Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,995
Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksandrovich rejects the Russian succession!
The last tsar in Russia was not Nikolai II, about whose abdication I wrote yesterday, but his younger brother Mikhail Aleksandrovich ...
Nikolai II had designated this man as his successor in his declaration of abdication!
Had the tsar, who is extremely hated by all strata of the population, decided to renounce the throne and adopt this succession arrangement, he would have been able to save the Romanov dynasty with some probability.
Everyone in Russia knew that Grand Duke Michael had crossed paths with the Tsar - and especially his wife Alexandra - for years!
In addition to political reasons (Mikhail was not a friend of the autocratic tsarist regime, but advocated a parliamentary monarchy like in England) there were also private reasons:
Mikhail had wanted to marry women who were not "well-born" twice. The tsar prevented the first planned marriage to Alexandra Dina Kossikowskaja by arresting the woman in Saint Petersburg and then banishing her from Russia for life.
From then on, the Grand Duke was under supervision of the secret police "Ochrana"!
Marrying the next candidate, Nathalie Sergejewna Brassowa, was also a thorn in Nikolai II's side. He first tried to separate the couple by giving his brother military command far away in the province.
Eventually the Grand Duke and his chosen one fled to Vienna, where they secretly married on October 30, 1912.
Nikolai II categorically forbade the couple to re-enter Russia - they were only allowed to return after the outbreak of the First World War!
In 1915 the Tsar “forgave” his brother the “misstep” and gave him a military command at the front.
As commander of the famous "Wild Division", a cavalry division that consisted of Caucasian tribal warriors and Russian-Cossack support personnel, Grand Duke Mikhail earned some military services.
Grand Duke Mikhail was popular with the people because of his well-known rift with the tsarist family - he enjoyed broad sympathy among the military because of his achievements.
Now his brother has declared him tsar! It's not worth much these days because the revolution has already taken power in Saint Petersburg.
Mikhail reacts in his own way - honorable and honorable:
In a letter addressed to the Russian people on March 16, 1917, he solemnly declares that power should initially be transferred to the provisional government and that he is ready to take over the throne if the people decide to do so in secret elections at a later date .
He also decides not to leave Russia and announces that from now on he wishes to “live as a private citizen and Russian among Russians”.
The Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Workers 'and Soldiers' Council, who are fighting violently for power themselves, breathe a sigh of relief - this man could not have simply been pushed aside if he had seriously striven for power!
Mikhail then lived with his wife in seclusion in Gatchina ...
... until the Bolsheviki took over power through the - bloodless - October Revolution.
The new rulers immediately banish the couple to Perm in the Urals and lodge them there in a shabby hotel ...:
But the fixing is only the first step - the Bolsheviks mercilessly murdered every Romanov they could get hold of; the counterrevolution should, as Lenin said, "have no banner to rally around".
The danger he was in was absolutely clear to Mikhail - and he still managed to get his wife and their son Georgiy out of Perm. Both survived. Only his private secretary Brian Johnson remains with Mikhail, who, as an Englishman, feels he is out of danger.
On the night of June 12-13, 1918, armed men led by Gavril Ilyich Myasnikov invaded ...
... enter the hotel where the Grand Duke is detained and take him out of Perm in a carriage.
Mikhail Romanov and Brian Johnson are taken to a nearby forest and shot. The bodies were robbed and buried in the forest. Her grave was never found.
In the city of Nazran in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia a memorial has stood since last year, which commemorates the "Wild Division" ...:
The inscription also commemorates their commander, Mikhail Romanov ...:
At this point we shall see how the tsarist family and the other Romanovs who fall into the hands of the Bolsheviki will fare ...
The last tsar in Russia was not Nikolai II, about whose abdication I wrote yesterday, but his younger brother Mikhail Aleksandrovich ...
Nikolai II had designated this man as his successor in his declaration of abdication!
Had the tsar, who is extremely hated by all strata of the population, decided to renounce the throne and adopt this succession arrangement, he would have been able to save the Romanov dynasty with some probability.
Everyone in Russia knew that Grand Duke Michael had crossed paths with the Tsar - and especially his wife Alexandra - for years!
In addition to political reasons (Mikhail was not a friend of the autocratic tsarist regime, but advocated a parliamentary monarchy like in England) there were also private reasons:
Mikhail had wanted to marry women who were not "well-born" twice. The tsar prevented the first planned marriage to Alexandra Dina Kossikowskaja by arresting the woman in Saint Petersburg and then banishing her from Russia for life.
From then on, the Grand Duke was under supervision of the secret police "Ochrana"!
Marrying the next candidate, Nathalie Sergejewna Brassowa, was also a thorn in Nikolai II's side. He first tried to separate the couple by giving his brother military command far away in the province.
Eventually the Grand Duke and his chosen one fled to Vienna, where they secretly married on October 30, 1912.
Nikolai II categorically forbade the couple to re-enter Russia - they were only allowed to return after the outbreak of the First World War!
In 1915 the Tsar “forgave” his brother the “misstep” and gave him a military command at the front.
As commander of the famous "Wild Division", a cavalry division that consisted of Caucasian tribal warriors and Russian-Cossack support personnel, Grand Duke Mikhail earned some military services.
Grand Duke Mikhail was popular with the people because of his well-known rift with the tsarist family - he enjoyed broad sympathy among the military because of his achievements.
Now his brother has declared him tsar! It's not worth much these days because the revolution has already taken power in Saint Petersburg.
Mikhail reacts in his own way - honorable and honorable:
In a letter addressed to the Russian people on March 16, 1917, he solemnly declares that power should initially be transferred to the provisional government and that he is ready to take over the throne if the people decide to do so in secret elections at a later date .
He also decides not to leave Russia and announces that from now on he wishes to “live as a private citizen and Russian among Russians”.
The Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Workers 'and Soldiers' Council, who are fighting violently for power themselves, breathe a sigh of relief - this man could not have simply been pushed aside if he had seriously striven for power!
Mikhail then lived with his wife in seclusion in Gatchina ...
... until the Bolsheviki took over power through the - bloodless - October Revolution.
The new rulers immediately banish the couple to Perm in the Urals and lodge them there in a shabby hotel ...:
But the fixing is only the first step - the Bolsheviks mercilessly murdered every Romanov they could get hold of; the counterrevolution should, as Lenin said, "have no banner to rally around".
The danger he was in was absolutely clear to Mikhail - and he still managed to get his wife and their son Georgiy out of Perm. Both survived. Only his private secretary Brian Johnson remains with Mikhail, who, as an Englishman, feels he is out of danger.
On the night of June 12-13, 1918, armed men led by Gavril Ilyich Myasnikov invaded ...
... enter the hotel where the Grand Duke is detained and take him out of Perm in a carriage.
Mikhail Romanov and Brian Johnson are taken to a nearby forest and shot. The bodies were robbed and buried in the forest. Her grave was never found.
In the city of Nazran in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia a memorial has stood since last year, which commemorates the "Wild Division" ...:
The inscription also commemorates their commander, Mikhail Romanov ...:
At this point we shall see how the tsarist family and the other Romanovs who fall into the hands of the Bolsheviki will fare ...
