What memories did Nicholas II and his family leave about life in the Ipatiev House
The history of the Romanov dynasty began in the Ipatiev Monastery, from where Mikhail Romanov was called to the kingdom, and ended in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. On April 30, 1918, the family of Nicholas II entered these doors so that they would never leave them again. After 78 days, the bodies of the last tsar, his wife, four daughters and the heir to the Russian throne were taken out of the basement, where they were shot, in a truck to Ganina pit.
Hundreds of publications are devoted to the history of the execution of the royal family. Ten times less is known about how the crowned spouses and their children spent the last two and a half months before the execution. Historians told the "Russian Planet" what life was like in the House of Special Purpose, as the Bolsheviks called the Ipatiev House in late spring - early summer of 1918.
Household terror
In the requisitioned mansion of the retired military engineer Ipatiev of Emperor Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Maria were brought from Tobolsk. Three more daughters and the heir to the throne, Alexei, joined them later - they waited in Tobolsk until the Tsarevich could get back on his feet after the injury, and arrived at the Ipatiev House only on May 23. Together with the Romanovs, it was also allowed to settle the life-doctor of the royal family Yevgeny Botkin, the chamberlaine Aloisy Trup, the room girl of the Empress Anna Demidova, the senior chef of the imperial kitchen Ivan Kharitonov and the cook Leonid Sednev, who shared their sad fate.
House of Ipatiev. Source: wikipedia.org
“The history of the stay of the family of the last Russian emperor and her entourage in Yekaterinburg is unique in terms of its study in that we can reconstruct events from the memories of both the prisoners themselves and their guards,” historian Stepan Novichikhin tells the RP correspondent. - All 78 days spent in prison in the Ipatiev House, Nicholas II, Maria Feodorovna and the Grand Duchesses, according to the custom established in the royal family, kept diaries. They knew that they could be read at any moment, but they did not hide their thoughts, thus showing their contempt for the jailers. Many of those who held citizen Romanov in custody also left their memories - it was here, in the Ipatiev House, that from now on it was forbidden to address Nicholas II as “Your Majesty”.
The Bolsheviks decided to turn the Ipatiev house into a prison for the citizen Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, as it was now supposed to be called, due to the convenient location of the building. The spacious two-story mansion was located on a hill in the suburbs of Yekaterinburg, the surroundings were clearly visible. The requisitioned house was one of the best in the city - electricity and running water were installed. It remained to build a high double fence around to prevent all attempts to free the prisoners or lynch against them, and to post guards with machine guns.
“Immediately after arriving at the Ipatiev House, the guards conducted a thorough search of all the luggage of the imperial family, which lasted several hours,” historian Ivan Silantyev tells the RP correspondent. - They even opened the bottles with medicines. Nicholas II was so enraged by the mocking search that he lost his temper almost for the first time in his life. This most intelligent of the kings never raised his voice, did not use harsh words. And here he spoke extremely categorically, saying: "Until now, I have dealt with honest and decent people." This search was just the beginning of the systematic humiliation that suffered from a "natural feeling of shame", as Nicholas II wrote.
In Yekaterinburg, the royal prisoners were treated incomparably harsher than in Tobolsk. There they were guarded by the shooters of the former guards regiments, and here - the Red Guards recruited from the former workers of the Sysertsky and Zlokazovsky factories, many of whom went through prisons and hard labor. To take revenge on citizen Romanov, they used all means. The hardships associated with hygiene were the most sensitive for the royal family.
“Nicholas II often notes in his diary whether he managed to take a bath that day or not,” says Stepan Novichikhin. - The inability to wash was extremely painful for a clean emperor. The Grand Duchesses were extremely embarrassed by the need to visit the common water closet, as they called it, under the supervision of guards. Moreover, all the walls of the outhouse were decorated by the guards with cynical drawings and inscriptions on the subject of the empress's relationship with Rasputin. The cleanliness of the earthenware vessel was so questionable that Nicholas II and Dr. Botkin hung a piece of paper on the wall with the inscription "You earnestly ask you to leave the chair as clean as it was occupied." The appeal did not work. Moreover, the guards did not consider it shameful to take a spoon from the dining table and taste food from other people's plates, after which the Romanovs, of course, could not continue the meal. Singing under the windows of obscene ditties and revolutionary songs that shocked the royal family was also among the minor domestic bullying. The windows themselves were whitewashed with lime, after which the rooms became dark and gloomy. The prisoners could not even see the sky.
There were bigger troubles. So, one of the guards shot at Princess Anastasia when she went to the window to get some fresh air. By a happy coincidence, the bullet passed by. The guard said that he was doing his duty - allegedly the girl was trying to give some signs. Although it was obvious that through the high double fence that surrounded the Ipatiev house, no one could see them. They also shot at Nicholas II himself, who stood on the windowsill in order to see the Red Army soldiers marching to the front through the painted-over window. Machine gunner Kabanov recalled with pleasure how, after the shot, Romanov "fell head over heels" from the window sill and did not get up on it again.
With the tacit approval of the first commandant of the Ipatiev House, Alexander Avdeev, the guards stole valuables belonging to the imperial family, rummaged through their personal belongings. Most of the products that were brought to the royal table by novices from the nearby Novo-Tikhvinsky convent ended up on the table of the Red Army.
Only Joy survived
Nicholas II and his relatives perceived all humiliation and mockery with a sense of inner dignity. Ignoring external circumstances, they tried to build a normal life.
Every day the Romanovs gathered between 7 and 8 o'clock in the morning in the living room. We read prayers together, performed spiritual chants. Then the commandant conducted the obligatory daily roll call, and only after that the family received the right to go about their business. Once a day they were allowed a walk in the fresh air, in the garden behind the house. They were allowed to walk for only an hour. When Nicholas II asked why, he was answered: "To make it look like a prison regime."
The former autocrat, in order to keep himself in good physical shape, was happy to chop and saw wood. When allowed, in his arms he carried Tsarevich Alexei for a walk. Weak legs did not hold the sick boy, who again hurt himself and suffered from another attack of hemophilia. His father put him in a special carriage and rolled him around the garden. I collected flowers for my son, tried to entertain him. Sometimes Alexei was carried out into the garden by his older sister Olga. The Tsarevich loved to play with his spaniel named Joy. Three more family members had their own dogs: Maria Feodorovna, Tatiana and Anastasia. All of them were subsequently killed along with the hostesses for raising barks, trying to protect them.
“Only Joy survived,” says Ivan Silantyev. - The morning after the execution, he stood in front of the locked rooms and waited. And when he realized that the doors would no longer open, he howled. He was taken by one of the guards, who took pity on the dog, but Joy soon escaped from him. When Yekaterinburg was captured by the White Czechs, the spaniel was found on Ganina's pit. One of the officers identified him and took him to him. Together with him he went into exile, where he passed on the last living memory of the Romanovs to their English relatives - the family of George V. The dog lived to a ripe old age in Buckingham Palace. Perhaps he became a silent reproach to the British monarch who refused to accept the family of the ousted Russian emperor in 1917, which would have saved their lives.
Nicholas II in prison read a lot: the Gospel, the stories of Leikin, Averchenko, the novels of Apukhtin, "War and Peace" by Tolstoy, "Poshekhonskaya antiquity" by Saltykov-Shchedrin - in general, everything that could be found in the bookcase of the former owner of the house, engineer Ipatiev. In the evenings, he played with his wife and daughters his favorite games - card bezique and trick-track, that is, backgammon. Alexandra Feodorovna, when she could get out of bed, read spiritual literature, painted watercolors, and embroidered. I personally made my husband a haircut so that he looked neat.
The princesses, to relieve boredom, also read a lot, often sang in chorus - mainly spiritual and folk songs. They played solitaire and played the fool. They washed and darned their things. When cleaning women from the city came to the House of Special Purpose to wash the floors, they helped them move the beds, clean the rooms. Then we decided to take lessons from the cook Kharitonov. They themselves kneaded the dough, baked bread. Stingy with praise, the father in his diary assessed the results of their labors in one word - "Not bad!"
“Together with their mother, the Grand Duchesses often“prepared medicines”- this is how Maria Fyodorovna encrypted an attempt to save family jewels in her diary,” continues Ivan Silantyev. “She strove to preserve as many diamonds and gems as possible, which could help bribe the guards or provide a normal life for the family in exile. Together with her daughters, she sewed stones into clothes, belts, hats. Later, during the execution, the mother's thrift will play a cruel joke with the princesses. Precious chain mail, which will transform their dresses as a result, will save the girls from shots. The executioners will have to finish them off with bayonets, which will prolong the torment.
Executioner instead of "bastard"
Observing the life of the imperial family in full dignity, the guards involuntarily imbued them with respect.
- Therefore, it was decided to change the security and appoint a new commandant of the House of Special Purpose. On July 4, when there were only 12 days left until the execution, Yakov Yurovsky came to replace the eternally half-drunk Alexander Avdeev, whom Nicholas II had never used swear words in his diary, Yakov Yurovsky, - says Stepan Novichikhin. - About his predecessor, he wrote with indignation that he gladly accepted cigarettes from the hands of the emperor and smoked with him, respectfully addressing him: "Nikolai Alexandrovich." The Bolsheviks needed a less tolerant commandant who knew no pity. The fanatic Yurovsky was perfect for the role of the jailer and executioner. He replaced the internal security of the House of Special Purpose with Latvian riflemen, who did not understand Russian well and were famous for their cruelty. They all worked for the Cheka.
With the advent of Yurovsky, who brought strict order, the life of the family of Nicholas II even improved for some time. The stern commandant put an end to the theft of food and personal belongings of the imperial family, sealed chests and jewelry. However, the Romanovs soon realized that Yurovsky's fanatical adherence to principles did not bode well. When a lattice was installed on the only window that was periodically allowed to be kept open, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: "We like this type less and less." And on July 11, the new jailer forbade the novices of the monastery to deliver cheese, cream and eggs for the royal prisoners. Then he will again give permission to bring the parcel - but this time for the last time, on the day before the execution.
The basement of the Ipatiev house in Yekaterinburg, where the royal family was shot. Source: State Archives of the Russian Federation
For 12 days of close communication, even the biased Yurovsky was forced to admit that the royal family was completely harmless. In 1921, he wrote a memoir entitled "The Last Tsar Found His Place." They contain the following characteristic: “If it were not for the hated royal family, who drank so much blood from the people, they could be considered as simple and not arrogant people. They all dressed simply, no outfits. It was a great pleasure for them to rinse in the bath several times a day. I, however, forbade them to rinse so often, as there was not enough water."
Commenting on the behavior of the Grand Duchesses, who never sat idle, Yurovsky writes: "I suppose they did it for a reason, all this probably had its purpose to endear the people of the guard with its simplicity." And then he reports that after a long communication with the royal family "people of weak vigilance could quickly lose their vigilance."
“Indeed, ordinary guards, who were categorically forbidden to enter into conversations with the Romanov family, quickly developed sympathy for them,” Stepan Novichikhin continues. - The most revealing memories in this sense were left by Anatoly Yakimov, the guard team leader. From his words the following was written: “The king was no longer young. His beard was gray. His eyes were good, kind, like the rest of his face. In general, he impressed me as a kind, simple, frank person. The queen was, as it was evident from her, not at all like him. Her gaze was stern, her figure and manner were like a proud, important woman. We used to talk with our company about them and we all thought that Nikolai Alexandrovich was a simple person, but she was not simple and, as she is, looked like a queen. The same, you see, like the Tsarina, was Tatiana. The other daughters: Olga, Maria and Anastasia were of no importance. It is noticeable from them that they are simple and kind. Nothing remained of my previous thoughts about the Tsar, with which I went to the guard. As I myself looked at them several times, I became a soul to them in a completely different way: I felt sorry for them."
However, the “soldiers of the revolution” considered the feelings of compassion and pity to be a relic of the past. On the night of July 17, not one of the executioners wavered. And the Ipatiev House itself in 1977 was demolished by the first secretary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU Boris Yeltsin on the orders of the USSR Politburo due to the fact that it "aroused unhealthy interest."
