The Crash of Russia

“Good morning, Your Majesty,” said the minister, entering the office and

bowed slightly. “Hello, sit down,” the emperor answered briefly. The count sat down opposite the king in a chair and began to report: “The goal

my visit, Your Majesty, to obtain your consent to the introduction of a single gold standard in Russia. We should have this much in our treasury

money in gold, more precisely, we should have so much gold

stock, how much paper money is printed. That is, this is what needs to be done so that anyone can exchange banknotes for gold coins at any given moment,” said Witte.

– “Great idea, this will strengthen the ruble and we will not have inflation,

I approve, we will introduce an appropriate decree on this matter,” the tsar answered and extinguished the half-smoked cigarette.

“I would like also to go to the American states to establish trade relations with the Americans in new areas; not only do they buy grain, flaxseed and sunflower oil from us. I think in New York we can discuss the revision of the agreements on oil and Baku kerosene in our favor, since the 1895 agreement according to which Russia has 25% of the sales market, and the Americans have 75% of the sales market, is clearly unprofitable for us,” Witte continued. Nikolai Alexandrovich took a drag on the third cigarette with Turkish tobacco that he smoked during the conversation, blew out the smoke and said: “We are thinking of calling the American ambassador and discussing everything here first, but it is premature to go to America,” the tsar answered.

“I understand you, Your Majesty, I have no more questions, sir, let me take my leave,” said Witte. The king nodded his head, and the minister stood up and left.

Nicholas’s thoughts were about something else: he was thinking about when Alix would give him an heir, a boy, and not another girl, and he was also thinking about how he could delicately get rid of Matilda Kshesinskaya, who, through the Grand Duke, persistently passed notes with pleas for a date.

After thinking a little, the king took a pen and inkwell and wrote a short note to Matilda in French: Come to Catherine Park tomorrow at noon at

hall on the island, where you get by ferry. Niki.

The king folded the note, called the valet and ordered it to be carried in secret

Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich with words to convey to Matilda.

The next day at a quarter to noon, the Tsar left the Alexander Palace and walked towards the Golden Gate through the Alexander Park, walked across the Great Chinese Bridge, entered the Golden Gate and then diagonally walked through the courtyard and exited the Zubov Gate into his own garden,walked to the Ramp and further along Ramp Alley to the Granite Terrace, went down to the Tsarskoye Selo statue and went out to the Big Pond, where the ferry was already waiting.

The king boarded the ferry. The ferry walked on a cable, the servant stood and turned the winch so that the ferry went to the island. Matilda was already waiting on the island. As soon as the ferry reached the island, Nikolai ran out to meet the ballerina, who stepped towards him, rushed to her beloved, they hugged each other, then there was a long kiss.

Finally, the king freed himself and said to Matilda: “Darling, we need to part, Alix if she finds out about our meeting, there will be a scandal, we

We cannot meet either secretly or openly.”

– “I love you, why are you saying such things!” – Matilda exclaimed.

I was sick with mumps in Moscow, after the performance I immediately fell ill, but I only thought about you Niki.

“Let’s go into the house,” Matilda continued. Hand in hand, Nicky and Matilda entered the Hall on the island. Nicky sat down in a chair and began to smoke cigarettes, taking them out of his cigarette case. As usual, Nikolai smoked cigarettes one after another. Matilda also took a cigarette from Niki and lit a cigarette. She sat down opposite him at the table.

“We have a desire to have a strong family with Alix and give birth to an heir, since she gave birth to only a daughter, now we cannot give Alix any reason to be jealous,” Nikolai said.

Matilda responded resentfully: "Or perhaps you've forgotten that I lost my child to you in 1893, when the horses bolted and I flipped over in the sleigh? And now I don't believe we'll have another chance together; I've barely recovered from the loss."How can you tell me this?”

“Here’s a present for you,” Nicky said, and pulled out a gold ring with a 24-carat diamond from his shirt pocket and handed it to Matilda.

“0-la-la,” Matilda said languidly, took the ring in her hands and began to twirl it in her hands, admiring it, after which she put the ring on her ring finger. The Tsar stood up, went to the table, and opened a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne. There were also grapes, sliced pineapples, French chocolate, marzipan candies and strawberries on the table.

“Thank you dear, what a beautiful stone on the ring,” said Matilda. Nicky poured champagne into glasses, they clinked glasses,

“To you, my pearl,” Nikolai said and they drank. You will dance in all performances, but don’t ask for dates anymore, don’t write to me, please, I’m afraid that Alix will find out about the notes,” Nikolai said.

“But I ask you, at least sometimes I tolerate this Frau of yours. I ask you to meet again!” Matilda exclaimed.

“I can’t give society and my mother a reason, not to mention Alix, to suspect something, so my answer is no,” said Nikolai.

It’s time for us to leave, the minister is waiting for us, the king told Matilda, just to leave quickly. Nikolai stood up and left without looking back. Matilda ran behind, the king stopped at the ferry, and the ferryman waited all this time. Nikolai turned to Matilda and said,

“First we will leave on the ferry, and then the ferryman will return for you, we should not be seen together.” And he passionately hugged and kissed the ballerina. She responded with a passionate kiss, hugged Nikolai, then let go after a minute. The king boarded the ferry and set sail. Then Nikolai took a different route: through the Cameron Gallery to the Zubovsky building, then to the palace in the Amber Room. There the king sat and smoked a pipe and thought about his wife, what to do with her so that she would not guess. The Tsar ordered coffee from the Amber Cabinet, drank the coffee and then went to the Alexander Palace. And Matilda set sail on another ferry.

Chapter 3. Europe.

The Emperor decided to go to London to meet with the astrologer Hamon incognito. In August 1896, Nikolai and Alexandra went on official visits to Europe. In September they were in England and Scotland and lived in Buckingham Palace with Queen Victoria (Alix's grandmother), as well as in Balmoral Castle.

One of these days; On September 22, Nikolai went to see an astrologer alone, without even taking security with him. He was driven by the royal coachman to a street in London, where Count Louis Hamon, known as the numerologist Cairo (from the Greek for “hand”), was receiving visitors. The Tsar looked like an English gentleman in a top hat and suit. The servant reported to Kairo that a certain gentleman wanted to be received incognito. Nikolai paid 5 sovereigns to the servant and entered. He took out the horoscope compiled earlier by Hamon from his pocket and handed it to the astrologer. Hamon recognized the horoscope he had compiled earlier.

Nikolai asked the astrologer to justify what he had written.

“On what grounds did you make these predictions earlier? It says here that whoever this man may be, his date of birth, numbers and other data show that during his life he will have to deal with the danger of the horrors of war and bloodshed, that his name will be sealed with two of the bloodiest wars, that in the end of the second war he will lose everything; that he is loved most of all, his family will be slaughtered and he himself will be violently killed.”

Hamon looked at the horoscope again and in detail explained why he thought so, told Nikolai about the fatal meanings.

Nikolai listened in silence, at the end he said “Thank you” and left the astrologer. The coachman was waiting for him near the house.

Next, Nicholas discussed the horoscope with Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace.

Years passed, and Nikolai kept thinking about Hamon’s horoscope. The king discussed this with his wife. And they came to the conclusion that Russia should become a peacemaker throughout the world, call on all countries to unite around itself and hold a peace conference.

The imperial couple then went on their honeymoon to France. On October 5, 1896, Emperor Nicholas II and his wife disembarked from the deck of the yacht Polar Star in the port of Cherbourg and headed to Paris on a special train. An elegant pavilion was erected at the train station in the French capital "especially for the occasion." Vice-President of the French Chamber of Deputies Raymond Poincaré called this visit the "honeymoon" of Franco-Russian relations. All the movements of the imperial couple were recorded by meticulous reporters and artists.

The visit of the Russian emperor to Paris pursued several goals at once. First of all, the emperor planned to strengthen the Russian-French alliance that had arisen under Alexander III. He also came to France to attend the laying of the foundation of a bridge across the Seine, which was named in honor of his father, Emperor Alexander III. On October 23, we left Portsmouth on a yacht at 7 a.m. and went at low speed to the English squadron, which was waiting on the Isle of Wight. The Tsar was walking on deck during this time. The wind blew stronger and stronger, and the waves became larger as we moved away from the shore. But the weather was clear. The English ships held their positions remarkably well; they were going at 13 knots. The pitching increased, and the battleships took wave after wave. At 11 a.m., we met the French squadron; the English turned back quickly with a salute, and the French took their places. After this, the Emperor went to bed. Poor Alix was completely seasick, and so was her daughter. At 2 a.m., we entered the inner port of Cherbourg, and the Shtandart and the entire squadron stood in the roadstead according to their disposition. We went ashore and were met by President Felix Faure. After the performances we returned to the yacht and transferred to the patrol ship "Elan", where we went round all the ships and visited the flagship, the battleship "Nospe". Here we watched the parade of all the naval teams brought together. The wind was blowing hard. We returned to the "Polar Star" at 5 o'clock on the president's boat. We drank tea at home, as we were quite hungry. At 6.30 the tsar went to dinner at Fora in the naval arsenal. While smoking, he talked with the admirals and generals. Having returned to the "Polar Star" and said goodbye to the officers and crew, Alix and I boarded the tsar's train right there on the pier and at 8.30 in the evening we set off. It rained during the night. And on the morning of September 24 we woke up to wonderful weather. At 9 o'clock Nicholas and Alexandra arrived in Versailles and there transferred to the presidential train. By 10 o'clock they arrived in Paris. The guard of honor from the Garde Republique, all the ministers, our additional retinue and many acquaintances were met in a tent arranged for this purpose. One of the ministers handed the Tsar a letter from Mr. Papus Enclos, in which he wished Nicholas II "to immortalize his empire by complete unity with Providence." Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna, through the Russian ambassador A. P. Morenheim, conveyed their gratitude to Papus. The three of us set off in a 4-seater landau with Faure, with a large escort of cuirassiers. There were troops along the entire route. I can only compare the meeting of the people of Paris with the departure to Moscow, it was so heartfelt and touching! The Tsar and Tsarina were accommodated excellently in the Russian embassy. They found their daughter there. They had breakfast together. Having received Madame Faure and her daughter, we went in the same parade to the Orthodox church, where a prayer service was held. Then Alix returned home, and the Tsar went to visit the President. He introduced me to the entire top administration, the Senate and the deputies. Speaking at an official dinner at the French President Faure's on September 24, Nicholas II even used the language of the Martinists, referring to Paris as "the source of great light." The Tsar was home at 5 o'clock and after tea he received diplomats and Ganoteau, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. At 7 o'clock we went with him to a large dinner at the Elysee Palace. Faure and Nicholas II both read their toasts. At 10 o'clock the Emperor, Empress and President Faure went to a gala performance at the Grand Opera. From there they returned home after half past twelve. The trip around France continued for several more days, the Tsar visited many sights, including the Louvre and left France satisfied with the visit.

In 1899, the first Peace Conference was held in The Hague, where Russian representatives called on all countries of the world to resolve all political issues through peaceful negotiations, not to show aggression, and to reduce the arms race.

Nicholas II did not want to be, as the horoscope says, “at the center of bloody events and two big wars,” so Russia at the conference called on all countries to resolve all issues diplomatically. The Dutch government supported Russia and sent an invitation to 20 European countries and 6 non-European powers. Holland itself adhered to neutrality. The conference took place on the birthday of Nicholas II and began with the Russian Emperor awarding the Order of St. Catherine to Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, which was recognition of her role in organizing the peace conference. The conference took place in the Forest Palace. The conference was chaired by the representative of Russia, Baron E. E. Steel. Each country was given one vote, with the exception of Bulgaria, as Turkey was against granting a vote to Bulgaria. Although the conference did not achieve its main goal of stopping the arms race, it played an important role in the development of humanitarian law and the use of arbitration and mediation in international affairs. Signed conventions on the peaceful resolution of international conflicts; about the laws and customs of land war; on the use of sea force to the '64 convention; signed a declaration banning the throwing of projectiles from balloons for a period of five years; about the non-use of projectiles with asphyxiating gases; about not using bullets that easily unfold in the body. Unfortunately, many countries subsequently ignored these agreements. The conference in The Hague stimulated the development of pacifist movements in Russia and around the world. For the first time in the world, Russia expressed the idea that any conflicts can be resolved peacefully through negotiations.

Chapter 4. The Abel`s letter.

On one March day in 1901, at breakfast, the emperor said to his wife: “Do you remember, dear, how the late father, may he rest in heaven, the day before he died, told us once again about the letter of monk Abel Vasiliev, which Maria Feodorovna (wife of Paul I ) put it in a casket and sealed the casket in March 1801, recalling Paul’s wish to open this casket and read the letter of the monk Abel to the emperor who will rule in Russia in a hundred years? “Yes, I remember,” Alix answered. Nikolai Alexandrovich finished his cup of coffee and continued: “We should go to Gatchina tomorrow and read this letter, since a hundred years have passed.” “That would be good, otherwise I’m also very curious about what they prophesied for us. Pavel believed the monk Abel and had conversations with him, although he imprisoned him, so we are going to Gatchina tomorrow.” The Tsar said to Oberkammerfrau Maria Goeringer, who was having breakfast with them: “Order that tomorrow morning after breakfast a carriage is brought to the entrance to the Alexander Palace, we will go to Gatchina.”

On the morning of March 12, after breakfast, Nikolai and Alexandra got into the carriage, which was accompanied by one guard carriage and several Cossacks on horseback. We left at half past twelve in the afternoon. All the way, the reigning persons chatted about the weather, about the recent ball that took place in the Catherine Palace, and were in a good mood. Already approaching Gatchina, the tsar, smiling mysteriously, said to his wife: “Abel first predicted the empress would have a 40-year reign, but she reigned for 34.5 years, then he predicted a fierce death for Pavel in the Mikhailovsky Castle, which is what happened to him, he predicted that Moscow would be captured enemy and burned in 1812, the riot of 25, the assassination of Alexander II by bombers, after which he told Paul about our future – about the 20th century, which he wrote down in a notebook and gave to Paul I, who put the notebook in a sealed envelope, inscribing “Open to Our Descendant in the hundredth anniversary of my death." So now it’s Our turn to find out the prophecy of the seer.”

Will our kingdom be long, like Catherine’s, or short, like Paul’s? But the Japanese seer Terakuto in 1891 and later Hamon also predicted for us the collapse of the monarchy in 1917, and we will only live until 1918… but what did Abel prophesy to us? “We’ll find out soon.” “You and I are like bargaining chips in the hands of a seer, but everything is God’s Will,” Alix answered. And finally, the carriage arrived at the Gatchina Palace. The couple got out of the carriage, entered the palace and immediately, without undressing, entered the hall where the secret casket with the letter was kept. In a small hall among the suites of halls of the palace, Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna stopped in front of a pedestal on which stood a rather large patterned casket with intricate decorations, locked and sealed. A thick, red, silk cord was stretched around the casket on four posts on rings, blocking access to the casket. The valet came up and gave the key to the emperor. The Tsar unfastened the blocking red cord, walked up and opened the casket, took out an envelope with an inscription in the hand of Paul I, broke the seal on the envelope, took out a letter from the envelope and began to read to himself, then turned pale in the middle of the letter, finished reading it with difficulty and handed it to Alix, she She read it, turned pale and cried out: “Oh, Lord, let this cup pass from us! Rebellion, the collapse of the monarchy, holy Rus' under the yoke of the Jews… Martyr's death, like once the Son of God… betrayal by his people… two terrible wars…" – "Give water to the empress!" – the king shouted. The valet brought a glass of water, Alix drank it in one gulp, her hands trembled, and she almost dropped the glass. The king took the letter with him and immediately left the palace, holding the queen by the arm. We got into the carriage; the horses were not yet unharnessed. We drove back in silence the entire way.

Chapter 5. Germany 1901.

Meanwhile, in Munich, starting from the end of 1900, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, with money received from Alexander Lvovich Gelfand (pseudonym Parvus), printed the Iskra newspaper in his apartment, having equipped an underground printing house there. Parvus was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and lived in Munich, but had also visited Russia before. In London, he established relationships with all famous revolutionaries, including Leon Trotsky (Bronstein), Lev Deitch, Plekhanov, Martov and others. Parvus was the literary agent of Maxim Gorky and received fees from the production of Gorky's play ¨At the Lower Depths¨ in German theaters, Parvus kept 20% of the profits for himself, sent 25% to the writer, gave the remaining 55% to Ulyanov in the party treasury of the RSDLP, and with this money they printed the first issue of the Iskra newspaper on December 24, 1900, which was brought to Russia through ports in Latvia. The Iskra newspaper united the fragmented revolutionary movement in Russia based on Marxism. An illegal newspaper distribution center was created in Pskov in 1901. Since 1900, the Swiss group “Emancipation of Labor”, with its leader Georgiy Valentinovich Plekhanov, has joined in the activities of publishing the newspaper in Munich. Vladimir Ulyanov rented an apartment in the center of Munich and printed a newspaper with a circulation of 8,000 copies using money from the party treasury, and Vladimir’s trip from Russia to Germany was paid for by his mother, Maria Alexandrovna Ulyanova, who gave her son money in Podolsk, and then made him bank transfers. On April 1, 1901, Vladimir Ilyich met his wife Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya and her mother at the station. They got out of the first class carriage. - “Hello Nadenka!” said Vladimir, standing on the platform, Nadezhda got off the train with a suitcase in her hand, handed the suitcase to her husband, he took the suitcase, put it on the platform, and Nadya went down, saying in response: “Hello!” Behind her, the carriage driver came down from behind with two more suitcases in his hands, then Lenin’s mother-in-law, Elizaveta Vasilievna, got out of the carriage. The mother-in-law said: “Hello Vladimir!” He replied: “Hello Elizaveta Vasilievna!” And more arriving passengers were descending: a German woman of about forty with freckles on her cheeks, her daughter with a suitcase (they were met by her husband), who was standing on the platform next to Vladimir - there were many people greeting them on the platform. A porter came up, took Nadezhda and her mother’s things on a cart, and the couple left the station, accompanied by a porter who was carrying the suitcases on a cart. They hired a cab driver, loaded the suitcases, Vladimir gave a tip to the porter and off we went. What’s the address?” asked the driver, a German about thirty years old. “Kaiserstrasse, 46,” answered Vladimir, dressed in a black raincoat and a three-piece gray suit, with a cap made of gray fabric on his head. The cab driver drove off, and Vladimir put his hand on Nadezhda’s shoulder, hugging her neck. Elizaveta Vasilyevna was silent the whole way. She was wearing a brown coat. The following conversation ensued:

“Are you tired on the road?” - he asked his wife. -Yes, I’m a little tired, as soon as I arrive, I want to change my dress right away, it’s wrinkled on the road,” Nadezhda said. She was dressed in a fox fur coat, and under the fur coat there is a blue dress, on the head there is a hat, on the feet there are brown leather boots. It was warm outside; + 10 C, the sun was shining. We arrived fifteen minutes to the station. They released the cabman, Vladimir gave him several coins. At the house they were met by the owner of the house who rented the apartment to Vladimir - a local Social Democrat, who was also the owner of a pub in the same building - Georg Ritmeyer, a fat bearded German. Vladimir introduced his wife to Georgy, they said hello and Georgy immediately invited them to drink beer at his expense, he, like them, was a Social Democrat and they had something to talk about over a glass of beer, Therefore, having put her things down, Nadezhda took off her fur coat, which was hot in Munich, put on a new pink dress, and immediately went out with her husband and the owner of the house to the first floor of the house where the beer hall was located. We sat with beer and beer snacks for two hours. The conversation went like this: - “Well, how are things in Russia?” - Vladimir asked Nadezhda. “The newspaper is spreading well and circulation needs to be increased in the south and north,” Nadya answered. “Tomorrow I will introduce you to the right people at Parvus’s apartment,” Vladimir continued. “He will also help us spread the Spark?” asked Nadezhda. -"What are you talking about?" - asked Georgiy, who did not understand anything, in German. “We’re talking about going to Parvus’s apartment tomorrow,” Vladimir answered him in German. And he added in Russian for Nadezhda: “Yes, Alexander Gelfand is our benefactor - he pays all expenses.” Then Vladimir said: “I came up with a new pseudonym for myself - Lenin,” then repeated the same in German for Georgy. - “Which Lena do you mean”? - Nadya asked jealously. “No, it’s a beautiful name,” Vladimir answered and took out his passport and handed it to his wife to look at. “I am now Iordano K. Iordanova, and for the neighbors Mr. Meyer, but for my comrades I will simply be Lenin,” said Vladimir Ilyich and took the passport from the hands of his surprised wife. He then took out another passport from another inside pocket of his jacket. - And take this passport for yourself, you are now Maritsa Jordanova. On the walls of the restaurant where they sat, and on the beer circles the initials “N.V.” were written everywhere. - short for the name of the restaurant “Hofbrauhaus”. – “People's Will”, translated from German. We drank a couple more glasses of beer and went our separate ways, Lenin thanked the owner of the restaurant for the good beer. The next day, Vladimir and Nadezhda arrived at Parvus’s apartment. They were met by the owner of the apartment - a tall, large man, two heads taller than Lenin. They shook hands with each other. Parvus greeted Lenin's wife. Then everyone entered the living room. Maximus Ernst was sitting on the sofa in the living room.