The crowning of Nicholas II: not only the Khodyn tragedy. Nicholas II. sad wedding

The celebrations of the coronation of Nicholas II took place on May 14 (according to the old style), 1896. This year ( 2011 - approx.) May 26 marks the 115th anniversary of the event, the meaning of which is much more serious than a tribute to tradition. Alas, in the minds of subsequent generations, it was obscured by the Khodynka disaster. One has to make an effort on oneself so that, turning mentally to May 1896, to think not only about Khodynka. And yet: what is the anointing to the kingdom? Is it only a rite, as if confirming the already accomplished fact of the accession to the throne of the new Sovereign? What did it mean for Nicholas II? What did Khodyn tragedy in the perspective of the next, twentieth century?

The topic of anointing to the kingdom requires a serious and thoughtful approach. This applies especially to the coronation of Nicholas II, who, as is clear in hindsight, was anointed at the same time for the coming suffering. But as soon as you think about the chrismation of our last Tsar, as a thought, apparently filled with compassion for the dead compatriots, “stands on guard” and makes you think about a catastrophe. However, the tragedy that claimed more than 1.5 thousand lives, of course, cannot be ignored. It happened on the fourth day after the coronation, was, as we will see, the result of a short-term madness of the crowd and, according to Abbot Seraphim (Kuznetsov), was an omen of that loss of self-consciousness with which, after 1917, we began to “crush” each other no longer thousands, but millions. But, let us add, just as the revolution and turmoil of the twentieth century, which overshadowed the reign of Nicholas II, "do not cancel" his reign, so the Khodynka catastrophe "does not cancel" the coronation celebrations and the main thing in them: the anointing of the Sovereign to the kingdom.

The tsar arrived in Moscow on his birthday, May 6 (OS), and stayed at the Petrovsky Castle, which was then on the outskirts of the capital. On May 9, the tsar's solemn entry into Moscow took place. The royal couple settled in the Alexandrinsky Palace (the current building of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation on Leninsky Prospekt) and spent all the days remaining until the coronation. May 14 (O.S.), 1896, arrives, and the clergy meet the Sovereign and Empress on the porch of the Assumption Cathedral. Metropolitan Sergius of Moscow (Lyapidevsky; †1898), having blessed the tsar and tsarina, delivers a speech addressed to the Sovereign and, according to tradition, instructive and not just welcome. He says in it: “You enter this ancient sanctuary in order to place a royal crown on yourself here and receive holy chrismation.<…>Confirmation is granted to all Orthodox Christians, and it is not repeated. If, however, you are to receive new impressions of this sacrament, then the reason for this is that, just as there is no higher, so there is no more difficult on earth royal power, there is no burden heavier than royal service. Through the visible anointing, may an invisible force be given to you, acting from above, illuminating your autocratic activity for the good and happiness of your faithful subjects.

The king and queen kiss the cross, they are sprinkled with holy water, after which they enter the cathedral, while singing the 100th psalm, in which the ruler confesses the ideal of purity: “... a corrupted heart will be removed from me; secretly slandering his neighbor exile; evil I will not know ... ". The Sovereign and Empress bow to the ground in front of the royal doors, venerate the miraculous icons and sit down on the thrones prepared for them in the middle of the temple. Soon the rite of the wedding or coronation should begin, but it did not begin before the preeminent Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Pallady (Raev-Pisarev; †1898), approaching the royal throne, asked the Sovereign about his religion. In response, the emperor pronounced the Symbol of the Orthodox Faith in a clear and loud voice.

In the rite of the wedding paremia is read ( Is. 49.13-19) about the protection of God over the king (“I drew you on My hands; your walls are always before Me”), Apostle ( Rom.13.1-7) - about obedience to kings, and the Gospel ( Matt. 22.15-23), as if in addition to the previous reading - about the retribution of Caesar's to Caesar, and God's God. One of highlights coronation - the laying on of the hands of the metropolitan crosswise on the royal head and the offering of a prayer that the Lord would anoint the king "with the oil of joy, clothe him with strength from on high, ... give him the scepter of salvation in his right hand, seat him on the throne of truth ...". After this prayer, the Sovereign took the crown brought to him on a pillow by the Metropolitan and, in accordance with the rank, placed it on himself, then placed a small crown on the head of the queen, who knelt before him.

Having confessed the faith and accepted the burden of power, the Tsar knelt down and, holding the crown in his hand, offered the coronation prayer to God. It contains the following words: “... I confess Your unsearchable watching over me and, thanks to Your majesty, I worship, You, Master and my Lord, instruct me in the matter, where Thou hast sent me, enlighten and guide me in this great service. May the Wisdom that sits on Your Throne be with me. Send me Thy saints from heaven, so that I may understand what is pleasing before Thy eyes, and what is right according to Thy commandments.

Having finished the prayer, the Sovereign stood up, and then immediately all those present in the cathedral knelt down. Metropolitan Pallady, on his knees, read on behalf of the people a prayer for the king:<…>Show him victorious to enemies, terrible to villains, merciful and trustworthy to the good, warm his heart to the contempt of the poor, to the acceptance of the strange, to the intercession of the attacked. Governing the government subordinate to him on the path of truth and righteousness, and reflecting from favoritism and bribery, and all the power of His people handed over to You in unhypocritical fidelity, create it about the children of the rejoicing one ... ”You stop at such words, knowing what followed after 21 years, you think bitterly: exactly the opposite has come true, and you cannot refrain from exclaiming: did the Lord not support?

After the prayer, Metropolitan Pallady addressed the Sovereign from the pulpit with a lengthy greeting, ending with the words: “You, the Orthodox Tsar, crowned by God, trust in the Lord, that your heart be established in Him: by faith and piety, kings are strong, and kingdoms are unshakable!”. Attention is drawn to the seriousness and absence of any eloquence both in the texts of the coronation prayers and in the texts of speeches addressed to the Anointed on behalf of the Church.

After the coronation rite began Divine Liturgy. At the end of it, before the acceptance of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the chrismation of the Tsar and Tsaritsa took place. According to B.A. Uspensky, the repetition of a sacred action, which in principle should not be repeated, gave the delivered person (in this case tsar) a special status, a special charisma: the tsar became belonging to a different, higher sphere of being, and his legal powers turned into charismatic powers (quoted by V. Semenko. Charisma of power).

According to Archpriest Maxim Kozlov (see the article “His sincere self-sacrifice was committed for the sake of preserving the principle of autocracy”), “the meaning of this sacred ceremony was that the Tsar was blessed by God not only as the head of the state or civil administration, but, above all, as the bearer of the theocratic ministry, church ministry, as the vicar of God on earth. Moreover, the Tsar was responsible for the spiritual state of all his subjects, for, being the supreme patron Orthodox Church, was the guardian of the spiritual traditions of other religious communities. In the same article, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov also recalls the teachings of St. Philaret of Moscow about royal power and the faithful disposition of Orthodox subjects towards it, recalls the words of the saint: “The people that honor the Tsar, please God through this, for the Tsar is the dispensation of God.” Archpriest Maxim Kozlov writes: “The Tsar, according to the teachings of St. Philaret, is the bearer of the power of God, the power that, existing on earth, is a reflection of the Heavenly Sovereign Power of God. The earthly kingdom is the image and threshold of the kingdom of heaven, and therefore it naturally follows from this teaching that only that earthly society is blessed and contains the seed of God's grace, spiritualizing and sanctifying this society, which has as its head the supreme bearer of power and anointed one - the Tsar.

After the end of the service in the Assumption Cathedral, the coronation procession began: the Sovereign and Empress visited the shrines of the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals. Finally, the highest persons went up to the Red Porch and bowed to the people three times: in front of them, to the right and to the left.

Nicholas II is usually looked at now as a "good man" with the addition of "but". Following the “but” may contain an accusation of all our troubles of the twentieth century, or may not be contained, however, in any case, the following is implied: “ good man but an insolvent sovereign. His successes, recognized even by enemies, are hushed up, and they do not think about his responsibility at all, they take it for granted. At the same time, in terms of responsibility, Tsar Nicholas II can be considered a model of the Sovereign. It is known that he did not make any decision without presenting it to God, he never went against his conscience. Thus, he did not utter a single word of the coronation prayers in vain and did not miss his ears. Yes, later he was forced to recant, but this did not mean the notorious “weakness” attributed to him by his contemporaries and to this day idly appropriated.

It was not about “weakness” that the sign was given to him already during the coronation. Which sign? Hegumen Seraphim (Kuznetsov) writes about this little-known episode in his book The Orthodox Tsar-Martyr (M. 1997): (The Sovereign) stumbled and lost consciousness for a while. To such a case, which remained almost unnoticed by anyone, hegumen Seraphim attaches symbolic meaning: “What happened after the Sovereign was exhausted during the coronation? A bloody catastrophe, the people crushed and strangled each other. Didn't the same thing happen, how the king fainted under the weight of the cross, forcibly removed from him by part of the people? Here hegumen Seraphim spoke about the loss of self-consciousness, which cost us millions of lives.

Let us turn to the events on the Khodynka field on May 18, 1896. From early morning and even from night, a huge number of people gathered here: more than half a million people. Waiting for distribution royal gift, which was the following set: a commemorative mug (painted aluminum) with the monograms of their majesties, half a pound of sausage, fruit bait, Vyazma gingerbread with the coat of arms and a bag of sweets and nuts. Until six in the morning everything was completely calm. Around six, a rumor suddenly spread: there won’t be enough gifts for everyone, the bartenders supposedly make supplies for themselves ... Then, according to an eyewitness, “the crowd suddenly jumped up like one person and rushed forward with such swiftness, as if fire was chasing after it ... The back rows pushed on the front, those who fell were trampled on, having lost the ability to feel that they were walking on still living bodies, like on stones or logs. The crash lasted only 10-15 minutes. By the time the crowd came to their senses, it was already too late.”

Coronation Alexander III took place thirteen years before the coronation of his son, and now on the Khodynka field they prepared for the celebration just the same as then, they did not expect such an influx of people. Nevertheless, the organization of such a mass event, of course, left much to be desired. But when one reads the description just given, one gets the impression that no measures could save one from such madness. Moscow guides do not think about it, they do not even know that formally the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich did not answer at all for organizing a holiday on the Khodynka field (although, as the owner of Moscow, he had to take care of this), and with the same pathos as a hundred and fifty years ago, they blame him and blame him ... In the book of A.N. Bokhanov "Nicholas II" tells in detail about the intrigues woven in the house of the Romanovs around the name of the Grand Duke, who had many enemies among "his own" - they set the indicated pathos.

In the "canonical" list of accusations against Nicholas II, the tragedy on the Khodynka field occupies a definite, if not too significant, place. They accused and continue to accuse the tsar - of heartlessness: he did not refuse, they say, to go to the ball with the French envoy, and so on. Let us also refer here to A.N. Bokhanov, who clearly explains the impossibility for the Sovereign to refuse the invitation of the French side. An official is a hostage of etiquette and protocol, you can not understand this only if you want to think badly about it official. It is known that after May 18 solemn events have been reduced. As for the heartlessness of the tsar, we will only note: this slander remains surprisingly tenacious, it is repeated, for example, by I. Zimin in the recently published book “ Everyday life of the Imperial Court” (St. Petersburg, 2010), and if the author wants to think so, nothing can be done about it.

The tsar ordered that 1000 rubles (a very significant amount at that time) be given to each family of the deceased or wounded on the Khodynka field. Together with the Empress, he visited the wounded during the tragedy in Moscow hospitals. The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna also visited them. A.N. Bokhanov cites her letter to her son Georgy, written in those days: “I was very upset to see all these unfortunate wounded, half crushed, in the hospital, and almost every one of them lost someone close to him. It was heartbreaking. But at the same time, they were so significant and sublime in their simplicity that they simply made you want to kneel before them. They were so touching without blaming anyone but themselves. They said that they themselves were to blame and were very sorry that they had upset the king! They were sublime as always, and one could be proud of the consciousness that you belong to such a great and beautiful people. Other classes should have taken an example from them, and not devoured each other, and mainly, with their cruelty, excite the minds to a state that I have never seen in 30 years of my stay in Russia. Remarkable evidence. Alas, the “excitement of the minds” will only increase, and all in one direction: the depletion of the traditional Russian love for the tsar and the acquisition of “the right to dishonor”, ​​in the words of Dostoevsky.

But we already had an anointed one, and at the same time such an anointed one who “endures to the end” and becomes a holy intercessor for his hard-headed people before God. His union with us was accomplished - "wedding bonds".

On November 14 (26), 1884, Emperor NICHOLAS II and Grand Duchess ALEXANDRA FYODOROVNA (nee Princess Victoria Alice Elena Louise Beatrice of Hesse-Darmstadt) were married in the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace.

The wedding day was appointed on the birthday of Empress MARIA FYODOROVNA, on the eve of the Nativity Fast, which allowed retreat from mourning - Emperor ALEXANDER III died on October 20 (November 1), 1894. “Everything seems to me,” Nikolai wrote in his diary on November 13, on the eve of the wedding, - that it’s about someone else’s wedding - it’s strange under such circumstances to think about your own marriage!

“In the midst of deep sorrow,” the imperial manifesto, marked on November 14, said, “with which Our hearts and all the faithful sons of Russia are filled, may this day be a bright herald of people’s hopes for the continuation of God’s mercy to Us in the coming new reign.” The motivation looked quite serious - the wedding is not a royal whim, but an urgent concern for the welfare of the state, the execution sacred covenant deceased monarch.

The celebration day was celebrated at 8 o'clock in the morning with 21 cannon shots. According to summonses sent from the court, members of the Holy Synod and "noble clergy", members of the State Council, ministers, foreign ambassadors accredited in Russia with their spouses, courtiers and retinues arrived at the Winter Palace at half past eleven in the morning. The ladies were in Russian dress, the gentlemen were in full dress. Numerous foreign relatives and members of the Romanov dynasty arrived at the wedding of the Russian monarch, or rather, remained from the time of the funeral of Alexander III.

Wedding rings on the hands of the spouses were put on by the royal confessor, father JOHN (YANISHEV). After the wedding, a thanksgiving service was served by the members of the Holy Synod, headed by Metropolitan PALLADY (RAEV) of St. Petersburg. While singing "To you, God, we praise" a cannon salute was given in 301 shots.

Then, in the front carriage with postilions and Russian harness, the newlyweds proceeded to the Kazan Cathedral for worship. miraculous icon Kazan Mother of God. Later, a wedding dinner took place at the Anichkov Palace. From Zimny ​​to Anichkov, Grand Duke VLADIMIR ALEKSANDROVICH, Commander-in-Chief of the Guards and the St. Petersburg Military District, lined up the troops with espaliers.

The wedding was played without waiting for forty days of mourning. The act was unparalleled in imperial family, but the young sovereign did not pay attention to this. Even ALEXANDER II, who sought to legitimize his relationship with Princess Dolgoruka as soon as possible, got married only 40 days after the death of Empress MARIA ALEXANDROVNA. Of course, it is incorrect to compare the second marriage of the reformer tsar and the wedding of his grandson, but still Nicholas II frankly ignored the issues of court etiquette.

Grand Duke ALEXANDER MIKHAILOVICH wrote in his emigrant memoirs about the first days of their marriage: “The marriage of the young tsar took place less than a week after the funeral of Alexander III. Their honeymoon proceeded in the atmosphere of requiems and mourning visits. The most deliberate dramatization could not have devised a more suitable prologue for historical tragedy the last Russian tsar.

REPIN Ilya Efimovich (1844-1930) "The wedding of Nicholas II and Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. 1894
Canvas, oil. 98.5 × 125.5 cm.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.

Came from different countries numerous august relatives, having buried the emperor-father, immediately began to reorganize on new way, for exactly one week after the burial, the wedding of the emperor-son was to take place.

Nikolai, of course, like any young lover, burned with impatience to quickly unite with a young, beautiful and loving wife, but at the same time, three weeks of mourning could not but make the most depressing impression on him, for he passionately and sincerely loved his father and was very sorry for his mother, with whom even fainting occurred when remembering the deceased.

Foreign princes and princesses, who were waiting for wedding celebrations, involuntarily irritated Nicholas, for it was difficult to imagine a more ridiculous situation when, in complete confusion of feelings, immediately after the death of a beloved father, it was necessary to make preparations for the wedding. Nicholas - a Christian, a loving son and a well-mannered person - could not help but understand the ridiculous inconsistency and odiousness of the situation, and yet on the seventh day after the funeral, on Monday, November 14, 1894, the wedding day came.

No one thought then that the wedding would be the last highly solemn act when the Russian emperor would marry the Russian empress.

It should be noted that over the three centuries of the existence of the Romanov dynasty, rarely any of the kings and emperors went down the aisle after ascending the throne.

For the first time, this happened to the founder of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, who, having already been crowned, married twice - in 1624 with Princess Maria Vladimirovna Dolgoruky and in 1626 with Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva.

The same story happened to Mikhail's son, Alexei, who also married twice after Monomakh's barms, the royal crown, scepter and orb belonged to him: in 1648 he married Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, and in 1671 - Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina .

And, finally, two more tsars - the brothers Ivan V and Peter I - married, having a royal dignity, in 1684 and in 1689 the young ladies Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova and Evdokia Feodorovna Lopukhina, however, it should be borne in mind that Ivan and Peter became kings in 1682, when Ivan was 16 and Peter was only 10 years old.

The wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna cannot be called magnificent, rich and cheerful.

Here is what Nikolai wrote about this in his diary: “After a common coffee, we went to get dressed: I put on a hussar uniform and at 11 / went with Misha (younger brother. - V. B.) in Winter. All along the Nevsky there were troops for the passage of Mama and Alix. While her toilet was taking place in Malahitova, we all waited in Arabic room. At 10 minutes past one, the exit to the Great Church began, from where I returned a married man! My best men were: Misha, George, Kirill and Sergey (Uncle Sergey, brother Mikhail and cousins Prince of Greece Georgy Georgievich and Kirill Vladimirovich. - V. B.). In Malahitova we were brought a huge silver swan from the family. Having changed, Alix got into a carriage with a Russian harness with a postilion with me, and we drove to the Kazan Cathedral. There were an abyss of people on the streets - they could hardly get through! Upon arrival in Anichkov, a guard of honor met her in the yard (Alix. - V. B.) Life Guards Ulansky Regiment. Mom was waiting with bread and salt in our rooms. We sat all evening answering telegrams. We dined at 8 o'clock. We went to bed early because she had a bad headache.”

Even the fact that not the big and pompous Winter Palace, but the modest Anichkov, where Alexander III lived - an unpretentious and modest person in everyday life, was chosen for the wedding celebrations, spoke for itself.

And about his feelings that swept over him on the day of the wedding, Nikolai later spoke in a letter to brother George: “The wedding day was a terrible torment for her and me. The thought that our dear, selflessly beloved Papa was not between us and that you are far from your family and all alone, did not leave me during the wedding; I had to exert all my strength so as not to burst into tears here in church in front of everyone. Now everything has calmed down a bit - life has gone completely new for me ... I cannot thank God enough for the treasure that he sent me in the form of a wife. I am immeasurably happy with my darling Alix and I feel that we will live just as happily until the end of our lives.

Ten days after the wedding, Nikolai wrote: “Every day that passes, I bless the Lord and thank him from the bottom of my heart for the happiness he has given me! Bigger or better well-being on this earth man has no right to desire. My love and reverence for dear Alix is ​​constantly growing.”

Twenty years will pass, and Nikolai will write almost the same thing: “I can’t believe that today is the twentieth anniversary of our wedding! Rare family happiness The Lord has blessed us; if only to be able to be worthy of His great mercy during the rest of my life.

Paintings, engravings and magazine illustrations about the Romanovs and their brides, emperors and grand dukes and princesses. What group pre-wedding portrait depicts the empress's lover, and not the future one, but the then one? Which bride had a thinner waist - Catherine the Great or Alice of Hesse? Paintings from the Hermitage and the Queen Victoria collection - let's appreciate the details.

Let's start, predictably, with the first Russian emperor Peter the Great.

And here is the first almost truly imperial wedding: Peter is married to his old love and the mother of his children, Ekaterina Alekseevna (although not yet taking the imperial title).
In the painting of images, this is not the case (because multi-figure secular painting developed very slowly in the "new" Russia anyway). But on the other hand, they already knew how to make engravings very well.
And here are the images of the wedding of Peter and Catherine in this technique.

Rather, this is not a wedding ceremony itself, but a banquet.

Alexey Fyodorovich Zubov. The wedding of Peter I and Catherine on February 19, 1712
I recommend looking at magnification - then you can see a lot of details, for example, that the ladies are all with fashionable high hair-fountains.


By the way, there is an assumption that this is not a documentary image, but an engraver's fiction about how this wedding could look like (link is a large interesting article).

Engraving fragment
"Under the first canopy": in the center - Peter I; to his left: Vice Admiral K.I. Kruys ("in the father's place"), shipbuilder ("Bas") I.M. Golovin ("in a brotherly place"), on the right - the commander of the rowing fleet, Rear Admiral I.F. Botsis ("in the father's place"), shipmaster F.M. Sklyaev (“in a brotherly place”), “Aglinskaya Ambassador Witvart” and “Polish Minister Count Fitztum”, is the “Marshal” of the wedding A.D. Menshikov; "against His Royal Majesty" - Senator Count I.A. Musin-Pushkin; left - SL. Raguzinsky; on the right - "Count Fitztum's nephew Elk", B.I. Prozorovsky, R.V. Bruce, M.P. Gagarin.

The wedding portrait of the newlyweds was not created, because the genre of group portraits has not yet reached Russia either.

But from the history of Romanov weddings in art, this can also be cited as an example.

Medal in memory of the wedding of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Princess Charlotte Christina Sophia Princess of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Torgau. 1711. GE

Peter II did not have time to marry, Anna Ioannovna was a widow, and no one bothered to imprint her wedding back in Peter's time. Ivan VI was also somehow unlucky, and Elizaveta Petrovna was a bachelor. However, they gossip about her secret wedding with Razumovsky and the birth of Princess Tarakanova in a legal marriage, but for that it is all secret, so that it does not leave a trace in the history of art.

Peter III and Catherine the Great

Only in 1745, after a long break, did the wedding of the first row finally take place, though not the emperor, but the heir to the throne, Peter Alekseevich, but we know that this is the future Peter III, so it is counted.

A kind of wedding (or pre-wedding) portrait has been preserved, painted in the year of the wedding of Grand Duke Peter and Catherine.

G.K. Groot (?). Portrait of Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna. 1745(?). timing

In Odessa, there is a version of the picture, where the bride was dressed up brighter.

The ceremony itself is again absent in art for us, and neither is the banquet.
But!
But the present remains Wedding Dress Catherine the Great. It's in the Armory. What was her waist in her youth, ah.

Silver glazing, silk, silver embroidery, embroidery. (The photo is not very good, a lot of yellowness)

Somehow, this is how it looked complete with everything else

Unknown thin OK. 1758

Here is a replica of the dress made by theater props. Note that the side is almost flat. Added lost lace sleeves and other details (my photo).

Oh, sorry, there is another picture on the topic - the school of engravers remained strong.

Grigory Kachalov. Fireworks on the Neva on the occasion of the marriage of Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna. 1745. GE

And it was a holiday in the bride's homeland.

Fireworks burned in Zerbst on the occasion of the marriage of Grand Duke Peter Feodorovich with Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna

Having become a widow, mother Catherine, they say, married Potemkin, but there is no particular evidence of this either. As well as pictures about it.

This is my own collage of anonymous and Rokotov.

How Paul, her son, married both times, visually we do not know again.

Medal for the first marriage of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich. 1773. GE

At midnight the bright south shines,
The blood flows more alive in the heart,
And autumn, like spring, pours
Natalya with Pavel in the chest love.‎
(Derzhavin)

They still couldn’t invent a normal wedding genre ... Or get it from Europe.

G. Kozlov. Altar of Hymen. An allegory for the marriage of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. 1776. Timing

Medal for the second marriage of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich on September 26, 1776
Engravers I. Eger (obverse), I. Vechter (reverse).

Alexander I and Elizaveta Alekseevna

Grandmother Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna chose the German princess Louise of Baden for the marriage of her beloved grandson and heir Alexander.
And finally we have an oil painting associated with this event. However, it depicts not the ceremony itself, but the previous episode - Louise's conversion to Orthodoxy and her adoption of the name Elizaveta Alekseevna.

Evstafiy Moshkov (Mashkov). Confirmation of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Alekseevna. 1795. Timing.


You can see the following persons (from right to left): Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich, V.K. Konstantin Pavlovich, V.K. Alexander Pavlovich (closest to the audience), Empress Catherine, Metropolitan Gabriel, Princess Louise, Abbess A.M. Shubina, Bezborodko, favorite of the reigning Empress-grandmother Platon Zubov, Budberg.

I don’t know where the repetition comes from, but here the details are more distinguishable

It seems that drawing fireworks was much more interesting for them. Well, really, royal persons here they are all the time here, looming before our eyes, and when you see the little lights.

Fireworks on the occasion of the marriage of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich and Grand Duchess Elizaveta Alekseevna.

Medal for the marriage of Alexander Pavlovich. 1793. GE.

Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna

But finally, the full-fledged "Victorian" XIX century came with its passion for carefully capturing the family. Why Tsarevich Alexander (II) was not painted under such conditions in 1840 and Maria Alexandrovna - I don’t understand.

Medal in memory of the marriage of the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich, later Emperor Alexander II and Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, who took the name Maria Alexandrovna.

Since everything is so black and white and poor so far, we take the weddings of the Grand Dukes and Princesses, for lack of fish.
Well, that's also interesting.

The wedding of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich and Cecilia of Baden. 1857.
Magazine (?) illustration. This seems to be the earliest image of the actual ceremony that I have been able to find.

The ceremony this time, as in most subsequent illustrations, takes place in the palace church of the Winter Palace.

Alexander III and Dagmar
They married during the life of the father-emperor.

The visiting Hungarian Zichy was the court painter of the Romanovs and made many such album sketches depicting everyday life and holidays, balls and funerals.

Mihai Zichy. Wedding of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna in 1866. State Hermitage

There are several successive episodes of marriage in the composition.

Left: Archpriest Bazhanov performs a wedding ceremony, younger brother Tsarevich Vladimir holds a crown over him, and Danish Crown Prince Frederik holds a crown over his sister's head; next to Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich and Prince Nikolai Maximilianovich - Duke of Leuchtenberg.

Fragments

In the central part of the sheet, Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

To the right, in the lower part of the sheet, court ladies, members of the Synod, a choir of singing boys are depicted. In honor of the bride and her Danish relatives, the emperor, grand dukes, crown princes, generals in uniform with a blue ribbon thrown over the right shoulder (a distinctive mark of the Danish uniform).

And here is another picture, simpler, from "History of the reign of Emperor Alexander II in pictures".

N. Bogdanov. Marriage of Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna.

Somewhere in the reign of Alexander III, jewelers created a marriage (wedding) crown, which they began to use at weddings of the 2nd floor. XIX century and before the revolution, not only for emperors, but also for the great princes, who divorced innumerable. The Bolsheviks sold her abroad, without dismantling them for scrap, she was lucky. Now it is in the American Hillwood Museum.

Wedding photos where the newlyweds pose together are easy to identify by her, usually she stands second next to the bride's diadem.

The most boring bw drawings in my selection are actually 19th century cover stories.

"World Illustration" (1874. Vol. 12, September 21 (No. 299). Marriage of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich with the daughter of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Maria Pavlovna. The royal cortege on the main staircase in the Winter Palace. Drawing by K. Brozh

They, on several. minutes early.

But thank God for family archive The Romanovs still ordered color.

Nicholas Chevalier. Marriage of Duke Alfred of Edinburgh and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, 1874.
With the English prince there was at first an Orthodox wedding.


Then Anglican

The wedding of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and Princess Elizabeth Mavrikievna. 1884.

The wedding of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich and Milica Chernogorskaya in 1889 in Peterhof.
They don't get married in the Winter, because they are allowed to rank lower.

The wedding of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizabeth Feodorovna in 1884

By the way, Afanasy Fet wrote this:

"For the wedding of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich and Grand Duchess Alexandra Georgievna"

Do not sing, do not praise
Grand Duke's porphyry, -
Tell me your first love
And raise with the strings of the lyre:

Who is the heart of a young maiden
For the first time made you tremble?
Aren't you, daring knight,
Handsome, royal horseman, Pavel? ()

Mihai Zichy. Marriage of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, daughter of Alexander III, in the Cathedral of the Grand Peterhof Palace on July 25, 1894.

detail

K.O. Brozh. Ink drawing on the same theme. Hermitage
(preparatory to creating a magazine illustration)

Nikki and Alix

They married when Nicholas had already become emperor.

Ilya Repin. "Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna". 1894. GRM

Repin is of course a great artist, but any bride for the wedding album still preferred not him, but the next, now almost forgotten master, the Dane Tuxen.

Lauritz Tuxen. Wedding of Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna (1894). GE


From left to right - King Christian IX of Denmark, Empress Maria Feodorovna, Grand Duke book. Olga Alexandrovna, Ksenia Alexandrovna, Olga Konstantinovna Grecheskaya, Prince of Wales (Edward VII), grand. book. Georgy Alexandrovich and Prince Henry of Prussia.

Fragment

By the way, I remind you that despite the fact that (according to rumors) the film "Matilda" shows us, the wedding of Nicholas to the kingdom and his wedding with the bride did not occur simultaneously (and without fainting). He married on November 14, 1894 in the palace church of the Winter Palace, and was crowned on May 14, 1896 in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow.

In the British royal collection there is a repetition of Tuxen's painting (because Victoria is the bride's grandmother). Nearby is a postcard (?) or a magazine reproduction from this picture (I put it for the kit).

Alix's wedding dress has also been preserved in the Hermitage. Yes, waist German princesses no longer the same as in the 18th century ...

And then it was all over.

And Laurits Tuxen - many artists were honored to paint Nicholas II. We recall the main stages of the life of the last Russian emperor, reflected in his portraits.

"Children's portrait of Nicholas II" Lauritz Tuksena (1883)

State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Nicholas II was born on May 18, 1868 in Tsarskoye Selo. He received a good education at home according to a specially written program - he studied economics, law, political history, military affairs and languages. Among his teachers were the composer César Cui, who was also great specialist on fortification, the famous jurist Konstantin Pobedonostsev, chemist Nikolai Beketov and others. True, they only read lectures to the heir to the throne - the teachers had no right to check the learned material. Nevertheless, Nicholas II studied diligently. As Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: “On the eve of graduation, before entering the Life Hussars, the future Emperor Nicholas II could mislead any Oxford professor who would accept him, according to the knowledge of English language, for a real Englishman". Fifteen-year-old Nicholas II, who had not yet taken the oath of service to the Motherland, was painted by the court painter of his father Alexander III, Laurits Tuxen.

"Wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna" by Ilya Repin (1894)

The union of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna was considered unique for people of their circle - their relationship was so warm and sincere. The written evidence of their love was the correspondence conducted by Nikolai and Alexandra. “Praying for you is my comfort when we are separated. I can't get used to even the most short term to be without you in the house, although I have our five treasures with me "- so the empress wrote to her husband in one of long separations.

“Ceremonial portrait of Nicholas II” by Ilya Repin (1895)

State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Ilya Repin painted the emperor repeatedly, and in 1895 he created the Ceremonial Portrait of Nicholas II. Because for a long time this work was unknown, very little information about it has been preserved. The emperor in full dress uniform with a blue ribbon over his shoulder was depicted in the interiors of the Mariinsky Palace. Repin recalled in his letters: “Last week there were three sessions, that is, on Monday, the 28th, the 1st session, an hour and a half; on Tuesday an hour and yesterday - half an hour. At the same time, Antokolsky is sculpting and Vasyutinsky is finishing his medallion. We arrive at the palace at one o'clock and earlier. The sovereign comes to us at two o'clock, the empress accompanies him all the time and stays here all the time during work.. He later added: “I finished the sovereign’s portrait, there were only seven sessions. They put it off many times, he was not quite healthy - influenza (everything is damned and does not spare them). The sovereign posed badly, everyone finds my portrait similar and does not scold". This portrait was painted shortly after the accession of Nicholas II to Russian throne after the death of his father Alexander III.

"Anointing of Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich" by Valentin Serov (1896)

The sacred coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna took place on May 26, 1896 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin and took place according to traditional canons: coronation, liturgy, chrismation (it was this moment that Valentin Serov captured in the picture), communion. Nicholas II recalled this day in his diary: “Great, solemn, but difficult, in the moral sense, for Alix, Mom and me, the day. All this happened in the Assumption Cathedral, although it seems like a real dream, it is not forgotten for a lifetime!!!” However, a tragic event was connected with the coronation of Nicholas II: on May 30, the nearest Sunday after the coronation, " folk holiday”on the Khodynka field, during which, due to illiterate organization, 1,389 people died in a stampede, and another 1,300 were injured.

"Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II" Valentin Serov (1900)

State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Valentin Serov was one of the most famous artists of his time. Unlike many colleagues, he could choose for himself who to draw and who to refuse. However, Serov could not refuse a portrait of the emperor himself.

According to the artist’s memoirs, the work did not stick together for a long time, especially because of the numerous advice of the empress, who actively intervened in creative process. At some point, Serov could not even stand it and gave Alexandra Feodorovna a brush and palettes so that she painted the portrait herself. But the portrait still did not work out, which Serov informed the emperor about. Frustrated, Nicholas II, dressed in the jacket of an officer of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, sat down at the table and folded his hands in front of him - and only then did Valentin Serov understand how to write the emperor. As Konstantin Korovin later wrote about this picture: “Serov was the first of the artists to capture the softness, intelligence, and at the same time the weakness of the emperor, and captured them on canvas ...” Perhaps the success of the portrait lay precisely in the fact that it depicted a military man, a colonel, and not a brilliant sovereign. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich recalled: “In Nicholas II, a great love for military service. This service was the best suited to the warehouse of his character. He was the squadron commander of the Life Hussar Regiment. For two years he served as an officer in the Guards Cavalry Artillery Brigade. He took all his duties seriously and conscientiously. The death of his father found him the commander of the battalion of the l[eyb-]g[vardia] of the Preobrazhensky regiment with the rank of colonel, and all his life he remained in this relatively modest rank. It reminded him of his carefree youth, and he never expressed a desire to promote himself to the rank of general. He considered it unacceptable to use the prerogatives of his power to promote himself in ranks..

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

This grandiose painting by Ilya Repin with an area of ​​8.7 by 4 meters deserved a separate room in the Russian Museum. Repin created the painting for display at the Mariinsky Palace, where meetings of the State Council were held. Russian Empire. It was not an easy task to paint a group portrait with 81 heroes, and the artists Ilya Kulikov and Boris Kustodiev helped Repin in this. In the work, the painters used numerous photographs taken during the meeting of the council (in particular, Nicholas II was painted from a photograph and from previous portraits of Repin). The painting depicts Nicholas II at the time of the speech dedicated to the centennial anniversary of this state institution, as well as awarding the members of the Council with commemorative medals.

"Emperor Nicholas II with the Order of St. Vladimir" Heinrich Manizer (1905)

State Historical Museum, Moscow

Heinrich Manizer portrayed Nicholas II at a difficult time for the emperor. At the beginning of the 20th century, relations between Russia and Japan seriously deteriorated - and as a result, on February 9, 1904, after the Japanese attacked a squadron in Port Arthur, Russia declared war on Japan. After a series of unsuccessful battles, Russia abandoned Mukden and Port Arthur. According to the memoirs of Konstantin Rydzevsky, “The news, which depressed everyone who loves their Fatherland, was accepted by the tsar indifferently, not a shadow of sadness is visible on him”. Nicholas himself wrote in his diary: “I received amazing news from Stessel at night about the surrender of Port Arthur to the Japanese due to huge losses and soreness among the garrison and the complete exhaustion of shells! It was hard and painful, although it was foreseen, but I wanted to believe that the army would rescue the fortress. The defenders are all heroes and have done more than could be expected. That is the will of God!” Failures in the Russo-Japanese War contributed to the growth of public discontent, critical sentiments in society.

"Emperor Nicholas II" by Alexander Makovsky (1907)

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

In 1907, when Alexander Makovsky created this portrait for the headquarters of His Majesty's Tsarskoye Selo Hussar Regiment, Nicholas II was already a different ruler. After the revolution of 1905, the country worked The State Duma, previously unregulated freedoms of conscience, speech, assembly were in effect, censorship was abolished. But, despite all these transformations, Nicholas II could not deserve folk love- he was still considered the culprit of the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, the tragedy at the Khodynka field and other internal and external failures of the country. Then Konstantin Balmont “I went to Tsarskoye 12 times; was extremely graciously received, even to the point of surprise ... We talked a lot - of course, not about politics (which my customers were very afraid of), but more about art - but I failed to enlighten him - hopeless, alas ... What else is good - he is interested in the old days, I don’t know only, deeply or so - “because of the gesture”. The enemy of innovation and impressionism mixes with the revolution. The portrait was painted at the height of the First World War, the unsuccessful participation of Russia in which caused even greater dissatisfaction with the tsar among the inhabitants of the country. In February 1917 there was another revolution, as a result of which Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on March 2.