Tsarina Alexandra: The German woman

[LouisFerdinand]

Tsarina Alexandra of Russia (1872-1918) was German by birth. For the Imperial Family and for Russians generally, she remained Nemka, the German woman.     
However, Alix (Alexandra) of Hesse-Darmstadt was not the only Tsarina originally from Germany.   
Other ladies included Charlotte of Prussia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.

[Curryong]

Tsarina Alexandra of Russia (1872-1918) was German by birth. For the Imperial Family and for Russians generally, she remained Nemka, the German woman.     
However, Alix (Alexandra) of Hesse-Darmstadt was not the only Tsarina originally from Germany.   
Other ladies included Charlotte of Prussia and Marie of Hesse and by Rhine.

^ Well of course Marie of Hesse and by Rhine was the first wife of Tsar Alexander II, 'the Liberator', and she was Nicholas's grandmother. Marie was very young when she married, delicate, (which multiple pregnancies didn't help) and very quiet, stiff and shy, as her greatniece Alix was to prove to be. She at least had her health as an excuse for her withdrawal from Royal life. She gradually spent a lot of time away from Russia and she and Alexander grew apart. He fell in love with the young girl Katerina who became his second wife and had a family with her.

Countess Wilhelmina of Hesse had married Tsar Paul, and a sister to Alex's great-grandmother had wed Tsar Alexander I, a tribute to the Grand Duchy of Hesse who were among the many small German states providing brides to the kingdoms of Europe in those days.

[LouisFerdinand]

Janet Ashton wrote a book entitled The German Woman about Alexandra.

[Curryong]

Janet Ashton wrote a book entitled The German Woman about Alexandra.

^ Alexandra was terribly libelled and traduced during the latter years of  Tsar Nicholas's reign. This ran through all classes, including St Petersburg Society and the extended Romanov family, down to peasants and urban workers in the cities. Alix didn't help herself or her husband by hiding herself and her family away during Nicholas's reign and constantly giving Nicholas advice to be strong, to remain autocratic, to do 'what is right' (whatever that may have meant!)

Right from the beginning people whispered of her that she had 'come to us (the Russian people) behind a coffin', (that of her father in law Alexander III) as she had married the new Tsar quickly after Alexander's death.

Personally I believe that the Romanov dynasty was doomed as long ago as the Decembrist revolt in the 1820's. There might have been a chance of survival if Tsar Alexander II had introduced more reform before he was killed. However Tsar Nicholas was an absolute disaster as Tsar and Alexandra couldn't have made it worse if she'd tried, and she certainly did!

[amabel]

Most of the Imperial family were German, they tended to marry German princesses and as such, there was the possibility of their being disliked by the public as foreign women.
As for Alexandra, she was a disaster.  Some of the dislike of her may have been unfair, but most of it wasn't.  She urged Nicholas to be autocratic when it was absolutely necessary to make reforms.. and her guilt and grief about her son's hemophilia made her depend on Rasputin who was an absolutely terrible person to depend on.

[LouisFerdinand]

On February 23, 1917 riots broke out as the starving populace looted shops looking for bread.   
These people chanted, "Down with the German woman, down with the Tsar, down with the war."

[Curryong]

Terrible rumours were spread about the Tsarina Alexandra even before the war, that she was mistress of Rasputin as were her older daughters, that she was a German spy etc. Alexandra was in many ways her own worst enemy, being shy, stiff and unwilling to accommodate herself to St Petersburg society and to the other Romanovs.

The whole family lived in fear of assassination, under the strictest security, but Alex took it to great extremes IMO. Due to her poor health, some of it psychosomatic, and dislike of the morals of some aristocrats and even the Court ladies her daughters rarely socialised, even when the two eldest reached their late teens.

[amabel]

She was certainly inappropriately close to Rasputin, not tat there was anyting sexual about it but she depended on him far too muich, and defended him and kept him close to her when he was behaving appallingly...
Her refusal to mix with the Russian upper classes and keeping herself to herself meant the IF became more isolated and disliked.

[LouisFerdinand]

Empress Alexandra urged her husband Nicholas II to remove Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich as supreme commander who led the army. In letters to her husband she insisted that the Grand Duke was always plotting, attempting to promote himself and diminish the Emperor's prestige. She repeatedly warned her husband that the Grand Duke was Rasputin's enemy.

[Curryong]

Various branches of the extensive Romanov family were virtually at war with the Emperor and Tsarina before and throughout the First World War and Nicholas and his ambitious wife were no exceptions. There is some evidence that Tsar Nicholas would have have dearly liked Rasputin to just go away but Alexandra's devotion to the 'Holy Man' 'Our Friend' was absolute as he could help the Tsaravitch when he was suffering from the worst of his haemophilia complications. 'Wifey' fed a lot of bad advice to her weak husband the Tsar, but they paid for it in the end.

[LouisFerdinand]

When Alexandra's sister Grand Duchess Elizabeth visited the Empress in December 1916, she warned that Rasputin was destroying the dynasty. The Grand Duchess declared that Alexandra should remember the fate of King Louis XVI of France. The Tsarina told Elizabeth to leave.   
How unfortunate that Elizabeth was told to leave. Was the Grand Duchess not giving good advice?

[amabel]

Alexandra was extremey stupid, isn't that obvious?

[Jennifer]

When Alexandra's sister Grand Duchess Elizabeth visited the Empress in December 1916, she warned that Rasputin was destroying the dynasty. The Grand Duchess declared that Alexandra should remember the fate of King Louis XVI of France. The Tsarina told Elizabeth to leave.   
How unfortunate that Elizabeth was told to leave. Was the Grand Duchess not giving good advice?

Grand Duchess Elizabeth gave her sister, Empress Alexandra good advice about not trusting Rasputin. He was destroying Russia and Empress Alexandra refused to believe it because she was so obstinate. It's such a pity that Grand Duchess Elizabeth and other innocent family members had to suffer the consequences for the unwise choices that Emperor Nicholas and Empress Alexandra made.


Double post auto-merged: June 02, 2017, 02:13:52 PM

Various branches of the extensive Romanov family were virtually at war with the Emperor and Tsarina before and throughout the First World War and Nicholas and his ambitious wife were no exceptions. There is some evidence that Tsar Nicholas would have have dearly liked Rasputin to just go away but Alexandra's devotion to the 'Holy Man' 'Our Friend' was absolute as he could help the Tsaravitch when he was suffering from the worst of his haemophilia complications. 'Wifey' fed a lot of bad advice to her weak husband the Tsar, but they paid for it in the end.

Emperor Nicholas and Empress Alexandra were easily tricked by Rasputin. The man didn't have supernatural powers and he used either herbs or hypnosis to cure Tsarevich Alexei. The doctors or anyone could've easily used those methods to cure the boy. Many people warned them about how dangerous Rasputin was, but they never listened. The couple didn't think clearly about what trusting Rasputin would do to the Romanov dynasty, their family and Russia. They paid the price for their actions. I feel sorry for their children and other family members who were murdered because of the chaos they created.

[amabel]

Nobody could cure Alexei and Rasputin certainly had more skill at helping him than the doctors. 

[LouisFerdinand]

Was Alexandra worried that she would not be able to handle the responsibilities as Empress once she became Empress of Russia?

[LouisFerdinand]

Alexandra said on one occasion, "None of my daughters shall marry German princes."   
It was suggested that Grand Duchess Anastasia's future might be in England.

[LouisFerdinand]

To her sister Princess Victoria of Battenberg, Empress Alexandra wrote: "Don't think my ill health depresses me personally. I don't care except to see my dear ones suffer on my account and that I can fulfill my duties."

[LouisFerdinand]

Empress Alexandra corresponded with a close friend. 
?Dearest Mary?: Letters from the last Tsarina ? Royal Central

[LouisFerdinand]

Alix of Hesse: The imperial bride   
Royal Bride by AlixofHesse on DeviantArt

[LouisFerdinand]

Empress Alexandra arranged an interview with Prime Minister Peter Stolypin of Russia and Rasputin. She also arranged an interview with Prime Minister Vladimir Kokovtsov of Russia and Rasputin. Leaving each Prime Minister, Rasputin reported to Alexandra that neither man seemed attentive to him or to the will of God.     
   

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[LouisFerdinand]

Tsarina Alexandra's social projects included establishing workhouses for the poor, creches for working mothers, and a school for training nurses at Tsarkoe Selo and another for housemaids.