WORLDS APART
0. WORLDS APART - Story Preface
1. GIVE US BREAD
2. WORLDS APART
3. NICHOLAS OUT-OF-TOUCH
4. ENTER RASPUTIN
5. RASPUTIN THE HEALER... RASPUTIN THE DECEIVER
6. RASPUTIN'S MURDER
7. NICHOLAS LOSES THE THRONE
8. HOUSE ARREST
9. EXECUTION IN SIBERIA
10. THE DEATH SCENE
11. ANGUISH FOR THE GIRLS
12. WHERE WERE THE BODIES?
13. WHO REALLY DIED?
14. ARE THESE ROMANOV BONES?
15. EIGHTY YEARS LATER
16. THE ROMANOV FAMILY
This Russian image depicts life in the town of Vladimir where day-to-day living was not easy. People in the
town—known as Vladimirec—lived like other people in provincial towns: They traded, married, had their
children baptized and rarely rebelled about anything. Although lacking wealth, they were generally quiet, calm
and peace-loving people. Life for the Romanovs, however, was very different from the people whom the Tsar
ruled.
By all accounts, Nicholas II was a good man with a tragic past. Born into a loving family, his parents were
Alexander III and Empress Marie (formerly Princess Dagmar of Denmark). His grandfather, Tsar Alexander II,
had been brutally assassinated and his father died young, at age 49.
Members of the Imperial Family belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church. (Follow this link to an awesome
example of a Russian church - Smolny Cathedral in St. Petersburg.) Any outsider (like Princess Dagmar) who
married a Romanov had to convert and take a Russian name.
The royal family (like other Russian families) greatly treasured ikons of saints. Rows of ikons (called an
ikonostasis ) were venerated by royals and commoners alike. (This link is to a church in the ancient town of
Suzdal which is located northeast of Moscow.) The difference was the Imperial Family owned ikons; commoners
merely saw them in church.
Nicholas never wanted to be Tsar, but it was his duty. He fell in love with a beautiful princess from Germany,
Alix (later changed to Alexandra) of Hess, granddaughter of Queen Victoria. (Follow this link to a photograph of
Alexandra and her sisters with their grandmother, Queen Victoria.)
Alexandra's mother, Victoria's daughter Alice, died young. At age 35, her son was suffering from diphtheria. To
comfort him, Alice kissed her child, thereby fatally contracting the disease herself.
After her mother's death, Alexandra was primarily raised in Darmstadt (Germany), but she also spent time in
England. Later, when Russia was at war with Germany, most Russians forgot Alexandra was half-English. Most
folks just knew her as "that hated German."
When Nicholas asked Alexandra to be his wife (follow this link to their engagement picture), his parents were
concerned. Alexandra did not have the kind of dynamic personality a Russian Empress needed.
On the other hand, this couple was in love. Members of European royal families usually married each other to
protect their power, but Nicholas was different. No one could have predicted Nicholas - whose family had
reigned for more than 300 years - would be the last Tsar of all the Russias.
Who could have realized the opposing worlds of Russia - the world of wealth and privilege and the world of
poverty and despair - would collide with such colossal force? Who could have anticipated Nicholas and his
family would be crushed in the middle?
See Alignments to State and Common Core standards for this story online at:
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Media Stream
Alexander III and Empress Marie
Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
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Smolny Cathedral
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Ikonostasis in an Ancient Russian Town
Image online, courtesy Rolf W. F. Gross via the rolfgross.dreamhosters.com website.
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Photo: Nicholas II
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Photos: Nicholas II and Alix of Hess
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Photo: Princess Alix
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Queen Victoria and her Granddaughters
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Alexandra's Mother
Image, described above, online courtesy Wikimedia Commons. PD
The original painting is part of the Royal Collection.
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Victoria's Daughter, Alice
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Photo: Engagement Picture of Nicholas and Alexandra
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Alexander III and his Wife, Empress Marie
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Portrait of the Last Tsar
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Royal Jewels
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WORLDS APART
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