The great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I, Prince Nikolai Romanovich, died. Romanov, Nikolay Romanovich Romanov, Nikolay Petrovich

In 1942, Prince Nikolai Romanovich rejected the offer of the fascist government of Italy to become the king of occupied Montenegro.

In Italy, on Monday, the senior representative of the dynasty of Russian emperors died, public figure, philanthropist, writer, historian - 91-year-old Prince Nikolai Romanovich Romanov. The death of the Russian aristocrat is reported by ITAR-TASS with reference to the brother of Nikolai Romanovich - Dimitri Romanovich. Prince Nikolai Romanovich was a great-great-grandson in the male line Russian emperor Nicholas I. Since 1989, he headed the Association of members of the Romanov family.

Prince Nikolai Romanovich Romanov (NashaGazeta.ch)

Nikolai Romanovich represented the Nikolaev branch, the eldest in the male line of the dynasty. His father Roman Petrovich is a prince of imperial blood, a second cousin and godson of the last sovereign, his mother Praskovya Dimitrievna is the daughter of Count Dimitri Sheremetev, childhood friend and adjutant wing of Nicholas II. The prince's parents were already married in exile. After the revolution, they left the Russian coast among the last. Then lieutenant Roman Romanov, a participant in the First World War, was 22 years old. Leaving for emigration from the Crimea, he took with him a handful of land. “He could not return, but the bottle filled with Russian soil in the Crimea remained with him wherever he moved,” recalled Nikolai Romanovich.

Nikolai Romanovich himself was born in Antibes on September 26, 1922: after the revolution, thousands of Russian emigrants found shelter in France, including representatives of the imperial family. Despite the fact that Nikolai Romanovich was born on French soil, he spoke Russian flawlessly. This was the merit of the parents who raised their children "entirely in the Russian spirit." After the family moved to Rome in the prewar years, he entered the classical department of the Lyceum. In 1942, 19-year-old Nikolai Romanov, who was the grandson of the Montenegrin princess Milica Nikolaevna (Petrovich-Negosh), rejected the offer of the fascist government of Italy to become the king of occupied Montenegro. From July 1944, he worked in Allied organizations engaged in military propaganda activities against the Nazis.

After the war, the family settled in Egypt, then returned to Europe. In January 1952, the prince married the Italian Sveva della Gherardesca, the heiress of the count's family. Before the family moved to Switzerland, he managed an estate in Tuscany. The princely couple has three daughters and grandchildren. Granddaughter Nicoletta is a famous film actress.

In 1989, having headed the Association of Members of the Romanov House by the decision of his relatives, he set the goal of "achieving a decorous and historically correct" ceremonial of the reburial of the victims of the Yekaterinburg tragedy. In July 1998, he participated in the burial ceremony in the Peter and Paul Cathedral of the remains of Nicholas II, members royal family and those who shared the tragic fate with them in the Ipatiev House.

The eldest in the Romanov family advocated the restoration of the canonical unity of the Russian Orthodox Church after the split caused by the revolution and civil war. Without raising the question of dynastic claims, Nikolai Romanovich emphasized: "Neither I nor the rest of the Romanovs lay claim to anything - only the right to be useful to Russia again." One of the initiatives of the representatives of the dynasty is a charitable foundation, which, at the request of the prince, headed his younger brother Dimitri Romanovich. Among the fund's activities is helping hospitals and kindergartens in Russia.

  • Great-great-grandfather - Emperor Nicholas I.
  • Great-grandfather - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder (1831-1891).
  • Grandfather and grandmother: Grand Duke Pyotr Nikolayevich (1864-1931) and Montenegrin Princess Milica Nikolaevna (on the paternal side), Count Dmitry Sergeevich Sheremetev (1869-1943) and Countess Irina Illarionovna, nee Vorontsova-Dashkova (1872-1959) (on the maternal side) lines).
  • Father - prince of imperial blood Roman Petrovich (1896-1978).
  • Mother - Countess Praskovya Dmitrievna Sheremeteva (1901-1980).

Born in Antibes (France), where his parents were in exile; was the first child in the family of Prince Roman Petrovich and Princess Praskovya Dmitrievna, born countess Sheremeteva. In 1926, his parents had a 2nd child - Dmitry Romanovich Romanov.

The family used the Julian calendar, and from childhood he spoke Russian and French.

Education and World War II

He received a private primary education in France. In 1936 the family moved to Italy to receive more good education.

From the age of 12, Nikolai Romanovich dreamed of becoming a naval officer, but he began to show signs of myopia, and the hope of a naval career disappeared.

In 1942 he graduated humanitarian academy in Rome. At the beginning of World War II, he lived with his parents in the residence of King Victor Emmanuel III, whose wife Elena Chernogorskaya was the sister of his grandmother. In 1942, he rejected the proposal of the Italian leadership to become the king of Montenegro occupied by the Italians.

After King Victor Emmanuel fled from Rome in September 1943, he and his family hid from the Nazis and Germans for 9 months; his grandmother, Grand Duchess Milica Nikolaevna, had to hide in the Vatican.

Since July 1944, he worked in the British-American Department of psychological warfare (English Psychological Warfare Division) and in the US information service (English United States Information Service).

After the war

On the advice of King Umberto II, the family left Italy for Egypt in 1946. In Egypt, Nikolai was engaged in the tobacco trade, then worked in an insurance company. Returning to Europe in 1950, he worked in Rome for the Austin Motor Company until 1954.

On the death of his brother-in-law, in 1955 he became manager of his wife's family business - a large farm in Tuscany; until 1980 he was engaged in livestock breeding (chianina) and winemaking.

In 1982 he sold the farm and moved with his wife to Rougemont. In 1988 he took Italian citizenship (before that he was stateless).

Researcher of the history of the fleet, in 1987 he published a book about Russian battleships. Fluent in French, Russian, Italian and English reading in spanish.

Social activity. Leadership in the House of Romanov

In 1989, he headed the Association of Members of the House of Romanov, was again elected chairman of its committee at the Romanov Congress in Peterhof on July 18, 1998, and again in 2007. main role Nikolai Romanovich sees the association he leads in preserving the unity of the clan, promoting its historical traditions and educational activities. He initiated the congress of the Romanov men in June 1992 in Paris. At the congress, the Romanov Foundation for Russia was created, headed by his brother Dimitri Romanovich, who helps orphanages, shelters and hospitals in Russia and the CIS countries.

Nikolai Romanovich first visited Russia in June 1992, when he acted as a guide for a group of entrepreneurs. Appears in funds mass media and documentaries, giving interviews about the Romanovs, such as in 2003, in the Danish documentary "En Kongelig familie", in 2007 on France 3 in the film "Un nom en h?ritage, les Romanov", and in 2008, in the film "Ghosts of the Romanov House". In 1999 documentary about his life was prepared by the Russian television channel NTV.

In 1998, he was present at the head of the burial ceremony in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg of the remains of Nicholas II, members of his family and servants. He was one of the initiators of the reburial of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, wife Alexander III, and at the head of the descendants of the Romanov dynasty was present at all mourning events in Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. He collects information about all members of the dynasty, has a huge archive and, in essence, became the family historian of the Romanov dynasty. All descendants of the Russian Imperial House, except for the Kirillovich branch, recognize him as the head of the Romanov House.

Denies the right to the throne of M. V. Romanova.

Family

January 21, 1952 in St. Michael's Church in Cannes, he married the Italian Countess Svevoy della Gherardesca (born 1930), a representative of a well-known Italian aristocratic family.

Has 3 daughters:

  • Natalya Nikolaevna (born December 4, 1952), husband - Giuseppe Consolo. Two children:
    • Enzo-Manfredi Consolo (1978-1998)
    • Nicoletta Consolo (born May 14, 1980)
  • Elizaveta Nikolaevna (born August 7, 1956), husband - Mauro Bonacini. Two children:
    • Nicolo Bonacini (b. January 4, 1986)
    • Sofia Bonacini (born December 21, 1987)
  • Tatyana Nikolaevna (born April 12, 1961), 1st husband - Gianbattista Alessandri (dev.), 2nd husband - Giancarlo Tirotti. Daughter:
    • Allegra Tirotti (born September 2, 1992)

Awards

  • Knight of the Order of St. Peter (Royal House of Montenegro)
  • Knight of the Order of Petrovich-Njegosh (Royal House of Montenegro)

The great-great-grandson of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I, philanthropist and public figure, Prince Nikolai Romanovich, died at the age of 92, Ivan Artsishevsky, representative of the Association of Romanov Family Members in the Russian Federation, told Interfax.

According to him, the relatives have not yet decided on the date of farewell and the funeral ceremony. Artsishevsky also announced that a memorial service would be served in St. Petersburg in memory of Nikolai Romanovich.

Prince Nikolai Romanovich was the head of the Association of members of the Romanov family.

Prince Nikolai Romanovich Romanov. Born September 26, 1922 in Antibes (France), where his parents were in exile. Great-great-grandson of Emperor Nicholas I. Son of Prince of Imperial Blood Roman Petrovich Romanov (second cousin and godson of Nicholas II) and Countess Praskovia Dimitrievna Sheremeteva. Studied in Rome. In 1942, he rejected the offer of the fascist government to become the king of Montenegro occupied by the Italians. From July 1944 he worked in the Allied organization in the rear. After the war - in Egypt, then in Italy, Switzerland. He was married to the Italian Countess Sveva della Gherardesca. Researcher of the history of the fleet, in 1987 he published a book about Russian battleships. The prince had three daughters and four grandchildren. In the 1990s, as the eldest in the male line of the Tsar's relatives, he headed the Association of Members of the Romanov House. Together with his brother Dimitri Romanovich, he created the Family Charitable Foundation, which helps orphanages, shelters and hospitals in Russia and the CIS countries.

Two churches, one faith

We present to your attention an interview of Prince Nikolai Romanovich, dated 2004, given by him to Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

- As a result of an agreement between the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, relics were brought to Moscow. How do you assess this event?

– I am very pleased with this news. I see that for the first time something concrete happens, bringing together the two torn parts of Russian Orthodoxy. To start this movement towards the center, and precisely from the relics of St. Elizabeth Feodorovna, is, in my opinion, a wonderful idea and a wonderful principle. I really like this news.

- How did the Romanov family treat Elizabeth Feodorovna?

“I can judge by what I have been told and what I have read myself. Elizaveta Feodorovna lived in a difficult era for her, and her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, was a person about whom people judged very differently. Someone appreciated him very much, someone considered him too strong a conservative, someone - not so good governor-general of Moscow. On the other hand, the most conservative sections of Russia saw him as a defender of old traditions and principles. But there is evolution in the country, there is in politics, there is in life, and I am always afraid when people stop at some epoch and do not move from this point.

Sergei Alexandrovich was a man who is rather difficult to understand. Much easier to understand Elizabeth Feodorovna. She suffered a terrible misfortune. But how did she meet this misfortune, how did she react to Kalyaev, whom she went to visit in prison and talked with him in order to get from him not repentance, but some kind of explanation! It was criticized by many, but she did it from the heart. After that, her life turned out completely differently, she created the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent, devoting herself to this.

She left the brightest stage Russian history and the Romanov family, putting aside everything else. She visited her sister, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, in Tsarskoye Selo less and less. In the end, it was not that she quarreled with her, but the Empress clearly advised her not to interfere in affairs. And she completely walked away. Her death is known to all. It is not for me to judge the holiness of people, but her whole life has already developed in such a way that she was on the way, well, if not to holiness, then to semi-holiness. And her death is terrible. Although badly wounded, at the bottom of the shaft she tried to bandage the wounds of the young princes. How they all sang together, knowing that it was as if they had already died! They were left in this mine, they threw bombs, lit firewood, but they still remained alive until a certain moment.

And, of course, her holiness begins not only in. She had already been on the path to sainthood before.

- Was she very beautiful?

“They say she was more beautiful than the Empress. The Empress and her sister Elizabeth Feodorovna were, of course, more beautiful than the other sisters. If you look at the photographs of the wife of Prince Henry of Prussia and the wife of the Marquis of Battenberg (Mountbatten), they were not such attractive women in terms of beauty in our present judgment. Whereas even today no one could disagree that the Empress and Elizaveta Feodorovna were exceptionally beautiful women. But, of course, it's not about beauty, but about the soul.

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (left) and Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna

- Nikolai Romanovich, July 30 - according to the old style, and August 12 - according to the new style, marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the heir to Tsarevich Alexei Nikolayevich. You and your brother, Prince Dimitri Romanovich, are the fourth cousins ​​of the Tsarevich. What was his image in the family?

“It's so hard to think about an heir. After all, involuntarily, when you think about the heir, you don’t think about what kind of king he could be. At the time, the public did not know that he had a genetic defect that put his life at risk. And there is a very important concept here. Nowadays, if politicians fall ill, they tell the public, the press. How many such cases were. And this is what presidents, ministers, anyone say. At the time when the heir was born and the parents, to their horror, realized that he had hemophilia, this fact was hidden. This was not mentioned.

What gave this restraint? She gave the wrong idea about the Empress. She was considered cold. It was believed that she did not smile. You will rarely find a photo of the empress with a smile on her face. And she was blamed for this. Because only the family, the closest ones, knew that the boy had hemophilia. And the Russian people, including the enlightened St. Petersburg society, knew nothing about this. Therefore, it turned out that the empress closed herself in her nest in Tsarskoye Selo, did not see anyone, did not smile, did not receive, did not do what she had to do.

No one understood why the empress kept herself aloof from everything. And every minute she looked at the boy with horror: suddenly he stumbles, suddenly he hurts himself, suddenly he cuts his hand with a knife, suddenly this, suddenly another ... This led to a huge misunderstanding and an incorrect understanding of the personality of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

I don't want to defend her. She made huge mistakes in the political arena, in my opinion. But that's not the point. The thing is, they didn't understand. She would be better understood if they knew that she was the mother of a boy who might not even live to be 20 years old, as Dr. Fedorov told the Tsar.

Dr. Fedorov, with horror for himself, had to tell the tsar that modern medical knowledge could not guarantee a long life for this patient. “He will hardly live to be 20 years old,” was the medical indication that prompted the king to abdicate in favor of his brother. It was definitely illegal and made absolutely no difference. No one can claim the throne except the rightful heir, and no one can renounce the throne and point to an heir. Before Paul I, Peter the Great pointed to one heir, and then to another. And who chose? Family, boyars or close people to the throne. And Paul I, remembering that he himself was close to being removed by his mother in favor of the eldest of her grandchildren, drew up a provision on the imperial family. This is our family law and no one can change it.

The sovereign, abdicating for himself and for his son, could not do this. The son could recant himself if he were of age. The heir to the throne comes of age at the age of 16. If Alexei had passed sixteen, he could have declared that he was also abdicating the throne, and then the first in the line would have been, quite rightly, the tsar's brother, Mikhail Alexandrovich. The emperor, in general, did what the most loving father would do, and with all his heart. But, as the head of the family and the country, he inflicted great harm both Russia and the family.

“But the son’s illness was the emperor’s personal tragedy. Doesn't that explain his decision?

- You see, the head of the country, whether it is a king, king, emperor or president of the republic, this is such a profession that sometimes forces you to make a choice between what the heart and love dictate, and what the interests of the state and the rule of law dictate. And the sovereign made this choice with all his heart - like a father. But he could not pass the throne to his brother. And his brother did not accept him, but only postponed for later the question of accepting or not accepting the throne. We have an act of abdication of the sovereign, but there is no act of abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich. He only said that he could not accept this legacy and that it would be decided by the Russian people, by the council, democratically. Thus, he did not go against the law.

- And what legends have been preserved in the family about the qualities of the heir? What kind of boy was he?

- The most normal. He liked to joke, tease, which is completely normal, especially for a boy who has four older sisters. He is the only man in the family besides his father. And he, of course, behaved too childishly, sometimes being overly naughty. His mother, the Empress, had a more or less English upbringing in her youth. And he is purely Russian. I think that it was precisely because of his illness and because he was the youngest of five children and always at risk of hemophilia that he was treated differently than any other boy. Add to this that he was the son of a king and a possible heir Russian throne. In fact, he was a perfectly normal child for his age.

– Do you have any new news about the search for the missing remains of the royal children?

Nothing more than what is already known. Last year there was some kind of false report that something had been found. But I don't know if examinations were made. They say that there is no heir and there is no Maria Nikolaevna. How can you determine exactly? It is very difficult. What the remains of the two eldest daughters determined, I understand - they were about the same age.

For me, it is more convincing that Anastasia and the Tsarevich are missing. There are no reasons why this is so. But killing is the easiest thing in the world, starting with Cain who killed his brother. It's very easy to be a killer.

That there is no Tsarevich, this is clear. But what is missing is Maria, I have to believe the experts, but it still seems more logical to me that Anastasia is missing. The reason is exactly what I have already said. It is easy to kill, but it is difficult to destroy a corpse. But the killers had to destroy eleven corpses, but there was little time. Cannons thundered - Czechs and Whites, they were already heard in Yekaterinburg. So we had to hurry. They thought fire and sulfuric acid were enough. In reality, destroying a human tooth is very difficult. But we know that the Germans during last war managed to kill millions of people. But this is technique, not improvisation. And in the Koptyakovsky forests there was pure improvisation. And so they had to get to work: "Well, let's start chopping into pieces." You see what a terrible conversation we have begun with you! Start with Dr. Botkin? But he weighed 110 kilograms, a huge, big man. It is clear that they took up the smallest ones - the Tsarevich: the smallest, the youngest, thin, sickly, the bones are less hard. Next, I think, was Anastasia: the youngest of four daughters, also small in stature. And I think that on the part of these “amateurs” in the matter of destroying corpses, it was logical to start with the simplest ones. But it took so long that it became clear that you cannot destroy others. Then I had to do otherwise - so the remains of the last two children are unlikely to be found.

- How are things going with the plans to transfer to Russia from Denmark the remains of the mother of Nicholas II, Empress Maria Feodorovna?

- On behalf of Queen Margrethe II, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially informed me that, according to an agreement between the governments of Denmark and Russia, the funeral of the Empress will take place in St. Petersburg on September 26, 2006. Coincidentally, it's my birthday.

I think that everything should follow the precedent of the funeral of the royal family in 1998 - decorously, simply. It is necessary that the coffin be delivered by sea from Denmark to Peterhof or directly to St. Petersburg. What will be the ship - Russian or Danish, it does not depend on us. But one could do a favor to the Danes, since they agreed to this. The place of burial should be near, clearly, with the sarcophagus of Alexander III - the husband of the Empress. If you enter the cathedral and look at this sarcophagus, on the right side, closer to the center, there is a place. It is necessary to protect it with the same lattice that now encloses the sarcophagus of Alexander III. Maria Feodorovna wanted this when the time came. And that time has come. And whether it will be 2004, 2005 or 2006 - I don't care. The main thing is to get it done. I hope that in 2006 I will still be quite healthy.

Head of the House of Romanov (disputed)
April 21, 1992 - September 15, 2014
Predecessor Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov
Successor Dimitri Romanovich Romanov
Predecessor Vasily Alexandrovich Romanov
Successor Dimitri Romanovich Romanov
Predecessor first in office
Successor Nikita Nikitich Romanov
Birth September 26(1922-09-26 )
Antibes, France
Death September 15th(2014-09-15 ) (91 years old)
Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy
Genus Romanovs
Father Prince Roman Petrovich
Mother Countess Praskovia Dmitrievna Sheremeteva
Spouse Sveva della Gherardesca
Children 1.Natalia
2. Elizabeth
3. Tatyana
Religion orthodoxy

Origin and childhood

Education and World War II

He received a private primary education in France. In 1936 the family moved to Italy for a better education. From the age of 12, Nikolai Romanovich dreamed of becoming a naval officer, but he began to show signs of myopia, and the hope of a naval career disappeared. In 1942 he graduated from the Humanitarian Academy in Rome under the classical program. At the beginning of World War II, he lived with his parents in the residence of King Victor Emmanuel III, whose wife Elena Chernogorskaya was the sister of his grandmother. In 1942, he rejected the proposal of the Italian leadership to become the king of Montenegro occupied by the Italians. After King Victor Emmanuel fled from Rome in September 1943, he and his family hid from the Nazis and Germans for 9 months; his grandmother, Grand Duchess Milica Nikolaevna, had to go into hiding in the Vatican. From July 1944 he worked in the British-American Department of Psychological Warfare (Eng. Psychological Warfare Division) and in the US Information Service (eng. United States Information Service).

After the war

“Nikolai Romanovich spent the war in Italy, since his grandmother and her sister were close relatives of the Italian king. Everything was fine until the Germans occupied Italy; then the grandmother had to seek refuge in the Vatican, and the Swiss hid the rest of the family. When the Allies entered Italy, the young prince was hired as an "errand boy" during quartering. After several years, he went to Egypt with his family and worked there in similar positions, “because I was an obedient son and foolishly did what my father ordered, and did not study.” Upon his return to Italy, he married the beautiful and wealthy Italian Countess Sveva della Gherardesca, after proving to her father that he could support himself, again with administrative work. Soon the wife's brother died in a car accident, and the father-in-law, who had just forced Prince Nikolai to enter the service, ordered him to quit and replace the deceased brother-in-law as the manager of the family estate.

Death and funeral

Nikolai Romanovich died on September 15 in Tuscany. The farewell ceremony was held on September 17 in the presence of relatives, representatives of the Russian Federation and city authorities. The funeral service was held in the Church of Saints Jacob and Christopher. The funeral ceremony was performed by two priests from the Roman Church of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the foot of the coffin lay a wreath of Russian tricolor flowers, as well as numerous wreaths and fresh flowers. The condolences of Russian President Vladimir Putin were conveyed to the family of the deceased by Russian Ambassador to the Vatican Alexander Avdeev. He also handed over a telegram of sympathy signed by the speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Sergei Naryshkin. They buried Prince Nikolai Romanovich in Pisa, in the crypt of the Counts della Gherardesoc, relatives along the line of his wife.

Family

Awards

see also

Notes

  1. Financial Times, September 19, 2003: Lunch with the FT: Nicholas Romanov.
  2. Nicholas Romanovich Romanov (indefinite) (unavailable link). Retrieved May 8, 2010. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008.
  3. Statement by Nicholai Romanov, Russian Prince
  4. Dynastic Succession (indefinite) (unavailable link). imperialhouse.ru Date of treatment July 29, 2009. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012.
  5. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/data/0811190106/DCSupplemental/Supplemental_PDF#nameddest=STXT
  6. Nikolai Romanov Prince of Russia: an eventful life (page 6) (indefinite) (unavailable link). Retrieved May 10, 2010. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008.


Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich

Many assume that the only commander-in-chief during the First World War was Emperor Nicholas II. But it wasn't. In the small Swiss town of Rougemont, we met with Nikolai Romanovich Romanov, the grandson of Grand Duke Peter, whose brother, Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov, was the commander-in-chief of the Russian army during the beginning of the First World War.

- Little is known about your great ancestor...

It's sad, - Nikolai Romanovich shakes his head. - And although the appointment as commander-in-chief was a surprise for him, already in the summer of 1914, thanks to the successes of the Russian army in East Prussia the plans of the German offensive on the Western Front were thwarted and the capture of Paris was prevented. Nikolai Nikolaevich became very popular, although, as usual, successes were sometimes attributed to him, and the responsibility for failures was assigned to the front commanders.

- And how did Emperor Nicholas II, who was the commander-in-chief's nephew, react to the military events?

The sovereign was oppressed by the fact that he was far from the front. This largely explained his decision to lead the army. The emperor thought that in this way he would demonstrate unity with the people. But the appearance of Nicholas II at headquarters was a mistake. It seems to me that he did not possess the talents of a commander. He didn't even have the rank of general.

- Didn't they answer him?

Many government ministers tried to keep the emperor from doing so. But the position of the empress influenced the decision of Nicholas II ...

- Did Nikolai Nikolaevich painfully accept the resignation?

Ten days before the official letter of resignation, Nikolai Nikolaevich received a letter from the emperor, in which he addressed him with the words "Dear Nikolasha" and signed "Niki, who loves you." So the emperor communicated only with close people. So he was ready to retire.

- Did the correspondence survive?

Both letters were kept in my Swiss apartment. But then I gave them to my brother; now they are in Denmark.

- How was the fate of the first commander-in-chief?

The Grand Duke was transferred to the Caucasus, appointed commander in chief of the Russian military forces on the Caucasian front. Things improved after his arrival. It was under him that Trebizond, Kars, Adragan were taken. They clearly interacted with Yudenich and Kolchak. In the Caucasus, Nikolai Nikolaevich was until the abdication of the king ... Signed by Prince Lvov on behalf of the Provisional Government, he calmly accepted the decree on resignation.

The first commander-in-chief, Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov, died in early 1929 and was buried in the crypt of the Russian church in Cannes. They say that after the liberation of France from the Nazis, the church was visited by a high Soviet military man. He ordered the frightened attendant to open the tomb, went up to the grave, saluted it, stood near it and solemnly said: “There lies a great Russian general!”

Kaiser - Kaiser ...

After his resignation from office by the decision of the Provisional Government, the first commander-in-chief, Nikolai Nikolaevich Romanov, lived in the Crimea, in Koreiz. The German occupation authorities gave him an invitation from the Kaiser to move to Germany. The former commander-in-chief sent to hell both Emperor Wilhelm and those who delivered the invitation. The Romanovs left the Crimea in April 1919 and settled in the south of France in a house bought with the pearl necklace of Peter Romanov's wife.

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