Alexander II_ The Last Great Tsar - Edvard Radzinsky [83]
But this time all of society had united in their hatred for the new minister. The Duma and Russia had been shaken by the speeches of the great Duma orators. Pavel Milyukov, for instance, the leader of the Cadets (Constitutional Democrats), spoke from the Duma rostrum:
“From one end of the country to the other, dark rumors have been spreading about betrayal and treason. These rumors have reached high and spared no one. The name of the empress comes up more and more often along with the names of the adventurists that surround her. What is this—stupidity or treason?”
Milyukov wanted to prove that all this was the government’s stupidity, but the country kept repeating: “Treason!”
“The rumors of treason played a fateful role in the army’s attitude toward the dynasty,” wrote General A. Denikin, the tsarist general who took command of the White forces in the south of Russia after General Kornilov’s death.
“More than once I had a horrible thought about the empress plotting with Wilhelm,” Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich would say after the revolution in an interview for a Petrograd newspaper.
She: “Sept. 28th 1916.… What a joy to meet soon—in 5 days!!! Seems incredible. Eating in the fresh air is very healthful for Baby & shall bring 2 camp chairs and folding table for him—then I can sit outside too. We plan to leave Sunday at 3 to be in Mogilev for tea—at 5 on Monday. Alright? After your walk, then I can lie down a while longer,”
She: “Oct. 12th 1916.… Its with a very heavy heart I leave you again—I hate these goodbies.… You are so lonely amongst this crowd—so little warmth around. How I wish you cld. have come for 2 days only, just to have got our Friend’s blessing, it would have given you new strength—I know you are brave & patient—but human—& a touch of His on your chest would have soothed much pain & given you new wisdom & energy from Above—these are no idle words—but my firm conviction.… I too well know & believe in the peace our Friend can give & you are tired, morally, you cannot deceive old wify!”
“MY POOR FRIEND”
She was right. He was exhausted.
She: “Nov. 1st 1916. My own beloved treasure.… So Olga will marry on Saturday—& where will that be?”
This was yet another scandal in the family: after her divorce from Peter of Oldenburg, the tsar’s sister Olga married Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky, a cavalry captain in the Cuirassier Regiment, whose colonel-in-chief was the empress dowager.
Converging on Kiev for the wedding, the large Romanov family closed ranks—the situation in the country was disastrous. The family saw one way out: Nicholas must yield to the Duma’s demands and give it the right to appoint ministers. Such an action would free the government from the pernicious influence of Alix and Rasputin and good Nicky from responsibility at this critical moment. And of course, it would mean the immediate removal of the Holy Devil. A family council decided to send Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, the historian Nicholas Romanov, to see Nicky.
He: “2 November.… My precious. Nicolai M. has come for one day; we had a long talk together last night, of which I will tell you in my next letter.—I am too busy to-day. God preserve you, my dearly beloved Sunny, and children.… Eternally your old Nicky.”
He was being cunning. He simply did not know how to tell her about this conversation. So he decided to send her the letter the family’s emissary had given him:
“You have told me many times that you can trust no one, that you are being deceived. If this is so, the same phenomenon must also hold true for your spouse, who loves you ardently but has been led astray thanks to the malicious and utter deception of the people who surround her. You trust Alexandra Feodorovna, which is understandable, but what comes out of her mouth is the result of clever juggling and not the actual truth. If you are not competent to remove this influence from her, then at least guard against those constant interferences and whisperings through your beloved spouse.… I have long hesitated to reveal the whole truth, but after