Alexei Nikolaevich (, or Алексѣй Николаевич in old Russian orthography; 17 July 1918) was the last Russian tsesarevich (heir apparent). He was the youngest child and only son of Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna. He was born with haemophilia, which his parents tried treating with the methods of peasant faith healer Grigori Rasputin.
After the February Revolution of 1917, the Romanovs were sent into internal exile in Tobolsk, Siberia. After the October Revolution, the family was initially to be tried in a court of law, before the intensification of the Russian Civil War made execution increasingly favourable in the eyes of the Soviet government. With White Army soldiers rapidly approaching, the Ural Regional Soviet ordered the murder of Alexei, the rest of his family, and four remaining retainers on 17 July 1918. Rumours persisted for decades that Alexei had escaped his execution, with multiple impostors claiming his identity. Alexei's remains, along with those of his sister Maria (or Anastasia), were ultimately discovered in a secondary grave near the rest of the Romanov family in 2007. On 17 July 1998, the 80th anniversary of their execution, Alexei's parents, three of his sisters, and the four retainers, were formally interred in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, while Alexei's and Maria's (or Anastasia's) bones remain in Russian state archives. The Romanov family was canonized as passion bearers by the Russian Orthodox Church in 2000.
Alexei is sometimes known to Russian legitimists as Alexei II after his ancestor Alexis of Russia, as until his death they do not recognize the abdication of his father in favor of his uncle Grand Duke Michael as lawful.
Biography
Early years
Alexei was born on at Peterhof Palace, St. Petersburg Governorate, Russian Empire at 12:30 PM. He was the youngest of five children and only son of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna; his older sisters were the Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. His father was the eldest son of Emperor Alexander III and Princess Dagmar of Denmark, and his mother was the sixth child of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom. His paternal great-grandparents were Alexander II of Russia, Princess Marie of Hesse, Christian IX of Denmark and Louise of Hesse-Kassel, while his maternal great-grandparents were Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, Prince Consort. Nicholas named Alexei after Alexis of Russia, his favorite emperor.Carolly Erickson, Alexandra: The Last Tsarina, p. 146 His doting family called him "Baby." He was later also affectionately referred to as Alyosha (Алёша).
Alexei's birth was greeted with widespread joy because he was the first son Nicholas had had after four daughters. When she woke up from the chloroform, Alexandra saw the happy faces around her and exclaimed: "Oh, it cannot be true. It cannot be true. Is it really a boy?"Mouchanow, Lifelong Passion, pp. 154–155 Nicholas wrote in his diary that today was "a great and unforgettable day for us . . . there are no words to thank God enough for sending us this comfort in a time of sore trials."Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 518 According to Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia, Nicholas's younger brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich "was radiant with happiness at no longer being heir." Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden remembered that "we were nearly deafened by the church bells ringing all day".Buxhoeveden, Before the Storm, pp. 237–238. St. Petersburg "was ablaze with flags" and "the people gave themselves over to public rejoicing."New Czarevitch', Daily Express, 13 August 1904. Nicholas granted political amnesty to prisoners and set up a fund for military and naval scholarships."The Cesarevitch" The Times, 25 August 1904.
As soon as he was born, Alexei was granted the title of tsarevich and heir apparent to the Imperial Throne of Russia. An official announcement read, "From now on, in accordance with the Fundamental Laws of the Empire, the Imperial title of Heir Tsarevich, and all the rights pertaining to it, belong to Our Son Alexei."Helen Rappaport, The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas & Alexandra, p. 75.
Alexei was christened on 3 September 1904 in the chapel in Peterhof Palace. His principal godparents were his paternal grandmother and his great-uncle, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich. His other godparents included his oldest sister, Olga; his great-grandfather King Christian IX of Denmark; King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the Prince of Wales and Wilhelm II, German Emperor. As Russia was at war with Japan, all active soldiers and officers of the Russian Army and Navy were named honorary godfathers.Baroness Sophie Buxhoeveden, The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, 1928.
Hemophilia
Alexei inherited hemophilia from his mother Alexandra, an X chromosome hereditary condition that typically affects males, which she had acquired through the line of her maternal grandmother Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It was known as the "royal disease" because so many descendants of the intermarried European royal families had it (or carried it, in the case of females). In 2009, genetic analysis determined that Alexei had hemophilia B.
At first, Alexei seemed like a healthy, ordinary baby. He weighed 11 pounds at birth. His paternal aunt Xenia wrote that "he's an amazingly hefty baby with a chest like a barrel and generally has the air of a warrior knight."Mouchanow, Lifelong Passion, p. 245. After his umbilical cord was cut, his navel continued to bleed for hours, and his blood did not clot. Nicholas wrote that Alexei lost "1/8 to 1/9 of the total quantity" of his blood in 48 hours.Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 519 Nicholas reflected in his diary that "Alix and I were very alarmed by the bleeding of young Alexei that came at intervals from his umbilical cord until evening. How painful it is to experience such anxieties!"Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family, p. 237. Alexandra wrote, "Oh, what anguish it was... not to let others see the knife digging in one."Lifelong Passion, p. 249. According to his French tutor, Pierre Gilliard, the nature of his illness was kept a state secret, and the information was even withheld from some family members.
There were rumors about what Alexei's disease was because of the secrecy around it. Guesses ranged from a "certain form of infantile tuberculosis which gives rise to acute alarm" to "one of the layers of his skin was missing."Alexander Ular, Russia from Within, 1905, p. 41 An American magazine ascribed Alexei's "ill health" to "the misfortune that so many residences of the tsars leave much to be desired from the point of view of sanitary science.""The Three-year-old Heir to the Throne of the Czar", Current Literature 43, no. 1, July 1907, p. 38. After Alexei's life-threatening hemorrhage at Spala, the American press speculated that Alexei had been stabbed "during an unguarded moment" by a "nihilist.""Daily News, Maryland, 23 October 1912 The Times observed that the "incomprehensible silence of the Court bulletins" gave "free scope to the sensation-mongers.""The Times, 4 November 1912.
His hemophilia was so severe that trivial injuries such as a bruise, a nosebleed, or a cut were potentially life-threatening. His parents constantly worried about him. In addition, the recurring episodes of illness and long recoveries interfered greatly with Alexei's childhood and education. When he was 5, Alexei was assigned two navy sailors who monitored him at all times to ensure that he wouldn't injure himself. His parents appointed two sailors from the Imperial Navy: Petty Officer Andrei Derevenko and his assistant Seaman Klementy Nagorny.Kurth, Peter, Tsar: the lost world of Nicholas and Alexandra, Allen & Unwin, 1998, p. 74, . Anna Vyrubova, Alexandra's friend, remembered that "Derevenko was so patient and resourceful, that he often did wonders in alleviating the pain. I can still hear the plaintive voice of Alexis begging the big sailor, 'Lift my arm,' 'Put up my leg,' 'Warm my hands,' and I can see the patient, calm-eyed man working for hours to give comfort to the little pain-wracked limbs."Robert K Massie, Nicholas and Alexandra, p. 138.
Rasputin In the autumn of 1907, Alexei fell and hurt his leg while playing in Alexander Park. The fall triggered an internal hemorrhage.Helen Rappaport, Romanov Sisters, p. 111. His paternal aunt Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia reflected that "the poor child lay in such pain, dark patches under his eyes and his little body all distorted, and the leg terribly swollen."Vorres, Last Grand Duchess, p. 142. The doctors could do nothing. Alexandra telegraphed Princess Anastasia of Montenegro and asked her to find the Christian mystic and faith healer Grigori Rasputin. Rasputin prayed over Alexei and told Alexei, "Your pain is going away. You will soon be well. You must thank God for healing you. And now, go to sleep."Helen Rappaport, Romanov Sisters, p. 112. Soon after Rasputin left, the swelling in Alexei's leg went down. Alexei's sister Olga was amazed by Alexei's swift recovery, and she wrote that the next morning Alexei "was not just alive— but well. He was sitting up in bed, the fever gone, the eyes clear and bright, not a sign of any swelling on his leg."Vorres, Last Grand Duchess, pp. 142–143.
In September 1912, Alexei and his family visited their hunting retreat in the Białowieża Forest. On 5 September, Alexei jumped into a rowboat and hit his groin on the oarlocks. A large bruise appeared within minutes but in a week reduced in size.M. Nelipa (2015) Alexei. Russia's Last Imperial Heir: A Chronicle of Tragedy, pp. 76–77. In mid-September, the family moved to Spała (then in Russian Poland). On 2 October, Alexei accompanied his mother on a drive in the woods. The "juddering of the carriage had caused a still-healing hematoma in his upper thigh to rupture and start bleeding again."Helen Rappaport, Romanov Sisters, p. 179. He had to be carried out of the carriage in an almost unconscious state. His temperature rose, his heartbeat dropped, and he hemorrhaged in his upper thigh and abdomen. For 11 days, he screamed, "O Lord, have mercy on me!" and begged Alexandra, "Mama, help me!"Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs, p. 555. He asked Alexandra to "build me a little monument of stones in the woods" and asked "When I'm dead, it won't hurt any more, will it?" Alexandra never left his bedside, and she refused to rest or eat. Nicholas "took turns with Alix to sit with Alexei," but he "rushed weeping bitterly to his study" when he saw Alexei scream. On 6 October, Alexei's fever rose to 39 degrees, and he hemorrhaged into his stomach. On 8 October, Alexei received the last sacrament.M. Nelipa (2015) Alexei, Russia's Last Imperial Heir: A Chronicle of Tragedy. Chapter III, p. 84. Alexei's tutor, Pierre Gilliard, wrote to his children, "Pray, my children, pray daily and fervently for our precious heir.""Melnik-Botkina, Vospominaniya, p. 124. On 10 October, a medical bulletin announcing Alexei's impending death was published in the newspapers.