on the night of December 31 to January 1, 1905, on the day of memory of St. Basil the Great, an all-night vigil and liturgy were served here. Everyone received Holy Communion of Christ. On the evening of January 9, the grand ducal couple was forced to move to the Kremlin, from where Sergei Alexandrovich invariably went to the governor general’s house every day. Knowing that an assassination attempt was being prepared, he stopped taking his adjutant with him, and ordered the police escort to stay at a safe distance from his crew. On February 4, at normal times, the Grand Duke rode out in a carriage from the gates of the Nikolskaya Tower of the Kremlin - and was torn apart by the “hellish machine” abandoned by the terrorist Ivan Kalyaev.

Knowing that an assassination attempt was being prepared, he stopped taking his adjutant with him.

The stretcher, on which Elizaveta Fedorovna, distraught with grief, collected her husband’s remains with her own hands, was brought to the Alekseevsky Church of the Chudov Monastery. It was here that little Sergei once defended his episcopal service.

Praying at the torn body of the Grand Duke, Elizaveta Fedorovna felt that Sergei seemed to be expecting something from her. Then, gathering her courage, she went to the prison where Kalyaev was imprisoned, and brought him forgiveness on behalf of her husband, leaving the prisoner with the Gospel.

In 1905, after Sergei Alexandrovich tragically died, torn apart by a bomb from the terrorist Kalyaev, his wife, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna, agreed to take the post of Chairman of the IOPS.

On July 18, 1918, Elizaveta Fedorovna was thrown into a mine near Alapaevsk. In 1992, she was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church. Currently, the relics of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna rest in the Church of Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem.

On April 2, 1908, at the site of the death of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, a monument was erected - a cross, built with voluntary donations from the 5th Grenadier Regiment, whose chief during his lifetime was the deceased. The cross was made according to the design of the artist V. Vasnetsov; on the cross, at the suggestion of Elizaveta Fedorovna, the Gospel stanza was imprinted: Father, let them go, they don’t know what they’re doing(Luke 23, 34). After the revolution, the cross was destroyed, and on May 1, 1918, during a cleanup day, Lenin personally threw it off the pedestal with a rope. Now a copy of this cross is installed in the Novospassky Monastery, where in 1995 the remains of Grand Duke Sergei were solemnly transferred. The tombstone of Prince Sergei is located in the lower church - in the name of St. Roman Sladkopevets.

It is known that the monastery has already begun to record cases of healings associated with the name of Sergei Alexandrovich. For example, a woman who suffered from eczema on her hands for 15 years testified that she received healing when she sorted out the personal belongings of the Grand Duke, found at his burial site.

The abbot of the Novospassky Monastery, Archbishop Alexy of Orekhovo-Zuevsky, notes that “The Grand Duke was killed because he served Russia faithfully.” He did not rule out the possibility that “Sergei Romanov will be glorified as a saint.” The Russian Church Abroad has already canonized this outstanding statesman and public figure.

It is generally accepted that the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke were in a “white marriage” (that is, they lived like brother and sister). This is not true: they dreamed of children, especially Sergei Alexandrovich. It is generally accepted that Elizaveta Feodorovna was a meek and quiet angel. And that's not true. Her strong-willed character and business qualities made themselves felt since childhood. They said that the Grand Duke was vicious and had unconventional inclinations - again, this was not true. Even the all-powerful British intelligence did not find anything more “reprehensible” in his behavior than excessive religiosity.

Today, the personality of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov either remains in the shadow of his great wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna, or is vulgarized, as, for example, in the film “State Councilor,” where the Governor-General of Moscow appears as a very unpleasant type. Meanwhile, it was largely thanks to the Grand Duke that Elizaveta Fedorovna became what we know her: “Great Mother”, “Guardian Angel of Moscow”.

Slandered during his lifetime, almost forgotten after death, Sergei Alexandrovich deserves to be rediscovered. The man through whose efforts Russian Palestine appeared, and Moscow became an exemplary city; a man who all his life bore the cross of an incurable disease and the cross of endless slander; and a Christian who took communion up to three times a week - with the general practice of doing this once a year at Easter, for whom faith in Christ was the core of his life. “God grant me to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” wrote Elizaveta Fedorovna after his murder...
Our story is about the story of the great love of Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich, as well as the history of lies about them.

The name of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov is pronounced today, as a rule, only in connection with the name of his wife, the Venerable Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna. She truly was an outstanding woman with an extraordinary destiny, but Prince Sergei, who remained in her shadow, turns out to have played first fiddle in this family. More than once they tried to denigrate their marriage, call it lifeless or fictitious, in the end, unhappy, or, on the contrary, idealized it. But these attempts are unconvincing. After the death of her husband, Elizaveta Feodorovna burned her diaries, but the diaries and letters of Sergei Alexandrovich were preserved, they allow us to look into the life of this exceptional family, carefully protected from prying eyes.

NOT SO SIMPLE BRIDE

The decision to marry was made at a difficult time for Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich: in the summer of 1880, his mother, Maria Alexandrovna, whom he adored, died, and less than a year later, a bomb from Narodnaya Volya member Ignatius Grinevitsky ended the life of his father, Emperor Alexander II. The time has come for him to remember the words of his teacher, maid of honor Anna Tyutcheva, who wrote to the young prince: “By your nature, you should be married, you suffer alone.” Sergei Alexandrovich really had the unfortunate tendency to delve into himself and engage in self-criticism. He needed a loved one... And he found such a person.

1884 Ella is one of the most beautiful brides in Europe. Sergei is one of the most eligible bachelors, the fifth son of Emperor Alexander II the Liberator. Judging by the diaries, they first met when the Grand Duchess of Hesse and Rhine Alice-Maude-Mary, wife of Ludwig IV, was in the last months of pregnancy with the future wife of the Grand Duke. A photograph has been preserved where she sits with the Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna, who came to Darmstadt, and her seven-year-old son Sergei. When the Russian crowned family returned to Russia from their trip to Europe, they again visited relatives in Darmstadt, and the little Grand Duke was allowed to be present at the bathing of the newborn Ella, his future wife.

Why Sergei made a choice in favor of Elizabeth escaped the attention of his family and educators. But the choice was made! And although Ella and Sergei both had doubts, in the end, in 1883, their engagement was announced to the world. “I gave my consent without hesitation,” Ella’s father, Grand Duke Ludwig IV, said then. — I have known Sergei since childhood; I see his sweet, pleasant manners and I’m sure that he will make my daughter happy.”

The son of the Russian emperor married a provincial German duchess! This is the usual view of this brilliant couple - and also a myth. The Darmstadt duchesses were not so simple. Elizabeth and Alexandra (who became the last Russian empress) are the granddaughters of Queen Victoria, from the age of 18 until her death in old age, the permanent ruler of Great Britain (Empress of India from 1876!), a person of strict morality and the iron grip with which Britain achieved its heyday The official title of Elizabeth Feodorovna, which passed to all Hessian princesses, was Duchess of Great Britain and the Rhine: they belonged, no more and no less, to the family that at that time ruled a third of the land. And this title - according to all the rules of etiquette - was inherited from their mother, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the daughter of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.
Thus, the Romanovs became related to the British crown thanks to Alice of Hesse - like her mother Victoria, an unusually strong woman: having married a German duke, Alice was forced to face the fastidiousness of the Germans, who were not very willing to accept the English princess. Nevertheless, she once headed parliament for nine months; launched extensive charitable activities - the almshouses she founded operate in Germany to this day. Ella also inherited her acumen, and subsequently her character will make itself felt.
In the meantime, Elizabeth of Darmstadt, although an extremely noble and educated, but somewhat flighty and impressionable young lady, discusses shops and beautiful trinkets. Preparations for her wedding with Sergei Alexandrovich were kept in the strictest confidence, and in the summer of 1884, the nineteen-year-old Hessian princess arrived in the capital of the Russian Empire on a train decorated with flowers.

“HE OFTEN TREATED HER LIKE A SCHOOL TEACHER...”

In public, Elizaveta Feodorovna and Sergei Alexandrovich were, first of all, high-ranking persons, they headed societies and committees, and their human relations, their mutual love and affection were kept secret. Sergei Alexandrovich made every effort to ensure that the internal life of the family did not become public knowledge: he had many ill-wishers. From the letters we know more than the Romanov contemporaries could know.

“He told me about his wife, admired her, praised her. He thanks God every hour for his happiness,” recalls Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich, his relative and close friend. The Grand Duke really adored his wife - he loved to give her extraordinary jewelry, give her small gifts with or without any reason. Treating her strictly at times, in her absence he could not praise Elizabeth enough. As one of his nieces (future Queen Maria of Romania) recalls, “my uncle was often harsh with her, as with everyone else, but he worshiped her beauty. He often treated her like a school teacher. I saw the delicious flush of shame that washed over her face when he scolded her. “But, Serge...” she exclaimed then, and the expression on her face was like the face of a student caught in some mistake.”

“I felt how Sergei desired this moment; and I knew many times that he suffered from it. He was a real angel of kindness. How often could he, by touching my heart, lead me to a change of religion in order to make himself happy; and he never, never complained... Let people shout about me, but just never say a word against my Sergei. Take his side before them and tell them that I adore him, as well as my new country, and that in this way I have learned to love their religion ... "

From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her brother Ernest about changing religion

Contrary to the rumors spread at the time, it was a truly happy marriage. On the day of the tenth anniversary of their married life, which occurred at the height of the Russo-Japanese War, the prince wrote in his diary: “In the morning I’m in church, my wife is in the warehouse*. Lord, why am I so happy?” (A donation warehouse for the benefit of soldiers, organized with the assistance of Elizabeth Feodorovna: clothes were sewn there, bandages were prepared, parcels were collected, camp churches were formed. - Ed.)

Their life was truly a service with the maximum dedication of all their strength and abilities, but we will have time to talk about this.
What is she? In a letter to her brother Ernest, Ella calls her husband “a real angel of kindness.”

The Grand Duke became in many ways a teacher to his wife, very gentle and unobtrusive. Being 7 years older, he is really involved in her education to a large extent, teaching her Russian language and culture, introducing her to Paris, showing her Italy and taking her on a trip to the Holy Land. And, judging by the diaries, the Grand Duke did not stop praying, hoping that someday his wife would share with him the main thing in his life - his faith and the Sacraments of the Orthodox Church, to which he belonged with all his soul.

“After 7 long years of our happy married life<…>we must start a completely new life and leave our comfortable family life in the city. We will have to do so much for the people there, and in reality we will play the role of a ruling prince there, which will be very difficult for us, since instead of playing such a role, we are eager to lead a quiet private life.

From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to her father, the Grand Duke of Hesse, about the appointment of her husband to the post of Governor General of Moscow

Extraordinary religiosity is a trait that distinguished the Grand Duke from childhood. When seven-year-old Sergei was brought to Moscow and asked: what would you like? — he replied that his most cherished desire was to attend the bishop’s service in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin.

Subsequently, when as an adult young man he met Pope Leo XIII during a trip to Italy, he was amazed at the Grand Duke’s knowledge of church history - and even ordered to open the archives to check the facts voiced by Sergei Alexandrovich. Entries in his diaries always began and ended with the words: “Lord, have mercy,” “Lord, bless.” He himself decided what church utensils should be brought to the consecration of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane (also his brainchild) - brilliantly knowing both the divine service and all its paraphernalia! And, by the way, Sergei Alexandrovich was the first and only of the great princes of the Romanov dynasty who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land three times during his life. Moreover, he dared to do the first through Beirut, which was extremely difficult and far from safe. And the second time he took his wife with him, who was still a Protestant at that time...

“BEING THE SAME FAITH WITH YOUR SPOUSE IS RIGHT”

In their family estate Ilyinsky, where Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna spent the happiest days of their lives, starting with their honeymoon, a temple has been preserved, and now it is operating again. According to legend, it was here that the then Protestant Ella attended her first Orthodox service.
Due to her status, Elizaveta Fedorovna did not have to change her religion. 7 years would pass after her marriage before she wrote: “My heart belongs to Orthodoxy.” Evil tongues said that Elizaveta Fedorovna was actively pushed to accept the new faith by her husband, under whose unconditional influence she was always. But, as the Grand Duchess herself wrote to her father, her husband “never tried to force me by any means, leaving all this entirely to my conscience.” All he did was gently and delicately introduce her to his faith. And the princess herself approached this issue very seriously, studying Orthodoxy, looking at it very carefully.

Having finally made a decision, Ella first writes to her influential grandmother Queen Victoria - they have always been on good terms. The wise grandmother replies: “Being with your spouse of the same faith is right.” Her father did not accept Elizaveta Fedorovna’s decision so favorably, although it is difficult to imagine a more affectionate and tactful tone and more sincere words with which Ella begged the “dear Pope” for his blessing on the decision to convert to Orthodoxy:

“... I kept thinking and reading and praying to God to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God that a person must have in order to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband ‹…› I so strongly wish for Easter to partake of the Holy Mysteries together with my husband..."
Duke Ludwig IV did not answer his daughter, but she could not go against her conscience, although she admitted: “I know that there will be many unpleasant moments, since no one will understand this step.” So, to the indescribable happiness of the spouse, the day came when they were able to take communion together. And the third, last in his life, trip to the Holy Land had already been made together - in every sense.

90 SOCIETIES OF THE GRAND DUKE

The Grand Duke was one of the initiators of the creation and, until his death, the chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, without which today it is impossible to imagine the history of Russian pilgrimage to the Holy Land! Having become the head of the Society in the 1880s, he managed to open 8 farmsteads of the Russian Orthodox Church in Palestine, 100 schools where Arab children were taught the Russian language and introduced to Orthodoxy, and built a church of Mary Magdalene in honor of his mother - this is an incomplete list of his deeds, and All this was carried out quite subtly and cunningly. So, sometimes the prince allocated money for construction without waiting for permitting documentation to be issued, and somehow avoided many obstacles. There is even an assumption that his appointment in 1891 as Governor-General of Moscow was a cunning political intrigue invented by the intelligence services of dissatisfied England and France - who would like Russia’s “rule” in the territory of their colonies? - and had as its goal the removal of the prince from affairs in the Holy Land. Be that as it may, these calculations did not come true: the prince, it seems, only redoubled his efforts!
It’s hard to imagine how active the couple were, how much they managed to do during their generally short life! He headed or was a trustee of about 90 societies, committees and other organizations, and found time to take part in the life of each of them. Here are just a few: Moscow Architectural Society, Ladies' Guardianship of the Poor in Moscow, Moscow Philharmonic Society, Committee for the Construction of the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III at Moscow University, Moscow Archaeological Society. He was an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Arts, the Society of Artists of Historical Painting, Moscow and St. Petersburg Universities, the Society of Agriculture, the Society of Natural History Lovers, the Russian Musical Society, the Archaeological Museum in Constantinople and the Historical Museum in Moscow, the Moscow Theological Academy, the Orthodox Missionary Society, Department of distribution of spiritual and moral books.
Since 1896, Sergei Alexandrovich has been commander of the Moscow Military District. He is also the chairman of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum. On his initiative, the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka was created - the Grand Duke laid six of his own collections as the basis for its exhibition.

“Why do I always feel deeply? Why am I not like everyone else, not cheerful like everyone else? I delve into everything to the point of stupidity and see differently - I myself am ashamed that I am so old-fashioned and cannot be, like all the “golden youth,” cheerful and carefree.”

From the diary of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich

Having become governor-general of Moscow in 1891 - and this meant taking care not only of Moscow, but also of the ten adjacent provinces - he launched incredible activities, setting out to make the city equal to European capitals. Under him, Moscow became exemplary: clean, neat paving stones, policemen stationed within sight of each other, all utilities working perfectly, order everywhere and in everything. Under him, electric street lighting was established - the central city power plant was built, the GUM was erected, the Kremlin towers were restored, a new building of the Conservatory was built; under him, the first tram began to run along the capital, the first public theater opened, and the city center was put in perfect order.
The charity that Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna were involved in was neither ostentatious nor superficial. “A ruler must be a blessing to his people,” Ella’s father often repeated, and he himself and his wife, Alice of Hesse, tried to follow this principle. From an early age, their children were taught to help people, regardless of rank - for example, every week they went to the hospital, where they gave flowers to seriously ill people and encouraged them. This became part of their blood and flesh; the Romanovs raised their children in exactly the same way.
Even while relaxing on their Ilyinsky estate near Moscow, Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna continued to accept requests for help, for employment, for donations for the education of orphans - all this was preserved in the correspondence of the manager of the Grand Duke’s court with various people. One day a letter arrived from the girls-compositors of a private printing house, who dared to ask to be allowed to sing at the Liturgy in Ilyinsky in the presence of the Grand Duke and Princess. And this request was fulfilled.
In 1893, when cholera was raging in Central Russia, a temporary first-aid post was opened in Ilyinsky, where everyone in need of help was examined and, if necessary, urgently operated on, where peasants could stay in a special “isolation hut” - like in a hospital. The first aid post existed from July to October. This is a classic example of the kind of ministry that the couple spent their entire lives doing.

"WHITE MARRIAGE" THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN

It is generally accepted that Sergei and Elizabeth deliberately entered into a so-called “white marriage”: they decided not to have children, but to devote themselves to serving God and people. Memoirs of loved ones and diaries indicate otherwise.
“How I would like to have children! For me there would be no greater heaven on earth if I had my own children,” Sergei Alexandrovich writes in his letters. A letter from Emperor Alexander III to his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna, has been preserved, where he writes: “What a pity that Ella and Sergei cannot have children.” “Of all the uncles, we were most afraid of Uncle Sergei, but despite this, he was our favorite,” Prince Maria’s niece recalls in her diaries. “He was strict, he kept us in awe, but he loved children... If he had the opportunity, he came to supervise the children’s bathing, cover them with a blanket and kiss them good night...”

The Grand Duke was given the opportunity to raise children - but not his own, but his brother Paul, after the tragic death of his wife, the Greek princess Alexandra Georgievna, during premature birth. The owners of the estate, Sergei and Elizaveta, were direct witnesses to the six-day agony of the unfortunate woman. Heartbroken, Pavel Alexandrovich, for several months after the tragedy, was unable to care for his children - young Maria and newborn Dmitry, and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich completely took upon himself this care. He canceled all plans and trips and stayed in Ilyinsky, participated in bathing the newborn - who, by the way, should not have survived according to the unanimous opinion of the doctors - he himself covered him with cotton wool, did not sleep at night, taking care of the little prince. It is interesting that in his diary Sergei Alexandrovich recorded all the important events in the life of his ward: the first erupted tooth, the first word, the first step. And after brother Pavel, against the will of the emperor, married a woman who did not belong to an aristocratic family and was expelled from Russia, his children, Dmitry and Maria, were finally taken into the care of Sergei and Elizabeth.

Why the Lord did not give the spouses their own children is His mystery. Researchers suggest that the childlessness of the grand ducal couple could be a consequence of Sergei’s serious illness, which he carefully hid from those around him. This is another little-known page in the prince’s life, which completely changes the usual ideas about him for many.

WHY DOES HE NEED A CORSET?

Coldness of character, isolation, closedness - the usual list of accusations against the Grand Duke.
To this they also add: proud! - because of his overly straight posture, which gave him an arrogant appearance. If only the prince’s accusers knew that the “culprit” of his proud posture was the corset with which he was forced to support his spine all his life. The prince was seriously and terminally ill, like his mother, like his brother Nikolai Alexandrovich, who was supposed to become the Russian emperor, but died from a terrible illness. Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich knew how to hide his diagnosis - bone tuberculosis, leading to dysfunction of all joints. Only his wife knew what it cost him.
“Sergei is suffering a lot. He's not feeling well again. He really needs salts and hot baths, he can’t do without them,” Elizaveta writes to close relatives. “Instead of going to the reception, the Grand Duke took a bath,” the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper scoffed already in pre-revolutionary times. A hot bath is almost the only remedy that relieves pain (joint pain, dental pain) that tormented Sergei Alexandrovich. He could not ride a horse, could not do without a corset. In Ilyinsky, during his mother’s lifetime, a kumys farm was established for medicinal purposes, but the disease progressed over the years. And if it weren’t for the bomb of student Ivan Kalyaev, it is very possible that the Governor General of Moscow would not have lived long anyway...
The Grand Duke was closed, taciturn and withdrawn from childhood. Could one expect anything different from a child whose parents were actually in a divorce, which nevertheless could not take place? Maria Alexandrovna lived on the second floor of the Winter Palace, no longer having marital communication with her husband and enduring the presence of the sovereign’s favorite, Princess Dolgorukova (she became his wife after the death of Maria Alexandrovna, but remained in this status for less than a year, until the death of Alexander II). The collapse of the parental family, the deep attachment to the mother, who meekly endured this humiliation, are factors that largely determined the formation of the character of the little prince.
They are also grounds for slander, rumors and slander against him. “He is overly religious, withdrawn, goes to church very often, takes communion up to three times a week,” this is the most “suspicious” thing that English intelligence was able to find out about the prince before his marriage to Elizabeth, after all - granddaughter of the Queen of England. His reputation is almost impeccable, and yet, even during his lifetime, the Grand Duke was subjected to streams of slander and unflattering accusations...

"BE HAPPY - YOU'RE ON THE BATTLE FIELD"

There was talk about the dissolute lifestyle of the Governor-General of Moscow, rumors were spread around the capital about his unconventional sexual orientation, that Elizaveta Feodorovna was very unhappy in her marriage to him - all this was even heard in English newspapers during the prince’s lifetime. Sergei Alexandrovich was at first lost and perplexed, this can be seen from his diary entries and letters, where he poses one question: “Why? Where does all this come from?!”
“Be patient with all this lifetime slander, be patient—you’re on the battlefield,” Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote to him.
Elizaveta Feodorovna could not avoid attacks and accusations of arrogance and indifference. Of course, there were reasons for this: despite her extensive charitable activities, she always kept her distance, knowing the value of her status as a Grand Duchess - belonging to the imperial house hardly implies familiarity. And her character, which manifested itself from childhood, gave rise to such accusations.
In our eyes, the image of the Grand Duchess, admittedly, is somewhat unctuous: a gentle, meek woman with a humble look. This image was formed, of course, not without reason. “Her purity was absolute, it was impossible to take your eyes off her, after spending the evening with her, everyone looked forward to the hour when they could see her the next day,” her niece Maria admires Aunt Ella. And at the same time, one cannot help but notice that Grand Duchess Elizabeth had a strong-willed character. The mother admitted that Ella was the exact opposite of her older, obedient sister Victoria: very strong and not at all quiet. It is known that Elizabeth spoke very harshly about Grigory Rasputin, believing that his death would be the best way out of the catastrophic and absurd situation that had developed at court.

"...When he saw her<…>, he asked: “Who are you?” “I am his widow,” she replied, “why did you kill him?” “I didn’t want to kill you,” he said, “I saw him several times while I had the bomb ready, but you were with him and I didn’t dare touch him.” “And you didn’t realize that you killed me along with him?” - she answered..."

Description of Elizabeth Feodorovna’s conversation with her husband’s killer from the book by Fr. M. Polsky “New Russian Martyrs”

As they would say today, the Grand Duchess was a first-class manager, meticulously able to organize a business, distribute responsibilities and monitor their implementation. Yes, she behaved somewhat aloof, but at the same time she did not ignore the slightest requests and needs of those who turned to her. There is a known case during the First World War when a wounded officer, who was facing amputation of his leg, submitted a request to reconsider this decision. The petition reached the Grand Duchess and was granted. The officer recovered and subsequently, during World War II, served as Minister of Light Industry.
Of course, Elizaveta Fedorovna’s life changed dramatically after a terrible event - the murder of her beloved husband... A photograph of a carriage destroyed by an explosion was then published in all Moscow newspapers. The explosion was so strong that the heart of the murdered man was found only on the third day on the roof of the house. But the Grand Duchess collected the remains of Sergei with her own hands. Her life, her destiny, her character - everything has changed, but, of course, her entire previous life, full of dedication and activity, was a preparation for this.
“It seemed,” recalled Countess Aleksandra Andreevna Olsufieva, “that from that time on she was peering intently at the image of another world<…>, <она>dedicated to the search for excellence."

"YOU AND I KNOW THAT HE IS A HOLY"

“Lord, I wish I could be worthy of such a death!” - Sergei Alexandrovich wrote in his diary after the death of one of the statesmen from a bomb - a month before his own death. He received threatening letters but ignored them. The only thing the prince did was stop taking his children - Dmitry Pavlovich and Maria Pavlovna - and his adjutant Dzhunkovsky with him on trips.
The Grand Duke foresaw not only his death, but also the tragedy that would overwhelm Russia in a decade. He wrote to Nicholas II, begging him to be more decisive and tough, to act, to take action. And he himself took such measures: in 1905, when an uprising flared up among students, he sent students on an indefinite vacation to their homes, preventing the fire from breaking out. "Hear me!" - he writes and writes in recent years to the Emperor. But the sovereign did not listen...

On February 4, 1905, Sergei Alexandrovich leaves the Kremlin through the Nikolsky Gate. 65 meters before the Nikolskaya Tower a terrible explosion is heard. The coachman was mortally wounded, and Sergei Alexandrovich was torn into pieces: all that was left of him was his head, arm and legs - so the prince was buried, having built a special “doll”, in the Chudov Monastery, in the tomb. At the scene of the explosion, they found his personal belongings that Sergei always carried with him: icons, a cross given by his mother, a small Gospel.

After the tragedy, Elizaveta Fedorovna considered it her duty to continue everything that Sergei did not have time to do, everything into which he invested his mind and irrepressible energy. “I want to be worthy of the leadership of such a husband as Sergius,” she wrote to Zinaida Yusupova shortly after his death. And, probably driven by these thoughts, she went to prison to see her husband’s killer with words of forgiveness and a call to repentance. She worked until exhaustion and, as Countess Olsufieva writes, “always calm and humble, she found strength and time, receiving satisfaction from this endless work.”

It is difficult to say in a few words what the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent of Mercy, founded by the Grand Duchess and which still exists today, has become for the capital. “The Lord gave me so little time,” she writes to Z. Yusupova. “There is still a lot to be done”...

On July 5, 1918, Elizaveta Feodorovna, her cell attendant Varvara (Yakovleva), nephew Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, the sons of Prince Konstantin Konstantinovich - Igor, John and Konstantin, and the manager of the affairs of Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Fyodor Mikhailovich Remez were thrown alive into a mine near Alapaevsk.

The relics of the Grand Duchess rest in the temple that her husband built - the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane, and the remains of the Grand Duke were transferred in 1998 to the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow. She was canonized in the 1990s, and he... It seems that holiness comes in very different forms, and the great - truly great - Prince Sergei Alexandrovich again remained in the shadow of his great wife. Today the commission for his canonization resumed its work. “You and I know that he is a saint,” Elizaveta Fedorovna said in correspondence after her husband’s death. She knew him better than anyone.

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