THIRTEEN YEARS AT THE RUSSIAN COURT
[Illustration: IN CAPTIVITY AT TSARSKOÏE-SELO
March to August, 1917
THE CZAR CLEARING A PATH THROUGH THE SNOW IN THE PARK OF TSARSKOÏE-SELO
AT THE END OF MARCH, 1917.
{_Frontispiece._]
THIRTEEN YEARS AT
THE RUSSIAN COURT
(A Personal Record of the Last Years and
Death of the Czar Nicholas II. and his Family)
BY
PIERRE GILLIARD
(Formerly Tutor to the Czarevitch)
TRANSLATED BY
F. APPLEBY HOLT, O.B.E.
WITH 59 ILLUSTRATIONS
_THIRD EDITION_
_LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO.
PATERNOSTER ROW_
INTRODUCTION
In September, 1920, after staying three years in Siberia, I was able to
return to Europe. My mind was still full of the poignant drama with
which I had been closely associated, but I was also still deeply
impressed by the wonderful serenity and flaming faith of those who had
been its victims.
Cut off from communication with the rest of the world for many months, I
was unfamiliar with recent publications on the subject of the Czar
Nicholas II. and his family. I was not slow to discover that though some
of these works revealed a painful anxiety for accuracy and their authors
endeavoured to rely on serious records (although the information they
gave was often erroneous or incomplete so far as the Imperial family was
concerned), the majority of them were simply a tissue of absurdities and
falsehoods--in other words, vulgar outpourings exploiting the most
unworthy calumnies.[1]
I was simply appalled to read some of them. But my indignation was far
greater when I realised to my amazement that they had been accepted by
the general public.
To rehabilitate the moral character of the Russian sovereigns was a
duty--a duty called for by honesty and justice. I decided at once to
attempt the task.
What I am endeavouring to describe is the drama of a lifetime, a drama I
(at first) suspected under the brilliant exterior of a magnificent
Court, and then realised personally during our captivity when
circumstances brought me into intimate contact with the sovereigns. The
Ekaterinburg drama was, in fact, nothing but the fulfilment of a
remorseless destiny, the climax of one of the most moving tragedies
humanity has known. In the following pages I shall try to show its
nature and to trace its melancholy stages.
There were few who suspected this secret sorrow, yet it was of vital
importance from a historical point of view. The illness of the
Czarevitch cast its shadow over the whole of the concluding period of
the Czar Nicholas II.’s reign and alone can explain it. Without
appearing to be, it was one of the main causes of his fall, for it made
possible the phenomenon of Rasputin and resulted in the fatal isolation
of the sovereigns who lived in a world apart, wholly absorbed in a
tragic anxiety which had to be concealed from all eyes.
In this book I have endeavoured to bring Nicholas II. and his family
back to life. My aim is to be absolutely impartial and to preserve
complete independence of mind in describing the events of which I have
been an eyewitness. It may be that in my search for truth I have
presented their political enemies with new weapons against them, but I
greatly hope that this book will reveal them as they really were, for it
was not the glamour of their Imperial dignity which drew me to them, but
their nobility of mind and the wonderful moral grandeur they displayed
through all their sufferings.
PIERRE GILLIARD.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
I. MY FIRST LESSONS AT THE COURT (AUTUMN, 1905) 17
II. ALEXIS NICOLAÏEVITCH--VISITS TO THE CRIMEA
(AUTUMN, 1911, AND SPRING, 1912)--SPALA
(AUTUMN, 1912) 25
III. I BEGIN MY DUTIES AS TUTOR--THE CZAREVITCH’S
ILLNESS (AUTUMN, 1913) 37
IV. THE CZARINA, ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA 47
V. RASPUTIN 59
VI. LIFE AT TSARSKOÏE-SELO--MY PUPILS (THE WINTER
OF 1913-14) 69
VII. THE INFLUENCE OF RASPUTIN--MADAME WYROUBOVA--MY
TUTORIAL TROUBLES (WINTER OF 1913) 81
VIII. JOURNEYS TO THE CRIMEA AND RUMANIA--PRESIDENT
POINCARÉ’S VISIT--DECLARATION OF WAR BY
GERMANY (APRIL-JULY, 1914) 91
IX. THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN THE FIRST DAYS OF THE
WAR--OUR JOURNEY TO MOSCOW (AUGUST, 1914) 105
X. THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE WAR 121
XI. THE RETREAT OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY--THE CZAR PLACES
HIMSELF AT THE HEAD OF HIS ARMY--THE GROWING
INFLUENCE OF THE CZARINA (FEBRUARY-SEPTEMBER,
1915) 133
XII. NICHOLAS II. AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF--THE ARRIVAL
OF THE CZAREVITCH AT G.H.Q.--VISITS TO THE FRONT
(SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 1915) 147
XIII. THE CZAR AT THE DUMA--THE CAMPAIGN IN GALICIA--OUR
LIFE AT G.H.Q.--GROWING DISAFFECTION IN
THE REAR (1916) 161
XIV. POLITICAL TENSION--THE DEATH OF RASPUTIN (DECEMBER,
1916) 177
XV. THE REVOLUTION--THE ABDICATION OF NICHOLAS II.
(MARCH, 1917) 187
XVI. THE CZAR NICHOLAS II. 203
XVII. THE REVOLUTION SEEN FROM THE ALEXANDER PALACE--THE
CZAR’S RETURN TO TSARSKOÏE-SELO 209
XVIII. FIVE MONTHS’ CAPTIVITY AT TSARSKOÏE-SELO (MARCH-AUGUST,
1917) 221
XIX. OUR CAPTIVITY AT TOBOLSK (AUGUST-DECEMBER,
1917) 239
XX. END OF OUR CAPTIVITY AT TOBOLSK (JANUARY-MAY,
1918) 251
XXI. EKATERINBURG--THE MURDER OF THE IMPERIAL
FAMILY DURING THE NIGHT OF JULY 16-17TH, 1918 269
XXII. THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CRIME ESTABLISHED BY
THE ENQUIRY 281
EPILOGUE 299
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Czar clearing snow at Tsarskoïe-Selo _Frontispiece_
_Facing page_
The Czarevitch in the park of Tsarskoïe-Selo 20
The four Grand-Duchesses in 1909 20
The Czarina before her marriage 26
The Czarevitch at the age of fifteen months 26
The Grand-Duchesses Marie and Anastasie in theatrical
costume 30
The Czarina at the Czarevitch’s bedside 30
The four Grand-Duchesses gathering mushrooms 40
The Czarevitch cutting corn he had sown at Peterhof 40
Letter to the author from the Grand-Duchess Olga Nicolaïevna,
1914 60
The Czarevitch with his dog “Joy” 70
The Czarina and the Czarevitch in the court of the palace at
Livadia 74
The Czarina sewing in the Grand-Duchesses’ room 74
Excursion to the “Red Rock” on May 8th, 1914 92
The four Grand-Duchesses, 1914 92
The Czar and Czarevitch examining a captured German
machine-gun, 1914 110
The Czar and Czarevitch before the barbed wire, 1915 110
The Czar 134
The Czarevitch 134
The Czarina 140
The four Grand-Duchesses 140
The Czar and Czarevitch on the banks of the Dnieper, 1916 148
The Czar and Czarevitch near Mohileff, 1916 148
The Czar and Czarevitch at a religious service at G.H.Q.,
Mohileff 154
The Grand-Duchesses visiting the family of a railway employee 166
The Czarina and Grand-Duchess Tatiana talking to refugees 166
The Grand-Duchess Marie as a convalescent 212
The four Grand-Duchesses in the park at Tsarskoïe-Selo 212
The Czarina’s room in the Alexander Palace 216
The Portrait Gallery 216
The Czar, his children and their companions in captivity
working in the park 222
The Czar working in the kitchen-garden 226
The Czarina, in an invalid chair, working at some embroidery 226
The Grand-Duchess Tatiana carrying turf 230
The Czar and his servant Juravsky sawing the trunk of a tree 230
The Grand-Duchesses Tatiana and Anastasie taking a water-butt
to the kitchen-garden 234
The Imperial family’s suite at Tsarskoïe-Selo, 1917 234
The Grand-Duchess Tatiana a prisoner in the park of Tsarskoïe-Selo 240
Alexis Nicolaïevitch joins the Grand-Duchess 240
The Czar and his children in captivity enjoying the sunshine
at Tobolsk 246
The Governor’s house at Tobolsk, where the Imperial family
were interned 252
The Czar sawing wood with the author 256
Alexis Nicolaïevitch on the steps of the Governor’s house 256
The Imperial family at the main door of the Governor’s house 260
The Czarina’s room 260
The priest celebrating Mass in the Governor’s house after the
departure of Their Majesties 264
The river steamer _Rouss_ on which the Czar and his family
travelled 264
Ipatief’s house at Ekaterinburg, in which the Imperial family
were interned and subsequently massacred 270
Yourovsky, from a photograph produced at the enquiry 272
The Grand-Duchesses’ room in Ipatief’s house 272
Ipatief’s house from the Vosnessensky street 276
The Czarina’s favourite lucky charm, the “Swastika” 276
The room in Ipatief’s house in which the Imperial family and
their companions were put to death 282
Mine-shaft where the ashes were thrown 286
The search in the mine-shaft 286
M. Sokoloff examining the ashes nearest to the mine-shaft 290
M. Sokoloff examining traces of fire at foot of an old pine 290
Dr. Botkin, who was killed with the Imperial family 294
A group taken at Tobolsk 294
Thirteen Years at the Russian Court
CHAPTER I
MY FIRST LESSONS AT THE COURT
(AUTUMN, 1905)
In the autumn of 1904 I accepted a proposal which had been made to me to
go to Duke Sergius of Leuchtenberg as French professor.
My pupil’s father, Duke George of Leuchtenberg, was the grandson of
Eugène de Beauharnais; through his mother, the Grand-Duchess Marie
Nicolaïevna, daughter of Nicholas I., he was a cousin of the Czar
Nicholas II.
At the time the family were at the small estate they possessed on the
shores of the Black Sea. They spent the whole winter there. It was there
that we were surprised by the tragic events of the spring of 1905 and
passed through many a poignant hour owing to the revolt of the Black Sea
Fleet, the bombardment of the coast, the series of pogroms, and the
violent acts of repression which followed. From the very start Russia
showed herself to me under a terrible and menacing aspect, a presage of
the horrors and sufferings she had in store for me.
At the beginning of June the family took up their residence in the
attractive Villa Sergievskaïa Datcha, which the Duke possessed at
Peterhof. The contrast was most striking as we left the barren coast of
the southern Crimea, with its little Tatar villages snuggling in the
mountains and its dusty cypresses, for the splendid forests and
delicious fresh breezes of the shores of the Gulf of Finland.
Peterhof had been the favourite residence of its founder, Peter the
Great. It was there that he rested from the exhausting work of building
St. Petersburg, the city which at his command rose from the marshes at
the mouth of the Neva as if by enchantment--a city destined to rival the
great European capitals.
Everything about Peterhof recalls its creator. First of all there is
Marly in which he resided for some time--a “maisonnette” out in the
water on an isthmus of land separating two great lakes. Then comes the
Hermitage, by the shores of the gulf where he liked to treat his helpers
to banquets where the wine flowed freely. There is Monplaisir, a
building in the Dutch style with a terrace sheer above the sea. It was
his favourite residence. How curious that this “landsman” loved the sea
so much! Last comes the Great Palace, which, with its lakes and the
superb views in its park, he meant to rival the splendours of
Versailles.
All these buildings, with the exception of the Great Palace, produce the
impression of those abandoned, empty edifices which memories of the past
alone can bring to life.
The Czar Nicholas II. had inherited his ancestors’ preference for this
delicious spot, and every summer he brought his family to the little
Alexandria Cottage in the centre of a wooded park which sheltered it
from prying eyes.
The Duke of Leuchtenberg’s family spent the entire summer of 1905 at
Peterhof. Intercourse between Alexandria and Sergievskaïa Datcha was
lively, for the Czarina and the Duchess of Leuchtenberg were on terms of
the closest friendship. I was thus able to get occasional glimpses of
the members of the royal family.
When my time ran out it was suggested that I should stay on as tutor to
my pupil and at the same time teach French to the Grand-Duchesses Olga
Nicolaïevna and Tatiana Nicolaïevna, the two elder daughters of the Czar
Nicholas II. I agreed, and after a short visit to Switzerland I returned
to Peterhof in the early days of September. A few weeks later I took up
my new duties at the Imperial Court.
On the day appointed for my first lesson a royal carriage came to take
me to Alexandria Cottage, where the Czar and his family were residing.
Yet in spite of the liveried coachman, the Imperial arms on the panels,
and the orders with regard to my arrival which had no doubt been given,
I learned to my cost that it was no easy task to enter the residence of
Their Majesties. I was stopped at the park gates, and there were several
minutes of discussion before I was allowed to go in. On turning a corner
I soon observed two small brick buildings connected by a covered bridge.
If the carriage had not stopped I should not have known I had arrived at
my destination.
I was taken up to a small room, soberly furnished in the English style,
on the second storey. The door opened and the Czarina came in, holding
her daughters Olga and Tatiana by the hand. After a few pleasant remarks
she sat down at the table and invited me to take a place opposite her.
The children sat at each end.
The Czarina was still a beautiful woman at that time. She was tall and
slender and carried herself superbly. But all this ceased to count the
moment one looked into her eyes--those speaking, grey-blue eyes which
mirrored the emotions of a sensitive soul.
Olga, the eldest of the Grand-Duchesses, was a girl of ten, very fair,
and with sparkling, mischievous eyes and a slightly _retroussé_ nose.
She examined me with a look which seemed from the first moment to be
searching for the weak point in my armour, but there was something so
pure and frank about the child that one liked her straight off.
The second girl, Tatiana, was eight and a half. She had auburn hair and
was prettier than her sister, but gave one the impression of being less
transparent, frank, and spontaneous.
The lesson began. I was amazed, even embarrassed, by the very simplicity
of a scene I had anticipated would be quite different. The Czarina
followed everything I said very closely. I distinctly felt that I was
not so much giving a lesson as undergoing an examination. The contrast
between anticipation and reality quite disconcerted me. To crown my
discomfort, I had had an idea that my pupils were much more advanced
than they actually were. I had selected certain exercises, but they
proved far too difficult. The lesson I had prepared was useless, and I
had to improvise and resort to expedients. At length, to my great
relief, the clock struck the hour and put an end to my ordeal.
In the weeks following the Czarina was always present at the children’s
lessons, in which she took visible interest. Quite frequently, when her
daughters had left us, she would discuss with me the best means and
methods of teaching modern languages, and I was always struck by the
shrewd good sense of her views.
Of those early days I have preserved the memory of a lesson I gave a day
or two previous to the issue of the Manifesto of
[Illustration: THE CZAREVITCH IN THE PARK OF TSARSKOÏE-SELO.
WINTER OF 1908.]
[Illustration: THE FOUR GRAND-DUCHESSES. (CRIMEA, 1909.)
(From left to right: Anastasie, Tatiana, Marie, Olga).
{_Facing page 2._]
October, 1905, which summoned the Duma. The Czarina was sitting in a low
chair near the window. She struck me instantly as absent-minded and
preoccupied. In spite of all she could do, her face betrayed her inward
agitation. She made obvious efforts to concentrate her thoughts upon us,
but soon relapsed into a melancholy reverie in which she was utterly
lost. Her work slipped from her fingers to her lap. She had clasped her
hands, and her gaze, following her thoughts, seemed lost and indifferent
to the things about her.
I had made a practice, when the lesson was over, of shutting my book and
waiting until the Czarina rose as a signal for me to retire. This time,
notwithstanding the silence which followed the end of the lesson, she
was so lost in thought that she did not move. The minutes passed and the
children fidgeted. I opened my book again and went on reading. Not for a
quarter of an hour, when one of the Grand-Duchesses went up to her
mother, did she realise the time.
After a few months the Czarina appointed one of her ladies-in-waiting,
Princess Obolensky, to take her place during my lessons. She thus marked
the end of the kind of trial to which I had been subjected. I must admit
the change was a relief. I was far more at my ease in Princess
Obolensky’s presence, and besides, she gave me devoted help. Yet of
those first months I have preserved a vivid recollection of the great
interest which the Czarina, a mother with a high sense of duty, took in
the education and training of her children. Instead of the cold and
haughty Empress of which I had heard so much, I had been amazed to find
myself in the presence of a woman wholly devoted to her maternal
obligations.
It was then, too, that I learned to realise by certain signs that the
reserve which so many people had taken as an affront and had made her
so many enemies was rather the effect of a natural timidity, as it
were--a mask covering her sensitiveness.
I will give one detail which illustrates the Czarina’s anxious interest
in the upbringing of her children and the importance she attached to
their showing respect for their teachers by observing that sense of
decorum which is the first element of politeness. While she was present
at my lessons, when I entered the room I always found the books and
notebooks piled neatly in my pupils’ places at the table, and I was
never kept waiting a moment. It was the same afterwards. In due course
my first pupils, Olga and Tatiana, were joined by Marie, in 1907, and
Anastasie, in 1909, as soon as these two younger daughters had reached
their ninth year.[2]
The Czarina’s health, already tried by her anxiety about the menace
hanging over the Czarevitch’s head, by degrees prevented her from
following her daughters’ education. At the time I did not realise what
was the cause of her apparent indifference, and was inclined to censure
her for it, but it was not long before events showed me my mistake.