Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia
Alexei Nikolaevich was the last Russian tsesarevich. He was the youngest child and only son of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. He was born with haemophilia, which his parents tried treating with the methods of peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin.
After the February Revolution of 1917, the Romanovs were sent into internal exile in Tobolsk, Siberia. After the October Revolution, the family was initially to be tried in a court of law, before the intensification of the Russian Civil War made execution increasingly favorable in the eyes of the Soviet government. With White Army soldiers rapidly approaching, the Ural Regional Soviet ordered the murder of Alexei, the rest of his family, and four remaining retainers on 17 July 1918. Rumors persisted for decades that Alexei had escaped his execution, with multiple impostors claiming his identity. Alexei's remains, along with those of his sister Maria, were ultimately discovered in a secondary grave near the rest of the Romanov family in 2007. On 17 July 1998, the 80th anniversary of their execution, Alexei's parents, three of his sisters, and the four retainers, were formally interred in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, while Alexei's and Maria's bones remain in Russian state archives. The Romanov family was canonized as passion bearers by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
Alexei is sometimes known to Russian legitimists as Alexei II after his ancestor Alexis of Russia, as until his death they do not recognize the abdication of his father in favor of his uncle Grand Duke Michael as lawful.
Biography
Early years
Alexei was born on at Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg Governorate, Russian Empireat 12:30 PM. He was the youngest of five children and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. His father was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Princess Dagmar of Denmark, and his mother was the sixth child of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. His paternal great-grandparents were Alexander II of Russia, Princess Marie of Hesse, Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel, while his maternal great-grandparents were Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, Prince Consort. His older sisters were the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia.Alexei's birth was greeted with widespread joy because he was the first son Nicholas had had after four daughters. When she woke up from the chloroform, Alexandra saw the happy faces around her and exclaimed: "Oh, it cannot be true. It cannot be true. Is it really a boy?" Nicholas wrote in his diary that today was "a great and unforgettable day for us... there are no words to thank God enough for sending us this comfort in a time of sore trials." According to Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia, Nicholas's younger brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich "was radiant with happiness at no longer being heir." Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden remembered that "we were nearly deafened by the church bells ringing all day". St. Petersburg "was ablaze with flags" and "the people gave themselves over to public rejoicing." Nicholas granted political amnesty to prisoners and set up a fund for military and naval scholarships.
Nicholas named Alexei after Alexis of Russia, his favorite emperor. His doting family called him "Baby." He was later also affectionately referred to as Alyosha.
As soon as he was born, Alexei was granted the title of tsarevich and heir apparent to the Imperial Throne of Russia. An official announcement read, "From now on, in accordance with the Fundamental Laws of the Empire, the Imperial title of Heir Tsarevich, and all the rights pertaining to it, belong to Our Son Alexei.".
Alexei was christened on 3 September 1904 in the chapel in Peterhof Palace. His principal godparents were his paternal grandmother and his great-uncle, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich. His other godparents included his oldest sister, Olga; his great-grandfather King Christian IX of Denmark; King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the Prince of Wales and Wilhelm II, German Emperor. As Russia was at war with Japan, all active soldiers and officers of the Russian Army and Navy were named honorary godfathers.
Hemophilia
Alexei inherited hemophilia from his mother Alexandra, an X chromosome hereditary condition that typically affects males, which she had acquired through the line of her maternal grandmother Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It was known as the "royal disease" because so many descendants of the intermarried European royal families had it. In 2009, genetic analysis determined that Alexei had hemophilia B.At first, Alexei seemed like a healthy, ordinary baby. He weighed 11 pounds at birth. His paternal aunt Xenia wrote that "he's an amazingly hefty baby with a chest like a barrel and generally has the air of a warrior knight." After his umbilical cord was cut, his navel continued to bleed for hours, and his blood did not clot. Nicholas wrote that Alexei lost "1/8 to 1/9 of the total quantity" of his blood in 48 hours. Nicholas reflected in his diary that "Alix and I were very alarmed by the bleeding of young Alexei that came at intervals from his umbilical cord until evening. How painful it is to experience such anxieties!"
Nicholas and Alexandra decided not to reveal what Alexei's disease was to the Russian public or even to family members. After Alexei's first bleeding attack, Alexandra wrote, "Oh, what anguish it was... not to let others see the knife digging in one." According to his French tutor, Pierre Gilliard, the nature of his illness was kept a state secret.
There were rumors about what Alexei's disease was because of the secrecy around it. Guesses ranged from a "certain form of infantile tuberculosis which gives rise to acute alarm" to "one of the layers of his skin was missing." An American magazine ascribed Alexei's "ill health" to "the misfortune that so many residences of the Tzars leave much to be desired from the point of view of sanitary science." After Alexei's life-threatening hemorrhage at Spala, the American press speculated that Alexei had been stabbed "during an unguarded moment" by a "nihilist." The Times observed that the "incomprehensible silence of the Court bulletins" gave "free scope to the sensation-mongers."
When he was 5, Alexei was assigned two navy sailors who monitored him at all times to ensure that he wouldn't injure himself. His parents appointed two sailors from the Imperial Navy: Petty Officer Andrei Derevenko and his assistant Seaman Klementy Nagorny. Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra's friend, remembered that "Derevenko was so patient and resourceful, that he often did wonders in alleviating the pain. I can still hear the plaintive voice of Alexis begging the big sailor, 'Lift my arm,' 'Put up my leg,' 'Warm my hands,' and I can see the patient, calm-eyed man working for hours to give comfort to the little pain-wracked limbs."
His hemophilia was so severe that trivial injuries such as a bruise, a nosebleed, or a cut were potentially life-threatening. His parents constantly worried about him. In addition, the recurring episodes of illness and long recoveries interfered greatly with Alexei's childhood and education.
Nicholas and Alexandra believed that Grigori Rasputin, a peasant monk, had the power to heal Alexei. Due to the secrecy around Alexei's condition, there are few records about Alexei's attacks and how often Rasputin treated him.
In the autumn of 1907, Alexei fell and hurt his leg while playing in Alexander Park. The fall triggered an internal hemorrhage. His paternal aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia reflected that "the poor child lay in such pain, dark patches under his eyes and his little body all distorted, and the leg terribly swollen." The doctors could do nothing. Alexandra telegraphed Princess Anastasia of Montenegro and asked her to find Rasputin. Rasputin prayed over Alexei and told Alexei, "Your pain is going away. You will soon be well. You must thank God for healing you. And now, go to sleep." Soon after Rasputin left, the swelling in Alexei's leg went down. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia was amazed by Alexei's swift recovery, and she wrote that the next morning Alexei "was not just alive – but well. He was sitting up in bed, the fever gone, the eyes clear and bright, not a sign of any swelling on his leg."
In September 1912, Alexei and his family visited their hunting retreat in the Białowieża Forest. On 5 September, Alexei jumped into a rowboat and hit his groin on the oarlocks. A large bruise appeared within minutes but in a week reduced in size. In mid-September, the family moved to Spała. On 2 October, Alexei accompanied his mother on a drive in the woods. The "juddering of the carriage had caused a still-healing hematoma in his upper thigh to rupture and start bleeding again." He had to be carried out of the carriage in an almost unconscious state. His temperature rose, his heartbeat dropped, and he hemorrhaged in his upper thigh and abdomen. For 11 days, he screamed, "O Lord, have mercy on me!" and begged Alexandra, "Mama, help me!" He asked Alexandra to "build me a little monument of stones in the woods" and asked "When I'm dead, it won't hurt any more, will it?" Alexandra never left his bedside, and she refused to rest or eat. Nicholas "took turns with Alix to sit with Alexei," but he "rushed weeping bitterly to his study" when he saw Alexei scream. On 6 October, Alexei's fever rose to 39 degrees, and he hemorrhaged into his stomach. On 8 October, Alexei received the last sacrament. Alexei's tutor, Pierre Gilliard, wrote to his children, "Pray, my children, pray daily and fervently for our precious heir." On 10 October, a medical bulletin announcing Alexei's impending death was published in the newspapers.
On 9 October, Alexandra asked her lady-in-waiting and best friend, Anna Vyrubova, to secure the help of Rasputin. According to his daughter, Rasputin received the telegram on 12 October. On 9 October, Alexandra received a short telegram from Rasputin: "The little one will not die. Do not allow the doctors to bother him too much." Alexei's temperature dropped, and he began to improve. According to General Mosolov, the doctors "seemed in utter consternation" at Alexei's sudden recovery. On 10 October, Doctor Eugene Botkin wrote to his children that "our priceless patient" was "undoubtedly significantly better." The positive trend continued throughout the next day. On 19 October, Alexei's condition was much better and the hematoma disappeared. The boy had to undergo orthopedic therapy to straighten his left leg. Feodorov confirmed that Alexei's recovery was "wholly inexplicable, from a medical point of view."
According to Pierre Gilliard's 1921 memoir,
Observers and scholars have offered suggestions for Rasputin's apparent positive effect on Alexei: he used hypnotism, administered herbs to the boy, or his advice to prevent too much action by the doctors aided the boy's healing. Others speculated that, with the information he got from his confidante at the court, lady-in-waiting Anna Vyrubova, Rasputin timed his "interventions" for times when Alexei was already recovering, and claimed all the credit. Court physician Botkin believed that Rasputin was a charlatan and that his apparent healing powers were based on the use of hypnosis but Rasputin did not become interested in this practice before 1913 and his teacher Gerasim Papandato was expelled from St. Petersburg. Felix Yusupov, one of Rasputin's enemies, suggested that he secretly gave Alexei Tibetan herbs, which he got from quack doctor Peter Badmayev, but these drugs were rejected by the court. Maria Rasputin believed her father exercised magnetism.
Writers from the 1920s had a variety of explanations for the apparent effects of Rasputin. Greg King thinks such explanations fail to take into account those times when Rasputin apparently healed the boy, despite being 2600 km away. For historian Fuhrmann, these ideas on hypnosis and drugs flourished because the Imperial Family lived in such isolation from the wider world. Moynahan says, "There is no evidence that Rasputin ever summoned up spirits, or felt the need to; he won his admirers through force of personality, not by tricks." Shelley said that the secret of Rasputin's power lay in the sense of calm, gentle strength, and shining warmth of conviction. Radzinsky wrote in 2000 that Rasputin believed he truly possessed a supernatural healing ability or that his prayers to God saved the boy.
Gilliard, the French historian Hélène Carrère d'Encausse and Diarmuid Jeffreys, a journalist, speculated that Rasputin may have halted the administration of aspirin. This pain-relieving analgesic had been available since 1899 but would have worsened Alexei's condition. Because aspirin is an antiaggregant and has blood-thinning properties; it prevents clotting, and promotes bleeding which could have caused the hemarthrosis. The "anti-inflammatory drug" would have worsened Alexei's joints' swelling and pain. According to historian M. Nelipa, Robert K. Massie was correct to suggest that psychological factors play a part in the course of the disease.