The Russian Revolution полностью

I took up the cudgels on Tatiana Nikolaevna’s behalf, remarking that Alexis Nikolaevich was better, and that we should take great care of him …

Her Majesty was obviously tortured by indecision; she paced up and down the room, and went on talking, rather to herself than to us. At last she came up to me and said:

“Yes, that will be best; I’ll go with the Czar; I shall trust Alexis to you …”

A moment later the Czar came in. The Czarina walked towards him, saying:

“It’s settled; I’ll go with you, and Marie will come too.”

The Czar replied: “Very well, if you wish it.” …

The family have spent the whole afternoon at the bedside of Alexis Nikolaevich.

This evening at half past ten we went up to take tea. The Czarina was seated on the divan with two of her daughters beside her. Their faces were swollen with crying. We all did our best to hide our grief and to maintain outward calm. We felt that for one to give way would cause all to break down. The Czar and Czarina were calm and collected. It is apparent that they are prepared for any sacrifices, even of their lives, if God in his inscrutable wisdom should require it for the country’s welfare. They have never shown greater kindness and solicitude.

This splendid serenity of theirs, this wonderful faith proved infectious.

At half past eleven the servants were assembled in the large hall. Their Majesties and Marie Nikolaevna took leave of them. The Czar embraced every man, the Czarina every woman. Almost all were in tears. Their Majesties withdrew; we all went down to my room.

At half past three the conveyances drew up in the courtyard. They were the horrible tarantass. Only one was covered. We found a little straw in the backyard and spread it on the floor of the carriages. We put a mattress in the one to be used by the Czarina.

At four o’clock we went up to see Their Majesties and found them just leaving Alexis Nikolaevich’s room. The Czar and Czarina and Marie Nikolaevna took leave of us. The Czarina and the Grand-Duchesses were in tears. The Czar seemed calm and had a word of encouragement for each of us; he embraced us. The Czarina, when saying good-bye, begged me to stay upstairs with Alexis Nikolaevich. I went to the boy’s room and found him in bed crying.

A few minutes later we heard the rumbling of wheels. The Grand-Duchesses passed their brother’s door on their way to their rooms, and I could hear them sobbing …²⁷

Iakovlev was in a desperate hurry. Any moment the thaw could set in and make the roads impassable. He also knew of lurking dangers. His orders were to safeguard the life of the ex-Tsar and deliver him safely to Moscow. But everything he had learned on his mission convinced him that the Bolsheviks of Ekaterinburg had different plans. The Bolshevik conference of the Ural Region at this very time voted in favor of a prompt execution of Nicholas to prevent his flight and a restoration of the monarchy.²⁸ Iakovlev had information that Zaslavskii, one of the Bolshevik commissars in Tobolsk, had fled to Ekaterinburg on the day of his arrival; there were rumors that he had set up an ambush at Ievlevo, where the road leading to the railroad junction of Tiumen crossed the Tobol River, with the intention of capturing and, if necessary, killing Nicholas.²⁹

The party left as scheduled, traveling in tarantassy (or, as they are known in Siberia, koshevy), long, springless carts pulled by two or three horses. They were accompanied by a bodyguard of thirty-five. In front rode two men armed with rifles, followed by a cart with two machine guns and two more riflemen. Next came the tarantass carrying Nicholas and Iakovlev, who had insisted on sitting by the ex-Tsar. Behind were two more riflemen, the tarantass with Alexandra and Maria, followed by more riflemen, machine guns, and carts. Included in the party were Dr. Evgenii Botkin, the family’s physician, Prince Alexander Dolgorukii, the Court Marshal, and three domestics. Alexandra put her favorite daughter, Tatiana, in charge of the boy and the two sisters. Iakovlev promised that as soon as the rivers became ice-free, which was expected to occur in two weeks, the children would rejoin their parents. He remained secretive about the ultimate destination: the Imperial couple knew only they were being taken to Tiumen, the nearest railroad junction, 230 kilometers away.