Moldavian culture and traditions. Moldova and the mutual influence of cultures of the peoples of the world at the present stage

Very quickly the provincial town turned into a royal residence with the appropriate surroundings. Military problems faded into the background for many. Mogilev girls admired and flirted with Headquarters officers, representatives of embassies, institutions evacuated to the city from the occupied areas.

The officers of the commander-in-chief's headquarters lived in our city along with their wives and children. One of the officers at Headquarters was Vasily Selim-Girey, the last descendant of the once formidable dynasty of Crimean khans of the Gireys.
Those khans who are well known not only from the course of history, but also from “ Bakhchisarai fountain» A. Pushkin.

Many Mogilev residents were deeply impressed by the religiosity of the last Russian emperor, who did not miss a single Orthodox service. In church, he crossed himself widely, kneeling down, touching the floor with his hands, and after each service he went up to receive the blessing of the priest. To make it more convenient for Nicholas II to get to the church, in April 1916 an asphalt path was laid there from the governor’s house, where the autocrat lived. They made it at the king’s personal expense.

For the state, in particular, by order of the Minister of Railways, a small steam yacht was delivered to Mogilev, on which the emperor took walks along the Dnieper in the summer. The Tsar really liked car trips outside the city. Most often I went to Pine forest, surrounding the village of Soltanovka, where in 1812 there was famous battle Russian troops with the French, and along the Orsha highway. Met with peasants. The emperor often asked them about their lives. It is characteristic that none of them approached him with any requests. As they say, they understood the level and “kept tact.”

In Mogilev, Nicholas II led a measured life, the routine of which did not change for literally years. Leaving the house at half past nine, the Tsar worked at Headquarters until twelve in the afternoon. At noon there was breakfast, after which there was a walk by car. At five o'clock in the afternoon the emperor drank tea and then sorted the mail until half past seven in the evening. This was followed by lunch, which lasted an hour. After that - work in the office. After dinner at half past ten, the king went to rest.

However, there were exceptions to the rules. The Emperor periodically went to the front. One day, while in Tiraspol and standing in front of the regiments, he ordered a show of hands to those who had been participating in the military campaign from the very beginning. Only a few hands flew above the large formation. For the first time, Nicholas II felt the full horror of war...

In August 1916, the English Ambassador Sir D. Bukinan arrived in Mogilev to present the autocrat with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, one of highest awards Britain. He was not the only foreigner who arrived in the provincial center at that time. Foreign military representatives lived in our city. According to the memoirs of contemporaries of those years, the British, General Bartels, a gloomy and frowning overweight old man, was always dissatisfied with something. The Serb was delighted with the Russians. The French sat quietly in the hotel. Only sometimes their representative - General Janin - appeared at the station. The Italians showed off. A sufficient number of Mogilev beauties felt the attention of the Italian general Count Romei. The Japanese Obata was outwardly indifferent to everything. Didn't worry about failures Russian army and did not rejoice at the victories - he watched. Typically, all foreigners liked the Mogilev climate: even winters and clear, cloudless skies in summer. In their opinion, a wonderful resort could be opened here. At the same time, all of them, without exception, were surprised by the poverty of the peasants...

The royal family was also delighted with the Mogilev surroundings. The Empress even had her eye on the Dashkovka estate and wanted to buy it. But the owner of the estate - the old and wealthy landowner Zhukovsky - resisted the royal wish and refused to give up his property.

Royal family
The heir, Tsarevich Alexei, constantly lived in Mogilev with his father. But the emperor’s wife Alexandra Feodorovna and her daughters visited our city on visits. The residents of Mogilev did not like the emperor’s wife from her very first arrival. She came across as an "angry and arrogant woman." Alexandra Fedorovna most often stayed and lived in a special carriage at the station. Visited the Empress's retinue in Mogilev famous poet Sergey Yesenin. It was in this city that his desire to desert from the army matured.

The townspeople were literally fascinated by the king's daughters. The girls walked freely around the city, without security, going into shops where they made various purchases. Especially favorite place in Mogilev they had a Bernstein haberdashery store (located in the building where the building with the Perekrestok store is now). The only thing that upset Mogilev residents was that the princesses could not be seen often on the streets of the city. Together with their mother, they lived in Petrograd and visited their father only from time to time.

Tsarevich Alexei was most closely in touch with the life of the city and its inhabitants. According to recollections, he was “...a sweet child, inquisitive, cheerful. I sat in the car next to my father, read the signs, smiled at passers-by.” Games were often organized for the heir with the Mogilev children. Either near the governor’s house, or somewhere in the forest near the city. Moreover, the children of both rich townspeople and the poor played with the prince. Mogilev ladies on the rampart, where the royal residence was located, often held different lotteries. One day Alexey came here, bought a ticket and, of course, won. Joyful, he grabbed his prize - a small hive with honeycombs and honey - and ran to show his father.

"You can't escape fate"

When engaged in government affairs, Nicholas II was often very frank. One of his statements is of interest: “If someone had told me that the day would come when I would sign a declaration of war on Bulgaria, I would have considered such a person crazy. And now, however, this day has come. But I sign this reluctantly, because I am convinced that the Bulgarian people have been deceived by their king and that most of them remain attached to Russia. The consciousness of tribal unity will soon awaken in him and he will understand his error, but it will be too late!

Perhaps Nicholas II was characterized by fatalism. One got the impression that in life he was guided by the principle “you can’t escape fate.” This can be confirmed by the chronology of the last days of the reign, which, by the will of fate, were spent in Mogilev.

On February 5, 1917, the Tsar learned for the first time (?!) that the food situation in Russia had sharply worsened. Of course, over the last year or two, the provision of Mogilev has been significantly different from other cities in the country.
After Rodzianko’s half-hour report on the situation in the country and a warning about the pre-revolutionary situation, Nicholas II said: “Well, God willing...”
On February 22, the emperor learned that unrest had begun in Petrograd - the people were demanding bread. However, there was no reaction from the king to this.
February 25, despite alarm messages from the capital, he remained absolutely calm. He wrote in his diary: “I got up late. The report lasted 1.5 hours. At 2:30 I stopped by the monastery and venerated the icon. Mother of God. I took a walk along the highway to Orsha, and at 6 o’clock I went to the all-night vigil.”

The next day, almost an ultimatum telegram arrives from the empress: “If we give in even one iota, tomorrow there will be no sovereign, no Russia, nothing! We must be firm and show that we are masters of the situation.”

February 27, 1917 in Mogilev is remembered as a wonderful day. The sun was shining brightly, streams were flowing, a cheerful crowd filled the streets of the city, rejoicing at the imminent arrival of spring. Although the coup had been expected for a long time, when the message arrived from revolutionary Petrograd, no one believed what was happening.
Happened in northern capital events forced Nicholas II to urgently leave for St. Petersburg on February 28. On the way, he read “Notes of the Tsar.”

Abdication

On March 2, the last Russian emperor abdicated the throne. And no longer an autocrat, but simply Colonel Nikolai Romanov came to Mogilev to say goodbye to Headquarters headquarters, to meet with his mother Maria Fedorovna, who in those days was passing through from Kyiv and stopped in our city.

On March 4, at the Mogilev railway station, Nikolai was greeted by a guard of honor. But on the main street (Dneprovsky Prospekt) red flags were already hung, and “Marseillaise” was heard. A group of protesters, approaching the building where Headquarters was located, scolded the Tsar, tore down the tricolor flags and the imperial coat of arms eagle. Nobody dispersed them.

On March 6, a telegram from the Provisional Government arrived in Mogilev with permission for the royal family to travel abroad. However, the very next day a different decision was made: to arrest the former autocrat and take him to Tsarskoe Selo. When the emissaries of the Provisional Government Bublikov, Kalinin, Gribulin arrived with an order of arrest, Nikolai reacted to the not very decent visit with complete indifference. He said that he was “ready to go anywhere and submit to anything.”

On March 8, 1917, saying goodbye to the officers in Mogilev, the former emperor said: “The benefit of the homeland and the need to prevent the horrors of civil strife and civil war, as well as the opportunity to direct all my forces to continue the war at the front, forced me to abdicate the throne in favor of my brother Mikhail Alexandrovich . However, given the circumstances that had arisen, the Grand Duke, in turn, abdicated the throne. I urge you, gentlemen, to submit to the Provisional Government and make every effort to continue the war with Germany and Austria-Hungary to a victorious end.” The military officers present in the hall cried, some even lost consciousness. Unable to bear it, Nikolai Romanov left the hall with tears in his eyes (there is evidence that the farewell took place in the premises of the General Headquarters on duty on the 2nd floor of the current regional local history museum).

Near the headquarters building (the house of the governor and provincial government - completely destroyed at the end of the 1940s, now in their place is part memorial complex"To the fighters for Soviet power") there was a crowd of townspeople with their heads uncovered. Having said goodbye to people completely, former king Together with his family he went by car to the railway station. They were silently escorted by a crowded crowd...

100 years ago August 8 (21), 1915 was transferred to Mogilev Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief The Russian Armed Forces, which was created to control troops during the First World War of 1914-1918.

As is known, the reason for the outbreak of the First World War was the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914 (hereinafter dates are indicated in the new style) in Sarajevo (Bosnia). For the Russian Empire, this war began on August 1, 1914, when Germany, an ally of Austria-Hungary, declared war on it. In total, 38 states were drawn into the war (34, including Russian empire, on the side of the Entente and 4 states on the side of the Austro-German bloc). First World War in its scale, human losses and socio-political consequences it had no equal in all previous history. The results of the war were the February and October revolutions in Russia, the November Revolution in Germany, as well as the liquidation of four empires: Austria-Hungary, German, Ottoman and Russian.

At the beginning of the war, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and Headquarters was located in Baranovichi. But as a result of the breakthrough of the front by German troops in the area of ​​the Polish city of Gorlice in May-June 1915, the Russian armies were forced to retreat, and in August 1915 it was decided to transfer Headquarters to Mogilev.

SECOND CAPITAL

Arriving in Mogilev, the top leadership of Headquarters, including Emperor Nicholas II, who by this time had taken over the leadership of the army, settled in the governor’s house (not preserved) on Governor’s Square, which is now called Glory Square. Together with the Emperor, part of the Court, all the top generals, hundreds of officers, missions and embassies moved to Mogilev European countries. So, from August 1915, at the height of the First World War, Mogilev practically became a capital city for a year and a half.

In Mogilev, not only were strategic military plans developed, diplomatic moves were coordinated, negotiations were conducted, but also social events, premieres of plays took place, and performances by then opera and pop stars were staged. Troupes of several leading theaters in St. Petersburg arrive in Mogilev, an operetta theater moves in, and two cinemas open. The small streets of the city were filled with cars, and there were no empty rooms in the Bristol and Metropol hotels. Pike Savor Mogilev was reached when the empress and her children came here. Mogilev townsfolk were amazed by the simplicity royal daughters who walked around the city without any security, entering shops and shops. They especially liked Bernstein's haberdashery store. The heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, communicated even more closely with the townspeople. He easily played with the Mogilev boys living next door. The royal family loved to relax in Pechersk, on the banks of the Dnieper, and went on picnics to Polykovichi. Usually they sailed to the Polykovichi spring on a pleasure boat up the Dnieper. During the day, Nikolai sometimes went out by car; he especially liked places near Shklov. The Emperor often visited the Church of the Epiphany, and together with his family he also visited the St. Nicholas and Buinichi monasteries.

As a result of the February Revolution of 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne. After his abdication, the supreme commanders in chief were generals M.V. Alekseev, A.A. Brusilov, L.G. Kornilov. In September 1917, L. G. Kornilov was arrested, and the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government, A. F. Kerensky, declared himself Supreme Commander-in-Chief. After the October Revolution, the duties of commander-in-chief were performed by the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General N. N. Dukhonin, who was in Mogilev.

AT THE EPICENTER OF THE REVOLUTION

Great influence on the course of the October Revolution of 1917 and on further events in Russia had what happened during this period in Mogilev. Already on November 8, 1917, General Dukhonin announced that he would fight to the last to restore the power of the Provisional Government. Dukhonin provided all possible support for the Kerensky-Krasnov rebellion, and after the failure of the rebellion, he immediately began to gather reliable military units to Mogilev. The leaders of the Socialist Revolutionary, Cadets, and Menshevik parties also arrived in Mogilev. They, having secured the support of the military missions of England, France and the United States, decided, under the cover of Headquarters, to create a bourgeois government in Mogilev, headed by the Socialist Revolutionary V.M. Chernov, opposing it to the Council of People's Commissars. On November 21, at the general meeting of the Mogilev organization of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, Chernov made a speech in which he accused the Bolsheviks of “a criminal adventure” of seizing power and inciting a civil war. On the same day, an appeal “To all parties and organizations” was sent out from Mogilev with a proposal to immediately begin organizing a government headed by Chernov. To give this government the appearance of legitimacy, an attempt was made to use the All-Russian Congress of Peasant Soviets and for this purpose to hold it not in St. Petersburg, but in Mogilev in the building of the city theater. Notifications were sent to all provinces of Russia with a request to send their delegates to Mogilev. But the delegates of the All-Russian Peasant Congress gathered for a preliminary meeting and decided to nevertheless hold the congress in Petrograd. Thus, the plan for the formation of a new bourgeois government in Mogilev was not realized, and the Mogilev Theatre of Drama did not become the second Smolny. In an effort to speed up the implementation of the Decree on Peace, the Council of People's Commissars on November 20 ordered Dukhonin “immediately upon receipt of this notification to contact the military authorities of the enemy armies with a proposal to immediately suspend hostilities in order to open peace negotiations.” Dukhonin did not give any answer to this order. All day on November 21, he consulted with the General Headquarters and representatives of foreign military missions. On the evening of the same day, Lenin asked Dukhonin a question over the direct line about the reasons for the delay in response. In the negotiations, which were conducted intermittently from 2 to 4 and a half in the morning on November 22, Dukhonin avoided explaining his behavior. He refused Lenin's categorical demand to immediately begin negotiations on a truce. In response to this, Lenin told Dukhonin that he was being removed from the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief “for disobedience to government orders.” Instead of General Dukhonin, Bolshevik warrant officer N.V. was appointed commander-in-chief. Krylenko. In turn, General Dukhonin addressed the commanders of the fronts and armies with the following telegram: “I do not consider myself to have the right to leave my post before the formation of a generally recognized legal authority, confident that I am acting in full agreement with ... the command staff and military organizations.” General Dukhonin was actively supported by the governments of England, France and the USA. They instructed their military missions to provide all possible assistance to Dukhonin. After Dukhonin’s open disobedience, at Lenin’s suggestion, a consolidated detachment of soldiers and sailors was formed in Petrograd Baltic Fleet. He was given the task of taking control of Headquarters and arresting Dukhonin and those supporting him. On November 24, this detachment departed in the direction of Mogilev. The detachment was headed by the new commander-in-chief Krylenko. The General Headquarters took urgent measures to organize the defense. But it soon became clear that the troops guarding Headquarters were showing massive disobedience to their commanders. And on December 1, when trains with troops from Petrograd approached directly to Mogilev, at a special meeting it was decided to evacuate without offering resistance. On the same day, representatives of foreign military missions left Mogilev, and on December 2, party leaders left.

MASSACRE OVER Dukhonin

I was going to leave Mogilev and Dukhonin, but last moment decided to stay. On December 3 at 10 o'clock in the morning, the vanguard of Krylenko's troops arrived in Mogilev, and a detachment of sailors headed to Headquarters. After occupying Headquarters, Dukhonin was arrested and taken under escort to the station in Krylenko's carriage. At this time it became known that the day before, on his orders, generals Kornilov, Denikin and others were released from prison in Bykhov. A crowd of soldiers surrounded the carriage and began to demand the extradition of Dukhonin. The soldiers shouted that even if Kornilov managed to escape, they would not let him out of their hands. Krylenko's arguments about the need to deliver Dukhonin to Petrograd, where he would be tried for disobedience to the Soviet government, were not effective. Security was unable to contain the excited crowd. Several soldiers came from the other side of the car and climbed into the vestibule, the door to which was closed but not locked. At that moment, Dukhonin unexpectedly came out into the vestibule. Then one of the soldiers hit him in the back with a bayonet, and he fell face down on the railway track. It was not possible to determine who the killer was. In the history of the Russian army, cases of the death of a commander-in-chief, even a former one, are rare. One of them occurred at the station in Mogilev on December 3, 1917. According to eyewitnesses, Krylenko did everything possible to save Dukhonin. Later he addressed the army with a special appeal: “Comrades! On this day I entered Mogilev at the head of the revolutionary troops. Surrounded on all sides, Headquarters surrendered without a fight. I can't keep quiet about sad fact lynching of the former commander-in-chief Dukhonin. The flight of General Kornilov on the eve of the fall of Headquarters was the cause of the excess...”

The headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief continued its activities in Mogilev until February 26, 1918 and was transferred to Orel due to the approach of Austro-German troops to our city. On the building of the regional museum of local history, which is located on Glory Square, it would be correct to install a memorial plaque about the presence of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces in Mogilev during the First World War.

On February 23, 1917, a revolution began in Petrograd. Nicholas II, who was at Headquarters in Mogilev, gave an order to General N.I. on the evening of February 27. Ivanov with reliable units (battalions of St. George's cavaliers from the General Headquarters guard) to move in echelons to Petrograd to restore order. Several regiments of infantry and cavalry from the Western and Northern fronts were to be allocated to help him. The Tsar himself headed to Petrograd, but not directly: through the Dno and Bologoe stations. The royal trains moved to Nikolaevskaya (now Oktyabrskaya) railway, but 200 km from the capital they were stopped by rebel railway workers. Returning back, the letter trains of the tsar and his retinue proceeded to Pskov - to the headquarters of the Northern Front. Meanwhile, Ivanov’s detachment was also not allowed to reach the rebel Petrograd. Chief of Staff of the Headquarters General M.V. Alekseev and the front commanders did not send regiments to help him. Meanwhile, Alekseev sent telegrams to all front and fleet commanders inviting them to speak out for or against the Tsar’s abdication of the throne in favor of the heir to the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. Almost all of them, except one, supported the abdication. Arriving in Pskov, the tsar learned that the army had turned its back on him.

On the night of March 2, members of the State Duma, Octobrist leader A.I., arrived in Pskov. Guchkov and nationalists - V.V. Shulgin with the project of renunciation. But the king refused to sign it, saying that he could not part with his sick son. The Tsar himself wrote the text of the renunciation, in which he, in violation of the Decree of Paul I on succession to the throne, renounced both for himself and for his son in favor of his brother Mikhail.

Whether this was a cunning tactical move, which subsequently gave the right to declare the abdication invalid, or not is unknown. The Emperor did not title his statement in any way and did not address his subjects, as was customary in the most important cases, or the Senate, which by law published the royal orders, but casually addressed it: “To the Chief of Staff.” Some historians believe that this indicated a lack of understanding of the importance of the moment: “Passed great empire, like commanding a squadron." It seems, however, that this is not at all the case: with this appeal, the former king made it clear who he considered to be the culprit of the abdication.

Shulgin, so as not to create the impression that the abdication was wrenched out by force, asked the already former tsar to date the documents at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Those signed after the abdication were dated two hours earlier, i.e. illegal, decrees appointing Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich again as Supreme Commander, and the head of Zemgora, Prince G.E., as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Lvov. Through these documents, the Duma delegates hoped to create the appearance of continuity of military and civil power. The next morning, March 3, after negotiations with members of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, Grand Duke Mikhail made a statement saying that he could take power only by the will of the people, expressed by the Constituent Assembly, elected on the basis of universal, equal, direct and secret suffrage , in the meantime, he called on all citizens of the Russian state to submit to the Provisional Government. According to Shulgin’s memoirs, Rodzianko was the last person the Grand Duke consulted before signing the act of refusal to accept the throne.

Kerensky warmly shook the hand of the would-be emperor, declaring that he would tell everyone what he was like. noble man. After reading the text of the act, the former tsar wrote in his diary: “And who suggested such nasty things to Misha?”

300-year Romanov monarchy (from the second half of the XVIII V. - Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov) fell almost without resistance. In a few days Russia became the most free country in the world. The people were armed and aware of their strength.

“IN THE NAME OF THE GOOD, PEACE AND SALVATION OF EARLY BELOVED RUSSIA”

“During an early lunch at the house of the Commander-in-Chief, General Ruzsky turned to me and General Savich, the Chief Supply Officer of the front armies, with a request to be with him at the afternoon report to the Sovereign Emperor.

Your opinions, as my closest collaborators, will be very valuable as reinforcement for my arguments. - The Emperor is already aware that I will come to him with you...

There was no need to object, and at about 2 1/2 o’clock in the afternoon the three of us were already entering the carriage to see the Emperor. ….

We were all very worried. - The Emperor turned to me first.

Your Imperial Majesty, I said. - I am well aware of the strength of your love for the Motherland. And I am sure that for her sake, for the sake of saving the dynasty and the possibility of bringing the war to a happy end, you will make the sacrifice that the situation requires of you. I see no other way out of the situation other than that outlined by the Chairman of the State Duma and supported by the senior commanders of the Active Army!..

“What is your opinion?” the Emperor turned to my neighbor General Savich, who apparently had difficulty restraining the outburst of excitement that was choking him.

I, I... am a straightforward person... about whom you, Your Majesty, probably heard from General Dedyulin (Former Palace Commandant, personal friend of General S.S. Savich), who enjoyed your exceptional confidence... I am completely I at least agree with what General Danilov reported to Your Majesty...

There was deathly silence... The Emperor walked up to the table and several times, apparently without realizing it, looked out the carriage window, covered with a curtain. - His face, usually inactive, involuntarily distorted with some sideways movement of his lips that I had never observed before. “It was clear that some kind of decision was brewing in his soul, something that would cost him dearly!...

The silence that followed was unbroken. - The doors and windows were tightly closed. - I wish... this terrible silence would soon end!... With a sharp movement, Emperor Nicholas suddenly turned to us and said in a firm voice:

I made up my mind... I decided to renounce the Throne in favor of my son Alexei... At the same time, he crossed himself with a wide cross. - We crossed ourselves too...

Thank you all for your valiant and faithful service. - I hope that it will continue with my son.

The minute was deeply solemn. Having hugged General Ruzsky and warmly shook our hands, the Emperor walked into his carriage with slow, lingering steps.

We, who were present at this entire scene, involuntarily bowed before the restraint that was shown by the newly abdicated Emperor Nicholas in these difficult and responsible moments...

As often happens after a long period of tension, my nerves suddenly gave way... I remember, as if in a fog, that, after the Emperor had left, someone came into our room and started talking about something. Apparently, these were the persons closest to the Tsar... Everyone was ready to talk about anything, just not about what was most important and most important at the moment... However, the decrepit Count Fredericks, it seems, was trying to formulate his personal feelings!.. Someone else was talking... and someone else... they almost didn’t listen...

Suddenly the Emperor himself entered. - He held in his hands two telegraph forms, which he handed over to General Ruzsky, with a request to send them. These sheets of paper were handed over to me by the Commander-in-Chief for execution.

- “There is no sacrifice that I would not make in the name of the real good and for the salvation of my dear Mother Russia. - Therefore, I am ready to abdicate the Throne in favor of My Son, so that he remains with me until he comes of age, under the regency of my brother - Mikhail Alexandrovich." With these words addressed to the Chairman of the State Court. The Duma, Emperor Nicholas II expressed his decision. - “In the name of the good, tranquility and salvation of beloved Russia, I am ready to abdicate the Throne in favor of my Son. - I ask everyone to serve him faithfully and unhypocritically,” he informed his Chief of Staff about the same in a telegram to Headquarters. What beautiful impulses, I thought, are inherent in the soul of this man, whose whole grief and misfortune is that he was poorly surrounded!

FROM THE DIARY OF EMPEROR NICHOLAS II

“March 2nd. Thursday. In the morning Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the phone with Rodzianko. According to him, the situation in Petrograd is such that now the ministry from the Duma is powerless to do anything, because the Social Democrats are fighting it. the party represented by the working committee. My renunciation is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to Headquarters, and Alekseev to all commanders-in-chief. By 2 1/2 [hours] replies came from everyone. The point is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front calm, you need to decide to take this step. I agreed. A draft manifesto was sent from Headquarters. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them the signed and revised manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There is treason and cowardice and deceit all around.”

MANIFESTO OF RENUNCIATION

Chief of Staff

During the days of the great struggle with an external enemy, who had been striving to enslave our Motherland for almost three years, the Lord God was pleased to send Russia a new ordeal. The outbreak of internal popular unrest threatens to have a disastrous effect on the further conduct of the stubborn war. The fate of Russia, the honor of our heroic army, the good of the people, the entire future of our dear Fatherland demand that the war be brought to a victorious end at all costs. A cruel enemy is annoying last strength, and the hour is already approaching when our valiant army, together with our glorious allies, will be able to finally crush the enemy. In these decisive days in the life of Russia, we considered it a duty of conscience to facilitate close unity for our people and the rallying of all the people’s forces to achieve victory as quickly as possible, and in agreement with the State Duma, we recognized it as good to abdicate the throne of the Russian state and relinquish supreme power. Not wanting to part with our beloved son, we pass on our legacy to our brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and bless him to ascend the throne of the Russian state. We command our brother to rule over state affairs in complete and inviolable unity with the representatives of the people in legislative institutions on those principles that will be established by them, taking an inviolable oath to that effect. In the name of our beloved Motherland, we call on all the faithful sons of the Fatherland to fulfill their sacred duty to him by obedience to the Tsar in difficult times of national trials and to help him, together with representatives of the people, lead the Russian state onto the path of victory, prosperity and glory.

May the Lord God help Russia.

Signed: Nikolay

Minister of the Imperial Household, Adjutant General Count Fredericks.

FROM THE MEMORIES OF GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER MIKHAILOVICH

“My adjutant woke me up at dawn. He handed it to me printed sheet. This was the Tsar's manifesto of renunciation. Nikki refused to part with Alexei and abdicated in favor of Mikhail Alexandrovich. I sat in bed and re-read this document. Nicky must have lost his mind. Since when can the All-Russian Autocrat renounce the power given to him by God because of a rebellion in the capital caused by a lack of bread? Treason of the Petrograd garrison? But he had an army of fifteen million at his disposal. - All this, including his trip to Petrograd, seemed completely incredible back then in 1917. And it continues to seem incredible to me to this day.

I had to get dressed to go to Maria Feodorovna and break her heart with the news of her son’s abdication. We ordered a train to Headquarters, since in the meantime we had received news that Nikki had been given “permission” to return to Headquarters to say goodbye to his headquarters.

Upon arrival in Mogilev, our train was placed on the “imperial route”, from where the Emperor usually departed for the capital. A minute later Nikki's car pulled up to the station. He slowly walked to the platform, greeted the two Cossacks of the convoy standing at the entrance to his mother's carriage, and entered. He was pale, but nothing else in his appearance suggested that he was the author of this terrible manifesto. The Emperor was left alone with his mother for two hours. The Empress Dowager never told me what they talked about.

When I was called to them, Maria Feodorovna was sitting and crying bitterly, while he stood motionless, looking at his feet and, of course, smoking. We hugged. I didn't know what to tell him. His calmness indicated that he firmly believed in the correctness of the decision he had made, although he reproached his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich for leaving Russia without an Emperor by his abdication.

Misha, he shouldn’t have done this,” he finished admonishingly. “I’m surprised who gave him such strange advice.”

On February 22, 1917, Emperor Nicholas II left for Mogilev from Tsarskoe Selo. The reasons for this last departure of the Emperor to Headquarters still remain unclear. The plan for the spring campaign was approved, the situation at the front was calm. On January 24, the Sovereign approved the plan for the spring campaign of 1917, which provided: “ 1. Delivery of the main attack from the areas of the 11th and 17th armies in the Lvov direction. 2. Development at the same time of the offensive on the Romanian front, with the aim of defeating the enemy in front of the armies and occupying Dobruja. 3. Conducting auxiliary attacks on the Western and Northern fronts. In His Imperial Majesty’s own hand it is written: “I approve” on January 24, 1917.” The headquarters intended to repeat the success of the Lutsk breakthrough.

The Tsar's sudden decision to go to Headquarters came as a complete surprise even to those closest to him. Wing adjutant Colonel A. A. Mordvinov testified that “ the internal political situation was especially stormy and difficult in those days, which is why the Emperor spent all the Christmas holidays, all of January and most February was in Tsarskoe Selo and delayed leaving for Headquarters».

Nicholas II was leaving urgently, due to some important matter. A. A. Vyrubova recalled that on the eve of departure “ The Emperor came very upset.[…]We drank tea in the new room for round table. The next morning, when I came to the Empress, I found her in tears. She told me that the Emperor was leaving. We said goodbye to him, as usual, in the green drawing room of the Empress. The Empress was terribly upset. To my comments about difficult situation and impending unrest, the Emperor answered me that he was saying goodbye for a short time, that he would return in a few days».

This is also confirmed by another friend of the Empress, Yu. A. Den: “ The Emperor intended to stay with his family, but one morning, after an audience with General Gurko, he suddenly announced: “Tomorrow I’m leaving for Headquarters.” Her Majesty asked in surprise: “Can’t you stay with us?” “No,” answered the Emperor. - I have to go».

Emperor Nicholas II with military leaders at the Tsar's Headquarters in Mogilev. Sparava - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov. Reproduction Photo ITAR-TASS

Baroness S. K. Buxhoeveden recalled: “ I was near the Empress at the moment when the Emperor came to her with a telegram in his hand. He asked me to stay and told the Empress: “General Alekseev insists on my arrival. I can’t imagine what could have happened there that would require my mandatory presence. I’ll go and check it out personally. I won’t stay there longer than a week, since I this is where you should be"».

However, apparently, Nicholas II knew what Alekseev was going to talk to him about. In the evening, February 21, Nicholas II explained to the palace commandant V.N. Voeikov that “ the other day General Alekseev returned from Crimea, wanting to see him and talk about some issues" The emigrant historian G.M. Katkov pointed out that “ from available sources It is unclear why Alekseev insisted on the personal presence of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. In the light of subsequent events, the departure of the emperor to Mogilev, undertaken at the insistence of Alekseev, seems to be a fact that had the greatest disaster».

A number of circumstances preceding the departure of the Sovereign lead us to interesting conclusions. On January 4, General V.I. Gurko visited M.V. Rodzianko in Petrograd and stated that “ if the Duma is dissolved, the troops will stop fighting».

On January 30, the Security Department reported to the Police Department that M. V. Alekseev’s health had improved so much that his arrival at Headquarters was expected on February 8-10. But Alekseev returned there only on February 17, and on February 5, without waiting for Alekseev’s return, General Gurko left Mogilev for Petrograd.

Thus, in the period from February 5 to 17, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was left virtually without a leader. From the point of view of military interests, this was, of course, a negative fact. But, as General A. A. Brusilov wrote: “ At Headquarters, where Alekseev had already returned, there was obviously no time for the front. Great events were being prepared that would overturn the entire way of Russian life and destroy the army that was at the front" Here it should be said that Gurko coordinated all his actions with Alekseev.

On February 13, M.V. Rodzianko informed V.I. Gurko that he had reliable information: “ A coup has been prepared and will be carried out by the mob" Rodzianko asked the general to point this out to the Tsar and get him to make concessions to the opposition. On February 13, Gurko was received in Tsarskoe Selo by Nicholas II, who, regarding this meeting, left the following diary entry: « February 13. The beginning of Lent. From 10 o'clock. [ov] accepted:[…]Gurko. The latter delayed me so much that I was completely late for the service." What could Gurko have said that made the deeply religious Nicholas II miss the service on the first day of Lent? Gurko urged Nicholas II to introduce a responsible ministry, arguing that without this he would suffer " is our international situation, the attitude of our allies towards us».

For Nicholas II, Gurko's statement was an alarming signal. The Emperor could not help but understand that Gurko was expressing not just his personal opinion, but the opinion of a certain and very influential military group. This was confirmed by operational reports from the police and gendarmerie, which, of course, were known to Nicholas II. Thus, on January 14, 1917, the head of the Minsk State Housing Department informed the Director of the Police Department that “ there is a version that troops led by their beloved Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich will carry out a coup d’etat».

The immediate result of Gurko's meetings with Guchkov and allied representatives was the general's actual sabotage of the Emperor's orders. Thus, Nicholas II ordered the Guards crew to be transferred to Petrograd from the front, but this order was “not understood” by General Gurko, and the crew remained at the front. Nicholas II again gave the order to transfer the Guards crew to Petrograd, and Gurko again, under the pretext of quarantine, detained him near Tsarskoe Selo. Only after the third order of the Sovereign did the Guards crew arrive in Tsarskoye Selo. The same thing happened with His Majesty's lancers.

The actions of General V.I. Gurko were neither impromptu nor the result of his individual will. Thus, Duke S. G. Leuchtenberg assured A. I. Guchkov that the Emperor’s order to transfer four reliable guards cavalry regiments from the front to Petrograd would not be carried out. The Duke explained this by saying that front-line officers were protesting against this transfer, saying that they could not order their soldiers to shoot at the people.

On February 17, Alekseev finally returned to Headquarters, and no later than on February 19, Nicholas II, apparently, had a telephone conversation with him, or received a telegram from him, after which he urgently left for Headquarters. On February 21, on the eve of the departure of Nicholas II, Gurko hastily went there to Mogilev. On the eve of his departure, the general met at his brother’s dinner with A.I. Guchkov and other members of the Progressive Bloc. The idea of ​​a revolution was imbued with " everyone gathered, everything said».

Thus, one cannot help but notice the synchronicity of the actions of Generals M.V. Alekseev and V.I. Gurko. This synchronicity could only be a consequence of a preliminary conspiracy, the purpose of which was to lure Emperor Nicholas II from the capital to Headquarters by any means. It’s hard to disagree with A.A. Vyrubova, who argued that the conspirators “ they began to rush the Emperor to go to the front in order to then commit the greatest atrocity».

In his conversation with the Royal Couple on February 10, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich “ strongly insisted on Nika’s speedy return to Headquarters" On February 22, another Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, during the farewell of his August brother, expressed his deep satisfaction with his departure to Mogilev. Mikhail Alexandrovich convinced Nicholas II that “ There is growing great displeasure in the army over the fact that the Emperor lives in Tsarskoye and has been absent from Headquarters for so long" Vyrubova believed that it was precisely the latter circumstance that was main reason, along which the Emperor decided to go to Mogilev: “ The army’s dissatisfaction seemed to the Emperor a serious reason to rush to Headquarters.” Thus, apparently, in his telephone conversation with the Sovereign, M.V. Alekseev informed him that a military conspiracy was brewing at Headquarters and that his presence there was needed. If this is so, then Alekseev deliberately revealed the true facts to the Tsar in order to lure him out of Petrograd by any means. Knowing how the Emperor felt about the matter of victory, the conspirators had to be sure that he would not be able to ignore such information, and they were not mistaken. French historian M. Ferro believes that “ the tsar had a premonition that something was being planned, at least in the army, after his brother Mikhail informed him of dissatisfaction at Headquarters regarding his long absence».

But there was another reason why Nicholas II decided to urgently go to Headquarters. It was most directly connected with the first reason. Not trusting the generals, who almost openly sabotaged his orders, the Emperor sought from Headquarters to personally send loyal troops to Petrograd. V. M. Khrustalev writes: “ NikolaiIIupon arrival at Headquarters, intended to carry out the planned transfer of troops to the vicinity of the capital».

Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich in front of the troops. TASS photo chronicle

Late in the evening of February 21, the Emperor summoned A.D. Protopopov. Entering the royal office, the minister found Nicholas II extremely concerned: “ Despite the amazing self-control characteristic of the Sovereign, I saw that he was worried. I was terribly alarmed, seeing the Tsar in such confusion for the first time. “Do you know what Gurko did?” he said. “Instead of four Guards regiments, he sent us three sailor crews.” Blood rushed to my face, I instinctively restrained the instantly flaring anger. “This is already crossing all boundaries, Sovereign, worse than disobedience. Gurko is obliged to consult with you before changing your orders. Everyone knows that factory workers are recruited as sailors; these are the most revolutionary units in our armed forces". "That's it! But the last word will remain with me. I never expected this. And you still think my departure to the front is premature. I will send you cavalry"».

Meanwhile, General P. G. Kurlov informed A. D. Protopopov that to count “ for strong support of the garrison" the government can't , because “there are many propaganda workers in the units, discipline is observed extremely weakly”.

The opposition considered the organization of unrest in Petrograd to be an important stage in the coup. Their implementation could not be realized without the help of the military leadership of the capital and the military district. In this regard, the actions of the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Northern Front, Infantry General N.V. Ruzsky, appear to be direct assistance to the organizers of the coup. By order of Ruzsky, it was concentrated in Petrograd big number spare parts, which, according to General Kurlov’s definition, were “ rather armed revolutionary masses" All measures taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to maintain order were met with opposition from Ruzsky.

Not trusting General N.V. Ruzsky, the Tsar allocated Petrograd from his subordination to the Special Military District, at the head of which, on the advice of the Minister of War, General M.A. Belyaev, Lieutenant General S.S. Khabalov was appointed. New commander " practically the soldier did not know and did not correspond to the position. The emperor knew about this, but during the war it was difficult with military commanders».

Ph.D. V. M. Khrustalev writes that for the post of commander of the Petrograd Military District “ General K.N. Hagondokov (participant in the suppression of the uprising in Manchuria) was supposed to be nominated, but Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, having heard that he had spoken imprudently about Rasputin, declared that “his face is very cunning.” The appointment never took place.” In fact, Major General K.N. Hagondokov cannot be included in the ranks of devoted monarchists. Researcher V.G. Popov writes about Hagondokov that he was “ the first of the major Far Eastern leaders in the revolutionary days of March 1917 to speak out warm support Provisional Government of Russia, spoke in favor of the speedy transformation of the former Empire into a democratic Republic."

It is obvious that Nicholas II did not appoint Hagondokov to a responsible position not because he had a “cunning face”, but because he reasonably doubted his loyalty.

Simultaneously with the appointment of General S.S. Khabalov, Nicholas II ordered General M.A. Belyaev to remove Kronstadt from the jurisdiction of the land department and transfer it to the naval department. A plan was developed in case of organized unrest in the capital. According to this plan, Petrograd was divided into several sectors controlled by special military commanders. General N.V. Ruzsky unsuccessfully tried to counteract these measures. However, the actions of General S.S. Khabalov were quite strange. On February 24, the general removed the police posts and transferred the police to full subordination to the army command. Khabalov handed over all the security of the city to unreliable army units, which were already quite propagandized and did not want to go to the front.

All the above facts indicate that by February 1917, the conspiracy against Emperor Nicholas II had entered its final phase. The most important point in the plans of the conspirators was the departure of the Emperor to the active army. This would seem to contradict common sense. After all, by giving the Emperor the opportunity to go to the army, the conspirators themselves seemed to be putting into his hands a formidable mechanism for suppressing this very conspiracy and any rebellion. But the fact of the matter is that by February 1917, the top of the army was already against the Tsar, and, first of all, this concerns General M.V. Alekseev.

On February 22, the same day that Nicholas II left for Headquarters, in the house of the commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Major General P. A. von Kotzebue, in the presence of many guests, officers openly said that “ His Majesty will no longer return from Headquarters».

D. S. Botkin, brother of the physician killed in Yekaterinburg Royal Family, wrote in 1925: “ We must not forget that all the train servants, right down to the last mechanic on the Tsar’s train, were involved in the revolution.”.

On February 21, the Emperor inspected the newly built refectory in the Russian style in the Feodorovsky town. He was shown ancient icons and iconostases from the Church of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich near Moscow, wall painting a refectory and several vaulted chambers. The king repeated several times: “ It’s just like a waking dream - I don’t know where I am, in Tsarskoe Selo or in Moscow, in the Kremlin" Then he went into the other rooms. In the living room, he sat down in an easy chair and spent a long time looking at a picture that depicted an old steam locomotive and several carriages appearing around the bend. “I would sit in this cozy chair, forgetting about all my affairs, but, unfortunately, they remind me of themselves all the time».

An old locomotive and several carriages! They have already appeared due to the turn of history. In a day they will take the emperor to Mogilev, so that in two weeks they will bring him back as a prisoner, doomed to way of the cross and martyrdom. On February 22, on the platform of the Tsarskoye Selo station, to the ringing of the bells of the Feodorovsky Sovereign Cathedral, Emperor Nicholas II said goodbye to the Empress and went to Headquarters.

On February 22, 1917, Emperor Nicholas II left for Headquarters in the city of Mogilev. The final acts of the great tragedy have begun.